Wednesday, June 8, 2016

It has been...

a busy day.  Groceries were delivered early this afternoon.  After putting away everything except the food I had ordered to be dehydrated, I filled 13 trays with cole slaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots) and got those to drying.  I still have maybe a half gallon of mix left to dry.

I had ordered red seedless grapes that were on sale to experiment with dehydrating them.  Some folks dry grapes to make their own raisins, but this doesn't appeal to me.  Maybe if I grew my own grapes it might be cost effective, but using grapes bought by the pound at the grocery makes for some expensive raisins.  I had seen a video about dehydrating grapes as a kind of snack food like other dried fruit, so I filled half of a tray with grapes, cut in half to speed up the drying process, as a test.  I'll let you know how they turn out.

The rest of the afternoon I washed and chopped and diced until the tomatoes and celery were ready to be dried as soon as the slaw mix is done.  Chopped onions can smell up the fridge even if stored in freezer bags, so they will wait until I am ready to dehydrate them.  Both dehydrators will be running until all of it is dried.  I was really lucky this week in that there were so many vegetables on sale that can be dehydrated.

Yesterday was a fun day for me.  It was my birthday.  I don't do birthday parties or celebrations for myself any more.  I figure that after 70 of them, I have done enough celebrating over the years.  So I spent the day just puttering about with a little reading and a little sewing and a little napping.  All my kids checked in with birthday wishes.  Late in the morning Oldest Son and his lovely friend had run a couple of errands for me and they stopped by afterward with a pretty card and a cake, which we shared.  Later Oldest Daughter and my Grandson surprised me with a couple of house plants in a cute tin container.  She knows that I tend to kill flowering house plants, so she chose plants that have a fighting chance of survival.  I will do my level best not to murder them.

Youngest Daughter had sent me birthday greetings earlier in the day, and early evening I answered the phone to hear a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" sung by Youngest Son and his offspring.  They were on their way home from Jacob's baseball game.  His team of 2nd grade aged kids had just won their third game in a row.  Woo Hoo - Go Jacob!  They said they had a Dairy Queen treat after the game, in my honor.  (That's an inside joke.  In this family most events, large or small or even made up, are celebrated with a treat at the local Dairy Queen.)

I had a nice surprise later in the evening when my sister called.  She sang "Happy Birthday" to me as well and afterward we both decided we had inherited our singing abilities from our Dad, who couldn't carry a tune in a bucket!  We got caught up on all the family doings and it was fun talking with her.

While talking to my Grands, one of them asked me how I liked being 70.  After thinking about it for a few seconds, I told her that I liked it.  Even though my body seems to be coming apart at the seams sometimes, for the most part I don't feel any different than I did 30 years ago.  Any day I wake up in the morning is a bonus.  Although there might be those who disagree, my mind still seems to be working fairly well.  I am not able to physically do some things I might like to do, but I can still do many things that make me happy and keep me busy.  I have family close by and that makes me happiest of all.  So all things considered, 70 is a pretty good thing to be.  :)

16 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday!! So glad to hear that you were celebrated by your kids, grands and sister. I inherited the same singing voice. My mom would say that I added volume to any choir I was in. Ha!
    Remind me as to the types of dehydrators you have? If you've mentioned them before, I can't remember. I'm about a decade behind you in age and don't have the memory I used to have.
    Had a great time in my community garden this morning. The weather has cooled off for the next week. It was a joy to work there today with a slight drizzle of rain. I harvested another batch of strawberries. I'm up to about 3 gallons to date. Some are in the freezer, most went in my tummy.
    Cheers, SJ in Vancouver BC

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  2. Thank you, SJ...It was a nice day.

    My memory isn't as good as it once was, either. These days I figure I'm ahead of the game if I remember who I am and where I am. :) I had to go back and check. The tops of both dehydrators say "Nesco Professional Food and Jerky Dehydrator." I have no clue as to model numbers, etc., but I have had them for a few years. I like that the heating unit and fan are in the top rather than in the bottom like the older dehydrators. They might not be as good as the Excalibur dehydrators, but they do the job. And on Amazon, the Excalibur starts at around $160. Mine were about $50-$60 each.

    How nice that you were able to get out and do some gardening. Our weather has been in the 70s with cool nights, but that is supposed to change with temps heading toward the 90s starting tomorrow.

    A tummy is a good place for strawberries! I am hoping to score some from the Farmers Market before too long. Son got some last year. They weren't particularly cheap, but they were delicious. Enjoy your cool days!

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  3. Happy belated birthday, Vicki. May you have good health and many more!

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  4. Thank you, Gorges...What a nice thing to say. :)

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  5. Happy Birthday. Finally 21. Don't go wild now. I like you don't party much. I got Sammy hooked on DQ early. I think just about everyone in MN gets hooked on DQ. We have one here its our only fast food joint.

    I too would leave onions last. don't get all teary eyed now when you chop them. Its got to be hard to cut and snack on right?? Have a great weekend stay indoors, too damn hot this weekend our A/C is running already.

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  6. Happy, Happy Birthday!!!! Sounds like you had a wonderful day fill with wonderful surprises! :o)

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  7. Thanks, Rob...Not much chance of going wild. Probably haven't since the sixties! DQ has always been the choice of my family for a treat. We tease my youngest son that if he ever turns up missing, all we need do is check all the DQs and we will be sure to find him at one of them. :)

    I always get a bit teary chopping onions, but not too bad. I haven't needed the air conditioning on yet this year, but expect I will be happy to have it this weekend. Summer has arrived, I guess!

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  8. Thank you, Chickenmom...I'm not real big on parties unless it is for one of the grands, so the day was nice. There were just enough surprises to make it fun. :)

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  9. Happy B-Day, Vicki. I hope you have many and healthy more.

    Jim

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  10. Thank you, Jim...for your kind words.

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  11. Belated Happy Birthday! We have been busy too. Seems like the older crowd never takes a break, doesn't it? Not exactly how I pictured "the Golden Years."

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  12. Thanks, Harry...Yeah, those retirement dreams of sunny beaches and cold drinks with little umbrellas in them just don't seem to be happening here, either. There is always something to do. But I think I would rather have it this way than to spend my remaining "Golden Years" propped up in front of a TV watching sitcom reruns. :)

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  13. Aww I am sorry I missed your birthday! Happy 70th!! Sounds like you had a great day!!

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  14. Thanks, Mary...I don't do the whole birthday party thing any more. So the day was just how I like it, with kids checking in. It was a really nice day.

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  15. Happy Birthday, Vicki. I must say for a women your age, you are an amazing inspiration. Blessings to you and yours, Fern

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  16. Thank you, Fern...I'm not so sure about the inspiration part, though. Sometimes I think it is pure orneriness that keeps me going. That and a bit of stubborn that won't let me give up. Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

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