After my usual morning routine(s) of a cup of hot green tea, a few quiet moments and the posting of this ramble and a glass of V-8 juice I headed out to check on the gardens. I've skipped breakfast all of this week as well as lunch except for a banana and an energy drink and I've not missed either of the meals. I'm hoping this reduction of food will help me reduce the spare tire as my energy level has soared and that I'm using up some of the stored belly fat.
The gardens are looking great with bush beans poking through the ground as well as okra. Still looking for some potato buds, corn and cucumbers all from seeds. I've found a few slimy slugs and quickly dispatch them with a hoe or my shoe. The recent transplants of perennials from Lowes are doing well. The sugar peas and 1/2 runner beans are really showing colors so I headed up into the woods to gather a couple new posts to anchor the climbing fences made of chicken wire. It's so much easier to harvest them standing up instead of bending over to the ground, plus these plants will climb as high as you put the fences.
We were phoned by the Lowes delivery truck that our new flat top stove was being delivered within the hour. We are thrilled or at least Nancy is with the product as we no longer have to buy burner trays and the new stove has a light inside the oven and now she has some extra counter space as well. I managed to successfully re-level the stove and raise it up from where it was initially installed. I then headed upstairs to install a new water intake valve for the commode and that proved successful the first time. We decided to head over to our "mountain moms" to help her with a few chores. I fixed a table with new screws and bolts on her outside deck, put in her window a/c unit and fixed her garage door that got out of its track. I broke my diet with an orange dream sickle as we sat on her back porch over looking the beautiful mountains in the distance, wow was that ever tasty and took me back to our grade school days when we use to get ice cream after school. She gave us a small pomegranate tree she had ordered so when I got back to the cabin I had to clear out an area that got mostly afternoon and evening sun to plant it, hopefully it will grow here as their fruit is very healthy for you.
We had driven the golf cart over to Helen's and on the way back home Nancy got chilled. It was probably in the high 70's but her blood is still thin from Florida living. I thought it was perfect for working and
being out doors. I once more tore down the dang bird's nest that keeps wanting to build above the windows that leave a trail of crap all over the side of the house. This is the first year we have ever had that problem and these birds are persistent to say the least. She or they keep building and I keep tearing it down at 3-4 times a day. I left the ladder position thinking that was acting as a deterrent; but No.I grilled a couple marinated salmon steaks and along with a rice dish and some black beans we had supper with a little homemade apple sauce on the side with some leftover cornbread, delicious!!! After the cleanup we headed out on our daily hike to the top of the mountain. The views were once again awesome and we never get tired of them. We stopped and visited with Jetta and Zeke as Joe is off on a mission with his brother for a couple days. We will check on her and Norm while he is gone. We got back in time for me to do some hoeing and transplant some lilies that is crowding on of my climbing rose bushes. I need to find a trellis out of mountain Laurel for it to climb on. This rose bush has the best aroma of any I've ever found. It's an old time bush that Helen brought from her grandmothers place many years ago and this was a cutting or a shoot she gave me several years back. The flowers are small but plentiful and it climbs as well.
Well I stayed outside until nearly 9 before heading in to the hot shower. I did manage to check on the back sliding Ray's and they were winning for the first time in several games; but the game wasn't over so that could have changed with their bullpen woes, oh well. We have no change on Eddie's condition to report so please keep him in your thoughts and prayers, LATER
