Pictures..... Lots of Pictures. LOL

 It was another productive day.

Rod installed our new weather station.

Yup, UPS was actually able to

find our house.

So exciting!

There's a little hill of dirt Kyle

piled up when he was digging

the house foundation.

Rod also MOWED a TON of land.

It's much bigger than it looks.

And there is actually some green

under that brown stuff on top.

It goes out a good bit,

and then all the way to

the front gate!

(That's the neighbors, a couple miles

west of us... Barb and Steve.)

He also cleaned up around the

stock tank and is going to re-install

the solar pump so that well can start

filling the tank again so the deer

will have something to drink.

And although you can't see it,

he mowed a nice wide trail

going from the house,

to the stock tank,

and on up the valley all the way

to the back property fence.

It will make a good walk in the

mornings and/or evenings.

I've also been busy.

Aren't these the CUTEST labels???

There's tomato sauce and peach jam...

Thanks Mom! They're adorable!

Yesterday I did 4 pints of tomato sauce.

And this morning I did the 

final 8 pints of peach jam.

(not pictured here...)

Some of the roma tomatoes Rod and I

harvested yesterday.

As well as the rest of the banana peppers

after Kyle and I pickled 2 pints today.

(All I had enough vinegar for...)

and a good batch of jalapeno peppers we

harvested the other day.

Kyle and I just harvested a 2-1/2 gallon

pail of orange okra and another big

bunch of jalapeno.

I'm thinking about doing some pepper jelly. 

And check out THESE gorgeous peppers!

These are what was left after Kyle 

chopped 5 trays worth and got them

into the freeze dryer.

We are so excited! We've never been

successful growing peppers before!

Here's our pretty pickled banana peppers.

We have a bunch of yellow ones in the 

garden, but wanted to get these ripe ones

into jars.

They smelled really good!

Here's a peak of my favorite view 

on the property.

The little road through the woods,

down to the garden.

And here is the latest iteration of

the living room layout.

There's more "stuff" on the island

than there should be,

but I'm pretty sure that's going to 

just be something I'm going to have

to get used to.

(grin)

Tomorrow we are going to install

the new blinds for the office.

And then I'm heading in to WaKeeney

to spend the afternoon with Sabrina

learning how to make her amazing

focaccia bread.

Hopefully I can do half as well as she does.

Just got back from taking Bear and Beau 

for a quick evening walk.

The sunset was beautiful.

Standing up by the pig pastures

and looking out over the west

side of our land.

The little road is behind the left

side of the gate.

The garden is down in the valley in front

of the trees.

You can't see it unless you are on top of it.

Can you find Bear?

He's nearly the exact color of

the grass. He loves to go 

"off trail"... while Beau, the

City Dog stays on the path and

almost never strays into the "wild stuff".

And yet, Beau comes home with a 

tick and Bear doesn't......

Sigh.

Phew!!!!!

 

It's been a DAY.

I spent HOURS on the phone yesterday.

I ordered a weather station so we can see

what the temp is inside and out,

and what the wind is doing,

and how much rain we got.

It was supposed to be here Friday.

Kyle watched the UPS driver pull into his

driveway, sit for a minute and then pull

out and go back the way he came.

He put a note on the account,

not deliverable - bad address.

Well no.

If you used your GPS, it takes you

LITERALLY to our front door.

So I called UPS and had them add

the correct directions to the delivery.

Nothing came on Monday.

So I called again on Tuesday.

They said call Amazon.

I called Amazon.

They said call UPS.

I called UPS.

They said call Amazon.

So I managed to get somebody at UPS

who wasn't an idiot and he said the

information on the file said waiting for

further instructions from the customer.

Well, I'm the customer, calling with the

further instructions.

So I gave him VERY explicit instruction.

"NOT the green house. Go 1/4 mile WEST

and turn in at the TAN house."

Then we put a SIGN on Kyle's gate with

the same instructions.

This morning the guy from UPS in Hays called

and said, your house doesn't show up on the map.

Well we just built it. So yeah.

But GPS WILL TAKE YOU HERE.

Well, I'm trying to draw him a map.

What, you don't have a smart phone?????

Just put the address in your phone.

It will bring you HERE!

Meanwhile, Fed Ex pulled into Kyle's gate.

Read the sign.

Drove to our house.

(Oh by the way, Rod put out a piece of

plywood with 2971 - our house number

by the road this morning. lol.)

Oh yeah, our new address:

2971 J Road

Hill City, KS 67642.

The mail lady can find our mailbox,

because we put it precisely where

she told us to.

Anyhow, the Fed Ex guy successfully

delivered our new window blinds.

We'll see if UPS can pull it off tomorrow.

So, that was yesterday.

Meanwhile, we got 6 trays of peaches

all cut, frozen, and into the new freeze

dryer (after pulling out 90 peeps we

did in the new machine on "candy" mode...)

They are really cute, puffy, and 

yummy if you like peeps.

I pulled them out, organized them and

got them all in little bags of 3 peeps each.

We will sell for $3.00.

Then we put the peaches in the machine and

it happily churned away all afternoon.

This morning when I woke up, the screen was

black. No power to the machine.

It popped the breaker.

We did some experiments, switched the chord

from one outlet to the other - they are both on

dedicated circuit breakers, but that didn't matter.

It still popped the breaker, so it's not the house

wiring, it's the machine.

I need to call Harvest Right and talk to them

about how to fix it. It's probably a bad circuit

board, a common problem, but in the 

meantime, Rod needed to print something and

the printer wouldn't respond.

So I tried on my computer and no dice.

The printer wasn't connecting to the internet.

So I called and talked to a guy.

Then I called the internet folks and talked

to another really nice guy. 

(I love the local folks!)

We tried a bunch of stuff, and then we pulled

up YouTube and did what he said and

PRESTO. It connected.

That was an hour and a half.

Meanwhile Kyle and I had gone down to the

garden and harvested 3 buckets of peppers.

(This morning Rod and I got 3 buckets of

roma tomatoes - they are on the counters

getting ripe...)

OH, and yesterday I canned 4 pints of

tomato sauce.

OK, so while I was on the phone, Kyle ran

the peppers through the chopper thingie

and got them into the old freeze dryer.

(After I pulled out 5 trays of ice cream

sandwiches and got those into mylar bags...)

I'll pack them into individual bags

tomorrow probably.

By the time I got the printer working,

it was 4:00 and I needed to eat a quick bowl

of yogurt with strawberries before I started

my class for the evening.

So, tomorrow.....

1) make the last batch of peach jam. (Yesterday

I ran them through the food processor and then

a fine mesh sieve to get the peelings out...)

2) Call Harvest Right

3) Make a batch of pickled banana peppers. 

Found a recipe online this afternoon, we 

grew a couple plants of them so we have

enough to maybe make one canner full....

4) Chop, season, and freeze a bunch of

cucumbers to go into the freeze dryer when

the peppers come out.

People really like FD cukes.

I bought some ranch seasoning to put on them.

5) So SOMETHING with the onions that are

just languishing in Kyle's shed.

Meanwhile, I also need to harvest more okra

(a daily task) and get them in the freezer.

And pick more cucumbers... there are more

EVERY DAY.

Also there are probably more tomatoes that

are going to be ready to harvest and add to

those on the counter.

Go through them and get any that are ripe

and put them in giant ziplocks and into the

freezer until I have time to process them.

I love this time of year,

but BOY OH BOY!!!!!

Lots to do.

Which is why you are getting cartoons

and not pictures.

The only pictures I took today were

screenshots of broken stuff and their

labels so I could talk to the people who

could hopefully help me fix them.

Rod is on his way home from Hays.

He goes in on Wed and does Mutual.

I'll probably whip up ... something...

so we can eat and then head off to bed.

Phew!

Super Fun Saturday!

 We had a really busy,

really fun Saturday!

We started at the farmers market.

It was a good day.

Pretty windy!

But we didn't put the tablecloth

on the table, so no worries.

Freeze dried stuff is pretty light,

so I kept a hand on the trays,

but nothing blew away and we

sold out of peaches!

And eggs, and almost sold

all the FD cantaloupe.

Sold a bunch of pickling cukes

and even a couple Honey Baby

butternut squash.

Then we drove back to the house,

put everything away and jumped

back into the car to run into Hays.

We had an RS activity at 2:00.

(I need to train myself to remember

"running into Hays" is now an HOUR!)

So we just rushed into town.

Needed to be there a little early

since I'm the counselor over activities 

and I wanted to be there to help set up.

We did "Bunco & Brownies".

I've never played Bunco before,

but it was easy to learn and lots of fun.

I won the "Biggest Loser" prize since

my revolving team ALWAYS lost.

We might have a great score, but the

other team beat us by a point or two.

It was still fun.

We only had 9 sisters, we play with

4 people to a table, so I left 30 minute

early and let the committee chair play

in my spot for the last round.

She brought me the prize on Sunday.

And I continued the theme and lost it.

(Left it in the RS room and somebody

picked it up.... darn it. It was a really

cute tea towel!)

Anyhow.

Left the activity and ran to WalMart to

grab some stuff we needed.

Oh yeah, Rod came with me and while

I was at the activity, he went to Home

Depot to return the window ac unit we

bought but didn't need.

They wouldn't take it back.

It says on the receipt (who reads those)

you have to return within 7 days.

It had been 9.

Sigh.

So, anyway, Walmart to get stuff.

And then dashed back to the house

by way of Jim's to get our stadium seats,

just in time to grab Kyle and run into

Hill City for the first annual

Bucking Bull rodeo thing.

It had a name, I can't remember.... lol.

Really nice arena.

WAAAY nicer than WaKeeney's.

And we had good seats!

It was all local cowboys.

Well, north Kansas and south Nebraska.

But "local".

It was a real rodeo.

So the "clowns" were there to protect

the riders, not entertain the people.

So we watched one of the pick up guys

training his new horse.

THAT was entertaining.

We had a really good time and were home

just after dark!

To bed, and then up early (by our standards)

in order to leave by 6:30.

I whipped up some quick breakfast burritos

to eat on the drive into Hays.

It was a good day of excellent meetings.

I'm really starting to feel at home in this ward.

And then on the way home we stopped

by Jim and Sabrina's to drop off a

battery charger - his truck battery died.

And then home to take a NAP!

Kyle came over and we had some

beef stroganoff with beans the way

Soni told me Rozann made them.

They were DELICIOUS!

And today......

up early to do a T-Tapp workout,

then I cut 1.5 gallons of okra and

got those in the freezer.

Then I started washing and coring

the tomatoes to put in the freezer.

Then Kyle came by and he and I took

the dogs for a short walk around the

property. Beau can only go so far.

He's getting older, and its been awhile

since he's gone on a walk.

He fell down Kyle's stairs last Thanksgiving,

and since then he hasn't really been out.

But he'll build up his stamina...

(me too... lol.)

Then he and Bear went home and

Rod and I worked on getting 8 boxes

of ice cream sandwiches all cut and

onto trays and into the freeze dryer.

Then Kyle came back over and we

made a single 1/2 pint of tomato sauce

to see if we LIKE the recipe before I

commit to doing ALL the tomatoes.

And while that was cooking down,

we cut up nearly all the rest of the peaches

and got those on trays to go into the machine

after we take out the load that's in there.

Which would be PEEPS!

The new machine has the candy setting,

and we bought a bunch of boxes of all

sorts of flavors of peeps on clearance after

Easter. Just been waiting to use the

new machine.

Got those in and figured out how to

do a candy run.

By then, the tomato sauce was ready

to come out of the water bath canner.

(I did a couple pint jars of water just

so my little jar wasn't lonely...)

Then Kyle left to get ready to go to 

FHE and then Door Dash.

And I got ready to teach.

So Rod had to pull the peeps out of 

the machine and get them in big

mylar bags for me to do something with

tomorrow.

And then he got out our zero turn mower

and mowed a bunch of the property between

the house and the road.

It looks really good!

Now, I'm done teaching,

and I'm whooooped!

I was going to make cabbage and 

sausage for dinner,

but I'm rethinking.

Might just make a box of mac & cheese

and open a jar of pickled beets.

There's a TON on tap for tomorrow.

I need to finish the peaches.

(Probably just make another 5 pints

of peach jam with them, they are

getting a little long in the tooth.)

And then I need to chop all the peppers

and get those into the freezer.

And I also need to do something with

the gazillion cucumbers Kyle keeps 

harvesting and bringing in my house.

AND there is still that huge wagon

full of onions in his shed.

I love harvest season...

but boy oh boy it's BUSY!

It's A Constant!!!

 There is ALWAYS something to be done.

And often MORE than we have time for.

But we aren't any different than any

other farm family... August has a

way of doing that.

Check out the tomatoes!

The Romas are beautiful and HEAVY producers.

They are a "determinate" tomato, which means

there are a certain number of fruit and they all come

in at the same time.

Luckily they don't all ripen on the same day...

but once they are done, they are done.

They don't keep fruiting.

There's a LOT of them, though!

LOL.

(And that's probably only half... I have 2 or 3

two gallon ziplock bags in the freezer and

WAY more on the plants.)

The Okra is also coming in strong.

We have several bags cut in the freezer

and ready for us to enjoy over the winter.

Speaking of enjoying,

check out that beautiful flower!

I'm so in love with these orange / burgundy

okra. They are pretty, sweet and large.

We will be growing them again for sure!

And, of course, we are continuing the

moving in process.

Making our house a home.

Today we turned the living room,

put the TV under the window,

moved the piano into the living room area,

the island is still a mess... lol.

And there are still boxes, but WAAAAY less.

AND now we have TWO working

freeze dryers!

So exciting,

and good news because we have a LOT

of produce that needs to be freeze dried.

But now...

class is over, I'm going to go whip up

some alfredo and garlic bread.

And then get stuff organized for the

farmers market in the morning.

(And then I need to run into town

for a RS Activity - Bunco & Brownies.)

I've never played bunco, but they say

it is fun. And I have an order I need

to pick up from WalMart.

OK.

Night all!

Have a happy weekend!

Even MORE Fun!

 In the middle of all the moving

and boxes and hanging art,

we were at Tractor Supply on Tuesday

and they got us again.

$1.00 each chicks!

So we bought them.

All.

It was a LOT of chicks.

(Well, not really, but they only put

6 in each box, so it was a lot of boxes.)

Ok, it actually IS a lot of chicks.

24 of them are confirmed females.

The other 14 are anybody's guess.

We are hoping for 2 roosters.

If we get more than that, we will

eat them, but we need some roosters.

Partly to help protect the flock from

predators and mostly to make our own

chicks so we can stop buying them.

Chicks these days are EXPENSIVE!

Usually these Rhode Island Reds are

close to $5.00 each.

And then, if I order them, I have to 

pay overnight shipping as well.

Anyhow.

We have chicks in Rod's shop.

They should be ready to move out in

4 or 5 weeks.

In the meantime,

this morning my handy man put up

wood trim around the sliding glass doors.

And then he hung a curtain rod so

we can block the HOT morning sun.

We need another package of curtains,

they spread across, but only if they

are completely straight and I want some

fluff to them, so I'll grab another pack

when I'm in town next time.

It's coming together!!!

I REALLY like it!

ART!

 Rod is so happy to finally get to

hang art on the walls!

(I didn't let him in the WaKeeney

house... it was so small,

art on the walls stops the eye and

makes it feel EVEN smaller!)

But now that we have SPACE.......

go for it!

Hello giant metal buffalo from Arizona!

He was a challenge to hang.

Required MATH and everything... lol.

Oops, I didn't zoom in,

the wooden sign on the top says 

The Buffaloes

and 

Rod & Collette 

underneath.

This was a sign we had made VERY

early in our marriage.

It's old.

Rod ran the sander over the face and

it looks all new and refreshed.

And, of course, below is another really

cool metal piece from Arizona!

(You guys have good taste!)

(Also, yes, there are still a gazillion

boxes EVERYWHERE!)

Rod was busy while Kyle and I were

in Hays yesterday.

He got the prep room table all installed!

And this morning I used my pressure canner

to make a load of peach jam.

*YUM!

I could only make one batch because I

forgot to buy more pectin on Tuesday.

Darn it.

We also put the window AC in

the window... but since we moved

the pump to the shelf below the

freeze dryer, it hasn't given me a

single "warm room" warning and the

AC is set on 78 instead of the 76 it

was requiring to keep it cool enough.

(We were freezing, but the machine

was happy, until the AC cycled off

and then we got a warning, but as soon

as it cycled on again, it was fine...)

Today we are doing 3 trays of peaches,

a tray of mandarin oranges (customer request)

and a final tray of cantaloupe.

I really like it!

It doesn't taste like much when you

pop it in your mouth, but THEN the

flavor hits and sticks with you for a bit.

It's pretty tasty!

Here's a picture of the fence we put

up for Beau so he can use his dog door.

He uses it at night, but still scratches

at the front door during the day.

There's not much shade back there,

so maybe that's why?

It's been awhile since I gave you

a picture of the sky,

and tonight at the 8:00 break

it was SPECTACULAR!

We've been getting thunderstorms in the

middle of the night

(YEA for rain!!!)

and the sunsets have been gorgeous.

OK.

Need to go feed my darling husband.

(I ate WAAAAAAAAAY too many

peanut M&M's while I was teaching,

so I'm not actually hungry,

but I'm sure he's anxious for dinner.)

Night all!