It’s been a privilege.

In my final blog as a staff writer for the Prior Lake American, that is what I’d like to share most with you.

Holy tomatoes, Batman! The tomato plants I plopped into the ground at the last minute this spring/summer are finally producing a full-fledged crop.

I harvested the first "fruits of my labor" from the mini-garden last week.

A single, vine-ripened cherry tomato was hardly a bumper crop, but many green tomatoettes look promising.

This year, I planted:  two tomato plants (cherry, Beef eater), two pepper plants (red, orange), rhubarb, and some herbs (basil, cilantro, oregano, rosemary).

My neighbors probably thought the tomato plants were giant weeds, since I didn't put them in cages right away (the plants, that is, not the neighbors...)

Many peopl e have asked how my trip to Brazil wrapped up. The column (below) ran in the print edition of the Prior Lake American back in June, but I forgot to post it here for people who check our online edition.

By Joanna Miller, Staff Writer

It’s T-minus seven days until lift off as I write this.

Last weekend at a potluck and night out in Minneapolis, our Rotary exchange team got a taste of what to expect abroad as we hosted team members from Brazil for the evening.

As a toddler, I made my parents suffer on our big California vacation.

We spent the bulk of our time at Disneyland going ’round and ’round on the “It’s a Small World” boat ride.

I’m sure they were thrilled.

Money may make the world go ’round, but what does money look like around the world?

Brazil’s vibrant banknotes make America’s dollar bills look pretty boring.

I’m envious of the array of colors Brazilians display in their cash currency, the “real.”