Almost done

I sliced up the bushel of cucumbers. With them I made 38 1/2 quarts of pickles. This time around I used pickle crisp. So I am keeping my fingers crossed that they are crunchy. I can hope!

The bushel of tomatoes has been cooked down and half of it made 6 pints of ketchup. I am shocked and amazed each time I make some thing new. Not that I doubt my abilities but really who would think that this city girl for all of her adult life and part of her childhood would be making ketchup. And not only that but I even had the family commenting on that it even looked like ketchup.... LOL! The rest of the tomatoe puree is in the fridge waiting to be made into spaghetti sauce. All of the peppers I bought have been dehydrated.

I bought a 5 pound can of tomatoe paste. Why you ask? I am going to make taco sauce. My family pours it on anything resembling Mexican food. Almost like a ketchup. So I got the brilliant idea to make it from scratch..... LOL! I keep thinking wait'll they get a load of me.... to funny!

Mind you I was able to get out to the garden today. There are eggplant, peppers of all kinds, last of the beets, a couple of tomatoes (damn rabbits), that all need my attention. Oh, and the tiny ears of popcorn! Almost forgot them.

Ahhhhhh, summer! I was a really good thing that I went in the garden today, or else I would have been very late in harvesting my sunflowers. I was able to a picture of one of the three that were ready.

Tonight is the full moon.... The corn moon, also known as the barley moon! It couldn't come at a better time, as this is my moon the One that makes me feel like harvesting and putting food by for the winter. It is the moon that represents the changing of time.... not the seasons but of time. Days growing shorter, school starting, and the hint of autumn in the air that makes you want to be the ant not the grasshopper. This is my favorite time. It is still warm enough to do what ever and still be able to sleep at night. Sorry no pictures of the moon as it is overcast here. I remember being on the farm when I was a kid, haying. This was the moon that helped guide our way back to the farm and the barn. That is when I learned to drive a tractor, hay and almost lost my leg to the elevator. But those were good times great even. Nostalgia, ain't it great!

Gotta Run,

Yart

Mental Condition?!?

Really like I don't have enough todo! I go and buy another bushel of tomatoes and a bushel of pickles. While I was at the farmers market I was even looking at the peaches. I mean really what is wrong with me. I can't seem to stop with all of this insanity. The temps are up again and I am back in the hot kitchen canning up a storm.

Today I finally canned up 6 half-pints of Zesty Watermelon Jelly. I have one pot of homegrown tomatoes cooked down and need to be pureed. I have a sink full of more homegrown tomatoes that need to be cleaned and cooked, then pureed. Last night I cubed up 6 eggplant from the garden and got them in the freezer. I have 10 green peppers chopped and drying in the dehydrator. There are 6 more green and 9 yellow that are waiting their turn for drying. I would have started on the pickles but I don't have enough vinegar so I have to run to the market.

Seriously, anyone else who cans do you find your self canning like a fool? I wonder if I am the only one.....LOL! Harvest is so short to get everything locally that this is why I tend to go overboard with it. Maybe in my next life I will be responsible for less lives. And with that not have to do so much..... Who am I kidding I love it.

Gotta Run,

Yart

Not a lot

Not been a lot going on here lately. I have just been tired and it has been very hot. Now that it has started to cool down... High 80's! At least it isn't 100's any more. I have a ton of stuff that needs to be done. But I am just being to lazy to get any of it done. 

Band monster is doing fine at camp. She is calling me a couple times a day. There is lots of swimming and free time. The food isn't to bad she says! But I know she is wanting to come home. My monsters even say that they don't want to move out. So Grim and I need to find a place with lots of room so that they can live near us. I know it is kewl and kind of creepy all at the same time.... LOL!

I have decided to give a low glycemic index diet a try. Well, actually the whole family is going to do it. We are all overweight... I tried to get books from the library. But they were all checked out. So Grim and I went to Barnes & Noble, and I was able to get a couple of books on the subject. Just got them today so I haven't had time to read them. Hoping that it will do the trick to looseing the weight.

Grim and I went to see The Expendables. It was very good for a shoot em up movie! Plus, Jet Li and Sylvester Stallone were hot.... so that didn't hurt at all! LOL!!

Gotta Run,

Yart

Seriously

Islamic mosque built at 9/11 Ground Zero

Muslim business leader: 'This has hand of the divine written over it'

Seriously, what is this nation coming to! I personally feel that this is doing a great injustice to the victims and family of the 9/11 attack.

Gotta Go,

Yart

Seed Saving

Here is an onion flower from a set that I had planted last year. It didn't do anything last year but came up beautifully this year!

Here is the flower all dried out!

And here are all the seeds that I now have for planting next year. We love onions here so this is awesome for my first seed saving venture!!!

Gotta Run,

Yart

Never a boring day

Well, today was band monsters last day of pre-camp. She will be leaving on Sunday for a week at band camp. I have anxiety more then she does, I'm just better at hiding it. I still need to go and get her muchies, water and bug spray. We have everything else! After she is done with camp this year she will only have 2 more to go to before she graduates. Where has the time gone. Just yesterday she was a baby. Oh, well I digress!

Yesterday the little monsters had their last day of summer bowling. They both had a great time doing it this summer. The last day consisted of cosmic bowling and awards. Both of them got one! Woo Hoo! They are so competitive with each other. I went ahead and got them registered for fall. Then I took the plunge and signed up for a fun league on Tuesday mornings. I think that it will be a lot of fun. Plus, I got the schedule for the adult night classes that are being offered. I am going to be taking a sewing class. I really need to learn what I am suppose to be doing. LOL!

As I said in the last post I got a bushel of tomatoes in a moment of weakness. But when all was said and done I got 5 pints if BBQ sauce and 13 quarts of spaghetti sauce. Just got 9 quarts done tonight. I'm very happy with the amount that I got. Depending on what comes up I should only need one more bushel. I am going to see how the garden does before I go and buy any more. I still need to get 11 more quarts of spaghetti sauce. That is only 2 jars a month so it really isn't a lot for my family. I just hope that we don't want pasta more then that. Plus, I still want to make ketchup. Grim says that we are getting it for a good price at the store. I want to make it to see how it turns out. Does that sound weird? Anyways, what's a girl to do! The rest of the garden isn't doing so good, The heat has just been terrible and the plants are suffering for it. I really need to get out there and do some major cleaning. I just have been so damn busy. 

Still haven't got the living room cleaned up yet. It may stay that way until I have to clean for Thanksgiving! LOL! I have a reason other then all the canning and running around. I have been reading "Garden Spells" by Sarah Addison Allen. Oh, my is it a good book. It was a fast read and very funny. There are a few parts that had me guessing. I now am going to try and get everthing else she has written. I love her writting style. It really pulled me in.

At least all the dishes are done and the sink was scrubbed with steel wool to make it shine. Thats gotta count for something.

Gotta Run,

Yart

Another busy day

Like I said the other day, about the Earth not spinning any more... Well, as it so happens it stopped for just a split second of time. And I had a momentarily lapse in judgment. I purchased a full bushel of roma tomatoes. Since this coming week is going to be crazy I decided to get started on cooking down the tomatoes. I got both of my stock pots on the stove cooking down. Then I took and put them through the food mill. I was going to freeze it until I had time to use it right. Then I get half the bushel done and realize that I don't have room in the freeze for all this stuff. So with part of it I made more bbq sauce. This time it turned out great. It really did cook down and it looks just like store bought. Plus, this time I also got 5 pint jars canned and 3/4 pint in the fridge. So it was more cost effective this time. With the other pot of tomatoe puree I am making spaghetti sauce. My house smells wonderful! With this batch and what I have left of the uncooked tomatoes I should only need maybe one more bushel to finish out the year! This is great as I thought I would need way more. Less work... WOO HOO! 

Grim has an older pickup truck that is starting to show it's age. The bottom of the doors are rusted. So we have been on a hunt for newer ones. He was able to find all for doors over the weekend. But when we drove out all but 1 was rusted in the same way that his are. The good news is that we got 1 new door. The paint is a different color, so when we get all 4 doors on he will be getting a paint job for the truck. Last year we did the front end work. So soon he will have almost a new truck...LOL! I got a surprise when I got in my car today. There was a great big spider that hitched a ride on the door we brought home. Needless to say the spider went on to meet his maker. It scared the begessous out of me.

I had to take band monster to precamp, then pick her up early so she could be at a preformace for WWII Vets. Then pick her up and take Grim to his frist PT session. Then take her back to precamp. Plus, help a friend get stuff moved. Man o Man this day is just super busy with running. 

The living room still needs to be cleaned. And with that said I am on the computer typing this... LOL! Just not enough time. But I did figure that if I were to get rid of the computers and the tv, I would be able to as much as our forefathers. Hmmmmm, that is just too much work.... and no play! And that won't work since I am on my new notebook right now. Can't let it go to waste... LOL! It doesn't have internet yet so right now I am using it as a word processor. Which is working out great considering that I am upstairs canning and typing. Before I couldn't be on the computer while canning because it was in the basement and I couldn't leave the stove. Now it I can do two things at once.

Gotta Run,

Yart