Punkins' world....SUNSHINE, seeds and no more drought!

[punkin]

I spent most of the morning hoeing out the garden. It was overcast, so I thought it would be a good time for me to water it. Yesterday was the only day this week for a slim chance of rain.

It sprinkled 3 times while I was hoeing, once hard enough to run me in. After I got half the garden cleaned out, I started the sprinklers. By this time the clouds had passed and the sun was blazing. I hung out 2 loads of laundry. The sprinklers had been running about 45 minutes when I heard thunder in the distance.

I came back in for a little while, looked out and it was raining! I gathered in the clothes and turned off the sprinklers. We got a nice, light and steady rain for about 3 hours.

So, the next time we need rain, I'll just water the garden again. :/

 

[Farmfresh]

That is sure to work!

 

[punkin]

I managed to get a few things knocked off my chore list:

garden - cleaned out & watered
iris bed - weeds pulled
laundry - 3 loads yesterday
house cleaning - working on it
ironing - enough done
SUV - washed

I still need to tackle the pool area. Stuff grows like crazy back there, even though it is in poor dirt. We have Zebra Grass that is just out of control. I hate cutting it back. It breaks me out like crazy. As for the pool itself, we've got to get the ph adjusted.

Today, I'm going to wash the car, mow and maybe work on the pool area.

 

[Farmfresh]

I see you are washing you vehicles. Did you plan on that to get an additional shower for your garden?

 

[Aidenbaby]

I can sympathize with hating to mow the lawn. My son and I are both allergic to grass and have difficulties breathing when I cut it (asthma). What sucks is, I actually like to cut the grass (other than the allergy issues) and I like the smell of it. DH rarely cuts the grass as I like to have it cut in the morning and he's usually sleeping because he works from noon until nine. What I end up doing is double dosing on claritin and going out and doing it anyway.

 

[punkin]

I see you are washing you vehicles. Did you plan on that to get an additional shower for your garden?

I was hoping . . .

 

[punkin]

Yesterday was "take the day off day" for me.
My sister brought over her embroidered quilt for me to list on ebay. It is really stunning. She hand embroidered "Popeye, Olive Oil, and Sweet Pea" on white blocks and bordered that with a dark red. The colors are cartoon accurate. She does wonderful work. It's a queen size and she's started the bid at $350.

After that, we went met one of my Aunts at a local outlet store. Their prices are really good and I hadn't bought any clothes in a long time. I bought 2 pair of shorts ($10 & $6) and several pairs of pajama pants at $3 each. Mine are so threadbare.

Then we went to lunch. It was also my Aunt's birthday, so I gave her the UT Vol purse I made for her. She really liked it. After lunch, we went our own way and I did a little more shopping, but didn't really buy much.

Supper was fried egg sandwiches with cheese and a slice of fresh tomato. DH worked on my dad's 3 point hitch for his new lawn tractor. He is going to have to do some major finagling to get his implements to fit. That's another thing I love about my DH - he can work on anything and make anything work.

Today, I am going to start a run of Icicle Pickles or 14 Day Pickles. My dad gave me a 5 gal. bucket full of cukes. Some were just way too big, so they will go to the chickens for a cool snack. This was my Mom's recipe and will be the only pickles I do this year. They are that failproof and yummy.

I need to get to work on the pool. Blasted thing is staying green cause I can't get the ph balanced. Sometimes I think we should just fill it in.

It's a little overcast this morning and we do have a chance of rain. But, just in case, maybe I should go water the garden.

 

[Farmfresh]

Fail proof you say? Then I NEED that pickle recipe!

I can pickle okra, jalapenos, and make hot veggie pickles but my cucumber pickles are always a FLOP ... literally!

 

[punkin]

FF, prepare for pickle success.

This recipe gives you the sweetest, syrupy and crunchiest pickles ever.

ICICLE PICKLES

Slice 1 gallon cukes 1/4" thick. Mix 1 c. pickling salt in 1/2 gal. water. Bring to a boil. Pour over cukes. (I put mine in glass 1 gal. jars) Let stand 1 week.

Rinse well.

Mix 2 tbsp. alum in 1/2 gal. water. Bring to a boil. Pour over cukes. Let stand 24 hours.

Rinse well.

Mix together:
1 1/4 qt vinegar
2 tbsp. celery seed
2 tbsp. pickling spice
3 cinnamon sticks
8 pints sugar

Bring to a boil and pour over cukes. Let stand overnight.

For 4 nights pour the same mixture from cukes and reboil. On the 4th night, pack in jars and seal.

Never heat the cucumbers.

These are so good you can eat them on the 3rd night.

 

[Farmfresh]

So they are a sweet pickle? What size cucumbers do you recommend?