Wash it Down With a Glass of Burgundy

This weekend was an excellent start to summer.  While "the first day of summer" is a few weeks away (somewhere in mid June), the weather was gorgeous enough to qualify for "summer" days.  

It all started when I arrived home early on friday afternoon, having put in a bunch of extra time in earlier in the week.  Awaiting me was a small box that had been shoved into the mailbox along with the other mail.  It was proof that moms are amazing.  What was in it? Have a look:

My moms sent me funny looking "Onion goggles" which were quite amazing owing to the fact that they are lime green, and just a really neat idea in general.   She also included a literal "taste of home" in the form of M.A.S.H. by M.E.D.S. (Michael and Sharyn's Herbs by Michael, Elena, Diana, and Sharyn.  For as long as I can remember we've grown herbs.  I remember being young, maybe even before Elena was born, and getting thyme.  It was MY thyme and I was so proud of how large the plant got.  We've always grown and dried our own herbs and used them to make some of the best food ever.  I honestly think it's a miracle I'm not heavier than I am.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE food, especially when I've grown some of the things that have gone into what I'm making.  

To that end, I've been trying to grow a few herbs.  My sage died over the winter, so I've been trying to grow it from seed.  So far, I am still waiting on seeds to sprout in my very stylish styrofoam cups... I've also been trying to propagate basil like crazy from a very special mother plant; one Cordelia grew from seed and brought to me from MD!
I have 6 established basil plants and about 6 more in the clear cup near the end of the windowsill.  I bought the parsley after forgetting to take seeds from The Ranch, and its done extremely well.

I've also been trying a bit of an experiment... tomatoes from seed!  Except for the fact that I thought they'd be ok out in the sun all day, they're doing really well.  I lost about half, but a couple have bounced back really really well, and the rest are still working on it.  It's been a really fun thing to do, and I can't wait to be in the same place for a few years to really establish a great garden.  

Jake and I also took an incredible bike ride in the area around the Watkins Glen gorge.  It was only about 8 1/2 miles long, but a good 2/3 of the ride was uphill and thus, kicked my butt in a major way.  Unfortunately, the pictures are on my phone and will have to wait until tomorrow to be posted...