Truevyne, how does your garden grow?

So glad you asked. My gardens of flowers and vegetables have never been so well loved and well used as this summer. Since this is my third year of gardening, I know more of what I'm doing than ever before.

In my former suburban and city life, I may have planted spices, never cared for them, and certainly didn't know how to cook with them. This summer, since I've learned to grow and care for them, I've begun to choose recipes which require the herbs I've grown. I even bundled a few up and hung them from the pot rack today to dry for future use.

My tall zinnias are just about to open with first blooms, but I picked six of adorable dwarf zinnas today and put them in a tiny bottle on the stove. At this moment, the Snowball bushes produces the best flowers growing to place on my kitchen table and around the house. I learned last summer that bouquets always look best with three sprigs rosemary or cat mint poking out the sides. I picked three pink roses and deadhead the rose bush for the first time this year.

I picked two baby zucchini squashes and a few lettuce leaves for late lunch/ early supper. All four children swim on a swim team in the evening, so I try to feed them mid afternoon and a snack after practice at 8:30 or 9:00.

I've fallen back in love with my wheat grinder and am baking bread, muffins, sweet rolls alongside the early veggies from my garden. Sometimes, when I hate my wheat grinder for all its mess, it sits under my sink sulking and weeping for company to come over so I'll make bread again.

Already the children have asked when the sugar snap peas which keep appearing on their plates will be finished growing. Today I noticed no buds on the sugar snap vines, so very soon they'll be moaning over too much zucchini.

This afternoon Peace and I made from artichoke hearts and fresh basil (from my plants) red sauce over pasta. When I'm not homeschooling, suddenly I'm the kind of mother I want to be. When a slightly annoyed Peace asked me"Exactly how long is dinner going to take?" My good mommy reply? In a steady, kind voice "Sooner if you help me. Grab the mushrooms and chop them." When I'm homeschooling or busy otherwise, I find myself snapping onery replies like, "Dinner will be done when it's done. If I had any help around here...blah, blah, blah." Summer can feel so relaxing. There are times I wish was a relaxed homeschooler, but academics concern me too much.

My husband has invited overnight guests from CSO (Buck's Christian Songwriter's Organization) whom we've never met will appear Thursday, so I should get to work less outside farm and more on neglected inside of my home.