Stephanie says

On my way home from work this afternoon I stopped and picked these beauties, organic plum tomatoes destined for a divine sauce. A bushel cost me $12 and will yield a heady aroma of sun-kissed tomatoes in the drear of winter. Hansen's Farm has a produce stand and u-pick fields. A sign instructs if stand is unmanned to deposit payment for your purchase in the lockbox. Naked Tomato Sauce from Smitten Kitchen. I made this recipe the other night, it smelled so wonderful I decided photo be damned, and ate the evidence. This is an amazing sauce!

Surfing the net recently a Match.com popup popped up. I thought “Gee, I should take a look.” And I did. One fellow really caught my eye. He was articulate, big plus. Among other things, his great fishing photo struck me. But peeps, as we all know, I am nothing if not frugal. Possibly parsimonious. Whatever. I searched the web for free dating sites and “Plenty of Fish” ranked high and is totally free. Okay. Time for me to venture back into the dating scene. I signed up. Within the hour, and I am not (for once) exaggerating, there was THE fisherman sending me a message. I responded that I’d been looking for a fisherman as I needed fish frames (that would be the carcass for you non-cooks) to perfect my beurre blanc sauce. And the rest, as they say, is history. Music swells in the background. Think literary love stories, crossed signals, little misadventures, like Cyrano de Bergerac and Roxane, such lovely tales. Well, this is nothing like that. Joe and I make a date (his...

Breaking News - Heat crazed woman in temperate Yoncalla apparently loses mind. Seen running down main street of town. Bare naked. Flappin big boobs and large white ass. Two dogs on her heels, one smallish black lab dog. The other, a behometh black and white sheepdog. People were shielding their eyes but alas, that image is burnt forever into their memories. No clue to her identity. Yet. Over and out.

This Is Just To Say by William Carlos Williams I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox and which you were probably saving for breakfast Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold Moose's version: I have eaten the plums and raspberries and blackberries and gooseberries. The grapes are next.

Acanthus mollis These babies grow in my grape vines and are very tall, thorny spikes with a most unusual flower. Click on the images to see them enlarged. The vase is 12 inches tall to give a sense of scale!

Wonderful fragrance! Click on image to enlarge.

I was outside this fine morning enjoying a cup of coffee when I heard the dogs rustling in the side yard, then a big yelp, and the Mooster came bounding past, frothing at the mouth, heading right inside the house. My first thought was, “damn, a skunk” and sure enough. I got the big boy outside in record time. He was still frothing. I figure he bit the rear end of that itty bitty skunk, his reward a hit of skunk musk directly in the mouth. Dogs can’t spit but he sure was trying. Rosie appeared unscathed apparently recalling her two encounters last year. But Moose is not as quick a learner. I gave him a quick douse with soapy water and a cold water hose rinse. Tough love. Then I headed off to work. He was lucky to get a biscuit before I left… I had one stinky dog upon my return this afternoon and one baby skunk carcass (in full rigor) to deal with. The dog got the magic peroxide/baking soda bath. The skunk, carefully double bagged with a very long handled pitchfork, tossed ...