I mentioned in the previous post that if the freezer ever went out, we'd be screwed ...
Well, funny I said that ...
After I made that post, I putzed around, did a few things, and for whatever reason, I went into the room where we keep our upright freezer and thought, "Hmm ... my feet are cold" which quickly turned into, "Shit, the freezer door is open" ...
I have no clue how long the door was open, but it was for a good while, judging by the amount of ice dripping. Any meat in the door thawed, so that has to go. I think, for the most part, we didn't lose a lot of stuff, but it's still annoying. Although it is a good thing that the main part was full, otherwise we'd be in real trouble.
And of course, it happened on garbage day, so it has to wait a week to go.
Isn't life lovely?
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Harvesting, Round 3
Nothing like ending a busy week on a busy note ...
Last Friday, in the midst of everything else, I had the opportunity to pick fresh sweet corn. So I did. I picked a lot of it. Almost 170 ears of it, in fact. While that may not seem like a lot, when you consider that there are only four of us, and that we had to freeze it all, it's a lot of corn.
We started the morning with a few local errands, dropping off tomatoes at my in-laws, ran to the store to pick up a wedding gift, and since the kids were pushing up against the Terror Zone, we headed home. A message was waiting, and corn was ready. So, since I didn't really want to traipse around a corn field with a 4 year old and a 2 year old, I attempted to find a baby sitter, to no avail. Meanwhile, I went upstairs to change from good pants to not so good pants, and my most dear, most darling daughter, decided to empty the very full drawer to the paper shredder and re-create a ticker tape parade in my living room. They then proceeded to track it through the entire first floor in their attempts to clean it up. And, we were under a Severe Storm Watch. So I packed them up and took them to my MIL's office, with a promise that if they got too bad, she would call me and I would come in from the field.
We got there and the kids got their picnic ready and I drove out to the field. They had to shut down an irrigation system so I could get through, so now I feld guilty because I was actually slowing down work in order to get some corn. Maybe I would take a few less ears.
I must say that there is something about the smell of acres of corn, at the end of summer, on a warm and humid day. I love it! It was so peaceful, just walking around out there in the corn, and it was very relaxing in an odd sort of way.
Another very cool thing, is that I heard the rain before I felt it. It started to drizzle, and I could hear it hit the corn stalks before it hit me.
So I made a more than a dozen trips into the field and picked on the way out (I remembered this from last year - pick on the way out, when your arms are empty, not on your way in) ... I loaded up the trunk and headed back in to get the kids.
Once I got everybody home, I realized that I had a boat load of corn. Wow.
My mother in law ended up coming over that night to help me put the corn up, while my husband and the kids went to meet the out of town grand parents at the hotel they are staying at to go swimming at the pool. Good idea, otherwise I feel like I'd still be dealing with corn.
The final tally:
89 ears of corn cut off the cob and frozen into serving size Ziploc bags
36 ears of corn frozen on the cob and frozen in Food Saver bags
8 ears of corn given to the neighbor
6 ears of corn eaten Friday night
2 ears of corn thrown out because they were "yucky"
8 ears of corn eaten on Saturday when my Dad & Sister arrived
22 ears of corn given to my Day Care Provider, because thats what you do
A grand total of 171 ears of corn picked. That's a lot of corn.
If the freezer goes out, we're screwed. It'll be blueberries and corn everywhere.
But, I did make a pie for Saturday night when my Dad was here. It was a good one too!
Last Friday, in the midst of everything else, I had the opportunity to pick fresh sweet corn. So I did. I picked a lot of it. Almost 170 ears of it, in fact. While that may not seem like a lot, when you consider that there are only four of us, and that we had to freeze it all, it's a lot of corn.
We started the morning with a few local errands, dropping off tomatoes at my in-laws, ran to the store to pick up a wedding gift, and since the kids were pushing up against the Terror Zone, we headed home. A message was waiting, and corn was ready. So, since I didn't really want to traipse around a corn field with a 4 year old and a 2 year old, I attempted to find a baby sitter, to no avail. Meanwhile, I went upstairs to change from good pants to not so good pants, and my most dear, most darling daughter, decided to empty the very full drawer to the paper shredder and re-create a ticker tape parade in my living room. They then proceeded to track it through the entire first floor in their attempts to clean it up. And, we were under a Severe Storm Watch. So I packed them up and took them to my MIL's office, with a promise that if they got too bad, she would call me and I would come in from the field.
We got there and the kids got their picnic ready and I drove out to the field. They had to shut down an irrigation system so I could get through, so now I feld guilty because I was actually slowing down work in order to get some corn. Maybe I would take a few less ears.
I must say that there is something about the smell of acres of corn, at the end of summer, on a warm and humid day. I love it! It was so peaceful, just walking around out there in the corn, and it was very relaxing in an odd sort of way.
Another very cool thing, is that I heard the rain before I felt it. It started to drizzle, and I could hear it hit the corn stalks before it hit me.
So I made a more than a dozen trips into the field and picked on the way out (I remembered this from last year - pick on the way out, when your arms are empty, not on your way in) ... I loaded up the trunk and headed back in to get the kids.
Once I got everybody home, I realized that I had a boat load of corn. Wow.
My mother in law ended up coming over that night to help me put the corn up, while my husband and the kids went to meet the out of town grand parents at the hotel they are staying at to go swimming at the pool. Good idea, otherwise I feel like I'd still be dealing with corn.
The final tally:
89 ears of corn cut off the cob and frozen into serving size Ziploc bags
36 ears of corn frozen on the cob and frozen in Food Saver bags
8 ears of corn given to the neighbor
6 ears of corn eaten Friday night
2 ears of corn thrown out because they were "yucky"
8 ears of corn eaten on Saturday when my Dad & Sister arrived
22 ears of corn given to my Day Care Provider, because thats what you do
A grand total of 171 ears of corn picked. That's a lot of corn.
If the freezer goes out, we're screwed. It'll be blueberries and corn everywhere.
But, I did make a pie for Saturday night when my Dad was here. It was a good one too!
Friday, August 11, 2006
Playing Along
I'm not sure why I'm posting this here, other than I feel like it ... it's my response to an email that ended up in my inbox earlier this week. I got it from a friend I'm WAAY overdue to talk to ... she got engaged and I'm so far out of the loop I didn't even know ... it's on days like that when I think I suck as a friend.
Any hoo ... here it is ... enjoy it for what it's worth, keeping in mind I did it late at night, when I was overtired and should have been being productive in other ways (mothers guilt in action, right there)
1. My ex still ... is probably spending an excessive amount of time in bars, hopefully he’s not sending a bunch of drugs up his nose anymore (I can hope positive things for him, can’t I?)
2. I am listening to ... the fan whirring on the laptop, Channel 5 News in the background and something somewhere is making a recurring drip type sound, I probably should investigate
3. Maybe I should ... do dishes and go to bed
4. I love ... a lot of things … fresh Michigan blueberries (I just froze 30 pounds of them!), when Jack comes in and gets in bed with me in the morning, the way Cara is learning how to talk, the thought of buying new, bigger boobs
5. My best-friend ... hmm … don’t know what she’s doing …
6. I don't understand ... geometry, but from what I’ve been told, you need geometry to be a hinge maker
7. I lost ... a lot of things … pick one … my virginity, a Madonna cd, a book of stamps (although I know where they are, I just can’t get to them), my pink and blue fuzzy sock, the cool pen I took from the bank
8. People say ... more than they should, usually without thinking …
9. The meaning of my name is ... couldn’t tell you, it’s probably Hebrew or something
10. Love is ... the name of those little comics of the short naked people in the newspaper that my mom used to cut out in the 70’s & 80’s
11. Somewhere, someone is ... singing karaoke? Eating ice cream?
12. I will always ... give too much of myself, in too many ways
13. Forever seems ... like a misnomer … sometimes it feels like forever, then, before you know it, it’s now, then we’ll be old
14. I never ever want to ... be sick enough that I need to be in the hospital. I’m not necessarily hospital phobic, but I’ve spent a lot of time as a visitor, and I’ve also read about super germs becoming resistant, and that scares the crap out of me. If I ever have another baby, I’d even consider doing that at home …
15. My mobile phone ... is on the kitchen counter, waiting for a phone call from an out of state relative, who is supposed to be in state
16. When I wake up in the morning ... I can’t believe how little sleep I got, I really need to stop reading or crocheting
17. I get annoyed when ... oh, you name it these days … usually at asshole drivers and people trashing the environment
18. Parties are ... not something that we go to much anymore, and if we do have them, they involve kids … and if we go to one that doesn’t involve kids, I feel like an old fuddy duddy because I don’t feel the need to make a complete ass out of myself and/or have sex or almost sex with my husband in a semi-public place … go figure!
19. My pet(s) is ... don’t have one, but the kids REALLY want a dog, so for now we’re dog sitting Zero, the neighbor dog, while they are in Pennsylvania
20. Kisses are the best when ... they have meaning, and are not just done out of habit or routine
21. Today I ... got up, went over and let Zero out, came home, got ready for work, dropped the kids off, went to work, earned a few bucks, picked up the kids, stopped and picked up some peaches (making jam this weekend, amongst other things), got home, let the dog out, made dinner, did Phase I of dishes, let the dog out again, played with the kids, was out in the garden looking for damn hookworms, put the kids to bed, and am now checking e-mail.
22. Tomorrow I will ... do the same thing I did today, except the part about picking up some peaches, since I already have those. I may stop at the recycle bin, and I have to take the garbage out in the morning. Wooh, the wild suburban life!
23. I really want ... a day to myself so I can finish all the things I have started, without feeling like a crappy ass parent, depriving my kids of their mom.
So, anyone encouraged to have kids, now?!?
Any hoo ... here it is ... enjoy it for what it's worth, keeping in mind I did it late at night, when I was overtired and should have been being productive in other ways (mothers guilt in action, right there)
1. My ex still ... is probably spending an excessive amount of time in bars, hopefully he’s not sending a bunch of drugs up his nose anymore (I can hope positive things for him, can’t I?)
2. I am listening to ... the fan whirring on the laptop, Channel 5 News in the background and something somewhere is making a recurring drip type sound, I probably should investigate
3. Maybe I should ... do dishes and go to bed
4. I love ... a lot of things … fresh Michigan blueberries (I just froze 30 pounds of them!), when Jack comes in and gets in bed with me in the morning, the way Cara is learning how to talk, the thought of buying new, bigger boobs
5. My best-friend ... hmm … don’t know what she’s doing …
6. I don't understand ... geometry, but from what I’ve been told, you need geometry to be a hinge maker
7. I lost ... a lot of things … pick one … my virginity, a Madonna cd, a book of stamps (although I know where they are, I just can’t get to them), my pink and blue fuzzy sock, the cool pen I took from the bank
8. People say ... more than they should, usually without thinking …
9. The meaning of my name is ... couldn’t tell you, it’s probably Hebrew or something
10. Love is ... the name of those little comics of the short naked people in the newspaper that my mom used to cut out in the 70’s & 80’s
11. Somewhere, someone is ... singing karaoke? Eating ice cream?
12. I will always ... give too much of myself, in too many ways
13. Forever seems ... like a misnomer … sometimes it feels like forever, then, before you know it, it’s now, then we’ll be old
14. I never ever want to ... be sick enough that I need to be in the hospital. I’m not necessarily hospital phobic, but I’ve spent a lot of time as a visitor, and I’ve also read about super germs becoming resistant, and that scares the crap out of me. If I ever have another baby, I’d even consider doing that at home …
15. My mobile phone ... is on the kitchen counter, waiting for a phone call from an out of state relative, who is supposed to be in state
16. When I wake up in the morning ... I can’t believe how little sleep I got, I really need to stop reading or crocheting
17. I get annoyed when ... oh, you name it these days … usually at asshole drivers and people trashing the environment
18. Parties are ... not something that we go to much anymore, and if we do have them, they involve kids … and if we go to one that doesn’t involve kids, I feel like an old fuddy duddy because I don’t feel the need to make a complete ass out of myself and/or have sex or almost sex with my husband in a semi-public place … go figure!
19. My pet(s) is ... don’t have one, but the kids REALLY want a dog, so for now we’re dog sitting Zero, the neighbor dog, while they are in Pennsylvania
20. Kisses are the best when ... they have meaning, and are not just done out of habit or routine
21. Today I ... got up, went over and let Zero out, came home, got ready for work, dropped the kids off, went to work, earned a few bucks, picked up the kids, stopped and picked up some peaches (making jam this weekend, amongst other things), got home, let the dog out, made dinner, did Phase I of dishes, let the dog out again, played with the kids, was out in the garden looking for damn hookworms, put the kids to bed, and am now checking e-mail.
22. Tomorrow I will ... do the same thing I did today, except the part about picking up some peaches, since I already have those. I may stop at the recycle bin, and I have to take the garbage out in the morning. Wooh, the wild suburban life!
23. I really want ... a day to myself so I can finish all the things I have started, without feeling like a crappy ass parent, depriving my kids of their mom.
So, anyone encouraged to have kids, now?!?
Have a good night!
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Harvesting, Round 2
Back again, with yet another excess of fruit, this time it's blueberries.
We were in Michigan over the weekend, and on the way back from Grandma's house, we stopped at my new favorite blueberry farm, DeGrandchamps in South Haven. It's an easy on/easy off from the expressway, and fairly easy to find (turn left at the light). The Farm Market smells delightful - full of berrries, peaches, honey and all sorts of yummy creations.
The fields themselves were full of beautiful berries, something like over 130 acres to pick! The kids did great this year, Q only ate a few berries, and while The Bee ate more than I would like her to have eaten, nobody got sick this year. We ended up picking around 9 pounds between the four of us, and we bought another twenty. I'm currently freezing them by the cookie sheet full, and am looking at making some jam this evening. I've also made a pie, which we shared with the neighbors.
I love fresh blueberries! Love them, love them, love them!
And, on to what I don't love harvesting, Tomato Hookworms. I found one of these lovely creatures this morning on my tomato plant, and quickly found four more.
My thoughts:
1. These things are ugly.
2. They make a lot of ugly looking "poop"
3. They are decimating my tomato plants.
So I now have a new object of my hate, the recurring hookworm. I have read up on them this morning, and the more I read, the less I like them. There will be massive rototilling this fall and next spring ... if I'm lucky, I won't clip the line to the cable.
But, not too bad for a breezy Wednesday at home with the kids ...
We were in Michigan over the weekend, and on the way back from Grandma's house, we stopped at my new favorite blueberry farm, DeGrandchamps in South Haven. It's an easy on/easy off from the expressway, and fairly easy to find (turn left at the light). The Farm Market smells delightful - full of berrries, peaches, honey and all sorts of yummy creations.
The fields themselves were full of beautiful berries, something like over 130 acres to pick! The kids did great this year, Q only ate a few berries, and while The Bee ate more than I would like her to have eaten, nobody got sick this year. We ended up picking around 9 pounds between the four of us, and we bought another twenty. I'm currently freezing them by the cookie sheet full, and am looking at making some jam this evening. I've also made a pie, which we shared with the neighbors.
I love fresh blueberries! Love them, love them, love them!
And, on to what I don't love harvesting, Tomato Hookworms. I found one of these lovely creatures this morning on my tomato plant, and quickly found four more.
My thoughts:
1. These things are ugly.
2. They make a lot of ugly looking "poop"
3. They are decimating my tomato plants.
So I now have a new object of my hate, the recurring hookworm. I have read up on them this morning, and the more I read, the less I like them. There will be massive rototilling this fall and next spring ... if I'm lucky, I won't clip the line to the cable.
But, not too bad for a breezy Wednesday at home with the kids ...
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