Dear Sunday Letter friends~
My family recently spent several days in Santa Fe, and oh my goodness, what a wonderful time we had! For over a week I was unplugged from social media, consumed no news or Netflix, did zero yard work or dog-walking (missed both though), and accomplished no real writing either.
Instead, I plugged into nature and art and food and music and family. Mainly, I got to see my KIDS!
It was a fantastic few days and a much-needed break from routine.
True story: I returned home with 392 new photos on my iPhone.
Remember when we took pictures with a camera, dropped off the film at Big Star (or wherever), and waited with great anticipation for the photos to come back in a handy little envelope? But then, what a letdown to open the long-awaited package only to see unfocused faces, heads cut off, eyes shut—proof of our vacation forever marked by a poor picture-taker and/or a cheap camera.
Ha.
What a time we live in.
Nasturtium and Basil Pesto
It’s been a while since I shared a recipe, but this Nasturtium and Basil Pesto I made a few days ago has me feeling pretty dang proud of myself. And I thought you might need a recipe to squawk about too.
Nasturtium is one of those tried and true, easy-to-grow plants. The pollinators love its large orange blossoms, and I love watching it spill over the sides of whatever container its planted inside. Since all parts of the plant are edible—the leaves, flowers, and seed pods—it’s really one of those perfect plants.
True story: Plants tend to go absolutely nuts while the gardener is away on vacation. It’s like they wait until no one is home and then—boom—they double overnight (weeds and all).
Yep, upon returning from Santa Fe, I spent an entire day weeding and cutting back rowdy plants. And I cut back one of my exuberant nasturtiums, placing the vines and blooms in a plastic bag in the refrigerator with the idea I would use the leaves in a salad.
Then I thought about making a pesto and found THIS recipe from My Tiny Laguna Kitchen.
OMG soooo good! Nasturtium is a bit peppery and spicy, and the basil balances the flavor perfectly. The recipe calls for pumpkin seeds, but I substituted a combination of pine nuts and pistachios to use what I had on hand.
What a great way to utilize a bumper crop of nasturtium.
Got Deer?
True story: We have a deer problem in Fayetteville. They come down from Mt. Sequoyah, drop fawns in our yards, and make a feast out of a variety of plants. They especially love our hostas.
We love our hostas too.
Always before I’ve sprayed Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent on our hostas. It works pretty well, but the odor is like Aunt Virgie’s outhouse on an August afternoon. Luckily, the sewer smell dissipates quickly to humans (so that’s a plus), but frequent reapplication of the spray is necessary, especially after a rain.
I may have discovered a more pleasant solution.
At the recommendation of a few of my gardening friends, I recently purchased Safer Brand DeerOff Repellent Stations. A package of 6 for $16 will reportedly last all season. There’s zero smell, installation is easy as pie, and the weatherproof devices blend into the landscape.
I installed them right before we left for Santa Fe and still have hostas happily growing. I even saw a whole family of deer (with triplet babies!) walk up our driveway and ignore our hostas.
Never Would I Ever
Do you know the drinking game called Never Have I Ever. The first person says the thing they’ve never done—”Never have I ever gone skydiving”—and anyone who has done that thing (in this case, skydiving) has to take a drink.
True story: Never have I ever played this game. (Hard to believe but true.)
Anyway, today I offer a twist on the classic called Never Would I Ever.
I know it’s difficult to say what you would or wouldn’t do until you are in a particular situation, but this I know about myself: Never would I ever crawl into a tin can and willingly travel to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Period.
Never.
Would you?
Sooooo, if I ever post this message—Yay, I’m going on an upcoming expedition with Caladan Oceanic to the bottom of the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific Ocean*—please know I’ve been kidnapped, hacked, or lost my ever-loving mind.
(*or Mount Everest, Deep Space, North Korea, and probably a few other places if I thought long enough about it.)
Also, I’m not making light of the Titan tragedy that dominated the news all last week. The whole story is horrifying and sad to me.
But the fact remains—had it been up to me to set sail for lands unknown, the world would be largely unexplored. Walk on the moon in 1969? Nope. Go down Niagara Falls in a barrel? NOPE. I will devour books about these adventures all day long, but if an ‘adventure’ doesn’t involve being able to breathe regular oxygen, I’m out.
Things Momma Says:
Everyone needs to leave the Titanic alone.
***
Later, friends. Thanks for indulging another Sunday Letter. Life has been full and my letters have been sporadic, but I appreciate you.
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
I agree. A sad, tragic event. I’m in agreement with your Momma, too. The pictures of Santa Fe bring back memories of going to Glorieta Music Camps in high school and then with my children. Thanks for sharing all the pictures! Glad y’all had a getaway! It’s so good to be with family! Thanks for your Sunday letters Talya.
Thank you, Carol! I’m glad my pictures stirred your memories.
I pray for the families of those lost in the Titan tragedy. But wholeheartedly agree, don’t put me in anything that small to go anywhere!
What a lovely visit! The pictures were glorious. I do remember tasting my nasturtiums as a very young mother. My very small children were horrified that mom was actually eating the flowers after being scolded for doing the same thing. Sadly, I planted no flowers this year because I had no flexibility or strength to get up and down. Pt is going well with that bum knee, but I am quickly learning that old age is not for sissies. I am loving this soggy Spring, but admit to wish for just enough dryness to allow me to get out and do some weeding. We are prepping for July 4th weekend. Our SIL is literally an Eagle Scout who was born into a family with diverse palate. His mom is Italian and his dad is Mexican. He traveled as a part of a Navy family and learned a lot about family celebrations that varied from my mid South roots. Boy, can he cook! When they married he adopted July 4th and Thanksgiving to host. Allow me to repeat that he can cook!
Ooh, sounds like you’ll enjoy a wonderful July 4th feast soon. Have a great time!
You may have saved my gardens! I have been fighting the hosta vs. deer battle and even netted the plants this year, which has helped a lot I love the idea of not spraying stinky stuff. I ordered 2 sets of your recommendation since at last count I have 20 doe on my place along with 4 bucks.
The Titan tragedy was indeed awful, but throughout history it is the explorers among us who discover new places/lands.
I hope they work for you! I’m a fan so far.
And yes, I am grateful for explorers. I just don’t think I would have made a good one.
Always glad to see your Sunday letter in my inbox no matter how sporadic. What a wonderful thing to be able to vacation with your adult children. We’ve been fortunate to do that as well. I will have to look into the deer repellent thingy. I have a mole problem! We have lots of rabbits but they don’t seem to be a problem.
Thanks, Colene! Moles are crazy difficult to deal with (or so I hear). Good luck with that! We have the occasional rabbit, but they are not a problem for us either. (Knock on wood)
Yes to traveling with adult children!!
Re: The sound of Silence. This day in time, I really enjoy the sound of silence. The artist is aptly named for his video was disturbing to me. Ha.
I do enjoy your Sunday Letters so much whenever they are sent!
I’m so glad you had such a great vacation.
Thank you! I can’t say I’m familiar with the artist, but when I heard his voice I thought his version of the song was better than the original. So powerful!
Seems like it’s been a long time since you told us what you’ve been reading; I assume it’s because you’ve been very busy with the new book and your trip. Just please don’t ever stop sharing the books you read. I get a lot of good reading from you.
You are right, I just haven’t had time to compile my reading into a post. I do, however, post my reviews on Goodreads, so be sure to follow me there. At some point I will do a book review post again—I guess I could do one for the first half of the year! Sorry…
No apology is necessary. It’s your blog, after all. I do read a lot of the books you share here. I will follow you on Goodreads, for sure!
Thanks! I hope to do more reading this summer!
Happy Sunday! The mention of Nasturtiums always takes me back to a summer in my childhood when an older neighbor boy put a flowerbed in their backyard. The star of his efforts were the Nasturtiums. Jim was an artist who eventually taught art then bought a florist and turned his talents into creating beautiful floral arrangements.
I’m with you on an aversion to extreme adventures. I think it’s wise to avoid physical danger!
Glad your family did Santa Fe. We loved it.
Hey Talya, I’m a little late responding but I guess better late than never. However, most of my teachers and superiors didn’t “cotton” to that! Always enjoy the Sunday Letters and thanks for sharing your pics with us. Looks like you had a GREAT trip! Need to know where you’ll be signing books, especially in Arkansas – I have all three and would love to meet you and get them signed! Again, thank you.
Hey there and thank you! I have been traveling quite a bit lately to book events, but with the exception of an author talk at the West Fork Library in July, I am taking a break for much of the summer. I post events on my author website so check there from time to time. It’s https://www.talyatateboerner.com