Summertime

This morning started off with a bit of a shock because when I woke up I saw that I'd gotten a text message and two calls from the guy who was coming to do the AC maintenance check. I knew he was coming this morning sometime but before nine? 
Good Lord!
So I called him back and he said, "Well, actually, I'm here now."
All righty then! 
I was already dressed and so forth and went to the kitchen door which everyone uses and yes, there he was. I let him in to show him where the thermostat was and then took him to the back porch to show him where the unit was. 
The guy appeared to be about the same age as Owen and I feel sure he has not achieved his full growth yet. However, he had a lot of tattoos and seemed to be very, very shy. At one point he came onto the porch where I was and with his fingertips all touching in front of his chest, he said, "Would you mind if I used your bathroom?" I swear to you, I felt like that might have been the most difficult thing he'd ever done in his life. 
Well of course I said I wouldn't mind at all and I showed him where it was. 
He soon told me that everything looked good on the AC and I paid him and off he went. 

I took a little walk and it was hot enough to qualify as torture. I stopped by the Post Office and Ms. T, the post mistress, was wearing a "vintage" Rolling Stones T-shirt. I was so delighted. "I love your shirt!" I said.
She grinned and said "Thank you." I wonder if she's ever heard one Rolling Stone song in her entire life. 

Came home, cooled off a little, went back outside to the garden and picked more beans and more tomatoes, one okra, one pepper and some arugula along with Mexican and Thai basil. Also zinnias.

Came in and cooled down again, ate lunch, thought about things and decided that I might as well can some more green beans and so I did. Three quarts, one pint.
I missed Lis. 

I have got to reorganize and clean my pantry because space for jars is getting scarce. I have realized though, that the shelves I have in the kitchen which I've never quite known what to do with, work perfectly for storing canned goods. 

And other things. 

This does NOT mean, however, that the pantry doesn't need organizing and cleaning. For example- I have one small bin which holds nothing but different sorts of packing and duct tape. One that holds batteries. One that holds extension cords. 
Are these things supposed to go in a pantry? I think not. Where else they'd go is a mystery, however, so for now, I'll probably just try and cull some of the tape, batteries, and extension cords. 

I picked more figs today and watered the porch plants. And the potted plants in the back yard, one of which is this giant begonia. 

One of my most favorite plants. That's a very young leaf. As they mature, they get greener and lose the red delineation of the veins but boy, they sure are beautiful in that stage of growth. 

Mr. Moon has had a very productive day. First I got this picture.

"Wallpaper coming down!" he said. 
I answered, "Thank god."

And then this.

He took out the nasty center island with the two burners and a griddle (how many pancakes does one need to make?) and also the cabinets where the new stove will sit. It opens up the space so much that I might be able to breathe in there now as well as being able to open the refrigerator. 

So that's all good. And please know- he did this all by himself. He said the hardest part was taking off the kitchen door so that he could get all that stuff out of the house.
That man. 

Jessie sent this picture.

Mama bear and a cub, strolling down the road, as one does. 

And Lily sent this one which is what she found on her bed when she got home from work. 

I love that Maggie still plays with her dolls, not unlike her Mermer. 

So that is my world for today. I am a bit grief-stricken to report that I have not seen Hawk in days. I feel an unexpected sadness that my sharp-eyed, sharp-taloned protector is not with me in the gloaming but a hawk has its own thoughts about territory and I have appreciated his presence for the time he spent here.

Tonight- salad with everything including seared tuna and of course...miso dressing. 

I better go start chopping, mincing, slicing, and searing. 

Love...Ms. Moon