The Dark Side

i made a switch from apple to Dell. mostly for financial reasons but i've been pretty ok with it so far:) windows 7 made the transition smooth...also, it's pretty and that helps:)

Salsa Makin', Enchilada Eatin'

the other week i had an overabundance of tomatoes. not from my own garden so much but from the gardens of friends and family who were generous enough to share. i decided to try making some fresh homemade salsa. while none of my salsa really turned out that great, i used a recipe for roasted tomato salsa, accidentally pureed it, so i decided to use it as an enchilada sauce after tripp suggested it. it's was really delicious!

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/roasted-tomato-salsa-i/Detail.aspx

The Cone of Shame

Digby was spayed earlier in the week and so i've been keeping my eyes on her whenever i'm home so she doesn't have to wear the lampshade. i remember when i was little mom would rent a movie and get popsicles for me if i was really sick. it made me feel relaxed and like there was at least something fun to do even though i felt yucky. i was trying to imagine what the dog equivalent would be and all i came up with was a new toy and treats. hopefully they sufficed:)

I Heart Sylvia!

earlier in the summer we were helping some friends try to find homes for their animals. they were living in a not so good situation at the time and in order to get out of the miserable conditions they needed to take this step. the animals had suffered because of the conditions and it was a heart wrenching couple of months searching for homes. craigslist and posting photos on our facebook turned out to be the most successful ways of getting the word out. we found homes for all of the animals (there were 9 altogether) and she has been able to keep one of her dogs at the house they are now renting.

the happiest story is the one about bear. bear is a collie and a gorgeous dog. when we met him he was covered in fleas so much so that he had a bald spot from the irritation. he was full of mats and a little stir crazy from being pinned up inside (this is obviously the not to happy back story:)). after we posted bear on craigslist we got an email from Sylvia (owner of Sylvia's Pets). she's a member of a collie rescue and wanted to take in bear. she lives in a beautiful farm house on a ton of land where she has an agility training area, several fenced in open spaces and... sheep! what environment could be better for a collie who's instincts are for hearding! she took bear in and even gave us flea and worm medicine to treat him with before hand. meeting her was wonderful and she was very kind, gentle and patient with bear and his previous family. sylvia has been emailing me and letting me know about bears progress. i think he knew immediately that he was in a loving situation and quickly warmed up to everyone there on the farm- humans and dogs alike:) he's made a great transition and is on his was to a new home in virginia beach! the resque even does home visits to check and see if the family seems like a good match! here's a picture of bear after Sylvia gave him his makeover...
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Bug Off!

Tomato Hornworm, you're not welcome in my garden.

this morning as i was watering and inspecting my garden if found this frighteningly disguising caterpillar on one of my burpee beefsteak tomato plants(so the caterpillar has good tastes...). maybe he doesn't look so frightening in the picture, but that's b/c you can't see the fear inducing horn on it's backside! eek! i knew he was trouble as soon as i saw him b/c my friend linz had trouble with these same caterpillars earlier in the season and they tore apart her tomato plants. these things are beasts! they feast in the plant before you even realize they're there. here's the conversation i had with linz about them...


linz: Yes - that's what I had! It's a tomato (formerly, tobacco) hornworm. It has what is called a "red anal horn". Ewww! :) Smash them b/c they can do quite a bit of damage in just a day. That looks like a pretty small one, though. Mine were big and fat like the caterpillar on Alice and Wonderland.

me: ugh, this one was big to me, i can't imagine bigger ones. puke! i totally understand now! they're gross. i had found several of the cocoon type things in my garden while planting and always smooshed them and felt bad b/c i didn't know what they were but someone had recommended smooshing them... now i now why!

our friend renee: I just have to say, I appreciate the delicate way you guys used these interesting words.

check out this site if you want to learn more about these despicable buggers.

Peach Recipes...

we had our parents over for supper the other night and mom brought this beautiful trifle with fresh strawberries! mmm they were just right. she marbled a little bit of homemade strawberry jam on the top. i wish i could share a bit with you through the computer!i bought some peaches and blackberries at the farmers market on saturday. i was thinking about making a jam or butter but i'm to partial to fresh fruit to use it all up on such a project:) i've been searching for different recipes for peaches and here are a few promising ones that i might try out...

peach lavender pie: http://herbsspices.about.com/od/cakes/r/PeachLavender.htm

peach pie smoothie: http://americanfood.about.com/od/desserts/r/peach-pie-smth.htm

peach salsa: http://southernfood.about.com/od/peaches/r/bl50920b.htm

peach butter (like apple butter): http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/fruits/r/peachbutter.htm

LET ME KNOW if you have any peach recipes! i'd love to try them out.

make a wish...

Tripp's Mom's Birthday was around the end of July and she had to work that day. so we took her lunch. i had a bunch of flowers at the time and made my first little bouquet!


the peppermint stick zinnias are my favorite!