What's up?

Our network is up. Last night the s.o. installed a router so that both of our computers can use the cable modem at the same time. We can surf different sites at the same time, and it doesn't slow either of us down! Spiffy!

Several new garden plants are also up. The sweet corn is just peeking up through the soil. The okra is up and is growing at a furious pace. We also have neat little rows of Florence fennel, leeks, and globe basil.

Summer lettuce is up, but only a couple of tiny sprouts. I Miracle-Gro'd the bed last night to see if that'll give it the boost it needs.

We're down to three potato plants. The slaughter continues. I'm thinking potatoes are just not in the stars for us. However, some of the bush beans I planted in the empty spots are up.

I "cheated" and put in four storebought eggplant plants last night because my seeds couldn't seem to get a foothold. I wonder if they're tricky somehow? I also bought two artichoke plants but haven't put them in yet.

And finally, this morning I planted four big hills of cucumbers. There's one hill of slicing cukes and three hills of pickling cukes. I'm excited about them and looking forward to a busy pickling season.

My birthday is imminent. I have a lot of things I want to cook/bake for the occasion. It has been a time of slackdom in the kitchen, but that's about to change.