Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Today's Harvest and Happy 101 Awards!




Parts of my garden have turned out to be a total wash this season--like a nearly non-existent potato harvest, a dismal collection of peas--not to mention peppers, eggplant, and kabocha squash that will probably never reach maturity. On the other hand, it is producing well in other areas, and I've been gathering harvests similar to this one every other day or so.  

I usually just pick stuff as I use it, but with things that need a bit of washing  and de-bugging like lettuce and other greens, I like to harvest a day or two's supply at a time. That way, I can get them washed in one go.

Today I got a presumed 8-ball zucchini (suspiciously very like a small green pumpkin), a cucumber, a bunch of parsley, lettuce, sorrel, arugula, 3 little banana peppers and 1 little hot Bulgarian pepper (see what I mean about the peppers?), 2 strawberries (one for me and one for my hubby, hee-hee) a few yellow beans, carrots, bunching onions, and a head of green cabbage. 

I'm pretty sure I won't see any actual eggplants from my garden this year, but the blossoms are certainly very pretty. This one opened up in the last day or so:

eggplant blossom

And now on to the award! A few days ago, I was honored to be one of the recipients of  the 101 Award from Vic, of The Life. Thanks Vic! In case you haven't yet, definitely check out Vic's blog. I enjoy reading about his travels and adventures, his house projects....not to mention the recipes! He's an ace cook and puts together beautiful food. 


The award consists in listing 10 things that make you happy. So without further ado...

~ Not a Top 10 list, just 10 random things in no particular order~


Swimming in a Lake, River, or Ocean
I'll settle for a swimming pool, but swimming in real water is a consummate pleasure, as is soaking up the sun before and afterwards.  

Fairy Lights, Christmas Carols, and Samba
Ok, I'm being sneaky...that's really 3 things.

Garden Snails
Even though they eat my veggies, they make me smile whenever I come across one.  I love their wobbley eye-stack antennae, and how cute and curious they look as they venture along porting their shell. If I find one in my veggie patch, I just pick him/her up and translocate him to the slug & snail-friendly part of the yard, where they are welcome to eat the dandelions and the primroses. 

Kids
I love to play games, climb trees, draw, pretend, sing, bake, do crafts...and  all those things are more fun with kids! Maybe because I am one at heart and always will be... (I hope). The summer after my freshman year at college, I worked as a YMCA camp counselor.  At the end of the summer, there was an awards ceremony where I received the "Biggest Kid in Camp" award. I was delighted because it allowed me to get up in front of all those little campers and say: "See?  I'm a kid too. I'm just bigger than you are! Nah Nah-Nah Na-Nah!"

Fellow Earthlings
Seagulls, lemurs, and donkeys....koalas, dragonflies, and tortoises...raccoons, rabbits, and orcas...so on and so forth.

Sambal Oelek and Golden Greek Peperoncini
It's a tie: when one of these spicy condiments is on my plate, I'm a happy eater.

Pasta 
Enough said.

Peter
I have 3 brothers.  Anyone who grew up (old school)  with brothers is probably familiar with the fact that they enjoy doing things like pinning you down and tapping on your forehead with their knuckles until you go insane, pelting you with pine cones, or using you as a target in lawn darts. Who doesn't love that? My brother Peter is all of that and more. He is creative, theatrical, funny, and mischievous...I couldn't begin to count the hours we have spent laughing together...thinking of him makes me happy. 

Leaving Work
We're talkin' bliss in motion, joy, exaltation...all is fine with the world because -- I AM OUTTA THERE!  (And, I get to do it 5 days a week.)

Harriet, Daffodil, Cheeky, Pim, Goldie, Big, and Jazzie
These guys are my non-human family members, and they make me very happy. I think it's mutual (at least I hope so).

Happy 101 Recipients
I'm normally a bit shy about these awards. I've received a couple in the past, but I was too shy to actually forward them. (People who aren't shy may not understand that, but fellow shy people will, I think ;).

However, I'm a gemini, and as such, somewhat volatile in character: I'm not shy all the time! So, I'm going for it.

If I had my druthers, I would award this to every blog that I read, but if I follow the protocol and limit it to 10, I'd like to bestow this award on the bloggers listed below. Some of them are blogs I have been following for a while, and some of them I've gladly come across more recently.

Note To all Recipients: Thank you for your presence in the blogosphere! Receive and enjoy! I'm exercising my award-giver's license here: do with this award what you will: post it & pass it on, post it & don't pass it on, don't post it - don't pass it (you get the idea)...it's all good. Just know that you are truly appreciated, and that the blogosphere is a funner place with you in it.

~In no particular order~

Mehitable Days: Laloofah's wittisicms, thoughtful observations, and beautiful photography, along with a healthy dose of fun, make for blog reading that is a true escape from the daily grind.

Shenandoah Vegan: SV's jocular humor coupled with a showcase of her daily eats make for a delightful forum on everyday veganism...not to mention magical, never-ending cakes!

Dirty Duck: Michelle's adventures are charming and full of animal love and interest: from swimming with the loveable Lilly to far out Soap Nuts...it's always good fun. 

The Airy Way: Zoa's beautiful food and photos provide an ongoing feast for the eyes and the appetite. Her culinary skill and creativity result in a breath of fresh inspiration with every post.

Andrea's Easy Vegan Cooking: Andrea's blog has it all: gorgeous-looking food and recipes (including exciting previews of tester  recipes), updates on fun activities with family and friends, news of vegan-friendly products and other issues. It's always a pleasure to sit down and have a read about what she's been up to in the kitchen and beyond.

Blessed Vegan Life: BlessedMama whips up delicious family fare and shares enticing recipes that feed five hungry vegans, which is no small feat! She'll make you miss having your mom cook for you.  Adorable photos of her kids are an added bonus!

Shorty Can Burn: Stacy's blog features consistently mouth-watering meals from everyday favorites to exotic cuisine, often including gorgeous produce from her garden and a much-welcomed whimsy, especially in the form of cute bric-a-brac figurines.

Coffee and Sunshine: Carissa's blog exudes a freshness and love for life with healthy food and recipes, adorable photos of her animal companions, and news from her very own animal rescue. Good luck and best wishes to her in her upcoming move to Nebraska.

Veggie Cookie: Jessica chronicles her delicious adventures in the kitchen and other interesting aspects of living vegan in Cincinnati in a friendly and personable manner. Get ready to get inspired and hungry when you read her blog.

Vegan and So Forth: Nearly a life-long vegan, Jenny shares food, recipes, and family adventures...you can almost feel the fun through the photos of her family enjoying well-crafted vegan food and good times. She even makes Scooby Snacks people!

Ciao for now! :)

30 comments:

  1. First of all, what a wonderful harvest! I love those little carrots, how cute! I am so excited and nervous about starting a garden in a place that actually has Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall. I am used to just, well, Summer :)

    I totally agree with your first thing you love, swimming in the ocean. I love that as well. I love the ocean period. How sweet of you to add garden snails to your list also!

    Thank you for the award! I have never gotten one yet. I am excited!

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  2. Your garden bounty is so beautiful! This is exactly the sort of thing I like to see. Great photo, too--I think I have that exact same table cloth (one of my favorite things to look for in thrift stores is old patterned table cloths because they are so beautiful).

    And WOWS!!! An award! Thank you so much! I am such a whiner it would probably be easier for me to come up with things I hate...but maybe this will be good for me. Thank you!!!!

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  3. It's no wonder the peppers, eggplant and squash are balky, with only the Seattle weather, and not your gardening skills, to blame. I don't think any hot-weather, long season veggies would stand much of a chance this year. I wish I could send you some of the Midwestern heat to speed things up! But really, you probably wouldn't want that. :D Your harvest looks great — I love that bowling ball zucchini.

    And thanks for the award and your kind words! I love receiving awards but like you, I'm shy about passing them along. We'll see ...

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  4. PS your descriptions of everyone's blogs are really very thoughtful. It is obvious you really made an effort to capture what is different/special/unique about everyone's style.

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  5. You like me! You really like me!

    Thank you, Rose. I hope one day you can grab a few beers and slide down the emergency chute away from work forever.

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  6. Your vegetables are beautiful! We had a gopher problem so no in ground veggie growing for us this year. boo hoo!
    Your zucchini ball, it reminds of something my girlfriend told me about last year in her garden.

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  7. Aw, thank you, Rose! It'll take me a few days to do it, but I'll send the award on. Problem is, you picked a bunch of bloggers that I would have picked too! Hmm. Also, your veggies look great - what a variety you have, lucky girl!

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  8. Sounds like you are getting more veggies that I am. My little crop just dwindled away to nothing. Congratulations on your award....that is way cool! I'm with you on the swimming and the kids. I still feel like a kid inside. I think that's what keeps us young! :o)

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  9. Carissa,

    So true, gardening is very different depending on what climate zone you're in. As much as I love the changing of the seasons...I'd love to find out what it would be like to garden in a place like Hawaii.

    I'm with you, there is something so theraputic and healing about the ocean. Have fun with the award. :)

    Stacy,

    Too cool that you have the same table cloth...the plastic is handy for outdoors. I love thrifting too, but I picked this one up at a local drug store.

    Have fun with the award! I'm sure you can come up with 10 things that make you happy! But, if not, go with 10 things you hate: it's the awardee's license to give their own twist to it as far as I'm concerned. :)

    Andrea,

    We could really use some that good old Midwest heat around here for sure...oh well, some seasons are like that....I think I may just sneak by with some ripe tomatoes if I'm lucky.

    Enjoy the award...no pressure to pass it on. You can just post 10 things that make you happy if you want...the last time I got an award, I was shy, so I gave it collectively to everyone in the veggie blogosphere :)

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  10. SV,

    Of course I like you. That's too funny, I actually thought of you as a fellow work comiserator when I heard the Stephen Slater story...how awesome is that? He's my new personal hero. I'd definitely be up for those beers!

    Enjoy the award. :)

    Dreaminitvegan,

    Bummer about the gopher problem, but on the bright side, they are great for aerating the soil...and once they move on to somewhere else, will probably leave your soil richer and looser...nice for the veggies.

    This is first time I've grown the little round zucchini...they really are like little green pumpkins, which is not surprising I suppose.

    BlessedMama,

    I know, that is the problem with these awards is that they tend to get very circular...but no worries...I think we all have a little creative license to pass the award on in whatever way works best!

    Enjoy the award...:)

    Michelle,

    Hi fellow swimmer and kid at heart! I agree, it keeps us young! :) I think all gardeners have seasons where their crops just dwindle...but there's always next season!

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  11. Thanks, Rose! That is so kind of you, and I like your list. Nice to know a person with a fellow fondness for snails, and I'm actually not kidding about that ;-) Your garden produce looks awesome too. After years of vegetable gardening in the last several years I've opted for flowers, but I do miss the produce...

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  12. HEYYYYYY thank you! its nice to have so many great friends on here, congratulations on your award. your posts are a mix of sweetness and lots of good info. a perfect mix!

    thanks for explaining what that small round gren ball thing was. you know just what things to explain. and two little strawberries, lol they are cute! i had no idea that eggplant had such pretty flowers, are they edible? im thinking no since they are part of the nightshade family right?lol thats the limit of my knowledge about gardening!!

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  13. Thanks Rose! I read many of the other blogs you mentioned, but I've added the rest to my Reader. I'm always looking for a good read.

    I love your garden harvest. One day I want to learn to garden; it's amazing and embarrassing that I don't even know what my food looks like before I purchase it! The eggplant flower is so cute, and I can see how it fits with the eggplant. One day I hope to have a full garden. So far I've only successfully grown herbs, and if I have any luck I'll get a few tomatoes before summer is over.

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  14. Zoa,

    You are very welcome! Nice to meet a fellow snail lover! Most people can't relate...and I don't know why, they are so totally cute. Veggie gardening does have it's ups and downs...sometimes I feel like I need a break from it too.

    Michelle,

    I hope you enjoy the award! It is nice to have a community of animal-loving people...I'm so thankful to be a part of it; being able to hang with like-minded people is a little like coming home to family.

    I think you're right about the eggplant flowers...probably not the best thing to eat. But, the strawberry was good in all it's oneness lol :)

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  15. Jessica,

    I hope you enjoy the award...your blog is a recent find for me, and I really enjoy it. I think the awards do serve as a great way to discover new blogs...there are so many out there.

    Herb gardening is a good segue into veggie gardening. And if you're tomatoes are doing well, you're probably somewhat of a natural. I'm hoping to sneak by with a few ripe tomatoes this year too...here's wishing luck to us both!

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  16. I love little lists like that! they make me happy, too. I really like that picture of your harvest as well. It all looks beautiful!

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  17. Bonnie,

    Thanks! I'm still thinking of that cool vegan restaurant in the London routemaster bus...great play on words too! :)

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  18. Our garden has done the same this year. Some things did really well while others just didn't do much at all. That's great that you're still getting a few strawberries! The ones around here have been done for a while now.

    I love that you listed leaving work in your top 10. It is the best! :)

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  19. Vegan Flower,

    Some seasons are just hit n' miss. Good to hear that you've got some success stories in you garden too. I just have a few strawberry plants, but we've had a cool summer and everything is coming into season later and ripening more slowly.

    I think leaving work would be in my absolute top 10 things...I know I'm probably not alone in that :)

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  20. hi, i didnt realize that i got this award too!i had to re-read it. my first award woo-hooo!!!

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  21. Hi, Rose!
    I'm late to the Happy Awards Ceremony - I had a hard time choosing a gown to wear, and my tiara got all tangled in my hair! (Hey, a poem!) :-) Thank you so much for the fun award! I look forward to posting and playing with it as soon as time permits, as well as visiting your other award-winning blogs (I'm familiar with a few of them already, and am honored to be on the same list!)

    I enjoyed your Top 10 Happy List and share most of them (swimming, fellow earthlings, fuzzybutt family members, pasta, Peter... oh, wait, I've never met Peter! But he sounds like such a fun guy, I'm sure I'd put him on my own list if I knew him!) :-)

    I can't wait for the day you leave work for good too - at least your current job - and get to spend your days doing what you truly enjoy and sharing your many gifts with the world. (I loved the Jet Blue emergency chute references - I think grabbing the beer first was the real coup de grace! LOL)

    I'm sorry your garden wasn't a complete success, but am glad you've been enjoying at least a partial bounty - it's certainly beautiful! Don't you love that array of rich colors?

    Thank you again, so very much, for the lovely blog award (my first!) and generous words about my blog! You know how much I love my visits here! :-) xoxo

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  22. Thank you so much for the award!!! I'm already thinking about what is going on my top ten list...I'll post it sometime in the next few days. Seriously, thank you again, that was so nice of you. And I LOVED your Scooby comment on my blog - cracked me up!

    I enjoyed reading your list. And I'm shy, too. But it's funny that you said you were somewhat volatile in character. I would say that, too! I absolutely freak out when I find a snail - they are so amazing. It's like they're little aliens; it's unreal.

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  23. Michelle,

    HaHa...you did get the award, and well deserved too! Have fun and do with it what you will.

    Laloofah,

    Love that poem! You are very welcome and it is very gracious and civil of you wear a gown.

    You mean Peter is not on your list? lol ...I think you two would get along great...he's got a wonderful sense of humor too.

    Thanks for all the lively, creative, and fun comments...here, there, and everywhere...blogging wouldn't be nearly as much fun w/o you around!

    Jenny,

    You are very welcome...I really enjoy your blog...you and your family really exude the fun and happiness that you guys have together...it's very refreshing. Also, that Scooby post was fantastic! Loved it!

    Glad to hear I can add yet another snail appreciator to my list! Enjoy the award and have fun.

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  24. Thank you so much, Rose :) You'll have to let me know how it turns out.

    Gosh what a bounty you have there. I'd love to get my hands on some of those veggies.

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  25. Jenn,

    I'll definitely let you know...sounds like you'll be harvesting your own bounty soon in your new place!

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  26. What a wonderful harvest you have. I miss my veggie garden since moving into an apartment and have to be happy with potted herbs, strawberries, lettuces etc on my windowsill.

    Great Happy 101 list :)

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  27. A great post! Your veg haul is impressive. And you've made me think about my happy list -
    I'm with you on the swimming - I live too far from the sea, but have taken to swimming in a local outdoor pool which is wonderful early on a summer morning!

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  28. Jackie,

    Sound like you get a pretty nice harvest of stuff from your windowsill! I think I would miss having the space of an outdoor garden in an apartment, but so many things, as you say, do well in containers provided you have a sunny space for them. Thanks for stopping by my blog...I'll be visiting yours soon.

    offmotorway,

    Thanks, it's not a ton of stuff...but then again it does for two people. Swimming in an outdoor pool does sound lovely. Swimming is such a great way to start the day! :)

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  29. Rose, I loved your reply to my comment (and would love to meet Peter, I'm sure I'd enjoy his company if he is anything like you!) And thank you for your very sweet, very generous compliment about my silly contributions to the blogosphere! :-) Glad you liked my gown, by the way. LOL

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  30. Oh man, Lalo...you are blog comment queen...it's a difficult medium (well for someone of our generation I think it is) but you are so good at capturing the details and adding your very fun and witty comments.

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