Cucumbers and lots of ladybugs

The first cucumbers of the season today :)  I think they are the marketmores from Azure, the one we ate was yummy.  We also picked strawberries, blueberries, yellow squash, zucchini we are growing for a friend, and basil.  The tomatillios are just going crazy still, just amazing how covered they are.

The asparagus has had asparagus beetles and we have done some picking of them off, but there have been bunches and bunches anyway.  Well today the asparagus is also full, even more so, of ladybugs.  The natural way seems to be working out well.  There were lots of ladybug larvae and mature bugs.  I moved probably a dozen or more larvae to other areas of the garden.  I am hoping with the squash bug picked and egg squashing and now the ladybugs we will win the battle with them this year.  I found some eggs on the crookneck leaves and did some squashing ;)

Bountiful Baskets July 21~ Plummy Paradise~ Sourdough

Another great week for Bountiful Baskets.  This week we received corn, cantaloupe, broccoli, greenhouse cucumbers, yellow squash, green grapes, carrots, plums, strawberries, raspberries, and a living lettuce head.

The Plummy Paradise includes many varieties of plums that may include Black Owen, Red Crimson, Honey Suckle Rose, Green Flavor Queen, Crimson Glo Red Pluot, Dapple Dandy, Black Cherry, Black Ruby, Fortune Red, Red Hiromi, and Black Velvet Apricots.  The Black Velvet Apricots are something we just discovered at Costco and are very yummy, they are a little fuzzy like a peach.

We also got a pack of the sourdough we enjoy so much :)

First Early Girl Tomatoes

Today we had the first two early girl tomatoes.  They were small and so very good, eating them was such a good reminder of what a tomato is supposed to taste like!  We many other green tomatoes scattered on all the other varieties of tomatoes we are growing, how exciting it will be when we are harvesting more than a couple at a time.

The Company by Chuck Graham

The Company
by Chuck Graham

The Company is about the world after a huge meteor strikes Earth and what life is like for the few survivors.  The story picks up seventy years after the world went dark and the mysterious visitors brought light back to the people of Brigos Glen.  When a group of Brigons are choosen and taken to a conference in the Outlands, an area where people have not tried to go for many years, but the ones who did never came back.  


I thoroughly enjoyed The Company.  Reading an allegory of modern times was a nice change of pace from the current type of books I read.  The way Mr. Graham presents the Trinity in the book is a helpful explanation to believers and nonbelievers.  He made several complex subjects come to life in real world examples.  In the times we are living in I think The Company is a wonderful book for Christians as well as a book that friends or family would be happy to receive and better understand what Christians believe.   

For more reviews visit The Company Blog Tour.

I was provided a free copy of this book for the purposes of review, the opinions expressed are my own.

The Book of Man by Bennett

The Book of Man
by William J. Bennett

The Book of Man is a wonderful collection of stories, articles, poems, letters, and other wonderful writings about what it really means to be a man.  This book is divided into areas of life that apply to men: politics, leisure, work, war, with women and children, and in prayer.  There are many authors and stories that you will recognize, but many more that I did not know about.  

This book is wonderful for men, such an encouragement and wonderful examples of strong men.  Men of courage, honor, strength, integrity, and wonderful qualities of true men.  Men who have sacrificed for their country and families. 
 
As a parent of boys this book is something that will be book that will be a reference all through their growing years.  I think this book would be such blessing for a dad to read to his sons as they grow up.  It will provide true examples of what being a man is all about in a culture that devalues men and boys, generally portraying them as stupid, irrelevant, or brutes.  The Book of Man would also make a great gift, maybe to a young man turning 12 or 13 or parents of a son of any age.  I think this book would best be used in a mentoring relationship, as all ways of helping a boy grow into a man.




I was provided a free copy of this book for the purposes of review, the opinions expressed are my own.

My Stubborn Heart by Becky Wade

My Stubborn Heart
by Becky Wade

My Stubborn Heart is about a single woman, Kate, who has had a couple of serious relationships, only finding out they were not the ones God had planned for her.  Kate goes to spend some time with her grandmother renovating a family property.  The man her grandmother has hired for the remodeling is a man who is deeply wounded and private, Kate is determined to help melt some of his heart of stone.

I enjoyed this book.  I am not much of a romance novel person and parts of it made me a little uneasy, but it is a good read.  I am sure for someone who is a lover of romance it would be more enjoyable.  I continued to read because the book has a great story that was also revolving around some other fun characters besides Kate and the hurting hero.  I also enjoyed how the story took some unexpected turns and was not just a love story that was happily ever after the moment the two main characters met.  I didn't enjoy a couple instances of inappropriate language, these were not the big bad curse words, but words I don't want to hear around my home.  And I certainly wouldn't look to this novel as a way to find a Godly husband, or for young girls to get that idea that the guy they have the "hots" for will become a Christian.

I was provided a free copy of this book for the purposes of review, the opinions expressed are my own.    

Ripe Cherry Tomato :)

Woo hoo, we had our first ripe cherry tomato and there is an early girl that is starting to turn.  The zucchinis and yellow squash are starting to get with the program.  Our one yellow squash has a whole bunch of little squash on it, probably at least a dozen.  I think I saw a tiny crookneck while I was weed-eating the path beside it's box.  I need to check that out tomorrow because they are best pretty small usually and grow quick.  Still getting chard and the kale is huge and not seeming threatened by the hot weather at all.  More blueberries are ripening and things are looking good in the garden ;)

Bountfiul Baskets July 7th plus Italian pack

Another great week for our Bountiful Basket.

The main basket had strawberries, grapes, cauliflower, nectarines, several zucchini, tomatoes on the vine, head of romaine, limes, plums, mangoes, green beans, and bananas.  Plus and extra grape for volunteering :)  $15

The Italian add-on had mushrooms, basil, rosemary, parsley, white onion, garlic, thyme, eggplant, bell pepper, yellow squash, and a red onion.  $8.50

We also got a box of pineapple, six huge pineapples in this add-on for $12!  I think they are ripe, so we will be eating lots of pineapple soon.  As well as Multigrain Bread with Omega-3, five loaves for $12.

Review: Glamorous Illusions

Glamorous Illusions
by Lisa Bergren

Glamorous Illusions is about a young woman named Cora, whose life as she knows it wasn't what she thought it always was.  She ends up taking a wonderful, sometimes frightening, and grand adventure.  This is the first book in the Grand Tour Series by Lisa T. Bergren.

This book was wonderful.  It was an exciting read, that wasn't too focused on the mushy love aspect of a young woman's life.  It is a great glimpse into Cora's life as a now upper class lady, living in a time where status was very important.  I enjoyed it very much and am looking forward to the next books in the series.  This is a book I would recommend to anyone looking for a relaxing, lovely read.

I didn't realize this was the same author as the "God Gave Us..." books, that was really fun to learn.  We have read over and over the God Gave Us So Much :)

I was provided a free copy of this book for the purposes of review, the opinions expressed are my own.