Things I Missed in Brasil

While in Brasil, there were a couple of things I missed a lot. 

Peanuts.  Yep, the lowly peanut was one thing I craved after a couple of months.  One day I walked into Beira Mar and was tempted by an imported 4 ounce jar of peanut butter.  The price?  Almost $R 20,00.  That would be a little more than $10 US, and I refused to buy it on principle.  Now that I'm back home, I'm enjoying me some peanuts.

Another thing I missed when I was living in urban Niteroi was gardening.  Oh, I saw plenty of wonderful plants and flowers, for sure.  There are beautiful city gardens in front of every high-rise apartment in the neighborhood, filled with all the special tropical plants that we see in the supermarket floral section.  (You know, the ones with names you can't pronounce that you bring home and kill off within a month?)  It was great to see all that Brasilian flora, but I was ready to get down and sweat with dirt in my Crocs and a tan line from my gloves.  That's what I did when I got back to Texas in May.

Since I wasn't home to work the beds when the weather warmed up in February and March, there was a lot to do.  Only a few things were blooming in the back yard.

Vitex or Chaste Tree looked happy.

Native grasses survived Texas' mild winter.

Vitex in full bloom greeted me when I arrived home.

After all the weeks in Brasil with Little Man, my arms were pretty empty, and I had plenty of time on my hands.  My dream for a Kitchen Garden needed to take shape, so for inspiration, I made a beeline to one of my favorite spots in the universe--The Antique Rose Emporium in Independence, Texas.

The Kitchen Garden at The Antique Rose Emporium
Independence, Texas

At the ARE, I took pictures of the geometry of their garden
and breathed in the fragrance of thymes, rosemary, fennel
and some other plants that I didn't know.

Back home, I recruited Steve Jr. to help get the beds ready for summer.  Luey volunteered to help, and together they turned the soil, added cow manure, and mulched everything that didn't move.  That's 70 bags of mulch, y'all!  With blisters and sunburns, my two trusty helpers completed their mission.  Couldn't have done it without them, for sure.

Then I started laying out the new Kitchen Garden plan.

Planning over Breakfast--al fresco.

A sketch and plant guide is covered with
Post-Its

Post-It notes helped me stage the steps involved in getting the garden summer-ready.  Again with the OCD!  . . . it comes in handy at times.  Here's what the Kitchen Garden looked like when I finished.

Two (almost) square beds were divided into 5 sections each:
a circle in the middle surrounded by 4 wedges.

Bed A has (clockwise from right):
Sweet Basil, Ornamental Pepper, Lemon Grass, Rosemary

Terra Cotta Chimney Flue Liners fill the circle in the middle.
Geranium, Chocolate Mint, Fennel, and Dill (seeds)
are high enough to keep the bunnies at bay, I hope!
I plan on marigolds around the base of the flues.

The rock border and river rock swale were installed last summer.
This Kitchen Garden is right off the back patio door.

Bed B has (clockwise from right):
Spicy Globe Basil, Purple Ruffle Basil, German Thyme, and Lavender.
Flues have Apple Mint, Geranium, Dill and Chive (seeds).

After I planted, Steve came back with mulch to hold in moisture.
Hopefully everything would have a chance to get established
before the temps sky-rocketed.

Inspiration for borders between sections of this Kitchen Garden came from one broken terra cotta saucer that I didn't have the heart to discard.  I used up all the saucers in my garden stash and purchased a few more to finish the two beds.

Terra cotta saucers divide sections of each bed.
Good dividers make good neighbors of Ornamental Peppers and Basil.

12-14" saucers worked best for straight dividing lines,
while 6" saucers made a curved edge easier.

I marked a midline first in pencil.

Used my Dremmel tool to score the clay,
then knocked the saucer flat against the edge of a brick column.
Most of them broke pretty well into fourths.

Four perfect quarters were not necessary, thank goodness!

Each quarter wedge of saucer was planted point-down in the soil.
Look for Terra Cotta Chimney Flue Liners at a brick yard or masonry supply.

There were a few terra cotta wedges left after both beds were constructed.  What to do . . .?
Grab a Sharpee pen and make plant markers!

A label for each type of plant--
printed with a fat black Sharpee marker.
The marker will fade, so I'll probably use a paint pen at some point.

Each mint got its own name label.
Supposedly, Chocolate Mint was named for its dark stem,
but it definitely smells and tastes like mint chocolate.  Yummm!

I hope the Lavender thrives--
lots of folks say it's tricky to grow.

One Happy Gardener!

BTW--the Kitchen Garden has been in for about a month now.  Everything is taking hold and filling in very nicely.  On Saturday, I harvested enough Sweet Basil to make a wonderful Pesto sauce for Steve's Father's Day pasta.  And I shared bunches of Purple Ruffle Basil with the neighbors.  Even if it just sits in a paper cup full of water on the kitchen counter, it's a treat to see and smell.

Four Months Old!

Hi!  Hola!

It's me--Daniel

& I'm four months old now.

I'm happy to be wearing my "foursie onsie."

My feet are awesome!

I wish I could sit up on my own and crawl everywhere.

Look at that cool bright light.
My Vovo Dora, Tia Flora, Tio Helio, Mommy, and Dad
sang and clapped.

My GiGi and Grand Dad were there to sing too
on Skype from Texas.

My GiGi says it's a shame
that my eyelashes make a shadow on the wall.
She says that's a Bingham genetic thing--whatever that means.

After everyone sang and clapped,
Dad and my GiGi huffed and puffed.

Where did that cool bright light go?!?

My Mommy likes to Skype with GiGi and Grand Dad too.

Tia Flora thinks I'm pretty special.
I like it when she comes to visit.

This feels like love to me.

Father's Day

Delighted to be able to spend time with my Dad on Father's Day again this year!  That's every year for the 62 years of my life, and I think that's pretty amazing.

Everybody loves to get a present.

Dad was delighted with his card,

and had fun opening his gift.

A new large print Word Find will fit nicely
next to the clip board that holds his daily crossword
in the pocket of his recliner.

Steve shows Dad and Alma a new feature on the iPhone.
Both the peeps are on FaceBook and Skype with grandkids in Belgium and Brasil.

Alma had baked a Cherry Pie for Dad's Father's Day gift.  It's his favorite (and mine too!).  Steve and I brought some tiny chocolate cupcakes.  We sat at the kitchen table for a dessert party.  Our first course was warm Cherry Pie with Homemade Vanilla BlueBell Ice Cream.  Lots of melted ice cream left on our plates was some cause for concern with Dad, since you can't let one drop go to waste!  We tried mopping up with the little cupcakes.  Then all of us just got down with our paper plates and slurped up the goods.  And laughed.


Slurp!



Slurp too!

What was left of the Cherry Pie after the four of us were done.

Mini Chocolate Cupcakes and Sunday Coupons

Brother Doug arrived just in time
to celebrate and check on the Astros with Dad.

Doug loaded the gift of a CD's worth of pictures
onto Dad and Alma's computer
while Dad looked on.

Father's Day Smiles

Father's Day #62 with my Dad was a Happy Day indeed.

Bacon Roses

My first foray on Pinterest netted me the wonderful idea to make bacon roses.  Yep!  Bacon Roses.  Couldn't wait to try it out, so it seemed like the right thing to serve for an intimate Mother's Day brunch.

Thick slices of peppered bacon made pretty roses.

Fresh off the plane from Brasil,
I whipped up some fresh juice.
Mango Banana Orange with Mint.

My hand blender made quick work
with just a few splashes.
Gotta' love a power tool!

Cheers!

Fresh Bouquet on a Bed of Spinach

Scrambled Eggs with Rosemary, Thyme, and Parmesan Cheese

Happy Clean-Up Crew

Luey and Steve brought me these interesting cactus
and a great decorative pot.

These are three of the loves
who make me glad to be a mother.

Mother's Day 2012

By The Way--you can find how-to's for Bacon Roses if you Google.  I'll just say that thick-cut bacon needs to cook a little slower and a lot longer than the how-to I used.  But, thanks to my man, I do have a mini muffin pan with holes drilled in the bottom of each cup, ready to cook more of these dee-lish-us treats.