Sunflowers

 Ken's Produce, in an attempt to thwart loss of revenue from stay at home orders this summer and social distancing at the corn.maze this fall, has planted a sunflower garden. Due.to the stay at home orders, many fields that are open to customers and viewers in the summer simply did not plan. Hats off to Ken Walker for being innovative during these trying times. The entry fee to the field is $5 a person and includes the cost of one cutting. Additional flowers can be cut for $1 each.

Before the total shutdown this spring, some young friends helped me plant seeds in the flower garden. We planted 2 whole packs of sunflower seeds, different varieties.

I was a bit disappointed when they didn't come up. I was most surprised last week to see two...in a spot where we didn't plant them. Evidently our chickens used the garden for their dust bath and bug search, resulting in seeds being moved or eaten.

But I'm thrilled to see these two, even if they are small and in the wrong place.

Insanity

 Lately we've heard some strange noises in the garage. We know the chickens often get on our vehicles. Bobby discovered one on top of the water heater box last week. A few days later we realized not only was she up there, but she was laying.

So I grab the ladder, a bucket, and a hoe, expecting to find 2-4 eggs.

There were 10. Courtesy of our 2 teenage birds. We've since lost one to a predator (a risk that comes with free range birds), but the other is still gets up there to lay. Bobby even moved his van out of the garage so they couldn't use it as a ladder and it still managed to get up on top. 

Maybe I'll come up with a solution soon.

Ongoing

As toilet paper and paper towels slowly make their way back onto the shelves, the ongoing coin shortage continues to baffle people. Some shops say it's because they want to protect their workers from the germs on money and will only accept cards as payment (which is actually illegal), other shops say they will round your bill up to an even amount instead of giving back change, and others will only accept the exact amount. 

I had one young person at a fast food place continuously ask to round my amount up, even though I gave her the exact amount of coin change. I've had some friends who own businesses say banks are limiting the amount of change they can get. Others speculate this a way to force our nation into becoming a cashless society. 

I don't know, but the longer this drags on the more frustrating it is.

 

Day 3 - finally done.

Midnight Tuesday I finally finished. I quit counting jars. I know we have enough pear preserves for us and our Moms, pears for us, as well as a few jars of pear salsa. Bobby says there's still two buckets worth on the tree, but if I pick them it will be 2 or 3 at a time for eating. We've both agreed I've done enough.

While the last batch of jars were in the canner, we went outside to watch the meteor shower. After 35 minutes of not seeing anything,  we finally gave up. The town of Garner and the county planning people kept telling us how fortunate we would be to have street lights, curbcuts and a paved road. The paved road is the only thing I like. The curb is a nightmare to cut and makes it impossible for Bobby to get in and out of the yard in those areas, and the street lights have blocked so much of the night sky it's not even funny. I so wish there was a switch neighbors could use to turn them off at certain times to view the stars. But if those are the worst things we have to deal with, then having a school next door to us isn't that bad. 

But I do miss the night sky and the darkness at night.

Day 2 - preserves

 Had more delays and interruptions today than I anticipated, but I can now see the halfway line all around the tub, the floors have had their first mopping, and two batches of pear preserves are on the stove. The one on the left is close to being ready to jar now (this was taken 30 minutes ago), and the one on the right was just started so has another hour to go. I hope to finish up the tub tomorrow, and I'm still on the fence about whether or not the squirrels get the rest of the pears on the tree.

9 hrs

 

Picked yesterday. About a bushel and a half. Started peeling about 10:30 this morning. Mrs. Bryan came for an hour in the afternoon and did small cuts for pear preserves. (I was going for larger chunks for canning pears.)

9 hrs later....have we even cut half of them?

28.5 pints and a crockpot of pear preserves going with another bowl cut and ready for an overnight soak. If no one else comes for the rest of the pears, the squirrels can have them.

And yes, my inner voices are speaking in my head. Granny Rea's voice saying "Waste not, want not." and my father-in-law saying " Hard times are coming. You better be prepared." 

Sometimes it's best to ignore the voices in your head.

finally fixed!

One lug nut and one drainage connector and now my kitchen sink is working again, with all the cleaners in the cabinet and not on the counters. WHOOhooo!

Thankfully our tomato plants have slowed down production. So now I'm making small batches of tomato soup to eat and made our first tomato pies yesterday. I've canned about 26 quarts of tomatoes and four or five quarts of vegetable soup, so I think we're good on that front. (and while typing that, my father-in-law's favorite refrain in his deep southern drawl sounds off in my head: Hard times are coming. You better be prepared.) 

I've not ventured out to the pear tree to see if they are ripe or not, but I anticipate that if I don't start harvesting them soon, the squirrels will. We didn't have many apples this year and the squirrels have already begun collecting the few that are there.

It's been good, but I'm ready for garden season to draw to start drawing to a close.

attempt #3

Several years ago I took some things out from under the kitchen sink, and discovered that the bottom of the sink was not only wet, but warped.  We called a plumber, and they replaced the connection between the pipes and the sink. I checked it from time to time during the next few months, and all seemed well.

Several months ago I began noticing an unusual smell in the kitchen. Sometimes it would disappear, so I just assumed it was the odor from produce, etc. Then I went to get a bucket from under the sink for picking blueberries, and was shocked to discover it had about a 1/4" of water in it. From the water lines on the bucket, the levels had come and gone. It was stagnant well water I had been smelling.

Knowing that our kitchen faucet would randomly leak on top of the sink, we went ahead and bought one to have it replaced. The plumber thought that was where the problem was, and it was replaced. We then had a friend replace the bottom of the cabinet underneath the sink.  I went back that night to replace items after washing dishes...and found two different wet spots.

So the plumbers are coming back tomorrow. I know where the problem is for one of the two spots, but the other I do not and have no idea whether or not it will be a simple fix or not. Our home is now 21 years old, so I suppose it is time to start repairing and replacing things.

Hopefully this third visit will fix everything that is wrong!

another of my mental playlist

The other song that has come to mind so much this last week was a song that is new to me, but our church has sung quite a bit the last few years. It speaks such truth, especially when we deal with the "but if not" (3 Hebrews and fiery furnace)/"even though..." (Job) situations of life. When the miracles we pray for do not happen or the answer is no, this song is a perfect description of the reminders I so often need in life.

Sovereign Over Us

Michael W. Smith

There is strength within the sorrow
There is beauty in our tears
And You meet us in our mourning
With a love that casts out fear
You are working in our waiting
You're sanctifying us
When beyond our understanding
You're teaching us to trust

Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us

You are wisdom unimagined
Who could understand Your ways
Reigning high above the Heavens
Reaching down in endless grace
You're the lifter of the lowly
Compassionate and kind
You surround and You uphold me
And Your promises are my delight

Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us

Even what the enemy means for evil
You turn it for our good
You turn it for our good and for Your glory
Even in the valley, You are faithful
You're working for our good
You're working for our good and for Your glory

Your plans are still to prosper
You have not forgotten us
You're with us in the fire and the flood
You're faithful forever
Perfect in love
You are sovereign over us

Songwriters: Aaron Keyes / Bryan Brown / Jack Mooring

another musical throwback

This song was often played at funerals when I was growing up, and I was never overly fond of it as a child. It had some really high points, which meant I was unable to sing part of it. Now that I'm older, it has a lot more meaning to me. And after this week, knowing how much my family was hurting not being able to be with their wife/mother/grandmother while she was so sick and hurting, it had an extra special meaning.

I Won’t Have to Cross Jordan Alone

Daniel O'Donnell

When I come to the river at the ending of day
When the last winds of sorrow have blown
There'll be somebody waiting to show me the way
I won't have to cross Jordan alone.

Often times I'm weary and troubled and sad
When it seems that my friends have all flown
There is one thought that cheers me and makes my heart glad
I won't have to cross Jordan alone

Though the billows of trouble and sorrow may sweep
Christ the Savior will care for his own
Till the end of my journey my soul he will keep
And I won't have to cross Jordan alone

Refrain:

I won't have to cross Jordan alone
Jesus died all my sins to atone
In the darkness I see
He'll be waiting for me
I won't have to cross Jordan alone.

Below:
Phyllis Gilland and her granddaughter Gracie, who died a few years ago in an ATV accident. More than one person has commented and thought about them being reunited in heaven. Gracie's Mom, Phyllis' youngest daughter, posted this on her Facebook page last night. May God surround Sharon with peace and comfort as her loss this side of heaven seems great.