Catching up

Yee Ha! I FINALLY got my gardens planted. I'm not sure why it took so long, but it has. So I made sure to buy larger seedlings and got them all planted. I have tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash and herbs. I also managed to plant some containers to make some colorful additions to the front of the house.

I just love the feeling when you get something done that you've procrastinated to the point of getting a bit freaked out by it. I've been meaning to do yard work, but there's just so much that needs to be done that I get overwhelmed and I don't do anything. But I'm on a roll now and I'd really like to get my yard into better shape. I have a bunch of plants and bulbs I've been collecting for projects, so I should have some cool things happening around here pretty soon.

We also met for bookclub last week. Our bookclub is nothing like the just-cancelled "Tuesday Night Bookclub," which featured a bunch of Scottsdale, Ariz., women who were freaky in their "hotness." After all, there are no groups of women where no one is over a size 2. And no one has that much time to spend on her appearance. Hell, it's a good day when I remember deodorant AND eyeliner ("Mommy, that lady doesn't; have any eyes!!!"

We read "What's the Matter With Kansas?" as the book of the month, which I highly recommend. I was enlisted to use a chocolate fountain my friend Kim have me. I bought all kinds of goodies, macaroons, biscotti, pound cake, strawberries, pineapple, to dip in the chocolate. I use Ghirardelli dark chocolate chunks. It was messy and a lot of fun. A chocolate fountain is one of those things you would never buy for yourself. But it's a lot of fun to have around.

  

I've been eating better and trying to exercise more this summer. I've always enjoyed seafood salads and I love avocados. Living in Ventura County, we get great avocados grown locally. I bought a couple at the Ojai farmers market on Sunday, along with some fresh dill, salad greens and arugula. I also snatched up a couple of lemons.
This made a great dish after a day of digging around outside.

Crab and avocado salad

1 6-ounce can lump white crab meat
1/2 cup chopped celery
lemon
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 avocados

Mix crab meat, celery, juice of one-half lemon, dill and mayonnaise. Slice two avocados in half. Remove pit and sprinkle with lemon juice. Divide the crab salad into fourths and put in the center of the avocado. Serve nestled on a bed of lettuce.