Tomatoes and other Chit Chat

 

I spent the entire day re-staking and tying tomatoes.  They out grew their 4 foot stakes and the last rain gave them some growing juice.  Good gravy.  I was out there from 8am to a little after 2pm.  My muscles are sore today.  I had enough 5 foot stakes to get  them all upright, and now we can actually walk thru that jungle, ha ha!  I picked off 3 tomato worms, but I will have to check for any more daily.   One paste tomato is already turning red. Gulp!

When my husband got home he weed whipped around the garden and around the flower beds.  We paid our mower guy to trim the last two times, and he has not.  We will not hire him unless there is a horrible work schedule again.

Update on the bathroom.  Well, we will have to re-center the bathroom light fixture and mirror, and remove all caulk and re-do it ourselves.  I could have told the guy to re-do it, but it's obvious he doesn't know what he's doing.  You can bigify the photo to see how bad it looks.  Sigh....

My husband and I both agreed, that we just want the shower installed completely, toilet installed and sink in and hooked up.  We are just so frustrated with everything.  This is the 3rd time we've been dealing with expensive and terrible work, from hiring someone.  We only hired someone due to my husband's horrible work schedule the last two months.

Two days in a row, I did not get the pancakes made.  I was sweaty, hot and tired by the time I came inside.  Today, I decided the rest of the flower beds can wait a day, so I can catch up inside and get a real breakfast baked.  We do have a slight chance of rain in the afternoon, which we do need.

Weeding ~ Tending Tomatoes and other ramblings

 

I spent the better part of the day weeding this part (my muscles reminded me this morning) of the front flower beds.  I have a lot more to do, but today I have to be in the tomato patches.  As you can see (sorry for the bath photos, I took them on my phone), there are no annuals. It just didn't happen in this bed.  Next year we'll get landscaping stones and it expand it out where we put tarps to kill the grass.  It will make mowing much easier.

During my husband's crazy long hours, we ended up with two different trims for the bathroom.  We had to run to the other "big city" and get the right trim so the bathroom could be finished up.  

We had a beautiful sunset last night.  Mom used to text me every night there was a beautiful one, because our sunset view is behind the house and behind the woods. I would not see it unless I was outside.

We ended up walking around the garden at dusk, to check on our motion sensor solar lights.  All are working, but one look into the tomatoes and I let a big sigh....I have more staking and tying to do.  Plus, the handyman used up the last of the gas, so if I will have to go get gas in order to do the tilling (again).

Today is one of those days I wish I had help.  Flower beds need finished weeding, tomatoes are in dire need of securing, beans need picked.....and oh, I have to paint one piece of floor trim this morning before I even go out the door.  I never got pancakes made yesterday.  I literally got the grill to the counter and that is as far as I got.  It's one of those whirlwind days today.

Speaking of the handy-man, since he changed his tune on payment amount regarding the bathroom, we are going back to doing the mowing and trimming ourselves.  However, the mower needs a new battery.  

Happy Homemaker Monday

We thankfully got rain all weekend, however it is too wet to work out there this morning.  I'll be weeding from the sides fo the flowers beds however.  

I finally found where I got my washcloth pattern.  It's from Cream of the Crop Crochet.  There are ads on the page, but I absolutely love this pattern for a washcloth.  Left is my old pattern, and the one on the right is the new pattern I found free online.

Today I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

I will link up when she posts today.

The weather . . .

Looks like we stay in the 80's with more rain this week.

As I look outside my window . . .

Flower beds look horrible!  Full of weeds.

Right now I am . . .

Making a 2nd pot of coffee.  

Thinking and pondering . . .

Apparently we bought two different shades of corner trims (for the bathroom), so we have to return 3 pieces and pick up 4 more.  Trying to figure out if we can go do that tonight, or pay the handyman to go do it (would have to pay him for gas).

How I am feeling  . . .

Ready to get some weeds pulled.  But first the coffee...

On the breakfast plate . . .

Einkorn pancakes and blueberry sausages, coffee

What I am wearing . . .

Work jeans, tank top - weeding day.

On the reading pile . . .

Does the mail count? Ha ha!

On my TV . . .

Virgin River

On the menu . . . 

-sheet pan chicken, brussel sprouts, carrots

-have no idea on the rest yet.

Looking around the house . . .

All of the trim, other than the bathroom floor trim has left my living room.  I still need to clean off a kitchen table, and start packing up the living room for that floor repair.

To-do list . . .

-laundry
-dishes
-weed flower beds
-check tomatoes for worms, check beans

-plant indoor cilantro, parsley, and basil

-work in living room 

From the camera . . .

New sign for the kitchen.

Devotional . . .

I still haven't moved all of my "office" back, so I haven't found my devotional book yet.  I need to get that done this week.

...from the handiwork journal

 

. . .I've changed my handmade washcloths.  The one on the left is my original pattern.  I absolutely love the new on on the right.  Stitches are not as tight, larger and love it for a "make up" washcloth when needed.  I hope to get more made to sell this winter.  The last time we stayed on the island, the owner had black washcloths with the word "Makeup" stitched on it.  Brilliant idea.

. . .finally found a simple pattern for offering an inexpensive item for kids.  Kids are always coming up to our tables at the craft shows, so these be perfect.  Friendship bracelets.  Crocheted with embroidery floss.  Pattern is from Whistle and Ivy online (she has 4 different bracelet patterns).  I got them free, because I am an email subscriber.  I used a simple style and with the tie on method (better for more sales to fit more sizes).

It's not much of a handiwork update, but an update no less.  It's been a busy summer here at the homestead.

This and That

The blueberries are all done for the year.  I canned a small batch of blueberry cinnamon jam, and froze the rest.  I picked more green beans, tied up more tomatoes, and had a mound of dishes.  I mucked the chicken coop, and boy was it a hot day.  I did a check on all of the tomatoes and thankfully, only found one tomato worm.

I came inside and snapped a photo of the flooring going in for the bathroom.  Sigh....look at those seams!!  I sent the photo to my husband how immediately got in touch with the men doing the work. They were putting the seams way too close.  Oh my gosh, by the way, the two men were arguing the entire time.  

  

It was taken out and fixed.  Sorry for the bad photos, I took them with my phone.

It's hard to get a good photo, due to lighting and time of day as well, but we discovered there is matching trim, so we'll possibly be returning the trim we did buy and buying matching trim.  Hopefully, the bathroom will be done next week.  There are a few more pieces of flooring to install, the rest of the shower needs installed, more work on the walls (we are doing something different), then vanity, mirror, all trim, and toilet needs installed.

Daughter E had an outdoor yoga class, and they had a you-pick flower farm near by.  She drove all the way out to our place to gift me them.  I love flowers!

We finally got rain last night.  I do have to fix one tomato stake, but it may be too wet to walk in the garden this morning. I guess I'll find out.  It will be another scorcher of a day for us.  I do not lack weeding work, so I may be weeding flower beds after this rain.  I have several areas that badly need it.

There is a chance my husband will be stuck working 2nd or even 3rd shift due to work.  I am praying he is off at his normal hours.  We are so over this already.

Blueberry Season and Chit Chat

Yesterday was horribly humid and hot.  We had a heat index over 100°F.  There were sever thunderstorm warnings and we literally got a few drops of rain.

I drove my 62 minute round trip to pick up 10# of Michigan blueberries.  I did not get the chance to plant potatoes this year, so I also picked up some potatoes, more peaches, and garlic.  If you read my blog, you'll know that we are pretty sure I forgot to plant my garlic last fall.

Anyway, I spring planted my garlic and two entire grow bags have zero garlic, so yes, I could have, and yes it may be a squirrel problem.  I'll be picking up some 1/2 in. wire to cover the grow bags this fall.

Daughter K sent me a message she loved the zucchini I sent home with her, and we decided to use some for our favorite side dish (to also use up corn in the freezer).  The recipe is no secret.  It's online with AllRecipes called Corn and Zucchini Sauté I think.

Wednesday, my day completely changed gears.  I was heading out to the tomatoes and saw our handyman getting the mower out.  Back inside I went.  It was a day of putting blueberries in the freezer, making Einkorn blueberry pancakes and a pitcher of spearmint iced green tea.

How I Re-Seasoned My Cast Iron Pan

A few asked how I restored my cast iron skillet, so this post is about that.

It's been a long time since I had to restore cast iron, but I did some research online.  Never soak your cast iron more than 8 hours (some Youtube videos I found said to soak overnight, do not do that).

I placed the pan in a large tote big enough to fit it.  I had the larger skillet so I used a plastic tote.

I filled the tote 50/50 with water and white (5% acidity) vinegar.  The vinegar helps loosen the rust (if you pan is rusty like the one I was given).  Completely cover the pan with this mix.  I soaked my pan about one hour, then tested it with the scrubber, and soaked about a half hour more.  

You'll have to wash out your tub or sink after soaking. There will be a residue of rust left behind.  I washed my tote outside, using the water hose.

I have read that you can scrub the rust off with a waded up ball of foil, scrubbie, or steel wool.

I had a few of these on hand, and it worked great.  Heavy Duty Scour Pad (found at the Dollar Tree or your local Wal-mart etc).  You can cut these in 4 smaller pieces to make your supply last longer.

Using Mesh Food Bags - Scrap Article (this may work as well, but you'll ruin the yarn portion of the scrubbie).  If you have food mesh bags, I'd just use that to scrub off the rust, but I think the thicker one I used worked better.

Once the rust is removed, I completely dried the pan.  I then oiled the pan with a canola oil (what I had on hand, or use vegetable oil).  If you read the instructions from Lodge company themselves, they say to use the spray type, but I suggest you do not.  That leaves a weird coating.

I placed a piece of foil in the lower rack to catch any oil that may drip off.  I read you can set your oven from 450 to 500°F.  I set mine at 450°F.  I place the cast iron pan on the other rack above it, and upside down.

You may want to do this on a day when you can open your windows.  You will get a (smoke) fog in the house from the oil baking on the pan if you do not.  It may depend on the oil you use, but for me it smoked up the house a bit.

I heated the pan for one hour, turned off the oven, and let it completely cool inside the oven.  I also re-oiled it after it cooled.

I hope this helps.