Another Day In Paradise

Today was my day "off". My workweek doesn't come with weekends off. It makes for some interesting tradeoffs with Mars(DH) and myself as he actually has a normal workweek. This can sometimes be a challenge but we do the best we can.

First order of the day was to sleep in! Always my favorite part of being off work!! I finally got out of bed about 8:30 or so and made a cup of Earl Grey. I sat on the patio, enjoying the beautiful weather, listening to the birds and the squirrels chattering away. I love my little patio. Then it was time to wash the dishes and started some laundry.

After that it was down to the garden to do some watering and weeding. Everything is looking great. I picked a big mess of speckle beans and a few cowpeas. Mars (DH) had to take the day off to work on the diesel.
Which kinda worked out nice as we have different days off and don't spend much time together other than in the afternoons. We added more dirt to the potato sacks. They are looking good ! Then back to the patio to snap some beans to get ready for my very first canning experience. We have been planning since Saturday to can today. We had a pretty good mess of speckled beans then and figured by today we would have a buttload! We did! I found another good job for the FoodSaver too. I vaccum sealed the beans from Saturday and they were fresh as could be today. Cool , huh!

You all know how days off are.... there are always errands to be ran. I was off to the Pipe and Tobacco store for a pound of tobacco. The parts place had the water pump but had to order the belt. So I swung by there on the way back from the "Big City" to pick it up.

Then it was off to Wally World. I finally picked up my canning tool kit with the jar lifter, funnel,etc.. I also picked up a timer and some dill seed. Mars had made a comment the other day about...."Aren't you thinking your gonna need dill for pickles!" Geesh! And then it was off to the local grocery for a couple of sale items. The bakery there saves their foodgrade buckets for me but I have to check daily or they toss them at the end of the day. Score for today was one 3 1/2 gallon bucket! Finally, all done, and back to the house.

During all this, Mars replaced the water pump on the truck. Then he proceeded to set up an outdoor propane DIY stove for doing the canning outside. Living in an RV, one of the first things we thought about was the heat generated by any fire in the trailer. It's just too hot in the summer here to make it worse. It kind of goes the same with the cooking in the summers here. Most is done on the grill, or in the microwave or its cold meals like salads and such.

He replaced the serpentine belt and I finished up watering the "second" garden while the jars were sterilizing. Then it was time for my virginity to be taken. WE CANNED!!!!
We ended up with a full canner load. 4 quarts of speckled beans and 2 quarts of yellow squash.
I know there are lots of people who say you can't can yellow squash but I remember it being done when I was a kid. I raw packed it and if it don't kill us then it outta be good right?

By this time its like 9 PM and dinners still not cooked. We decided to make taco's on the little propane grill. We didn't have lettuce so we used baby spinach instead. Pulled up a fresh onion outta the garden, some cheese and salsa... Yummy!

As I sit here tonite I think that its going to be one very long and very interesting summer.