The Garden Gate

 . . . . is it an entrance to a secret garden?

 . . . . the alley entrance to the backyard? 

 . . . . the vegetable garden?

 . . . . or a private garden for meditation?

for me it is . . . . a song:


In the Garden
by C. Austin Miles

I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses;
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses.

Refrain:
And He walks with me,
and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known.
Copyright 1912, 1940

This is for Sunday Sketches.  See the other participants entries at BlueChairDiary.  Thanks!

Disappointments and Blossoms

Hi Folks!

I haven't been blogging, or doing much of anything, for a few weeks. To be honest, I have been struggling just to "stay afloat!" My job will end on the 30th and that has hit me quite hard, since my husband has been either underemployed or unemployed for almost two years now! I just didn't have anything to blog about through the tears. Sorry for the inconsistency! Anyway, I am feeling better and need to get back into this discipline. Blogging is supposed to be an uplifting thing for both the reader and the writer, so it's time for me to buck up and shut up!

So, today I would like to show you what has kept me partially sane through all this. My little patio garden!




Veggies, cilantro and lettuce!



Strawberry pot with lots blossoms!

I had these two pots last year filled with Zinnias and alyssum.  The Alyssum made it thru the winter and are beginning to bloom again!  Maybe it's a good sign and I will begin to blossom again too!

Thinking . . . Feeling . . . Future?

 Ever felt like everything was barren in your life?  Kinda like my garden plot when we first started it? Knowing that you have done and are doing all the right things;  preparing for a future.    Like---I really don't know if everything is really going to turn out the way you want it to.   Like--knowing if Spring is really going to get here or not. . . . I feel that way now.  Kinda concerned.

You worry that if it does turn out, it may look like this:  

And not lilke this:

 In my dreams I want it (my future) to look like a beautiful, producing garden that is refreshing  . . .

And beautiful to everyone who happens by . . .  

But, today, I have my doubts.  "Doubting Thomas!" you say, "Spring will get here, soon enough!" you say.  Well, today is today, and I just don't feel it.   Ever felt like that? 

Yesteryear Pie

Monday was a work day and a day that everyone, here, spent worrying about the commute home due to a snow storm rolling in. Temps dropped drastically! So, I stayed indoors today, Tuesday, preparing for thanksgiving travel and making pies for our family celebration!

Now, it's Tuesday evening and I wanted to share a recipe for a 'Yesteryear' type of pie!

Yesteryear Mince or 'Mincemeat' pies were traditionally done at the end of the harvest season using lots of leftover garden items, including raisins, apples and candied fruit, and sometimes dried meats. I usually make a mince pie from a prepared mix that I buy from the store, but this year I had planned to make my first ever, late harvest season pie with my own ingredients. I got my chance today! I still had a tomato plant on the patio with a few ripe tomatoes and lots of green ones. Last night I picked all the tomatoes, since there was going to be a hard freeze anyway. A friend had given me a recipe for a mince pie that uses green tomatoes! Here's how it turned out:

Green Tomato Mincemeat (Old fashioned recipe)

3 quarts chopped green tomatoes

1 1/2 quarts peeled, chapped tart apples

2 cups raisins

1 cup currants (I did not you use these in my recipe)

1/2 cup diced candied citron, lemon or orange peel (I used lemon peel)

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups brown sugar, firmly packed (I did not use this much)

3/4 cup vinegar

1/4 cup lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a large heavy pan. Cook mixture slowly until it is tender and thick, about one hours or more. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. This usually makes about 5-6 quarts of mincemeat. Can in jars using the boiling water bath method and store for future use.

September? Already?

It doesn't seem right. September already? Here in Oregon, we've barely had any summer. One short hot spell, the rest was really nice. I liked it, but some others, here, would have preferred a warmer summer. And in actuality, my garden would have done better with some more heat. My tomatoes and peppers are heat loving plants, and although they are on my patio and get the most sun there, it was, generally still too cool for them this summer. After this last heat wave in the end of August, I finally got some ripe veggies! This is what I picked today, the first crop of the summer and summer is almost over!!!

Had some of these peppers in a vegetable dish for supper. It was my daughter's recipe. She has a great little blog that you should visit. http://housewifechef.blogspot.com/

I'm sure she'll post this recipe soon. Until then, check out the other recipes that she has.

Visiting Portland Oregon

This last week, I was on vacation--of a sorts--visiting all the sites in our fair city of Portland Oregon, with my sisters-in-law. They went downtown to the famous Powell's Books - the city of books on Burnside - while I was at work. Then when I was off work, we went to the Portland Japanese Garden in Washington Park. It was a lovely day with plenty of shade for the hot summer day with the strolling pond garden and koi to watch; the tea house; the sand and stone garden; the Shoji Gallery; beautiful Japanese Maples; traditional pagoda's; and plenty of tranquil beauty.

Portland is a great place to visit! More about the area in Thursdays post!