The Loooong Weekend

I was able to get up to my cabin late Friday afternoon and stay until late Monday.  I've been planning this short vacation since the March Birthday weekend snowed out a couple of the expected guests...we said then we would get together for a week to 10 days in August...well some of us could only do three days, I could only do 4 but two of the friends are able to stay until next week.  I wish I was up at the cabin with them.  Of course I did take up five gallons of paint, a re-glazed window, caulking and cleaning supplies for them so they won't get bored!  I have the plumber coming up to measure the bath house for a new shower and toilet.  I don't think I have shared I only have an outhouse at the cabin...I had to install a nice septic tank, but I never connected it to a toilet...well, this Fall I will finally get the toilet and an awesome indoor shower and a nice outdoor shower.  I have asked the plumber to install an on demand tankless water heater and winterize all the pipes...even if that means digging a trench, insulating the pipes and burying them.  I asked him to prep all the electrical to be switched over to solar/wind without too much trouble.

Barbara, Paula and Dee Dee Looking at Paula's
Pictures of Her Trip To China

Charlene and Dee Dee Prepping Lunch

Nancy Snacking!

My Wonderful Outhouse!

Another Outhouse View

Old Shower in the Bath House

Harvest Monday...Oops! TUESDAY!

I took a long weekend holiday and went to my cabin and enjoyed time with my old school chums...fun, fun, fun!  Got home late Monday...so I picked a bit this morning before running off to work.

A Few Tomatoes, Peaches, Chilis, Basil, Fresh Eggs and a Whopper Zuchinni

I'll be doing a much better *checking out* of the garden later today after my nap...those Cabin Girls sure know how to keep a gal from her rest!

School Lunch Is Making Me Sick!

No, really...one of those tiny little darlings sprayed me with cootie virus and I'm sick as a dog!  But the school doesn't have a substitute substitute assistant cook; I'm stuck.  I have bundled myself up...dosed myself with everything I can find that says: Cold Remedy and put on a super-dooper surgical mask, double gloved after scrubbing my poor hands raw and applying hand sanitizer because I will continue onward and upward to feed the tummy's of the fresh young minds in trusted to me.  In the meantime I have not made it out to the garden since Friday...I put my husband in charge...I have a counter full of tomatoes, peppers, squash and basil...oh and lots of eggs.  I need to either cook or dehydrate his harvest, or I'm going to end up feeding everything to the chickens.  Now, I'm going to take a hot bath with eucalyptus bath salts and go to bed...I will get back to this blog when I feel like a human again...

Just This Week's Photos

I have been faithfully taking pictures since starting the new job...but having a hard time putting together posts.  I decided to go ahead and post the pics I have with captions.

I Have Peppers Coming Out of My Ears...All Kinds...Bells, Paprika, Tex Mex Chilies, Ancho, Pimentos

One Evenings Pick From The Garden

Farmers Market Goodies

Prepping For The Fall Garden

The Herb Garden...With A Bit Of Chard

Peanuts!

My Technicolor Zinnias

Big Daddy's Grandma Agnes's Peaches...YUMMY!

Eggs, Squash and Peppers

Added A Few Peaches

Making Hybrid Zucchini Squash Seed...Two Varieties...One Gets Harvested



One Variety



Both The Varieties

Bees and The Sunflower Fields

I only had a small bit of time in the garden this afternoon ...I was in a rush to add another small honey super to the bee hive.  The 300 acres of sunflowers are blooming and the bees are working their bee butts off.  I've had so many problems with my bees this season, I want to make sure they have plenty of room when the nectar flows.  It looks like I'll get at least a hundred pounds of honey from the hives that survived the herbicide spray, wax moth, unusually cold season and the swarming we've suffered.  I've been feeding pollen patties so they've been hatching brood like crazy.  Instead of splitting the hives I added a couple large supers on each hive in July and kept the bees fed hoping to strengthen the hives.  Today when I checked the 3 large supers on each hive were full of brood, pollen and honey.  The squash, melons and squash are also blooming along with the sunflowers...lots and lots of nectar: I'll most likely have to add several more small supers before the season ends.  The bees brought into the fields for pollination will be swarming, too...so I've set-up a half dozen nuc hives to see if I can capture any...I love free bees!  It's been hot so I've had to make sure all of the bees are watered.  The field bees come into my apiary and drink gallons of water.  I've added several areas for all the bees to get a drink.

Munching On My Melons!

While I've been busy and distracted by the new job some ornery animal has been munching on my Emerald Gem Melons!  These are the same melons that volunteered this year (one ending up growing in a cinder block hole).  I have about 4 melons and the nice big one has been chewed on!  I couldn't remember what melon this was so I had to look it up on the Baker Creek website...I planted it last year and it was delicious.  I'll be saving seed this year and I'll share...just let me know.  It's ripe when it's ugly warty skin/shell is green...I waited a bit too long.  You can actually smell their perfume up at the house...I just missed the short window of time to pick.  I'll be paying better attention when the others are ripe.

Thought you'd like to take a look at my volunteer pumpkins, too.  I have no idea where these came from.  This is not the variety we grow on the ranch and we have never planted pumpkins in my garden, nor thrown any seeds in the mushroom compost (other things yes...never pumpkins).  I'm wondering if one of my boys planted these seeds to rile me up!  It's certainly something they would do.  The vines look like they have some powdery mildew...so they should be pulled out soon...I'm waiting as long as I can.

My First Week Of The New Normal


I had a *Back To School* mixer for the returning and new employees of the Williams Unified School District at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.  This was the first opportunity I've had to look at the 3 kitchens I'll be substituting in and meeting the staff I'll be working with.  The truth is the mixer was like *old home week*.  I knew almost everyone there.  I sold homes for or to most of the staff.  I think more than a handful of people were very surprised to see I was now cooking for the school.  Most folks know I don't need to work outside of the home.   People that have taken the time and energy (yep...takes lots of energy) to KNOW me, understand why I do enjoy working...and why I have had such a diverse collection of careers...I think I've shared before I'm a quick-study and very easily bored.  I'm also one of those rare people that get a bug up their butt and then jumps in feet first.  And speaking of feet: MINE ARE KILLING ME!!!!



The job is a challenge, no instruction, on my feet the entire time, very short on staff and I don't know the 2 women I'm working with: I know the staff at the other two kitchens. I'm substituting for 3 weeks out at the elementary school.  I'm working with kindergarten, first, second and third graders.   I was kinda' thrown in with a *sink or swim* attitude...and so far, I'm treading water, but haven't drown yet.  I have not made any screw-ups...there's really no cooking involved...it's open a big box of prepared-prepackaged food...put on a huge tray...heat in the ovens...take out...put on a styro (yuck) partitioned student tray...make sure the kiddies have milk (regular, chocolate or strawberry...icky)...rush them through like cattle and then rush them back out to class...go pee and hurry up cause here comes the next batch of kids...after everyone is fed...clean up the kitchen, sweep, then mop yourself out the door.  Time in:  7:30 a.m. time out: 1:00 p.m.  I have a mandatory 30 minute break at 9:00 a.m. We feed about 240 kids at breakfast and 480 kids at lunch.  Then we feed the teachers, janitors and 6 kids in a middle school continuation school program.

One great thing is I have worked a deal with the janitor to take home as many of the leftovers as I want to feed the chickens...yeah!  Twice the two gals I work with have asked me if I want something to eat (I think they thought I was taking the leftovers to feed to my family)...I had to tell them yesterday that I don't eat processed-plastic bagged food.  I told them about my garden, the chickens, the grass fed beef and pastured pork...I don't think they cared.  I'm hoping I didn't come off as pompous...the two ladies I'm working with here at the elementary school work very hard at their job...their families depend on them for a paycheck and they are nice ladies.  I did tell them I do sneak a Quarter Pounder with Cheese and McDonald's fries every once in a while and that my husband and I go out to dinner about once a month.  This Monday I will bring them both some eggs, tomatoes, zucchini and maybe a jar of canned peaches.

The End Of Day One: Foot Soak, Foot Gel Inserts, Ace Knee Brace and Support Knee Highs!!

 And A Nice Cool Bubble Bath Then Beddy-Bye!
 (don't you love my tub...those slate tiles have fossils imbedded in them)