Happy Birthday Dad!

 Today is my darling Dad's birthday!

This is a quintessential picture of my Dad.

In his favorite hat.

(He's worn a similar hat ... forever?)

He is so loved by all his family.

He has been our example of love.

Of kindness.

Of finding joy and doing what needs to be done

even when its difficult to find the joy.

I love you Dad!

Happy Birthday.

I hope your day was filled with happiness.

HOME SWEET HOME!

 The guys made it!

They got here late Wednesday night.

I had finished teaching and was standing

outside waiting for them when they pulled up.

It was a LONG two days.

The dogs were anxious to get out of their crates.

And then we put their crates in the garage

and stuck them right back in again for the night.

Poor girls.

Yesterday after a breakfast of bacon and eggs

and a walk around the blocks for the dogs,

we headed up to Hill City to unload the truck

into the storage unit.

Well darn.

I thought I took some pictures.

Guess not.

Anyhow.

It's STUFFED to the gills.

We got a little sprinkle of rain a couple of times,

but nothing big.

It was POURING at the farm though.

(Hill City is only 10 minutes from the farm,

so we could see it raining over that way.)

We finally got all finished about 4:00

and headed to Pizza Hut.

Little mid-west towns.

They all have a Dollar General and a Pizza Hut.

(And that's about it.)

It was delicious, and since it wasn't really

a standard meal time, we had the place to ourselves.

Just us and the manager. He said all his people

called out sick.

While we were there, the storms finally caught

up with us and it rained pretty good.

So we made the decision NOT to take the U-Haul

out to the farm. The roads are kind of slick

going up and down the hills when it is raining.

They dry quickly, but while it's raining its

a little bit of a challenge if you are driving

something big and heavy.

(or small and light)

There are often tire marks in the road where

somebody was trying to get somewhere...

Anyhow.

We headed back to the house.

It was still raining, so we came in and settled

into the living room for some TV and rest.

I made some muffins for a late evening snack.

(We were all still full from Pizza Hut.)

Rod headed off to bed about 9.

(That's 10 Florida time, it will take him a 

bit to adjust to the change...)

Kyle and I were off by 11.

This morning Rod has been unpacking his truck.

This is a SMALL house - so now there are things

tucked under all the beds and in all the 

closets and cupboards.

I'm trying NOT to have stuff cluttered in piles.

That raises my anxiety levels to an uncomfortable

point and life's too short to be stressed all the time.

We just had breakfast and now we are going to

go take the dogs out for a walk.

Mom and Dad sent Rod a marble checkers set

for his birthday.

Can't wait to play it on nice dark, cold evenings.

Thank you guys!

It's beautiful!

On the Road, AGAIN.

 The guys are ON THE ROAD!

Kyle is driving a 30' U-Haul truck and pulling

a car hauler with his VW Golf on it.

Rod is driving his pickup truck and pulling

the stock trailer loaded to the GILLS.

The zero-turn lawnmower is in the front.

There's obviously a bunch of stuff on top of the dogs.

And, of course, the dog crates went into the wooden

structure designed to keep them comfy.

They just did their first stop.

Luna (Kyle's Rottweiler) is a veteran of this trip

and she is doing fantastic. 

Bandit (Rod's Blue Heeler) is not.

She is quite nervous and a little unhappy.

But she will settle in.

Of course, years and years ago when Kyle and I

drove to Arizona with his yellow lab in the back

of his truck, Bison refused to eat the entire trip.

So there's that.

Anyhow.

Speaking of loaded.

Rod put stuff on every flat surface in his truck.

The backseat has lots of blankets, etc.

But under all that stuff is another window for

Kyle's house - darn those Florida specific windows.

And, I think, a TV.

We just kick back our seats and sleep there on these trips.

So he filled up the passenger seat as well.

We have a lot of stuff.

The U-Haul isn't packed as neatly or efficiently as they would

have liked, but that's what happens when you have help.

It will be interesting finding places to put all this stuff.

But we'll cross that bridge when we get closer.

We will be building a larger house, probably next year,

so will need most of it. And most of this stuff is tools and

other misc. garage-type stuff.

But for now.......

Anyhow.

Safe travels guys!

See you tomorrow!

(Or Thursday morning... depending on how it goes...)

Monday Monday

 Another busy busy day!

I started the day cleaning my kitchen.

It was HOT in our house yesterday,

so it kind of looked like a bomb went off.

Started another load of zucchini and some

okra in the freeze dryer.

Then I made breakfast for Beau and I.

Then I FINALLY left for the farm.

And when I got there, I had already filled

the water tank, so all I had to do was drive

up to the garden and get started.

However, I didn't go to the farm

over the weekend, so FIRST before I could

start watering, I had to harvest.

We got a good okra haul!

I'm excited to get them in the freeze dryer.

(And leave some for me to eat for breakfast in the morning...)

However this is what happens when you don't

harvest over the weekend.

There are TWENTY zucchini.

Each one is a full 12+ inches long.

Whew!

We also got 18 yellow squash!

So... a good haul over all.

We got some rain over the weekend, the gauge was

still showing 1/2 inch, but I'm sure some of

it had evaporated out.

But that's GREAT!.

I finished up about 2:30 and headed home.

Where I had to bring IN all the harvest.

(The zucchini weighed a TON...)

And get it put away.

And then make something to eat.

And then sit down to teach.

However, the AC is still broken.

And I guess it was HOT in my office.

Because my laptop kept quitting.

(I didn't realize it was because it was hot, I

just thought zoom was crashing.)

So I grabbed the swamp cooler and set it in

my office and presto - it all worked great!

But it was a rocky start.

And SEVERAL of tonight's students know absolutely

NOTHING about insurance, which isn't unusual,

but these people just couldn't quite grasp the concepts.

It was a "fun" class.

I'm glad it's over.

And now I'm going to go cut okra.

And then I'm going to bed.

The guys are planning to leave in the morning.

Fingers cross for an uneventful trip!

They built a shade box for the two dog crates so

the dogs will get air, but be protected from the sun

and rain (if it rains...)

We heard from the realtor today that closing is ON

for Friday! WEEEEEEEEEE!

Cidar Press

 We had a good market yesterday.

I brought some zucchini and yellow squash.

I only sold a few of each of those.

Most people either have it growing in their garden

or their neighbor has been sharing with them.

But I also brought some freeze dried apples.

And those were a hit.

I didn't sell out, but sold $56 worth.

(At $3 a bag...)

The little jars are samples.

I also brought a big jar of freeze dried

ice cream sandwich bites for people to taste.

EVERY single person LOVED them.

(Except one. There's always one.)

So I promised to bring some to sell next week.

I originally was only giving them to the vendors.

I always bring something to share with them,

and I guess they mentioned them to their

customers because people came over and asked

for a taste...

We had the largest group of vendors we've ever had.

I got there a few minutes late (I was on the phone with

Rod and the UHaul guy getting the truck paid for...)

so when I got there, a young lady was selling 

flavored lemonade in my spot.

Guess I'll need to be on time from now on..... lol.

Next to me was a food truck selling fancy drinks.

And next to them was the snow cone family.

We had a good turnout of folks buying as well.

Young families, older residents, even a few college students.

After it was over, Dave invited me to his home

to watch him and his wife, Mary, press the honeycrisp

apples they just picked from their tree.

So about 2:00 I headed over there.

It's a good old fashioned hand cranked press.

She cut the apples into halves and cut out all the

bad spots. (They only press the damaged ones...)

Then he ground them down and then put a wood

block on them and screwed it down with a giant screw.

The juice came running out the bottom into a bucket

and then we poured that into jugs.

They invited me into their basement.

(I haven't been in a basement in FOREVER!)

where they had buckets of the good, undamaged apples.

I had mentioned last week I would love to buy some.

So he offered me a bucket. 

They are reluctant to sell them because she uses 

them for all sorts of things... but they got a bumper

crop this year. Their tree was so loaded the branches

were laying on the ground.

I bought a 7 gallon bucket for $30.

(She asked $25, but that was a LOT of apples...)

So.

I'll be processing apples for a bit, I guess!

They are SO delicious though. We will keep some

for just fresh eating.

Honeycrisp is one of our favorites.

She also handed me a tray of tomatoes as I was leaving.

She didn't see them when she was packing up for

the market and had already processed the ones

that didn't sell, and then turned around and found

this extra tray. And their garden is full of MORE.

Time to learn what to do with them I guess.

All in all, it was a good, busy day.

Meanwhile, the guys got the truck nearly loaded.

They worked HARD all day.

They will finish up today and hit the road Monday.

Again, please keep them in your prayers.

I'll update as I can, but I expect to see them

on Wednesday!!!!!!

RAIN & RETIREMENT

 Whooooeeeeeeeee.

We had a nice BIG thunder / lighting / rain storm

about 3:30 this morning.

I sleep with the windows open (AC still broken)

(but I did even when it wasn't... thanks Dad for

training us to always sleep with fresh air...)

Anyhow.

Luckily it didn't rain INSIDE the window.

Sometimes it does...

but that thunder was INTENSE.

Good news, though, since I am teaching a double

and don't have time to go out to the farm

and do a bunch of watering.

We also got about half an inch on Thursday night

(according to my rain gauge...)

so the garden is doing fine.

ALSO.

Today is Rod's OFFICIAL RETIREMENT!

Congratulations Rod on YEARS and YEARS

of successfully providing for us your family.

We so appreciate all the sacrifices you have made

to make sure we were always taken care of.

One of the flight instructors (who is also leaving today)

took him up for a final flight.

They got to fly over our house.

And, of course, what's a flight in Florida without swinging

over the beach.

Of course, Kyle got to enjoy it from the ground.

(Yes, he has a serious farmer tan....)

I'm so proud of you, Rod.

Now, load that U-Haul and get up here!

Who Knew?

 Yesterday was a crazy day.

(See previous post... lol)

So all I had for breakfast was a scrambled egg.

And when I was out at the property,

I got hungry.

I've joked with Kyle that if he ever

gets stranded out there,

he can always eat raw zucchini.

Ugh.

But I watched lots of homesteaders on YouTube.

And one guy is always snacking on stuff

from in his garden, and one day he grabbed

an okra off the plant and munched away.

So.....

I grabbed one and gave it a try.

It's DELICIOUS!!!!!

There is no slime.

Just fresh okra taste with the little

pop of the seeds that is my favorite

part of okra anyway.

Who knew!!!!!

This morning I had to do fasting bloodwork.

But now that I'm home again,

I'm making my usual breakfast of one slice

of bacon, LOTS of fresh okra and an egg.

Over easy. 

(I make 2 and give one to Beau...)

While I was cutting my okra, I couldn't help

but sneak a bite or two.

Yup.

YUMMY.

Crazy Day(s)

 Yesterday was a kind of crazy day.

I started out with a plan.

HA.

At 9:00 the morning instructor texted in a panic

that her power just went out and could I teach.

(I was getting ready to head to the farm...)

So I jumped online.

But then zoom kicked me off and wouldn't

let me back on again.

(Turned out I needed to restart my computer.)

(But I didn't figure that out until the evening.)

So I headed to the farm.

Better late than never.

While driving down the highway, I saw a

well drilling crew at a place we have been

watching. (They put electricity in a month or

so ago....)

I texted Kyle and he asked if I stopped and

talked to them.

I didn't.

But then I turned around and went to chat with them.

Because it doesn't take all day to drill a well

and I was afraid they would be gone on my way home.

I pulled into the yard and walked over to 

chat with the crew.

Yeah.

It's not a well.

It's a cell tower.

(Dumb City Woman... lol.)

Oh well.

Then on to the ranch.

Where I found an empty gas tank on the generator.

And an empty gas can in the back of the Trooper.

So I drove over to Kyle's house where there was

another gas can with a couple gallons in it.

The steering wheel in the tractor was in a weird position, 

so I figured out how to fix that.

The pump we use to fill the tank needed

to be primed - we haven't watered in a week

or so because of all the great rain we got.

But Kyle showed me how to do that before,

so I handled that.

Then I started filling the tote with water.

And reading a book.

And realized I'd been sitting there, reading,

for an HOUR! (Filling the tank takes 20 minutes.)

It was still only half full.

A quick text to Kyle and he diagnosed the problem

and I fixed it and we had a full tank in another 10 minutes.

Up to the garden.

Where I FINALLY set up the sprinkler (Wilson)

and got watering. I also walked over to Kyle's

house and got the little mower.

Tried to mow in-between the rows, but this is 

really designed for lawns and the weeds were TALL.

I also picked some more zucchini!

I got a huge harvest Saturday after the market.

So I was happy to see these.

(And one okra...)

Yeah. I look super cute at the farm.

It's a really silly hat, but it was cheap and

keeps the sun off my face and neck... mostly.

Unless it blows off my head.

Which happens surprisingly often considering

the string that is nearly choking me to death.

Ha.

Meanwhile,

back in town, the beans are coming up through the straw!!!

(And so are the peas and radish, but I didn't take a picture.)

Today I had planned to go to the farm early and get

lots of watering done. (I only did ONE load yesterday, ran

out of time - had to get back into town to teach.

And bake a loaf of zucchini bread - my first!)

(It turned out yummy, I'm giving it away...)

However, the Dr. office called and asked if they

could move my appointment from tomorrow to today.

So... I scrambled an egg, grabbed my stuff

and headed to the farm.

Things went much smoother today.

But it was WINDY - coming out of the north

and even though it said it was 73, it felt like about 65.

I hooked up Wilson and watered the yellow squash

and about half of the okra.

(And everything else to the south of the sprinkler...

I kept having to move cuz I was getting wet.)

And also did another harvest.

The yellow squash has started to come on strong.

This is HALF of my zucchini harvest.

I picked them small and tender since that's what

my market customers prefer.

I have a fridge full of larger ones, I'm going to

run those through the freeze dryer so we have

squash for the winter.

It's GREAT in soups, etc. I'll probably grate

some too for bread and hiding in chili etc.

On the way home, I ran into these guys.

There was a HUGE line of these trucks.

Apparently this is how they resurface roads in Kansas.

The front trucks tore up the surface,

Then the later trucks mixed it with hot tar

and laid it back down.

There were probably 15 trucks bumper to bumper

and behind them...

Beautifully smooth, freshly paved highway.

They did about 5 miles while I was at the farm.

And were still going.

Anyhow.

I finished up at the farm and headed back to the house

for a quick shower and then to the Dr.

Where I got a CLEAN bill of health.

(She kept saying, this is going to be the

easiest appointment - you are the healthiest

person I'll see all day!)

I go in tomorrow morning for fasting bloodwork.

And then she will write me a thyroid scrip and 

I'm good for another year.

Then to the gas station to fill my tank

and fill the little gas can for the generator.

And then to Hays to WalMart.

(And Wendy's... it's a tradition.)

(If you do it 3 times is that a tradition?)

And now I am sitting at my desk.

Planning to finish my teaching paperwork from

last week, but their system is down.

So I'm heading to the living room to watch

TV.

OKRA and the Market

 We had a really good market on Saturday.

The produce belonged to Dave and Mary.

All the pickling cucumbers sold.

And most of the long skinny English ones as well.

I ended up with about 8 of the slicing tomatoes

but all the cherry toms sold. (There were 4 boxes

of slicers to start with...)

And, of course, my freeze dried stuff.

Folks LOVED the apples.

Only sold 2 bags of zucchini... lol.

Sold lots of bananas though.

I ordered some good mylar bags to sell out of

instead of ziplocks.

I have some cute labels coming on Thursday.

We ended up with $143!!!!

And then I bought $15 worth of onions to caramelize and dry.

And $20 of apples from a local apple tree.

They are granny smith and pretty tart, so fingers crossed.

Then Beau and I headed out to the farm.

It was 94 in the house, so I decided a ride in the AC in the truck

might be nice.

And there was a nice breeze at the farm, so he sat under the

truck in the shade and did really well.

The zucchini are FINALLY coming in really well.

Quite the haul!

I even got OKRA!!!!!

I'm so excited!

Frozen Walmart okra is "ok" but fresh is SO MUCH BETTER.

Check out some of those guys!

Quite the haul!

This morning it is chilly - only 66 and overcast.

That will burn off in a bit.

But I turned off the ceiling fans.

Haha.

Sabrina sent me the cutest little slippers!

They have buffaloes on them and say BUFF.

Fuzzy and fun!

And I'm celebrating with a breakfast of bacon,

eggs (farm fresh I bought last week)

and MY OKRA!!!

It is DELICIOUS!

Yesterday Dave came by to pick up his cooler

and give us this awesome metal buffalo yard stake.

His sister gave it to him YEARS ago and it has been

hanging out in his garden along with a moose.

(He said he hasn't met anyone with the name Moose yet

to off load it to...)

Anyhow, he brought it over.

Along with a red apple off their tree.

OH MY WORD.

That was so delicious.

I told him if he needed to sell any, let me know.

I'm your gal!

(They have a cider press, so he said they probably

wouldn't, but they have a bumper crop this year,

so who knows.....)

Better get this show on the road!

Cute Kitchen

 We have been working on the kitchen.

It's SMALL.

So it needed some extra storage space.

Kyle put in some shelves above the dryer.

So along with the shelf he put in next to the washer

and the little kitchen table I bought on Amazon...

it's looking kind of cute!

(I was making some pistachio toast from some

bread I bought at the last market...)

Beau's food dish is on the washer.

His food and water bowls are on the bottom

of the little shelf - keeps it up off the floor

and he seems to like it there.

Yesterday I went out to the farm to check on the

moisture levels in the garden and pick some produce.

Our first spaghetti squash is growing noticeably every day!

Some of our yellow squash plants are going crazy!

And we FINALLY have okra flowers!

I was going to head out there again this morning,

but right now it is pouring rain.

So... I'll wait and go later maybe.

I have to be around today because Mary H is 

bringing her produce over so I can sell it for

her tomorrow. She and her husband are in a

large craft show every year and its this weekend.

She buys used cowboy boots, cuts them off at

the ankle and uses the sole and the top

of the boot to make a basket to hold

wine bottles (or whatever you want...)

They are cute if you drink wine and like

cowboy stuff...

And then I need to teach my class tonight.

The bananas and apples are still on regular dry cycle

in the freeze dryer - they haven't gone to 

"extra dry" yet and I usually let that go for at 

least an additional 6 hours...

Then I have all those mangos ready to go in.

So my freeze dryer is good and busy.

I did a T-Tapp workout this morning.

And then I showered and ate my breakfast.

Now I'm on the phone with Rod while he

reserves the U-Haul and trailer.

And we just set our appointment to do a

virtual close on the house on the 30th at 9 am.

WEEEEEEEEE!!!

It's getting real up in here, y'all!