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Wednesday, June 29, 2016

A Mash Up of Time Lost

As my readers may have figured out, when there are no posts it's because I'm under the weather.  In this case the antibiotic treatment was ten times worse than the infection.  I have emails to catch up on as well as a million things (figuratively!) I had planned for the blog.  This post will be a mash up of things I've wanted to post.

I'd like to begin with asking if anyone is keeping up with the situation in Venezuela?  My heart is heavy with the suffering currently going on in that country.  The breakdown in the food chain appears to be the end result of socialism.  I'm no expert, thought, so if you have information to contribute to this statement, please feel free to offer it in the comment section.  Politics is not my forte, to say the least.  I have two lady friends that answer all my questions when it comes to me unable to see things clearly in this arena.  Then I think the input over without emotion.  I'm afraid emotion is clouding any judgment to be made in this area.  I hate to see anyone without food.  It was not intended for us to be without sustenance.

Things accomplished before I fell ill:

The vehicle was registered for two years.
Cleaned out the toys in the loft
Vacuumed and cleaned the loft and the office
 Did a minor cleaning of the pantry
Cleaned the master bathtub and shower using my 'swif' type mop.  Beats getting in that monster tub and cleaning it.
Picked a number of beans and ate them all!
Made a stuffed artichoke and enjoyed it to no end
Went to the grocery that carries my favorite water and bought three cases.  They also had lemons on sale for 99 cents so they jumped into my cart right next to the Italian olives and bananas.




Also accomplished was a small dollar store haul.  They now have coupons on the shelves that can only be used at the Dollar Tree stores.  I took advantage of the new large cans of Campbell's pork and beans with the 1.00 off two.  This turned out to be buy one get one free (BOGO) with an expiration date of well into 2017.  Also in the cart was national brand instant coffee, wet floor cleaning pads, and national brand dried cranberries, tissue,




The ibotta * account is up to 56.25 with the addition of butter, mayonnaise, a green pepper, bread, and cheese.

I also bought a pool towel to use in my daughter's new pool.  Pool Party!!!!  yea!

I came up with an idea for a post.  Let me know what you think.  If you are interested in learning the steps in canning with a water bath, I can post a step by step blog for you.  Which brings me to the purchase of the new Ball canning book, " The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving'.  I purchased it to learn about alternative ways of preserving foods such as fermenting, curing and smoking.  The only disappointing information I found was the list of thirteen items they say is needed for water bath canning.  The items are nice to have but not necessary for the novice.

An exciting (to me) thing that happened was I was able to visit a friend's chickens and see the beautiful blue and green eggs they provided.  A bonus for me was I went home with six of those eggs.  What a nice surprise.



I have two last things to talk about.  I went to the mailboxes that are located at the front of our small condo community to grab the mail.  What a gift to smell the beautiful scent of the jasmine growing nearby.  That scent represented all that the South is.

Another thankful moment was on Sunday when I hung clothes in the yard.  I felt a sense of pride to see that even though my yard is tiny it was being utilized in a number of ways.  Basil given to me from my daughter's garden was drying in the hot sun, the wash balls were being revitalized in the sunshine, the plants were growing strong and tall and the clothes were drying in the fresh air.  I was strangely satisfied with the scene.




The pickling cucumber plants now
have male and female flowers.  I
pollinated the three females I have,
hoping the results will be good.


What have you been doing this past week or so?  Inquiring minds want to know. 

Stay safe!


5 comments:

  1. So many lemons! If there are 5 or 6 in a pack and this costs 99 cents, that seems to be a very favorable price. I only buy organic lemons, so I can use the whole fruit.
    I remove the peel with a grater and mix it with some sugar. In a jar it keeps for long in the fridge. I like to use it for baking and desserts. The juice is so refreshing when added
    to mineral water. And the rest of the fruit is for cleaning purposes.
    It must be very satisfying for you to use your yard for so many purposes. Your cucumber plants look healthy,so you can look forward to a good picking.
    But most of all, I wish you good health so you can enjoy summer in your wonderful place.

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    Replies
    1. C. I'm going to try the lemon sugar. I would think the sugar would clump in the fridge. Could you let me know if this is true? I dry the peel and this time I'm going to try to candy some to use in quick bread. I also have a bottle of Pelagrino in the refrigerator. In a minute I'm going to add some lemon juice to it as you have suggested. It sounds good. Thank you for the well wishes. L.

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  2. Good to hear from you. We have had a new side fence erected and I am planting along there and mulching . A big enjoyable job and enjoying buying the plants and digging and planting them .
    My eldest son turned 18 last week so that was busy . I finally tackled my oven ! Yuck ! It's sparkling clean . Now I have to tackle my windows which are a disgrace ! Take care x

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    Replies
    1. I sure would like some pictures of the fence area when you've got a minute. It sounds lovely. A mixed blessing when they turn 18. Lots of mom emotions to deal with. Good luck!

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  3. Yes, that lemon sugar is moist and clumpy. But it dissolves quickly when used. I also like
    it in quark-desserts. Lemons have the strongest flavor in the peel, as this contains aromatic oil. (I sent a photo)
    Of course you can also dry the peel as usual.

    ReplyDelete