Summer's here. But it's weird.

...and right now it's good old green beans.  I have a big bag in the drawer of the fridge, and we picked another half bushel (at least) this morning. The plants are loaded with young beans and flowers, and the harvest has begun.  Before I start canning though, I have to vacuum.

 The white dog  

(who'da thought such an adorable baby could grow up to be such a hair machine!!!)  is shedding truckloads of hair all over the house and yards. No matter how much we brush and brush, it never stops.  Seriously...you'd think she'd be bald.  It's almost like, one cup of hair goes and 3 more takes it's place. Like zombies. Or something.  Sigh...every single night we go around with the cannister vac and suck up clumps of hair. By morning it's all back. And this will probably go on until the middle of August.

I'm vacuuming and resting alternately here. Picking green beans today almost killed me. The humidity is sky high, even though it's only about 88 degrees, it's suffocating.  SO, I need to get the floors vacuumed and let the dogs back in. They are the biggest babies in the world when it comes to this heat.


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  Well--my old neighbor came by for a little visit, so it's now about 2 hours later. lol  We sat and chatted and when the Irishman got home, I sent the 2 of them off to lunch at the Congregational Church.  They begged and pleaded, but I am sooooo into this cleaning thing  (plus I picked green beans and am all nasty and sweaty and stinky)...that I said no, but they could bring me something if they wanted to. lol   I just finished the last of the vacuuming. I have a clean and nice tablecloth on the table. The loveseat cover is washed and in the dryer. The bathroom rugs are all shaken within an inch of their lives and that floor and the closet and the bedroom are all vacuumed too. I might run the mop in the bathroom...and I might not. lol

  It has been a busy week. I feel like all I have done is run around. I really don't want to go anywhere all day. Or tomorrow either.  I am tired. Tomorrow night we have the discussion group at La Vista. Tuesday, I do my volunteer stint at the Central Service Office of AA.  2-6 PM.  sigh...I wanted to quit, but the new volunteer coordinator looked like she might cry. Several people had already pulled out and she had slots she can't fill.  So...I will stick around and do the best I can. lol  I don't like doing these things in the summer when I am so busy canning and gardening. It's too hard. (Let me get a little cheese to go with that whine...)

  The weather has been so bizarre, and now I read that another polar vortex is getting ready to hit the northern states. We have had July temps in the low 80's and mid 70's...we just had 2 days of low 90's, but that starts dropping away again tomorrow.  The garden is doing pretty good so far. We've had a bit of rain, could use a little more, but not a LOT more. The tomatoes are loaded with fruit and blossoms and most of them are better than 5.5 ft high.  The potatoes are lush and flowering like crazy. The okra is a wash...it never came up at all, and I couldn't get out there to replant. I used seed I had saved, and that was most likely the problem. I'll have to get it from the Farmer's Markets or my pal Randy if I want to dehydrate some.  I still have quite a few jars of pickled okra, and a bit in the freezer, so...just some to dehydrate will be good. The sweet potatoes and the butternut squash are going crazy.  I am, however, completely out of dehydrated onions--red and white both.  Good job, huh ? I have used it all.  I am going to plant beets in a few weeks. And put in more lettuce as well as chard and kale. 

I will (in a bit) start my annual pantry inventory. I know some things are low (or gone) because I have really done a good job of using  the foods I have  since the accident. Trying not to spend much money at grocery stores hasn't been all that hard. But...things like vegetable oils, baking powder, flours, rices, etc--all the stocks are low.  The inventory gives me a really good view of what I did, what I used, and how much is left.  Helps with my garden totals too--for instance, I am ready to can green beans.  Last year this time, I had been out of beans for 2 months. This year, I still have about 8 quarts left and am ready to can.  Woo Hoo.  The tomatoes (diced, whole, sauced) are another story entirely. I've been out for a while. Those totals will be greatly increased this canning season.


  Okay--doggies are crying to get in. Dusting is calling.  There may be a nap in my foreseeable future too. I got a package of chicken thighs out of the freezer to make something for supper. Thinking a crockpot meal so I don't have to heat the house up any more than necessary.  Chicken thighs at Aldi's this week were .89/lb.  I bought around 25 pounds.  :)  

  Now...where are those people with my lunch ???????




Namaste.