Crab Boil

Rick got home early so we ran to the store.  At the store they had fresh corn and new potatoes.  We came back home to put up fish and have a crab boil.   He caught kingfish and amberjack.  While at our BIL's he caught the crabs.  He knows how much I love a boil so he bought some shrimp before coming home.  

He had such a good time.   He's happy and sunburned.

The boil was delicious.  We'll have it again tomorrow night.

Between having the garden and the coast, you can eat well yet healthy.

Thanks for stopping by.

  

QUIET DAY

                             Rick got a chance to go deep sea fishing so I am home alone.

The gardenias are blooming and smell wonderful. 

Mom's bush is hanging in there.  It didn't bloom but I think it's going to survive.  The one in the pictures above is several years old.  Lowe's had them on sale a couple of weeks ago so we bought 2 more.  It has been wonderful to be out in the yard and walk thru a perfumed breeze. 

We had some things hanging in the garage.  A little bird built her nest there.

So now I am tippy toeing around when I wash clothes so I don't disturb her.  I hope she has wonderful babies.

More peppers are coming.  I picked 2 yesterday and there are several more coming.

 

We still have peaches.  I keep waiting for the squirrels to take them.  Hopefully they'll let some get ripe and I'll snag me some.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

 

I wasn't feeling great today so I had a lazy day of just ironing scraps.  Looks like I'll be doing another string quilt.  I don't know where this box came from but I need to do something with it.  I hate waste so I couldn't throw it away. 

In the box I found some bow ties and pieces to make bow ties.  There were some squares cut out too.  I've never made a bow tie quilt.  Maybe it's time I did. 

When I finished I had filled two of those white baskets. 

My overgrown cactus from a pot seems happy in it's new spot.

Mom's lilies are blooming.  Rick had recently moved the ones below but they must be happy in their new spot. 

These have been in this spot for awhile.  They are slowly multiplying.

Last but not least the peaches are still growing.

We seem to have two kinds of peach trees.  They were given to us so we don't know what they are. I think we have 6 and half are red and half are green. 

Our plum trees did not bloom. I need to research
"why".  The pear did bloom but the blooms fell off.  It's an old tree of my dad's so we are hoping with a little TLC we can bring it back to health. 

 

Happy Sunday! Hope you have a good work week.

 

Weekends

I tried to have a simple weekend but naturally it wasn't.  It seems we always have chores/to do's each weekend and I decided I wanted a "do nothing" weekend.  Saturday didn't turn out like I planned but Sunday was great.  See my little tomato?

 

 

And I already have a banana pepper too.  It's fun to see the trees budding out, flowers, veggies, etc.  I love spring the best, but fall is really fantastic too. 

Saturday we said goodbye to a truck we kinda liked.  We bought it in 93 and I drove it for 7 years.  Hubby drove it another 7 years. Then our son drove it another 7 years. Lots of memories in that truck.  My daughter and I rode to work together in it.  Lordy, my son was only 5 when we bought it. Sigh.

After the truck left we grilled plus we had a crab/shrimp boil. We enjoyed it with our son and his girl.  The leftovers lasted several days so it was great to be able to avoid cooking for a few days.  Oh, I almost forgot, I finally bought a new grill.  We went to the old house to move more things.  We had the propane and charcoal grills.  I looked at both of them and said "screw it".  I deserve a new grill.  Hubby wants to build a nice charcoal grill later on.  For now the propane will get us by.

This is our new girl grand dog Luna.

Goose is our boy grand dog.  He's really cute.  He's been around awhile and is totally adorable.

Life is good but busy.  My "to do" list grows instead of shrinking.  I finally got off my butt and got our taxes done.  I don't know why I procrastinate.  Ours are basic and easy but I just don't want to do them.  So once again I am filing at the last minute.

 

Someone asked me recently what my house looked like.  It is tiny and simple.  This rear view shows left to right, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom.

 

This view is my sewing room and the living room. 

I love my tiny house.  I never had a fancy mansion but as a working mom with a 4 bedroom 2 bath house I had more work than leisure.  I don't miss that anchor.  The biggest comfort here is knowing my dad built this house with his own hands.  He was smart enough to make friends with real home builders.  He would get off work and go hang out with the builders at a neighborhood that was going up.  He brought coffee and donuts and they let him follow them around and learn. 

This is the back from the garden.  No hummingbirds yet. 

Notice the light is on and I am definitely home.  That's my sewing room aka my old bedroom as a child. 

 

Thanks for stopping by.

The rain here just goes on and on.  After going thru a dought for years we are now trying to flood ourselves into the gulf of mexico.  What happened to "moderate"?

My toddy for the nasty weather.  You can only be cold or wet for so long and then you crack.

So I started digging in boxes that I never had time before.

This horse/donkey is adorable.  I have no idea who made it.  But it will now have a special place.

The deer will be finished and used somewhere to make me smile.

These pillow cases are beautiful.  I hope I can get the yellow stains out.  Due to the rainy weather on Sunday, one closet was cleaned out.  I went thru some of Mom and Dads stuff and I'm ready to let go of things.  I have a big pile for my next trip to visit my family.  It's time to let go and move on.

Our weather is all over the place.  One day we are freezing and next we need to turn on the AC.

During a freeze I asked hubby to make me chili.  He did and it was great. 

I was raised eating chili over mashed potatoes.  But I wanted frito's this time.  I guess it was my take on frito pie. Whatever, it was good.

And yes, I asked for beans in my chili.  And yes, I was born and raised in Texas.  Get over it.

It rained all day and it's cold.   Gotta go.

 



$10.00 Bell Pepper Plant and Of Course, more Work

Years back I was tired of my bell pepper plants not producing and paying a premium for red bell peppers. I can't remember where we were but there was this bell pepper plant about 2' high with 5 peppers on it.  I bought it for  $9.?? and Rick harassed me for days about it. 

It moved to it's new home this weekend.  I think I've had it about 4 years and it gives me bell peppers year round.  They are usually small and once in awhile a deformed one has to be thrown away.  Yet I can look at hubby and smile while reminding him that I have definitely got my money's worth out of this plant. 

That pretty red one ended up in tomato soup.  I got a quart of tomatoes we canned in 2013 and made a little soup (no recipe), meat loaf, and a new recipe for potato salad.  Didn't like the potato salad but the soup is a keeper.  I am looking forward to fresh veggies.  I have the new lettuces in the bed and wish I had fresh tomatoes.

The second bed is started and the first bed is planted.  The only plants I have left from last year was a sage plant, rosemary (in pot between beds), bell pepper, and aloe Vera.  The aloe vera's are overgrown in one pot.  I started separating them before we moved but I think I want to just have them in a bed somewhere instead of pots.  Spoiler alert - Rick checking smoker in the background.

Tomatoes were added in the first bed today.  I know Rick has them in his garden so I went for the petite.  I did screw up on one of them.  I bought the yellow pear shape which I love and then I went for a grape tomato which I discovered at planting time was yellow too.  I kinda wanted yellow and red which is silly but it'll be okay.

All the rain we were told was coming didn't happen so I had to watered the plants.  Prep for Texas weather coming soon.

Walking past the garlic I saw this little guy hanging out.

Then I went into the garage to move the clothes to the dryer and there were 2 more lizards hanging out in the window.  I didn't have my camera but they were just as cute as this guy.

Here's the sausage Rick made.  2 racks are deer and pork.  2 racks are pork only.

A lot of work goes into getting to this part but he loves it and other people love his sausage.  They have liked it enough to want to buy his pork only.  This man has many talents.  I run around trying to keep up and he sweetly doesn't notice.  40 + years and I am lucky to have such a great partner.

Well it's back to work tomorrow so I'll write again when there's time.

 

Work but Satisfaction

We went to Lowe's early to get a wagon I ordered.  I love my rolling green monster but it seems when I need a wagon Rick has it or vice a versa.  So I bought a metal one that can haul heavier loads.  I'll take pics and share soon.  Then we ran to the grocery store and then to the old house to load up more stuff.  We really need to wrap that house up and move on.

While at Lowes we picked up more dirt for the herb bed. Peppermint is in the bucket. Mint tends to go crazy so I decided to contain it in an old bucket.

It feels good looking at it. It's fun finally doing the things you enjoy. I also bought some lettuces and spinach.

Left in the picture is cilantro.  We have a love/hate relationship.

 

The plants are from the left, Swiss chard, then spinach, and above the spinach is romaine.  It would be nice if I could have a few salads before they die from the Texas heat.  I bought burlap and will try to provide a roof to help deflect the heat if I can. 

Hubby spent the day making sausage.  One of his employees loves his sausage so when he was given a bunch of deer meat he asked Rick to make sausage.  Rick spent all day prepping so I stayed out of the way outside.  Tomorrow he will spend it smoking the links.  Can't guarantee pics since we have 80% rain but will try. 

With moving and downsizing I have been going thru lots of boxes.  I found some loose stars in a box.  After digging some more I found the quilt above.  It's a friendship quilt and I'm guessing from around 1920 to 1930's.  I found 4 loose stars and after looking at the quilt I found 3 stars with dry rotted material.  I gently appliqued 3 on over the bad ones.  I love my modern life but every time I find something like this, it takes my breath away.  First because it is still here and second because of the work that went into it.  This whole thing is hand sewed.  How many of us do not have the patience to hem our pants much less hand sew a quilt.

This is my great aunt Ruby's star.  She was still single at the time and used the same address as her mom below.

This was the granny that raised my mother.  Mrs. Clark Martin Schmidt.  My mother was born in the twenties and her parents divorced when she was very young, around 2-4.  Her father remarried a woman with twins and they proceeded to have 3 boys.  For whatever reason, her granny raised her and she grew up with all of these aunts and uncles as her siblings/parents.  She adored her real siblings and but always took care of the people who raised her.  I had not really thought of it until now but mom was there for most of their final days.  She sat at hospitals day and night.  Some she cared for at her home or theirs in the final days.  Mom was special.

Thanks for stopping by.