Garbo, my adored little MaineCoon kitty has departed.

Garbo got put to sleep last Wednesday and once I made the decision the tears didn't stop until the whole process was over. I created a beautiful altar for her in my office and kept her there until Friday night due to the smell of decay setting in.
Saturday night my husband Victor gave me a birthday party and my grandson and my son-in-law dug the hole in my garden for me to bury her before they joined the party.

Yesterday was the momentous birthday so I decided to just indulge myself while I was home alone and not be sad putting her into the ground. That job get's done today. The book "Weep Not For Me, In Memory of a Beloved Cat" by Constance Jenkins is so consoling and comforting. It is written in the voice of the cat and you are asked to grieve but a short time.

So I must get out into the garden and actually have a ceremony as I bury her. Her death is definitely the end of an era in my life.
I feel relief that she is no longer struggling with advanced kitty age and I kept her alive as long as I did as she seemed to totally still enjoy going outside, drinking water from the pond and eating. The final two days of her life were spent behind the TV in the den lying on bunches of cables. I took her for a walk outside and she followed me around as always. She will remain to live on in my memory. RIP sweet, precious, beautiful, sassy Garbo.

Hot Savory Delicious Vegetarian Soups

A close friend asked me to join a recipe exchange and I declined but I did send my basic soup recipe to her and thought it would be a good addition to this blog. I do make soup a lot. All my soups have the same base.

SOUP BASE

Chop up two whole bunches of CELERY stalks.
Chop up one/two large yellow or white ONIONS or about 6/8 mid size onions.
Saute celery and onions together with olive oil until soft and gently browned.
In another pot add 2 to 3 cartons of VEGETABLE BROTH and blend in 1/2 cup MISO PASTE (any kind).
You can add less or more of any of the ingredients, still taste great.
Add sage, oregano, savory, parsley, tarragon, rosemary, chives and my favorite, thyme, depending on your taste and the
soup. I also use Herbimare instead of salt with pepper for seasoning.

PEA SOUP
Add 1 packages of washed DRIED PEAS that have soaked 2 hours to vegetable broth mixture in large pot and all the browned celery & onions.
Add cut up POTATOES (depending on size, about 2 cups)
Add cut up CARROTS (about one cup)
Chop 2 large springs of thyme and/or Rosemary or you can use 1 to 2 tbs dried herbs

MIXED BEAN SOUP- cooking time 2 hours.
Using dried beans soaked several hours and exactly same soup base as above using your choice of herbs

CORN CHOWDER cooking time 1 hour - S
tart with base above and add about 6 cherry peppers from a jar
2 large bags of FROZEN CORN, (mix white and yellow corn)
Corn chowder can be served with shredded cheddar or any cheese on top) cooking time 2 hours

Welcome

Bonnieview in color.

if you notice,it's the tinted picture of Bonnieview in the logo but taken from the opposite side of house. The hot pink Azaleas were planted over 40 years ago. Most of the plants in front of the property were planted by former owners, but not sure when since house was built in 1890. I would love to find old pictures of when the house was an actual carriage house. Maybe a visit to the local historical society could be useful. Adding it to my To Do list.

I am very frustrated

I wish I could figure out a way to post multiple albums of pictures on this blog. I have taken so many plus when I post them they lose some of the image quality. Just gorgeous in person.

This cat lover also loves cat eyes makeup

Today's email from Daily Candy featured a link to a video of a make-up artist Annamarie Tendler explaining how
to create cat eyes using my personal favorite, MAC cosmetics. Thought I'd share it plus have a permanent
link to it on my blog.

Welcome to my lifestyle blog.

Hope you like my garden pictures.  I plan on some garden advice and maybe some tales of my five cats,
Garbo, Dino, Camille, Violet, Milo and the kitty I have not caught yet but whom I feed every day, Shoester. I might add pictures of our grandchildren, fifteen year old Ben and 3 1/2 year old Cleo Valentine. My other blog, Moon in Cancer, is my vehicle for my rage about Republicans and their desire to end Medicare,  Social Security and any and all social safety nets.  Don't get me started.  This is my garden site so I must remember that and not get them confused.