This and That

While things have been busy, I don't really feel like I've got much to write about.
The garden is growing but not much to report.  The tomatoes seem to have grown about a foot over the weekend while I was gone and are blooming like mad.  The peppers are blooming and I've finally got little broccoli heads forming in the plants.  I replanted most of my vining crops due to a germination failure.  I'm not sure if it has been too hot and dry or if there is something else going on.  The one thing that germinated well, amazingly enough, was the ancient zucchini seed I planted.  This is seed left over from 2008 or 2009- the little round ones- and every single seed I planted came up.  The new stuff- Long Island Cheese Squash- had only one seed germinate.  The new luffa seed had nothing.  I also planted two kinds of melons from last years seeds and got no germination there either. I planted bush beans and scarlet runners (saved from last year) about a week and a half ago, so far I've got 2 beans up.  sigh...
This evening V is off at the Coralville Public Library.  He is the featured speaker/ local author at a summer reading program for teens.  Show and tell with ghost stories is always fun.  He will also be participating in the Iowa City Book Festival in mid-July.  At least he no longer has law suit stuff hanging over his head so he isn't afraid to appear in public and talk about his book.  I guess I never explained that whole situation- it wasn't something we talked about until it was wrapped up.  Another local author who has written extensively about the Black Angel accused V of plagarism because V presented the same historical facts in the same order as he did (duh- I thought facts are facts and history is usually presented in chronological order!).  He went so far as to involve a lawyer and make numerous legal threats.  It was all unfounded and V was vindicated but it was still an expensive, stressful process that really turned V off promoting his book.  This guy seems to think that he owns the facts surrounding this story and, I hear, has taken legal action against others who have written about the angel.  Actually it strikes me as pretty sad that he seems to have so little else to hold onto.
I'm hoping for some sewing time soon.  I'd like to finish Justine's quilt before she goes off to school.  And I've got a shirt that I cut out that I'd like to be able to wear this summer sometime.
V and the children finally got the pool set up yesterday.  Of course, it now presents a water hazard for the frisbee field.  Just another challenge.
Back to gardening stuff, the raspberries are starting to ripen.  The strawberries were a bust. A late frost got most of the blossoms and the few we did get were small due to lack of rain.  That and I was fighting a losing battle with chipmunks over the ripening berries.  But, I noticed in the grocery ad today that there is a big strawberry sale this week so I'm hoping to pick up some to make some jam.  One store is also having kiwis at a decent price so I'm thinking strawberry/kiwi jam.  Mmmm... I'd much prefer being able to make it from my own produce but this has been such a bad year that it's not going to happen. Maybe next year.  Even with purchasing the ingredients it is still a cost saver and I much prefer homemade to store-bought jam anyday.