Garden Death

We harvested the last of the garden this week.  It was tomatoes mostly.  And they were mostly green.  But we picked them (Audrey and Allegra helped when they were here).  Several of the locals said that green tomatoes make good things and that they could be stored until they turned red and eaten with almost as much relish as vine ripe ones.  So I collected them on my kitchen counter and looked for recipes.  I found what looked like a good one for making green tomato relish.  I bought the ingredients called for and set to it.  I chopped up all that was called for, including Jalapeno peppers, and put it all in a big pot.  It cooked as directed and we tasted the final product with anticipation.  Ugh!  Not good.  Nope.  Not at all.  So we dumped the whole batch on the compost pile.  It was a bit deflating.  So I've decided I'm through with green tomatoes.  We put the rest of them in the garage to see if they will turn red.

I've not worked with hot peppers before.  I didn't realized that the oil from them settled into hands and doesn't wash out for awhile.  So when I took my contacts out, the pepper oil got into my eyes and did they burn!  It has taken several days of frequent washing to get all of the oil out of my hands.  Just a wee tingle now remains.  So now I know.

Layne loves the look of this tree in our yard; completely red (the best of colors!)

Fall decorations at our front door.  A bit understated I now, but it feels good to do a little something.

A beautiful full moon lights our yard this Fall morning.  I can't resist trying to capture its magic in a picture.  I never really works well.

We are in charge of our empty nester Family Home Evening tomorrow night.  That means we host and teach a lesson and prepare some kind of refreshment.  I just read a book son Gerald sent on the Founding Fathers and their vision of the Constitution.  It was written for children, which is just about my speed, so I really liked it.  I determined that the ideas in it would be perfect to share at the FHE.  I showed Layne and he agreed.  For a couple of days.  I worked out what I thought to be a good presentation and was really looking forward to doing it.  Then, as we were walking, Layne said he would like to something completely different!  I was so disappointed and did my best to talk him out of it.  When that didn't work, and in a bit of a huff, I just turned it all over to him.  But the disappointment lingered.  Layne made his lesson plans, then suggested that I give mine the first part of the evening and he would finish up with his.  So.  It'll be interesting to see how that turns out.  But I'm back on tap and a bit excited to share the basic information in that little book.  Here's hoping it goes over well and that our two presentations somehow mesh. Whether they do or they don't, there will be pie for dessert to sweeten things up.