Checking in

Not much to say...

It's been warm and lovely in Seattle, with more expected in the coming days. I've worked in the garden, sat on my chaise lounge to read summer-fluff books, and cooked.

A;though it's a bit early in the year, I trimmed the dead raspberry canes in order to more easily stake up the new growth. The chester berry canes are full of fruit, but it will take more warm weather to ripen. I've had several dozen yellow cherry tomatoes from my potted plants. Thee are three of "Early Girl" tomatoes but I think I should give up on them in the future. We just don't get enough heat early in the summer. Cherry tomatoes do the best. The basil took nicely and we've eaten many tomato, basil and mozzarella salads with tomatoes from the farmers' market when I don't have enough. The snow peas have been great producers, as usual. I transplanted French sorrel from a pot back into a raised bed with a tomato cage around it to give the sorrel something to grow against. And I've had MANY fuschias bloom in every location where I planted them, from in the new part-shade garden to pots. I even got last year's fuschias to re-bloom!

I wish the books were worth talking about. Instead I'll tell the story of the chaise. When we rented a house, our landlords lived next door. In 2002, the summer my leg broke, they graciously loaned me the chaise so I could sit outside. It's made of steel and has a long pad, a back pad and is very comfortable. Every summer our landlords let us use the chaise, and when we moved to the current house, they made the loan permanent. This year I had a local cleaner try to scrub years of use off the cushions, and now they sparkle in the sun. The chaise is a great place to sit and read on a summer day, with a cold drink at hand.

The cooking has been exciting. I made Julia Child's recipe for ratatouille, a fresh corn casserole, a Portuguese tuna mousse, and individual peach filo triangles with vanilla ice cream. The eggplant, zucchini, onions, peppers, corn and peaches all came from our local farmers' market. My garden supplied more of those yellow cherry tomatoes, basil and snow peas. If I say so myself, it was a delicious dinner.

I look forward to more of the same this week, so don't be surprised if I don't blog as frequently.