JUST FOR FUN

Just because...

Thought I would post something that is not depressing and news. Well except that it is our news here in the South...

The Super Bullfrog guarding his catnip.



This is a miniature banana tree. This is the first year that it has ever bloomed... We will see if it makes it till the first frost of the season.

MY FIRST DAY IN THE YARD AND SHOPPING

It was so nice out this morning I decided to venture out the back door and do a little picture taking and this is all I could find by scooting around on my butt on the back deck. LOL...

Then my best friend Carol called and wanted to know if I wanted her to come up and take me to town. Well I was just itching to go buy a few groceries, but somehow never ended up at the grocery store. We hit Academy and the mall and by that time I was give out. I had to make sure I had not forgotten how to spend money. It all came back to me in no time at all. My plan was to find a pair of shoes that had a higher sole on them, and we managed to find two pair, and it definately helps me on the knee thingie.

I am give out, but I will sleep well tonight for sure.

WE JUST THOUGHT WE WERE DONE...

We just could not let all the apples go to waste, so I headed back down south this morning and we got so much accomplished, even with me staying on the bar stool most of the day. It is amazing what you can get done by slidding around on a bar stool. I fixed four apple pies for my parents to freeze, fixed one to bring back to DH and we managed to can the following:

18 jars of apple butter
26 jars of apple jelly
11 jars of peach butter
9 jars of peach jelly

The peach butter turned out to be heavenly. Mom picked up the peaches somewhere in town yesterday and said she wanted peach jelly and butter, so that is what she got. Let's just hope that no one offers to give away anymore apples cause we just don't know how to say no. Mom and I sent Dad to the den to relax in his recliner since he nor Mom got much sleep for some reason last night. I am sure as soon as I pulled out of the driveway they were both kicked back relaxing.

AWTM's ears had to have been buring today. Daddy was talking about you again throughout the day. He is heading your way the first part of next month, but I have warned him that you might not be home.

P.S. DH just left for work and he stopped as he was going out the door and said to me "You need to remember who's pie that is in the kitchen and don't be burning the rubber off that knee thingie going back and forth to the kitchen to eat it." He must have been reading my mind, but now I have to prove a point. LOL...He did let me have one peice as soon as I got home with it, so I guess one peice will just have to do me...

CANNING IS ALL DONE FOR THIS SUMMER

I said after I had to have surgery on my ankle that I was through with canning for this summer, but I could not turn down two bushels of fresh apples. I called my Dad at the beginning of the week and ask if he was interested in making some apple jelly, and of course he says yes, so we started planning for today.

I headed down south this morning at 0630, and we were busy bees until 4:00 pm this afternoon.

We ended up canning the following:

27 jars of apple jelly (1/2 with cinnamon and the other 1/2 just plain apple jelly)
10 jars of blueberry jelly
18 jars of apple butter (which turned out to be wonderful)
19 jars of tomato juice

and I made two homemade apple pies with Tammi's wonderful pie crust recipe, which is the absolute best I must say. My Dad thought I had lost my mind when I told him that we were not going to touch the pie crust with our hands. When I was done with the pie crust and the pies came out of the over and he had a piece of the apple pie, he said he had to have the recipe. So Tammi it's a winner with my Dad, and he says thanks. The four of us scarfed down one whole pie. Apple pie is my one of my Dad's favorites.

It's been a long day, and my ankle feels like it is going to explode. Don't think that I have been up on it that much in one day since the surgery.

I carried my camera to get pictures of everything we canned, but we were so busy that I did not even think about taking pictures until it was time for me to head back so that I could get home before DH had to leave for work since he has to help me get inside with my crutches and knee thingie.

If I could only soak my whole body in a island coconut bubble bath right about know, I would be set for the night, but I guess that will have to wait until the cast comes off. So I am going to settle for a quick bowl of cereal and call it a night.

I'M IN BIG TROUBLE.

DH caught me picking his first tomato from the garden. I just could not resist. We will be having this season's first fried squash and tomato sandwich today for sure. It's a shame we ate so many home made rolls for breakfast or we would be eating a sandwich now.

I was not quite ready for the canning to begin, but looks like I don't have much say so in that matter. I have already put up enough squash to last until next year just from 5 plants. DH won't tell me what he did different this year to make the squash produce so much, but I think I might have it figured out.

SO SO HOT...

It's only June and it is way too hot to go outside. I was not out there but maybe five minutes and that was about four minutes too long, but did manage to take a few pictures of the garden that is going to be more than I can handle with all the tomatoes that they are producing already.

Henry is making sure that the cats and ducks don't get in the garden.


This plant has so many tomatoes on it. DH has had to add more rebar to help hold them up this year. This is the tomato that he has named after my Dad (The George Price Tomato). We are working on getting it officially named through the County Extension Office.


I will be busy for the next several weeks at work, then the kids will be in from Belgium for a long visit and if things go as they hope, they might be coming home for good. We are keeping our fingers crossed that everything goes through. I sure miss my shopping partner in crime.