HOT!!!!

This has been one of those weeks of summer in North Carolina where you just really need to "suck it up" and bear the heat. I tell myself this is the price we pay for the otherwise mild year round climate. But it ain't easy when the heat index is 105 degrees and the window AC units in the rental house just can't keep up. When the kids go up to bed it is so hot upstairs it reminds me of summers growing up in "the little gray house on the corner" without AC. Mom use to call us down after an hour or two for a cool glass of Kool Aid! Course I can't give our kids Kool Aid, but we do bring them some ice water. They don't seem to complain, ... I suspect partly because they were used to the heat in Africa. The AC unit happens to only plug in, in an outlet in Ethan's room... so it all works out.

Because of the heat we have been laying low this week. However we did get out to our land early each morning this weekend to do some work before the day got too hot. We got a bunch of old wood and some heavy and large bedraggled piece of antique farm equipment drug out of our future garage. Shalo knocked all the old mud wasps nests down from the ceiling joists. We will level of the dirt floor and perhaps later in August haul in some crush and run for the floor. It is looking much better in there now that it is cleaned out.

Our "new "farm truck" being put to use

Sunday morning Karen and I got out our respective tractors and mowed again. Hot, Hot , Hot!!! The kids find things to play around in while we are working.

Mike on his toy tractor!

Because of the heat the garden is winding down for the summer. Tomatoes are petering out, cantaloupes are ripening. Then we should have a few weeks off until time to plant fall garden crops.

We are hoping to make final changes to house plans this week. Then we can apply for building permits and get the new house under construction... hopefully in about 5 weeks? I wish I took more pictures, need to get better at that. When I am working I forget about it. Our pet vultures are out of the barn and flying regularly overhead ! Will try to get a photo.

Signs of the end of summer !?

It has been a busy week down here in NC. The kids start back in their year round school. Two in first grade and one in fourth. They all were actually pretty eager to get back to school. The first week went well. Karen is a bit exhausted after spending most of her free time getting together school supplies, meeting all three teachers at a meet in greet, filling out three sets of information papers that seem to come home with the start of each new year. You'd think they could save it from one year to the next?! One week down, and they all are happy with their teachers. Shalo only came home with a "treasure" once, Aki only had "yellow" once... it doesn't get any better then that!

Can you say "Holy Tomatoes!" ....We spent two whole nights tackling this pile of tomatoes: first washing them, cutting stems out, then blanching them, then into ice water to help skins slide off, then in strainers to drain over night in the fridge. The next night cutting alot of peppers, onions, garlic, basil, and adding spices and cooking the whole lot about one hour, putting it in quart jars, and boiling in a water bath for 40 minutes, then going to bed exhausted at 11:15pm....I figure about an hour per jar of labor if you count the time picking them.






I have to keep reminding myself how good this will be inthe middle of winter! ....

And it better be, because I picked all of these Thursday night, after Karen and her Dad just picked them Monday morning!!!! Guess what we will be doing this weekend!

Tomatos!!

The welcoming comittee at Steph's house.

I went to Steph's house to see if there were any tomatos to pick this morning. I was surprised with a bountiful harverst. A welcome treat after having gone months refusing to buy those store bought red things they call "tomatos" but don't really taste like tomatos. Of course with Karen and the kids gone I am not sure what I am going to do with them all. I reck'on I will try to keep most of them well to completely ripen and then make some salsa or spaghetti sauce to can. Both were a big hit this past winter. Something you have to remember when you go through all the work to can them.

Burpee's Early Opener

The Bounty!

As I remember from last year, July is a busy month of putting up the harvest for the winter months to come. Freezing zuchinni, corn. Canning salsa, spahghetti sauce, pickles. Picking and freezing blueberries and blackberries.

Yesterdays work,... freezing 5 dozen ears of "Silver Queen" sweet corn.

But today I am going to enjoy fresh tomatos on my sandwich and with dinner tonight!

Weekend Alone...

The kids and Karen are visiting the folks in OK, so I am free to do whatever I want for almost a whole week! So far that has been a lot of catching up on chores. After the past few months of doing nothing but trying to; sell our house(check!) , buy our future homestead land(check!), move to a rental(check!), buy a tractor to mow land(check!), learn how to use tractor(check!?...so far so good!) , tend to our large garden(check!) , find a builder and plan for our new home( a work in progress)... it is nice to have a breather to do things that have been neglected.

Starting this blog has been on my "to do" list for months. My plan is to use it as a means of allowing family and friends to keep up with our crazy lives down here w/o me emailing pictures, and winded notes. You can just check in from time to time and see what we have been up to.

This weekend is going to be experimenting with how to post and add photos, etc. So there will be some practice entries, as well as some updating.

I finally took a picture of our rental house... it is a ~1553 sf 114 year old farmhouse. After a few problems with plumbing, electricity, things are pretty much in working order. There are some unknown type of critters in the chimmney that make a lot of "squeaking" noises, but so far no critters in the house.

Circa 1896 farmhouse

View from the toilet...to front door..."come on in!" the "dining room"

The kitchen, with dryer in corner, note all the counter space. This is our living room with furniture covered to try to preserve, since this is a high traffic area now.

That seems to be all the picts I can add, all in all the house is serving us well.