The Journey Continues...High Summer, July 5 - July 11

Monday, July 5

I begin this first week of the 2nd half of summer with a clear calendar for a few day.  Morning in the garden, pulling weeds and other assorted tasks.  I found a few green beans, squash and tomatoes. The pace today is pleasant enough for me to notice my little pond frog and a companion on the deck.

Tuesday, July 6

Back to the garden this morning.  I discovered right away that the deer have been in again.   They nibbled some of the new green beans and ate the hearts out of all the remaining lettuce that I was planning to harvest today.   The only place that they might have come in is over the gate.  See my solution below, using some old fiberglass poles from a tent we had 40 years ago.  I draped some netting over this section in hopes of keeping the animals out.

I pulled up the remains of the lettuce and planted more bush beans

Green beans are sad looking, but are trying hard to reproduce

I love these summer meals featuring garden produce.  Tomato slices, topped with Sweetwater Valley Italian Pesto cheese, on sourdough slices and toasted, with a side of marinated cucumbers and red onion.  I don't grow the onion.

Supper was garden vegetables and catfish fillets both cooked on the grill.  I was in too much of a hurry to stop and take a picture of the finished meal, but it was pretty and good.

Wednesday, July 7

This morning, while I was in the garden Pastor Linda called me and told me that our parishioner and and friend Jim Anderson had been discharged from the hospital yesterday and she had to pick him up and take him back to the motel in Loudon where he has been staying since he suffered a house fire almost 6 weeks ago.  Furthermore, the insurance company would no longer pay for the hotel after tomorrow.  I already had a scheduled "get acquainted" lunch with her for 11:30, so I sent in early to meet with her so we could discuss the situation.  Jim, age 86, has very limited means and very little support system outside the church, although he has a sister and brother-in-law in Knoxville.

After a productive discussion and a delightful lunch, I went to Loudon to see Jim and assess the situation.  He is still not well.  After some time on the phone with the insurance company and Service Master who is doing the fire-damage repair, we worked out the beginning of a plan.  The mortgage company who holds a reverse mortgage on the property had issued a foreclosure notice and locked the contractor and everyone else out of the house.  That has been resolved by the contractor and they say that his house will not be ready for two more weeks.  They will pay for an additional two weeks stay at a motel and he will move to one in Lenoir City.  I arranged for his friend and Sunday School teacher to pick him up tomorrow and take him to Inn of Lenoir tomorrow.  This is how I spent my whole afternoon - worthwhile, productive, exhausting. 
When I got home I was able to reach his brother-in-law and give him a report.  I hope to get him more involved in overseeing Jim's care.

Thursday, July 8

I was up and out at 5:15 am to take Sandra for cataract surgery this morning.  All went well and I was home by 8 am.  Since I was up and going, I decided to pick blueberries.  I have been wanting to do that for a couple of weeks. The season can come and go if I don't pay attention.  With these hot days, morning is the best time to pick.  So despite rain late yesterday, I headed to Honey's Blueberry Farm this morning, about 15 minutes down the road by way of the Cross-eyed Cricket.  I love picking berries there in the cool hours of the morning.  The ownership has changed and the weighing and paying is set up on a honor system.  I picked almost 7 pounds and bought a quart jar of local honey.  The 7 pounds yielded 8 pints for the freezer and one for eating fresh.  Where is the picture? I'm really slipping.  I did take a few in the field and of the charming little cabin that services as the "office." I though of my reflection last summer that I ended up making into a sermon: Holy Encounters

Mid-afternoon, I went to see if Jim was settled in the Inn of Lenoir.  I found that he had not food at all in the rood and no way to go out for food.  We talked at length about his situation.  I discovered that he had been discharged with Home Care, so we made some calls to get his address changed to the motel and to make sure the visits would begin immediately.  He also learned, while I was there, that he has an appointment with his primary care doc on Monday.  We arranged for his friend and neighbor Deloris to take him.  I drove by his house to see for myself where the repair stands.  Looks like very little has been done in 6 weeks.

We also made a grocery list and I shopped for him, food that he can eat cold (sandwich makings, fruit) or heat in the microwave.  I believe that a great deal of progress has been made since yesterday. He has enough food to get through the weekend.

His brother-in-law has taken responsibility for following up with the insurance company and Service-Master and also with Home Care.

Friday, July 9

I was out early again, but not until 8 am today, to take Sandra for her cataract follow-up.  After that, today was just an ordinary day with no other special activities, projects or events.  However, I did prepare a special dish for our supper, Cod Baked in Foil with Leeks and Carrots.  Of course, deviated a little, using Vidalia onion slices in place of leeks and adding red & yellow bell peppers which I had on hand.  Fresh thyme and parsley from the garden make the topping along with lemon zest, white wine and butter.  We "baked" in on the grill, indirect heat.  WoW! It only needed a salad to go along.

Saturday, July 10

I try to visit the garden every morning that my schedule and weather permit.  It in July, I have to be finished with garden projects by 10 am.  I can't take much heat.  This morning, I pruned tomatoes and thinned the okra. Later, I made a pasta salad for tomorrow's church pot luck dinner.

Park had texted me earlier in the week that some of the Sunflower folks are putting together a Sunflower Cookbook and were asking for recipes from mother and Nannie.  I went through my family recipe book and picked out a few.  I decided to type them up rather than just take a snapshot.  The writing is barely legible on most.  For years, I've said I wanted to organize family favorite and heritage recipes, so this is giving me a start. I selected 10 traditional family favorites. 

We invited Bonnie over for a steak supper and a movie.  We ate the last of the tenderloins that she had put in our freezer last summer.  She brought more from her freezer that she had also bought last year.  Bill always does a great job grilling the steaks, using his trusty digital thermometer to know when they are just like we like them - cooked rare.  We had smashed new potatoes and a salad of just tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden.  

Sunday, July 11

After church we had a pot-luck dinner to welcome and get to know Pastor Linda and her husband Allen.  Meatloaf was the main course and everyone brought side dishes.  After the dinner, I made a to-go plate and took it to Jim.  He seems to be doing better.  

I was ready for some R&R when I got home.  It has been a busy week.  I worked a little more on the recipe project and got it ready to send to Park. One of our favorites is Nannie's Chicken Spaghetti. It starts with "boil a hen."  I'm just glad it didn't start with "select a hen and wring its neck!"  I'll have to make this soon.

I made BiBimBap for our supper, using the trimmings from last night's tenderloin. I've made it enough now that it doesn't seem like such a difficult production.