Autumn in the air and Back Blogs

Like most of us these days, I've been bogged down in the mundane, and my mind is swimming with blog topics, but I dont' seem to get there. So, finally, since I'm blocked out of one site I need, I'll blog for awhile.

Fall is in the air, and so is hay fever, big time for me. But, it is cool, and brisk, and the house is not hot and stuffy. The flowers glow with their last color, but the mums are just starting out. I had a gift of a wonderful yellow cucumber that was tender and fresh with great seeds. I put it in a Greek peasant salad with homegrown tomatoes, feta, oregano, sale, peppr, and olive oil mixed with canola oil. This was a givt fit for the gods of Olympus. I scoooped out the other half, and again, also used a homegrown tomato, and made stuffed vegetables. I used bay shrimp, thawed, about 1/c bread crumbs, about one tsp. butter, oregano, rosemary, 1/2 c Mexican shredded cheese blend, salt, pepper to taste. I bound it togehter with one egg and stirred very well. I stuffed the vegetables, and put them on a greased Corning well baking dish, about 9 x 9. I baked them for 45 mins at 450 degrees, and they were excellent.

I planted the cucumber seeds in peat pots; will see what happens.

Sauces and other trivia: We had a lot of tomatoes this year, but the late planted kohlrabi and my early pumpkins fell far from their first promise. Basil is fantastic, and dried mint is very good. I choppsed up the extras, about 4, and used a small bag of grape tomatoes, as well. I added a 12 ox can of tomato sauce, olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, dried mint, fresh basil, and cilantro, and let it all simmer on low about an hour. It made a great sauce for pizza, pasta, and cooking as is. I used it with pene and homemade spiral pasta, and then froze the rest.

I finally go an orchid, too. It is an 8 in phalanapsus, forgive my spelling, and sits on the kitchen window sill. So far, it is doing well and I am very thrilled. I like to think of it there waiting for me, and it is one of my ways of getting through days that are more and more hectic.

I have been gathering flowers from my flower beds, trying to weed, cut down dried stalks, and taking the good flowers to work, or to my mom's grave. I mix holly stalks, my favorites, with lilies, marigolds echinachea daisies, red petunias and geraniums, a few day lilies here and there. I love to mix ferns with them, and even hosta flowers. I get compliments when I put them in front of one of my oil paintings that sits in my office. It's little things that help a person get through the day.

The blog is now on Facebook, and Twitter. Anyone who reads, please feel free to comment. Welcome, and a peaceful autumn to all.