July 25, 2011

  • Weird Weather As Usual


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    How long does weather have to be strange, off-the-mark, hotter/colder than normal to stop being weird and become the norm?  The thought popped into my mind when it started thundering while the sun was shining brightly.  It was 10 minutes or more before the skies clouded over and the thunder continued.  No rain.  Just thunder.

    The Beast went out early and checked the pears on the trees and found another one that was ripened.  He brought it in and we shared it.  He also picked a couple more green peppers that are just gorgeous and the prettiest green!  Very healthy looking and I am going to be happy to use them in my cooking.  He checked out the strawberries and is going to give them another day or two.  They still aren't entirely ripe and some of them are HUGE.  We were both hoping it would rain so that watering the garden was one thing we didn't have to worry about doing.  After a half hour or so of overcast and thundering, it finally started to rain.  Not hard but nice and steady and enough to satisfy the needs of the veggies.

    In case you didn't know this....and it's important for you to remember when you are grocery shopping for fruit, pears is the one fruit that cannot ripen off the tree.  If you aren't sure if it's ripe, press lightly by the stem.  It should be on the soft side and that shows the pear was tree ripened as it should be.  If it's hard, pass it up unless you intend to cook or bake it.  If you bring it home and try to ripen it (even the brown bag won't help), you will be throwing it out when it starts to rot.  Save your money.

    Remember I told you about the corn stalks that got beaten up when we were hit by the tornadoes here in Alabama?  Well, the Beast finally pulled those up because the corn on them just rotted.  Thankfully, others that were sheltered and not bent all to hell, are doing well and we expect the corn to be ready within a week or two, I believe.

    Today I am making an attempt to carefully plan and execute an efficient way of doing my wash that requires the least amount of walking back and forth.  The Beast would happily empty the dryer and carry it in to me to be folded but he doesn't discern the difference in how you handle clothes to be hung up.  I sure don't want to iron anything.  Not in this day and age.  Hell, if I hadn't started sewing again, I wouldn't even own an iron.    Why not?  I went years without one.  It is NOT a required item in any household with a little care being taken.  I immediately hang up clothes right out of the dryer and they are great.  If they give me a problem that looks like it requires a touch of an iron...out it goes!  Oh, I don't mean in the garbage.  It goes into the donation bag.  I spent too many years over an iron and I sure am not going to do any at this stage of the game.  Unless I am sewing, of course.  **Sigh** There are just some things that you need to do to make sure all goes well while doing that.

    Did I ever tell you about the Beast and how he complicates things with his *more is better* thinking?  When I first decided I was going to do some sewing and needed a sewing machine, I told the Beast I wanted one.  He told me to look around and find one I liked and just buy it.  So, I started looking around.  I knew what I wanted.  Nothing fancy.  But I did want a nice selection of stitches, automatic buttonholing, maybe some simple fancy embroidery.  I had a machine that did just that and it *fell off the truck* during our move to the west coast.  It was a few years old so the insurance payment for it was almost ludicrous and I never replaced it.  Well, I looked and couldn't find just the right one.  But, I wasn't in a hurry.

    The Beast, however, once there is a *buy* decision of any kind made, was of a different mind.  HE started looking even though I have told him time and time again that there are just some things a man shouldn't try to buy for a woman.  He bought me a sewing machine.  In many ways, it's the sewing machine from hell.  The instruction booklet on it is about an inch thick and has small print.  It threads itself but it's not a simple process.  It also has a kazillion embroidery patterns on it and requires the removal of part of the machine, adding on another section and a special needle.  It has a touch screen on it for everything from the size and type of stitches to the embroidery patterns.  You can even download more patterns onto it.

    Now I ask you, is that overkill or what?  I told him to take the damn thing back.  I had seen it and rejected it because it had waaaaaay more features than I wanted or needed.  He refused and said, *Oh, once you start using it, you will like it.  Wait and see!  It was on sale!*  I have not used the embroidery patterns at all.  I find I use about 8 of the different stitches, depending on the application and I am still getting used to the buttonholer.  Although that is one feature I find very nice because you take the button you intend to use and put it in place and the buttonholer automatically puts the perfect size hole for it.  Amazing.  It has a special holder for the button and, once in place, the machine takes over.  It surprised me to no end.

    Time to get this up while I still have internet.  I lost it once while I was writing this and that scared me because I thought I might lose everything I had already written.  I hope you all are observing hot weather protocols and staying hydrated.  Love you all.