first impressions

our very nice real estate agent (did we mention that we're moving?) reminded us that the main entry is the first impression of the house. we don't go in and out this way very much, so we had not put our main energy there. the intention to create a welcoming entry was alive and seeking concreteness (in a metaphoric way), but had not been actualized. the floor of the porch pictured below had been finished with a sort of blue stain. not really paint. as we pondered the color choices of floor paint, our V(ery) N(ice) R(eal) E(state) A(gent), henceforth referred to as T, suggested "why don't you paint it the same red as the door." robin and i looked at the white door. so T, our VNREA, again said, "why not paint the porch floor the same red as the door?" doh. we got it. and agreed.

too bad we don't have a before pic showing the four bare posts unpainted. no railings. no boards with a heart cutout. no red.

even though we're planning to move we still have a vegetable garden. this is the best year ever here for us. we have frozen sugar peas in the pod and also shelled. we harvested cauliflower and froze 7 quart bags of it. more to go. also broccoli and pesto. and more to go of both of those.
this is a melange of cauliflower and peas. the bits of red are red bell peppers. on the right is a dried hot pepper.

splash (carefully) some nice olive oil into an iron skillet.
saute fenugreek, fennel seed, cumin seed, and whole dried red pepper.
add the cauliflower and peas and ground coriander.
saute for another 8 minutes.
add a bit of water and cover.
salt and pepper to your taste.
cook on low heat till done to your taste.
a datil pepper flower in the greenhouse! from the famous st augustine family of our internet pal FC. thanks for the seeds. we are honored to spreading his family tradition.
the whole datil pepper plants, with red bell peppers in the back.
in the lower left, basil; all across the back and right, tomatoes; the lighter green stuff: several sorts of lettuce. while we're still here we eat well.