Last week I built new cabinets for our kitchen (well....assembled ones I got at Target, originally meant to be bookshelves).  This was a large task for me and took two days!  Val doesn't do home improvement; his talents lie in mowing lawns, digging holes, and cuddling on the couch.  Anyway, it turned out quite well I think and opened up the kitchen, giving me more room on my countertops.  Next to the cupboards, not shown in the pictures, I took the door off the pantry and added a cute cloth blue shower curtain that really adds a lot to the decor.   Meanwhile I went through the cupboards and carted away several boxes of things I don't use anymore , freeing up more space.  I like my kitchen now.

We have been harvesting our garden and putting up fruit.  The cherry tree was the first tree to ripen.  We bottle cherry juice and make sour cherry jam.  It is peaceful to go out on the patio and pit the cherries, as in the picture below.   The weather has been so beautiful, and I watch the quail come and nibble on the garden.  We picked two gallons of currents and about that many raspberries.  The strawberries are so small this year we pick the biggest ones for breakfast and let the quail have the rest.  We have an abundance of beets, lettuce, and chard and are enjoying our vegetables.  I get up and work in the garden from 6:00 until 9:00.  That may change when it gets hotter, but it is such a nice way to start the day.

Below are perennials foxglove (digitalis) and below that yarrow and lavender.

We have pictures of Jon and Josh, neighbors for years and lifelong friends of our family.  Josh is marrying Lisa, and Jon is joining an immigration law firm.  I don't put last names on the blog, but you all know who we are.  What beautiful people!

Today I "bagged" my fuji apple tree (see picture).  Fuji apples produce late (October) which necessitate many sprayings for the apple maggot.  I like my apples unsprayed, so I am following an organic practice of bagging them.  You put a little bag over each apple and staple it.  It stays on all summer.  Orchardists say they have 100% success with this method and have nice big juicy apples.  The only problem is that it is time consuming.  Thank goodness my tree is small.

I also thinned the chard,  beat the quail to the strawberries and got a quart of fruit, and sprayed the cherries with spinosad.  I don't like worms in my cherries so I use spray on them alone.  It was a beautiful day outside, so I brought Cuddles, our parrot outside to enjoy the weather (see side column)

INTERESTING HEADLINE IN FRIDAY'S PAPER: "TRI-CITIES' JOB GROWTH RANKS FIFTH IN THE NATION"  Imagine that!  Our little community of Tri-Cities.

My recital was held last night.  And syllabus adjudications were held here in my home yesterday also. All and all it was a very busy day.  Both were successful.  As always, the recital was a bit long because I have so many students, but I can't bring myself to break it up.  I like them to see and hear each other play.  Here is a picture of them from last night.  And below it is a picture of my youngest student, a darling five-year old who stole the show.