Nightie, Night

I should be in bed. Or, nearer to it than I am. But, since the rest of our week's schedule is lookin' pretty crazy, I thought I'd better take the time now to write.

A blogger who I occasionally read (no segue here, but did any of us know what a 'blogger' even WAS ten years ago?!) just wrote the following: "So I've been writing [. . .] quite some time. And since I started this site I've come to meet a lot of fine people along the way. People from all over the world who take part in all the little triumphs (and troubles) [. . . .] Now I want to ask you a favor. If you read my blog regularly, please respond to this post with a comment about yourself. Tell me where you're from, what you do [* . . . .] What would you like me to write more about? Is there anything I can explain better? The more I know about the people reading up on me, the better I can write stuff you'll be interested in taking time out of your busy lives to read. But beyond content and criticism, I'd just really appreciate getting to know more of you, as you've all come to know me. So please come in, sit down, and say hello."

I couldn't have said it better myself (so I didn't). But, the point is, who are YOU? I know of The Usual Suspects (Mom, Tom - he says he likes to know what he's been up to!, Mrs. Phys-Phys, KT, B, and Uncle M), but who else is out there? As of (hang on) . . . NOW . . . that blogger has received 40 replies! If I'm even 1/4 that lucky, I'll be tickled. ;) (And, my * refers to me adding "why you read this blog".)

Now, back to the daily drudgery (Did I just say that? Must be the Mexican hot chocolate talking.)

I FINALLY got the salsa all canned today! Some of the tomatoes had been waiting a little too long for my attention, so a good portion were thrown to the chickens, ducks, turkey, and goose. BUT, that's good, too: it will come back to us in healthy eggs and meat.

This initial shot is of our Swamp River Ridge Salsa (medium, thank you very much) in the big pot . . . up close and personal. ("Swampy Salsa"? Umm . . . no.)


And . . . a satisfying shot of a job completed. 23 half-pints of salsa, all tolled. Yayyy!


Next it was on to the honkin' big zucchini that had been living on my countertop for a week or more (having been harvested - as the above tomatoes had been - from my mama's almost over-abundant garden). They were, by far, the easiest processing I've done this year between the green beans, pickles, salsa, and now these. They just needed some sugar to help preserve them in the freezer.

So, after peeling and shredding them all (I should have taken a picture of that!), I divided them and their respective amounts of sugar into freezer bags. Now I have 11 packages ready and waiting for 11 batches of zucchini bread to be made some cold winter day. Mmmm, can't you almost smell it baking already?

Meanwhile, after a full morning of volunteering at the local folk school preparing for the big shebang this weekend and a full afternoon of meetings, Tom came home early enough to hit the last of the wood we harvested this past weekend. The small, gangly tree ends were thrown into the truck, as is. (The guys didn't take time to cut them onsite.) So, with proper OSHA-approved clothing and footwear (ah-hem!), Tom took care of that pile tonight with his lightweight baby-sized chainsaw.


That's all for now. Happy Hump Day (in 5 minutes).