It's all relative.........

Son Gary and his wife, Teresa are in town for a few days and I forgot to take pictures (I know - bad, bad!!) last night when they were here with granddaughter Nikki and Teresa's son, but I remembered tonight when Gary came out.

Shannon, Dean and Gary enjoying the cool-er evening breeze out on the deck.



We've been trying to stay cool and, for the most part, succeeding. Been doing outside work in the morning before it is too warm. Painted siding yesterday for the greenhouse and for the "guest house" formerly known as the shed. Hard to get motivated when it's warm like it has been. Unusual - even for over here! Laundry hung on the line is dry in minutes. Garden is growing, but needs a LOT of water.

As I sit here at my computer, I am noticing the photo of the Tibetan prayer flags above my screen and my 2 sets of prayer flags hanging above me - and I wonder if we'll see peace in my lifetime. I hope so, but when in recent memory has there been a period without war somewhere? I did my service and sermon on prayer Sunday and although many of us engage some kind of prayer in our daily life, it is ultimately we ourselves who provide the answers. We are given the "tools" to achieve our hopes and dreams - how many of us actually use our "tools" in the ways that are best?

From the Garden

If you know me at all, you know that I love to cook. And using things from the garden is just an extra special treat. The first thing ready from the garden this season is the swiss chard and last year I tried this recipe which was a hit.

Baked Pork Chops with Swiss Chard
1 lb Swiss chard, cut crosswise in 1” pcs 3 T olive oil
1/2 t salt pepper
4 pork chops, ~ 1” thick 1 1/2 T grtd Parmesan
2 oz grated fontina or mozzarella, about 1/2 c
Heat 450°. Oil 8-by-12 dish. In bowl, toss chard w 1 T oil, 1/4 t salt, 1/4 t pepper. Arrange in dish. Rub chops w 1 T oil, 1/4 t salt, 1/8 t pepper. Put on top of chard. Drizzle 1 T oil over chard, around chops. Sprinkle cheeses over chard, around chops. Bake til chops just done, ~ 18 min. Let stand 5 min before serving. Serves 4

It was wonderful again, so I thought I would share. Use as much of the chard as you want to - it cooks up a lot. I turned my chops about three quarters of the way through the cooking because my chops - from Costco - were really thick. They were moist and tasty and the chard was delicious.

The zucchini is coming on, the strawberries, too, but hope I can get to them before the mysterious "critter". The corn is about waist high, the bush beans and tomatoes are flowering. Let the bounty begin!

The exciting happening of the week occurred on Friday when former blogger friend Lori and her partner Shari dropped by.

I say "former blogger friend" because now that we've actually met - face to face - I feel I can call her "friend" now. What a joy it was to chat with them for a while. They are on a road trip through Oregon - came from Sacramento to Bend the first day, then up to Bonneville Hot Springs to spend Friday night in luxury! Wow - am I jealous! Then, they're heading over to Astoria and down the coast. I sure hope that they are able to spend a night at my favorite beach spot - the Sylvia Beach Hotel in Newport.


I just had to put this photo in

We've been plagued with flies this year in the garage and some of them make it into the house when a door is left open :>) Dean's solution was to suck them up in the vacuum. Pretty funny to see - use your imagination!

Shannon and Dean have been working on the "guest house" formerly known as a shed. I think that Shannon will be able to move into it tomorrow!