GRATITUDES:
1. My 16-year-old daughter still calling out “MUMMEEEEE!!” when seeing me at the end of a work shift
2. The cardinal that flew right up to my bedroom window to peek in and say hello. Twice!
3. The geckos living under our deck with their sweet little peeping voices

It’s A-LIIIIVVVE!!! I wasn’t expecting such an active ferment with the kimchi batch but the stuff was positively bubbling this morning! Note to self: Maybe leave the lid of the canning jar loose next time so that fermentation gasses can escape. When I opened the jar there was a loud FOOM as the batch depressurized. I could have had a very messy explosion in the kitchen if I’d let it percolate for longer. Anyway, I let the stuff chill for a bit in the fridge and then had a small bowlful. WOW. It’s fiery but still crunchy and just a bit sweet from the residual sugars in the veggies. I’d call this a definite win for the first try and a much more cost-effective way of supporting my kimchi-loving kid’s habit!😊

Another lazy Sunday, at least for me and the critters. For Rory it was another matter entirely. He went outside after lunchtime to dig weeds, prune shrubs and do battle with the wasps. Again. Yesterday he knocked down 6-7 wasp nests on the back porch and another one on the front porch, and the nasty little buggers are not. Happy. At. All. They’re now swarming around both front and back doors trying to figure out what the hell happened to their nests and they’re being REALLY obnoxious about it. As they do. Oy. Clueless me walked out the back door to hang a few of Lauren’s work clothes to dry outside and had to dash through a veritable cloud of small armed flying menaces just to get back in. A few of them tried to follow through the briefly open door. One of them actually made it and Rory chased it down, captured it under a glass, and took the intruder back where it belonged. Let’s hope that the little monsters get a clue and find somewhere else to build their nests but in the meantime, I’m looking into less toxic ways of discouraging them. I do NOT want to hose down the outside of the house with poisons!