Plans...

don't always work out.  That irritating flu-like bug that visited me has moved on to greener pastures.  But it did put a bit of a crimp in my plans for a couple of sewing days.

However, optimist that I am, a new plan is in the works.  My granddaughter, Boston, is dancing with her studio at Nationals in Wisconsin Dells.  She has four routines with her group today.  I'm not sure yet about tomorrow.  But the competition is being live streamed.   So Grandma will be setting up the laptop where I can see it while sewing.  

Regular scheduled programing will commence on Monday.  The coffee is brewed.  The snacks are at hand.  Supper is in the crockpot.  I am all set for some serious sewing machine time and more importantly, some time well spent watching the girl do what she does so well.  Hope you all have a weekend as happy as mine.  :)

I am beginning to believe...

there is something nasty in the air or in the water.  This is the third or fourth time this year that I have come down with flu-like symptoms.  Never had that happen before.

Back to bed for me.  I will return when this round of icky has run its course.

Spending time...

sewing for a couple of days.  Just because I can.  I have neglected the piles of quilt pieces on my sewing table for far too long.  Sometimes we have to let the world do what it will without us, let the day to day stuff pass by and just do what makes us happy.

I will be back in a day or two - possibly with some show and tell.

Even Grownups Need a Play Day

So I had me one.

I think the only things I did all day that even came close to being work were to wash up a few dishes and sweep the kitchen floor.

There was a novel that needed reading and a movie that needed watching and a few quilt pieces that needed sewing.  And there was a long and luxurious afternoon nap.  Can't forget the nap.

My phone rang several times during the day.  Various and assorted kids and grands called to wish me a happy birthday.  I don't do birthday celebrations any more, but leave that for the kiddos.  And I don't need gifts - I have all I need.  It is enough that they remember and call.

I talked to my youngest grandson, Jacob, who is 9 (I think.  I can never remember for sure.).   He wanted to know about the important stuff like did I have cake and ice cream.  He thought it was just wrong that I didn't.  I had to promise I would have cake later this week.  And I might just do that.  I have been hungry for an apple spice cake with caramel frosting.

I got to thinking about how much things have changed in my 71 years on this earth.  Change can be good or sometimes, not so much.  I have many more conveniences than my parents had - microwave, air conditioning, telephone that isn't on a 9 family party line.  If I want to look up some information on any subject I don't need to go to the library because there is Google.  If I want to watch a movie I can find one on my computer or just insert a DVD.  I can communicate with people all around the world with just a keystroke or two.  I know what is going on around me almost as soon as it happens.

But I think there is a trade-off.  We don't sit on the front porch of an evening and just talk any more.  Unless Dad has a really good job, Mom can't be home raising the kids because it takes both paychecks to afford all those conveniences.  We live in a high stress, fast paced world rather than the slower one of years gone by.  Lately, common sense and common decency seem to have vanished, at least in some circles.  Vulgarity has become commonplace.  We are expected to accept as normal behavior things that were once considered shameful and wrong.

I hope the trend toward rude and crude and violent behavior is just a passing thing.  I know there are still good people out there.  I know many of them.  I just have to wonder what kind of a world my grands will find when they, like me, have lived 71 years.

I pray that by that time good manners and common sense will have made a comeback.

So Far - So Good

My windowsill garden is growing by leaps and bounds.  The snap beans are about 6 inches tall, though kind of leggy.  But they are leafing out so I guess they are OK.  I may have to stake them up before they fall over.

There are 7 green pea plants, all healthy and leafy.  I have two pots of cherry tomatoes and I thinned them out this morning.  When they get bigger I will thin again and save the best looking plants.

The cucumbers, zucchini and cantaloupe are all about 4 inches tall and looking good.

So far the bell peppers haven't sprouted.  I will give them another week and if they don't poke through the soil by then, I will plant something else in that pot.

I water my little garden every other evening and have notes posted here and there to remind me to do so.  That schedule seems to be working well so far.

Now if I can just rein in my homicidal tendencies toward houseplants, this might actually work out.

I'm stoked!

Sunday Night Ramble

Had me a nice, relaxing weekend.  Our weather has been warm, with temps hitting the 90 degree mark.  I was happy to discover the central air conditioning for my building has been turned on.  We Minnesotans tend to melt at anything over 85 degrees, wimps that we are.  I have been turning off the air and opening windows at night when the temp goes down around the 60 degree mark.  Lovely sleeping weather.

Went into slug mode on Saturday.  Just pottered about with this and that.  Got my grocery order ready for tomorrow when the nice lady calls for it.  She has a sense of humor and likes to chat for a bit, which makes for a pleasant break in the day.  I really don't need to order much as my pantry is nearly full, so I'm filling in with staples like more salt, oatmeal, canned salmon, tuna, etc.

Now that my shelves are sorted out and I can see at a glance what I have for home canned food, I can better tell what I need to can this summer and fall.  Duane stopped in (I needed a tall person to get a box of dehydrated tomatoes off the top shelf.) and we went over the list for the Farmer's Market again, keeping in mind that shelf space is now at a premium.   His apartment is smaller than mine, but he said that he would do some rearranging to try to fit in a shelf for more canned food.  That would help.

A while back I connected on Facebook with a guy I went to school with.  He is a Vietnam Vet and a retired cop.  He knows more about what is going on around us than I do, so he messages me articles he finds that keep me up to speed, as much as I can be, anyway.  He calls me now and then and we brag on our various kids and grands and talk prepping and the state of insanity we now live in.  We talked a bit today of the latest terrorist attack in London.  It is just a matter of time until we are in the same boat as England.  I wish our government would care as much about keeping us safe as it does about scoring political points.  By the time the politicians figure that out, it may be too late.

In my quest for more storage space, I came up with a brilliant idea.  Well, OK.  Someone else thought of it and I am copying it.  I have been dehydrating lots of vegetables for long term storage because when dried, they take up much less space than canned.  I saw where some were grinding dehydrated vegetables into powder which reduces them even more.  So I experimented first with dried tomatoes by running them through my blender and then through a wire mesh strainer to take out the bits that wouldn't grind down any further.  Worked like a charm.  I tested the powder by adding a bit of water until I had a passable tomato paste.  More water gave me tomato sauce.  The leftover bits I stored in a jar separate from the powder to toss into soup, stew, etc.  I reduced the dried bell peppers I had to a powder and can add that to any number of dishes for flavor.  I think it would be good sprinkled on a salad or in scrambled eggs, omelets, etc.  Tomorrow I will powder some more tomatoes and some onions as well.

So that was the extent of my excitement here in my little corner of the world.  Quiet.  Peaceful.  No stress.  Just the way I like it.

There are green things...

growing in pots on my windowsills.  

Amazing!

I have yellow snap beans, green peas, cucumbers and cantaloupe that have poked up through the soil.  Oh, and two lonely little cherry tomato plants.

I am surprised to see the cantaloupe growing.  Maybe three years ago I saved some seeds from a store bought melon that was exceptionally tasty.  I haven't done anything special with the seeds - just put them in an envelope and stored them in a box on a shelf with the rest of my seeds.  Same with the cherry tomato seeds.  They came from the little garden David had in his back yard.  My grands had picked a bucket of cherry tomatoes for me and I saved a few seeds.  And they are actually growing.  Well, two of them anyway.

What possessed me to buy some garden seeds to begin with, I don't know.  I live in an apartment.  The communal deck on the building isn't large enough for any serious container gardening, although Duane and Lori have three tomato plants growing there.  I guess acquiring seeds is just part of the preparedness thing.

I know I am easily amused, but the fact that these plants are actually trying to grow tickles me.

I wonder if I can keep from murdering them like I do with most house plants.  I hope so.