Star Fruit Saturday

[helia]

Carambola, also known as star fruit, is the fruit of Averrhoa carambola, a species of tree native to tropical Southeast Asia. The edible fruit has distinctive ridges running down its sides (usually 5–6). When cut in cross-section, it resembles a star, giving it the name of star fruit.The entire fruit is edible, usually raw, and may be cooked or made into relishes, preserves, garnish, and juices. It is commonly consumed in Southeast Asia, South Asia, the South Pacific, Micronesia, parts of East Asia, the United States, parts of Latin America, and the Caribbean. The tree is cultivated throughout tropical areas of the world.

Carambola fruits contain oxalic acid and the neurotoxin caramboxin. Consuming large quantities of the fruit, especially for individuals with some types of kidney disease, can result in serious adverse health effects.

Source: wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carambola

[Doggedly]

Ah, helia, one of the advantages of travel is that you are in the right time zone to start us off! I am sitting up with the dw. It's washing cutlery and dog dishes.
I hope that you are enjoying your trip!

[helia]

I just lost my post. I don't think this hotel's wifi is super stable. I'm going to s2s and then get breakfast. I'll bbl.

[trissie]

ooooh, look who stopped by! how's Europe treating you, helia?
Dogged, I meant to comment yesterday - maybe in Canada the store-bought fresh figs are better, but here (and I kinda don't think the supply chain is that much different for exotic fruits) they just don't hold a candle to the freshly picked ones! My kids, who absolutely love our garden figs, refuse to eat the ones I buy, claiming they have a weird undertaste. So if you ever get a chance to try "real fresh", go for it, but if not, don't bother!

Well, yes, I admit, amidst the many fruit producing trees and bushes of our garden, there is a large fig bush It was an experiment - kinda "It's 5 dollars, either it takes or I throw it out next year)
I wonder whether the link will work? https://nyx.cz/files/000/026/2649118_fa ... 319445.jpg
https://nyx.cz/files/000/026/2649119_8d ... 603131.jpg
anyway, given it's left outside year round, and we do get proper winters, we only have one, summer harvest (they can get up to three - spring, summer and fall - harvests in the Mediterranean), but it's still a nice addition to the garden!
oh, and while I am at it, this is the shed right now
https://nyx.cz/files/000/031/3112758_00 ... 626197.jpg

Saturday. It's gonna be a day on the move - we need to pick up DtDK at 11pm in the city (she's coming from her summer camp), drop off DtDT at 3pm for her summer camp, I have to drop off goodies for scouts at 10am, pick up DBD's bike from repair, and I know there was something I needed to get from the store, but can't remember what it was!

TaDas
- breakfast and coffee
- dressed to shoes
- internet time
- checked new batch of photos of DtDK's camp
- baked pizza rolls for scouts

ToDos
- morning routine
- write a letter for DBD
- 15 on cleaning in DBD's room
- errands

Braindump
routines
- midday routine
- afternoon routine
- evening routine
food
- lunch
- dinner
- bake something sweet
- feed breadstarter
organization
- oversee DtDT's packing for the camp
- drop off goodies for scouts
- pick up DBD's bike
- arrange for DtDK's pick up
- arrange for DtDT's drop off
- arrange for drop-off of old mattresses at the dump
- book train tickets for Berlin
- research hotels
- order new vacuum cleaner and cooker hood
- check all backpacks
- make apt - obgyn
- update land contract
- 15 on filing
- plan for August
cleaning
- clean DBD's room
- clean office
- spiff up master bedroom
- spiff up master bathroom
- spiff up twins' room (oversee it done)
- spiff up DS15's room (oversee it done)
- spiff up kitchen
- spiff up living room
- spiff up downstairs bathroom and hallways
- change all bedding
- clean out / reorganize attic
laundry
- load of lights
- load of colors?
- load of darks
- load of towels
- load of linens
- ironing
- folding
- mending
- laundry put away
garden and outside
- watering!
- weeding in veggie garden
- weeding in front garden
- deadhead climbing roses
- pick up - front garden / porch
- pick up - backyard
- spiff up carpool
- spiff up garage
- reseed in veggie garden
- fertilize in raspberry patch
me time
- 15 of exercise
- Bible study
- reading
- sewing

[Kittykatt]

Good morning, Helia, and thank you for starting us off. I hope you're having a lovely time. I've eaten starmfeuot.a couple of times, and didn't really like it on its own,.but I think it would be an attractive addition to something like a fruit salad.

Dogged, I hope the dishwasher finishes soon, and.allows you to get to bed!

Trissie, you certainly have a busy day ahead. That fig tree is huge! And BTW, I have both shed envy and grape vine envy!

Gma, thank you for your kind, wise words.

L.Ann, I'm glad the visit to Hopkins went well.

KitKat, I'm very glad. I don't have to deal.woth raccoons!

Yesterday was relatively.cool, so I had a good session in my garden -mostly watering, as it's still so dry. Today the temperatures are going to start climbing again, but I don't think they're going to reach the 30s. Yet.

I don't really have plans for today, (except more watering!) and to remember to do my baking and meal prep.for tomorrow relatively early, before the kitchen.gets.too hot! DH didn't have any plans either when I asked him yesterday evening, but that could well have changed overnight.

[Kittykatt]

To do:
Cuddles and treats with Matilda, Freddie and Jude
QT
Update latest Waitrose order
Cup of tea
Get up!
Shower/wash hair/moisturiser and sunblock/ clean and floss teeth
S/S bathroom
Physio exercises
Get dressed in casual clothes
Make bed
Scoop cat trays and give everyone fresh water
Cat breakfast and meds /supplements
Breakfast and meds /vitamins for me
Quick kitchen clean up
Load DW
Quick PUPA downstairs
Quick dust and Hoover downstairs
Wind clock
Quick PUPA upstairs
Quick dust bedrooms
15 minutes in tiny front garden
15 minutes in back garden
Go for my walk
Walk Freddie
Lap time with Freddie, Jude and Matilda
Head rubs with Freddie, Jude and Matilda
Play with Freddie, Jude and Matilda
Run DW when full
Unload DW
Lunch
Cats' supper
Our supper
Sort out lunch for tomorrow
Bake something?
Text DF E re coffee tomorrow
Towels in machine
Towels hung up to dry
Clothes laid out for tomorrow

Extras:
Email LS and NW re.coffee tomorrow
Send out email re next parish lunch
Bake flapjack.for the Y

Garden extras:
Water!

[Doggedly]

Sorry about the lost post, helia. That is always frustrating.

I actually don't think that I have ever seen a fresh fig, trissie. Probably they don't travel well so far.
Your garden is wonderful--so lush!

I hope that you get everywhere on time and that seeing the store reminds you of what you wanted.

Thank you, Kittykatt. The dishes are drying in their racks and the dw safely put away. And I am going back to bed now.
A day without plans must feel like a bit of a luxury for you, busy as you normally are. I am sure that the house will find jobs to keep you busy, though

See you later

[Kittykatt]

Sleep well, Dogged!

[trissie]

Well, it's hard to open and close the doors to the shed right now, kittykatt, so there's that, but it's so pretty to look at! Last year, I tried a recipe for grape syrup, and we instantly fell in love with it (we mix it with sparkling water to make organic grape soda - the syrup only contains juice, sugar and citric acid, and we heavily dilute it, so I am fine with kids having that as their water intake), so I know what I will be making with my grapes
Dogged, fresh figs are highly seasonal, so you would probably on see them in store for several weeks per year. But the season is mid August to mid September, so maybe you would see them now if you look! You know, just to cross it off your list "I have seen fresh figs sold in a supermarket"

I didn't remember what it was that I wanted to buy, so I figured we can do without it! I think it might have been "extra mayo"? We have about half a jar and I can get more on Monday, so it will do.

TaDas
- morning routine
- write a letter for DBD
- 15 on cleaning in DBD's room
- drop off goodies for scouts
- pick up DBD's bike
- arrange for DtDK's pick up
- dropped off an extra raincoat at another scout mom's

ToDos
- 15 on laundry
- 30 in DBD's room - my main focus today!
- lunch

Braindump
routines
- midday routine
- afternoon routine
- evening routine
food
- lunch
- dinner
- bake something sweet
- feed breadstarter
organization
- oversee DtDT's packing for the camp
- arrange for DtDT's drop off
- arrange for drop-off of old mattresses at the dump
- book train tickets for Berlin
- research hotels
- order new vacuum cleaner and cooker hood
- check all backpacks
- make apt - obgyn
- update land contract
- 15 on filing
- plan for August
cleaning
- clean DBD's room
- clean office
- spiff up master bedroom
- spiff up master bathroom
- spiff up twins' room (oversee it done)
- spiff up DS15's room (oversee it done)
- spiff up kitchen
- spiff up living room
- spiff up downstairs bathroom and hallways
- change all bedding
- clean out / reorganize attic
laundry
- load of lights
- load of colors?
- load of darks
- load of towels
- load of linens
- ironing
- folding
- mending
- laundry put away
garden and outside
- watering!
- weeding in veggie garden
- weeding in front garden
- deadhead climbing roses
- pick up - front garden / porch
- pick up - backyard
- spiff up carpool
- spiff up garage
- reseed in veggie garden
- fertilize in raspberry patch
me time
- 15 of exercise
- Bible study
- reading
- sewing

[helia]

Home grown figs sound wonderful, trissie! Europe is treating me very well! I'm enjoying myself immensely, especially eating great bread and chocolate when I can!
Sleep well, Doggedly, It's still early for you.
Maybe you'll have a low-key day without big plans, Kitty. What are you baking today?

I have showered, breakfasted, done my back exercises, repacked - and currently sitting in the hotel lobby for about another hour. Then, dh and I will go catch our train to Avignon. The train station is about a 5 minute walk from this hotel; we're at the airport in Lyon.

I lost the earlier post in which I described our hut tour a little bit. I'll just say that it was more strenuous than I expected - but I was OK! The weather was fantastic - too hot and sunny, if anything. Most of us got a little sunburned, and I drank a lot of water bc I was sweating so much. The scenery was stunning! We saw a group of about 12 goats (ibex?) on our first day. Dh saw a deer on the 2nd. On the 2nd, we also hiked through a sheep field and got to see the dogs at work, rounding up the sheep. That was very impressive! Day 3, our rest day, we saw a bunch of marmots running around the rocks and grass. Day 4 was difficult; some rock climbing was required, including one 50 meter almost vertical passage down a crevice on black slippery rocks - it had rained overnight. Dh said he wanted me in a harness (connected by ropes to both the chain in the rock and also to dh's sister G), and I was grateful in the end, even though originally I didn't want it. Dh's sister guided me down that pass. Then, at the end of the hike, we had to climb up a rock face, about 15 meters, to get to the top of the cliff where the 3rd hut is located. Dh guided me up that one - but no harness needed. The 1500 meter descent on Friday was also more strenuous than I had thought. I made it through the entire week of hiking with just some minor scrapes and bruises!

We dropped off dd28 and AA at a hotel in Geneve, and by the time we arrived at our hotel last night, I was SO sore and very much in need of a shower. It had been 4 days - it was lovely to get clean again!