Tomato's and Heat

Well the tomato's look like they are done for the summer. It's just getting too hot for them to set fruit. Not to mention that it seems no amount of water seems to keep the leaves from curling up.  I'm hoping I can keep them watered and alive for the next couple of months. If so, they should start setting fruit again once it cools back off.  I know I got a late start putting them in the ground this spring and so really, I'm happy to have gotten a few nice fresh and tasty tomato's from them.  It sure would have been nice to have been able to put some up though.  The hope now is to have a good fall crop. Get some canned.  We use a
lot of tomato's and tomato products around here and having them on hand would sure cut the grocery costs. I'm happy to say that I've been able to put up several jars of pickles, both sweet and dills this year.  We should be good to go on them for the coming year. As for the tomato's, maybe it's all for the best. If we have a good fall crop I can do some canning while it's not 100+ degrees outside! 

Speaking of hot weather some of you may recall that our air conditioner is out. A hail storm last year took  out the fan blade and we haven't been able to locate another one.  It seems they stopped manufacturing the part. Thanks to a good friend, I've been able to locate another one on Ebay after months of searching. Of course ordering it isn't in the budget at the moment but it's good to know where I can find it.  The only reason I bring it up is because being without a/c will make you re-think the way you do some things.  Like firing up the oven.  Lately I have been waiting till after dark and it's cooling down to bake my bread. It means I stay up a bit later to get it done but I'm not trying to bake when the outside temps and the oven temps seem to be about the same!  I've also been doing what little canning as well as other baking I've been able to do this year at night.  As a matter of fact I've got one last batch of pickles that needs processing and a cake that I've been dying to try on the agenda for tonight.

 Even though the temperatures are staying around 100 degrees here it is time to start thinking about Fall garden. I am getting ready to pull out my seeds from the freezer and see what all I can get started. I'm counting on the fact that if I get them started Mars will till us up a place to put them.  Yeah, I know, it's a little "sneaky" but I know he just won't be able stand to see those cute little plants going "homeless".  LOL   Besides, with the cost of everything going up so dramatically this past year, how can we afford not to grow as much of our own foods as possible.  It's not like food prices are going to be going down and we all need to eat. 

So have you started planning or planting anything yet?  I've said it before and I'll continue to say it... If you do not have some sort of food growing , you should be.  No excuses.  I don't want to hear that you don't have any room for growing food. I will call you out on that one!  If nothing else, you can grow a little herb garden in your kitchen window.  Make a salad garden and grow it on your patio.  Anything is better than nothing. You can't eat "nothing".   We are coming on some hard times as individuals and as a nation and it is our DUTY to take care of ourselves and our loved ones. No one is "coming to help".  We have to be responsible for ourselves.  You must look out for you and yours and do the very best you can. 

The deal we were supposed to be getting on the internet connection is still on a holding pattern.  They showed up to do the install after a 3 week wait and things went great for all of a day and a half.  Then it just stopped working.  Apparently the modem is bad.  So after calling WildBlue about the problem, they set up a date for a tech to come out and fix the problem.  The earliest time we could get them out here.... TWO WEEKS.  Well since there was nothing we could do about that I set up the appointment for them to come out.  They should have been here yesterday.  No one called and no one came out.  After spending several hours on the phone throughout the day demanding some sort of explanation they rescheduled.  For next week.  Of course, when they charged me for the service they took it out even before it was ever even installed. Do they care that it will now be SIX weeks and still no service?  Yeah, well... of course not!  OK, rant over.  So for now I'm still using the aircard. Not the greatest way to be online but certainly better than none.

      ~~~~~~ Hey ... I'm Just Sayin' ...  ~~~~~~