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The first thing I do when I open this page is search for comments. So, I filter through the postings, reading a continuing string of 0 comments. But, it's blogworld, and people read what they like. Either 1) they don't like the postings (unlikely, since people are more apt to respond to things they don't like); 2) My self-absorbed ramblings are boring as bad daytime TV, therefore they don't care about the postings; 3)Nobody sees them.

I'm guessing 2. Yet I remain undaunted. I shall continue to post. Today I met some interesting people and did some fun things. I searched at Westlake's Hardware, Hy-Vee Grocery Store, a roadside farmers' market and finally Wal-Mart for Zucchini plants. Although living flora actually sprout vocal cords and begin screaming when I come near, I am attempting to plant vegetables - and have them survive my tender loving care - in ground freshly tilled by my Dad. We started small, about a two-and-one-half-foot strip of ground that runs parallel to the garage. I'm not a great judge of distance, but it may be about 18 feet long.

The day Mom and Dad came to till the ground was a Tuesday. Dad's an engineer, believe me, the line where the tilling ends is STRAIGHT. Mom planted some chives near the garage door, and some surprise lilies on the other end. Last weekend, I planted 12 tomato plants. This weekend I planted 4 zucchini plants at the far end between the tomatoes and the surprise lilies; then I planted a spearmint plant and a peppermint plant between the chives and the tomatoes. People say mint plants come back year after year. I hope they take over the entire yard. It would smell wonderful after mowing, wouldn't it? I also bought 12 tomato cages for the tomatoes I planted last week. (can't let those wiley little buggers escape the yard, you know).

The zucchini came in a six-pack. Since I only had room for four, I'll take the other two plants to work Monday, and maybe someone else will want to plant them.

I'm confident I planted the plants too close together. But they're so small right now! If I'm diligent and keep them pruned, maybe they won't spread too far, assuming they live. Maybe next year we'll till a line next to the fence. We'll need to do it a bit earlier. There are other plants, including a peony bush, in that area. Maybe we could dig up the other plants and move them somewhere. I would LOVE to plant some morning glories along the fence. I'd actually love to plant honeysuckle there because it smells so nice, but it also draws bees, and my neighbor hangs his laundry out by the fence. I don't think it would be very nice to make him have to deal with bees while he's doing laundry.

At the roadside Farmers' Market, I found a little stand selling baked goods. I bought my husband a small loaf of banana nut bread, and I bought myself a sugar-free raspberry muffin. Bruce said the banana nut bread was really good. I did not share my raspberry muffin with him, it was heavenly. The man said all of their muffins were sugar-free, but very good. He said he was diabetic, but he was the quality control, so he had to test the recipes for taste before they decided to sell them. "Most of them are made with fat-free ingredients, too," he said, "except I haven't figured out how to take the fat out of the bacon-cheese muffins." I'm diabetic, too, so next week, I'm going back to his booth to get a couple more muffins - Maybe he'll have blueberry, too.

After I did the plant shopping, I met Bruce for lunch at a Chinese restaurant we like. They have a mongolian bar, where you can pick the raw items you like, and the guy stir-fries it for you on a big round table. I can have a whole plate of stir-fried vegetables. I like to have him cook Bruce's first, because he likes his hot and spicy. I like mine very mild, but if he cooks mine second, my vegetables pick up just a little of the spice. It's just right.

Then we came home. I didn't feel very good, but planted the zucchini because I didn't want to put it off. When we were done with that, I needed to come in and rest. I put on comfortable clothes, laid down for awhile and promptly fell asleep. I felt much better when I got up.

Then Bruce's office called. Bruce is a computer tech at a tannery. They make blue leather (yes, the color blue), from cow's hides. I'm not sure what was wrong, but he had to go in and make a computer work so they could make more blue leather. While he was gone, I turned on a Hugh Grant movie, made a gallon of iced tea, and rearranged some coffee in the kitchen.

I got a set of glass cannisters Friday at work. We're building a Habitat for Humanity house, and along the way we're having some fundraisers so we can buy something nice for our Habitat family. A couple weeks ago we raised $700 with a silent auction. That was fun. Now, we're having "Payday Garage Sales." On payday, we bring "garage sale" type items, put "garage sale" prices on them, and other employees can browse and buy. I saw this cannister set and decided I really needed it. In the tallest I put long noodles (accidentally mixed fetuccini with linguini, but Bruce didn't care), and I filled the other three with one of my favorite things: Coffee. I put Red Wheel Creme Broule in one, Gevalia Mocha in another, and my favorite Gevalia flavor, Papua New Guinea, in the third. Then I got the coffee pot ready for tomorrow morning. I didn't set the timer because I never know when we'll get up on Sundays.

Dear God, I really am rambling. Here, I shall beg forgiveness from any reader who expected more from this post. No, you won't get this time back. I shall sign off now, as I have reinforced in my mind the reason I continue to see "0 comments" at the end of each post...
KG