Saturday in the Garden | I Think We Can All Agree It Has Been a Week

OUTSIDE

I picked a ripe tomato this week as well as getting one more beautiful rose bloom.  Weirdest.  November. Ever.  I'm not complaining though!  Although if I had known this is what we had in store, I would not have picked most of my green tomatoes, assuming the plants were finished, to make green tomato relish!

(These are yellow tomatoes so it's at peak ripeness)

Also I planted a wildflower mix this spring for pollinators and it is currently looking lovely.  Too bad that even with the mild November, I am not seeing many pollinators anymore!

GAK

So. The U.S. election.  If you've read here more than once you may have picked up on the fact that I lean to the left.  OKay, I do more than lean.  So, I, along with millions of others have been grief-stricken all week and am struggling to even know how I feel and want to move forward.  I will do my best, despite my introversion and shyness, to be a friend to anyone who needs it.  I am also going to try to look outside my bubble of like-minded folks a little more. As painful as that will be, I feel like I need to understand better what's going on in America.  My view of the country is obviously sheltered and skewed.

On a brighter note I took a little trip "home" over last weekend and it was fabulous.  Food as always played a huge role but it was also good to see the family and I had a great visit with my best friends in the world as well.

Hushpuppies, Brunswick Stew and Pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw on top - Yum!

Bread Ends and House Dressing from The Cheese Shop in Colonial Williamsburg

Colonial Williamsburg

One really cool thing we did was visit an exhibit of some of Thomas Jefferson's original papers at the Virginia Historical Museum.  TJ deserves a little bit of a side-eye but it is hard to ignore and not be impressed by his curiosity and pursuit of many realms of knowledge.  Most interesting to me were some of his papers about gardening and his library.

These pictures came out so much better on my phone, grrr. Jefferson donated most of his library to the Library of Congress after it burned down in a fire.  The quote from him shown here in a letter to JohnAdams is: " He lamented that he could not live without books but consoled himself that 'fewer will suffice where amusement, and not use, is the only future object'."

This was the book he kept as an inventory of his library. Colonial Goodreads?

Garden Plans - They look a lot like mine! (i.e. kinda messy)

Do you live far from family and the geography you call home?  What are some of the things you look forward to the most when you visit?

WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING

Watching 

Arrow! Season 3 finished.  Season 4 embarked upon!  I got through the first 5 episodes or so of the season before leaving for a trip and I am LOVING the vibe so far.  I love kinder, gentler, wiser Ollie, love he and Felicity being drama free and she getting back to her kick ass roots, love Damien Dahrk as a villain and Malcolm as R'as Al Ghul.  It's all just clicking and fantastic and I'd be 100% happy if I wasn't spoiled up to my eyeballs and knew that it doesn't last.  About halfway to two-thirds through the season the poo hits the fan and things get real bad and I'm already dreading it.... #StayLikeThisAlways

Reading 

Finished Since the Last Time I Posted

• The Man With a Load of Mischief (Richard Jury #1) by Martha Grimes:  I was reminded of this series and author on a recent Get Booked Podcast and pretty immediately went to library and picked the first one up.  My memory of them is that they were a great favorite of my father's for a while so it's appropriate that I am reading it while I am visiting "home" for a long weekend.  Definitely making me nostalgic and a little sad but the book is actually pretty funny and delightful thus far.
• Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury:  I'd like to try and read all of Ray Bradbury's books - I love his writing.  I thought this would make a nice Autumn/Halloween read.  I had to emergency stick this one in my ears on the plane on Thursday to drown out this blowhard two seats from me who was going on and on without cease about how great Trump was.  
• Rapunzel's Revenge (RR #1) by Shannon and Dean Hale and Nathan Hale:  A re-telling of of the Rapunzel fairy tale done in Graphic Novel form and set in a wild west steam punk but with magic sort of setting.  
• Calamity Jack (Rapunzel's Revenge #2) by Shannon and Dean Hale and Nathan Hale: A re-telling and continuation of the Jack and the beanstalk myth.  A direct sequel for Rapunzel's Revenge.

Currently Reading:

• Etiquette and Espionage (Finishing School #1) by Gail Carriger: I loved the Parasol Protectorate series so am looking forward to a YA offering in the same world by Ms. Carriger!  
• Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy by Karen Abbott: A non-fiction book focused on the American Civil War, in particular 4 women who played important and unsung roles.  

Added to the TBR:

This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week.  It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!

• Domino: The Book of Decorating. A Room by room guide to creating a home that makes you happy by Deborah Needleman:  This was in the VA historical museums shop and it looked lovely.  I want to look it up at the library.
• Mr. Darcy's Obssession: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Abigail Reynolds:  I just ran across this while browsing at the library.  It looks like it gets a little racy!  I love me some Austen Fan Fic. 

Blogging

On the BLOG LAST WEEK:

Nothing. Being gone last weekend kind of scuppered things for the blog this week.  I really need to get a PILE of reviews written!

Peace and Love to All of You!