The Garden, Technology, Book Recommendation, Zucchini Report

THE GARDEN

At this point, the GARLIC is the most prolific crop.  The large heads are from my planned & intentionally planted bed.  The small heads are all volunteers.  Every year I think... no I mean I hope I have managed to cull all that stuff, and every year I find that well, I guess I missed a bunch.

What will I do with all that garlic?

• I'll save a few of the large heads as seed stock and replant it in the fall.  
• Some will be used for PESTO which will go in the freezer in 1/4 cup portions.  
• Some will stay as dried garlic to be used as needed.  
• The balance will get chopped up in one of the kitchen whizzers along with olive oil.  That will go into jars in the freezer and be used when we need chopped garlic for anything (stir fry, pasta sauce, salad dressing, etc).  You need to plan a little bit ahead of time and remove the container about an hour early so it softens up enough to dig out what you need, then put it back in the freezer.  Alternatively you can use an ice tray and freeze small portions, then pop the cubes out and toss them in a container.

TECHNOLOGY

Pretty much everyone I know has a tablet of some sort, whether it's an I-Pad or an Android device.  Me, I'm an Android girl.  My nephew 1-800-LUKE 💓 got me on Android many years ago and I'm loath to change.
Anyhow... everyone also has a cover for their tablet so they can prop it up, which facilitates ignoring their dinner companion(s) as they either peruse Facebook, read a riveting book during mealtime, or ruin their meal by reading the news.

My cool little cover includes a removable keyboard.

It sticks to the flippy cover-thing with magnets, which are embedded in the cover-thingy, and in the back of the keyboard.

Sadly, though, my keyboard magnets, which sit inside a little divot, are no longer glued.  They float around underneath the backing.  This is VERY irritating because the keyboard does not stick very well, AND since they've escaped from their divots the added bulk prevents the flap closure from securely closing the cover.

I had a little discussion with DH about my dilemma.  I know the guy has many many versions of glue, so I managed to convince him to find a bottle of Gorilla Glue in his cluttered workroom/garage.  My project today will be to slice open the backing, affix those magnets in their respective divots with the glue, then close up the backing and glue the slits closed.  (note to self:  make those slices where you can glue them closed without impeding the magnets!)

Speaking of books, I just finished a trilogy.  If you like distopian novels, and/or stories about pandemics, this was really good, by Megan Crewe. LINK  I don't think anything will ever top Margaret Atwood's MADDADDAM trilogy, but it was good nevertheless.

ZUCCHINI REPORT

No, the situation has not improved.
Picked this week:  4
Picked YTD:  11

Souffle & Recipe, & Zucchini Report

I feel like I finally earned my "adult" wings.  I MADE A SOUFFLE. And it was delicious!
This is from the LCBO Food & Drink magazine.  For those of you not in Ontario, that's the Provincial liquor store.

I have to thank Susan from our vet clinic - she posted this on Facebook several weeks ago, after SHE made one.  I probably need more practice with folding the egg whites in, but all in all I was very happy with it.  I cut the recipe in half, just in case it was destined for the trash.  DH and I ate it all, with a salad.  Definitely making this again. Yum.
Here ya go with a link....
CORN, CHEDDAR & CHIVE SOUFFLE

ZUCCHINI REPORT
Oh, sad.  So sad.  DH even brought more home for me after visiting with a friend.

Picked this week:  3
Total YTD:           7

Summer Blue Quilts, Beach Day, & Zucchini Report

Blue & White quilts are the perfect choice for summer.

This was quilted with "Tracery" pantograph.

Blue & Cream for a little softer effect.

Quilted with "Chocolate Leaves" pantograph.

BEACH DAY
This is the annual get-away celebrated by the Beach Girls (my longarm pack) for two nights to Diane's house.  If you've ever been on any of her bus trips - Diane's Destinations - you know that she is a super organizer who likes to keep her girls entertained.  This year she took us on a shopping adventure to Exeter, St. Mary's, and Coldstream.  I think we all bought stuff we probably don't need, but what the hell. You only live once.
We had our dinner that night at Eddington's of Exeter, and I had a chance to visit for a few minutes with James - the chef who cooked/taught on the trip to France last fall.
Our evening entertainment was spent with Ashes Alley  having a paint pour night.  Paint is not what I'm usually pouring (ahem! 😋).
Here is how it went, in pictures...

1.  Cover everything, including yourself, in plastic, before you start with the paint.

2. Fill a cup with paint.

3. Hold an inverted canvas over the cup.

4. Flip them both.  Warning... don't drop it.  Notice this is being done over a garbage-bag-lined box?

5.  Gently remove the cup.

6. Tip the canvas so the paint can slip-slide over the surface.

7. Watch in awe as the surface transforms.

8.  This is mine shortly after my pour.

9. Here it is the next morning.  It was transitioning during the night, with bubbles of colour coming to the top.

These take two days to dry so Diane is hanging on to them until we get together again at the end of the month.

ZUCCHINI REPORT

Alas, I have not yet regained my Zucchini Crown 👑.  That darned Nancy on Manitoulin Island is still ahead of me.  Grrr....  All season I've been flipping leaves over, checking the underside for egg masses of squash bugs.  These are copper-coloured bunches of dots. The dots are about the size of poppy seeds.  I tear a hole in the leaf, removing the section with egg masses, so I was shocked yesterday to discover a whole flock of little squash bugs.  Bastards.  I managed to murder many of them... squashing them - is that poetic justice?

Picked this week: 3
Picked YTD: 4