After two years of pushing a lawnmower over these hills and dales, the weather and out of control growth of the lawn pushed us into finally making that large purchase. Our first lawn tractor. We have almost an acre of lawn to mow, and well, I just can't help Ray mow it anymore due to poor health reasons.
The weather has been extremely hot during the week and has done nothing but rain on the weekends for the past three weeks. The garden expert on the local news said not to mow on these horribly hot days because it could kill the grass. So we listened and eventually realized that no push mower was going to make it very far in our tall grass without cutting out. So yesterday morning as we were lamenting the working nightmare ahead of us, I told Ray I thought it was time we did some research and just buy one.
Well, needless to say, I got no argument as he disappeared quickly upstairs and to his computer. After about an hour of brands, model and price comparisons, he headed to the local dealer.
He was back within the hour with a huge smile on his face, a bag with a manual and a new key. He said the mower was to be delivered in an hour or so, free of charge and would be set up and ready to go before the delivery rep left. Now THAT'S what I call service!
Well, the salesman was true to his word as the sharp new Cub Cadet tractor on a trailer was backing onto the driveway.
I don't know what it is about a new lawn tractor, but neighbors that haven't spoken to us since we moved here, are suddenly waving at Ray as they drive by. I guess I'll never understand what that's about, but happy for the kindness all the same.
Now the job that took a grueling four hours was now completed in a little over one.
Needless to say, Ray's one happy guy.
Oh, and did I mention it has a cup holder too?
Yes, it's been a wet week here in Hitchins. Alot of rain around here also means flooded fields too. This has happened to a few neighbors down the road. One has a field of corn flooded while another has tobacco under water. The water is up under the bridges quite a bit as well but not enough to flood out the bridge as has happened in the past.
Luckily we live high enough on a hill for flooding not to be a problem.
I've found that life can be a whole lot less stressful if you keep lists.
The older I get, the less I can recall, so lists are necessary.
I use Excel for the household budget list. All the monthly bills are listed along with the date they're due and the amount owed. Some can be paid online and others are paid in person. We mainly use stamps for birthday cards.
Today was weekly meal planning and the grocery list.
I love a good bargain and some store brands are just as good if not better than the national labels. I've also had some store brands that were simply nasty. If you can't eat it, then it's not a bargain now is it.
When making out the grocery list, I visualize where the items are in the store and plan the list accordingly. I also scan the weekly store ads for what's on sale and will incorporate those in my menus when I can.
Tonight we're having soft tacos. The cherry tomatoes are ripe so we'll use those.
Tomorrow, Ray's brother Bob and his wife Ursula are coming for a visit. I'm gonna make homemade pizza for our dinner.
I enjoy "culinary alchemy". That sounds more interesting to me than "cooking".
There's a certain satisfaction when a recipe turns out. I also enjoy tweaking them and making them my own. I tend to avoid those recipes with a huge list of ingredients. I guess you have to live in "The Hamptons" to afford those.
Also I know what's in my food and that clean hands prepared it. Call me crazy, but I don't trust restaurants with my food so we rarely eat out. I have to be in alot of pain before I'll settle for takeout.
Well, Ray will getting home from work before long, so I'll write more soon.
Have a great weekend!
Yes, the fog is dense this morning. It's one of those fogs that make everything wet and miserable.
The cats couldn't wait for me to open the door so they could come in.
Unfortunately, Bella has gotten into the habit of hissing at Mister whenever he comes inside. He does have a serious look out of his eyes, but he hasn't done anything to warrant such a nasty response. I'm not sure where her fear of him is coming from other than the fact he rarely comes in. Mister quickly decided he'd rather face the wet outdoors then deal with Bella's attitude so I let him back out.
There's something living in the storm drain behind the house that has kept his attention for weeks. He patiently sits beside the twelve inch pipe several hours out of his day. He did capture something one day and my curiosity got the better of me.
His big prize turned out to be a small frog. I managed to divert his attention long enough to grab the little thing and toss it back into the water by the drain. Poor Mister was a bit confused as he searched for the frog that seemed to magically disappear. I kind of felt bad for him but happy he didn't notice I'd taken it.
No sign of the kittens this morning. I guess they're waiting for dryer conditions before venturing out from under the deck.
The weatherman has promised a partly sunny day ahead with temps approaching 90F.
We live on hill several feet from the road here in Hitchins. It's not a fun climb up the hill and there are several stairs to climb as well. I guess one could say we're not that handy for strangers.
I had opened the storm door to check on the kittens on the deck when I heard a man call out "hello" from a short distance. I immediately shut the storm door and the heavy wood door too, only to hear a knock on the storm door a few seconds later.
I opened it to see a toothless, tall, thin man with a glass eye or lazy eye, standing on the deck a few feet from the door. People who appear to be looking in two different directions always did make me uneasy. Not that they have the eye issue, but the mere fact is, I'm never sure which eye I'm supposed to be looking into.
He was clean and casually dressed in a white polo shirt with black stripes across the chest.
When I said, "Yes?", he asked me if I went to church and then went into this story about hauling a freezer for someone but was running low on gas and could I spare a few dollars.
Now I'm not exactly sure where the church question came from, as it had nothing to do with his request for money.
I told him I couldn't be of help to him.
He quickly commented on how pretty my cats were and how he just loved cats, then turned and quickly left.
Noticed an older model, small, white pickup truck with no freezer in the back as he backed out of the driveway and onto the street. He drove past several other neighbor's homes without stopping.
I must admit it has left me a bit nervous as to who this man is and why chose my home. We may never know why and I hope I never do.
The rain is coming down in buckets and I must admit I'm glad I don't have to water the vegetable garden today.
The cherry tomatoes are ripening and the other vines are laden with clusters of the larger ones too. I'm going to have loads to share and for salsa this year.
A break in the heat wave is finally here.
In the early hours of the morning, I awoke to the sound of thunder in the distance. What a delightful sound that was.
These past few days have been extremely hot. Each time the storm door was opened, felt like an open oven door instead. I couldn't breathe out there for very long.
With Ray's help, we used a dark green sheet to shade some of the hostas to keep them from burning up. Ray watered everything, fed the cats and learned how to make our favorite pasta dish. He's a patient, compassionate man and my best friend. I love him dearly.
Pain is magnified when you suffer from fibromyalgia, so I had to lay around on pain medication, muscle relaxers and ice packs the past few days. I've slept quite a bit and have managed to stay off my feet.
The kittens have managed to destroy my last attempt at growing parsley. I found the last planter box upside down on the deck this morning. It's still there too as I just can't take care of it right now.
Ray ran into an old friend yesterday he hadn't seen in years. His mother has something to do with a humane society somewhere and told Ray she might take Penny and the kittens and find homes for them. I hope she can. Trying to feed 10 cats is getting rather expensive and not a burden neither one of us care to have.
We've had more than our share of zucchini. I gave some to the minister along with a loaf of zucchini bread. It's a moist bread and very sweet too.
ZUCCHINI BREAD
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspooon vanilla
2 cups coarsely grated zucchini (loosely packed)
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat 3 eggs until frothy. Gradually add 2 cups sugar. Stir in 1 cup vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat until thick and lemon colored. Stir in zucchini.
In a medium bowl, whisk together to combine 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir dry mixture into wet mixture, stirring to combine. Add chopped walnuts or pecans, if desired.
Spray two bread loaf pans (approximately 8"x4"x3") with Baker's Joy, or grease and flour to prevent sticking. Pour batter into pans and level off with the back of a spoon.
Bake for approximately 1 hour or until done.
Allow loaves to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife along the sides to loosen bread and remove from pans. Cool on wire rack. Brush tops of loaf with melted butter while still warm.
Yes, that's what the weatherman says we have to look forward to all week.
I got out early this morning and soaked everything down with the water hose.
My foot started to swell from the fall the other day, so I see now that wasn't a good idea.
All five of the cats napped with me in the air conditioning most of the day. They had their lunch and were ready to head outside. Sarah decided it was way too hot for her and quickly came back in. Hopefully, the others will follow soon.
The kittens are all sleeping under the shady shed out back. I took them some food and water up this morning as "Penny" has all but quit bringing them to the deck.
The corn is almost as tall as I am now. Their daily dose of water has really helped.
The Crimson Sweet watermelon vine is growing nicely too. It's going to shade the corn at the base and hopefully keep the ground moist.
The Butternut Squash is growing quickly too. This is my first time growing it.
I really enjoy gardening. It's such a treat watching things grow.
I found a new fabric panel today that I really like. It's a Nancy Halverson design for Benartex from "Garden Song" line.
The cheapest I found it online was at Erica's Fabric.
http://www.ericas.com/fabric/gardensong.htm
I'm going to make a wall quilt with mine.
Yesterday was one of those days I wish I'd stayed in bed.
I fell down the stairs, broke the big toe on my right foot, got a nasty scrape on my left elbow where the bookcase caught me at the bottom, and cut my other arm. Poor Ray was roused out of a sound sleep when he heard me yell for him. He came running and was horrified to find me in a crumpled heap at the foot of the stairs. We got me to the sofa and he brought and ice pack for my toe and various other things to put me back together.
Today I feel as though I've been beat up, but it could have been alot worse, so I feel pretty lucky.
We went to Ray's dads house for a cookout. His sister Cindy and Randall joined us too. We had all kinds of yummy things to eat, burgers on the grill, corn on the cob, green beans cooked with potatoes, sliced cucumbers, cole slaw and home made corn bread which was the best I've ever eaten. Cindy brought some yummy cookie bars with coconut and chocolate chips and Gay made a banana split cake which was also out of this world.
I sat on their front porch afterward with the camera and got some pics of hummingbirds visiting their feeders. Gay said there's around sixty of them as the evening progresses, all lining up for their turn at the feeders.
The view along country roads in Kentucky are always special.
Ray's taking the day off tomorrow so he can spend a three day weekend with me. He has to work on monday. That's the official holiday day off around here.
We're going to Dad's for a cookout saturday. Sunday is the big fireworks display around the neighborhood. Our neighbors rival any big fireworks display and as a matter of fact, this is the first year anniversary of the "Stitchin' in Hitchins" blog.
I'll have the camera ready again this year and hopefully will get some nice pictures again.
Hung a bird feeder up on the front porch this afternoon. "Mister" can't reach the birds from there. Thank goodness.
I did manage to get a fairly good pic of one of the goldfinches.
There were four on the feeder at once a bit ago, but the camera wouldn't focus well enough to get a good shot. I think I'm gonna ask Santa for a new digital camera this Christmas.
