Friday slump.

It has been an up-and-down week over here at Grandipants.com, as you can clearly tell by this week's posts.  It's the cold, it's work, it's everything.

But! Boyfriend had a killer first birthday celebration last night complete with Honey Butter Fried Chicken (get in mah belly) and Magnolia Cupcakes (always this. Always). So things are going to be okay.

Also, this guy has really been getting me through the week.

I hate to say it, but I straight stole him from the internet. I sent him to a co-worker who was leaving and then made him my desktop (then I over-ed him for the blog). He is the best.

Guys, what should I name him?

 

Something to ponder this weekend...

Thoughts from Hazel

Mom. It's Sunday. It's beautiful outside. You have not snuggled me all weekend. And there is chocolate cake in the fridge. Chocolate cake. 

I will sit on all your notes and give you salty looks if that is what it takes for you to get off your laptop. I'm a jerk who wants the best for you. 

With silver bells & habanero peppers, part 4

I was expecting September's post about the garden to be hard truths about plant death.

Turns out Planet Earth is on fire, so while in the long run we are all going to die, right now everything is blooming and thriving.

I have my first bell pepper of the season! I'm not sure what took this little guy so long but I am so excited to eat this! 

Also? It is strawberry.season in Uptown. 

All summer I have been getting strawberries one at a time, but now I'm going to have like 6! Victory! 

More peppers!

And now for a lesson in gardening from an idiot:

Sometimes you have to help a plant out, and sometimes you just have to leave it alone. 

This guy has been out of control since day one. It has always been my assumption that plants grow up, not out like a drunk octapus.

As you can see, I tried to reign it in with kabob sticks and twisty ties. But after the tragic midsummer death of the Lobelia, I just quit and left it to do its thing. Which was this.

I'm not sure how it hasn't tipped over its (notverysturdy) plant holder yet. But it has been blooming like crazy for weeks so I'm just letting it be crazy and enjoying a few extra weeks of pretty things greeting me on my way home.

This guy (who needs a better picture) was pretty much dead, which was such a bummer. But after I staked it up (I knew 1,000 kabob sticks would be a sound investment) it got a second wind and started blooming again. Which is exciting, especially because I managed to kill half the orange guy behind it when I got a little too excited weeding. 

Also, I went ahead and harvested about a pound of basil.

I followed the foodspin recipe. And no joke, toasted pine nuts are a must. Be a classy grow up who smells like garlic and toast your pine nuts. 

At this point, since I know nothing about what I am doing, every extra day with plants is a treat. And guys, if you aren't pickling your peppers, you're making a terrible mistake. Peter piper was right on the money.

Want to read the entire journey of my city garden from the beginning? Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 are right here! I edited all these photos with Over, which was a good choice.

with silver bells & habanero peppers, part 3

This garden post is late, mostly because I was hoping for a miraculous rebirth from some of my plants. I am finally ready to admit that this garden experiment was not the 100% success rate that I was hoping for. But! I am happy that I have taken pictures to remind me that I did make some yummy things. Including 2/3rds of a killer caprese salad.

Sadly, at some point after that picture, my tomato plants threw in the towel. I am not sure what happened - but they now look all brown and gross. There are a few buds still hanging on and every now and then I get a tomato to stick in my lunchtime salad, but for mysterious reasons, the bountiful, tomatoful August I was hoping for, will not be. 

Also, this lobelia is so dead. It's deader than Jnco jeans. I tried some plant CPR over the weekend but she's a goner. I'm mad at her too. Stupid plant. 

The other front deck flowers seem to be doing okay. I haven't had a dahlia bloom in awhile, but there is some new bright-green growth that is getting me pumped for one more bloom or two.

My lavender summer daisy had all the blossoms for a hot second which was great until I forgot to take a picture. And two of my KKP plants continue to bloom sporadically and make me smile so.big every time. When I die, I want everyone to plant lovely things to remind them of me.

My cuke plant was a total bust. Lesson learned. Thanks for this weirdo, cuke plant.

I'm giving him another day or two to grow then I am throwing him in pickle juice. 

Speaking of pickle juice! My habanero and banana peppers have done amazingly well! I cut 'em all up and threw them in these jars with this recipe for juice (or an approximation of it that didn't require a trip to the grocery store). Today I bit into one and I am so happy! They taste great and will taste even better when I put them on a pizza with pineapple and sausage. Get out of my dreams and into my belly.

Since I'm realistic about just how many more peppers I am going to get this summer, I went the fridge pickling route, using old (clean) jars and I am super happy with the result. Plus I made old things useful again.

But just a warning: you will get habanero pepper juice on your face and you will die.

My bell peppers have been MIA all summer and the strawberries haven't been around for about a month. I keep seeing buds on both plants though, so I'm remaining optimistic.

I know I probably only have a few more weeks of this experiment since everyone keeps saying its going to be an "early fall," (uh, okay, Farmer Brown, if you say so). But maybe we'll get a final victory lap with some of these guys.

Maybe? Right? Maybe? Probably?

That's the thing about this gardening crap. You have to stay so goddamned positive about it. You're taking your Horseshoe Casino money and turning it into a big gamble over life and death. 

Unless you go with basil. It's always a sure bet. I edited all these photos with Over, which was a good idea.