Month: July 2011

  • Cross Your Fingers For Chewlee


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    We got some good news today but it is going to take a little bit of luck in the morning so I am asking you to cross your fingers and say a little prayer.  If the position is still open tomorrow, Chewlee will be attending a real preschool.  Not a nursery school like the one she attends now, albeit they did more than most nursery schools and you can tell with Chewlee.  Of course, teachers vary and Chewlee's old teacher was much more concerned about the kids actually learning things that would help them when they finally went to kindergarten.  The one she has currently is more of a *babysitter* type, I gather.  I don't know them as well as the Princess does but then, they are more her age. 

    Chewlee's original teacher was more like a head start teacher and was determined to give some of the minority kids and the bright ones a chance to learn things that were important.  She did tell me one time that Chewlee was the only child in her class that had a burning desire to learn and knew all her numbers, the alphabet and her colors.  She knew we all had to be working with her on those because of the things she already knew.  It's true that we gave her toys that taught her, too.  Shapes (a cookie jar that said the name of the shape when the correct one was inserted in the various shaped openings), the programs she watched on TV that always had a theme.  Much of it was just little things but they made a difference.  I think it also helped that she was around adults much of her younger years.  And we never talked baby talk to her although she did come up with some of her own.  Like her blanket that she calls her *tee-tee*.  None of us know where the hell that came from but tee-tee it is to this day.

    The preschool is in Boaz, which is great because it's actually fairly close to the Princess's apartment.  It's also the town she works in and where her hair dresser is, I believe.  She knows that area better than I do even though it's the first town south of us.  It's focus will be on teaching her to write her own name, be able to print the alphabet and her numbers, too.  I think she's more than ready for that because even her drawings have changed and she's shown an interest in seeing and recognizing her own name.  She often has me print it out for her and she looks at it intently.  I keep waiting for her to attempt to copy it.

    Just before the Princess got here to pick up Chewlee after work, Chewlee decided she wanted a snack.  She was looking through the pantry but couldn't find anything that appealed to her so I suggested some toast and butter.  The Beast was wiping down the sink counter at the time and she said, *What a great idea!  Go ahead, Grandma.....and don't forget my milk.* 

    Well, when she said, *What a great idea!* the Beast snickered.  I knew he wanted to laugh but Chewlee will get aggravated and say, *What are you laughing at?*  If we tell her we are laughing at her, she gets mad and tells us it's not nice to laugh at her (which only makes us smile these great big smiles in an effort NOT to laugh out loud).  She says it so seriously!

    Today she *told* the Beast he had to take some pictures of her and to bring a chair outside for her.  He got his camera because she IS becoming more cooperative about taking pictures but.....you can't direct her.  She has her own ideas of what she wants to do and the kind of pictures he should take of her.  She will pose herself and I heard her tell him today to *come closer, Grandpa, so you can see my face.*  I know she has a mind of her own and it will probably cause many problems later on.  The Beast said he took the pictures because he wants her to see her poses and decide if they are what she imagined or not.

    Well, today she really looked them over then handed them to me and told me she was leaving them here.  When I was surprised and asked her why she didn't want to take them home with her, she told me it was because they *weren't real good*.    I told that to the Beast and he had to make an attempt to get her to take them home but she told him that HE could keep the pictures.  She had enough.  I know that isn't true but it shows that she only wants the *good* ones.  She gave me the one good one in the bunch.  Well, it's not great but it's cute and there's something about it that I like.  I told the Beast I might even send it to Bratfink if he makes me up another one.  He did but he focused on the face and gave me just that part of the whole picture so now I have to send Bratfink both.  That's because the one looks like a snapshot that caught a cute moment (Chewlee was feeling some of the greenery in the pot that holds our rose tree).  It was a candid snapshot and I really like those, don't you?

    My feet are progressing although the bottoms of them are still so damned sensitive I could scream.  My ankle starts hurting me after I do a lot of walking but an ace bandage for a short time works great on relieving the discomfort.  Thank you for asking....LOL.  I'm looking forward to when I can get up and not even think about the fact that I HAVE feet.  Can't happen too soon for me.

    The heat is just awful, although Bratfink is suffering higher temps than we are.  We, however, have higher humidity levels and it will be worse tomorrow because it poured here this evening.  Chewlee was playing her balloon game and, when it started thundering, she told me to finish it while she clutched me tightly.  I had no idea she was so afraid of thunder but she was with her mother and was caught in that tornado last year.  It damaged the apartment building they were in and the Princess said they were all huddled together because of the windows breaking.  I guess that was enough to traumatize her. 

    She stayed in my lap and I held her until the storm passed and she relaxed.  I have to make up some *ghost spray* for her.  It's an idea I got from Bratfink.  Chewlee is convinced there is a ghost in the guest bedroom (or *her* room, as she calls it) and she is afraid to sleep in there by herself or with the door closed.  I'll let her spray it around the room to chase the ghost out and keep it out of there.  She will believe it will work.  She believes in ghosts, right?  She also believes I keep a monster in my computer room closet.  But....she thinks I feel sorry for it and let it stay there because it keeps getting chased out of closets. 

    Anyway, the heat indexes both here and where Bratfink lives was in the triple digits today.  Lots of areas were suffering and many had the misfortune of power failures because of the increased demand for power.  We never lost power, not even a flicker, thank goodness.  The Beast isn't looking forward to our next utility bill, as you might imagine.  We haven't suffered from the heat unless we go out to the garden or for the mail.  The Beast is the one making food runs to Walmart but we keep the car in the garage so it's not too uncomfortable for him until the car AC kicks in.  He hasn't taken Baron on any of these runs and Baron doesn't understand why.  He doesn't like the heat and doesn't realize that it would get too damn hot in the car while he had to wait for the Beast's return.  So, he sulks and keeps making these sighing sounds like a spoiled kid (which he actually is).  As soon as the Beast returns, he's up and at the garage door with his whole body wagging in delight.  Sheesh.  You know who HIS best friend is....LOL.

    Love you all.  Stay cool and drink a lot of water.  Even indoors you dehydrate.  It's just much worse if you have to go out in it.  Take care, drive carefully and buckle up!  It's the law. 

  • Tomato Hell Is Real!!!!


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    It's been a while since I ventured out back to the *farm* but, since men don't really look hard for veggies that might be buried inside various bushes and/or vines, I really needed to check and see what was hiding.  I gritted my teeth and proceeded to hobble over to the planters and go through the various plants.  I found several cucumbers that were starting to look a bit like a zucchini and were buried deep enough that they weren't even green any more (if they ever were).  They taste fine, just look a bit odd since they are mostly yellow.

    I worked down the planters and stopped dead.  Two of the tomato plants happen to be next to a trellis that is screwed in place on the end of that particular planter.  They are already supported by those tomato plant support cones but they have actually climbed up the trellis and have to be darn near 7 foot high!!    The last couple of feet have happened in the 10 days or so since I was last out there AND....they are both just LOADED with tomatoes.  I was shocked to see that all 7 of the tomato plants have more blooms on them.  It was enough to send me into tomato shock!  I looked at the Beast and said two words....*Tomato sauce*.  He totally understood.

    I found about four green peppers the Beast had missed and I have to tell you that they are all just gorgeous!  Plus they taste wonderful.  I use a lot of green peppers in my cooking so I am happy about that.  The Beast bought some extra Italian sausage *links* and some good hoagie rolls so I will probably cook up some on the grill and steam some onions and green peppers to put on sandwiches for us later in the week.

    As far as any of the squash, zucchini and eggplant, the Beast didn't miss anything this time.  I told him to go ahead and pull out the eggplant because it's just loaded with bugs and the eggplants that are on them are a disaster.  He says he is going to leave one for a bit because he thinks it might be keeping the bugs off other things.

    He pulled out three of our carrots and I could have choked him.  They look great....just tiny.  It's way too early to think about those.  Ditto the onions but he didn't touch any of them.  Half of the corn stalks are hale and hearty.  The ones that were wind-whipped don't look too well but we are leaving them for now.  The strawberries are coming along great.  I told the Beast I was glad we did this without Chewlee because she would have been picking and eating the little strawberries that will be wonderful in just a couple more days.

    My blackberry and blueberry bushes are growing well.  I think we might get some blackberries from them in the fall.  The blueberry I am not sure about since I really think those are supposed to be early crops.  I don't know.  I'll check online in a day or two.  I'm learning about some things for the first time, too, here.

    Chewlee was ecstatic today because she got to pick flowers from our flower garden.  I had the scissors and she checked out the ones she wanted and told me where to cut them for her.  She didn't do too bad a job and she wasn't greedy.  She only took five flowers.  That's what she told me she wanted but I really did expect her to pick more.

    I know what her new *phrase* is going to be for the next couple of weeks.  It's *are you kidding me?*  She cracked me up with how she used it twice tonight.  The first time was when we were talking about her staying with me all the time (not going home).  I told her she would miss her mother and she looked at me, shocked look on her face and in her voice and said, *Are you kidding me?  I always stay with you, Grandma.*    I told her, yes, she did stay with me when mommy was in school or working but she went  home at night.  She shrugged her shoulders and said, *Well, I guess you could say that.* 

    Later, we were out picking the flowers for her and she and the Beast were planting some new flowers in the planter.  I told her to try not to dig so enthusiastically because she was knocking a lot of the good dirt out of the planter and the flowers really needed it.  Her comment?  You got it.....*Are you kidding me?*  I told the Beast, *Guess what the new comment of the month is going to be?*  He just laughed.

    After they planted the new flowers, the Beast let her water the planter while he added some mulch to the top of the box.  She looked at me and told me to go in the house and she would come and get me when they were done so I could see how beautiful they made it look.  I laughed and did as I was told.  When she came in to get me, all excited, she stopped in front of me and told me what I had to say when I saw it.  She said *You have to say Oh my goodness.  How beautiful!*  When we got outside and I looked at it, I said what she told me I should say and she just beamed.  She then said, *We did a good job, didn't we, Grandma?*

    She spent the next couple of  hours playing *the balloon game* on my computer except for the short time she left it to eat.  She ate in a hurry so she could get back to the game and I was given strict instructions that *I* couldn't play *her* game.  Kids are amazing when you watch and see how quickly they pick things up.  She asked me to use this one *tool* that you get to help in balloon popping at times.  Her comment to me was, *I am going to watch you to see how you do it and then I can do it later when I am bigger.*

    What she means by bigger, I am not sure but I know she won't be waiting too long before she will use them on her own.  I am still trying to get her to understand what the tools are for and when to use them.  When *she* thinks she understands, she will do it on her own.

    The heat here is building and we will be up to the high 90's tomorrow and the next day.  In fact, up until Saturday, we will all have to be very careful how long we are out in it.  Our humidity is very high, too, so the heat index will be around 104 or 105 they said.  If you are going through anything similar, just know there are people in 21 states (that's what the weatherman said) that are all going through this.  Be careful.  Stay hydrated.  If you exercise, do it early in the day or in the evening when it cools down.  Love you all and please use common sense the next few days.  Life is too short to be reckless. 

  • The Beast And Chrome....Anything!!!


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    Long ago, when the Beast and I first got married, I discovered he had this...compulsion.  I don't know what else you would call it.  If we were shopping, for instance, and were in the automotive department more than likely, the sight of a tool that was all chrome would stop him dead in his tracks.  A timing light comes to mind.  He already had one or two of the damn things (how many does a man really need?).  That was back in the days when you could actually work on your own cars.  You could reach all the parts without having to remove the engine.

    Anyway, when he stopped dead, I knew...KNEW...without a doubt that our budget was going to take a major hit because he was going to buy that thing come hell or high water.  We really couldn't afford it but buy it he did.  Of course, it wasn't right then.  He tried to fool me with some *slight of shopping*.  While I was busy trying on something or other, he slipped off, bought it and actually went out and hid it in the car before coming back to find me.  Was I fooled?  Hell, no! 

    This compulsion still exists in him today.  We needed another cigarette machine since mine had broken and it just doesn't work trying to share one because the Beast has taken to making only one or two cigarettes at a time.  He says he is smoking less but, in truth, he's stealing cigarettes from me even though he smokes lights and I don't.  He still goes through more tubes and tobacco than I do.

    He had to go to the smoke shop today because he had screwed up and bought me regular size tubes instead of the 100's that I use.  I told him as he walked out the door to not forget to pick up another cigarette maker.  With that, I went to take my nap and get my foot raised up for a while.  When I woke up, I found he had put the old cigarette maker that he bad been using on my tray.  I knew what that meant.  As usual, he bought a NEW one, so I automatically get the OLD one.  But, I knew that even if he had planned on giving me the new one (slight chance of that ever happening), it would never have happened.  The new cigarette maker is CHROME!    I kid you not.  I didn't know whether to laugh or hit him with a baseball bat.

    The smoke shop has several different models of cigarette makers.  I've seen them with my own eyes.  Most of them are actually fairly inexpensive.  This chrome model has to be a new addition because I have never seen it before.  It also reeks of expensive.  With all the different models and prices, it wouldn't have mattered once the chrome one was added.  HE HAD TO HAVE IT!!!  You would think a grown man would have long ago gotten over that need.  At one time, he owned so many chrome tools (mostly electronic gizmos), that a man who was a professional mechanic said he wished he owned the Beast's tool box.    This is a true sickness.  I know.  I've lived with it for almost 47 years now.  <<THUD>>  OMG!!!  Has it really been that long????

    Yep.  We got married on August 1, 1964 in Oakbrook, Illinois.  We pulled a judge out of the 19th Hole there to perform the ceremony and had three of our friends there with us.  The reason for this is waaaaay too complex to explain but poor Judge Doscotch was a sweetie.  The Beast often asked if a marriage was valid if the judge was inebriated.  Always hopeful.  LOL.

    Okay..enough on the subject of the Beast and CHROME.  I noticed today that the Beast has given up on the melon patch after going over it thoroughly.  The few melons he had hopes for and had elevated to protect from the ground went bad.  He went through it and cut up the vines into sections and threw them all into the barrel to turn into compost.  He even went over the area with the rototiller and threw down grass seed then put a layer of dirt over it all before he watered it.  He desperately wants to grow some different kinds of melons but says he's going to take his cues from our peaches and apples.  Until and unless we finally defeat the problems with the fungus, he says he won't try it again.  We'll see.  I've heard him make pronouncements similar in nature and his stubborn streak will kick in and he *forgets* what he had said.

    Time to close this for today.  Love you all and I sure hope you are keeping cool these days.  We are expecting triple digit temperatures towards the end of the week and the weekend.  I doubt we will be doing much outside for a while.  Especially the Beast.  He suffers greatly in the heat and it actually will take a heavy toll on him.  I've seen it send him to bed for a few days.  It never used to bother him much until after his strokes.  I worry about him getting heat stroke so I make sure he hydrates well and keep cold rags for  his  face and neck.  He thinks I'm a worrywart so I try not to make it so obvious.  I'll just *tell* him that there are cool rags for him when he thinks he needs them and he knows where the water is.  If he hits the bed as soon as he comes in the house, THEN I will bring them to him because he's all about appearing macho.  Hitting the bed means he's gone over his limit.

    Be good.  Be careful.  Stay cool.  Drink a lot of water.  Drive very carefully.  Hot weather means short tempers for lots of people.  Don't give in to that.  Life is too short and accidents happen in the blink of an eye. 

  • So Tired....


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    I've read a lot about sleep deprivation and I know that I am suffering a bit from that.  It's the reason I can't seem to stay awake for very long.  At night, when I would dearly love to close my eyes and sleep for 7 or 8 hours in a row, the pain from my feet (mostly the right one, which was most seriously injured) keeps me awake or else it awakens me and prevents me from going back to sleep.  This is usually after only 2 or 3 hours of sleep.  I get up, take a pain pill if the pain is severe or else I take a few aspirin.  Sometimes I just collapse in my recliner and try to get a different angle to my feets positioning and try to grab a bit more sleep.  Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't.  In the meantime, I am hobbling around like some truly old woman with swollen feet and trying to keep from screaming because A) the bottom of my feet hurt like hell and B) I am so incredibly tired.

    After several days of this, I usually am in a state of almost total collapse and I crawl into my bed before the Beast even notices (often with him on his computer, playing a game or searching the internet for something or other) and I fall dead asleep for whatever time the gods allot to me on that particular night.  Usually, those are the times I finally get a decent amount of TIME asleep, but not necessarily good sleep.  It does, however, keep me going for a while in the endless round-robin of pain cycles.  What  is annoying is that it is usually after these extended sleep times that my feet feel the best they have in many moons.  It just doesn't last.

    I find myself at that point in time where I am probably going to drop, exhausted, into bed early and I am praying that I get some great sleep.  I have scads to do and just can't manage to get the minimum done that would make me happy and help me feel like I wasn't a total slacker.  I asked for prayers and I would appreciate anyone that remembers to keep them coming.  This has been dragging on for much longer than I think it should have.  It's almost six weeks now and that's the amount of time the doctor said it should take me.  Well, to be honest he hedged a bit and said, *....six weeks OR SO...* (emphasis mine).  I feel like it would be a major miracle if I woke up and found myself both pain-free and healed.

    I lost my internet last night due to heavy cloud cover.  We didn't even get any rain!  After an hour, waiting for it to come back on, I gave up and went to bed.  Not that my time there lasted long (2.5 hours), but it was so nice until the feet felt like someone was touching them with electric wires.  It took forever before they stopped long enough for me to drop off in the recliner.  My feet were very swollen when I woke up but I massaged the excess fluid out ot them.  That doesn't last but feels good for a while.

    I don't think the heat and humidity helps, either.  It has been hovering in the lower 90's, humidity in the 80 percentile and has just been miserable.  I hope you are doing better than we are in that department.  Anyway, I had to reset my modem and was having a bit of a problem so I called the techs at the satellite company.  After about 15 minutes of them doing this and that on their end (we had no real problem), it finally had all the lights lit and nice and steady, too.  Been fine ever since but it's one of the reasons I have come to hate satellite internet service.  Being out in the country like we are, we have few choices.

    Love you all and I wish you a good work week ahead.  Be kind to everyone.  We all need it. 

  • Bad Day For Both Feet And Chewlee Has Bones


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    I have been watching my salt intake closely since I injured my feet in order not to contribute to any swelling.  It seems to make no difference.  When they want to swell for whatever reason, they do.  Today the swelling was the worst it's been since I originally injured them.  I am talking little piggy toes....sausages....and the feet looked like they were going to swallow them. 

    The worst part of it all was elevating the feet.  I swear to you, I could feel the excess fluid draining towards the ankle and leg and IT HURT!!!  Since it felt a bit like electric shock, it was more than likely nerves in the feet but OMG!!!  It was awful.  And I still have to put them up again because the minute I put them on the floor, they swell up again.  I know I walked around more than I should have yesterday and have only myself to blame.  At least tomorrow, I can rest for the most part because I don't have Chewlee.  Sunday is the Princess's day off.  Thank goodness.  I came the closest to screaming today than I have during this whole episode.  That's how painful my feet got.  Say a little prayer for me if you think about it.  I sure am wishing my feet would heal.  I can use all the help I can get here.  Thanks for any prayers you send on my behalf.

    Chewlee was interested today mostly in playing a game on Pogo called *Poppit*.  Basically, it's a balloon game where you pop at least two matching colored balloons that are next to each other.  There are several rows of balloons and they are about 12 deep.  They move and adjust themselves as you go along and, whoa!  They drop these little *prizes* down onto a wall.  To win the game, you have to release all the prizes.  The game fascinates Chewlee because of those prizes and the fact that the balloons make a loud *pop* each time you click on a matching set.  Sometimes there are several rows and layers of the same color and it means you get a *super pop*.  She loves those!  A BIG balloon that says *super pop* on it rolls across the screen and disappears.  She will yell out, *Super pop!* every time she gets one.  She LOOKS for them.  She's gotten really good at it and knows when she has to click on *ok* when she has either won or lost a game and where to click to start a new game. 

    She played it for HOURS, with only a break for a nap which she fought NOT to take.  The good part about it all was that it made it a very interesting day.  I finally got her into the bathtub because the Princess had asked me to.  She washed herself nicely, I washed her hair and then I let her play for about 10 minutes before I made her get out.  I knew we had cut it close because I was worried about getting her dried off, dressed again and her hair brushed before her mother got here. 

    When I got her out of the tub, I wrapped her in a big towel and started to dry her hair.  She started yelling at me and telling me not to do that.  I told her I had to dry her hair and she said, *You can't dry it THERE...thats where my bones are!*  When I told her she had bones all over her body, she gave me this incredible look of disbelief and said, *I KNOW, Grandma.* and she started to point out all the bones in her body to me as I dried her.  She even pointed at her hip and said she had hips bones as she smacked them both.  When I tried to get her underwear on her, she grabbed them out of my hands, then said to me as she started looking on the inside of them, *You have to look for the label, Grandma.*

    I smiled and said to her, *Really?*  She didn't even look up and said, *Yes.*  Then she showed me the label inside, said *See?* and proceeded to dress herself in the clean clothes I had sitting on her Dora chair.  I barely got her hair brushed when her mother got here.  **Phew** and Chewlee went to put her shoes on her while arguing with her mother that she wanted to stay HERE with Grandma.  She started to cry when she was told she couldn't and I called her over to remind her what I told her about crying when she was told *no*.  She cried a little less and not so loud but it didn't really stop her.  But she gave me a hug and headed out the door with her mother.  She probably argued with her mother and cried all the way home.  The Princess looked so tired after working a double shift that I'm sure she was going to just put her to bed immediately, close the door and fall down on her own bed for the night.

    They say we will be getting late night storms rolling in to different areas in our neck of the woods so I will get this posted.  I don't need to remind you, I'm sure, that we have satellite internet.  Storms mean no internet.  Not fun but it usually passes relatively quickly.  I say relatively.....that means anywhere from about 20 minutes to much more. 

    Love you all.  Stay cool and safe.  Watch out for storms in your area and heed any warnings in case they contain tornadoes.  Make sure you have a plan and a place to go to be safe.  We've been there a long time ago.  Lost the roof over our heads and happened to be sound asleep in bed when it hit.  We were actually luckier than we felt at the time.  We managed to get down to the storm shelter in our apartment building after a harrowing dash outside.  Interesting times, interesting times.  I can live without them....LOL.  I hope you never have to go through anything like it.  Hugs. 

  • I See Dead...Tomatoes!


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

      I know!  I would almost prefer to see dead people.  I'm just not that lucky.  I spent the better part of today sorting through the tomatoes.  The perfect ones I put aside because those will become stewed tomatoes.  The others....chop, chop, chop....they are going to be my HOT salsa for the most part.  I think I may end up with enough for six pints of it.  It's amazing how quickly chopped up tomatoes gain in volume.  I was amazed at how quickly my big mixing bowl filled up.  I'll add the celery, hot peppers, spices, onions and green onions (stems included) tomorrow.  Chewlee loves to help by pressing down the button on the chopper.  She likes doing the *pulse* chopping.  Kids love that irritating noise.  I hate it.

    My hands are suffering from the acid of the tomatoes, of course, but I expected that and took enough breaks from it that it's not too bad tonight.  After I shower later, it will be fine.  The cut up tomatoes are resting in the fridge for tomorrow's happy event....more canning.    I told the Beast, he's going to have to get me some more canning jars soon and I am not going to make more pickles without having pickling tomatoes.  The dill spices I used for the kosher dills I'm not fond of.  Even Chewlee didn't like them.  Too vinegary or something.  I followed the recipe exactly so it's not something *I* did, it's the recipe itself that sucks.  I'll just make regular dills next time and keep my fingers crossed.  The sweet zucchini chips actually aren't bad.  They should have been cut a bit thicker than I did but I had no clue about that since I was using zucchini and not cukes.

    The Beast seems to be highly amused at all this and he has a mean streak in him, too.  He went out in the garden just before dark and carried in a bunch more zucchini, cucumbers (rather large ones) and the inevitable tomatoes.    Yes, more tomatoes.  They are marching through my dreams and I am being smothered by them.  I texted my niece, Tara, and told her come over and get some for her family and I put some aside for the Princess, too.  The tomatoes plants show no signs of letting up at this time.  The strawberries are going crazy since the Beast thinned out the zucchini and ithey aren't shading them any more.  I'm really hoping for all of the flowers that have shown up on it to turn into delish fruits.

    Even the Beast's blackberry bushes seem to be getting into the swing of things.  THey won't be ready until this fall but the plants themselves have been growing nicely and look extremely healthy.  Keep your fingers crossed.

    Love you all.  Sounds like thunderstorms are moving in from off in the distance so I had best get this posted before I lose my internet.  Have a great weekend.  Do something that's fun for you.  Even if it's lunch out or window shopping. 

  • What A Day It Turned Out To Be!


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    I guess I have a warped sense of humor or tend to be satirical because today, the one day that the weather people predicted storms, we didn't get a single drop of rain.    That really cracks me up.   Of course, there may have been storms further north of us but we, our area, were supposed to get rain and thunderstorms.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zip!  So I guess the next time they predict a sunny day, I should break out the umbrellas.

    It's the fact that it was bright and sunny today that lent itself to my feeling of well-being.  Plus the fact that I slept well all night and even got a nice two hour nap.  I was going to do more canning today but decided that I should just get the kitchen and dining area cleared up entirely before starting in on it again.   I also needed to kind of organize the unused jars, tops and other things that were kind of scattered around.  My foot felt great early in the day but I have learned that once it starts to get uncomfortable, it's time to get off it and put it up for a while.

    Tomorrow I MUST pay attention to the wash that has accumulated.  It's just awful how much there is.  I would never have believed we actually use up that much in clothes, towels, socks, etc. in just a little over a week.  Amazing.  I guess because I usually do a load or two every few days, I hadn't really gotten a handle on that.  I will start on that very early and get at least 3 loads done.  Three loads will probably do the clothes and then it will leave me with just all the scatter rugs we have around here.  They look terrible.  In fact, it's because of them that I even checked the clothes hamper and found it full.  I have my own little one I use and I knew IT was full but, since it's small, that didn't worry me.  I do have blonde moments.  It should have because the Beast uses more clothes than I do when he's home.  When he goes on a trip to his brother's house, for example, he pretty much only changes his underwear and socks.    It makes me wonder why I even bother packing anything else for him.

    The Beast went to the store today and picked up a few things we needed as well as a few things HE needed.  Like more ice cream, ice cream cones, a German chocolate cake and lord knows what else.  I'm afraid to check it out, truthfully.  However, the ice cream cones are the cup ones and these are actually small ones.  I thought at first they were a joke or a mispacked sleeve of cones.  But, when Chewlee saw them, she went nuts!  *Oh, Grampa bought little cones just for me!!!*  She couldn't wait for me to put the strawberry part of the Neapolitan ice cream on her cone for her.   It's in a gallon container and it makes it very easy to pick just one of the flavors for yourself.....or someone else.

    The Beast wanted to take more pictures of Chewlee to perfect his new technique.  He came in and asked her if she wanted to take pictures and she kind of waved her one hand and said, *No thank you.  I have enough pictures.*  You should have seen the Beast's face.    I kind of bribed her by telling her that, if she did go and let him take pictures of her for HIMSELF this time, that I would take pictures with her tomorrow because she said she wanted a picture of her Grandma with her.  So, she let me brush her hair and off she went.  In one or two of the pictures he took, you can see she really wasn't *into* taking any pictures but she finally loosened up and actually started smiling.  The Beast went ahead and made up three of the pictures for Chewlee's collection and she graciously gave me one of them.  I just had to smile at that.

    She had told me she wanted to stay here forever and I told her no she couldn't because she would miss her mommy and be sad about not being at her home.  She looked at me for a minute, then smiled and said, *Oh, I am only kidding you, Grandma.*  Later on, however, she said to me, *Why don't you want me to stay with you?*  I told her that I loved her and she was always welcome to stay with me for a while but I knew she would want to go home to her own room, her own TV and all her toys.  She looked at me and said, *YOU could get my toy box and bring it here!*  I laughed and told her no, I couldn't do that because I really didn't have any place to put it here in the house.  She actually looked around the house in an attempt to find a good spot for it!  That had me laughing when I saw her.  She did have a few ideas on the subject but I explained to her why they wouldn't work and she finally sighed and said, *I guess I have to leave it at my mommy's house until you make some room for it.*  So I guess for now she is resigned not to living with me forever.

    Love you all and I hope your Friday is a good one and you have some fun planned for the weekend.  I will be canning tomatoes in one form or another.  But, at least I will be enjoying it this time.  I have decided I am going to indulge myself and make me up some hot salsa.  Complete with chopped jalapeno peppers including some of the seeds.  **Grin**  I also have some hot spice that I bought by accident since the color was the same as cayenne.  I used it without checking the name on the container (I told you, I have blonde moments) in some chili and it was fine for me but no one else liked it.  Even *I* had to use some macaroni to cut the heat down just a bit. 

    Anyway, you drive carefully today.  Have a drink or two but do NOT drive if you have more than that.   Be a good citizen and don't get mad at bad drivers.  Keep your distance and don't be in a hurry.  Nothing is worth risking your life over, especially if it's just a matter of a few minutes.  Hug your loved ones and don't forget to tell them you love them. 

  • Pickles Accomplished!


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    There's nothing like getting up bright and early, preferably at the crack of dawn, and getting ready for a busy day while waiting for the coffee to brew.  Wish I had done that but it really wasn't necessary.  What I did do was sleep until around 9:30am, albeit restlessly and with intermittent periods of wakefulness.  I then got up, drank a cup of coffee while putting the quart and pint sized mason jars in the dishwasher to be cleaned and *sanitized*.  That just means it really heats the hell out of the dishes, etc. that are in the dishwasher because there's nothing in there that could sanitize anything EXCEPT for heat. 

    I measured out the necessary ingredients for the sweet *pickles* (aka zucchini slices) liquid and then packed the jars as soon as the dishwasher was done.  I had already taken care of the lids and rings in a separate pot of simmering water so I wiped the rims of all the jars once the liquid was added and then put them in the rack for the hot water bath.  Well, I put 8 jars in.  That's all it can hold at one time.  It all came together so nicely, you would have been proud.  When the first batch was done and I lifted the rack out of the water, I carried it over to the table and put it down on the bath towels I had already arranged in double thicknesses.  I used my little tool to lift each jar out of the carrier and almost laughed when the jars started doing the *pop* that told they were sealed.  I always count to make sure there is one pop for each jar.  Otherwise, I have to look for the one that hasn't sealed and put it back in for another 10 minutes.  If that one still won't seal, it goes to the side for refrigeration when it cools down enough and use within the coming week.

    While the last of the sweet zucchini jars were in the water bath, I made up the liquid for kosher dills.  I decided that the abundance of cucumbers we had were going to become spears.  We go through a lot of those around here because both the Princess and Chewlee are pickle fanatics.  They both even drink the juice!    I admit it...so do I.  I actually get cravings for that occasionally.

    I cut up the cucumbers into spears and the last couple went into special containers that I had earmarked for Chewlee's eating.  I made some of the spears a bit slimmer than I would have because she IS such a pickle pig.  I figured she can count but she doesn't really know how large the spears should be.  LOL!!!  She will think she is getting more this way.  I am sooooo bad but I do worry about her eating habits at times.

    After doing all this canning today, I decided enough was enough.  I cleaned up and told the Beast that tomorrow I am dealing with the tomatoes.  I decided some of them will just become regular canned tomatoes.  Others are headed for my homemade spaghetti sauce.  Bratfink kept throwing out suggestions on what I could do with them and her last idea was homemade ketchup.  We don't use much of that here at the Brat Farm so that would be a total waste of good tomatoes since most canned goods are only good for a year at the most.  That's why it's so important to make sure you put a date on the jars or the lids so you can keep track of all that.

    Of course, some things made with sugar will last much longer than a year.  Jellies and jams, for example.  I'm using the cartons that the jars came in to store the different things I've canned.  I have marked on the front of the cartons what is in them so it can be easily seen once it's put up on the shelves in the garage.  We can more easily find what we want that way without having to look at each jar/carton. 

    The taste test takes place tomorrow.  I'm leaving the spears until Chewlee is dropped off because she made me promise to wait for her to get here.  I told her *I* would wait but I didn't know about Papa.  She looked very thoughtful and then said, *I know!!  Papa can have ONE if he wants but YOU have to wait until I get here and I get one FIRST!*  I just smiled and told her I could handle that and she was happy.

    It seems the Princess has had to start removing the cord for Chewlee's TV every night due to her waking up and then turning on her TV and generally getting into trouble while the Princess slept.  Right now she can't watch any TV at all due to what she pulled the other night.  It involved black mascara, her headboard, a refrigerator door not closed for god knows how long AND her TV turned on.  Oh, and she ate a whole box of those *gushers* fruit treats that are really more like juice than candy.  Yes, our Chewlee is no angel, that's for sure.  She's a kid who wants desperatly to be a *big kid* and go to the *big kids school*.    She can't wait to ride the school bus, too.

    I finally had to resort to strips of gauze cut into special sizes to cover the areas of my toes that had the blood blisters on them because I couldn't find bandaids that were large/small enough that would stay over the areas.  The one on my pinky goes from the top of the foot to the end of the toe but the toe is small in circumference.  If I got one that wrapped around the toe, it would actually slide off due to the ointment the doctor prescribed.  The other problem toe is the big one, believe it or not.  Should be a snap, right?  Except the pads on the bandages are too damn small.

    So I put the ointment on the gauze, slap it on the boo-boo's and then I take more gauze, folded in half and I *tie* it around the toes involved.  No, I can't use tape to hold it in place.  I run into the same problem I did with regular bandages and it will slide right off the toes after a short time.  But, tying them on works like a champ.  It looks a bit strange but, hey, I'm not trying to impress anyone.  I just want to heal.

    Right now, both feet are a bit swollen from all the walking and standing I've done .  They also are throbbing so I am going to get this posted and hope the Princess gets here soon so I can sit back in my recliner with both the feet propped up on a couple pillows.  I am wiped out and I will have another busy day tomorrow.  **Sigh**

    Love you all.  Stay cool and dry.  Drive carefully, ya'll hear? 

  • It Will Be Another Day Due To Classes


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    I hate to admit it but I had forgotten one teensy tinsy item when I promised to be able to report on the sweet pickled zucchini today.   The Princess is taking two classes in an effort to graduate in a year and a half and have her teaching certificate.  She groaned about taking them because they are longer than normal but it's only a couple days a week.  One of those days is Tuesday.  She has a class in the morning and another one in the evening, which is why Chewlee is here.  She did bring by the pot I need when she dropped off Chewlee and it's perfect!  But it means the work gets done tomorrow morning.  Sorry about that.  Check back here later on Wednesday and I will let you know how it all goes.  Even the Beast is anxious now.

    It rained today, in fact, it stormed!  Was it just two days ago that the weatherman predicted NO rain, just heat?  Where the hell did this rain come from then?  During one of the breaks between rains, the Beast decided it was time to give Baron a bath.  Baron was in the house, looking out in the garage where the Beast was getting his bucket that he puts warm water in for Baron's baths.  When Baron saw the bucket in the Beast's hand, he took off like a bat out of hell and went and hid on the far side of the bed in the guest room, laying with his head down and his eyes closed so he wouldn't be seen (he thought).  The Beast was a bit surprised since Baron seemed to enjoy his baths lately but decided to go out on the deck and relax for a bit and wait for Baron to want outside with him.  It never happened.  The Beast finally had to come in the house and make Baron go out with him.

    Once out there and with the bath rope on him, Baron reluctantly was resigned to it.  However, once the Beast used the hose on him to rinse him off, he really relaxed.  He loved the creme rinse and seemed almost sad that the Beast finally turned off the hose.  He shook himself good and then lay down in a shady spot to enjoy the drying off/cooling process.  He sure smelled better afterward.  But, one good run and that is ruined by the doggie odor that seeps through his skin from the exertions.  Oh well.

    Chewlee spent some time outside with the Beast and Baron just before it got dark.  She ran around the yard with Baron and marched up and down the driveway just enjoying herself and her vivid imagination.  When they came in, the Beast asked her if she wanted something to eat since he felt like making himself a grilled cheese sandwich.  She said, *No thank you!* to the grilled cheese and told him she wanted ice cream.  He told her that she couldn't have it since that isn't food for dinner.  She got this puzzled expression on her face and said, *Oh?  You mean it's only for breakfast?*  The Beast could barely keep from laughing and had to tell me all about that convo with her.  At least *I* could laugh since she wasn't around.

    What he didn't know was she had already eaten, having had a baloney sandwich (crusts cut off but don't cut the baloney!) and some Doritos.  She also had one glass of regular milk and one glass of chocolate milk.  Later, when Bubble Guppies came on TV, she asked for some toast.  I swear she only likes it because of the light on the toaster.  She said to me, *That's AMAZING!!*  and *This is going to be INCREDIBLE!!*  I stood there and laughed until I actually hurt.  She told me that she wants to pull the handle down to make the light come on the next time we make toast and I told her she could. Takes very little to make her happy but she will remember that, trust me.  She did add that *she* got to put the bread in the holes, too and I told her she could do that.  Since I will have her tomorrow, I will bet she will decide she wants toast at some point. 

    Time to get this up for you to read while I still have internet available.  Love you all. Have a great Wednesday and stay cool and dry. 

  • So Sorry To Disappoint.....


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    I got everything ready to make the zucchini sweet pickles this morning.  Jars and lids were in the dishwasher,tops lined up in the special holder for sanitizing, sugar ready to measure and pour, vinegar on the counter and spice packet ready to open and add.  I went to get my ceramic pot I thought was out in the garage but it wasn't there.  When I questioned the Beast, I found out that he had thrown it out (it was our *old* steamer pot that we had replaced with a smaller one).  He had no clue I would use it for anything in the future and didn't want something he considered useless cluttering up his garage.  I should do that to HIM some day.

    So, I checked my teflon coated pots and they were all (being old) scratched up on the inside so they were useless for me to get the liquid ready.  If it touches metal, it turns cloudy and I didn't want that.  I didn't even ask my niece, Tara, because her kids use her pots and pans and I know what that means.  I did, however, have some hope for the Princess.  I texted her and asked her about the possibility that she would have one big enough and, sure enough, she does.  The problem is it was *in use* so I can't get it until tomorrow.  So....tune in tomorrow for the results.

    I discovered that I had unintentionally bought some of those fancy cut pint size jelly jars with the jars I bought earlier in the year.  I decided that I am going to go ahead and make some cucumber spears (dill) after I get done with the zucchini pickles.  I will use the cute jars for those I might actually send to certain (ahem) people who shall remain unnamed or even the Princess and Tara.    When I checked out the number of cukes I have, I figure I can easily fill 8 pints.  Those will require just a bit more *sit* time...a week...but it's better than most regular dill pickles.

    Bratfink shared some recipes with me from the interwebs (as she calls it) that are for refrigerator pickles that don't require canning, just a kind of *aging*.  I may give a few of them a try down the road.  After a day or two of canning, I get tired of it and usually don't even want to look at food for a while. 

    Tara's sons came over around 5:30pm and started in on doing yard work right away.  The first thing the younger one did was the edging all around the back of the house, the fences and the barn area..  After he did around the deck and stairs, he moved out front.  His brother started in cutting the grass around all the trees out front that the Beast hadn't done already (which was quite a few of them).  I don't think either of them got to use the John Deere this time (although both boys are licensed drivers now) mainly because that's the part the Beast finds easy and relaxing if he doesn't have to do all the other stuff.  To be fair, he also didn't want the boys suffering from the heat by being out in it too long either.  However, I noticed the boys didn't look the least bit stressed by their time outside unlike the Beast.  I had to make them drink some liquids because I knew, regardless, they would have lost fluids.

    Our dinner tonight was BLT's.  We are eating lots of stuff that help use up some of the tomatoes but don't even make a dent in them.  Tomorrow will be salads, perhaps with a bit of tuna, too.  Why is it salads taste so darn good in the summer? 

    Love you all.  Going to get this posted now and I hope you are having a great day.  Stay cool, too many states are under intense heat advisories.  Drive carefully and be nice to everyone today.  It will sure confuse a lot of people.