the quotidian (5.28.12)

Quotidian: daily, usual or customary; 
everyday; ordinary; commonplace 

The kids constantly fight over who gets to hold her. And then when she falls asleep they cry because they can’t hold her anymore…except for the one who put her to sleep, lucky bum.

He tilled for an hour while his papa followed along, picking up rocks. 

Carving branches into sharp pointy sticks is all the rage these days.

We’ve been eating an awful lot of store-bought bread and lunch meat these days. These particular sandwiches were for a picnic lunch at the park after a morning of running errands: library, barber shop (for shaggy boy—see top picture), a visit to the cat shelter (for petting purposes only), the pharmacy, etc. We topped it all off with DQ cones. The kids couldn’t believe their good fortune.

I took my afternoon coffee on the deck so I could keep my eye on the weather—it was threatening to rain and there was laundry on the line.

I’m not sure what to say about this picture. It appeared on my camera. (And yes, the kids aren’t allowed to use my camera without permission, but when stuff like this shows up, I have a hard time being mad.)

Sparkle: a new (for us) kind of strawberry. I’m conflicted about them. The flavor is excellent, but they go all squishy mushy super easy and don’t keep well at all. I doubt I’ll plant them again. (We’re getting ready to plant a huge, new patch. Any suggestions on what kind of berries to choose?)

Grape arbor monkey.
He’s not allowed up there—the whole time I was taking pictures, 
I was telling him to get down.
Which wasn’t effective at all.

Grape arbor house. 

Chillin’ with G-daddy.

Grandmommy came, and she brought squash pie. Two of them. (And the fans went wild.) 

This same time, years previous: making art, Aunt Valerie’s blueberry bars, asparagus, goat cheese, and lemon pasta, questions and carrots, chicken butchering, a cake for Wayne, one dead mouse, strawberry ideas, the ways we play

12 Comments

  • Jennifer Jo

    Thanks for all the berry advice, y'all! I feel like I'm better equipped to make an informed decision now.

  • Anonymous

    Love the pic with the computer and coffee cup outside on the deck. I am currently on the computer with a tall mug of water on my deck. It is so nice outside.
    L in Elkton

  • FarmersWife

    We grow both Chandlers and SeaScapes. Chandlers give you LOTS of big berries early while Seascapes produce berries all summer, just not in the quantity of Chandlers. We sell the Chandlers at our Farmers Market and I keep the Seascapes for myself, throwing many of them in a container in the freezer until I can make jam. Flavor on both are EXCELLENT and both will keep a few days n the fridge without becoming mushy. Seascapes make the BEST jam–really dark, deep flavor!
    Chandlers are "junebearers" and Seascapes are "everbearers." Last year, I was still getting about a pint every other day in NOV from the Seascapes : )

  • katie

    I second the earliglow. They are small, but I must disagree with Mama Pea, I like the small ones better. They have excellent flavor and I think their smallness gives them a better chance of ripening and me picking them before something else gets a chance to interfere. I've tried a few other varieties, but keep coming back to Earliglow. Here's the kid, with his bowl of Earliglows: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qanoa2pE2h8/TBEca5VWcAI/AAAAAAAAI7g/hRV6taCd5I8/s800/strawberries2010_0010.JPG

  • Kris

    I don't know much about growing strawberries, but I know delicious berries, and the best ones I've eaten from the farmer's market are Chandlers. Gullmans grow them, just down the road from you, so you could walk over and inquire some afternoon.

  • Mama Pea

    I always choose my strawberry varieties for 1) flavor, and 2) size. (It takes just as much time/effort to pick and clean a large berry as it does to pick and clean a small one!) I've been very pleased with Cavendish. They're not the least bit mushy, but yet juicy. The thing is, though, I think the same variety will perform differently in different locations. We're Zone 4 up here and I'm sure you're in a much warmer zone. Bottom line, I guess you've just got to experiment and find the "perfect" variety for you.

  • Zoë

    My sparkle berries do the same thing. I tend to pick them before they are fully ripe just so they don't go all mushy on me.

    I like early glow but they are terribly small. That's the only other berry I have experience with.

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