Cricket, supper and new pots for old

 Yesterday there was a ring at the door, I went to answer it and there didn't seem to be anyone there. Looked down a bit further to see a tiny masked boy. Asked what's up and he said well, we were playing and the fence and you know, well, the ball..Ah, you lost a ball in my back yard? Came over the fence? Fine, let's find it and I'll meet you back there.

By the time I put my shoes on and arrived on the patio, he'd already run down to the corner, around the houses, up the back and with about twenty of his cricketing pals was waiting eagerly at my gate to crowd in and search. I  could guess the results of a crowd of kids yanking at all the ground cover in a search, so I asked them to supervise from outside the fence, while I used a yard broom to sweep through the plants and search. They were happy to issue instructions and were all comvinced about the exact spot, no, there, no, there, while I fruitlessly brushed. 

They're lovely kids, thanked me for trying, said they hope they hadn't stressed me out (!) I promised that if I found it I would return it, thanked them for their courtesy in coming all the way round to my front door to ask. Quite a love fest.

After tea I was tipping out my tea-leaves and thought I'd look further. I eventually found the grimy old ball far from where they were sure it landed, and tossed it back over to the group, who had found another ball to continue with. Bg chorus of thanks, she found it, she found it, yay. Everyone happy. Note: every child was masked.  They do get noisy, but what great kids. This is nowadays an Indian neighborhood, and I've never had better neighbors.

Supper included salad, of course, and a few pickled carrots, remember them? 

Verdict: the carrots are very good,  the asparagus not so much. But the asparagus was frozen not fresh, so it didn't have that nice crunchy texture that pickles need. Egg salad on whole-wheat bread. I eat an egg a day, no patience with the people who have not kept up with the research showing they're fine. Dietary cholesterol is unrelated to system cholesterol. One doesn't govern the other. But you'll still find rehabs insisting on some synthetic lab based version of eggs because they don't follow the facts and, says she darkly, they have contracts with the producers. 

Then the Vick's plants, needed bigger pots, flourishing after I nearly killed them twice and brought them back. You know Vick's vaporub? This is the plant it is derived from. You can put the foliage in simmering water in winter to create a menthol mist for congestion. So it's worth keeping around. Vick's grows energetically. I think it's related to coleus, and you know they're fast growers.

Here one is sharing a pot with a spider plant

While I was out my neighbors came to thank me for the sweet potato bread. Very warmly, clearly hoping I'd make it again. He has a pumpkin which he wants only for the seeds, and he'll give me the rest. He rescued it from his step after squirrels took a bite. Maybe I'll make pumpkin bread. Didn't mention it to him, not wanting to get his hopes up.

As you see I have a little sugar pumpkin, designed for eating and currently decorating my step, but I need to keep an eye on it in case of marauding squirrels.