Name that bug and other outdoor work . . .

 

Although the spot on this bug looks orange, I swear it was read when I saw it fly.  The top one was about 2 inches long, so does anyone know if this is a danger?  Or harmless?  We've never seen it here before.  Best guess they are Mydas flies, but can't be certain.

It's been a horrible rodent/bug year for us.  The mole chasing windmill is keeping the moles away from the garden, but I had to order another windmill for the front of the property.  The moles have dug tunnels all over my front flower beds (grr!).

It was a beautiful sight to watch the plethora of lightning bugs last night.  I don't think I have stayed up, or stayed outside that long in a long, long time.

I spent a good part of the day tying up the tomato plants.  Good grief!  Some of them I tied up the day prior already needed more tying up.  They are growing crazy this year, however we did not get any rain last night as predicted.

I was up very early this morning to check on the weather status, and oh my gosh it is super humid at 4am.  Blech!  It'd be great from some morning rain, so I wouldn't have to water everything, and could tackle the indoor to-do list.

My husband complains when I plant something from seed that is horrible to weed later, so I weeded out the chard.  I was hoping to weed the kale, but nope.  Watering all morning, possibly weeding tomorrow.  The hot peppers are on, as well as some bell peppers, and one single tomato is turning red already.

I put up 2 pint bags of Russian kale, and brought in one more zucchini.

Bathroom repairs update:  Entire bathroom has kilz down, so today the ceiling is getting texture.  Once that ceiling is painted, it should go faster to get it in working order.  

I was plum worn out after being out in the heat, so I didn't get a lick of trim painted.  Sigh.  It might happen today.

Our handy-man also repaired the tiller and put a new belt on it.  Now that my husband is starting to get home earlier, he will be able to help me more in the garden.

Question:  How long does watercress last in the freezer?  I'd like to freeze some, but what I have read says 3-4 months.  

Happy Homemaker Monday

 Long, but busy weekend.  While our handy-man had the weekend off, I was working hard to paint bathroom door trim, and juggle the laundry, put things back where I painted another smaller area of a kitchen wall, do dishes, cook, garden, and stock up.

The bathroom repairs continue.  The floor is in.  He had to make some changes with the new sub-floor.  The new shower base drain hole was about 1 inch off of where the original drain was.

The kids, when they lived here, took long hot showers, so the paint on the ceiling was literally coming off.  It's been cleared, sanded, and areas filled.  It could be another 3 days before the drywall can be put in.  The ceiling will be painted with kilz, then re-textured, and painted with ceiling paint.  Each step taking a day to dry, so I'm trying to be patient.

The garden is starting to roll in bounty.  I pulled the last of the lettuce plants and made us a big salad for these humid and hot days.  I spent most of the day Sunday in the tomatoes. Many of them need tied up again.

My husband is working every single day.  He gets no days off for a few weeks.  I'm not running out of things to do, but I do miss him.

I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.  Will link up when she posts later.

The weather . . . 

We will hit the 90's again, with possible thunderstorms tonight or early tomorrow morning.

As I look outside my window . . .

The sun is shining, and the weeds have once again taken over in the flower beds.  I found some smaller wild growing mullein and have moved them closer to the house.

Right now I am . . .

Doing a load of laundry, and just finished breakfast.

Thinking and pondering . . .

Trying to decide which job to tackle on rainy days - upstairs, bedroom closet, or front room (need to clean out a file cabinet that was previously in kitchen desk area).

How I am feeling . . .

Pretty good actually.

On the breakfast plate . . .

Sausage, bean, and egg breakfast burritos, topped with home canned cowboy candy, coffee.  Lots and lots of coffee.

What I am wearing . . .

Garden work jeans, tank-top and currently slippers until I head out to the tomatoes.

On my reading pile . . .

Somehow I keep adding to the pile, but not reading lately.  Just zero time for it.

On my TV this week . . .

Anything that catches our eye.

On the menu . . .
-roasted turkey, zucchini and corn saute
-chicken, apple/pecan/cranberry salad

-turkey a'la king, peas

-Mac' n' cheese (haven't made it in a long, long time)

-leftovers

Looking around the house . . .

Well, it looks as if the house is under construction, ha ha!  I'm trying to keep things organized, but half the bathroom stuff is in the kitchen, and trim is being painted in the living room.

To do list . . .
-clean out fridge
-laundry

-mail in rebates

-call body shop and make an appt.

-weed flower beds

-tie up tomatoes

-harvest kale

-dishes

-vacuum

-find Mom's camping journals

-check campgrounds for a fall camping trip (if it happens)

From the camera . . .

These were from all weekend.  Momma and her babies.

Devotional/Prayers . . .

-prayers for my friend Marilyn and her husband (Brian, and his sister Christy), as her Father-in-law suddenly passed away yesterday.

Vacuum Packing ~ Dehydrated Onions ~ Onion Powder and other random-ness

 

Update on the 8# of dehydrated onions - I refilled our homemade onion powder (I store this in the freezer in an air tight container and it has worked great for years), and I learned something new this year.  I learned how to vacuum pack for longer shelf life.

I do not have a food saver, however, I used parts from food saver for part of it, and used a hand pump and it worked perfectly.  Thanks to watching numerous Youtube videos, I have now added more knowledge to my preparedness skills.  I showed my husband what I used, and he just shook his head and laughed.  Well, I got the job done, ha ha!

I think I shared this stuff before, but now I am be-bopping from painting the last door/trim in the kitchen.  Our handyman takes weekends off so I am tackling the trim to the bathroom door this weekend.  I'm also cleaning upstairs, and back to the tile floor in the master bathroom.  It works great, and I only have a small area left to do, and it's stayed clean from the last time I worked on it.

While out last week, on errand day, I picked up a new towel to use in the camper. Hopefully, after start up is over, we can actually go camping for the first time this year.  So over due, so over due....

Beautiful Sunrise ~ Homemade Thousand Island Dressing

 

My computer loaded these backwards, but from bottom to top this morning's sunrise.

I whipped up some homemade Thousand Island Dressing for us.  Recipe is linked.  You can make your own mayo, used home canned sweet pickle relish and home canned ketchup.  Yum!

This and That

Our hummingbird came to the porch for a very long visit.  It was about 5 feet from me enjoying our porch hanging flowers.  Visit from Mom?

Woke up to no water pressure in my kitchen sink, and a ton of dirty dishes to wash.  I left the water on to clear air and painted.

Before

The other side of the bathroom door got primed.  I will be picking up paint samples soon for the other bathroom.

I also painted the last wall in the kitchen.  I just have to paint some trim and the kitchen will be done completely.

We got a lot of rain yesterday, so the garden should be popping with bounty soon.

We were on the porch eating dinner, and heard a gun shot.  He pulled into our drive and we talked for hours.  He was taking care of rodents in the field north of us, so we gave him permission to park in our north drive to take care of ground hogs that took over our barn rubble, and were also causing havoc in the same field.

I put 8 # of onions in the dehydrator.  We did not plant onions this year, other than bunching onions, and my herb garden green onions.  I found a deal on organic, and decided to get that stocked done.

 

Kitchen-ness and weather updates

 

I did a lot of kitchen work early, due to the water needing shut off again, for the bathroom repairs.  I finally got a batch of taco seasoning made, whipped up some biscuits for a breakfast for my husband - biscuits and sausage gravy, scrambled eggs, and fried potatoes.  However, I have a mound of dishes to do this morning, and need to empty the dishwasher.

We got more rain early yesterday and more last night.  We hit a heat index of 100°F yesterday, and boy was it humid and hot.

The bathroom repairs are coming along, but slowly due to the rain.  The old drywall is cut out, and the floor is in, but there needs to be another layer of floor to get it the the same height as the kitchen.  Not sure how long that will take.  All water lines to the bathroom sink have been replaced.

I brought down another bag of trash from the upstairs and got more organizing done, but have a large tote of hay to get rid of.  Apparently, Daughter K had it for her rabbit, and the rabbit didn't like it.

Both the younger two daughters left their graduation gowns up there too, so I brought them both down and put them up for free.  Hopefully that will help someone else out.

Trash day was delayed a day, so I also got some of the fridge cleaned out, but not all of it.  I still have stuff in there like pudding cups from Daughter K that need to be cleaned out.  It's just been so busy here with the garden, painting and what not.

Bluebell flew the coop....again...

 

Bluebell flew the coop again.  My husband put the ladies away the other night, and didn't realize she flew the coop and was not in the run.  She was left outside all night long on her own, and survived.  We found raccoon and coyote scat nearby.  She is one tough bird, but naughty.  I have to clip her wings soon. 

It's thunder storming, so it's not happening today.  Although thankful for the rain, our bathroom project is delayed.  There is no where to saw the wood, unless we move it to a barn possibly.

I'm taking inventory on our freezer stash today, and in one pantry area.  I have a lot to keep me busy, so that is not a problem.