Here are a few pictures from my trip to Mackinac Island for the Lilac Festival. The lovely young lady in the first picture is my sister, Kat.
Cruise on over to Tabblo to look at my complete sets. You can access them by clicking on the Tabblo badge on the right side of my page.

I just love Mackinac!

Tonight I made Chicken Tagine for the first time- Mmmm! I modified a recipe from the Betty Crocker cookbook that I bought Ray for Father's Day. I made couscous to go with and had a dirty martini since I had olives out anyway :->

I finally got the last of our garden in and have started harvesting greens. Early in May I planted butter lettuce, arugula and two kinds of mesclun mix, mild and spicy. We don't use any chemicals, so these are not the most perfect leaves, but they sure taste good.
I also planted cabbage, kale, tomatoes, peppers (sweet and hot), cantaloupe, zucchini, basil, oregano, leeks, onions and a dozen strawberry plants. I also have a large wildflower plot, and a small garden of wildflowers by our back door.
There are also foundation plantings that came with the house; irises, virginia creeper, rugosa roses, a mock orange bush, and some cedar and yew bushes. I added some more roses, daylilies and some grape hyacinth. I also planted some rescue plants on the north side of the house and a hosta that I got from one of my customers who was thinning out her flower beds.

For anyone that thinks global warming is a myth, here is the forecast for where I live for the next 7 days. This is near the 45th parallel where the last frost sometimes comes in mid June.

Tonight: Clear, with a low around 51. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 86. Calm wind becoming northeast between 5 and 10 mph.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 54. East wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 86. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 58. Calm wind.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85.

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 60.

Saturday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 84.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 59.

Monday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 85.

Monday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 55.

Tuesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 75.

Here is a really delicious and fast way to cook pork loin chops. Tonight I was eating alone because Ray and one of the kids had the flu (the other two boys stayed at Grandma's). So, I had to decide what to fix myself that was quick (long day at work), easy (too tired to fuss), and delicious. It also had to fit with the South Beach diet. We had thawed pork loin chops in the fridge, so I decided to try a variation on veal piccata. I used a small cast iron skillet and got it smoking hot. I reduced the heat to medium-high and seasoned the pork loin chop with salt, pepper and lots of garlic and browned it well on both sides. I then added some oil cured olives, capers, lemon juice, oregano, white wine and a bit of olive oil (just because I like it). I cooked it until the sauce had reduced completely and served it with steamed squash and tomatoes. Yummy!