Summer blossoms, autumn blossoms

The Thanksgiving after Katrina, or maybe it was the December after, we helped Martha and Craig pack for their move to Shreveport.  Sista Martha noticed me admiring the plumbago next to her front door, and sent the plant home with Tom and me.  I love having this bit of Martha, Craig, and NOLA at the house of light and joy.

Esperanza, Spanish for "hope," I believe

Star jasmine, so delicately fragrant, and Mexican petunias that grow wild and come back every year

Lion hearts, also known as obedience plants because like sunflowers, they follow the sun across the sky

Einar

Einar and one fall leaf

Second day of Fall 2013: September 23

The lettuce seeds, planted a week ago, have already sprouted . . .

as have the spinach seeds.

How many bell pepper blossoms do you see?  Do you see the green bell pepper?

Pepper blossoms become green bell peppers

Green bell peppers ripen to red.  And red bell peppers . . .see pepper-o-lantern above!

What DOES the fox say?

Hmm.  I couldn't tell you what foxes say.  Listen to this song and find out . . . .

And the singers are Norwegian.  A nod to my 1974-75 time in Norway; my parents', brother's, and sisters' time there; and to my Norwegian mother-in-law.

Oh!  And when I lived in Norge, I learned that Norwegian frogs say, "kvoink-oink."  Is that more accurate than "ribbit"?

Iced coffee

It's so hot here in Austin that I prefer iced coffee to hot coffee in the morning.  I started out brewing coffee with hot water and cooling it in the fridge overnight.  Then, I heard on NPR that coffee can be steeped overnight in the fridge.  Since then, I've been enjoying iced coffee, steeped with unsweetened cocoa and almond extract.  Yum!  Haven't tried the following recipe yet, but I will.  It sounds good!  Will have to revive the mint plant on the back deck first.

The 7 Coffee Roasting Co. MethodYield: Two 10-ounce servings
Time: 16 to 18 hours, almost entirely unattended

8 ounces coarsely ground coffee beans, preferably medium roast, of African origin
4 sprigs of mint
16 ounces water, plus 12 ounces for diluting after brewing 

1. Wrap the coffee grounds and sprigs of mint together in two layers of cheesecloth. Secure together as a bundle. (A rubber band works well to keep it closed.)

2. Place in medium bowl and pour 16 ounces of room temperature water over your coffee bundle. Cover with plastic wrap and let steep for 16 to 18 hours.

3. After steeping, remove the coffee bundle and squeeze excess liquid into the bowl before you discard it. (It’s also possible to use these same ingredients in a French press; I prefer the cheesecloth method.) Pour the coffee liquid through a coffee filter (a pour-over setup is ideal for this) and into a medium-sized jar or small pitcher. This removes any excess grounds or sludge that may have accumulated. Give the filter a few squeezes if it’s particularly slow to drip through.

4. Once the coffee has been filtered, you should have about 8 ounces of liquid. Add 12 ounces of cold water (you can add more or less to taste) and stir. Pour into two glasses with ice and enjoy with your favorite milk and/or sweetener.

Pro tip: If you are a 9-to-5-er like me, start steeping this first thing in the morning before you leave for work, let it sit for the 16 or so hours, and finish up with straining and mixing with water right before bed. You can stick your ready-to-pour over iced coffee in the fridge and it will be waiting for you the next morning.

Grand-nephew Jim's first birthday party: September 1, 2013

Mmm!  Chocolate cupcake!  Jim was 1 on August 24, but the party wasn't until September 1, after his christening, so that Liz, Jarrod, and Hank could be there from Chicago and Bekka, Scott, and Sadie could be there from Manhattan.

Jan, Liz, Bobbi Kaye, Bekka, Jen, Hannah, I don't know the guy's name, and Sarah sitting around the kids playing in the pool.

Sadie and Bekka

The birthday boy with his #1 superhero cape, Daddy, and Mommy

Grand-nephew Jim's christening: September 1, 2013

Grand-nephew Jim was christened at the Tarrytown Methodist Church on September 1.  Step-grandpa David Gilliam, one of the ministers, is to Jim's left, and Grandmommy Bobbi Kaye Jones (Sarah's Mom and David's wife), also a Methodist minister, is to David's left.

Step-grandpa Jim Roberts (married to Sarah's former stepmother Jan Roberts) and Grandmommy Bobbi Kaye Jones christen Jim while Step-grandpa David looks on.

Oxbow Regional Park: August 30, 2013

Along the Sandy River in Oxbow Regional Park, 14 miles outside Portland

Otis built a sand volcano and threw rocks in the water

The water was pleasantly cold on the toes

Otis's sand volcano

Emerson School: meet and greet: August 29, 2013

Skyler and LaWanda had to work late, so Papa Tom and I took Otis to the kindergarten meet and greet at the Emerson School, in Portland's Pearl District.  He'll start kindergarten with Tiffany on September 4.

Otis on a swing before the meet and greet starts

The Emerson School is a charter school in downtown Portland

A restaurant down the street from the Emerson School

Oregon Heritage Rail Museum: August 29, 2013

I had no idea that steam locomotives were so huge.  Papa Tom is 6'1" tall.  I don't think cows had much of a chance against that cow catcher!

The locomotive wheel is taller than Otis (who is chest high on me)!

On the caboose platform.  I thought cabooses were red???

The lantern is heavier than my 5 pound weights!

Inside the steam locomotive cab

The Daylight 4449, a diesel engine under renovation

Backyard fun

Jade with a sparkler

Daddy teaches Otis BB gun safety.  See Amon's broccoli in the background?

Marble tower

A marble track tower as tall as Otis

Otis has to stand on the table to help Daddy put the top on the marble tower

Portland: City of Roses and other flora and fauna too

Roses outside a house near Bread and Ink, the chicken and waffle eatery

A front yard:  the summer's been dry, but Portland's still green

Beautiful stonework between the sidewalk and a front yard

Flowers everywhere

Bread and Ink: breakfast on August 28, 2013

Giant waffle covered in fresh berries and whipped cream: yeah

Outside Bread and Ink: Portland cyclists start young

Anjanette, Jade, Amon, Otis, Mia/Shanana

Checking out a Portland microbrewery

Austin friend Greg clued us in to Gigantic Brewing, a great Portland microbrewery.  One of the owners is from Austin.

Greg loves very hoppy beers; we brought home a bottle of the very, very hoppy Whole in the Head just for him.

Portland: August 27: LBJ's Birthday holiday in Texas

Otis with his steam locomotive bank from Anjanette; Anjanette; and cowgirl Jade with her dart gun and fancy boots

T-ball in the back yard; Portland's had a drought this summer.  Otherwise, the grass would  be green

Blackberries in the backyard; the raspberries were ripe earlier this summer

The "surprise" garden in Amon's compost heap includes pumpkins.  None of us knows how to tell when a pumpkin is ripe.  Amon's hoping "Halloween" is the answer.

Papa Tom as a napping Lincoln.  He was tuckered out after a long trip and lots of playing

Otis discovered my Kindlefire is perfect for viewing train videos on YouTube while eating breakfast

On our way to Portland: August 26, 2013

Jade, Anjanette, Papa Tom, me, eight suitcases, two backpacks, and a diaper bag, on our way to Portland.  Four of the suitcases were for Amon, full of his things from our garage.

Papa Tom and Jade check out the sunset between Austin and San Jose

Sunset