Prepping

Gratuitous picture of my flower bed.

Because.... it's beautiful and I love it.

It's jam packed with pollinators!

 I pulled the cherry tomatoes out of the

freeze dryer this morning.

They were done last night, but it

was sprinkling and I have to carry them

across the yard from the garage into 

the house.

Wet doesn't go with freeze DRY very well.....

So I put another 10 hours on them.

They were nice and dry this morning.

But the vinegar made them a little sticky.

And the mozzarella pearls were a bust.

They were little rocks.

With almost NO flavor.

So we'll add some water and rehydrate

them a bit and use them on salads.

Meanwhile I bagged up 19 bags of the little

tomatoes for this week's market.

They look pretty and taste good and

with a desiccant in the bag they will

stay nice and crisp.

Then we figured out how to sell some of the

fresh cherry tomatoes. We picked them separate,

so we can sell yellows or reds (and have a couple

that are mixed...)

I have some pint deli tubs.

We will display them in those, but then when you

buy them, we have some paper lunch bags to

dump them into.

We have thirteen freeze dried products now!

So we might need to retire some and just have a

different variety from week to week.

We bought a new 8 foot table and it's FULL.

But it looks nice...

Rod picked up a new 10x10 easy-up canopy

and it comes with a wall, so that will really help.

I'll have him take a picture.

I won't be there, it's my weekend to teach.

Let's see....

then after that we headed to our little town

grocery store and checked the price of their

cherry tomatoes. $4.19/pint.

So we will price ours at $4/pint.

While we were there, we grabbed a frozen

pizza (on sale) and a couple tubs of ice cream

(also on sale) and some stuffed mushrooms.

Never on sale, but AMAZING.

(They make them there in the store and they

are SOOOOO good!)

Home to have some lunch.

Then I pulled all the pea plants and Rod took one

of the cattle panels down. (The other one has

sweet potatoes growing on it) 

And planted 7 Roma tomato plants we had

started up at the farm in Kyle's shed.

Also the no-heat-jalapenos and purple peppers

I started on my windowsill.

We'll see if they do anything in my raised bed.

There's also red potatoes growing in that bed.

They're still too small to harvest.

Then did a bunch of paperwork and reading for

tonight's RS Pres meeting (we just finished)

and played for a few minutes with the new

AI Indexing.

It's FUN!

Just as mindless as playing a game on your phone,

but you are HELPING instead of just killing time.

Anyhow.

Now I'm going to head back outside and check 

on Rod and look for eggs. The girls are waiting

and laying later in the evening when it's cooler.

(But they are also eating eggs most days, so I

have to check regularly all day long...)

Grrrrrrrrrrr.

Kyle is at the farm.

Rod drove out there to drop off the trailer and

the two IBC totes he bought yesterday.

(We need one for the water on the new egg wagon,

and I think we are going to cut into the other one

and make a dog house for Luna to stay in out

at the farm... Kyle was going to build her a dog house,

but this is water proof and light weight and easy to move.)

Anyhow.

It's been a mish-mash sort of day.

We were going to head back out this morning and

finish the weeding, but we got a good rainstorm 

overnight so everything was MUDDY.

(And let's be honest, my body HURTS.... lol.)

So.... I guess we'll just weed in the heat.

The high today was 75. Tomorrow will be 99.

Guess the cool snap is over.

Darn.

Oh yeah, I need to harvest beans.

Not bad!

It Must be Summer.... BUSY!!!!!

 The day started early with a call from the post office.

The chicks have arrived!!!

We ordered 26 little cornish cross meat birds.

Just for us. Not to sell.

So after breakfast Kyle and I headed up to the farm

to get them all set up.

They are all nice and cozy in the old water trough.

We locked them up in Kyle's shed for now.

He is building a coop for them, but it's not done.

They have to stay in for 2 weeks anyway.

Then we headed down to the garden to take advantage

of the LOVELY overcast, cool weather!

We have some peppers...

Picked lots of tomatoes and some yellow squash.

More yellow squash and some cucumbers.

The tomatoes are going NUTS!

And we are getting some growth on the various

squash and cucumbers. It's fun to see them

starting to climb the trellis.

We weeded 2 50-foot rows of okra.

Rod showed up after a bit and was a HUGE help!

These two rows haven't ever been weeded so they

needed some serious work.

(My body is VERY sore tonight.... lol)

Then I took Rod up to see Kyle's progress.

He stained the bathroom counter.

And stained and waxed the kitchen counters.

And the island.

And the cutting board he made out off a scrap of butcher block

from putting in the sink.

He stained the stairs, but he'll varnish them instead of wax.

It's looking GOOD!

His garden by the front door is looking so pretty!

LOVE the sunflower!

There's a smaller one in the other bed too.

Oh yeah!

And yesterday I canned my very first pickled beets!

I used my new steam canner.

They all sealed!!!

Here's hoping they taste good!

I was heading outside to get the cherry tomatoes out

of the freeze dryer now that I'm done with class,

but we just got a pop-up thunder storm.

So I'll add 10 hours and do it in the morning.

I'm bushed.

FUN Weekend!

 Friday I had to teach doubles.

(But I heard this morning that starting

in September the morning class is

being cancelled... so no more doubles

after that...)

Anyhow.

Between classes Rod and I headed to the fair.

(Kyle is at the farm building an egg wagon.. 

more on that later...)

Anyhow.

We had a BLAST!

We walked through the exhibitor barn and

checked out all the 4-H kids entries.

And then headed over to the sale barn.

Where they were serving free hamburgers!

So we had lunch.

And then we watched the 4-H auction.

The auctioneer was really good.

You could understand him....

and he's a 4-H mentor so he knows each

of these kids and was really encouraging.

They sold their animals for excellent prices.

The bid winners were able to chose between

Premium or Premium and Possession.

Premium only meant they just paid their money

but the kid got to keep their animal to do with

what they wanted. (Sell it again, show it more,

or just incorporate it into their herd or freezer camp.)

Premium & Possession was just that.

Pay what you bid, PLUS the floor price (an extra

$100 - $200 in most cases) and you got the animal.

A few people chose that option.

There were several local businesses,

2 banks, the local co-op, and a few others

that did premium only.

When everything was done the kids brought

a laminated thank you with a picture of the

animal and the kid, signed by the kid,

so they could hang it in their lobby if they wanted.

(I'm sure it's a charitable donation write-off,

but cool to see the local merchants supporting

these kids in their efforts!)

The local 4-H team is called the WWW.

Wakeeney Willing Workers

Cool!

Anyhow.

It was WINDY!

After the auction we wandered over to the other

exhibit barns where they had lots of things on

display - photography, crafts, wheat harvests,

antiques, etc. And in the middle was a big display

of all the winners in the produce competition.

Our friend Norman took Champion for his onions.

And 1st for his garlic and 1st for his unique 

half yellow and half green crook neck squash.

And he was SCANDALIZED that Grand Champ

was taken by 12 skinny little green beans.

(So he snuck some of HIS beans onto the plate

and maintained they looked much better... lol.)

LOVE small town life!

He was still mad Saturday morning at the market.

Anyhow.

Saturday started chilly and rainy. Just sprinkling.

But chilly. (I wore a coat!)

We brought the easy-up tent to put up.

Rod took pictures, I'll have to get them from him.

We had an ok turn out.

It was the fair parade and they were doing 

registration in our little park, so some folks

wandered by and bought snacks for the parade.

We doubled out $ from last week, but still

WELL below last year's average.

And then UPS delivered my new chair!

(Actually, I think that was Friday after the fair...)

Rod put it together for me.

With some helpers.

Kyle and I figured the chair I'm using to teach in is

OVER 20 YEARS OLD!

We got it used from.... somewhere, when he was

doing homeschool.

And I've sat in it to teach for 5 years.

So more than time to retire it.

After sitting in it for 4 hours to teach,

my tailbone is screaming!

Anyhow.

My new chair is so nice and comfy!

Just in time, too, I am teaching the Louisiana

class again this weekend.

8 hours both days.

It will be such a relief to have a comfy chair.

Anyhow.

Saturday night we went to the Ranch Rodeo 

down at the fair grounds.

Lots of fun ranch events.

Teams of 3 from several individual local ranches.

With 2 of the teams made up of Dads

and 2 made of their young sons.

The boys did really well!

(Didn't win, but did really well...)

It was definitely a family affair.

There was a little gaggle of tots about 5 years old

all with ropes, roping each other for the

ENTIRE night right next to us.

They were fun to watch!

Their hats were bigger than they were.

Another late night...

And then Sunday.

It was a really nice meeting.

I played "This is the Christ" as prelude for

our RS meeting. We discussed Sister Wright's

talk from General Conference so it fit well.

(It's HARD!!!! Starts in 3/4 time with 3 flats

{is that the key of B? I'm not sitting at the piano

and I can't remember now...}

and then switches to 4/4 in C and then back

with lots of accidentals... they asked me 

Saturday morning. I spent about an hour

working on it Saturday afternoon and again

Sunday morning. It was fun, but a challenge!)

Then after church and lunch (it was linger longer

but I spent the time in a meeting about Temple

and Family History and then in the hall chatting

with some folks about freeze drying and raising

meat rabbits so I was HUNGRY when I got home)

we headed to the farm to harvest some new

purple potatoes, a few cucumbers and a bunch

of cherry tomatoes.

When we got home, Kyle BBQed some ribs

and I made my very first 

creamed new potatoes and peas.

It was SOOOOO yummy and just felt

like summer!

Quite colorful with those purple taters.

(And 3 little yellows...)

Today I'm heading into town for a minute

to pick up some last minute things.

We ordered some meat chicks that should

be here tomorrow so I need bedding and feed

and another waterer for them.

And then I teach tonight.

Better run!

County Fair

 I haven't been to a county fair since

Beach Sportcycles had a booth 

before Tim and Angie got married!

(And now our kids are in their 30's!!!!!)

Holy Moly!

But this week is our Trego County Fair.

And it's like 3 blocks from our house.

So last night we went to the stockcar races.

As always, it was REALLY fun.

And REALLY dusty.

But the wind was coming from the west for a change

and blowing all the dust AWAY from us!!!

(There were lots of people there, they were just

higher in the stands than we were... we were late.)

(I had a Presidency meeting that ran 2 hours.... sigh.)

It was so fun!!!

This year's theme is Hay Bales and Sleigh Bells.

It's WaKeeney's 75th anniversary of doing the Tree Lighting.

So Santa came to give gifts to the kids.

He has been at several events around town (NOEL day)

in his "summer" suit. LOL. 

(Gotta love a small town!)

I had to teach this morning, but Rod and I are going to

take a break and run over to the fair and walk through

the exhibitor barns. I mean, why not?

Last year Kyle was in Florida and I was trying to

run the farm and teach all by myself, so I didn't go.

But this year?

We're heading over there!

(AND!!!!! Last night there was a thunderstorm

and the heat wave we've been struggling under 

was finally broken. High is low 90's today and back

into the 80's by mid next week! Whew!)

Anyhow.

I'm taking a teaching break.

And Rod is taking a painting break.

Isn't it beautiful?????

(We color matched a bath towel... lol.)

(Last house we color matched the toilet paper

holder thingie from Kyle's bathroom...)

Hmmmmmmm.

I love it!

AND it's FREE!!!!!!!

It's a program called "Paint the Town".

You go to the local hardware store and buy

your paint and all your supplies, up to $600.00.

They run a tab, and when we are all done,

the town comes and takes pictures and pays your bill.

AWESOME!!!!!

This house hasn't been painted in FOREVER.

I'm so pleased with the color!

So....

that's what's new here on the Kansas front.

There's more..... but you'll have to wait.

Gotta run.

Have a great weekend!

Cool!!!

 Happy Thursday all y'all!

It's the County Fair this week.

This morning was the 4H pig show.

We didn't go.

Hahahaha.

But tonight they are racing at the speedway.

We'll be going to that.

Except racing starts at 7 and I have an

RS Pres zoom meeting at 7.

So I'll meet them there after my meeting.

This morning I got up and had a nice visit

with Soni on the phone.

Then I vacuumed all the floors in the house

and mopped the kitchen and bathroom.

Then cleaned the sink and toilet.

And then I sat down for a minute and did my

morning Come Follow Me study.

And then decided to practice the hymns for

this week's sacrament meeting.

(I'm not playing, just thought it would be fun.)

Speaking of fun, the closing hymn this week

is #1024 from the new book.

A rousing African hymn.

I can just see a group on a plantation,

signing and praising while they are 

working together.

We'll see how it sounds with a bunch

of mid-west white folks singing it.

Accompanied by a church organ.

Hahaha.

Anyhow, while I was playing, my wedding ring

tapped on the C# key and instantly I was

transported to listening to Mom play!

My ring RARELY hits the keys.

I don't know why.

But when it did, it was an instant connection.

HI MOM!

Also cool..... I have my keyboard set for

grand piano the majority of the time,

it has weighted keys and feels just like a piano.

But for fun I switched it to church organ.

And the keys CHANGED!

No longer weighted.

Felt exactly like an organ!!!!

I need to cut my fingernails.

And my fingers are now TIRED.

I played for about 45 minutes.

It was fun!

But now it's time to figure out what's for 

lunch and do the studying I'm supposed to

do before our meeting.

Anyhow.

It was a fun morning!

(ok, maybe not cleaning the bathroom part...)

Moving Forward

 Rod and Kyle made a road trip on Monday.

Headed to a little town just west of Hays and

purchased a HAY WAGON!

The man had draft horses and used to hook them up and

give hay rides.

But he got rid of the horses, so he sold his 2 wagons.

(We only needed one....)

And they were an INCREDIBLE deal!

(Saw a similar one here in Wakeeney for $1200.

We paid $500.)

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

However, we don't need a hay wagon.

Well, we do, but not for hay.

We (meaning Kyle) are going to build a "shed" on top

of it and use it as our portable egg house.

We will put our laying hens in there.

Just like our hen house in Florida, they go in at night,

and stay in until they lay their eggs.

And then they come out and spend the rest of the day

in the sunshine, on the grass.

(In an electrified net fence to keep the predators out....

and, of course, keep them in....)

We are going to get probably 100 red stars

(what I had in FL).

They start early and lay an egg a day.

I'll probably also order 2 dozen colored eggs layers.

Because colored eggs are just fun.

We'll keep you updated on how it's going!

Catching Up

 We had our first Farmers Market on Saturday.

Rod helped me and we packaged up lots of goodies

to take to the market.

We had apples, zucchini (from last year), several kinds

of ice cream sandwiches, and salt water taffy.

(I'm forgetting something... we had 3 healthy

and 3 ... not hahahaha.)

We also had some carrots, radish and beets!

From our very own garden!

We put them in an ice chest with some cold water (only a couple inches)

to keep them fresh and crisp. 

I put some in a pretty green bowl on the table (with more cold water)

and we sold a couple pounds of carrots and radish.

(I decided to keep the beets for US! I want pickled beets!!!)

Anyhow.

It was a bust.

We MAYBE had 20 people come through.

Most were looking for fresh produce.

And aside from my carrots and radish,

Dave and Mary had 1 zucchini (they sold it)

a small bunch of basil (they sold it)

and some beets (didn't sell any...).

Norman had a couple garlic and onions.

I think he sold 1 or 2 of each.

George had some new potatoes and he sold

a few pounds....

Sonya sold a bunch of beer bread and some 

quick breads.

And there was a couple new ladies also selling

jellies, pickles, and cakes.

One lady sold a few cakes.

I don't think the jelly lady sold anything.

We shut it down early.

Some weeks are like that.....

We hope for a better showing next weekend.

But it's the opening day of the County Fair.

The parade will be going by, so Dave said that either

draws a huge crowd, or NOTHING.

So we'll see...

But it was fun to visit with the other vendors

and renew friendships a little.

And I have an order for some peaches,

celery, cucumber and... (I have it written down)

for 2 weeks from now. (She will be out of town

next weekend...)

Meanwhile, Kansas has the most spectacular

night skies!

These are Kyle's pictures.

He has an amazing view from his house.

He pulled over on the highway home for this one.

Yesterday was a lovely day.

Kyle's co-teacher didn't show, so I went in to help him.

He started the class with a challenge.

How long can you "wall sit"?

This was after 2 minutes!!!

They were fairly subdued for the rest of the class.

Kyle is going to make it a weekly thing.

Hahahahahahaha

Hope you are having a wonderful Monday!