Early October in My Garden

Today I sweet-talked Fernando into helping me dig up the green bean plants in my garden.  He's such a great worker!  Thomas had dug out a tomato plant or two recently, and it looks like this year's winter garden prep will be done one phase at a time.

In the photo below, you can see some red Early Girl tomatoes on the left.  They're still ripening in the warmth we continue to experience, so I'm letting them remain on the vine as long as possible.  I hope to have tomatoes through the end of the month, and if I'm really blessed, into November as I have in some years in the past.

Below is the overview from our pool deck.  I love taking my garden overview pictures from up there, but I know that it may come to an end after the 2013 "pool destruction" winter and the past year of having to let it sit there while we struggle just to make ends meet in our home.  A season for everything...

Later, we had fun inside.  I took a phone picture of Thomas working diligently on a drawing of something car- and/or mechanic-related.  I don't have a clue.  He has a really big brain!

We also shared a rousing game of Settlers of Catan, Allie included!  It's nice to have another girl in my home.  *happy dance*

A hard day's work definitely earned us a fun night of play!


Back to life,
Christine

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End of September Garden Harvest

My garden is still in harvest mode, this late in September!  When I checked on my tomato plants, I found this huge caterpillar...

It's a tobacco hornworm, and it will eat through tomatoes at a voracious rate.  Three tomatoes were a loss because of this little booger.  It's not so little, either--it's huge.  It also has some decent camouflage--I didn't realize I was taking pictures of its rear end until I looked it up and noticed the red spike on the back end.  Little stinker.  I broke off the branch it was hanging out on, and set it on the picnic table for a few extra pictures, then left that dude to fend for itself.  Not in my garden, bro!

The Alpine strawberries were still producing, as you can see below, and I got a nice handful for a morning bowl of oatmeal tomorrow.

Harvest:  a nice colander of Garden Peach (yellow) tomatoes, Early Girl tomatoes (still going strong!), a few plump jalapenos, a handful of Alpine strawberries, and a nice bunch of green beans.  You can see I'm going to have to work on harvesting the parsley, too, as it's surrounding my colander like a jungle!

I'm thankful that the Lord blessed this year's harvest.  We may not have much money while Fernando's business is struggling to get off the ground, but we have fresh food for now and for a little while, too.  There's nothing like real food from your own garden!


Back to life,
Christine

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Down at the River

Today found us in Princeton, Illinois, at the site of the Captain Swift Bridge, the only two-lane covered bridge in Illinois.  No one was jumping off the bridge; we were next to it, along the Big Bureau Creek, to witness the public baptism of two young men.

Big Bureau Creek was muddy-looking this afternoon, and seemed to be rather shallow.  But you need only a few feet for a baptism, so it would work.  Turned out there's a deep channel a little more than halfway across, and the guys stood almost chest-deep in water--plenty for today's ceremony!

Lakota was baptized first, then Robin.

We had a time of prayer over these two young men who publicly dedicated their lives to Christ.

The B. family brought an old pump organ, so we had an accompaniment to our singing!

We all signed the baptism certificates as witnesses.

It's amazing and praise-worthy to see young folks declaring their allegiance to Jesus Christ because of a heart saved by His blood!


Back to life,
Christine

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Birthday Week-End

The culmination of my birthday week was a lovely Saturday spent at Pamela's house, where she had invited several ladies for brunch and uplifting conversation and time together.

The ladies humored my need for a photograph.  :)

Back to life,
Christine

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Birthday Week -- Bubble Tea

Toward the end of my official birthday week, Sarah (adult daughter of one of my church friends) invited me over to teach me how to make bubble tea.  Sarah and her sisters all pitched in, and I watched, asked questions, and learned how to make this Taiwanese tea-based drink.

Cooking up the boba (black tapioca balls) on the stovetop.

Sarah made the tea earlier, and once the boba were done (was done?  Is boba plural??) she mixed it all up and served it in glasses with fat straws (the tapioca balls are large!).

What a fun afternoon!


Back to life,
Christine

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Birthday Week -- A New Park

This sunny, warm afternoon found me running out to my local photography print lab to pick up portraits I shot of some of the guys on the football team (I had been hired to do portraits, head shots, and two home games!!).  I had noticed this park down the street from the lab; it's not on my usual way home, but one day I went the opposite direction down the street and found this.  Today, I stopped for a little bit to wander and take some pictures to include on my website.  I have a section dedicated to session locations for my clients to browse in case they're stuck for where we can take pictures together.

Don't you love the stone bridge?

Weeping willows are so pretty.

A bridge on the other side of the street, next to some baseball fields.

It was so nice to take a little "alone break" for an hour this week.


Back to life,
Christine

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More 50th Birthday Week Fun

The picture says it all.  I wanted Fernando to take me shooting with my Dad.  So he did.

We had so much fun!  Dad took to the range pretty quickly, and was an amazing shot with both a Glock 19 and our 22 rifle.  He tried the S&W revolver but didn't like it as much as I do (love that gun!)

Looking back, here's a phone picture Fernando took of me from my very first time shooting a handgun (revolver) at the shooting range.

What fun!


Back to life,
Christine

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