Gardening on the Sun

Gardening in Arizona in the high heat of the summer is a bit frustrating.  I should just put some of these plants out of their misery and pull them up.  I can't seem to do that because I have hope that once it cools off I will be ahead because everything is already mature.  This has worked very successfully in the past and that is what keeps me from starting over right about now.  I did cave and pull up my squash and zucchini and start over with pumpkins and patty pan squash. I did however leave my cocozelle squash untouched as it's in the shade of our citrus and doing alright. I do have a few things that were planted intentionally for this time and are loving it!  Pink eyed peas, asparagus beans, blue basil and Armenian cucumbers all thrive over 100 degrees so that is what has been keeping me consistent out there. Other than that I am leaning in to fall planting.    

On a side note, Josh and I have been watching Arrow on Netflix and we are totally loving it.  Great characters, great story and Comic superhero action!!  What's not to love!

We also cleaned up our garage so we could get back to working out in there.  It is still too hot but we have a portable fan we use and as long as it's not too late in the day it is manageable.  About the same as hot yoga and since I pay to do that I can't really complain about the conditions in the garage!!

 Until next time. Amber

Summer Time

Not too much has been going on around here.  We are all back to work which is great! We have gotten out of the house a few times which has been great to alleviate some of the cabin fever; it has been serious during the pandemic.  We did find a tasty new spot down in Scottsdale that had a meal that was so reminiscent of me and my moms time in Paris.  Steamed mussels with garlic, french fries and rose.  What's not to love!!  I have taken the big girls on a few dates.  Jillian and I went to a  vibrant new brewery which is pretty close to our house.  The decor was unique and the beer was tasty!! We also did a socially distanced 4th of July staycation and we lucked out and got a great firework show. 

       

We've had some silly times being at home.  I was told the toilet was smoking and I needed to take a look, LOL!  The dogs have been loving having us home extra I am sure.  They are such snuggle buddies. 

We also really miss these munchkin heads!!  So glad they are safe with Ma'am and Dadgum but can't wait for them to come home!!  They will be back soon as online school starts in a few short weeks. 

Hope you are healthy and well!! XOXO, Amber

Albuquerque 2020

We made our annual road trip to take the littles to Ma'am and Dadgum's house for a few weeks.  It was amazing.  Their house is always magical but especially so in the summer.  We played with the hose, ran through the sprinklers and had a water balloon fight.  We had a catfish fry with fresh garden tomatoes. We had some tasty take out from Taco Cabana. I loved seeing their garden; the difference between their garden and mine is so interesting to see because of the different climates that we live in. They both certainly have a green thumb that I continue to hope rubs off on me!! The kids have been interested in perfecting their gin rummy skill so I am sure I will have some experts when they come home.  All in all it was a great weekend and I am so happy my kids have such a fun place to be always but especially during the shutdown for this pandemic we are having.  

Until next time.  XOXO,  Amber

Summer So Far

This has been a strange time for everyone.  Who would have thought we would live through a worldwide pandemic and be quarantined in our homes.  There were many times over the last several months when I had such gratitude that we have so much space to run around in our backyard and room to stay out of each others hair inside.  With that being said, we still went a bit stir crazy.  School was a challenge for the children and me both, we can't wait for a normal school year!  We did have a fun time playing in the hot tub and running in the sprinklers.  It was a time of intense bonding and was good for our family.  Since the stay at home order has been lifted we have been venturing out a little bit, with social distancing of course.  Josh and I had our first sushi date in months.  We went out to stimulate the economy (shopping) and picked out some books to read for fun over the summer.  We also finally ventured back into the gym.  It's been a nice albeit anti-climactic start to summer.

The garden is still going pretty strong.  We finally had an artichoke bloom that was as magnificent as they say.  We even had a huge bumble bee visit it.  We also had a Siamese twin squash and made some garden salsa.  I planted some field peas that are in such a perfect row it makes me believe I have finally broken the dogs from digging in the beds.  My okra is an abysmal display of gardening, I have no idea why it is doing so poorly.  Luckily everything else seems to be growing as can be expected.  I am pretty excited to try a few different things this year.  I have planted Armenian cucumbers and asparagus beans which are supposed to do really well in the extreme heat that we get.  I can hardly wait to see how they do.  Until next time, stay healthy!  XOXO, Amber

New Garden

So, we've moved.  Five years ago now actually.  We have a much more relaxed HOA now so we are allowed to have citrus trees.  We have slowly been expanding the garden each year and it is really shaping up nicely. We had HUGE success with artichokes this year which was wonderful.  We also have had many volunteer plants this year which is pretty fun. We are hoping to get some good produce before the weather tries to kill everything off.  We have dug out our wheat and replaced it with okra which tends to like the weather here.

One of our volunteer tomatoes

Accidental Wheat

 

Until next time.
XOXO,
Amber