No excuses, just extra busy

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. My weekend was a bit on the extra busy side and for the most part is always busy. Okay, okay I really have no excuses for not posting Monday. No excuses, just busy. Honestly, It has been a very busy summer so far. I don't understand why I can't seem to get caught up on anything. Sometimes I feel as if I am always playing catch up with my housework, my garden ect. So, I have come up with the conclusion I must be taking on too many things at once or it is just because I am getting older and it takes me longer now to do certain things. Whatever the case may be..I don't like it! Anyways, back to my amazing weekend... On Saturday DH and I decided to go to an auction in Spencerville, Indiana. We haven't been to an auction for quite some time and so instead of our usual day of having breakfast, farmers market, and hitting a few garage sales, we decided on a different approach. Now, I love auctions and to tell you the truth, if I had extra or should I say lots of bucks, because who has alot of extra cash to blow in these poor economic times? I would go to an auction or two every chance I could get. I enjoy those dollar or two junk boxes. There is most always some good stuff you find in them a person can use. The stuff I don't want or can't use will go in our flea market sale and we will make our money back and plus. The drive over was relaxing. as Spencerville was mostly a simple, quaint Amish community. Pure Amish country, It couldn't get any better than that. We aquired a truck load of stuff. DH and I had so much fun. I will have to clean and price everything that will go in our Labor day sale.

Yesterday morning I woke up early as my Sister, niece and Dad and I went blueberry picking. I enjoy picking blueberries, partly for the fact there is no bending down to pick them making it so much easier on my back. I had 14 1/2 lbs of blueberries to take care of when I got home. I put some away in the freezer, put up some blueberry jam and blueberry pie filling. I am whooped! Especially after cleaning up blueberry glop that boiled over all over my stove and down to the floor and then I splashed it all over the counter top and a bit on the wall by the sink. It took me an hour to clean up everything. Clumsy me!

My garden is producing many fresh veggies and this time of year I don't lack in this department for our meals. This is also good for my diet. It's about time to get a bit more serious on what and how DH and I eat. Well, myself anyways, DH will be a hard one to convert his eating habits. I hope it will make me a healthier, more energetic person. However, the weeds have decided to overrun my garden and it is so bad, I am sure it will take me forever to get my poor garden clean again. It looks like quite the weed patch for now. If the weather cooperates and it doesn't get too hot again, I may just be able to get out there to do it. Tomorrow I will be helping my Dad and sister pick beans and I hope to freeze a few this time around. I also promised I would help my sister make blueberry jam. So you see.....every day seems to be full with so much to do. It's no wonder I am whooped at the end of the day. No computer time then neither as I find myself falling asleep at the computer. This may be why I have been extra busy?......nope never...no excuses.

A good garage sale find

Anyone can tell you I love garage sales. I love going to them as much as having them. DH and I have been busy as we are planning another sale of our own this weekend but, this past weekend we found some extra time to a little garage saling ourselves and I am so excited and do you know why? I found these really cool jars and I got all of these jars for just $2.50! You see...I buy almost all of my spices, rice, oatmeal, unbleached and whole wheat flour just to name a few in bulk. I like glass for most of my storage needs. These jars look so pretty and kinda have a nostalgia feel to them. I can't wait to fill them. Do you garage sale? If so, what good deals have you found?

Wordless Wednesday

My neighbor just planted this pine tree.....and guess what we found!

Thankful Thursday

It is Thankful Thursday and to tell you the truth I wasn't even going to write a Thankful Thursday post. Then I realized I should be thankful even though all week so far has been chaotic. Being thankful keeps me sane. Oh those wonderful turmoils! I was having coffee today with my Dad and we were talking about everything going on in the world. He seemed so frustrated. There are lots of crazy stuff going on in the world right now and lately it feels more and more like these chaotic times we are living in are only to get crazier. I am focusing on the positive. It is so important to keep our faith, salvation, and our eyes on God. I am thankful for my Salvation period! If you don't know Jesus as your savior it is so important! Don't wait until it is too late.
When it comes to everyday things....our house, a bed and I'm glad I'm not hungry when I sleep at night. The car, My poor car...... How are we supposed to say thank you when our car breaks down? Being thankful for the aid that was available. My fathers helping hand and rescuing me when I was stranded in 98 degree heat! I am not sure how much this will cost DH and I to fix the car but, with short on funds, I am grateful for DH's knowledge and skills. Perhaps I should be grateful for this car as if it wasn't for DH's boss's we wouldn't of even had this car. It was a gift.
Go home, hug your kids, kiss your spouse and be thankful. After all think about how much worse life could be and how much worse it is for others. What are you thankful for today?
For the month of June Iris at Grace Alone is hosting Thankful Thursday.

Wordless Wednesday

I love flowers! I love any kind of flowers! This picture was my Iris's beside the shed just before Memorial day and just before all the storms and heat took a big toll on them. They were so pretty. Today I picked a few of my peony's that still look decent and put them in a pitcher for my table. They smell so sweet and look so pretty on my table.

Return of the Hummers

Hummingbirds are indeed back! It's great to have the hummingbirds back. I get alot of them at my feeder each summer and all summer long I have the best time watching my little hummers at my feeder. It starts out every year around the same time sometime the beginning of May I set out humming bird feeders. Do you have your feeder out yet? Don't worry it's not too late. However the folks who put out their feeders early seem to have the best luck attracting hummers. So ,if you haven't already, get out your feeder soon. Everyone seems to enjoy the humming birds. I marvel at the tiny size, at their flying skills, and the fact they are able to fly thousands of miles, and yet locate exactly the same feeder they ate from a whole year ago. Amazing! It's ironic that the birds can find our feeders when many of us can't. Did you know that while most birds mate for life or at least have a rock solid bond during mating season that this is not the case with hummingbirds? Yep, They hate all that mushy stuff. In fact they hate each other. Female hummers are extremely resourceful, independent and almost no use for males. When most female birds arrive on their breeding grounds they immediately begin to look for a mate. Not Ms. Hummer. Mating is the last thing on her mind. The first thing she does upon arrival is build a nest, and she does it alone. She doesn't need a mate telling her where and how to build it. Once her nest is completed, she takes a quick trip over to a males territory, does what she has to do, and is done with him. (Sounds like my kinda girl) As you can imagine, hummers nests are small built about ten to twenty feet above the ground, but it may be low. Most nests are located just below a layer of foliage. The foliage not only hides the nest from predators, but it also provides protection from rain and the heat of the summer sun. I have never seen a nest. I have tried numerous times to find one. Finding an active hummingbird nest is not an easy thing to do. Remember the female hummers are single moms. There is no male friendly neighbor or mother-in-law to watch her kids while she is off gathering food. Foliage is all she has to protect her babies when she is not there. The female rarely flies directly back to her nest.; she often makes several false stops along the way. I guess I could try to locate the nest in the fall, when the leaves are off the trees. I will have to put that on my list of things to accomplish this year. A few more thoughts: The formula for making hummingbird food is four parts water to one part sugar. Red food coloring is not required and not recommended. However, changing the food and cleaning your feeder twice a week is important. Why? If Ms. Hummer visits your feeder and it's not fresh, she may not return. She'll simply cast you aside like she's done to all of the males she's met over the years. You don't want to end up like them.

Eating dandelion flower tops?

Dandelions....most gardeners detest this weed, But, did you know you can not only eat the greens but, the flower head is edible as well? Yep! Dandelions are in the perennial family. They are often referred to as weeds. Each dandelion has a bright yellow flower head that grows on a long skinny, hollow stem. The flower head can change from bright yellow to white seeds overnight. Now, never have eaten dandelion flower heads before I was a bit skeptical on serving fried dandelions flowers for my dinner table however, my niece and sister was telling me how yummy and good these were dipped in egg, dredged in flour and then fried in butter. My Dad said they tasted like mushrooms. We haven't found any of these wonderful fungi yet....I do see lots of yellow dandelion flower heads though. That did it! I would try these flower heads and serve them with my meal tonight. My sister and I picked a bunch today. I took them home. I first soaked them in salt water for 15 to 20 minutes.
I then rinsed them well. dipped in egg,
rolled in flour
and then fried them in butter until golden brown.
I wasn't sure how DH was going to take eating these flower heads and as I expected, he wasn't the least thrilled about this. He did eat 4 of them and said that was enough for him. I ate about the same. They were edible but to tell you the truth they did not taste like mushrooms. A little disappointment but hey, we tried. Fried dandelion flower heads on our dinner table again? Well, not unless we were totally starving. If I want mushroom taste i will eat real mushrooms! Okay maybe not. But, hey, go ahead appreciate them for what they are worth. Harvest them then fry them up for yourself you may be surprised. Word of caution though, Do not eat dandelions from lawns that have been chemically treated. My sister and I picked these in a field by my Dads house.

Think Spring.....Think Dandelions

It seems we are all longing for an early Spring. It has been a long cold winter. Coping with Arctic wind chills and snow, lots of snow for some of us; well, most people including myself are fed up with winter period! The good news is that Spring will come in fact early this year. Punxsutawney Phil predicted this by not seeing his shadow. In my eyes, there is still 6 more weeks of winter any way you look at it. But, with the skies so beautiful baby blue and the sun shining ever so bright yesterday and today, and as i was sitting in my chair enjoying the warmth and soaking it all in, I seemed to forget for a moment my winter weather doldrums.
My dad and I love to do much of the same things and try to help each other out with freezing and canning, putting out a big garden. This year we have been talking about dandelions. Yes, that little so called weed with the yellow flower that everyone hates that seems to take over your yard. We plan on digging up a bunch of them this Spring to eat. Mom used to hate it when he would dig up a bunch and had her clean them. Oh! How I used to love eating them! Did you know the dandelion is not native to the United States? It's true! It was brought here by the European settlers for food and medicine. The fresh young leaves and flowers are a great addition to every salad. They are classified as a "bitter" which aids in digestion by helping the pancreas, spleen and stomach. They also increase bile, improve kidney function and contain high amounts of potassium. This can make them helpful for water retention and high blood pressure. Both leaves and root cleanse the blood and kidneys, along with liver and gallbladder functions. The root has been roasted for years and used as a healthy coffee substitute. In the bible it mentions that "they shall eat with unleavened bread and bitter herbs" The dandelion is one of the most common plants in Egypt and Western Asia. It is quite possible that it was eaten at the time of the passover. Chinese herbal practitioners wrote about it's medicinal value in the seventh century. The Roman scholar knew and wrote about it in the first century. How's that for years of testing? So, think about this the next time you get the urge to eradicate that "dandy" weed....maybe it grows in such abundance because we could all use more free food and health benefits that it so devotedly offers. After all, the Creator does not make mistakes.
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Menu Plan Monday - January 24

Hello, welcome and thanks for visiting! It's another Monday menu time again. I am a little late on my posting but this is my plan for this week. There are many great menus on organizing junkie!

MONDAY
spaghetti
garlic bread
green salad

TUESDAY
homemade veggie soup
grilled cheese sandwiches
applesauce

WEDNESDAY
bean and cheese burritos
Spanish rice

THURSDAY
beef pot roast w/potatoes and carrots
cottage cheese

FRIDAY
homemade pizza (meat for DH and all veggie for me)

SATURDAY
beef and noodles (made with my homemade noodles) I will post my noodle adventure, LOL, later this week
steamed broccoli

SUNDAY
Defend for ourselves!
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Menu Plan Monday 1/17

Oh my! I weighed myself for the first time since the holidays. Gasp! I gained 5lbs! Statics say that this is typical amount of weight gain between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I am guessing if you look at it this way, however for me 5lbs is 5lbs too many!I need to get back on the bandwagon again I worked too hard last year to shed this weight! after all, I got a skinny pair of jeans ( size smaller) for Christmas that I promised I would be able to get into by spring. This is my incentive anyway. Coming up with meals is hard when I want everything healthy, low calorie and the DH is well, unhealthy. This man could live on just hot dogs, bacon, bologna. Yes! he eats hot dogs for snack food, cold, right out of the refrigerator. Seriously, 1 lb. of hot dogs doesn't last the night. I am thinking nitrate overload! Anyways, I've come up with a menu we can both be satisfied with. Oh! and be sure to visit organizing junkie for more menu ideas and while you are there hook up with her.

MONDAY

omelets veggie for me)

raggedy Ann cinnamon chip muffins*

canned peaches

TUESDAY

macaroni and cheese

green beans

raisin bread pudding

WEDNESDAY

salmon with garlic butter sauce

brown rice

steamed broccoli

THURSDAY

chicken and noodles

butternut squash

FRIDAY

Happy Birthday To Me!

DH is taking me out!

SATURDAY

Swiss steak

mashed potatoes

green tossed salad

SUNDAY

Defend for ourselves!

Raggedy Ann Cinnamon Chip Muffins

These muffins are made with cinnamon baking chips. In the high heat of the oven. ( the oven is set to 425 degrees) the cinnamon chips melt leaving swirls of cinnamon through the muffins. With all that melted cinnamon, the tops are often roughen and ragged and hence the name Raggedy Ann cinnamon chip muffins. These are very good muffins.

This recipe makes 10 large, well domed muffins or 12 smaller ones.

2 lg. eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1/3 cup whole rolled oats

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup cinnamon chips

For the topping

2 tbls. sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease muffin pan

Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl. Add the butter milk and vanilla. Set aside. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, oats, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the liquid ingredients. Stir only until combined. Add the cinnamon chips. Drop the batter into the greased muffin cups. Mix the 2 tbls. sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon together. Spoon the cinnamon sugar over the muffins. Place the muffin pan in the oven Immediately turn the temperature down to 375 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes or until done. Baking times will vary depending on how well your oven holds heat. Cool the muffins on a wire rack.

Ice fishing..... Love it or hate it

Monday for supper we had bluegill my dad and I caught on the pond this summer. I had froze them for some delicious eating this winter. My DH has been out a few times ice fishing so far this winter, something he never got to do last winter, in fact he is out fishing right now. I don't balk as he enjoys his man time and I enjoy my no man time. I would love to go out with him a couple of times. but, I dislike the cold and not sure if this old body can handle this sort of thing anymore. DH assured me when the temperature warms up in the 30 degree range I can go. Not going to argue with that. I will stay home where it is warm and let the DH freeze his old hiney, bring home the fish, ( if he catches any) clean them and I will cook them. I like to take each precious piece, dip in egg and roll in panko crumbs. I salt and pepper them and fry them in a small amount of canola oil until they are golden. mmmm-mmmm you just can't beat the taste of bluegill. Anyways, for those of you that have never ice fished, ice fishing is the practice of catching fish in an opening in the ice which you have drilled with an ice auger. If you are bothered by the cold, this kind of fishing is probably not for you. There has been many times DH has gone out and sat out on the iced lake or pond for hours and never caught a thing. However, the times I went out with him we were lucky and caught many fish right after another. It must have been the adrenaline flowing but, this kept me from thinking how cold I was. Ice fishing has an allure all of it's own. Some say it is peaceful, some say it's relaxing, most say it's crazy. There is very little debate when it comes to ice fishing. People usually love it or hate it. Perhaps you should try it and decide for yourself.

Return to the bloggy world and planning my seed order

I have been thinking it's about time to start posting in this blog of mine again. After a rather extensive long bloggy break, It is time to get out of hibernation and get this old brain working again. This has been an extremely busy and interesting last few months in 2010. I might add, that these months have gone buy just way too fast for me. I am sure 2011 won't be any different. I have big plans for this year already. My bloggy world is no exception. I will be striving to give you postings everyday, well, at least a bit less sparse. After looking at the dates of my blog posts in 2010, they are little and far between. It's a little sad. I don't know if I even been missed. I apologise for being gone so long. I've missed you guys. I hope you haven't given up on me. It will take me awhile to get back into the blogging groove but, I am ever determined to do so. So what have I been doing the last few months? Well, I have accomplished quite a bit which of course makes me happy. With the holidays behind us, This month I have been using this time to get my spring garden planned out. You could say, I am a gardening enthusiast. Yep, I'm already thinking about spring. Are you as eager as I for Spring? It's time to empty my seed stash on the floor and see what I need to order for my spring planting. I have been looking at several seed catalogs and have decided to order through Gurneys this year. I have ordered through them in the past and have always had good luck with their seed and service. I will buy my plants, seed potatoes and onion sets at our local Rural King store. This year I hope to introduce some new varieties to the Herlan garden. My list is almost finished. I will be ready to send in my order by the beginning of next month. I am taking it one day at a time.

I am still here

Yes, I am still here. I haven't had much time to write any postings as I have been way too occupied with my garden. canning, freezing and so forth. So, I apologize. You know how that can be. When the garden produce is ready, it really can't wait. Every year I try to can and freeze as much as I can for the winter. We never know from one year to the next about DH's job in the winter. DH is usually laid off but, I can remember the one year it took 9 weeks before unemployment paid him. This can be a nightmare if you don't have a stockpile to refer to. I am canning tomatoes at the moment along with tomato juice. I use alot of this stuff. I have canned up green beans, zucchini relish, sweet pickle relish, cucumber sandwich pickles. I froze zucchini some shredded for bread and muffins and some sliced for sauteing, green peppers, sweet banana peppers, blueberries, and strawberries. Yesterday I dried some fresh sweet basil in the oven on warm heat. I was getting a bit low on this wonderful herb. This week and next I will be making Sweet Anne's lace jelly* and grape jelly and maybe can up some peaches. I also have some sweet pickles in the making and pickled beets on the agenda. I figure this is going to all taste good this winter along with the venison DH gets every year. It would be nice to stock up on everything including your meat where in the winter all you would have to buy is your perishables like milk and eggs. It is a really nice thought, I guess it's been a dream of mine. I have been going fishing some with DH and earlier with my dad this summer I have a good quantity of bluegill built up in the freezer now as well . If the winter goes like last year, DH never found the chance to go ice fishing and use any of his 64 ice fishing poles. What a shame! Sorry honey! There is many benefits to stocking up on food and other daily needs. Some of them are surprisingly intangible. There is a certain peace that comes from knowing that your home is well enough stocked to get you through a few months of anything. I hate the cold winter and the last thing I want to do is mega shopping in a snowstorm. Here is my recipe for Queen Anne's Lace Jelly. Queen anne's lace is also known as wild carrot and you can find this weed anywhere, in your yard, along the roadside, fields, ect. This jelly is so good.
Queen Anne's Lace Jelly*
4 cups of water
18 Large queen anne's lace flower heads
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 pkg powdered pectin
3 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbls sugar
red food coloring (optional)
Bring water to a boil and remove from heat. Add the flower heads pushing them down into the water. Cover and steep for 30 min. Remove the lid and let the mixture cool. Slightly about 15 min. Strain the liquid through a dampened cheesecloth, discarding the flower heads. Measure out 3 cups of the liquid into a 4-6 quart pan. Add the lemon juice and pectin and bring to a rolling a boil. Stir constant (very important) add the sugar, stir constant and cook until the mixture returns to a rolling boil. Boil 1 min. longer. Remove from the heat. Add enough red food color (2 drops) If using to tint the jelly pink, then skim off any foam. Pour into sterile jars leaving 1/4 inch head space, with damp cloth, remove any spills from the rim and thread of the jars. Process in hot water bath for 5 min. * makes approx. 6 jelly jars

What to do if you lock your keys in the car

Have you ever locked your keys in the car? and you don't have a spare key? If so, what did you do? Now, chances are most of us have locked our keys in the car at one time or another. For me..ahem..it happened one day last week or so in the Meier parking lot. Yes, it was just one of those things that happened. Yesterday DH and I were at the bank and this poor young woman had done the same thing. Yep, locked those darn keys in the car. Did she have a spare key? nope! This obviously was not her first time doing this neither. I am sure she felt like I did, like an idiot! I was frustrated, embarrassed and mad at myself, and like a dummy no spare key! Now, it was just one of those things I put off because, I never thought this would happen. So, what did I do? Well, I had to call my DH from work and wait by the car until he arrived. He somehow found a piece of very thin metal at work and was able to somehow trigger the lock switch. This was kinda embarrassing since my car's anti theft system alarm blared throughout the parking lot until I could stop it! Anyways, Don't panic or flip out. There is some solutions we can all do. Well, just in case this ever happens to you.

1. Get a spare key or two made. For just a few dollars, you've got real peace of mind. This has to be the most simple solution to a relatively simple problem. After this incident I go three extra keys made at Menards.
2. Keep your spare key in a secure location. Place the other one in maybe a magnetic key case which can be hidden along a metal surface of your vehicle. Give a key to a trusted family member. I now keep an extra key in my purse, I also keep a spare key at home and gave a key to DH.
3. If you have On Star you can call the helpline. They remotely send a signal to your vehicle and unlock your door. Since DH and I drive older vehicles and this can cost about $200 a year this option is a no go for us!
4. Talk to your insurance company. If your vehicle is on warranty, you can call the roadside assistance line. They will open your car for free. Again not an option for us.


Don't panic! There are solutions and there are preventable solutions. The biggest mistake we can make is flipping out! Have you ever locked your keys accidentally in the car?

Wordless Wednesday

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Menu Plan Monday

Oh my, Its Monday again and time for another menu plan for the week. It is now slowed down after an entire weekend with our granddaughter. It was a great weekend. Jasmyne is such a smart and good girl. She growing up so fast. We ate breakfast out twice, watched her play t-ball at her practice, went yard saleing, went fishing, played computer games, ( she is smart at these), played barbies, painted our toenails, read books, gave lots of hugs and kisses, and snuggled. Did I leave out anything? It was a great time spent and looking forward we can do it all over again. Reese's birthday party yesterday was great. She and her little brother have so much energy. My, it wore papa and Mimi out just watching them run around. My menu for this week was easy to come up with as I just got groceries and my stockpile is way up again. I shouldn't have to buy anything for awhile. So, for this weeks menu.......



MONDAY



grilled lemon pepper chicken breasts



brown rice pilaf



corn on the cob







TUESDAY



egg salad sandwiches



cantaloupe filled with cherry jello (recipe here)



baked fries







WEDNESDAY



spaghetti and meatballs



large tossed green salad







THURSDAY


out?????











FRIDAY



hamburgers on the grill



baked beans



fresh raw veggies or tossed green salad







SATURDAY


ham steak


potato salad


steamed asparagus





SUNDAY


leftovers!





organizing junkie has many more menu ideas, so be sure to check her out!

Diet Plateau

As everyone knows, I have adopted a diet plan hoping to achieve weight loss and live a healthier lifestyle. I bid bye-bye to my old eating habits and given up many of my favorite foods in favor for healthier alternatives. My hard work paid off and I lost nearly 20 lbs! But, now it seems I've hit this diet plateau demon. For a few weeks now the scale hasn't moved an inch. Anyone who has ever been on a diet knows how discouraging it is. I have tried hard to try to not get disheartened. Today I decided to put on this shirt which I love but, have never been able to wear because of being waaay too tight. I couldn't bear to get rid of it because it is so darn cute. I couldn't believe it! The shirt fits me awesome with lots of room to spare! Okay, So I came up with this conclusion...A diet plateau can be discouraging and demotivating, but, don't give up! In my case, I have been exercising so much more and they do say muscle weighs more than fat. It's good to lose weight but, losing inches is great! I must be doing something right! I have made a commitment to live a healthy lifestyle, in return lose some pounds and so I will outsmart my metabolism and conquer the diet plateau!

My garden is growing!

My veggies are growing! It has only been a mere week since I planted them and they are already poking themselves out of the ground.

These are my radishes!

my green onions....

and my mesclum mix!

Do you have a garden? How is your garden growing? I can hardly wait to enjoy a fresh green salad from these veggies! I first fell in love with the idea of growing my own veggies when I was still a quite young child. My father was a farmer, my mom was a stay at home mother and raised us 6 kids on only my dads income. We always had the necessities, and with my dad being a dairy farmer we always had milk and meat. When I were really little I can remember my parents having chickens for eggs also but, they always had a very large garden in which they grew all of our vegetables. Neat rows of carrots, lettuce, green beans, sweet corn. I am so glad my parent's enthusiasm for a large garden and growing all their veggies has rubbed off on me. Having my own garden and growing my own veggies, deciding which veggies to plant, preparing the ground, sowing and tending the plants and finally harvesting the produce and eating it is an activity I will always enjoy!

Busy as a bee

Earlier this week I mentioned I was going to play catch up. That's exactly what I have been doing. Having many undone tasks can only make things confusing and it really feels good to finally get caught up some. I have been busy doing things all day, doing, doing, doing, busy as a bee, flying from one project to another hoping to accomplish alot in my hive of activity. DH tilled our garden a couple of days ago and yesterday I couldn't wait to dig my hands in the soil and plant. I planted 2 hills of zucchini, 2 hills of summer yellow crookneck squash, 10 hills of potatoes, carrots, lettuce(leaf), spinach, green onions,thyme, dill, mesclum salad mix, chives and regular onions. I am waiting to plant my green beans, tomatoes, green and red peppers, sweet banana peppers, cucumbers and whatever else I decide. This weekend the temps are supposed to dip down in the thirty's at night. I have some flowers I need to plant and so I will wait a few days to plant them as well. Speaking of flowers my Iris's and peony's are bursting with blooms. I am afraid the lilacs around here are about done. It's a shame, they smell soooo.....good and they are here today, gone tomorrow. Who doesn't love fresh asparagus or a homemade rhubarb pie. I picked another bunch of asparagus from our bed and have enough now for dinner someday next week. I also picked some rhubarb and will make a fresh rhubarb pie tomorrow morning for our dinner tomorrow night. yummy! okay, I know I am on a diet, but, I can have a tiny piece maybe? This pie was to be made yesterday but, I never got to it. Our three sheds are just about all painted. We have just one more to. It's starting to look pretty good around the place now. DH says this weekend sounds like a good weekend weather wise to start painting inside the house. As you can see, it's been buzzing around here! Here is the recipe I use for my fresh rhubarb pie. It is absolutely delicious especially with a cup of coffee. Enjoy! http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fresh-Rhubarb-Pie/Detail.aspx
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A Fantastic Yard Sale and Pics

My yard sale is over for now. Maybe in a couple of weeks I will have another but, not right away. I am pooped! It was a fantastic sale. Again we were blessed. The weather except for Saturday was beautiful and the people came in mobs steady all day on Thursday. Friday was just a steady flow of people all day. Time went soooo......fast. It was crazy for awhile but there was 3 of us and it all worked out great. Saturday it was rainy all day. The stuff was getting wet, but the people still kept on coming. We still have alot of stuff but we sure made a good dent. As I promised, I am a little late but, I am posting these pictures of my sale. See? I told you it was huge! It took almost all my yard and I had so much alot of stuff had to stay in tubs as I didn't have room. We made it work though. Most everyone that came said "gee, you have alot of stuff" What do you think?