Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Tuesday running along...

  Ahhhh....beginnings and endings.  Not sure what that has to do with my day, but pretty sure I'll find out.  lol


  Taking a break after vacuuming...got  a friend and her 83 year old aunt coming by this morning, so am trying to clean up a little.  Things aren't too bad...but haven't done much in here the last few days, so there's a little maintaining to do. Yesterday I worked outside all day--cleaned and re-arranged the back decks. Tended flowers. Scrubbed down the outside walls, gutters and doors with vinegar/water solution to remove the green mildew-y mossy stuff that grows every year.  It comes off easy enough with a scrub broom and an old sponge mop, but it takes time to get it done. I still have 2 more sides of the house to do... but the deck area looks awesome. I scrubbed the deck planking too...some places that stuff gets pretty thick and it gets slick in the rain.

  The housewarming party was nice. My friend Mary's new house is beautiful, even though it's in a neighborhood where everybody lives on top of each other. lol  Not my style for sure...but I live out in an old hippie-chic place in the country, so what do I know?  Most people could probably not imagine living like I do wither. Saw several friends I hadn't seen in a while, and that's always good. We didn't leave there until about 10:30.  I saw her yesterday too, she called needing a phone number for our local produce folks, and I drove over and met her there, because I wanted a couple of things too. Took a break from the scrubbing--I was a sight.  lol


  Got to pick beans and blackberries again today. The weather has finally taken a dive for more normal temperatures. Thank goodness. Tempers were flaring, grass was burning up and it was something else. We still haven't gotten any rain, sigh, but at least yesterdays high was only 91.

  The garden made it through okay...the butterbeans are flowering like crazy, the watermelon vine turned out to be cantaloupe, tomatoes are finally ripening and the edamame is making pods of beans.  I've been doing some dehydrating --summer squash and carrots, apples and peaches.  Hope to get into town today and pick up a 20 pound bag of organic carrots to dry.

  My son is gone for the week...working on a big job down in Cape Girardeau, MO.  I drove him down to get another truck to a place about 45 minutes from here that he was to drive down there and back--so I have my car back.  He seems to be finally making peace with the soon-to-be ex...he also cleaned up and moved into the studio apartment a few days ago. He'll have a lot more freedom and not feel like he's living at his mom's. lol  He'll also pay some rent to help offset the utilities, which will help me. win/win  He cut back all the berry brambles for me on Saturday...that was a big help--some of them have gotten so out of control. These were blocking the greenhouse entrance and interfering with my bell peppers too. They had to go!

  Okay--I have to get back at it.

  Have a grand Tuesday y'all....


Namaste.

10 comments:

Beth said...

I wish you were close enough to personally hand me a tomato. I really admire you Annie!

Mariodacatsmom said...

Wow - I'm amazed that your garden has survived all the heat. Things are very dry up here and crops are in danger. You make me tired Annie - you get so much done during the day.

DJan said...

I so enjoy hearing about your full, full days. I'm going to write a garden update this afternoon. Got the tea going and once I'm finished here I'm heading off to write a post. I have been introduced to aphids... boo hiss! :-(

Ashling said...

I admire your drive and that you seem to have a great time with it all!

Rita said...

I hope you had a good visit with your friend and her aunt. :)

If I could I'd be out in the country where I can't even see a neighbor. That was my favorite place I ever lived. There were a lot of people who said--how can you live out here all alone? (My fiance, my son, and I lived there.) I loved it! But a lot of people don't like being away from masses of other people. Your place sounds heavenly to me. :):)

I didn't know you had a studio apartment. That's so perfect for your son. I'm so glad he's adapting to this change in his life. And he's being very helpful to you guys, too.

Stay cool. I'd love to see those grown baby chicks, too. ;)

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

You make me feel like I do nothing!
Wish I could find some organic carrots in a big bag to do up! I would like to try to dry some. Do you use them in soups after drying? Have you ever just grated them and froze? I think I read somewhere you could do that but have not tried it. Would be handy for cake. Do you do all organic? Nancy

Akannie said...

I wish you were too, Beth!!! One day I'd love to drive up and visit for an afternoon...

MDM--I feel really blessed...we haven't had a drop of rain since June 17th...coupled with 103+ temps for days and days in a row, it's a miracle I have any garden left at all.

DJan--lol...aphids. hmmm....Try a spritzer bottle with water, a tiny bit of dish soap and some cayeene pepper in it...spray on the affected areas. It's all part of the challenge...

Ashling--I love it. Believe me, I can be very lazy about things that I don't like to do, lol

Rita--AHA!! I just KNEW there was some country girl in you!! lol We do have neighbors, but they're just far enough away to make it okay. Yup--it's a 200 sq. ft studio with it's own bat5hroom...it was one of the deal clinchers when we bought this place, knowing that if we ever needed a little extra income, we could rent it out. I mostly use it for m,y all my arts and crafts supplies and a place to do that, but we have made it available a couple of times to some women that had no where to live...it is perfect for the boy...

I'll get a new pic of the chicks in the next day or so. And my friend had to cancel...her aunt was a little under the weather this morning...we'll reschedule.

Nancy--If you have a local health food store that carries produce, they can order them for you. We have a big local-ish (St Louis) market in Edwardsville that carries organics too, and they often have the 20# bags for 20 bucks. I buy one from time to time...it's a LOT of carrots. I want to dry them too and yes, I use them in soups and stews. I have never frozen them...That would be handy for cake. And yes--we do all organic.

Mary LA said...

What a productive summer Annie! Hope your son enjoys this job --

Cloudia said...

Wishing YOU Aloha, from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
> < } } ( ° >

> < } } (°>

Petit fleur said...

I just wanted to pop in and say hello. It's been a while. I've been pretty preoccupied lately.

sounds like you're doing well.

Happy summer!
xo pf