People say we grow enough food to feed everyone. Assorted reasons why it doesn't reach the people it could feed. But, that's just now.

Over population is still a bigger issue than feeding the people here so far and the distribution of that food. The best farm land is underneath cities because those were the choice places to grow food before they became built up. Now we are crowding out all the natural habitats for animals, losing our ecosystems and importing food from other countries which have all the same problems.

We can still grow food but the good land for growing it is disappearing. Growing food, especially for meat, is expensive and getting more expensive. Plus, whether its plant or animal, it takes a life. Vegetarians and many others think only about animal life. Mainly if it has fur. That's nice, but that's not all life.

Other issues are the pollution it creates. The use of fossil fuels to move it around, often long distances so keeping it from spoiling, rotting, or getting bruised (less than pretty looking) is another issue. Then packaging. Even now with the talk about not using plastic - plastic is still by far the main material used in almost all packaging.

There is far too much food waste. I don't blame anyone. It is hard to avoid having food waste now. Food, plants and meat, are not grown as their native, original ancestors (could not think of a better word) would have been. In order to look nice, be pest and drought and whatever else resistant, they are treated (isn't that a funny word) with chemicals. Did you know turkeys, as they are now, could not survive without people. Wild turkeys, yes. Farm animal turkeys and chickens have such an overgrown breast they could not reproduce. They would just die out. Our vegetables and fruit all have similar issues. Pick one and read about it. Did you know the meat you buy (unless its right from the farmer) has been given red colouring and injected with water to make it weigh more? Marketing schemes are everywhere, including food.

I've read about some science ideas to create food in different ways. There are so many. Plants to seem like meat. Growing a chunk of meat from some cells instead of supporting the life of a whole animal for years. Eating insects or algae. I post about them when I find something new.

I wonder where future people will get their food from? Maybe they can just duplicate the essence of protein, vitamins, minerals and calories we need and put them all into one pill you just take once a week. One thing, people wouldn't still be overweight. At least not because they enjoy eating junky food. No reason to put any flavour of salt, sugar, spice into a food pill. Not meant to be chewed just swallowed.

Tis the season for driving along country lanes and finding apple trees loaded with fresh fruit, never picked. Kind of sad those trees that grow forgotten along the road. Once they would have been picked, the apples used in pies or eaten right off the tree. Now people just drive on by and only notice them in passing. Yet those are our history, our heritage.

Next time you see an apple tree stop and pick a few. Some may be bug eaten, but some of the brown patches are only places where it rubbed on the tree branch and not anything you can’t just peel away. It may be the best apple you have ever had, if you give them a chance. Of those I picked almost all were edible, not bug eaten as I expected they would be. One was especially delicious. It’s a shame I don’t know what kind of apple tree it came from.

Would you grow an apple from seed? Have you ever grown a plant from seed? Why not try one, even something tropical or exotic and have it grow by your writing space. Keep your seedling company and let it inspire you with something fresh and growing where you work.

Fast food restaurants should begin serving happy meals for pets.

People seem to be having less human children and more pets. Some call themselves their pet's parent. (I have never called myself the parent of an animal). People seem to need to keep their pets with them and bring them in the car. So, why don't fast food restaurants have a happy meal for cats, another for dogs, one for assorted other pets like snakes, gerbils, rats, etc.

Likely the pet people would love this. Pets get thirsty and hungry too. Shopping trips, road trips, or just feeling like some hot French fries... why not also treat your pet?

On the plus side for restaurants (and people like myself who don't want pets in stores), the pet stays in the vehicle. No one gets bitten, has asthma or allergies and there is no poo to scoop - but pet mommies and daddies can give their animal a pet fast food treat while they have their own people fast food.

Start planning the packaging.

They did have their own unique way. Loads of butter and not being too fussy about how pristine everything was. Just like real people versus the over friendly and sterile stuff on most cooking shows now.

What can two fat ladies do? In this world where women are valued when they are young and skinny – what possible interest could two fat ladies from the UK have and how could they have published cookbooks and star in their own popular cooking show (1996 to 1999)?

Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright were the Two Fat Ladies

I loved the Two Fat Ladies because there dared to do things I would like to do. But, they dared to do them on TV, with people watching and they laughed too.

You can paralyze yourself with fear, make it hard just to get out of bed each morning. Out of bed it’s time to start thinking about how you look and how other people will see you. People with bad teeth won’t smile. People with bad hair wear a hat or shave it off. People who are fat can’t hide so well. Instead we think about how fat we look and we don’t smile, or talk much to other people. In short, many people are so self-conscious they do all they can to escape notice, stay in the background and go about doing what they must, living their own lives like ghosts. Living faded, in the background.

The Two Fat Ladies stepped out of the background and laughed about it.

They cooked with cream, butter, red meat and booze and they were not worried about dipping their fingers in or cooking in pristine conditions. They were biker babes riding a Triumph Thunderbird motorbike driven by Jennifer with Clarissa in the sidecar. The Two Fat Ladies were themselves and they let the rest of us see them that way too. I was proud of them and happy for them.

RIP Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright - You are missed.

I can't think of anything more summer for me than watermelons.

Buying those massive watermelons at the farmer's market, hauling them home. Of course, remembering the time one dropped on the driveway and went splat! They were heavy and my sister was still little then, but she wanted to carry in the watermelon. Luckily, we had bought 3 of them. I came from a family of 4 kids who all loved watermelon on a hot day.

All 4 of us could sit right on the front steps and have watermelon seed spitting contests. I never won. I think my brother and the other sister won the most often because they had longer tongues (and they were the most competitive).

We seldom ate the watermelon in the house, they were just too messy. All that juice running down your arms and face would drip on the floor too and leave it a sticky mess. No one wanted to be stuck inside the house cleaning up a floor with hot water on a hot summer day.

The Colours of Watermelon

I still love the colours of a watermelon, that shade of pink and darkish green are summer colours to me. Of course there are the shades of yellow, orange and red which we think of as the warm summer colours, but really... can you see the summer when you think only in shades of red? Nope. For me it's the watermelon and the colours of that fruit which give me the summer feeling.

Still like watermelon 40 years later

Here I am, long grown up, moved far and then farther from my old town and the house I grew up in. But each summer I always make a point of buying watermelon. Even if I have to sit on the front steps and eat it all myself. Often, I wait until someone is visiting. We still have to have the seed spitting contests after all. It's not about who wins as much as who ends up the messiest by the end of it all. I'm never the messiest and yet I still find sticky spots on my arms, clothes and other strange places hours later.

Did you know about watermelon cake?