What sitting down to read a book did . . .

 

Monday was a very busy day, and there was much that didn't get done, however I boiled eggs.

Daughter K came in the house from running errands, and I had just put the eggs on the back burner with the lid on and timer going.  I literally was so exhausted I went to the front porch to read for the first time in a long time.  I typically don't read in summer with the garden work, but I wanted to take a break and not crochet or knit either.

I came back inside after reading for an entire hour and the timer was going off.  One hour later.  Daughter K was upstairs and couldn't hear it.

I felt so frustrated that I let that happen.

I do not regret sitting and reading.   The yolks were not that green either, ha ha!  I later got dinner baked, but I forgot how enjoyable reading was.

Woke up to the most gorgeous weather.  I asked my husband, "why is the weekday weather always the best weather for camping, and come weekends it's not?"  Just for kickers, I checked the campground and there was one spot left this coming weekend.  I then checked the weather?  Guess what's coming this weekend?  Thunderstorms.  Urgh.  We joked about camping right out back next to the fire pit after that.

I think we'll be taking more motorcycle rides during week until the garden becomes crazy busy. We took off on one last night with gorgeous weather, and we slept great.

My kitchen is a bit chaotic, so it's on the to-do list first thing today.  Dinner will be easy - grilled Santa Fe Chicken Fajitas.  I prepare them in advance and marinate overnight.  I just dump it into a grill pan and wa-la!  I will get the recipe written up soon for you.

Strawberry Vodka and a busy Monday

I started some strawberry vodka.  It's good too, and it's nice to have an adult beverage in the winter (this recipe lasts up to 6 months in the fridge, and tastes better after it sits after straining).

I had a lot on my plate yesterday.  Boy oh boy.  I had to water everything first (garlic was bone dry),deadhead flowers/roses. I had laundry to do and hang outside, bake a breakfast bake, wash dishes, get oregano out of dehydrator, marinate chicken/peppers, boil eggs, freeze strawberries....make dinner.  Long day for sure.  I also made a pitcher of spearmint/green iced tea.

Breakfast - sausage, sweet potatoes (organic Hannah ones), garden green pepper, garlic, thyme, salt pepper, eggs.  It was so creamy with those sweet potatoes.  Yum!

Happy Homemaker Monday

 

We've had a few days of fog here lately.  We are moving into a cool down weather-wise.

Saturday we got the entire rose bed weeded, weed whacking done, and mailbox flower bed planted.  We also planted an ornamental apple tree that was growing in one of the beds.

Yesterday was beautiful.  We finished up outdoor garden work, showered and took off on a motorcycle ride.  We went to a new town and a local eatery.  Delicious, but not cheap.  We'll go back, but to try their breakfast next time.

Once home, we made a fresh strawberry pie, and played cards on the porch with adult drinks.  Great day for some R & R. 

Today I'll be joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

The weather . . .

80's, slight chance for rain, sunny

On my reading pile . . .

On my TV . . .

Heartland (long series for sure)

On the menu . . .

-Salmon Romanoff, green beans, fresh strawberry pie
-grilled fajitas
-walleye, not sure on a side yet
-leftovers

On the to-do list . . .

-water garden
-bake a breakfast casserole

-dehydrate oregano

-boil eggs

-freeze more strawberries

-laundry

-sweep front porch and get more furniture put out

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating . . .

Working on the XL hot pad in this color, still crocheting water balloons too, and getting some yarn back on the knitting needles.

From the camera . . .

More snapdragons are blooming, but I am a bit disappointed that they are mostly white or yellow.  I hope they produce more color as they continue to bloom.

Something fun to share . . .

Fun for us anyway...found another Mom and Pop eatery to take a motorcycle ride too.  I'm so happy we found new rides to take this year.

On my prayer list . . .

A young girl named Annabelle with health issues, Daughter K who got tonsillitis

This and That

I finally got to our post office.  Well, the one that is closer than our town post office.  It's only open 2 hours and day and quite a struggle to get there when they are open.

New blooms in the flower bed.  The roses that are blooming were planted in memory of Daughter E's boyfriend that passed.  They were gifted to her and planted in the flower bed.

Work resumes in the vegetable garden today.  The rain has stopped and watering by hand is needed.

Yesterday we had a nice visit with my Mom and gifted her some strawberries.  She was tickled pink for our appearance and for the berries.  We retired our evening with playing cards on the porch and grilling burgers.

Something I Learned

 

(not my photo)  I learned something new.  We were browsing at an antique store this year, and my husband and another couple were trying to figure out what this tool was used for.  It's a board with spikes going upward. 

It was used in Colonial days to run the fibers of flax stems through.  Flax was used to make fibers of thread to create linen.  Ha! Now we know.

Freezing Strawberries and other Tidbits

 

I finished freezing the strawberries. I may have more to freeze, but the chickens got the sweet tops I took off.

The oregano that was dehydrating is all in a jar for cooking. I cleaned out one freezer, took notes on what needs rotated out and got my grocery list written down.  I have one container of cottage cheese and one of sour cream, so those were taken out and thawed to make Salmon Romanoff.

We eat way less pasta than we used to eat. It's mostly been a meat and vegetable lately.

I have a large cast iron pot that I badly need to re-season, but it's too hot to do that right now.  I'll wait for a cooler day for that job.  The black layer is peeling off, and according to instructions from the company who makes them, states to re-season a couple of times and the pot will be restored.

We are seeing more deer and rabbits this year.

New blooms in the flower bed.

My snapdragons are about to snap open.  I sure hope I have some pretty colors. It's been years since I have had snapdragons.  

The ladies were treated with ice chips in the heat.  Again, awful photo.  On my phone it looks great, not transferred to computer for some reason.  I guess I will start using my camera.

My husband put gas in the truck and it was $3.15/gallon, but with our grocery store points he was able to save $.70/gallon thankfully.  Prices are up on just about anything right now.  I'm trying to limit trips to town to avoid expensive fill-ups.  It's not like I'm lacking in a to-do list.

Grilling ~ New Recipe Tried ~ Dehydrating

 

We got more rain yesterday and woke up to a foggy start for the day.  More rain possible today.

Santa Fe Chicken Fajita marinade (for the grill). First time in a year to have to buy organic bell peppers.  There is a cold salad/relish that is great with this, but I do not have a green pepper.

New recipe tried - Strawberry Cheesecake Ice box Pie.  Yeah, I cheated on the crust, but I didn't have the crust ingredients on hand.  I froze it, then topped it with remaining whipped cream and froze again.   It's been tried and sampled.  It's not thick like a cheesecake, but more on the lighter side.  Everyone loved it.  The strawberries are pureed with a bit of orange juice.  I think it was called an "ice cream" pie, but I'll look for it and link it up here later.

9 trays of oregano went into the dehydrator.

I got my green onion starts in the ground before the rain arrived again.