No Post Today.

 Well, except for this...... lol.

It's been a CRAZY day.

The guys came to install our new AC!

YEA!

But they had to come from Hays.

And then they ran out of Freon so 

they had to drive back to Hays.

And then they weren't getting power

to the AC unit so had to drive BACK 

to Hays again.

Each trip is 30+ miles each way.

Poor guy.

But..... I'm wrapped in a blanket because

I'm FREEZING! I set it on 76 because...

I got my BRAND NEW Surface Pro 8 today

and while I was teaching this morning,

it did the exact same thing my old one did.

Sigh.

It's quite possible I'll pack it up and return it.

It's nice and all, but I don't NEED a new $800

computer if it's not going to fix the problem.

Anyhow.

Also, Rod installed our BRAND NEW 

stainless steel sink and reverse osmosis

(water filter) while the guy was working

on the AC.

So I'm also kind of starving because the

guy was in one half of the kitchen and

Rod was in the other half

and it's pretty small.....

so I had some crackers and a hot pocket

about 10 hour ago.

(Just finished teaching the night class...)

So...

Also, I spent a good amount of time trying to

solve the problem I'm having with my green card.

I lost it.

So I filed to get a duplicate.

And they sent a copy of a application from

1985 (???? I got my card in 1979)

and said that's all they have.

So I filed an I-90 form requesting a

duplicate card.

And today they denied that request saying

they did a "thorough search" and they have no record.

So I tried and tried and tried to speak to a human

but their stupid automated thing just kept telling

me to file an I-90.

So then I found ANOTHER form I could file

for a replacement, but they want a

non-refundable $415 and I don't even know if

this is the right form!

It asked all sorts of info I couldn't answer, because

I DON'T HAVE MY CARD.

So... I wrote a letter of appeal.

Meanwhile, I can't apply for either social security

or medicare until I can show them the ORIGINAL card.

Sigh.

I might just have to move back to Canada.

Who knows at this point.

The only "local" USCIS office is in Wichita,

but they won't take walk-ins and they won't let

me make an appointment because my issue 

doesn't fit their criteria.

I kind of hate the government at this moment.

All that to say....

there's no post today.

HA!

(I wish I was in Switzerland!!!!)

Oh DEER

 We have a neighbor, here in town,

two doors down,

that also has a little French Bulldog.

His name is Dane.

His little girl owner spends much time

outside in her high, little girl voice,

yelling DANE! Come here DANE!

And then she follows him all over

the neighborhood, calling DANE,

but never grabbing him or putting

him on a leash because he is mean.

He WILL bite you.

He wears a harness instead of a collar,

so it would be easy to grab (not near

his teeth) and snap on a leash,

but she is understandably nervous.

Anyhow.

They also have a lovely husky.

He never gets out and is VERY

well behaved when he IS out.

And the other day, we noticed

(through the chain link gate)

they have another pet.

They have an actual juvenile DEER in their backyard.

We have seen it several times now.

Welcome to small town America.

Where nobody really cares what you do.

As long as you don't pick my pocket or

break my leg... YOU DO YOU.

I think its awesome.

And I'm loving having a deer as a neighbor!

(I'll have LOTS of them when we move to the 

farm, but THIS ONE doesn't eat my garden.... lol.)

SO MUCH ZUCCHINI!

 The zucchini is slowing down.

(Thank goodness!)

This morning Rod and I drove south about

2 hours to Garden City to meet with 

his new eye doctor.

(He is really nice and a State Senator...)

It was a good visit.

They did a really thorough exam and said

his left eye looked very healthy and

considering the multiple surgeries,

his right eye was better looking than he

had expected.

So that's always good.

And then we headed to Mennards.

The BIGGEST "Lowes / Home Depot" store

you could ever hope to find.

We saved $40 on a new stainless steel

kitchen sink and about $60 on a new

reverse osmosis (water filter) system

for under the sink.

That was REALLY good news!

(We also picked up some new retractable

dog leashes because Luna the Rottweiler

has slowly destroyed them all...)

And then we headed 2 blocks away to Sams

to pick up the stuff we can only get

there... it's always fun to do a 

Sams run, and see what's new.

(Not that we buy any of it... lol.)

And then to the Burger King drive-thru

to grab a burger and head back north.

(Since I need to teach tonight.)

MEANWHILE.

While we were gone, Kyle cubed a

basket (or two) of zucchini and got

it into the freezer for over the winter.

He did a total of 8 freezer bags,

and wrote all the numbers on the white board.

33 pounds of zucchini!!!!

We estimate we harvested between 

250 and 300 pounds this year.

I think we can dial back a bit next year.........

Fun Weekend!

 The weekend started with a GREAT market.

We have increased our product line

to six freeze dried products.

We now have:

1. Honey Crisp apples 

2. Granny Smith apples

3. Zucchini sticks with Everything Bagel

4. Zucchini chips with parmesan

5. Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Sandwich bites

6. Salt Water Taffy

We nearly sold out of the taffy.

And the zucchini did really well.

We didn't have a TON of people...

school is in, so families are doing

Saturday morning stuff (like sports, etc)

and it is chilly early these days.

But about 10:00 it picked up.

Our best day so far was the day we

helped sell the stuff for Dave & Mary.

We did a total of $143 that day.

This week, selling our FD stuff as well

as some zucchini, yellow squash, and

lemon cucumbers (once I cut into one and

started handing out little bites they were

SUPER popular...)

we did a total of.....

DRUM ROLL.....

$141!!!!!

Not bad at all!

That included as we were pulling out of

the park, a friend from church and her son

came running up and bought another $20

worth of goodies and when we got to the house,

a lady was there who decided she needed

another bag of salt water taffy since she was

going visiting that afternoon and wanted to share.

(Or not... lol.)

As we were unloading everything,

we got a text from one of the other vendors.

His sister lives here in town, he stops by her

house after market and off-loads all the stuff

that didn't sell - she is a great canner.

Anyhow.

He gave her one of my honey crisp apple sticks

and she was HOOKED.

She has 4 apple trees and just finished picking

the organic "Johnny" apples (a yummy

red apple like a macintosh kind of...)

and wanted to GIVE THEM to us!

So we ran over to her house and picked up

4 or 5 boxes of apples.

Then when we got BACK home, Kyle and I

stood in the kitchen and used our nifty

thing that peels, cores and spiral slices apples.

We did the last of the honeycrisp.

I tossed them in a little pumpkin pie spice

and then we got them on 2 trays.

We will get started on the johnnys this afternoon.

Then we ALL took a nap!

Next it was dinner and then we headed to

the racetrack to watch the season finals.

You can tell you are in the Midwest when there are

modified race cars in the foreground and a

grain elevator in the back.

It was a really fun night.

I went to Walmart on Friday and picked up

some comfy stadium seats that made the

entire event so much better!

It got chilly, but we had jackets and blankets

and were toasty warm.

We didn't get home until about 11:30.

So it was straight off to bed.

The guys had to get up early to be in Salina

(pronounced Sal EYE na) for a 

priesthood meeting at 9:00. 

It's 2 hours away. (Stake Center)

And then we met at the church for

Sac Mtg only at 1:00.

Meanwhile, I got the grated zucchini out

of the freeze dryer and a load of tomatoes

in the machine.

While we were at church, I put a roast

in the pressure cooker so it was all

ready for us to eat when we got home.

And then we rested for the remainder of the day.

This morning I'm starting the day with

bacon, eggs, and fresh okra in the air fryer

(nothing better than okra in bacon grease!)

Now we are off to Home Depot in Hays

to pick up Kyle's lumber order so he and Rod

and start building the decks around his house.

Once the deck is up, they can install the 2nd floor

door out to the deck. (Hard to do with nothing to stand on...)

And I need to pick up some more salt water taffy

and some Skittles from WalMart and get them in

the machine for sale this week.

We had lots of return customers and they all

want to sample anything "new" so I try to add

at least one new product each week.

Plus I got some business cards with our name

and phone number and handed those out and

reminded folks that farmers market season ends

in 2 weeks but we are still here in town and

are happy to take care of all their snacking needs.

Lemon Cucumbers

 I've never SEEN a lemon cucumber before.

But Kyle thought they sounded like fun,

so he planted some.

They were over by the corn that got eaten

by the cows, and since we weren't

watering the corn anymore,

we also quit watering the lemon cukes.

But they held on.

They were struggling.

And kind of slow.

But there they still were...

And then the other day.....

Presto!

Lemon cucumbers!

They LOOK like a lemon.

But they taste like a cucumber.

I detect a SLIGHT lemon flavor,

but it might just be the power of suggestion.

Anyhow, Kyle is harvesting 2 or 3

every day now.

That's fun!

Yellow Squash!

 Today I processed ALL the yellow squash.

There was quite a bit. 

Hahaha.

I just chopped it into bite sized pieces,

and since it's not nearly as wet as zucchini,

put it into freezer bags and when I'm ready

to use it I hope to be able to just take it out.

(There may be "some" sticking together...

but for the most part I'm hoping it will be loose...)

If not, I'll defrost it til I can and go from there.

But I have 10 freeze dryer trays and they

are all busy already.

Anyhow.

While I was doing that, Rod continued painting

the trim around all the bedroom and the bathroom doors.

And then he went out to the farm to help

Kyle take down the barbed wire around the

acres that were in CRP. (land held for

the government - they pay you to NOT use it...

it's a dumb idea and not very much $, 

so we said No thanks.)

Anyhow.

They just got home and I just finished

teaching and I'm sure they are ready for dinner.

So....

Night all!

Typical Tuesday (ie: BUSY)

 The day started nice and early.

Rod got up, did the dishes from

last night (we are guilty of going

to bed with a messy kitchen...

that's what happens when I teach until

9:30 and THEN we have dinner...)

Rod made a yummy chuck tender roast

in the pressure cooker while I was

busy teaching and Kyle was at the farm.

So, then Rod made some pancakes 

for us to eat for breakfast.

(Sensing a theme here? He's quickly

becoming a good cook!)

After that was all done and cleared away,

I finished up the salt water taffy I had

started yesterday.

(I FORGOT it was in the freeze dryer

until nearly midnight! It was done when

I finished teaching, but so was dinner 

and then we started watching our nightly

episodes of JAG on Amazon Prime...

and I just forgot...)

Yesterday morning I unwrapped and cut into quarters

20 candies per tray. I was worried they were too close

together and would stick.

(HA! I can easily do DOUBLE that... good to 

know for next time.)

This is 100 candies, 20 per tray with a total of 5 trays.

(One was still on the other counter...)

So after breakfast, I pulled them out of the FD and

got them all into bags for this week's market.

There are 20 candies per bag and then about

40 in the "sample" jar.

I find if they taste it, they buy it.

At least 50% of the time. 

When originally they just said "I have a

dehydrator..." (like, I can do this myself.)

But once they taste, they usually buy SOMETHING.

(Not always, but samples have definitely

increased our sales...)

Then I got 5 more trays of grated zucchini 

out of the deep freeze and onto trays

and into the freeze dryer.

Meanwhile, the AC guy showed up with his

assistant and they took a look at our unit.

Determined it was over 30 years old and

needed a new fan motor, which 

he would need to special order.

So he'll be back...

Then it was time to get those cucumbers into jars.

This time I decided to do chips instead of spears.

It took FOREVER to slice them on my

mandolin and then get them stuffed into 

the jars so there was little/no air space.

But I got it done.

And now I'm just waiting patiently (HA)

for them do do their satisfying little

POP to signify they sealed.

Next?

Lunch.

Meanwhile, Rod is painting all the baseboards

and trim in the living room.

Kyle painted all the walls when he was here

by himself in March, but he "doesn't do trim". 

HA.

Slow but steady.

We are getting it all done.

Learning New Skills

 We are growing cucumbers!

We haven't had cucumbers in a garden in YEARS.

The squash bugs in Florida were voracious.

But this year we are finally getting a pretty

good harvest of cukes.

And everybody and his brother is ALSO 

growing cucumbers so we don't even

take them to the market.

We have been enjoying eating them

fresh dipped in a little ranch.

Or just pop them in your mouth.

(And they are a great, hydrating snack

while working in the garden, just fresh off the vine!)

However, they are piling up.

So on Friday I tried my hand a pickling them.

But I don't have a canner.

And I'm not ready to buy one.

(Since I have VERY limited storage space in

this little house.... it's filling up FAST.)

So.

I found a recipe online for making dill

pickles IN YOUR OVEN!!!!!

You made the pickles like normal.

I cooked up a brine.

Washed my jars.

Cut and stuffed the cukes in the jars.

Added hot brine and de-bubbled (as

best I could without an official stick... lol.)

And then you take all the racks out of your

oven except the very bottom one.

And set your oven to 310 degrees.

(Yup, 310.)

Then since I'm at the same altitude (2400)

as the author of the post,

I put them in a 9x13 cake pan (with the

lids on finger tight) for a total of 10 minutes.

Removed them from the oven and put on

a towel on the counter and listened for

them to pop. Which they did after about

a half hour.

I only did 4 jars since some of the commenters said

they had been doing this for YEARS and it works great,

while others said their jars didn't seal.

So I wanted to experiment.

Mine all sealed.

So I'm going to process the rest of them today.

They have to sit on the shelf for at least a week.

So on Friday I'll crack one open and give it a try.

I used dill seed for these, but then I bought a

couple of things of pickling spice. I'll try that next.

Anyhow.

It reminded me of all the time Mom spent canning

pickles at Haverhill.

It's a lot of work.

Hopefully it will pay off!

Today we are getting some salt water taffy

into the freeze dryer.

And then we will process some zucchini for

selling - need to cut it in the french fry cutter

and season it up and get it in the deep freeze.

Also do the pickles.

And I need to grind the rest of the tomatoes into

a thick / chunky sauce and get it into jars in

the fridge until there is room in the freezer for it.

Busy day ahead!!!

AND.....

we are keeping an eye out for an email from

the title company.

The buyers waited until the last possible second

to wire their down payment, which meant everything

was held up on Friday.

We finally heard about 6:30 that they had

finished the paperwork but needed the wire to clear.

So they will be distributing the money TODAY!

(And once it clears they will get the keys to

the house and the go-ahead to start moving...)

We are SO grateful to finally close this chapter!

We are so grateful for all your prayers on our 

behalf for a good sale, safe journeys back and

forth across the country, and all the other 

blessings we have been granted throughout this process.

WHEW!

THANK YOU ALL!

And now... breakfast and get to WORK!

New Living Room

 This morning Rod and I decided to rearrange

the living room.

It just isn't wide enough for THREE

recliners across the width.

From the bedrooms

Now we have our backs to the windows,

not ideal.... but it will be ok.

From the kitchen

And I can't just pop out the kitchen door and see

what's on the TV,

but it will be ok.

Haha.

It would be better if it were flipped and the

TV was against the windows and the chairs

were against the wall, but that's the hallway.

I don't know, maybe we'll swap it and see if

we like it better.

But for now... I've got stuff to do.

Zucchini EVERYWHERE!

 We have been bringing pounds and pounds

of zucchini home from the farm every day.

That's not even all of them!

This morning I broke out my food processor

(I forgot I had it...)

and we grated two crates full.

We ended up with 17 gallon ziplock bags

full of grated zucchini to put in the

freeze dryer!

Rod got the upright deep freeze plugged

in the other day so it was nice and cold.

Then he made some cardboard liners for

the shelves, since they are wire and when

you try to put bags of stuff it falls through

the wires and then it freezes all wonky.

Right now I have 2 trays of Honey Crisp apples

and 2 trays of Granny Smith apples and

1 tray of tomatoes in there drying.

All from the farmer's market!

I put them through the french fry cutter

and then tossed them with pumpkin pie spice.

They are a HIT with the folks in town.

The zucchini is getting good and frozen

so when the FD is done, it will be ready 

for its turn.

We also have a full crate of yellow squash.

That needs to get processed next.

But I bought a fancy new food processor

that should arrive tomorrow.

It will DICE stuff!

I'm so excited!!!!

I want to dice the yellow squash and a

bunch more zucchini.

Oh yeah.

We also got a great haul of okra and 

green beans!

So Rod washed zucchini,

Kyle cut it into halves

and I ran it through the grater.

We were all done in about an hour.

Then he cut a bag or so of okra.

I think I still have 2 or 3 more in the fridge.

Maybe I'll try to cut some this evening.

We had to run into Hays to Home Depot

to get some more supplies for the fence

and then WalMart for some lighter fluid

for the BBQ (Kyle used rubbing alcohol the 

other night - not the best idea he ever had...)

and some pickling spice and salt to make

some dill pickles with.

Wish me luck!

I've never made a pickle!

But I have a whole box full of cucumbers.

So I guess it's time I learned.

PRIVACY!!!!!

 One of the biggest challenges of the move so far

would have to be ALL THE PEOPLE!

The yards are all long and narrow.

So sitting in my backyard I can see

all the way through several neighbor's yards.

And that's just too much people.

(I know, horrible English, but that's what

Kyle and I say...)

SO.

Yesterday Rod and Kyle got busy.

Monday we went to Home Depot and bought a TON of wood.

And yesterday they put up a new privacy fence

between us and the neighbors.

(Yes, the trees are dead. So sad...)

The gardens look great, don't they?

The one up front left is all beans.

In the far back is the tomatoes.

They are COVERED in cherry tomatoes!

Then the carrot bed.

And finally peas (with carrots between the rows.)

This morning Kyle and I headed to the farm

and Rod headed back to Home Depot.

We got our usual haul of cucumbers,

zucchini and yellow squash.

And our first spaghetti squash.

It split, so we picked it and we'll see what it does.

We also got a nice haul of okra

and green beans!

We didn't expect to get ANY beans,

so we were pleasantly surprised.

After lunch I'm going to tackle the zucchini.

Now that the standup freezer is up and running,

I have a place to put them.

The guys are also building a dog yard

so the poor girls can get out of their crates.

They will be SO HAPPY!

Beau is always happy.

Happy Labor Day

 Today we are building privacy fence.

So, this will be short.

HAPPY LABOR DAY!