Tuesday Already?

It is a good thing I worked so many hours in the garden yesterday. It was pleasant and fresh.

Not today.

Rose and I left the house bright and early today to belatedly celebrate her 10th birthday. We breakfasted at our favorite birthday breakfast locale: Thelma's Chicken and Waffles in Roanoke.

Fried chicken and waffles and fried potatoes all in one meal. With coffee.

Wow. I have many favorite foods. Fried chicken is one of my very all-time favorites and I have to say it is hard to find a good piece of fried chicken anywhere these days. Unless you stop in at Thelma's.

Rose and I both got the Fried chicken tenders and belgian waffles and side of fried potatoes. We talked about the mileposts of her 9th year. She had been reading for a few years, but this year she became a book worm. Her piano playing skills have improved significantly. She can milk a goat all by herself. She learned how to make an omelet. She got to take on a week of dishes duty this past year (not a real highlight for her, but definitely happy news for the older siblings.)

We were a bit teary as we talked about the most horrible thing that happened in her 9th year. We laughed at some of Philip's antics and missed him.

It was a good date.

After we got home we worked on house chores for a bit then headed out to the garden. I was worried about consuming so many simple carbs in one meal until I began to sweat continuously for two hours. Working in the garden is a much more pleasant task in cool, low humidity. Oh well, I still was satisfied to have my fingers in the dirt.

This afternoon Tim came over and replaced my burned out motor with a new one. Suggested we take all other appliances off that electrical outlet. Suggested we put on a thermal overload. Suggested we perhaps upgrade to a stronger motor at some point.

A friend came over and we all traipsed out to see Patrick's bridge and let me enjoy the wildflowers. They are so pretty. Jewel weed, cardinal flower, Queen Anne's lace, flowering mint, so many others, made a beautiful bouquet for our dinner table, courtesy Patrick.

For dinner we had one of our favorites: pork and cabbage stirfry.

Onions from our garden, garlic, Jonathan's cabbage, our carrots, our pork, olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce and sesame seeds. So tender and sweet. Perfect with a side of Japanese cucumbers. We slice the cucumbers and dress them with a mixture of 2 TBSP vinegar mixed with 2 TBSP organic sugar. Top with sesame seeds. Yum. We were fighting over them.

Tonight we had the weird yearly phenomenon of these annoying little flying insects. Once a year they pop up out of nowhere, bigger than fruitflies, smaller than houseflies. I wanted to sit outside, but they crawl on your arms, on your face, in your eyes and ears. Ick. Thankfully they don't stick around for long.

Anyone know what those crazy creatures are?

August. I hope a thunderstorm is in the forecast. I believe tonight I will be sleeping with a nice wet bandana to keep cool. Too many bugs to sleep outside. Where is that mosquito netting when we need it?