Odds-n-Ends, "Working With What Is" Edition

Long time no blogpost, friends! Sorry I have been AWOL, all I can say is that I've not been the captain of my own ship lately, and we continue to sail right along, nevertheless. That's just the way it goes in a family sometimes, particularly in chapters of transition. In any case, since life lately has not exactly fit any plan I have had for it, I thought a good theme for today is "working with what is".

The tofu scramble above was fabulous. I had no plan for it, just utilizing it as a vehicle for not wasting food in my larder. The celery was beginning to get limp, so I chopped it up and threw it in there. The carrots had seen better days, so in they went. Leftover roasted potatoes? Check. Certain herbs in my garden that have already begun to bolt in this 95 degree heat? They were lovely within this melange. This tofu scramble was nothing new, but it was amazing.

These are the happiest pots on my property, mainly because they get just enough sun, but not too much, and retain their moisture since part of their day is spent in the shade.  I love the "Creeping Jenny" that persists from years past. I just stuck some fronds of it into every pot in my yard, and struggled to make it work in most of them, and then finally gave up. The Creeping Jenny only loves these three pots, so I will quit trying so hard with the other ones. This year, I added begonias and lantana. I am also attempting begonias and lantana in the windowboxes in full sun which are adjacent to these happy pots. If it doesn't work out, I will shift gears and go another route, as I've already decided to do for some other window boxes up front, under a shallow eave which never gets any rain:

Everything I've ever planted in these forgotten window boxes dies mid-season, so I decided on a selection of succulents this year. Yay for plants that thrive on neglect! I don't know the genus or species, since I picked these up for a song at Walmart, but look at how pretty they are -- I love the bluish "bloom" on the surface of this palnt. It's almost more like a little creature than a plant!

"Working with what is" to me is simply the cessation of paddling upstream. I read somewhere that to turn one's boat around in a downstream direction, one need only lift the paddles out of the water. The boat easily rights itself with no effort from the rider. What an amazing, comforting concept that may be applied to many facets of life!

Since my "odds-n-ends" posts are of a random nature, I'll shift gears now only enough to share some things that feel like blessings to me.

I finally found some Kombucha! I won't share where I found it, lest I "out" the store, subjecting it to some kind of government agency regulation. This bottle was not labelled differently as I understand  it was supposed to be. I am grateful for this contraband, this elixir of health, life, peace and energy. I think the whole hullabaloo about alcohol content is ridiciulous, by the way, From all the bottles of Kombucha I've consumed, I've gotten nary a buzz.

Happy Memorial Day! We remembered members of our Armed Forces and their families on this day, especially my grandfather, Lloyd Charles McKenzie, who perished when he was only 28 years old. I wish I had known him.

My gorgeous gardenia bush decided to bloom right on time to honor the flag. This bush was almost a goner last year and I nursed it back to health. I love the gorgeous, healthy blooms. Their sweet, heady fragrance blasts me right back to the time I spent all over Greece as a college student. Smelling these blossoms, my Greek holiday feels like yesterday!

Grape tomatoes are already on the vine in May!

This Chinese Long Bean has found the trellis with no help from me! These beans were free this year -- I just grabbed a couple of the beans I missed in their thicket last year, all dried out and white, saved them in a brown paper bag all winter, then pulled the pods apart and planted the beans within.

Look what I found this morning! This shell is the size of a thimble. This egg was not of the incredible edible variety, but rather was the former home of a precious baby bird!

Sometimes we have to remind ourselves that paddling upstream is futile. I'm getting better at remembering this fact with practice. "Working with what is" feels good, wastes less and uses a lot less energy. Give it a try!