Are we tired? Indeed, I am. I told myself I wouldn't work too hard out in the heat. Sometimes I lie to myself.
I worked all morning and into the afternoon getting the mower to co-operate according to my wishes. I took some of it apart, semi-cleaned the carburetor, cleaned the spark plug and replaced the air filter. I put it back together around 2 in the afternoon and it started. So, me and the mower took off together, down one side and up another. I was making hay while I could!
I can not work very long in this heat. I mowed a couple rows and than I would sit and drink water. I probably creanated all my cells because I drank at least a qt. of H2O I lost track. I drank a lot of water. And I ate 2 candy bars. I am not very worried about the calories. I think I burned and sweat it all off
I didn't get everything done, but I did get the back yard mowed. Usually, on a Sunday I don't look for much work, but tomorrow may be an exception. Things do get behind when you spend several hours doing stuff you hadn't counted on. The front yard is not done and is looking tacky. I may try to get that done in the afternoon, after the church up the street lets out. I need to trim, but I will let that go a couple days.
My cloths are all stinky. They are in the washer soaking, including my shoes-old joggers that have turned green. I will run them through after this posting.
That pretty much sums up my day, other than getting grease under my nails, and getting funny looks from the guy across the alley. He is probably saying to himself, "What does she think she's doing? Well, I did what I had to do; get that mower going and cutting. I hope it continues to run.
The fourth of July would be my father's birthday. He was born on the fourth in 1910. I think he was one of 13, but I don't remember.
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I have stayed inside this day, for the most part. Other than taking my check to the bank and then going to pay my insurance, I have stayed close to the A/C. My check went to the bank and then into the account of Big Insurance Business...nearly $500.00. I won't be going out to eat anytime soon.
I cooked a really good supper. I had new potatoes fresh from "home grown" dirt. You can really taste the difference. No chemicals and they haven't been bagged up and sitting in a warehouse somewhere, for who knows how long. Commercial potatoes are treated so they will not sprout while in storage and keep longer. (Yum, yum, nice delicious, chewy chemicals.) Also, for my supper, nice carrots(didn't grow them) and a nice sized steak. So you see, 'though I ain't got no money...I won't starve.
The onions that I planted...put into the ground...have been tampered with. Either a cat, a Grackle or a squirrel, has pulled them up. I doubt that they will live. A Crackle will pull an entire tomato plant right out of the ground. Then there are the wild "wabbits" that live under the shed. Could it be that anyone or all of these pesty critters don't like the taste of onions?
Yesterday I had a severe cramp in my right hand...claw like, and later a nerve jumping in my forearm, just below where I have all those pins, plates and screws. As I never had such a cramp in that arm before I have chalked it up to dehydration, esp. since I felt slightly sickish and did today, also. I got up in the night and drank a glass of water with salt in it. So...I put off working in the heat today.
I didn't sleep well last night so I took a nap this afternoon and slept a couple hours. Now I feel good, esp. after that good supper. You know tatters are really good for you because they have all that natural potassium within...and a little salt and butter on them makes them even "gooder!"
I spent a little time cleaning the kitchen some more before my next round of canning. I sure can make a mess. Now I am good to go for the next round of "stocking up" of whatever that may be.
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The Split Pea Soup is done and canned. I
processed 5 pts. I didn't have quite enough for the 6th pt. So...I ate it. Yes, it is good. I only made a small batch because of the heat, but hope to make another batch later.
I am running out of jars, both pints and quarts. I will have to buy some or if I am lucky, I may find some at The Good Will Store.
My next job will be making the Barley Soup, but I will rest a couple days. I have perspired enough for a couple of days.
I got the mower's battery charged, but it is spewing oil like a big old Mack diesel truck. I will have to try to see what is wrong with it on Saturday. I also want to go to the Farmer's Market on Saturday and see what is available.
Beverly is home from the hills...Colorado, that is. She got sick and doesn't feel very well at the moment. Nope, she didn't find any gold in those hills, but I think she had a good time and so did Stu. He went flying in a vintage WW11 trainer. Zoom!
Tomorrow is the last day to pay my insurance. I guess I better get that taken care of, but I don't want to because the premiums went up quite a bit.
Because the canner is old...almost as old as I am...I have to keep a close eye on it. The pressure fluctuates. It does need a new pressure gauge, but I can't afford one right now. It is the original gauge and is about 60 years old. I did replace the rubber ring/seal. I watch it carefully and adjust the heat accordingly.
While I am sitting in the Dungeon(kitchen)I can watch the birds make use of the bird bath. Like people, some will share the and some won't. The biggest bully is the Grackle. The Grackle is a fair sized bird with black feathers and iridescent purple neck plumage. It looks like a crow and is a pest like a crow. There are also pretty Doves that come to the bird bath. They are a sharing bird, but are often frightened off by noise or a bigger bird. I have never understood how Dove hunting could be considered a sport. They are hardly big enough for a meal, so why kill them?
I smell like gas and oil fumes. I better get a shower. Have canner, will can. Have mower, won't mow.
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I planted a bunch of onions this afternoon wherever I could poke a hole and stick them in. They are long overdue for planting so I don't know how they will do. Onions are pretty hardy 'though and if you forget them over winter they will come right back up again.
I also pulled out a few "volunteer" potatoes from the ground. Not a lot, but enough for one meal. There are more out there; I just need to find them.
I was going to mow the yard today and got the mower out and filled it with gas. It wouldn't start. The battery is dead so it is on the little charger. It takes about eight full hours to charge so I won't be mowing much until tomorrow.
I didn't waste my time 'though. I have been busy cleaning off the fence line. That is a some job. Most of the vegetation growing along and on the fence comes from the other side. There is Virginia Creeper and Morning Glory the length of both fences. It is the kind of vegetation that just takes over a fence line and creeps right into the lawn. It will ruin a fence and cause it to rust out.
The new neighbors say their kids can't play in the back yard because they are all allergic. What am I? Non allergic? If I don't get out and do the job my mower gets all tangled up in the vines and that makes it more difficult for me. Plus, it is a great harboring place for mosquitoes, chiggers and insects .
My Plum tree is so productive, but the wind knocks the plums off onto the ground before they are ripe, and then the ants get them, then the flies. I am going to trim it back just slightly...sometime.
I added this picture from a previous post. I have been buying them at yard sales and at the Good Will Store. They are cast iron frying pans and a couple of small ash trays. They sort of fell in a random order, in the center of the post
The hard, physical work causes me a little discomfort, and then my "everything" hurts. I took a half of a Lortab around noon, but when they are gone, they are gone. I have been nursing them along for quite a long while, now. I doubt I can get them renewed as this whole area is drowning in drugs and meth. labs. Oh Well.
I am/was too tired to cook and then clean up after myself so I made a fast trip to Wendy's...and no dishes to wash up. Thank you, Wendy's. Your just too good to me!
I have been outside most of the day, from about 9:00 and on. As Alice says, the best laid plans have to change according to the needs. I really wanted to get the grass cut. Tomorrow is to be about 90 F. and I don't like working in the heat: I can feel my B/P thumping right along.
So, tonight I guess I will go to bed earlier than usual and recover from a busy day. No, I didn't get my Split Pea Soup started, either. Dang...shoot me with a pea shooter...remember them?
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I went to the store this afternoon thinking to get the five meats for $20.00 bucks deal, but came away with two nice ham butts instead. They sliced them for me and now I need to separate the two big packages into smaller packages and put them in the freezer. By just buying the two ham butts the price came out just about the same as I was thinking of spending for the "five for 20" deal, anyway.
I ate some of my bean soup that was left over from the other day's canning. It tasted pretty good and will taste even better when the snow flies and the geese cry as they head south with the elderly "snow birds."
I guess tomorrow I will start the Split Pea soup in the crock pot. I like the crock for canning because I can go directly from the crock pot, to ready hot jars and lids, right into the canner. While the crock pot its doing its thing I can be outside doing my thing...like mowing the yard.
I learned a new trick with the blender and I want to post it in pictures later. My blender is about 40 years old now and is still going strong. I hope to find another one at a yard sale or at the Good Will store, as a back up.
After I get all my canning done it will be time to get some home made bread baked and into the freezer. It should be cooler by then, too.
That reminds me; I got my electric bill...yikes! My auto insurance is due and I have been putting that off to the very last minute...and the last minute is here.
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There are some days when there isn't much happening..going on..or much to write about. This seems to be one of those days.
It rained all through the night of Saturday and Sunday and in the morning. Today it rained hard again. We have had plenty of rain this past week.
Still no blossoms on my tomato plants. I wonder if they have been treated so they will not produce. They are supposed to be "heritage plants. The plants are lush, but there isn't a single flower to be seen.
I may start adding pictures again soon. Of what...who knows.
Beverly and Stu should be getting back from their " gold mining trip" late tomorrow night. I am sure they will be all tired out from lugging all that gold dust around.
That is my feeble mind can conjure up.
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I went to The Animal Fair...oops, I mean Farmers Market. There isn't much available yet other than Crook Neck Squash and Green Beans. I did buy 2 little muffins for a buck. Later they will have more produce.
I ran into a friend who had run for City Mayor last fall and lost. It is still a Man's world, isn't it. She took the lose very hard as she poured so much into it. She stopped coming to our TP meetings and gained weight. I was glad to see her. She has put out 45 tomato plants and said she would sell me some when they get ripe. Today she was running a booth for free door prizes...of course, you have to win first! The door prizes are little boxes of fresh herbs.
Another lady had a both with local honey, but it is really expensive, even for a tiny jar. I recently got a whole qt. for what she was charging for a small container. I moved on. Very small Zucchini bread was selling for $5.00 dollars. The little loaves were about 1/3 the size of a regular loaf of home made bread. Again, I moved on.
As it is the first day of the Farmer's Market, I thought the prices were a bit high. But(never start a sentence with a but)as Bill Clinton said "It's the economy, stupid." I will say one thing about the economy 'though, gas prices are $3.29 right now. The stock market is way down and oil prices are down with the stocks. Got stocks? I cashed mine out in favor of paying bills off in the face of retirement. Now I have a new computer to pay for.
Going back to "But." The reason you are not supposed to start a sentence with a "but" is because it is a conjunction, pulling two parts of a sentence together. "But" we all do it, including me! I had Mrs. Fenstermacher for an English teacher way back when.
I am crock potting chicken bones, skins, fats and neck bones for making broth for my next batch of soup. I will keep adding to it just as the French do.
The bones are loaded with calcium and bone marrow. Later, I will need to de-bone any of the meat from the bone. My time is my own so there is no hurry. I need to decide which I want to make: Barley or Split Pea Soup.
Last year a can of soup coast $.50 cents or less if on sale. This year the same soup will run you about$1.50 unless you can find a sale. The only thing you can't process(pressure cook)in your home made soup is pastas, but you can do cooked(chicken and) rice. Thus, I make home made soup for winter or when you just can't afford to buy food at a store. You all know how I hate going out in the winter. As for buying food, when I went to the Dollar Tree yesterday...a lot of the shelves were bare.
The Bone Soup is de-fleshed and in the refrigerator. What? You never heard of Bone Soup? Then you have never heard of the Great American Depression or Post WW ll in Germany or the siege of Russia during the war. Hope that you never need to know of such history. Anyway, the Bone Soup will wait until Monday to become real soup and canned. Tomorrow is Sunday and I won't be working too hard...a day off from worldly toils.
I read today that wheat prices are about to take off like crazy because of all the droughts, flooding and poor yields...and that people are making "pasta runs" or stocking up. You can count on your favorite brew becoming more expensive, too. Boo Hoo on that one.
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