Friday, December 16, 2022

La Vida Loca Y Dulce


So this, as you might surmise, is the garden. On your left there, you have collard greens which have not gotten very large but that's okay because they are still so tender. On the right of that trellis situation we have your arugula (rocket) and to the right of that are carrots. In the back of the picture you can see mustard greens and turnip greens. And of course that's just part of it. 

Today has had its ups and its downs. Neither too extreme which is good, I guess. The worst thing that happened is that when I opened my refrigerator today, I realized that a head of organic broccoli I'd bought a relatively long time ago (as in, after the dinosaurs became extinct but definitely before two weeks ago) was going bad and stinking up my refrigerator. So, I pulled it out and went to unwrap the plastic covering off of it so that I could free it from its rubber band and dump it outside with the rest of the kitchen scraps. Thankfully I was doing this in the sink because what should come crawling out of that plastic covering but a STINKIN', FUCKIN' cockroach. It's been living in my refrigerator all this time. My first thought was- well, I guess it really was organic. My second thought was- kill the motherfucker! 
Which I did. It wasn't the biggest roach I've ever seen but it wasn't the smallest either. Luckily it was moving slowly, having been refrigerated for weeks, and I managed to smash it with a paper towel and although I felt a little bad about taking a life I was also happy it was gone. 
I already did not like broccoli very much and that may have been the end of my broccoli buying days. 

One of the good things that happened today was that I finally got most of my Christmas shopping completed. Online, of course. And managed to use the website of a local natural museum to renew memberships for the kids. Every year I go through this. They have the worst website when it comes to trying to renew or buy a membership. The problem this year is that you can only purchase one membership at a time. There is a "shopping cart" feature but if you try to put more than one purchase in it, you get a message that it cannot be done. 
Okay, okay, first world problem in the extreme but I finally got all of them ordered that I wanted. I also bought Gibson a present which will not be here by Christmas but it looks pretty cool. It's a make-your-own comic kit and you can even send it in to the company and they will make an actual comic book of what you have drawn and captioned. I hope he likes it. 

I still have to go to Costco and Bass Pro World. Guess who I'll be shopping for there? You don't need any hints, do you? Frankly, I'm not too worried about getting him presents. The man has had an excellent time of it this fall and now winter, hunting in distant lands and territories. I am sure that he would agree that my gift to him is my love and blessing in sending him off to do something that brings him so much pleasure even though I don't begin to understand it. 

I finally cut down the stalk with the bananas on it. 


I'm leaving it outside tonight because that stalk is dripping vital juices and I do not care to clean them up inside. I have no idea if the bananas will ripen. Hell, I don't even know if they are eating bananas or cooking bananas in which case they would stay green. There are many, many varieties of bananas and these were growing before I moved in here so I have no clue as to how they should be ripened or if perhaps they already are ripe. 
But the blossom is enough to make me happy so there is that, too. 

More growing things-


Jessie and Vergil's incredibly juicy, thin-skinned limes and our cherry tomatoes. I need to pick all of them, ripe or not before it freezes. Mr. Moon asked me awhile back why we can't just fry the little green ones like we do fried okra? Sounds quite intriguing. Fried green tomatoes are delicious. I might try that in the air fryer. Why not? 

And speaking of food, Lily made a white bean and venison chili for her department's entry into the Publix's chili cook-off where she works. She used an old favorite of ours from a Weight Watcher's cookbook (seriously) substituting venison for chicken or turkey and she added her own spin on it by roasting tomatillos and poblano peppers, blending them up and adding them in. 
Rachel got to taste it when she went by Publix after work. 


The cooking gene is strong in this one. 

And now I give you this. 


That's what I was watching last night while I ate my dinner. Old Rolling Stones concerts. Only two more days before Keithmas! Which, as most of you know, is a holiday I can heartily get behind. 

Okay. That is truly and really all. 
For now.

Happy Friday, y'all. 

Love...Ms. Moon


25 comments:

  1. Happy Friday! I'm glad your shopping is done. Mr moon's away so much that I wonder if he's trying to fit it all in while he's still able to! Thinking ahead, maybe.

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    1. Yes. You have it. He is. And what can I do but encourage and love him?

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  2. I am not a fan of cockroaches. We have them here but they are tiny and still so disgusting. I didn't even know cockroaches could live here until Gracie lived in our rental. I think that would put me off broccoli too.

    Good on Lily for her chili.

    It's gently snowing here today and I walked Heidi in the snow. It's not cold right now but the cold is coming so I thought I would get out and get some fresh air.

    I like the quilt I made, love the colours, but didn't like the top stitch quilting that I did on it. We'll see.

    Have a lovely evening and enjoy Keith.

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    1. We have the tiny roaches too. They are incredibly obnoxious and can fly like little demons. But the huge ones are just grosser somehow.
      Enjoy your weather while you can. I find it hard to fathom living in a place where it's not cold and yet it's snowing. I believe our definitions of "cold" may differ.

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  3. Is everyone thinking what I'm thinking---that this just proves cockroaches will rule the world?
    Not that we doubted it, eh.

    Your garden and its fruit astonish me. Bananas??? I love the blossom. Will you eat it? I've seen them in SE Asian grocery stores here (Vietnamese, mostly) but have never eaten one.

    How much land do you have? An acre or two?

    Look at those darlings with the chili! They are so dear, they could be girlettes! Rachel's earrings are neat-o.
    I kinda want a Publix thing to wear with that cute circle-P on it. Do they sell T-shirts or anything?
    I guess I have a thing for Publix: "It's like Ancient Rome, but IN FLORIDA!"
    (I am thinking of Asterix, I finally realized---the French cartoon character about the Romans in Gaul)

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    1. P.S. Still FRESCA, here. Not anon.
      Well, cockroaches are going strong, but not panthers...
      I looked up Florida Panthers and was sorry to see they are on the verge of extinction--only 230 in the wild. The girlettes were sad and say they wouldn't mind being eaten by a panther, if it would help, but I told them panthers can't eat plastic.
      Probably cockroaches could.

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    2. I had no idea banana blossoms are edible! I need to do a little research on that. We have about two acres here. Enough for a garden and a giant garage and some other stuff. The best part of my yard is the ancient live oaks. They are gods. We have an amazingly large magnolia tree as well.
      I love that picture of Lily and Rachel! Those earrings are pretty cool, aren't they? Rachel said she probably got them at Clare's when she was in high school. I have no idea if they sell Publix T-shirts. I'll check with Lily. You may be overestimating Publix. I mean, it's a good grocery store (their motto is "Where Shopping Is A Pleasure!") but it's not like Eden or anything.
      No. Panthers probably would not eat plastic unless it had a prime rib roast wrapped in it. Cockroaches would and do. They'll eat anything and can survive on anything. Obviously.

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  4. Keith was in my last nights dream, He kept trying to catch Flora as she kept running away,
    They were the same size- so maybe that means that Keith has caught up with the love I have for Flora and the love is the same biggness (?) Dreamland i-so entertaining.
    The comic book gift sounds awesome!! Who wouldn't love that?
    Your garden - well- masterpiece and in the middle of winter...my brain can not realize.

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    1. I love my Keith dreams! They are few and far between. Unfortunately, his beautiful wife is always there too, keeping a stern eye out. I can't sin even in my dreams. Dammit.
      We're about to get hit with some real cold. I'll be bitching about it soon.

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  5. I would give my life (almost) to eat those gorgeous tomatoes of yours, and Lily's chili! Glad you got some shopping done..... and how IS IT that a cockroach (or a beetle of any kind) can live refridgerated for 2 weeks? They may rule the world one day.....along with Keith. LOL
    Susan M

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    1. I would be surprised if a roach survived being frozen for two weeks but I'm not surprised one could survive being refrigerated.
      Uh. Keith does rule the world already. (Ha!)

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  6. I love the comic gift and upcoming Keithmas, Have a sweet night!

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  7. What an eclectic post. A little bit of everything! I feel a little guilty shopping online. We have many small local businesses that need my money, but who can deny the lure of getting exactly what you want without moving? No crowds, no foreign bacteria and delivered to your door! We received a box of lovely Florida citrus this week from kind relatives. So we will avoid scurvy. We are blessed.

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    1. No scurvy for you! Good deal!
      Yes. We are all the slaves of Jeff Bezos. I'm not quite sure how this happened.

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  8. As always I am envious of your garden space, but being realistic, I don't know that I could cope with all the planting and tending now. It's been almost thirty years since I had a backyard big enough. My mum used make "green tomato pickles" jars and jars of them every year and sold them at the local pub. I remember the big pot of tomatoes and spices simmering in the kitchen, but don't have her recipe. If I did I would give it to you.

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    1. Oh! I so wish you DID have that recipe! I'll have to look around and see if I can find one. Probably wouldn't be as good as your mother's but it might be like a little taste of what she made.

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  9. Your garden looks great - it takes a lot of work, tho, which is why I am not a gardener.
    Gross story about the bug in the broccoli! Ugh!
    I head to Wisconsin today to see the grandkids I never get to see! Hurray for me! Can't wait!
    Have a nice weekend, Mary.

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    1. I'm so glad you get to see your grands! Hurray! Enjoy them and love them up.

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  10. The comic book kit is an excellent gift. Those bananas look like the bananas my trees make. If they are then they will turn yellow but they still need to be cooked. I slice them in half lengthwise and sautee them in butter. Brings out the sweetness.

    Love your garden. I wish I had a suitably sunny spot here at the house instead of over at the shop yard. Yes, it's just across the street but...

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    1. Okay. I'll follow your advice. I'll try one (if they get ripe) and if it's not sweet, I'll cook it. I do love plantains.
      Our garden doesn't get nearly enough sun but for the winter garden, it's fairly adequate.

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  11. I love Rachel's Christmas wreath earrings! The story about the roach is just bizarre. I had no idea a roach could live for so long in a refrigerator, though I guess they are notoriously tough so I don't see why that should surprise me.

    Your story about the dysfunctional web site reminds me of a couple of years ago when I was trying to make our charitable donations online and just COULD NOT get it to work. I remember thinking, "They should not be making it this hard for me to give them money!" Fortunately the system has been fixed since then.

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    1. Right? I'm trying to give you money, here! Make it easy, okay?
      Rachel was wearing her wreath earrings when she came out today. I told her that you'd complimented them and she said, "They're so gaudy." Gaudy is correct at Christmas, I think.
      Roaches can survive almost anything. As you know.

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