Busy Day

Yesterday I had more laundry than anticipated, so the clothesline was working over time.

Hot peppers are doing great again this year, but darn it all, the rabbits are killing my greens and beets.  I'm so frustrated this year. Oh, the cayenne must only be working to deter the snakes, not the rabbits.  I put two more flood lights out there now, but need about 3 more.  I chased off 3 deer the other morning too.

The first year to see wild grapes growing.

My mad hatters are getting big and plants are loaded.

The ladies are happy with their nicely cleaned up coop.  Yes, they need a new ramp, but it's not high on the list since we plan to build a new one for them.  By evening they had kicked half their straw out the door.

Mower ~ Trip to the "Big City" ~ Coconut Waffles ~ Baked Walleye

The day our mower guy came out to mow, he hit something and bent the mower blade.   New blades were purchased, but half the mowing was done.  It was a battle to repair, but hopefully it'll be completed tonight.  My husband had a heck of a time getting the old blade off.

I made it in to the "Big City" for some errands.  I needed more twine to tie up the tomatoes and other items.  I also needed some items to work on the pop-up camper.

Daughter K had the day off, and when she is off all day and home, it typically involves an adult beverage.  Ha ha!  We were just refilling out wine rack at home.  She put another bottle in the cart after I took that photo.  We wanted to try a new cocktail, but one ingredient has been hard to locate so far.

Arriving back home, I scrambled to get things done before dinner.  First, I made a batch of coconut (no sugar) flour waffles.  My husband had a to-go breakfast this morning.  In between each waffle, I multi-tasked unloading the dishwasher and loading the washing machine.  

I had a front porch visitor just before dinner was started.

Dinner was baked walleye and steamed broccoli.  We have a lot of walleye in the freezer thanks to friends of ours.  So good!  The Parmesan cheese made the fish delicious.  Normally, my husband would insist on deep frying, but this was a healthier alternative.

We him-hawed on putting the pop-up camper up, so I could clean it today, but we both lost our mojo later into the evening.  The plan is to do that this evening.

The weather is in the mid 70's today, and so comfortable.  However, it looks like rain could move in (not in the forecast).  My plan is to muck the coop and tie up more tomatoes, but we'll see what the weather has planned.

. . .from the handiwork journal

 (since the last handiwork post)

. . . finished the XL purple pot holder.  It was made to match some hot pads I recently made.  Although, I used the solid color to edge it.

. . .spray painted two more mini clip boards for future gift giving.  I decorate them, add a pad of paper.  Instructions are on my S.C.R.A.P. Blogspot.

. . . spraying a clear coat on Daughter E's latest craft project.  I wanted her to buy the ladybug, but she insisted on this one.  It's a garden stone.

. . . crocheted a set of pot holders

. . .crocheted a matching XL hot pad

. . .progress on a knitted dishcloth.

Happy Homemaker Monday

My husband had to work all weekend, but we managed to get to the gathering regarding the loss of one daughter's boyfriend a year ago.  Oh my, we love those families/friends.  It was a good turn out, including classmates of his and daughter E's.  So many good laughs and good times and even tears, but so thankful we all got together.

Something I learned (although some of you may already know this). . .

I have never cooked with flank steak before (believe it or not).  I bought some last week and sliced it and grilled it for philly's sandwiches.  What did I learn?  Well, I was watching America's Test Kitchen (love that show) and watched them prepare a recipe using flank steak.

What did I learn?  I learned it has little fat and you must pound it before cooking, to tenderize it.  I literally did not know this until I watched the show.  

I will be buying flank steak again and giving it a try the right way. Ha ha!  It always makes me excited to cook when I learn something new.

I made a double batch of homemade taco seasoning.

I made a comfrey salve.

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

The weather outside is  . . .

86°F/66°F, sunny

Heating up and we are finally drying out!  

How I am feeling . . .

Rested.  Ready to take on the week.  

On the breakfast plate . . .

Coconut flour waffles, bacon, coffee

Looking around the house . . .

I have some boxes I need to take upstairs for Daughter E, for her big move coming up, but the kitchen is almost pristine.  I spent quite a bit of time cleaning yesterday while my husband worked (really stinks because weather was great on Sunday for outdoor work, bike ride, cards on the porch).

On my reading pile . . .

Nothing last week.

On  my TV . . .

Finally finished the entire season of Heartland.  Ending wasn't exciting either.

On the menu . . .

-Baked walleye, steamed broccoli
-Meatballs with homemade teriyaki sauce, asparagus

-something on the grill 

-have no idea

-leftovers

From the camera. . . 

The rain brought us some new blooms, and one glady finally bloomed.

I am thankful for . . .

A few dry days to allow the garden to recover, and give me time to do more weeding (not to mention get the grass mowed). I had more handiwork time over the weekend, which was a nice change (everything outside this weekend was soaked and road still flooded).

I am hoping to . . .

Get to the "Big City" to get errands done this week.  Maybe.  Nothing I need is an emergency, but needed.  The list is growing.

On my prayer list . . .

No personal requests, this country could always use prayer though.

Rainy Cleaning Indoor Day

I dug in my heals and got to cleaning Friday morning, but boy oh' boy did I keep getting side tracked.

I left dishes to soak, went to toss bedding in the washer, started to pick up the bedroom (camping clothes etc) and forgot about the dishes. 

Put biker boots in the closet and saw the bag of netting I needed to cut.  You get the picture, ha ha!

I got back to dishes and something caught my eye (or thoughts) I need to get my salve made.

Well, that didn't happen.

We woke up to rain again, and the road is starting to flood.  We had lots of rain yesterday and no time for it to dry up.

I've managed to write out some shopping lists for the first dry day we have.  I need twine to tie up tomatoes (again), and some items to do a complete cleaning on the pop up camper (more on that later).

Today is the day Daughter E's boyfriend and best friend were killed in a car accident one year ago.  The family is hosting a backyard get together, so both families can be with one another.  I sure hope the rain stops by then, but it's iffy.

I'll leave you with a photo of Daughter E's cat Tiger.  She plans to take him when she moves.  I on other hand have begged her not too.  He's old and would be better off in the home he knows.  We'll see what she decides.

Rosemary ~ More radishes ~ This and That ~ Something I Learned

 

A bit of rosemary made it's way to the dehydrator.

I picked more radishes.  Enough to make dip again, but this time I used garlic powder (garlic scape season is pretty much done).

Although hot and humid, and a complete soaking muddy mess, I managed to free the bean plants from their blood sucking weeds.  What a job on such a hot day, but I beat the rain in the process thankfully.

We are now under a flash flood alert with rain all day today and tomorrow.

Daughter E is leaving the salon she is working for, and moving up to a salon that does hair color/highlights etc.  Risky move (requires booth rent), as she is also getting her apartment next month.  We hope she does very well.  

Something I learned - one of the large flea markets located in Amish country in Ohio are closing their doors the end of October 2021.  Holmes County flea market sold their building.  Sad to hear, as it was one of the main reasons to visit the area.  The Walnut Creek Flea market however has stated they are expanding.

Rain ~ Garden

 

How most days have been lately.  Rain.

It's been nice not having to water, and all is doing great other than the rabbits eating my sweet potato tops off.  The weeds are out of control.  We need some dry days so I can get in it and weed.  Oddly, it looks like it could rain this morning, and when I checked the forecast it said high of 89 degrees and sun all day.  Hm.  I guess I will find out soon enough this morning.  It's been very humid here too.

We are once again having problems with our internet.  We had to call and have them "ping" our address (again).  Now my husband wants to look into Dish.  The only other option out here in the country, but we'll see how the rest of the week is.