After Thoughts Apron Giveaway!!

Normally, I only post once a day, and only something fantastic will cause me to double-post. And, that fantastic something is what I'm going to tell you about. 

Look at this cute apron. (I couldn't make the photo any bigger) I mean, isn't it just adorable? Can't you just see yourself waltzing around the kitchen wearing this cute little number? But, aprons as cute as this aren't limited to the kitchen...

This little apron will be going home to some lucky person. All you have to do is go to After Thoughts Facebook page, "like" After thoughts, tag the photo with your name, and answer one easy question...Where are you from? Easy peasy. The drawing will be September 1, so what are you waiting for? Get over there and sign up!!

If you want to know more about the fantastic maker of these aprons, you can check out her blog here. She really is amazing!!

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Project 52 - No clue what week

Yes, it's been a loooong time since I did a Project 52 update. The truth is, I haven't had too much to update about. Let me take a moment to gander over my list and refresh my memory.....


Oh yeah, how could I forget? Well, I am making some exciting progress on the dreaded #1. I'm not quite halfway there, but almost. 


And, I can add two more books to my list. It seems like I read three books, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was. (And, it's possible that I could be dreaming, and only imagining that I read three books...)


So, these are the books I've read, and can remember the titles of:

Both are excellent books and very educational. I don't even want to tell you how long it took me to read "Founding Brothers", but it was ridiculous. The reason it took me so long to read is because I read it at the worst possible time. Bedtime. I intend to re-read it. (So, can I still count it?)


The current book I'm reading is the newly released:

This is a very entertaining and hilarious book. I'm loving every minute of it. If you need some laughter in your life, I highly recommend this book!


And, here is the list of books I intend to read, at some point, hopefully (haha) before the year is up:

I've got some work to do!


Here's a little clue on what I've been doing this month:

It's been a busy, busy month!

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Garden Time

Pitiful

I'm sure you must be wondering about the success I am having in my garden. I'm beginning to think I may not be a great farmer. (hmmm, what was my first clue?)


Here are a few photos from my garden. Have you ever seen such sorry looking tomatoes? Even so, they are still producing tomatoes, which is the main reason to grow tomatoes.

Pathetic

Sorry-looking plants

 One morning I came out to take a look, and this is what I found:

 Yep. Every. Single. Solitary. Leaf, had been eaten off of one, and only one, plant. Whatever did this, only preferred the leaves. It nibbled on the tomatoes, but left them half eaten. Must've gotten full on the leaves. Isn't that weird??


My brussel sprouts are still sproutless. Sigh. But, I'm not giving up, dagnabbit!

There is one lovely red pepper!

My mystery plant/artichoke imposter is thriving. It is now taller than the house. Turns out, it is, in fact, an artichoke, technically. It's a Jerusalem Artichoke aka sunflower artichoke. Supposedly, the tubers can be eaten, but they don't sound too appetizing. "Their flavor is somewhat sooty when cooked and not agreeable to everyone but they are very nutritious, and boiled in milk form an excellent accompaniment to roast beef." ehhh, no thanks. (Botanical.com)

Even though we still go to the produce auction to get veggies to can (wait until  I tell you about that experience!), I still like having my little garden to walk about, harvesting the veggies I grew:

In other news, I am happy to report that my avocado plant did indeed survive the decapitation.  However, the leaves are growing back much smaller than originally. 

I don't want to leave you with ugly pictures of my garden, so here are a few pictures of my flowers.

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Special Announcement!

Do you know this lady?  Her name is Carol E. Wyer,  she has written her first book "MiniSkirts and Laughter Lines", and she's having a big party to celebrate!

Check out this video:



Her book is as fun as this video, and full of laughter! (Hence, the last half of the title "...Laughter Lines") 


She also writes a blog that is always leaves me laughing. One of her followers has given her the title:BOTUK - Bombeck of the United Kingdom.  


She's having an online lauch party  on the 16th of September, and you are invited. Just pop on over to her blog and sign up.  www.facing50withhumour.blogspot.com  Do so straight away. She’ll be hosting giveaways and prizes all day. There will even be the chance to win a Kindle. It should be a lot of fun with competitions, laughs, extracts from her hilarious novel, guests to check out, new people to meet and I even heard on the grape vine that she will actually be appearing on a video link!


See you there!

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Need a Laugh??

I'm still laughing after watching this. This was posted on Facebook, and I guess it's from a TV show, but I'm out of the loop when it comes to TV. Anyway, this is hilarious. Hope you enjoy it!

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My Mind's Been in the Gutter

Yes, it's true. My mind has been in the gutter. For a very long time, if you must know the truth. You might be surprised to know that I have a gutter mind. (The fact that I have any mind at all comes to a complete surprise to me.)  


What does having my mind in the gutter have to do with my previous absence, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. It's quite fascinating, really. If you are not on the edge of your seat in anticipation yet, you soon will be, I'm sure.


But first, a little background information:
Hubby and I used to have a gutter business. You know, rain gutters? On houses? We sold our business in 2008 and moved to North Carolina, hoping to semi-retire, because we are getting old, and it's not that fun climbing ladders all day. You remember 2008, I'm sure. Banking crisis, housing crisis, unemployment crisis, to name a few. It was a bad, bad year. Not the best time to be making a transition. At the end of the year, we found ourselves selling our house (sniff, sniff, wipe a tear) and moving back to Ohio - in the middle of winter - %$#$%!!!!  


Hubby and I started doing work for family members, which consisted of remodeling projects and painting. Lots and lots of painting. Hubby has a BIL with a garage door business, and a brother with a gutter business, who both needed an extra hand, so he found himself working with them on a weekly basis, traveling back and forth. 


So, fast forward to the past two weeks. Brother was going on vacation, and Hubby said he would work while he was gone. He also said he would take Wifey with him to "keep me company". "Keep me company" are code words for "help me hang gutters."  Yes. That is what I have been doing. Hanging gutters. 


Now, if you will remember back three weeks ago, we (and maybe you) were having that horrible hot, humid, muggy, hot, %$#@ hot weather! We were working in an area that had been hit hard with a terrible hail storm. Every street, it seemed, had several work crews, working like crazy. New roofs, new siding, new gutters. It was actually quite comforting seeing all the work going on. I started to think that things in America were turning around. But, then I remembered that this was all insurance work. But, still, it's giving some people the opportunity to make some money. 


Anyway, how hot was it? It was so hot that I grabbed a dirty rag out of the truck, dunked it in ice water, and put it on my head. And, I left it there. It looked ridiculous, but I didn't care. At the end of each day, we checked into our economical hotel room, cranked the a/c as low as it would go, hit the showers, then wondered if we had enough energy to go get some supper. (We did) When we returned from supper, we wondered if it was too early to go to bed. It wasn't. We were pooped-out. That was our schedule for two weeks.


So, I do have a few pictures for your enjoyment. And, to prove my story. Honestly, Hubby did most of the work. My main jobs were: Go-fer, and cutting up the old gutter, I also climbed the ladders when we had long pieces to hang. You would be amazed at how heavy a long, thin piece of gutter is, especially if you have to hold it over your head. Yeah, fun times.

The Gutter Machine

Running out a 50' piece of gutter

Drilling out the drain hole - Hubby is already starting to sweat

Caulking the endcaps and drain hole.
(This was before the rag on my head! Sorry, no photos of that lovely sight.)

Getting the ladders set

Hubby working and sweating

 The joys of working around wires

I made a special trip up the ladder for this photo, hope you appreciate it!
The second time up, I was holding the gutter.

Hubby setting the gutter

A word to the wise: If you are getting a new roof, do not assume
that your gutters will be clean when the roofers leave!!!

A torturous sight!!!

Yes, we did drag ourselves out for supper.

So, that is why I wasn't blogging. Too tired!

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Snap! Snap! Chop! Chop!

Well, hello, there! I'm back from my unscheduled and unexpected break from the blogging world. I'll fill you in on what that was all about in a later post. It's very exciting. You won't want to miss it!


But, today, I will be busy in the kitchen. Hubby went to a produce auction last night, and brought home a bunch of goodies for me to can. I would much rather be freezing the beans, because I like them so much better than canned beans, but, I also want to have some food that can be stored on the shelves instead of the freezer. You know, just in case we lose electricity in the middle of winter, or something.

Here is the recipe I'm using for the banana peppers. (It's a secret family recipe, so don't tell anyone I gave this to you!)

Dad's Vinegar Solution for Banana Peppers

1 gallon white vinegar
1 gallon distilled water
1 cup salt
8 cups sugar
4 teaspoons dry mustard


Bring to a boil then remove from heat and let cool. Meanwhile, slice and seed peppers and put in hot jars. Pour cold solution over peppers. Then add 1 teaspoon olive oil to each quart jar. Seal with a hot lid.


Allow to marinade in cool, dark place for at least three weeks.


This recipe will do about 1/2 bushel of peppers.


Try it! You'll like it!

Here's a couple pictures of my unfriendly kitties. Spooky-Dude No Tail runs fast and far away, but he's still keeping an eye on me.

 Sahshe lets me get a little closer, but not too close! Spooky-Dude Half Tail wasn't around for the photo op!

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