Through The Mud Clearly

It is too hot to be cooking in the house today, so I

went outside and fired up the grill. It was the perfect

opportunity to try "fresh from the garden" grilled squash.

I picked one, and while the charcoal was burning off, I took

it inside and washed it.


Then I sliced it and added chopped onion and garlic.

I added a bit of butter and wrapped the whole thing

in foil. MMMM sounds good huh! I placed the packet

on the grill along with a salmon fillet. In less than 15

minutes dinner was done! And it was mighty tasty

if I do say so!



One more thing...you can't see it because I forgot

to take a picture of it....but I also added a fresh picked

tomato to the plate.

There is a serious case of global warming here in my office. The ice in my thermal cup is melting faster than Alaska glaciers! A few WEEKS ago (June 3rd to be exact) I wrote about the air conditioning being out....its still out. Yesterday Gilligan from Facilities Maintenance (its his nickname..he looks like the Skipper's little buddy...his other nickname is Scooby; as in Scooby Doo) I think his real name is Richard, came in. He reported "a new unit is to be installed today"(Thursday). Cheers arose from the Security Officer and myself. Then he said: "however a crew was supposed to be here at 6:30am- they never showed so its not gonna happen today..maybe tomorrow, but probably not until next week". Our cheers turned to tears...or maybe it was sweat! I need more ice.

Just wanted to post a better photo of the Sunflowers.

I have made a few changes to my blog. Well, OK I completely revised and updated it. I think this is the one I am going to stick with for a while. I think it is better.

WooHoo!!! Marmalade is feeling better. She is starting to act like her old self...she jumped on my bed in the middle of the night (she hasn't jumped on anything since being injured) so I could pet her. I was happy to do it. This morning she went into the garden..( the other thing she hasn't done)..and tried to catch a big black bee. She is still limping but is on the mend. Yippee!!

Sigh..sigh..big sigh. This morning somehow I stepped on my cat. It all happened so quickly that I don't even know where I stepped on her! She seemed OK..sort limping around a bit, but OK. I apologized profusely but she kept her distance. I, feeling like a very bad pet owner, went to work. When I got home she was barely walking. Feeling like a horrible pet owner; I scooped her up and went to the nearest animal hospital fearing her leg was broken or her hip was dislocated. I told the Dr what happened. She told me not to worry, that everyone steps on their pet at least once. Then, after a careful and thorough examination it was determined there was nothing broken or out of place. She had only sustained some "soft tissue damage". The Vet gave me a mild pain reliever...she called it a "kitty narcotic". I get to squirt it in Marmalade's mouth twice a day for 3 days. She should recover in about a week. I hope she doesn't become addicted to it...I don't want to have to start taking her to Cat-anon meetings!

Yesterday I picked 4 squash from my garden. I gave 2 to Jayne and 2 to Linda. It was really funny because they both said they were going to cook them the same way...on the grill, wrapped in foil with garlic and onion. MMMM sounds good to me. I can hardly wait for more to ripen so I can try it that way too. I also picked 2 tomatoes and will have them with dinner tonight! Oh, and I also have a few cantaloupe (5) on the vine. They are a little shy right now but when they get bigger I will post their pictures!

OK Kathy aka Fieldlilyx, Field Notes, mother of The Traveling Schoolhouse and another up and coming aspiring blogger, and wife of The Bumbling Genius; I can take a hint. What do you think of my new template? Be nice. Any and all comments welcomed :)

This morning Marmalade and I were hanging out in the backyard. Well, actually we were admiring our garden. I was wearing a yellow blouse. Apparently this is an excellent color for attracting hummingbirds. Five of them came fluttering close by. This, of course, sent my cat into a meow and twitch crazily mode! That didn't last long however because the little birds quickly discovered I wasn't a giant, sweet smelling daffodil and darted away. Marmalade calmed down and wandered into the garden to take a nap while I enjoyed a cup of coffee. It was a great morning!

The other night I was laying on the couch enjoying my pre-bedtime nap. Quite suddenly I was awakened by a very loud meow. It was Marmalade (my cat). Those of you that know her can attest to the fact that she is very vocal, but this was beyond vocal! Again, she let out a shrill, ear piercing meow. She was staring at the ceiling. I could see there was a large dark object up there. I thought it was a moth. Turning up the light for a better look; I could see it was not a moth. It was an enormous, gigantic, humongous sewer roach! GROSS...I intensely dislike these creatures. I killed it. As a reward I let Marmalade play with the dead carcass for a few minutes before I scooped it up and flushed it to its final resting place. Marmalade truly is "The Great Furry Hunter!

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting (yes sitting) in my garden pulling weeds. I made a slight move to the left but my knee refused to come with me. I felt a sudden pain in my knee and when I stood up I could barely walk because it wouldn't unbend all the way. I managed to get to a Walgreen's and pick up a pair of crutches then went home and looked up "knee pain" on the information super highway aka the Internet. I decided I had twisted my knee and sat around with an ice pack for a while. It began to feel better after a couple of days so I graduated to one crutch then no crutch. Then, I tried to move something with my leg and the pain was back. I then did what I should have done in the first place and called the doctor. After messing with my knee for a little while, it was determined that I had sprained the knee. I was given a RX for giant sized Ibuprofen pills, advised to continue ice therapy and wear a brace Then the doctor said: "it will take a long time to heal because YOU ARE OLDER and as you age your body doesn't recuperate as quickly as when you WERE young". If I would have had the crutches I would have hit him....instead I just gave him the evil eye! I wonder if I am eligible for the senior discount?!

....there was this plot of dirt. Actually it was a plot of grass first. Some crazy person chose to dig up the grass and planted seeds in the dirt. Those seeds began to grow; and insane, deranged birds decided to feast on the little plants. For their own protection; the crazy person put the little plants in cages. The birds were not happy.

Finally, the day came went the little plants could no longer be contained. They were set free to grow and prosper.

They continue to grow, prosper and bear fruit. Amazingly, the birds have kept their distance!

The garden continues to grow. The crazy person has decided the garden is too small and plans to expand soon.

Look at all the space the crazy person could make into a larger garden.

The crazy person only wants to enlarge to garden another 5 feet. That would make it approximately 10 x 15. Click on the pictures for a better view. Somewhere in the garden a cat is resting.

Here it is....the long awaited photo of the first fruit...or should I say...first vegetable from my garden!!! I think I will send the picture to the Veggie Tales people. They may want to add this little squash to their cast of characters. Its small. But its cute and only cost about $300.00 to grow....just kidding. I threw that comment in there just for The Bumbling Genius! Oh; don't worry....the other squash are much bigger!!

Its Friday at the office....no wait...I mean FRY day! I think I will go work in my car. TGIF!!!!

....also known as my office and the lobby area. Those are the only two places where the A/C is not working. This morning; maintenance brought in a gigantic portable air conditioner that looks like it has been around since air conditioning was invented...probably in storage somewhere. They hooked it up in the lobby. It doesn't work great but its better than nothing. They couldn't put one in my office for some reason, but I now have two fans which is helping alot!!! It is only a half a gazillion degrees in here now. Not too bad.

Houston we have a problem! It was a gazillion degrees in my office this morning. Now it is 2 gazillion. I am beginning to think I have joined Shadrack, Meshack and that other guy in the fiery furnace! But hey...they didn't get burned so neither will I. The powers that be "are looking in to the situation".