Busy End of Summer!

So yesterday was crazy busy at work.  But today may be a little more calm, though we have one person out sick and the other is with her daughter at the hospital waiting on a baby to be born. But at least right now it's pretty good.

So Son asked a girl to Homecoming. He bought her flowers, made her a big sign and sat her in car after band practice, waiting for her.  She loved it and said yes.  So he has a date for that.  Hmmmm.

Last night, Foxy and went to the garden and harvested quite a bit. As you can't see here, there are a lot of tomatoes, 2 zucchinis, green peppers, banana peppers and cucumbers.  Yummy!  I wish I could get the pictures to download.  But something is not good with this computer.  I am sad.  Tonight I am canning the tomatoes and maybe the banana peppers (I have a bunch more).    I will also grate one of the zucchinis and leave the other to grate on Friday night or Saturday.  I have a family reunion and a new chocolate zucchini cake recipe to try out. 

There is a church picnic on Sunday afternoon.  Then Sunday evening is Hornet's Day at the school.  Plus it being Foxy's birthday on Saturday.  We are going to get pizza from his favorite place, and go watch the football team scrimmage at a close rival.  I am excited about the weekend.  So hopefully I will fix this picture problem and be able to show you all the pictures I took over the weekend. 

Tomorrow evening, the kids have band practice, then they are having some friends they met over the summer over for a cookout over the fire pit.  That will be fun, and I am glad I am going to meet them.

4th of July Weekend Update

What a terrific weekend!  It was HOT, but yesterday it cooled off enough that the parade went off and the fireworks were wonderful.

We had a fun weekend.  Friday night was the closing program for VBS.  Saturday, we didn't do too much.  Some errands, good food, Son came home from the Amish country with the Grandparents.  We did go get our free Nestle mini-drumsticks.  It was fun. 

Sunday, we honored our soldiers and country at church.  It was kind of  an emotional day. Mom and Dad came over later and we grilled out and then went to a new ice cream place called TWIST.  The pictures are of Foxy and Son, me and Gpa, and Daughter and Gma.  It was very hot, and a great night for ice cream.

Monday, Foxy's brother & SIL came over to watch the parade with us.  Then we went out to eat.  Daughter marched.  The parade was bigger than last year and great weather, not too humid.  We got under a tree, where the shade and a breeze kept us cool.  After the relatives went home, Foxy watered the garden and Josie Belle, and I took pictures.  We then rested a bit, and then went to the Light Up the Sky in Monroe for the festival and fireworks.
Here's the garden.

The watermelon is starting to vine.

This is one of the several volunteer tomato plants.  Probably cherry tomatos.

This is our radishes.

This is the zucchini.

One of the two cucumbers plants.

We lost another tomato plant, but we still have plenty and they are starting to grow.

Here's our first green pepper.  Yumm-yumm!

Here is our wax pepper.  Can't wait to put it on pizza!

This is Josie Bell getting sprayed.  She actually barks until we spray her.  With all her hair, it really cools her down!

 Hope your weekend was just a great.  I'll try and put some fireworks pictures I took up tomorrow.  Have a great Tuesday!

2011 Garden

Here is Ohio, you never know what the weather is going to be like, so you never even think about putting your garden out until after Mother's Day, and usually not until around Memorial Day.  This year, we are just starting to do that.  Early in the spring, my dad decided he wanted to have a garden at his house.  So he had some friends and Foxy help him.  Now, as most of us know, it's been a rather wet spring.  But that hasn't slowed him down.  He collected a whole bunch of tomato plants, and what he didn't use, he gave to us.   So as we were planting them Monday evening, we counted up 20 plants!  If this is a good year, I am going to be canning a lot of tomatoes!  Here are some pictures.

This is one of the plants.  They are kind of pitiful.  Last night we staked most of them.  Tonight, after I get home from church, we will plant the watermelon, and the beans.  I also have peas and maybe some cucumbers.  I want zucchini, peppers, and Foxy wants radishes.  We didn't get near enough radishes. 

So that is where we have started.  Next time I'm at my parents, I'll get a picture of what he is growing.  What are you growing this year?

Not a Weekend Update

My weekend was kinda a quiet, which was good.  We did get the Danger Ranger back.  This is my husband's free 1986 Ford Ranger.  We had to have the engine overhauled.  So now we have three vehicles and no $ for gas!  LOL.

It's going to be a crazy week.  We have dance & band practice, dance recital, band concert, and trip to Washington D.C.  I'm tired just figuring it all out.  Tonight, I'm going to try and clean the bathrooms, cook supper and watch DWTS and Hawaii 5-0.

For supper tonight I have found a nice little recipe for Mexican Chicken and Rice from Taste of Home.  Looks easy, I'll let you know how it is tomorrow.

I am also trying to use more coupons.  There is a group of ladies in my town that I am getting to know and want to learn from.  If any of you have ideas and such, please let me know.

Also, yesterday my father gave us about 10 or so tomato plants.  So I want to find time to plant them because it is that time of year.  But it is rainy all week, so we'll just see.  It will be exciting to have my garden day back up and running.  I'm going to do it on Friday's this season, because last year I didn't get out there until it was time to leave for work on Thursdays.  Not very acceptable.  Foxy wants to do box gardens, but I want to plant the tomatoes in front of our back porch. They grew great there last year and Josie Belle seemed to like it too.

I have pole beans, sugar snap peas, watermelon, and I want cucumbers, zucchini and some peppers.  That's the goal.  Are you having a garden this year?

Thursday's Garden

I have a confession.  This update should have happened last week, but I wasn't home, so here are the pictures from a week ago.  

This is the third watermelon.  I like this picture because the leaves around it are blurry and the focus is just on the melon.  I'm hoping tonight we will eat the other two.  They are in the fridge.  Doesn't that sound yummy?  Especially in the 90+ degree heat.

Here are my beans.  Today I am fixing beans, potatoes and ham in the crockpot for a weekend meal.  Foxy is working all weekend and this will be easier and cooler than turning on the oven.

It looks like a hot mess, and hot it is.  I will probably be canning tomatoes this weekend.  I can't wait.  Tonight I am making some fresh salsa.  Here is my recipe.

Fresh Salsa

2 ripe tomatoes, diced

1 big onion, diced

2 green peppers, diced

Cilantro, chopped fine

lime or lemon juice (your choice)

 

Mix all ingredients, serve with chips.  

I usually can't stop eating this.  At least it's all veggies.  I'm thinking about making watermelon salsa too.  Has anyone ever made that?  I've had a melon salsa with cantalope and honeydew, but I'm thinking I've seen watermelon salsa and that sounds so refreshing.

Foxy is drying peppers.  He picked a slew of red chili peppers and jalapenos.  We use them all winter for chili, tacos, meatloaf, roasts, and his rub. Okay, now I'm getting hungry!

Band is having pictures today and then we (Daughter, Son & I) have a dentist appointment.  I've been going to my dentist since I was like 6.  He graduated high school with my mom and we are pretty close.  Dr. Bob has done a root canal on a front tooth of mine that I knocked out in third grade in a bicycle accident, taken out my wisdom teeth himself, and just been the best.  Now he is being the same with my kids.  

I have a lot of exciting things coming up.  Tomorrow, Daughter and I are getting our hair done.  She's ready to do a little color and I'm needing to cover the natural colors coming in.

Well that's about it for today.  Have a great Thursday!

Thursday is Garden Day at See Foxes

The garden is slowly, but surely coming in.  I have pink tomatoes, another zucchini, and green beans that need checked.  The watermelon is almost ready too!  Here are some pictures of our messy, weedy garden!

I think my watermelon is just about ready.  They don't get big and oblong, but it is pretty and so sweet!

 

These are my volunteer cherry tomatoes over on the lower right side, you might be able to make out some tiny tomatoes starting. 

This is one of the four plants drooping with tomatoes!

Look at those!  This one in the middle looks ready to pick, but the other one is still showing some white spots.  But, I'll be canning before you know it!

It's fuzzy, but those are some nice green beans!  Hopefully they can wait until next week for me to snap and dry/can.  We save a bunch for the next year.  

Foxy is drying a bunch of peppers.  I forgot to take a picture of that.  

So, how's your garden doing?

How's Your Garden Thursday?

So today is another update on my garden.  This are coming along nicely.  Especially the weeds. 

These are my watermelons.  My how they have grown.  There are also at least two more on the vine!

See?

We have determined these are Hungarian Wax Peppers.

This is one of three plants of jalepenos.  And see?  Josie Belle is trying to get in on the act! 

Here is one of four tomato plants.  The two volunteers by the porch that I didn't get a shot of are cherry tomatoes.  Foxy and has tied them up twice now, so that means that they are loaded with tomatoes.

Looky, I have green beans!  And it's still budding!

Here's another cuke that we picked tonight.

My poor cabbage is getting eaten alive.  :(  Foxy needs to put some Sevin on it.

Here's some chili peppers.  Foxy loves that one that is a curly-Q.  LOL

And the creme' de la creme'...

We harvest the radishes.  Look at them!

Yummy!

So how's your garden?  If you don't have one you can live vicariously through me!

Happy Gardening!

Thursday is Show off the garden day!  So, without futher ado...

 

 If you look close, you can see the little bitty watermelon growing!  

I have to confess, it has been so wet, that the weeds are starting to take over.  I am hoping I can get out there tonight and get some weeding done.

Here are the radishes.  

This is one of the two volunteer tomato plants by the back porch.  There are lots of blooms, but no tomatoes yet.

Aren't those peppers looking good?

And these?  That brown thing is Josie Belle trying to get in so I would pet her this AM.

Here's a blurry picture of our beans.  They are really climbing.

This is one of the two cabbage plants.  The other one is loaded with weeds.  I couldn't get a good picture of the zuchinni (I was in my work clothes).  But it is growing well, as well as the cucumbers.  I just need to weed.

Put pictures on of your garden and I'll come see them!

Happy gardening!