Spiders, Spiders, everywhere

The spiders are coming in. They like me. They like my house. Spiders and crickets come to visit and stay...uninvited house house guests. They manage to get in under the backdoor without a problem. It doesn't help that my house doesn't have a high foundation. Someone told me that houses built on slabs should be outlawed. I agree. I need to get some more of those spider traps.

I have prepared about 5 1/2 quarts of cabbage to put into the freezer. It is cooling now. I might have had enough for 6 quarts, but I ate some. Pretty good now and even better when winter comes knocking at the door. The liquid left over can be used in soups, but strange as it may seem, I enjoy drinking it. I have read that it is good for you, too. Don't know about that, but I do enjoy the taste as it has a slightly sweet flavor and is already lightly seasoned.

I did stay home this day and am gonna tackle a walk in closet this evening....because I can't walk into it. This will be a big effort for me. I have been putting it off because I just don't know what to do was the stuff I have piled in there. Some of it will get tossed, but I hate to get rid of things I think I might use one day. It is also a nice place for those lovely spiders to hang out and hide in clothing.

A lot of the garden is going to seed. It has been so wet that I don't like getting out into the mud. I hope I get the sweet potatoes before Chuck does. He can have all the pears or grapes, but I love sweet potatoes. They will keep well in a cool, dark place...if I get to them first. I just don't know how well I can dig them up.

There are two volunteer tomato plants growing in the chicken run. They may not produce before fall. I will watch them and see how they progress. It makes me think that the chicken run would be a good place for tomatoes next year. There is all that chicken wire to tie them to and it is well fertilized. The space will not be wasted. I have started putting odds and ends into the coop "garden shed."

I need to work on the mower. Just about every day it pours and I don't want to pull it out and get wet. For some reason it will start, then quit. There must be some dirt in the gas line or carburetor. Last year I could do lots of chores, such as working on the mower and various other tasks. This year I contemplate the act before I try it. I will get it done. I know I can/will.

Next week the gas company is changing out the gas meter. I guess they think there is something wrong with it because the gas bill was only $20.00. They changed it before when my gas bill was only $12.00. I just don't use much gas in the summer. I use the electric stove and electric appliances instead. Gas heats my kitchen to unbearable degree in the summer even if it has been a cooler than average. The electric bill is up, the gas bill is down. This will reverse when the cold weather settles in. Ahhh, the cycles of life.

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