Fresh Ginger!

My ginger experiment is coming along very nicely. I had wanted to find young ginger, but the kind in the stores is usually pretty mature (read: strong). Young ginger has a milder flavor. What to do? I decided to try growing ginger myself. It seems to like this big pot on my back deck. The stems have gotten so tall they're bending over. The leaves have a nice gingery fragrance when you brush against them.

Turns out growing ginger is very easy. Just take a fresh root, lay it on some dirt, and that's it! Doesn't even need a lot of sun, especially in the early stages. Just warmth and moisture. Since ginger comes from tropical regions, it's loving this 100-degree weather we've been having.

It's not ready to harvest yet. It takes well over 200 days to be ready. Here you can see the new growth coming out of the planted "root." (The edible part isn't really the root, even though people call it "ginger root." It's actually the rhizome.)

The bulbous part between the stem and the original "root" is the rhizome (I think). We'll see how it looks after 200 days. I can't remember the date I first did the planting, so don't ask how long it's been.

Know what else likes the heat and humidity? All those little bitty mushrooms growing around the ginger. You can see their creamy brownish caps all over the pot. They'll grow a bit then die...they don't hurt anything. The grandkids like pulling them out.

I'm Just Sayin'...

I said from the start that my new grandbaby looks a lot like her father when he was a baby. Maybe all babies look alike. But I'm just sayin'....

Photos on the left are baby Blueberry. Photos on the right are Blueberry's dad at his birth.

New Baby in the House!

My son's wife just gave birth to their first child! (Known hereafter as Blueberry.) Her birthday is 8-9-10, 11:12 pm. That's almost spooky!

She's a doll! Don't take my word for it...see for yourself. 

Here she is with her parents:

Here's Blueberry with her great-grandparents, my husband's parents:

And here we all are:

Can't leave out my daughter (Blueberry's aunt) and her two children. Too bad my daughter's husband was at work. He missed out on the photo-op.

Innocent Blood

If you look up the name Nicodemus, you'll find the most common meaning is "people's victory." But there is another meaning to the name in some cultures: "innocent blood."

Some people have reacted with disgust when I tell them this meaning to my maiden name. I don't understand that reaction. To me, it speaks of the ultimate innocent blood, shed for my sins.

Only the blood of an innocent could redeem mankind. If Jesus was just an ordinary man who died on the cross, His death would be meaningless. Thousands of men died on crosses during the Roman occupation.

But Jesus was different. He was innocent. Not only was He innocent of any crimes against the Roman Empire, He was innocent of all sin. He did not deserve to die, much less to die in such a gruesome way.

His innocent blood, shed for me. That truly was a "people's victory." It humbles me to bear the name.