So this happened. My tomatoes have a lot of blossoms, but today, for the first time, I saw tomatoes. Tiny ones, but it made me happy to see them.
Teeny tiny peppers too.
We got the doors on the bedroom closet, both bedrooms, the bathroom. We have the stuff to hang the pantry door. We worked on the baseboard in the livingroom.
We read of a situation in the paper yesterday. Tim and I sat pondering it. We know the backstory. I said, "You know, we could fix that." Nothing more. Just that. This morning, he wanted to go over to the courthouse and get his deer hunting license. To my surprise, while he was there, he walked over to the proper office and he did fix that.
I met up with a friend while he was gone. She had a chair to give me, and it will match nicely with the little enamel top kitchen table that belonged to Tim's mother. It is always good to talk with Diane. She is centered and wise, and no matter what is going on in the world around me, I walk away feeling better for having discussed it with her. It is hard for both of us to watch what is happening in the world right now, especially in our own country. A lot of people seem to have given up, seems to me. Throw their hands in the air and say, "What can we do?" or "We're fucked."
I try to avoid getting sucked down to that point, but sometimes just does all seems too big. Too overwhelming. I need to step back. Diane's a kindred soul, and she's the same.
We stood in the morning cool talking about that, the fact that we are out in the middle of rural NW Pennsylvania, far removed from a great many of the horrors.
What do we do? And does it mean anything at all?
And once again, the only conclusion that we can come to is that we do kindness. We pour as much kindness as we can, right where we are. It truly is all we can do. In the end, it might matter to no one, but what it guarantees is that we did not become part of the ugliness, and that has to mean something, doesn't it?
So...
Today, I put venison in the crock pot with peppers, onions, and mushrooms and allowed it to simmer while we worked. Steak subs sounded good for supper. We stopped on the way home to get buns, and I treated myself to a little pot of very good horseradish.
We came home, and I toasted the buns for our sandwiches and the horseradish was just the small touch of excellence I needed.
All good things, Debby. I like your perspective, and try to do the same.
ReplyDeleteLovely little maters! Little things like that just gladden the heart.
The sight of them made my day. I am worried about my peas though. I am not seeing a single blossom.
DeleteWe have to carry on and show the goodness and kindness that there is
ReplyDeleteNot much else we can do, is there? Raise our voices and be kind.
DeleteCentred and wise people seem a little thin on the ground at the moment. Yes, don't take part in the lie.
ReplyDeleteAre you back from your vacation? How did the Cat-man do????
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good plan. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteOnly plan I can come up with. If you think of a better one, let me know.
DeleteNew born tomatoes are just adorable. My one and only tomato plant was a complete fail two years ago. How long do you cook the venison in the crockpot? On high, or low? Good on Tim for fixing the that.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the tomato babies! I just picked my last tomatoes today. I'm sad that they're done.
DeleteSteak subs sound really good.
They were very good. Allison, I used a vegetable broth, garlic, onion, peppers, and mushrooms. I left it on high for probably 5 hours. It simmered all day and made a good, good broth that will be used again to make a pot of either cream of turnip soup or French onion soup. I fish the steaks and vegetables out and strain the excess juice back into the crock pot, sliver the meat and serve it on a toasted bun with a nice slice of cheddar. Tim had three! We'll have them for supper tomorrow too. Jennifer, they were a hit at my house.
DeletePs...I can't believe your tomatoes are done already, Jennifer. Can you plant another round of them?
DeleteHey Debbie...I didn't mean to comment as a response to Allison's comment! I was using my phone and I'm sure you know what that's like. Yes, I could plant another round of them...if I had seedlings ready to go, or if any of the stores were still selling young tomato plants. Neither of those things are true, though. Next year I'll plan better for succession planting. But overall it's been a good year for tomatoes. I've picked around 30 pounds of them, not counting cherries!
Delete!!!!!!! That's a lot of 'maters, Jennifer. I'm going to tell you an Amish trick. They just plant their seeds straight into the ground. While Mattie has a greenhouse and goes the seedling route (probably because people buy them), her mother just plants her seeds in the garden and does just fine.
DeleteI think I need a Diane. . . . . Meanwhile - yay for tomatoes and peppers! I love your interior doors, very similar to the ones we got a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteGood for Tim. Not sure what he fixed, but kudos for him for stepping up and doing it!
Everybody needs a Diane!
DeleteCelebrate the small stuff. It was fresh sweet corn and strawberry shortcake at my house.
ReplyDeleteBonnie in Minneapolis
Ooooohhhh...sounds wonderful!
DeleteIt's hard to keep your spirits up when so many nasty things are happening and the people who should be looking out for us disappear.
ReplyDeletedisappear, or worse yet, see a chance to align themselves with power and go to the 'dark side', as the saying goes.
DeleteSpreading kindness in your community is the perfect thing to do, our village is full of kind souls, which pleases us so much.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a wonderful place to live...in a kind village! I don't necessarily think that my town is unkind...it's just that we have a lot of MAGA who parrot their leader. I think though that most people would do a kindness if they ever had the chance.
DeleteI have baby tomatoes too. It is very exciting!
ReplyDeleteOh, it is! I can almost taste the tomato sandwiches!!!
DeleteSeeing lovely things growing is an antidote to the misery so often seen around us.
ReplyDeleteIt is a small bright spot for sure!
DeleteThank you for the reminder, Debby, that even though it all seems so big and unfixable, we can still choose to not be a part of the heat, but a part of the light. My gf's and I have a group text where each day, we post 3 things for which to be grateful. This has changed my attitude so much.
ReplyDeleteThat's an important thing: gratitude. But your group provides something else...camaraderie. The knowledge that there are others out there of a like mind. My blog does that for me. Thanks for being here!
DeleteIt would take all or most Americans to be on the same page to have a chance of fixing the mess, but it is a country divided.
ReplyDeleteRight now, we are a country badly divided. What I find most disheartening are those enlightened souls who 'see both sides'. What is happening right now is frightening, and it is very, very wrong. I don't want to waste time listening to someone complain about parties, or bringing up examples from the past. We need to look at right here. Right now. Should we be building concentration camps? No. There is no 'right' in that. Should masked men be grabbing people off the street? No. There is no 'right' in that. Speak up. Speak out. At the very least, keep your mouth shut when someone else is doing it. The country will continue to devolve, unfortunately, but the tide will turn. Whether that will happen in time to save the country, I cannot tell you. I don't believe that I will be alive to see it.
DeleteYour response to Jennifer's comment about tomatoes and how Mattie's mother plants her seeds right into the ground has me wondering- could we do that here? I will think about that.
ReplyDeleteI think I am taking time away from the political situation. It has been killing me. And what do my anger, my tears, my fears help? Certainly not me. I've always tried to be as kind as I can. I fail sometimes but I always try. That will not change. I have not remained silent about issues that I feel are important. This will not change.
I don't think, though, that these are the things that will have any effect whatsoever on the horrors of this administration and the powers behind it.
Have you read this? https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/06/09/curtis-yarvin-profile
I have no illusions that it will change anything, Mary. That is why I sometimes really despair. But the thing is that despair helps no one. Kindness does. Speaking up does. Those rwo things I CAN do. We will do our own small parts and to quote Camus and Elie Wiesel, 'if there is no hope, we must invent it.'
DeleteI think I have always been kind and so I continue to be. What has shocked me about this is how many people are NOT kind and they seem proud of it. Ugh! I will stay hopeful but scared...
ReplyDeleteMost of the sensible folk ARE afraid right now, if that is any comfort to you, Ellen.
DeleteSometimes I treat myself to a little something at the grocery store. It makes me feel special. I can afford it but always pass it up saying You don't need that. That one week I buy it just for me it feels good.
ReplyDeleteI understand that. In these times, we need to look a bit harder for joy, don't we?
DeleteIt makes me happy to know that you are in your corner of the world spreading some kindness. Take care, Debby, and thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou and Lucy are ambassadors in your neck of the woods.
DeleteOooooh, I'm intrigued to know what problem you solved! Can you give us any more info?
ReplyDeleteI think maintaining a sense of hope is vital with all that's going on. I take heart from the fact that many far-right MAGA people are getting upset with Trump for one thing or another -- Epstein, or Ukraine, or whatever. There's no pleasing them because they're extremists, and unconstrained by any sense of practicality. I think the MAGA movement will eventually destroy itself. Meanwhile we just have to keep pointing out the vileness.
(I'm nervous because we have our own far-right political movement here in the UK that seems to be gaining steam.)
I think that it will, eventually implode. What bothers me though is that there are so many jockeying for power. We will need to rid ourselves of a whole bunch of people before things start making sense again. As time goes on, and the situation deteriorates, we will see things change, but so many people will pay a heavy price for our inability to learn from history.
DeleteYes! Kindness, compassion, empathy...we need to hang onto them and spread that love for each other around. And baby tomatoes are good, too--lol! ;)
ReplyDeleteOh I can't wait for my first tomato sandwich.
DeleteI do love horseradish - and kindness - and watching things grow. We always plant tomatoes from seed (in fact, they often plant themselves, especially the cherry) - is it because of the cold weather there?
ReplyDeleteWe've had 'volunteers' before. I guess it just really never occurred to me that you wouldn't start tomatoes and peppers inside. I've always done it that way.
Delete