Watered Garden

HB from WG!

Well, honestly, I think I'm pretty much "over it" and then some other bugaboo pops up for me to handle. Last week, we had a conversation with the pastor of the church plant we've been involved in and we decided we no longer wish to be involved, due to doctrinal differences. This was a civilized conversation. Mr. Garden had e-mailed him, he was sad, wanted to discuss things, and came over at an appointed time. He first said he wanted to know if he "had done anything wrong" but it quickly became obvious he was sure he had not. We explained what we believe, he explained what he believes and finally we had to agree to disagree. No screaming, no accusations, no "the minute you walk out of here the Christ in you dies" type warnings. He was sad, so were we. We hugged, we prayed, and we parted on decent terms. The next couple of days, I wobbled a little bit, but I didn't feel as though I were condemning myself to hell. I don't fear disaster for myself or my family. I worry a little bit sometimes about whether or not I'm on the right track, but then I recover, with the help of God's comfort and encouragement. Contrast this to over a decade ago, when I was convinced I would die soon because we had stepped out of the covering protection of Zion. I guess the point is, if I can help someone else who feels like I felt, well, that's one of the big reasons I'm still hanging around, if only for a quick cup of coffee and a nod to old friends. WG

I will have to try that one! Our yellow squash are small with the curved necks. The zukes are hard to spot and a few have grown to baseball bat size! I believe I will experiment this weekend with more recipes. If anything turns out I'll post it!

Uh, no, don't think so!

I find it interesting that Calvin spent years and years writing "Institutes of the Christian Religion" in flowery, scholarly, and very complex language. Jesus Christ said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all of thy heart, soul, mind and strength, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Somebody knew what He was talking about. I think I'll walk with Him and not worry too much about all this fol-de-rol, high falutin' religious claptrap. WG

Tonight I took one of the larger ones and sliced it into 1/2" thick rounds. I mixed 1 cup flour with 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons dried basil and a couple of grinds of black pepper. I dredge the zuke rounds in that on both sides and fried until tender in 1/2 stick butter and about 3 tablespoons canola oil. It was really really good! WG

He came to the city where I was a WOW. Since I lived with the WC person in charge of the branch of WOW's I got to spend some personal time with him, at his request, on two occasions. One was when HA fixed breakfast in the little camper they drove around in then. I dropped someting on the way back to our apartment and he picked it up and whacked me on the butt with it. I was not blessed. The second time was, in retrospect, a narrow escape. Later. WG

This popped up an ad at the bottom for Scientology. WG

When I was a WOW, in our WOW family, if you didn't work, you weren't allowed to eat, even though food you had purchased sat in the pantry. One time between jobs I owned one loaf of bread, some mayo and a shaker of parmesan (SP) cheese. I sneaked and made sandwiches for a few days until I got some more work. WG

HOw did she do with that? Well, until I learned all the four-letters words and how to use them! Seriously, it's something people should teach their children from both sides of the spectrum. Remember in "To Kill A Mockingbird" when the little guest pours molasses all over his food? And Scout is outraged? Manners avoids that kind of reaction. If your guest pours molasses over his mashed potatoes you just do the same. And refill the pitcher if it's not enough for him. I'm really into making people feel comfortable. I remember another incident from my TWI years: We were in this family's twig and they had four children. The woman was a stickler for everyone being exquisitely courteous: always, always knock and wait to be properly greeted and invited in to her home, never ask for anything that is not offered; You may get a glass from the cupboard, water jug from the refrigerator, pour yourself a glass of water, refill the water jug before replacing it in the fridge on the properly labeled shelf, and place the empty glass in the sink, but never never never get anything else out, yada yada yada. Lots of rules in her household, under the guise of "manners." One time after twig I was drinking the proffered coffee, and God forbid, I left a lipstick ring on the cup, having been in such a hurry to get there on time I forgot to blot!!!!! Well, this lady called her four children over to her side. "Look, children!" she exclaimed. "Mrs. Garden forgot to blot her lipstick and NOW IT IS ALL OVER MY CUP!" I felt as if I had flatulated in a branch meeting during manifestations. And, I most certainly never again as long as I lived wore lipstick to twig. WG WG

Shifra! WG

The "pastors" of the last two churches we attended were not quite aware of their responsibilities. One is in prison, the other seems to be mainly interested in a social life with other young couples and preaching gloom and doom and condemnation on the side. I try to go to church with an attitude of giving rather than IwantIthinkIfeelIneed, but most of the time I waver between boredom and depression. Not that I don't love the people themselves. WG

Not funny in my book, either. Not at all. WG

You can actually shred the zukes, measure what you need per loaf, and freeze the zuke in premeasured Zip-Locks. I personally find zucchini to be tasteless, but Mr. Garden thinks it's delicious. WG

zucchini are nice sauteed with Vidalia onions, tomatoes and a little yellow squash, seasoned with Italian seasoning and a dab of butter. The Louisville slugger type zucchini can be sliced about 1/2-3/4 inch thick, dusted with flour or corn meal and fried, seasoning once again with your choice, Italian, Essence of Emeril, etc. WG

I pray a lot more now than I did in TWI. I talk to God whenever I feel like it. He understands my heart, my hopes, my dreams, my fears. He understands my unspoken needs. I very seldom pray in a group, though. I don't know, maybe it's the kind of religious organizations we have been involved with (and no longer are!) that think women should keep quiet, but even in a small group I don't want to pray out loud. WG

I wish I remembered the specifics. It was a story my mother oft repeated to me in her efforts to turn me into a civilized young lady. WG

I picked a ton of beans yesterday! One thing Mr. Garden heard is that both Roma and Blue Lake freeze rather well. You just have to blanch them first. WG

I forget who it was, perhaps Emily Post or Amy Vanderbilt, but at any rate this was a person who was high high society and known for etiquette, so it was probably one of the two. This is a story my mom impressed upon me: This individual was hosting a banquet and a famous person was the guest of honor, a person of humble origins who did not know the finer points of etiquette. At any rate, this guest, after the first course has been served, picked up his napkin and carefully tied it around his neck!!!!!! The hostess, without raising an eyebrow, did the exact same thing and so did the other guests. That's manners, folks. Oh, and class, too. wG

We came back from a two day vacation/anniversary celebration to tons of green beans and zucchini. We planted Blue Lake and Roma green beans, the Romas are the ones that are going great, though I expect some Blue Lake later. It's very raining with thunder and lightning on and off, but I am going to skip through the raindrops and get those squash! I already picked huge pile of beans. I can see where the ripe sweet corn was because the deer ate 'em off! :o WG

The first year we canned tomatoes, we ended up with about 100 quarts of tomatoes, juice and sauce. I've been hooked on canning since then. I think we are going to have a lot of green beans to can also. I'm excited. If the economy gets much worse, I'm gonna defy the odds, the red-tailed hawks and the coyotes and raise myself some chickens! (probably in cement bunkers with all the predators that hang out here).

I was just out of college and visiting a friend in Arizona. We had actually gone to Kitt Peak that day and were returning. Her husband was driving, she was asleep between us as we sped through the burning Sonora Desert. Her husband and I looked at each other over her sleeping head and said "Wow!" WG

We are having beautiful late September weather; problem is, it's the middle of July! With the weather cooling, I have a strange feeling all the tomatoes are going to ripen at once - AFTER Mr. Garden returns to his classroom! :excl:

Oh man, that just sounds so good! Any recipes for chicken purleau (pur-loo)? WG

One tiny squash waiting to grow. We need rain, promised it for two days, no rain, while the southern part of the state gets it all. Lots and lots of green tomatoes. Still getting big juicy berries off the Black Mack black raspberry bushes. Promise of blackberries too. Patience......patience......patience....... WG