Garden Bounty, Part 1

Posted on May 27, 2025 by Pamela Rentz

(Somehow I wrote the blog for New Orleans Last Day and never posted it. Oops!! That’s why there are going to be a couple posts close together.)

The garden is bursting at the seams. I’ve always wanted a magical backyard and I feel like I am starting to achieve that.

These are the peas. I felt like I was really holding back and just planting a reasonable amount. But everything came up and came up hearty and that is a pea bush. You can’t really see but there are some lettuce plants in between because it seemed like there was extra room in there.

The raised beds are magic.

Here’s some more lettuce. Lettuce is another crop that I felt I really held back and only planted a few seeds. I’m so accustomed to pitiful returns that this whole thing has been quite educational.

I am still giving away lettuce and making new friends wherever I can. There’s a neighborhood association meeting next week and I’m bringing lettuce.

I have 4 tomatoes in the raised beds and I look forward to complaining about too many tomatoes.

Apples! Last year the deer visited during apple blossom time and filled their adorable bellies with all my future apples.

I haven’t see a trace of the deer in quite some time and worry for their health and well being.

But, I am also happy for my yard. Now there are so many apples that the whole tree is going to collapse. I need to keep an eye on them and thin them out when the time comes. I also need some help propping it up.

Honey pears! I love how they grow upside down at first. The pear tree is still pretty scrawny and there are only few pears, maybe 8, but I am still going to keep a close eye on it. There’s maybe a dozen. Last year we had only 2 or 3 and they were small pears but we enjoyed every little bite.

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New Orleans, Last Day

Posted on May 19, 2025 by Pamela Rentz

Tennessee Williams wrote Streetcar named Desire here.

After two full days of conference, we had one last day. Our flight was later so we had time in the morning to do a few last things.

We went to the Cabildo which was built under Spanish Rule and served as the site of the Louisiana Purchase transfer ceremony.

There was an extensive exhibit about Marquis de Lafayette who is an important historical figure that I feel like I don’t know much about. I put a note in my “to be read” list to track down a book about him. Also, I went through the exhibit backwards so I was trying to piece together the significance without context.

We also went to the Louisiana State Museum, Presbeytère where there was a great exhibit about Hurricane Katrina and lots of interesting Mardi Gras info. (That all is made out of Lego.)

As we made our last walk through the French Quarter, we stopped in to the French Quarter Visitor Center for a little bit of music and looking at plants.

Then it was back to the airport. I like that the cabs have a flat rate but man, those drivers didn’t want to chat or do anything except get back and forth from the airport as quickly as circumstances allowed.

I hope to go back but not sure I’d want to see the French Quarter again. I was a huge Anne Rice fan so I’d like to see the Garden District next time.

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New Orleans, Day 2

Posted on May 14, 2025 by Pamela Rentz

We had one full day in New Orleans to have fun together.

We planned to take the street car to the New Orleans City Park and as we walked out of our hotel we saw the street car coming and you know how you panic when you haven’t done something before and we ran to catch it.

Once we were on it I pointed out that I hadn’t had any hot drink to start my day.

Bob felt kinda bad and when we got off the street car we walked around where there was nothing except a mini-mart. Bob offered to go to the mini-mart and I said: I’M NOT GOING TO A MINI-MART FOR MY TEA. I’D RATHER HAVE NOTHING.

So we walked into the park and there was a Cafe Du Monde! I even had a cafe au lait which is probably my first cup of coffee in at least ten years. It was okay. I’m just not a coffee person. The beignet was delicious.

We went to the New Orleans Museum of Art and stopped for a snack afterward and then went to the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden which was fantastic.

Such a variety of sculptures and a lovely place for a walk.

Do you spot the travelers in this photo?

After this we went back to the French Quarter and we went to something but I can’t remember what. I don’t take notes on trips anymore. But Jazz Fest was going on so we walked near the venue and wandered around a cemetery while listening to some of the music.

It was a fun scene and I was glad I wasn’t going to a huge music festival.

That night’s dinner was a bust. We walked around and couldn’t get far enough out of the touristy area and ended up with expensive and super generic food. The server was nice so when he asked me how my food was, I didn’t say: boring.

I have a few more photos. We’ll see if I get them up with any final stories.

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New Orleans, Day 1

Posted on May 11, 2025 by Pamela Rentz

MISSISSIPPI!

I had the opportunity to go to New Orleans for a work conference and I took Bob with me.

We went a day early so we could have some adventures.

We arrived on a Saturday around dinner time. I don’t know how the lines are drawn. Our hotel was either adjacent to the French Quarter or part of it.

We managed to find an amazing dinner and then we wandered around. There is terrific music or art or something cool to look at in every corner. It was a bummer I was so tired from traveling because I pooped out early. But we still heard a lot of fun stuff.

While I enjoyed the French Quarter, it was like of like visiting Las Vegas. It’s easy to have enough. Bourbon Street is loud and smells like weed and sour beer. The food leans heavily to fried. You need to watch what you do in the heaviest tourist spots. But we had fun.

This was an epic salad with blackened red fish that was delicious.

More photos to come from the Sunday adventure.

Monday the conference started. I don’t remember ever being at conference with such a stuffed agenda. I went downstairs at 7:30 to eat and business started around 8, there was activity during the lunch meal and we didn’t stop the last session until 5:30pm.

There were breaks but they were long enough to get out of your meeting room, find something to drink and use the bathroom and then make your way to the next meeting room.

It was a great conference and I’m still sorting through my notes to figure out what’s useful for us.

If you’re wondering whether we talked about AI — we did. A lot.

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It’s May!

Posted on May 8, 2025 by Pamela Rentz

Big tragedy — the trailcam died. It’s been sitting here until I had time to troubleshoot and I have now troubleshat and: it’s dead. I will buy a new one one of these days.

In an ongoing theme, there has been a lot going on. I took today off to see if I can get my act together. I always do this thing where I made a list of 15 chores and errands I will get done and then either

(1) I am overwhelmed and end up back in bed reading; or

(2) I only do 7, a perfectly reasonable number of things to get done, but still feel like a failure.

Today I am trying to pick 3 things and then relax and putter around the yard and walk around the neighborhood giving away lettuce.

Giving away lettuce?

I need to go out and get pictures. I have brand new raised beds and I thought I was planting a conservative amount but everything came up, healthy! The slugs haven’t found it yet. Beautiful pretty lettuce.

If you need to make a salad for 30 and you live near me. CALL! I will deliver.

Also: Bob and I had the opportunity to go to New Orleans. I went to a conference. Bob found all kinds of music and historical related things to do. I tacked on an extra day for us to have fun together and we did. Photos and details to come.

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Even the Giant Bag Must Come to An End

Posted on April 30, 2025 by Pamela Rentz

Remember this giant bag of tea?

I finally finished it.

Well, it’s not completely done.

I keep a pint canning jar in the kitchen and use the tea from that and I just refilled the last amount. I did like this tea but not sure if I will buy again. I need to do some sourcing research.

It took about a year and a month to go through it which actually seems fast for such a giant bag. I don’t drink it every day. But almost every day. I have also been able to find the tea bags again and it’s easier to use those at the office.

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I Like My Food Fun

Posted on April 27, 2025 by Pamela Rentz

(I forgot to add to my I’m so busy post –NCAA Gymnastics. Finals were last weekend so that’s mostly off my list although there are a few semi-final meets I hope to still get to. With streaming there is access to almost everything including the smaller schools so it’s a lot but I love it.)

Seriously: watch this beam routine. Mute the sound. Because of the way the meet went, she was the last performer and got a standing ovation and a 9.9625 for this amazing, amazing routine:

I have loved Kinder chocolate since my first visit to Germany as a little girl and that hasn’t changed. I bought this bag of cookies because I thought it was funny that they were advertised as crunchy and fun.

They were.

Likewise these mini ice cream sandwiches described as “always irresistible.”

I love all the mini ice cream treats available now. I love something sweet after dinner but often just a bite or two is enough. These are perfect.

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Where Have I Been?

Posted on April 25, 2025 by Pamela Rentz

Spring flowers in the front yard

Pardon me for being a broken record but everything remains busy. I seem perpetually frazzled and lurching from one chore to the next, just trying to keep up. When I finally have time, I don’t want to sit at the computer. Although I am writing — it’s not going great or super productive but it’s happening little by little.

I haven’t updated it in a while but I have been reading more than usual. Books read here. I just started a book called The Terror by Dan Simmons which is 784 pages long — I didn’t realize that when I started it. Looks like it’s a TV series, too. It’s an account of the 1845 Franklin Expedition searching for the Northwest Passage and the author has taken an already terrifying story and added a horror element. It’s excellent so far.

I have a tiny window for yard work today, I’ve already deleted a number of things from my list, and I’m still not out there.

Here are the garden beds. This was about a week ago. Things have progressed much since then. I already have greens for harvesting.

We helped out the neighborhood Easter egg hunt. We stuffed eggs with candy and tickets. On the day we helped get things set up. There was a nice turnout with tons of kids and perfect weather. It was super fun.

Living dangerously and not proofreading!

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From the Notes Scattered Around My Desk

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Pamela Rentz

(1) This is the Klamath River from March 2025. They got a lot of rain before I arrived and more rain as I was arriving. I don’t know all the science of hydrology and when rivers hit max but this was about the time it was peaking. Fast and muddy and all the rocks underwater.

(2) No photo: The other night we came home just after dark and there was a tiny creature zooming across the street and then along the curb. What is that? And as we drove by I could see it was a tiny bunny! Obviously, I was thrilled. I went out several times to see if I could see another tiny bunny but generally the only bunny I see is the big brown one who occasionally comes out when I am in the yard.

(3) I was visiting my dad at the retirement home on a lovely day. I took him outside so we could enjoy the sunshine and one of his friends came by on his motorized scooter. He told us that management announced there was a speed limit for scooters and it was set at 8 mph. ME: Isn’t kind of fast? HIM: Yes, it’s fast. I went and asked them about that and they said it was 8 mph.

8 mph isn’t fast for a car but for a guy in the hallway of a retirement home where almost everyone uses some kind of cane or walker, it seems kinda fast. We’ll see how it works out.

(4) Hurtle is a word.

The first time I saw hurtle written out, I thought it was a mistake. The word is hurdle. I looked it up so I could feel smug and correct and I was not. They are both words with meaning that could be confused. Hurtle means “move with great speed or to throw with great force.” Hurdle is like the sport. Hurdling is running and jumping over an obstacle.

(5) If you need a show recommendation and you haven’t started The Pitt on HBO yet — get to it. It’s great.

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Skunk Butt!

Posted on April 6, 2025 by Pamela Rentz

I don’t know what I did with my video clips. I either have duplicates of everything or I can’t find what I’m looking for. I had to grab this back from my phone.

We knew there was something going on in the garage in Orleans but I don’t know that we were expecting this guy.

I also caught 2 different cats which weren’t a surprise and a fox which also wasn’t a total surprise. I will post that clip later.

All the pet food has been thoroughly secured but that doesn’t keep them from checking.

I have clips and photos and notes tucked away everywhere for posting but it seems like extra brain juice and patience for posting is hard to come by right now. There is a lot going on and when I do have time and energy, I’m putting it elsewhere.

Hopefully more updates next weekend.

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