Island Time!

We took a hiatus from life and went to the island for the weekend.  Where we are off grid most of the time (love it that way too), and where it was the most normal of normal life.  Peaceful, no protesting,  no rioting, stores open, campground open, beaches open, golf cart rentals going, winery was absolutely packed (they put outside tables all over the property), live music at all our favorite stops, and beautiful scenery.

It's not cheap to eat and drink over there however.  One glass of sangria at the winery is $7.00 and a pitcher $21.00.  We went out for Breakfast one morning and it cost us $70 for the 4 of us.  We packed a lot of food, so we ate at our rental and grilled.  We also brought our own adult beverage.  Breakfast out was biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs and a slice of watermelon (and the biscuits and gravy sadly were the worst we have ever had).

We got to stay an extra night.  Oh darn, lol!  Winds were bad on Sunday and the ferry shutdown after about 9:30am.  We had just got in line, but went back to our lodging and we were allowed to stay another night.  No one would be coming over anyway, so most people had a place to stay.  

Monday however, they ran one ferry.  We got in line and were told 4-5 hours.  An hour later they had 3 ferries running and 2 hours later we were back on the mainland.

I wasn't worried.  I have a crochet project and a pack of cards.  The girls played cards in the back of the truck while we waited.  Some people got out and had a picnic in the grass with their family.  We were all patient, except for the store workers in the marina store at the ferry.  They were furious (and very rude) with the onslaught of sales while we all waiting.  By the way, we had access to public restrooms, a restaurant and store at the marina where the ferry pulls in.  It all worked out.

Lots of wild life over there too.  Saw many deer, raccoons, rabbits and lots of birds, including Boston orioles.

The island has an eagle nest too.  They have 3 babies in the nest.  So cool!

Upon arrival home, our mailbox was bashed in with what we believe was a baseball bat.  We have a USA flag cover on it, and feel it was because of that and a lot of vandalism in an neighboring town (someone on a 4 wheeler at night).  They also stole one of my nice solar lights I had in a flower pot (which has glass panels on it).  I'm so mad about it, so we will be adding more security cameras.  Next time we go away, we'll have a house sitter too.  We had someone come to feed animals, but they we will hire someone to stay the night from now on.  

I already want to go back to the island....vandalism at our home, news, media, more protesting, vandalism nearby, stupidity regarding flying our America flag (by the way our flag pole was laying in the bushes, and it appears the flag pole holder was beat off the porch post).  I have another place to put it up today, and I dare them to come back and beat it down again.  America is not the land of freedom any longer.  It's home of a bunch of idiots and other words I can't put on this post.

On top of dealing with that, the washer drain pump broke the night before we left.  The new pump arrives tomorrow.  No laundry today.  On top of that...yes there is more...we have 2 vehicles and 3 people working today.  Hubby took the Harley to work.  My car is done.  He drove it last night and said, "it's done."  We will be car shopping in a hurry this week.  If it rains, we are in a huge pickle.

The septic guy came Monday.  I had to find a location on the island to get a signal to call and explain our situation and where to locate the septic.  Got home and found he located it and emptied it.  That is off the to-do list now.

Deer have located our tomatoes and ate the tops off some and most of the others down to the quick.  It could be the year of no tomatoes again. I am walking the dogs around the back of the homestead to leave scent and keep the deer off.  In all the years we've lived here, we've never had a problem with the deer (other than the eat pears, but always leave plenty for us).

So, while we got a weekend of rest, we are back to one big headache here on the homestead.  I'm so tired of the way Americans are acting right now, tired of the media, news, and now this vandalism that happened on our very own property.  It's time to get the back stop up and some shooting practice going. If things continue like the are, we'll need the practice.

I hope you enjoyed my weekend retreat photos.  I'm about to go take a peek at the tomatoes and get my late day started.

It Arrived! ~ Restocked Lip Balm ~ Woodpecker ~ Feverfew

Finally!  After 2 1/2 months, my pressure canner has arrived.  We are still waiting on about 3-4 more orders from months ago.

I accidentally made the first batch Calendula (because I was reading my recipe.  I re-wrote it now, so I reads "Lemon Balm Oil" as well.  I have to put the lemon balm in tubes, so I can take them on motorcycle rides.  The slide trays work at home though.  Not sure where I got my recipe.

\Red bellied woodpecker?

My feverfew bloomed for the first time ever!

We got a 10 minute rain storm late evening.  Thankful for the rain.  However, all day they kept saying an all night threatening storm.  I stripped my porch, took hanging pots down etc.  Now I have to put it all back.  All for 10 minutes of rain.  No 70mph winds they kept saying we'd have.  Oh, and no tornadoes.

Garlic Scapes ~ Tidbits

Guess what is ready already?  My garlic scapes.  First time it's ever been ready before the radishes were ready to harvest.

Dinner last night - apples, cranberries, pecans and chicken were added when we ate.  There is blue cheese in there.   So good for a hot day.  We hit a heat index of 101°F yesterday.  Then the temperature started to go down.

Does anyone know what this flower is called?  It's not bluebells.  The flowers are upward.  I moved them from the last home and they are still blooming.  My blue daisy plant died sadly.  

We got some rain last night and we hope to get some today, but it may come with storms.  I'm thankful, as I do not have to water again.  

New carnation for the flower bed.  I'll plant it this morning.

We now have spotted 2 kittens, but Romeo scared them and poof, they went under the house so that will be watched today.  I see Momma is hanging around, so hopefully she'll call them back out.  It will definitely be hot under there.

The Good and the Bad ~ Randomness

The Good:  There is a good chance of rain tomorrow.
The Bad:  It's going to be a high of 95°F today and the gardens will not like it.

The Good:  I bought a sprinkler for the garden
The Bad:  Garden is hard as a rock.

Well, as of June 5th, there are zero new cases of the virus in our county, and no deaths since June 4th. Looks like it's going away.  Major amusement parks and water parks that are due to open June 19th are fighting now to open sooner.

Considering it will be a very hot day here for us, I am sure my laundry will dry in seconds.  I did most of it yesterday, but will finish it up today.

It'll be an indoor day for me, and making crushed ice to cool the chickens off.  I think I may have a fan to put on them today as well.

Dinner last night was a sheet pan dinner, which heated up my kitchen, but Hubby and I put in the AC last night - woohoo to that.

Tonight I'm making us an apple/pecan chicken salad.  Nice for a hot day.  Aside from that it could have been ice cream, ha ha!

Happy Homemaker Monday

Yesterday it was a full day off.  Literally.  We rode the motorcycle with friends and ended the night with some porch time and an adult beverage.  It was a beautiful day.

I found a kitten by one of the barns over the weekend.  We brought it inside, but it was young enough it still needed her Mom.  It's the calico that was dropped here by some idiot.  One morning Mom was at the door eating the barn cat food, so we put the kitten out and wah-la!  Mom and baby reunited.  I have only seen one kitten, unless she is hiding the rest.

Saturday night we were on the porch relaxing.  We saw 5 ambulances and 3 fire trucks up at the empty old mud bog business.  We didn't see Sheriff lights, but no one was living in the house of our previous nuisance neighbor.  Guess who is back?  Yep.  Him.  Not sure what happened, but it doesn't look like it was good.  Possible drug overdose from the looks of it, and we are keeping an eye on activity, considering how close it is to our homestead.

Things are about to get ugly.  We haven't found a car for our older daughter living at home.  Truth be told, we just haven't made the time for car shopping (either it's garden work or on the bike for a day off).  We can't put it off any longer.  We will have 3 people working and two vehicles starting tomorrow.  My car is still down for the count (more work needed to drive it).  Not sure how this will all work and we live in the country.  

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

The weather . . .
High of 84°F.  They initially said 94°F.

On my mind . . .
A lot.  I have lots to do, and our AC is still not put in and it'll be in the high 90's tomorrow.  There is always some excuse to not get it in daily.  Our library opened, but masks are required.  I guess I'm done with our library, until things get better.  If this is a permanent requirement, I won't be back ever.  Thankful for bookstores.  Just my personal opinion, so I don't want negative comments or I will delete them.  There is too much negative stuff now-a-days.


How I am feeling this morning . . .
Strange.  Hubby is on a new work schedule, due to both teams back to work with no weeks off.  One team starts regular time, and his team starts an hour later, getting home an hour later.  I'm not feeling normal with this new routine.


On the breakfast plate . . .
Have no idea.  I need to go spend a few hours watering first.


On my reading pile . . .
I have books, but I'm either too tired or too busy to be reading right now.


On the TV . . .
Longmire

On the menu . . . 
-Sheet pan dinner
-Ham, Thyme roasted crock pot sweet potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts
-crock pot carnitas, corn
-Leftovers
-snack - Prairie Fire Dip (crock pot)


From the camera . . .

Here is the kitten we found.  Apparently, she wants to roam with Mom and doesn't want to stay where Mom puts here.  She is back with Mom, but I'm sure we'll see her again.  She is friendly at this point.  The kitten anyway.  Mom is a whole other story.


Looking around the house . . .
Lots to do, lots to do.


Chore I am not looking forward to this week . . .
Not sure.  There is a lot on the to-do list this week.


To relax this week I will . . .
Porch time, crochet....not sure.


On my prayer list . . .
This entire country.  I see that one of our islands has had protesting now.  Not the island I visit, but this all needs to stop and get back to a better normal.  I can't see how our amusement parks will make any money either.  There is no way kids are going to enjoy wearing a mask in 80-90°F weather, and how will they stay on during the rides.  Just a bad situation right now.

Cooling Off

Our girls did this.  Luckily, one daughter was able to snatch up a 9 foot wide blow up pool.  They invited a friend over for some cooling off time.  It's been hot, hot, hot.

Garden is almost In! ~ Donations ~ No Rain

We've been busy, busy, busy, followed by majorly tired.  We had a good few days of planting - 103 tomatoes (3 varieties), 49 jalapeno plants, 3 hot banana pepper plants, 52 bell peppers ....squash, cucumbers, etc.  We are down to repairing the last two raised beds, filling them and planting and possibly tilling one small area of the garden for more squash.  I would like to plant more squash in the next few days. 

Daughter's interview went great.  She gets to tour the hair salon this month and they are opening (they haven't been open).

Donating to Goodwill has been a challenge.  We called ahead to make sure, but upon arrival there was no one to take the donations at the door (stay in car they come out and get it).  We called while at the donation door - nothing.  I'll be calling Easter Seals to see if they can do a house pick up for the next donations.

Hubby is out watering the flowers right now.  No rain even though they said it was 80% sure it would.  Next up is me.  I'm heading out to the big gardens and dragging around my 200 plus foot hose.  It's gonna be a hot one again today.  We still haven't put the downstairs AC in.  We've literally been too tired after the garden.  Crossing my fingers in goes in before the weekend is over.

We have been enjoying the lemon balm popsicles I made.  They really cool us off after the heat and sweat in the gardens.