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Evidently we are either not inspired these days, or nothing much is going on.  A little of both, I think.  We’re in autopilot for the most part, doing what we typically do, so it doesn’t seem noteworthy.  When writer’s block hits, it’s time to return to our favorite topics.  In our case, it’s the yard and food.

We closed the book on the backyard and garden last weekend.  I clipped the dead parts of the oregano, bee balm and black-eyed Susans.  I pulled up the out-of-control arugula, wilted tomato and shriveled pepper plants from the garden and put away the tomato cages and swirly support posts (big win for Beej this year, great purchase!).  I pulled a few weeds while I was at it, noting that the types I pulled early (pigweed!) seemed to get the message to stay away, while a few new ones (unidentified, some kind of short green clump with web-like roots) became a late season intruder.  I tried to pick up as many cherry tomatoes as possible, knowing that they like to reseed themselves, and would love to take over the entire small plot of garden next year.  I found a few peas that tried to come up during the 2nd planting, but didn’t have enough cool sunny days to make it very far (but the experiment worked!  Dried peas from July did germinate in September!  Next time, save the pods and sow in March).  I was really pleased with the garden this year and a bit sad to see it return to bare earth, with the noted exception of the Swiss Chard.  GOOOO CHARD!!  After 2 frosts it’s still growing strong.  We may have fresh chard into January, if Barbara Kingsolver is correct.  That means another few months of power juice (apple, lemon, chard and ginger) and bitter greens with garlic.  Yum!

As for the rest of the yard, I raked swiftly enough to form a blister and have it pop before I could even get my work gloves on.  My annual thumb-badge of yardwork progress is still a bit sore, but could have been much worse given the five bags of leaves I raked and put away.  The best grass is growing where the holly busy used to reside, and we’re also getting some grass sprouts under the maple tree.  It’s hard to believe what the yard looked like last year, given how nice and neat it looks today.  hooray!

On the food front, Brian has continued his exploration of the soft cheeses.  We loved having the Vargus-Korka clan over last weekend. (Beej notes that it looks a little weird for a 35-year-old man to play on the playground by himself, so it’s especially nice when 2 year old AJ came to play with him!)  We enjoyed fresh sour cream in the mashed potatoes, and had Fromage Blanc in reserve for late afternoon snack if needed.  I’m completely hooked on homemade yogurt, and may never go back to store-bought.  A little tupperware with frozen organic berries keeps the yogurt cold until noon, and it’s quite nice to have a naturally not-too-sweet snack (with protein and calcium!) in my lunchbox.  Let’s not mention mozzarella at the moment. Ricki may be a great cheesemaker but she’s a terrible recipe writer.  The resident chemical engineer (that’s me) has designs on a private experiment to get to the bottom of this issue.  On a more positive note, we *love* braising.  Thank you Mary!  Pork braised in milk turned into a tasty savory creamy gravy and tender meat-centered meal.  Chicken with prunes and olives might sound odd, but it was fantastic – just the right mix of salty and sweet.  This book can’t go wrong!

Brian has been thoroughly enjoying his WOW fest, well-timed with his birthday.  He had quite the loot pile between cards and checks and giftcards and one wearable gift, as well as a delicious dinner date with yours truly at Aquatini, to celebrate #35.  I may have overheard the 80% utility statistic (hours he’s been playing vs. the hours since the game was released, but we shouldn’t count when the server is down) and he still had time to make bread today!  I expect he’ll continue to explore the new WOW content this week while I’m at the Coast Guard Innovation Expo, and we’ll return to our normal routine next weekend.  It’s actually been a nice change of pace for me to do four loads of laundry today, do the grocery shopping, make dinner, and get tomorrow’s dinner into the crock pot.  I get to appreciate what Beej does on a day-to-day basis, and make sure I haven’t completely lost my self-sufficiency.