My 13th Order From Abundant Harvest Organics

It has been 3 weeks and I have no real produce left in the house...minus the 10 oranges that still congregate around here. I just can't get rid of them fast enough! Here's what we got.

3 Apples

1 Bunch of Asparagus

1 HUGE Head Cauliflower

1 Bunch Collard Greens

1 nice sized Daikon Radish

Bunch of Dill

Red and Green Lettuce

1 bunch Mustard Greens

5 Oranges

1 Bunch Sea Kale (?)

4 Sweet Potatoes

3 Lemons (not on the official list)

I have greens up the wazoo, this time around. Mustard, Collard and something called Sea Kale (which looks just like collard greens, except it grows by the shore. Once again, not sure what I am going to do with these things, except cook them the same way I did the collard greens last time, I guess.

The cauliflower is massive and tastes great in salad. We both had some with our lunch the same day we got it. It will not be a problem eating it. Ate about 1/3rd of the lettuce at the same time. I guess absence makes the heart grow fonder, I have not had their lettuce in months.

The Daikon Radish may be made into chips, like I did the last time I made it. My son adored them.

Truly happy to have another order of Dill. I want to buy some salmon and it goes so well with that.

4 baby sweet potatoes will be no problem and to top it off, they last a while, so I can wait a week or 2 to make them.

I am going to cook the asparagus (very young and tender ones) this weekend. I love asparagus.

Apples are no problem, when I make a new batch of mixed fruit.

That's it, see you next time.

River Village Park's Footprints

Remember I mentioned in my first post about River Village Park, that I had more photos?

Here are two more. They showcase the footprints that are all over the area by the children's play area.

The first photo is of a magnificent tree that they managed to save and they added benches for the parents to watch the children play. A very serene part of the area and yes, look at those bird prints all over the sidewalk! :-)

Here is a close up of the footprints of a bear.

Bears, like the one that graces the flag of the Great State of California, used to roam in these very hills.

Ask any child in 3rd grade about it and they can tell you that the "Monarch" bear was killed in in the Angeles National Forest, south of Vasquez Rocks.

It was brought up to San Francisco and then eventually the Sacramento area. It was used as the model for our flag.

I hope you can feel the cheerfulness that the footprints bring to the area and the bright primary and desert earth colors bring.

Someone was really thinking of both bright colors and earth tones, when they made this play area.

Well done, in my humble opinion.

River Village Park, Valencia

It is our newest park. It is called River Village and it is small, but it gets a lot of things into its small space.

I only had a few minutes to walk around, but in that time I visited:

A parking lot that directly connects it to the river trail. That trail will eventually cross the river and connect to miles of bike paths, that go in every direction through Santa Clarita. Especially since the park is "Centrally" located.

A path that winds its way up the canyon and hill, to eventually bring you to the back end of Santa Clarita's Central Park (happy Shawn?) As a matter of fact, that part is for the Cross Country teams to use. So this will give them more area to run in. I am sure they must get tired of running on the streets of Saugus.

Next up, this wonderful children's play area. They use footprints of animals on the surfaces in the area and that gives it a cheerful feeling. You can just see some of the prints on the concrete, at the far left of the photo.

Next to the children's play area is a covered picnic structure where families can feed their children picnic lunches, or maybe even barbecue (don't quote me on that). The area is behind the play area and you can watch your children, while sitting at the tables.

I may post a few more photos, another day. I hope you enjoy it, so far.

Happy Birthday To My Always Wonderful Sister

A lot of this post was written 5 years ago, but it is what is in my heart this day. Oh and that winery photo is a personal favorite.

Happy Birthday to my baby sister!

Yes, I am the oldest...but she is only 13 months behind me, in age, so that makes her only 59 this year. Lucky girl...still in her 50's. :-)

She is my twin in all ways, except in fact. Being she grew taller then me, by quite a bit, we spent much of our childhood as twins. Dressed the same, called the wrong names. Whatever it is twins deal with, we basically did it. We went through school together and to a certain degree, even shared friends.

Probably the hardest thing about living my life in LA, is that we don't get to see each other much, but we try to connect more and this blog has helped with that. As a matter of fact, I hope to spend some time with her this summer, if we can get a roadtrip going. We both look forward to that.

We may not have loved each other every minute during the years, as this photo can attest, but I can safely say, that we do now.

I love you and I miss you.

Happy Birthday, sis.

===================
Photos
The first one is at the Hudson
Winery. To say the least, we
got sloshed that day.
The second one was taken at Westdale
Girl Scout Camp. Note that we are
dressed alike. the story of
our lives.

A Verdict In The Trial For Sarah

A few weeks ago, it was the one year anniversary of the passing of Sarah Elizabeth Jones, on a movie set. I posted about this sad story, HERE.

The trial for the man accused of her murder, has been going on for the past month.

The verdict is in and he pleaded guilty to involunterary manslaughter. He gets a total of 2 years in jail and 8 years probation. The thought is that he will be let out in 1 year and do the rest on probation.

Many in the industry are mad because they feel that this is just a slap on the wrist, but I didn't think he would be found guilty at all. What made the difference, was that he did the plea bargain to keep his wife from also being charged. That way, someone was home to raise their children.

Does it feel like enough? I am happy that someone was held accountable, because safety is an issue. Especially the long hours and the cutting corners, due to lack of money and time.

May her untimely death be for something.

You can read more on the response on social media, HERE.

Cinderella Has...A Tat?

Sorry for the poor quality of the photo, but it was taken at a bus shelter, so there is all sorts of extraneous reflections going on. The main thing though, is the butterfly that appears to be on Cinderella's skin. In order to see it, you must click the photo.

I have been passing this poster for a few days and it took me that long to realize that there are butterflies all over the top of her neckline. This one must be another one, or a reflection of one, but why do I feel like it was deliberate.

Disney can't have a princess with tats, so they went with the next best thing, the appearance of a tat. They can obviously say, hey, it's just a butterfly on her neckline and be done with it...but I feel there is intent here.

Moving Cinderella into the 21st century, I guess.

The movie opens on Friday.

Santa Barbara Shoreline

My Water Post For Today.

Santa Barbara! My favorite place, by the water. I love Ventura, too, but, for pure tourist love, Santa Barbara is the place.

This photo is taken from the pier, just as we hit the water line. I love the sun's reflection on the water and the boats in the marina, off in the distance.

I believe we have a few sandpipers foraging, at the edge of the shore. Looking for something yummy to eat.

Peaceful and stunningly beautiful.

I hope you enjoy.

My Desk 3,000 Miles Away

Being that my main computer had a bit of trouble a week ago, we brought my laptop over to the main desk in the Family Room. Well a few days after getting my main computer back, my Husband needed to do something and he went over to my other (school) desk, to work on the laptop that he now felt comfortable with.

We have that set up in the Living Room and it brought me great joy, to see it being used, exactly as I used it in school.

As a matter of fact, I needed it too and I brought the chair over. The moment I sat down, it all came back to me. Especially since I spent about 99% of my waking time, on that chair and computer.

Great memories of life in another place.

Green Grass

This is another photo I took last week.

It is the back side of Central Park and it always looks like a meadow, to me.

I can imagine sheep or goats grazing on the land, like in Upstate New York.

It's a nice change from our usual.

Oh, don't forget to move your clocks forward 1 hour tonight.

Wheat Grass For My Cat

I was taking some photos the other day and I glance into the dining room and there is my cat, watching everything I was doing...from behind her wheat grass.

I don't know if any of my readers buy wheat grass, but it is inexpensive out here ($1.99) and lasts about 2 weeks. So for $4 a month, my cat has green grass to eat.

As a matter of fact, when we return home from our Saturday shopping excursion, she is there, in the dining room, waiting to see if new grass is coming her way. It is very cute.

This particular container of grass I got at Albertsons and it was very large. The cat has had some challenges eating the grass, but she has persevered and managed to make it successfully happen.

One warning, the cat does occasionally end up throwing up some of it. It is a natural part of the process and even though it doesn't thrill me, I clean it up.

A Throw Back Thursday Photo: Solvang

Many social media sites have something called Throwback Thursday. Usually I don't partake in this practice, but since I have been dealing with re-establishing my computer, I have seen many more photos than normal.

This one was taken in Solvang, back in 2007. We picked up our son from JROTC Camp at Fort Hunter Ligget and on our way home, we stopped for a small side trip.

If you are ever in the area of lower central California, the entire area is wonderful. Solvang is a Danish town and you park and walk around, checking out things like windmills and food like Abeleskivers.

In between all the walking, we found this wonderful chair and so we had our photo taken.

May I say that my hair was so much longer then!

I hope you enjoy.

A View Of A River

I was out getting gas and shopping the other day. My Husband decided he didn't need to tag along and so I decided to take a little detour, over to our newest city park. While I was there, I parked in a lot that is right by the Santa Clara River. This is the river that runs right through the middle of our city. Running from the Acton area, all the way to the sea, in Ventura.

It has been empty for years now and I was hoping to see something, but alas, no water.

The clouds were lovely and so was the green on the hills, in spite of not much rain, the hills are enjoying the water we have had.

I think it's a lovely photo of the City I live in.

Collard Greens: Take 2

Here I am, the person who was totally not happy with her collard greens, back at the beginning of my Abundant Harvest Organics life. You can see them, HERE. I really believe I did not like the taste of the ham hock...so that is why I chose this recipe.

It asked for trusty old bacon. Just 3 slices of bacon, as it ended up. I also decided to cook them on the stove, instead of the crock pot. I don't know if that would make much of a difference, but I thought I would give it a try. They say that the longer you cook the collard greens, the better they are. Well, we shall see, won't we. :-)

Here is today's recipe. (click the link below)

Kicking Collard Greens

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 slices bacon
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 pound fresh collard greens, cut into 2-inch pieces

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add bacon, and cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, crumble and return to the pan. Add onion, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, and cook until just fragrant. Add collard greens, and fry until they start to wilt.

2. Pour in chicken broth, and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, or until greens are tender.

Many of the comments told people to add brown sugar (1 Tbl) and Red Cider Vinegar (a splash). When I looked at my original recipe, I saw that those were ingredients in it. So bottom line, I went with it again.

Update: We ate them for dinner the next evening and they were good. Success!

Rocks & Boulders

My Water Post For Today.

Rocks by the water is the subject of today's post.

Yes, this was another photo that I found when I looked at my photos from Oswego. If you remember, I posted a photo of the boat on top of the Gales of November monument, a few weeks ago.

I grabbed this photo just to show off the detail of the shore itself. There are many stones just like these and as a matter of fact, I used three of them to keep my closet door open, when I was Upstate.

Now days those same 3 stones are glued together and sit in my living room in a small stack. Just so I don't forget living by the lake.

When I was at school, the shore did not look like this. I believe the shoreline has receded over the decades and so you see more rock.

It is beautiful and I hope you enjoy.

Leonard Nimoy

I am sure that by now you are tired of hearing about Leonard Nimoy's passing. I am sorry this took a few days to get going, I have had computer problems that involved a hard drive replacement. Trust me, life is not fabulous right now, but I am happy to be alive and sad to live in a world without Leonard.

From what I am hearing on social media, they will be following Jewish tradition. That is that you bury your dead ASAP. Being he could not be buried on the Sabbath, it will fall on this Sunday, instead.

Leonard was more than just an actor. In his later years, he made a substantial contribution to the rebuilding of our Griffith Observatory. In honor of that fact, they named the theatre after Leonard Nimoy.

In college, I was what is called, a Trekkie (we preferred the less derogatory term, Trekker, btw). Our club visited the Air and Space Museum to see the Starship Enterprise one time and we went to Star Trek Conventions.

Here is the cover of the convention booklet, from that long ago time. I am pretty sure we did not see Leonard that week, but we probably saw some of the lesser cast and probably Gene Roddenberry. None of us remember much. :-)

One of the things I had was a record that Shatner and Nimoy made and my favorite song from that recording is called Cotton Candy. You can listen it it by clicking the link.

As soon as I heard about Leonard being sent to the hospital, that song took root in my brain and wouldn't leave. I truly believe my subconscious mind knew more than my conscious one. It was totally not surprised to hear of his passing.

He always embodied what was good and right, making the world a better place. He did it not only in his life outside acting, but as his character of almost 50 years, Mr. Spock.

Sir, you will be missed by me.