I’ve been trimming branches in our yard all week and saving them behind the fence until it was time for the bulk pick-up. I fought a mighty war with the Bougainvillea  and got all scratched up in the process. Today marks the start of the bulk pick-up week so I went out again to tackle more overgrown stuff. I took several branches off the large Jacaranda Tree and gave my neighbor’s overgrown Oleander Hedge a serious trimming. Ordinarily I wouldn’t cut their plants but it had gotten so bad that we couldn’t see the road when we backed out of our driveway and the Fire Department stopped at out house asking us to cut it back from the hydrant it was hiding. It was also to the point that the centers were dying out.  When that happens you either have to leave a plant to grow even larger or take it out completely. I’ve told you about these neighbors before. They really, really, don’t like to do ANY yard work.  I got wore out just about the time the football game on TV ended and Recliner Man decided to come out and help. He lugged my back yard pile to the street as I was heading in for water and rest. Then he cut down a few dead fronds from the Palm Trees. Guess who also came out to do yard work when the game ended? Every other man on the street and they all greeted Recliner Man and remarked on all the hard work he’d obviously been doing! Behind every good man is a good woman…

The Boy is coming over for dinner soon and we are having Sloppy Joes. I got a wonderful recipe from a friend several years ago and it was an instant hit with the family. It is only 4 ingredients and oh so easy to make. Chop up 1 green pepper and 1 onion and put them in a pot with 1 to 2 pounds of raw hamburger. Cook and stir until the hamburger is cooked through. Now go to the refrigerator and get out that half finished bottle of ketchup and squirt it all in the pot. Put a lid on the pot and let it simmer for a couple of hours. The longer it simmers, the better it tastes. When you are ready to serve there will be some fat and liquid floating on top. Just spoon it off and your Sloppy Joe Mix is ready. Make a big batch because this freezes well.