Teachable Moments

[Giant sunflower, now disposed of, and one of the cool wild parrots that feasted on our sunflowers all July!]

We're here, really! Did I mention that I got a job at a community college teaching Anthropology? Well, I was offered one class, and then I worried about finding childcare. Then I got another class at another campus and visited a daycare (where our neighbors' kids go). Then I spent a day agonizing whether it was a. too much money (community college adjuncts don't make a lot of money, especially at a low load), b. the childcare was the right place for Tiny, c. if the husband was really creepy or it was just me thinking he was creepy (I decided that he was a little creepy). And in the meantime, another family took the open childcarespot, making me even more nervous and maybe a tad bit relieved. However, I still had to find something. (Perusing CL for childcare can be iffy - I found one ad that souded great but had a Sponge*b*ob picture attached. Um, no thanks.) So today Tiny went to a very small childcare place - just 3 kids and a very nice former lifegaurd and sometimes her (not creepy at all) husband when he is home from work (he works 4 10-hour shifts). I think he liked it. Tiny, I mean. Not the husband. Although, he did seem to enjoy hanging out with Tiny. (He is cute and does his little signs and even started saying 'agua' for them.)
JT starts school in a week.
I had a miserable first class. But all in all, I actually felt okay at the end of class, even though I was 20 (yes, 5 minutes over the 'academic quarter-hour) minutes late. And yes, I had been told to come early. However, I thought 45 extra minutes should be okay. Nope. I panicked in the car while sitting at the exit (the normally 13 minute drive took a good 45 minutes and then I had to find parking) and called the office and had them tell the students I was on the way. Of course, I didn't have time to pick up the syllabi or set up the computer. And then I tried to get the computer to work while the students made small talk waited and ... of course, NOTHING. Oh, well. After the class was over, I got it to work. And next time I will be extra-super-duper prepared. I attempted to blow the whole thing off as a sort of absert-minded professor- thing and tried to wow them with my spontaneous talking about myself and why Anthropology is all about the grey (why didn't anyone stop me!), so let's hope it worked and not too many drop my class.

Meanwhile, JT has been busy with Legos. Luckily he can entertain himself with his power miners for quite a while. He also likes to watch youtube reviews of the products. Today he made one. I will have to post it later this week.

Tiny likes to torture the cats. Well, cat. One of them runs away. He climbs in the closet where they hide out, climbs in Diego's favorite chair with him, etc. Mostly he is tolerated. (If they feel threatened, they just skedaddle.) We are working on gentle petting, but he just loves those kitties.

July has been all about the garden = zucchinis and tomatoes. We have eaten: zucchini fritters, grilled zucchini, pan-roasted zucchini, zucchini chocolate chip cookies. savory zucchini bread (see above), zucchini chocolate cake, more grilled zucchini, zucchini risotto, ... The little orange tomatoes I prefer to eat cut in half, sprinkled with finely chopped jalapeños and onion and squeeze of lime juice - they are sweet and make a nice salsa-y side dish thing. The big "Mr. Stripey" tomatoes made a nice BLT and end up in cooked dishes. I prefer not to eat them straight up, since I am not a fan of big meaty tomatoes. But it has been fun growing them!
One of these days our watermelons will be ripe - I can't wait.
Let me know if you have any other favorite zucchini recipes. I have 2 more giant zucchinis to shred and freeze still and perhaps a few more to harvest before I plant my first batch of winter crops!
Winter? It is hot, hot, hot here. Summer has finally hit San Diego. And of course my class tomorrow is in an un-air conditioned room. Should be interesting! Let's just hope that the technology works...