Downburst Damage

Sorry for the bad pic - best I have.

 Remember that garden pic I posted just a bit ago? You know, the one with the lovely and tall corn? Well goodbye to most of the corn. We had a downburst that it wiped out about 85% of it. All my plans for freezing, drying and eating are gone. We'll have some for fresh and maybe a bit to freeze, but that's about it. Not only did we lose our corn, but it laid down on top of the peppers and couple of tomatoes - damaging them as well. That's what is still holding the corn up a bit in the photo. We are both disappointed, but that's nature - harsh and unpredictable. 

Air Plant my daughter gave me.

On a more upbeat note, my daughter bought me an air plant while she was here. I had some a few years ago, but the then kittens ended up destroying them - so I decided not to have any for a while. She bought me a nice sized one with purple tips and said it was a rare one. It was lovely, but upon closer inspection, the purple tips were only on the outside leaves and look suspiciously like they had been spray painted. All the newer ones are the plain green. I hope not, as I'm sure she paid a lot for a "rare" plant. Either way, I'm thankful for this plant and that she loved me enough to think of me when she saw it.

Hubby's version of a latte.

I always look forward to the weekends - not because we can travel and do things (although I like doing that) but these are the two days hubby makes me his version on a latte. He has an espresso maker and he just LOVES making the weekend espressos and lattes. He foams up the milk as high as he can and then pours the espresso down the middle, topping it off with a sprinkle of sugar. It's not the way I learned how to make them, but he likes putting his own twist on things. His lattes are the highlight of my weekend!

Cheaper Cuts & Nice Find!

 I never posted my thoughts on the cheaper cuts of meat. I did test it a few times just to make sure the outcome was correct. When one purchases a cheap cut of meat, expect it to be a tough cut. That's not a bad thing, but you really need to treat it differently. Depending on how you are going to use the meat in a meal, you will need to treat it differently, from marinating to low and slow cooking. The extra attention that the tougher cuts of meat need are well worth the effort with the money savings. You can shave quite a bit off of your monthly grocery bill by using them!

I use my crock pot for a lot of the roasts, although I've tried oven roasting - but one really needs to keep the temperature low and cook it for hours. Probably why I do it in the crock pot. I tried it for 8 hours, but found that 10 hours is better on some cuts. I also cook with veggies - especially tomatoes. They act as a natural tenderizer.

Hubby prefers to use the smoker and has great luck with that method. The cuts always come out nice and tender. And one always loves great smoked beef. 

I love to collect cookbooks - especially those put out by the Farm Journal from back in the 1950's to the 1970's. I've had to repair them over the years, because the bindings didn't hold, but the information inside is like gold to me. "The Thrifty Cook" was my go to. My aunt was cleaning out her cookbooks and gave me that as well as a couple other Farm Journal cookbooks. That was the beginning of my obsession with them and it hasn't changed. I love those books! So much so, that I have been picking them up recently to try to finish my collection.

Nice additions!

I was browsing eBay the other day and came across a set of 3. I had one, but it was a mass market paperback which is OK but the hardbound was a larger print and a larger book which means I'll be replacing the paperback with a nicer edition. The other 2 are new to me. This was a really nice find! I cooked my first recipe out of them called "Mixy Burger" which was pretty much a sloppy joe type meal. The buns were toasted, served open faced and were to be eaten with a fork. It was actually quite good, and hubby said he'd definitely want me to serve it again. This was an inexpensive meal - especially on homemade buns and a side of home grown veggies. The most expensive part was the meat, which was one pound of burger and it made 8-10 servings.

The House Is Back To Normal

 Our daughter flew home and the house is back to is usual quietness. I didn't realize how much I enjoyed the peace and quiet until all the kids were gone. Don't get me wrong, I love having them here, but the level of energy was through the roof! She's the type that wants to go, go, go, and that's not us anymore. Our son entertained her a lot - both being close to the same age. He took her hiking, around the town he lives in and catered to her whim of wanting to go to an arcade. I know he misses her a lot, so when she came, he wanted to do a lot with her, so it all worked out. Unfortunately, he wouldn't go to Pittsburgh with the same opinion about the city as we have. The city life is not for us!

Speaking of my son, he's had a streak of bad luck lately. He had a hard time finding the sewer leak in him house, but finally, after lots of drywall removal, it was located. Then, the wall and ceiling work was done, along with painting. Then, the roofer that was going to do his roof, pulled out at peak roofing time and finding a new roofer wasn't the easiest. Sadly, he had a time frame to get his new roof on, and the insurance company cancelled his insurance. He was on top of all this, and contacted the mortgage company when the roofer cancelled. The mortgage company worked with him to find a new company and he found another roofer that will be installing the roof this week! Then, while entertaining his sister, his transmission died. They didn't know if they were going to make it back, but they did and he got quotes only to find they exceeded what he paid for the car. So, after a lot of research and many visits to car dealerships, he came home with a Subaru! It's used, of course, but was certified from the dealership. I haven't seen the car yet - he's coming today, so I'll get to see it!

Have you seen the Kaleb Cooper Tour on Prime Video? I enjoyed it, but my husband thought it was boring. Kaleb told his life story and I was amazed at how much he has done in his lifetime! There's a person that deserves to succeed! He's a true hard worker.

Fall grown potato plants

We've had so much rain lately, that I can't get into the garden to hill the potatoes. I never expected them to do as well as they are doing, so they need hilled badly - but I don't think they would appreciate mud clumps. This is frustrating, especially when it rains overnight every night. 

Heirloom corn over 10 feet tall!

There's nothing in the garden that the groundhog likes. We planted tomatoes, peppers, corn, potatoes, and squash, so he's leaving everything alone but he does like the carrots, beet, etc. in the frames. That's our next issue to solve - keeping him out of the frames! Next comes the battle of the squirrels and racoons. The racoons love our corn and we find ears eaten and stalks knocked over, but they always seem to leave more than enough for us. LOL The squirrels on the other hand LOVE tomatoes! The take bites out of the green ones, but the red ones... those tomatoes can be plucked off the vine and end up half eaten in the dirt or even still on the vine. When we were upstate, we didn't have these problems. There were deer and rabbits, but they didn't damaged out garden as much as the pests here! There's also more bugs here. We live in a different growing zone and gained about a month more for growing. We were so excited to have a month more - but the pests are much more destructive here!

Day Trip!

Our daughter lives on the west coast, so we only get to see her about once every two years. Yes, we talk online and the phone, but it's just not the same as in person. She's not fond of the area here - the lack of "real mountains", the humidity, etc. When she comes back, she usually has a list of things she wants to do while she is here. This time, she wanted to go to Pittsburgh to spend the day with an old friend. Pittsburgh was the halfway point for both of them. 

I am far from a city person, and honestly, places like that put me in panic mode. The brain shuts down and I don't do well there at all. Thank heavens the husband doesn't react like I do. He doesn't like the  city either, but at least can drive in it, but not liking it one bit. We dropped her off at her off at the cafe where she me her friend, and off we went - as quickly as possible, out of that rat race!

While she was enjoying the city life, we took a nice drive down the Ohio River and then to a place in West Virginia to have a nice meal. It was called Quinet's Restaurant in New Martinsville. It was a lovely place to eat and reminded me so much of the one restaurant from my childhood. It was comfortable, cozy, friendly, and at no time were we rushed to leave. We had a nice leisurely dinner of really good food, very kind waitresses and we were so intrigued by all the photos, awards and other personal items that were throughout the restaurant. It was a huge history of so many people and lives. I just wish I knew the story behind each and every photo! The next time we go to WV, this is a definite must to go back to!

The Prison

The Mound is quite impressive!

What a nice museum

We traveled the Ohio side of the river on the way down and came back up the WV side on the way back up to Pittsburgh. On the way back, we stopped at Moundsville to visit the museum and see the mound. Across the road was the WV Prison that gives access to the public. Unfortunately, it did not appear to be open so next time well make sure to go when it's open!

Wheeling Suspension Bridge

Look at how many barges that tug is pushing!

The mighty tug!

Next stop was Wheeling where we went to view the historic Wheeling Suspension Bridge. The structure is massive and impressive to view. Unfortunately, for me, I'm terrified of heights and tried to walk to bridge, but since it had a grid that one could see the water movement through, I couldn't walk it. Try as I might, I couldn't do it. LOL Hubby, on the other hand, loved the bridge! While visiting, we saw a nice line of barges with a tug pushing them. What an awesome sight!

Centre Market

From there, we went to the Centre Market in Wheeling. This is definite must stop at if you are ever in the area. There are 2 central buildings - one behind the other, plus shops on the both sides of the streets from them.  We didn't have a lot of time left, but did enjoy what we had seen. This is another place we must stop at again. We even found cheese that we couldn't get here and made sure to bring it home with us! My mac & cheese will thank me for it!!!

We had only explored a mere fraction of what WV has to offer. I do love this state!

Purging and Finishing

 For years, I have said that I was going to get rid of all the kids things that they didn't want or take when they left. For years, I have held on to their things. Why? Maybe they would change their mind and want some of the memories that some things hold. Well, I was wrong. The things were just left behind. My daughter said to throw everything away and treat them as abandoned. My son, at least he is a little more kind and goes through them and takes what he really, really wants. He more sentimental, to a point. Well, I've decided it's been long enough and am finally purging the things that aren't necessary to hang on to. It's really just stuff, right? So why is it hard to let some things go?

While I have been purging things, I came across a bunch of projects I had put aside for one reason or another, be it my lack of understanding instructions, put aside because I had another item that needed priority attention, or just was not fond of working on the piece/pattern. Those projects are now getting the attention they need to be finished and out of the storage closet. 

"Let Them Go""

My first knitting finish was a pair of socks that I had started last year. I only had half of the foot and toe on one and a toe on the other. The pattern wasn't hard, but for some reason I really struggled with the foot. I wasn't sure if I had done the first foot correctly, so I just stopped to mull over the directions. That mulling lasted a year! But they are done and out of the "to finish" pile - finally. 

The Bucket List

 Every year I try to do something I've never done before. I love learning new to me skills, or at least brush up on the old ones. This year, I decided I was going to quilt something. I, at first, subscribed to the Mrs. Quilty boxes, but that didn't last long for me. I found it to be fun, but I found some of the projects and fabrics were not my taste. I did enjoy receiving them though. These were all from the first box. I still have a couple more to things from the box to make.

I had a lot of fun doing these projects and found so many more things to sew. Now to just find the time. Now that the kids are grown, we are in the planning and process of making their rooms into an office and sewing/craft room. My daughter is coming from the west coast to visit next week and after she leaves, the make-overs will begin. 

I'm also downsizing everything and donating and cleaning out stuff. The kids left a ton of stuff and then everything I inherited from family needs gone through and rehomed. Daughter doesn't want any of it, and son is particular with what he wants. I just want to get through everything so there is less for them to deal with when we pass on. It's better that they get what they want now anyhow. 

I'm starting to put meals and mixes up in jars. It's always so nice to go to the panty and pull out something that won't take long to whip up on those days when I don't have the time to make a proper meal. I used up everything I had put up before, so this year, I'm going to expand things. I'm trying to make as much of our groceries as possible. I found by doing this, it not only saves money but things taste so much better than store bought!

Some of the Fall Potatoes Are In

I couldn't believe it when I received a message on Tuesday that our local greenhouse got me some seed potatoes to try and plant for a fall harvest. I honestly thought that I would have to wait until next year. I called the greenhouse right away and they said there was a box of potatoes waiting for me. On Wednesday afternoon, hubby had to go out and get a few things and stopped by the greenhouse to pick them up. He texted me and said the box was $10. I was ecstatic and was expecting a small box to experiment with - maybe 40 or so in the box. That would be a great number to try out and not a huge loss if I didn't have success. 

When he arrived home, I was on the phone with my daughter so never saw the box. When I got off the phone with her, hubby said they were out in the garage. I was planning on planting them in the morning, but had to go out and take a peek at my treasured seeds. The box was by no means small and the amount of seed potatoes stunned me! It was about the size of 2 cases of 15oz size cans of tomatoes! WOW! Now, I know that all will not take - but good golly miss molly, I never expected near the amount I received! 

I went out Thursday morning and got some in - probably close to half, but the air quality (this is before I knew it was a problem) had me back inside before I could get them all in. Then it got so bad (in the 300's) that I haven't been out to plant the rest. I still can't get into the garden today because of all the rain we had yesterday, but at least the air quality is decent and we can now open our windows. Tomorrow is another day.

The basil is looking healthy and should be pushing out the first true leaves soon. Then on to be transplanted. I ended up with more plants than planned - 11 total! I had no idea I had dropped that many seeds in the pot. Oh, the joy of small seeds LOL That's OK though, because my son wants a couple.

Cheaper Cuts of Meat

 Walking through the grocery store gave me sticker shock! The prices have gone up higher and higher for just normal ingredients, let alone prepackaged foods. I still buy milk and the occasional produce/meat but have decided to really make an effort to shop at the farmer's market and butcher shop. The farmer's market will be gone with the change in seasons, but the butcher shop is open year round.

Eye of Round

One of the cuts I got was Eye of Round. It's a tough cut with not much for marbling or fat. In fact, this piece was really quite lean, but at about $6 a pound, I figured I could just cook it low and slow for a more tender piece when finished. I will be putting it on a bed of potatoes, carrots, onions and celery and probably adding some tomato sauce and spices and cook it in the crockpot for 8 or so hours. I would have preferred the oven, but not in this heat. We'll be hitting near 100 today and tomorrow with killer humidity. Yes - another heat warning from the national weather service. Sigh...

There is a bright side for this warm weather. My basil has already sprouted! I planted it on Friday and was seeing green on Sunday evening. I had a hard time with the seeds, as they are about the size of poppy seeds, so I decided just to scatter a few and transplant as soon as they are ready to move. I purchased Lettuce Leaf Basil from Baker Creek Seeds. This is new basil for me. It's supposed to be a bit milder than Genovese and great for making pesto, etc. I'm excited to try this (new to me) variety.

 

Look at all the babies!

Multiple Garden Plantings

How could you not know?

 As far back as I can remember, my parents and grandparents planted in the spring. I don't remember being taught anything else but spring planting and the sayings: "Peas must be on Good Friday" "Corn should be knee high by the 4th of July", "Potatoes should be planted when the dandelions bloom", etc. I never remember consecutive plantings or planting for fall crops. The garden went in and the plants produced until they didn't. Everything had a time frame - we preserved during those frames, and when the plants were spent, they were pulled and composed and the bare area was covered with manure. 

I was so taken by the idea of pulling crops and planting something in their place and I was mesmerized with the idea of fall plantings. I couldn't believe how many plants could be started in summer for a second crop - and that the second harvest (fall harvest) could be even better because of the autumn's cooler weather! Certain plants stop producing and will bolt in the heat, but plant them in the summer, and they do wonderfully until frost (or beyond)!

I just purchased a couple types of summer squash to plant for fall harvest, since I didn't get my spring plants in. There's also enough time for basil, parsley, cilantro, and dill for the herbs that will be welcomed with fall canning. Many times the dill is already spent when pickling time comes around and this second batch is perfect for using fresh dill! 

My gardening is different than it used to be. I can have a smaller garden that produces the same or a lot more than the large one I used to have. I don't need a big garden with the kids gone, but I do love the fresh produce. Now all I need to discover is a tried and true method for getting rid of the groundhogs!

Who said woodchucks don't like cherry tomatoes?

A Little Dehydrating

 Well, we did it. We purchased another dehydrator to add to our arsenal of machines. This one is a stainless steel one with 10 racks. The drying are is larger than my largest Excalibur and a good 20 years newer. Yah - we thought it was time to get a new one. Mind you, there's noting wrong with the Excalibur, it's just we wanted to try this one and the price was unbeatable. I am not exactly loving it - and prefer the old one to this one, but I have to give it a fair chance. One issue I have is that it is digital verses my older dial model. When the power goes out, even for a few seconds, it is off for good. That's a definite drawback when I'm in the middle of drying something and the power goes off in the middle of the night. Setting the time and temperature is another thing I must learn. The unit is extremely quiet, so I have a hard time telling if it is running. Yes, I know it's a learning curve and will take a bit of time. 

So, to test this machine out, I've dehydrated a few things - garlic scapes, frozen green beans, and mint. I ground the scapes into a powder and will be using them for flavoring my soups, stews, eggs, etc. I am conditioning everything now, and then they will be sealed and find a permanent spot on my shelf.

 

I lined the tray with parchment paper.

I got out my old Ronco dehydrator to make some Minute Rice. No reason to use the big ones for just a couple of the trays. The Ronco is nice because I can add and take away trays at will, making it exactly the size I need. Now, back to the rice... My son thinks I can by a box cheaper than making it, but I know exactly what is in it, and when I making up a batch of rice to eat, I just make a bit more to dry. My rice has only 2 ingredients: rice and water (I know where both came from) and I'm sure the cost is cheaper than the store brand even with the electricity used. It doesn't take long at all to dry and I like having some on hand to use in my dry-mix meals. If I want to make some plain minute type rice, I just pour it out and add hot water - one for one. 

.The finished product

The Homestead Has Been Quiet

 

My little laundry helper. 

Life has been going along with no real change. I've been on burnout and have not had a lot of interest in doing or trying much for new things. I've been just tired and everything that I had plans to do over the past 6 months, I really didn't. I didn't get my herbs planted, so no creating a new herb garden and forget about the flower bed! It looks neglected and with no new plantings. On a positive note, the daisies did extremely well and multiplied like crazy!

We didn't plant much of a garden and the things that were planted, went in late. We have been battling a family of groundhogs, and they are winning. We have no beans, cabbage, greens, okra, or pretty much anything that I had really looked forward to harvesting. It's disheartening to say the least. Living in town has its drawbacks, and this is one of them. At this point, I have no idea what we'll be harvesting this year. Sigh

On a brighter note, I have been working more with replacing grocery store items with the homemade version where I can. I am getting more and more disappointed with the way things taste. Things are different and not in a good way. We bought some beef and a turkey from the local farmer and have been pleased with the meat we've gotten. With us both being seniors, we are always looking at stretching our food and income. It's not easy but it is interesting and a challenge - and that challenge is growing more difficult as time goes on.

I hope your growing season is going well. What is your best fruit or vegetable this year?