The journey continues...

Brian Bilbrey August 26, 2018

26 August 2018

Well. By this time next week, we'll be two thirds of the way through the year. Whew! While it's been a relatively cool summer for us, there have been plenty of storms with lots of flash and bang. Not really Lexi's favorite. Last weekend, she came down to the basement and barked at me until I let her sit in my lap while the storm boomed outside and the coffee was roasting inside: Speaking of Lexi, she's got a couple of growths on her gums. We spotted one of them while prying her mouth open to put in a few…

Brian Bilbrey August 19, 2018

19 August 2018

I spent a couple of days in Columbus, Ohio, and all I got was this crummy head cold. Yay? It was a really successful trip, though. But the cold means I didn't get jack done this weekend. By the time next weekend rolls around, the weeds that overtook the lawn will be sentient. I did get some shopping done, and the coffee roasting. But that's about it. Most of the rest was watching DVR'd food network shows from a prone position, and blasting my way through facial tissues like there's no tomorrow. The real question is: Can I hold out…

Brian Bilbrey August 15, 2018

15 August 2018

Busy times - I managed a fair bit of yardwork this last weekend, and we wrapped with Sunday at the Annapolis Shakespeare Company's August Cabaret Night, featuring Christine Asero. What a talented, lovely lady. From show tunes to her own country songs, she put on a hell of a show. Marcia got herself a pasta accessory for our Kitchen Aid stand mixer. She put it to good use yesterday: Marcia made the fettuccine pasta, we got the sauce out of a jar, adding sauteed chicken. A tomato from the garden, shared, and a serrano chili for me. Yum! Note to…

Brian Bilbrey August 5, 2018

5 August 2018

Cleaning yesterday; shopping, mowing, and roasting coffee today. So that's a productive weekend. On the way to shopping, I stopped at the local family-owned nursery we use for plants, etc. I needed some fresh tomatoes to supplement what little is coming out of the large tomato end of my garden. With those, a lime, some garlic, a couple of small yellow onions, and a handful of mixed peppers from the garden, I made a small artisanal batch of salsa - no more than four or five cups worth. Yup, we finished that all, with chips, as a mid-afternoon snack. Part…

Brian Bilbrey August 1, 2018

1 August 2018

We still have a few of the Tiger Lily blooms extant in the front yard beds, which is unusual. They're often utterly gone by the third week in June. I'll put it down to a generally cooler summer here (so far), and a couple of weeks of rain. All flowers generally get along with more water and less heat. Note that I was watering them weekly during the 4 weeks of little-to-no rain from late June through late July. Here they are from a couple of weeks ago: Tiger Lilies in bloom