Mish Mash

 When we went to the Wednesday market, we bought peaches and watermelon. The peaches are white-flesh and the watermelon is a tiny thing, seedless, I suppose. We decided we might be able to get that into the house and cut. I would prefer a larger one. But, Tommy cannot carry it nor can I. Plus, the leftovers would be heavy, too. U am getting shakier by the day on my feet, so no use tempting fate. 

Tommy put it on the dining table in the dark and out of sight. So, we have forgotten it. That annoys me. Hopefully, it will still be good. He left it in the car when we came home, so not sure what hours of heat did to it and then ignoring it in here for four days. 

The peaches are not very good. I am sure if I were canning them, they would taste much better. They had sold the last baskets of the better tasting peaches as we came up. We saw the woman purchase them. 

The internet is filled with pink items for the Barbiecore movement afoot. There are even people dressing for attending the movie in pink. And, there are ads for what to wear. I like pink and it has nothing to do with Barbie. I am quite sure I don't fit in with the culture it promotes. Is Barbie pushing Princesses aside?

This VIDEO is about a family in Appalachia. There are other videos about the Whittakers, an inbred family. They get haircuts, go to walmart and show the photographer around their house and land. It is sad and fascinating.

I actually know someone, a family, actually where incest is rampant. The parents of one of these people promotes boyfriends/girlfriends from the time the kids are very small to try and not have the same thing happen in their nuclear family. And, they encourage teen marriages, I suppose to remove temptations. It is sick what they are doing too, just not incestuous. 

Do you know of an incestuous situation?

Farmer's Market and Grocery Shopping

citrus juicer/reamer

We went to the Wednesday one-day Farmer's Market today. Tommy thought it was from 3-6 pm and I thought it was from 4-7 pm. Well, we were both wrong. It is from 9-6 pm. I have been waiting for it to start, and he thought I was letting it pass today or something like that. However, we left about 3:30 to shop.

There were only six booths today by the time we got there about 4 pm. Three were not produce, just canned food. One guy had lots of wooden lawn furniture. I bought a box of blueberries for $4 and a little box of squash for $4. The squash were just like I prefer yellow squash. They were all about five inches long. The blueberries were really fresh. I had some out of the bag on the way home. 

We also went to our three stores to get the ads. Tommy went to the first store and refused to get a pork butt for $1.78/lb. He did not want to shop and said they would be there another day. Pooh! I went into The Pig and Publix. 

Publix had Spice Island Spices bogo. I needed dill and parsley for a mix. Bananas and Chips Ahoy bogo. Libby's Pumpkin was still fifty cents, so I bought two more. 

I finally found a juicer/reamer. It has a glass container with plastic juicer screwed onto the top. I did not want plastic, but that is all there was. I had about a half-dozen of the antique glass juicers that I prefer, but I don't know if any are still in my possession or in the landfill. I also found a single brownie mix bag for half price. 

I was in no mood to cook when we came home. The hen is not thawed. There was no more leftover protein in the refrigerator. So, I told Tommy to see what was in the big freezer. He came back with a package of sixteen meatballs, and another package with a generous meatloaf. He wanted the meatballs, so that is what we had. He ate meatballs, pasta, and leftover spaghetti sauce, and a huge salad. I might have the same. 

Dinner for tomorrow night will be meatloaf and leftover potatoes. Maybe we will have corn on the cob or squash. Dinner ready to eat for tomorrow makes me happy. 

There is no zester in sight. The grater has just a smaller grater, so maybe no help. Plus, I only found one citrus juicer in the one store that had juicer label on the shelf. Is everyone zesting and juicing citrus, or is this a supply-chain issue? My big box grater had one whole side that was a zester. Do you have a box grater with a zester? There is one store in Cullman that will have what I need. 

Now, I should wash the juicer, wash the lemons, zest the lemons, juice the lemons. Ugh! I am tired. 

The Purple D' Oro bloomed today and three more blossoms, at least, will bloom soon. I really want to hit up Lowe's every day and see what flower is on sale. But, I won't. 

Tommy discovered some herb butter in the refrigerator, and he loves it. So, I will try to mix some he will love. He will love it on squash I will cook on the stovetop. Do you add herbs to butter? 

My a2 milk is on sale for $3.60/half gallon at The Pig, as opposed to $4.99 at Publix. If I use the digital coupon, I can get it for $2.85. However, the digital coupon can only be used 2 X. I will take advantage of the price and the coupon. 

Today has been a good day. Warm is always good, and sun is better! I did not wash my hair like I wanted to do. It is late, so not dealing with lemons even though the juicer is clean. 

What did you accomplish today? Cooking, gardening, washing? Have you ever had an antique glass juicers/reamer? Maybe you still use one?

Purple Cauliflower/New Farmer's Market

Today, as I said we would, we went for the ads at three stores. I had looked up the ads online and we made a list from my search. But, I wanted them in hand. So, we did get them to have here and study. Sometimes, I miss things in the tiny print and pictures. 

On the way to the third store, we passed what was apparently a farmer's market. On the way back they allowed us to drive into the space. There were only three vendors left. I am not sure how many were there originally. It started at 4 pm. We arrived at 5 pm. This is a small market that only meets on Wednesday. 

The first booth had wonderful bbq sauce and other canned items. We just tasted the sample, about two tsp. in a tiny cup, tinier than I have ever seen. This is obviously a small market, but the selection of the three booths was good for us. Next week, we will be there by 4 pm and maybe get a better selection.

I have never seen purple cauliflower that I can remember. But, I have a head now at only $2. I found three cups of strawberries @ $4/cup. She dumped them into a basket. Those were the last three. So, that was $12. Tommy was against buying it. He thought the purple color was icky, I guess. I told him I would cut a bag for his salad. He made a face and shook his head, "No!" I think it would be pretty in a salad. 

I had to try their own blueberry lemonade. I doubt it was pasteurized, but it was in plastic bottle with labels. It was delicious. I bet I could make a cheaper version myself. 

Dinner: Tommy had chicken thigh, salad, potatoes with onion. I had spaghetti, salad, and later had potato salad. 

Have you ever seen a head of purple cauliflower? Have you eaten any?

Isn't it fun to find a new source of home-grown vegetables?

Sweet Potatoes and a Yard Sale

 Saturday, we went to Cullman to the Festhalle Farmer's Market. There were few vendors left when we got there about 11 am. But, my sweet potato farmer was there. His 40 lb boxes of sweet potatoes were not there, just 32 lb boxes. I got the last one. Maybe I will go out to his farm for another box. This won't be enough. 

He also had a $5 container of really tiny squash, bred for their thin skins and smaller seeds. Good. The squash I bought at the grocery store were tough as leather and had huge seeds. 

The whole day was warm and downright bright! The blue skies were so bright! I must get prescription sunglasses. I was blinded all day. The day was very warm, so I decided I should get out something summery and wore my striped outfit, the one with a floral print, too. The red t-shirt I was going to wear will be appropriate all winter long, but the summery one won't. 

We drove another 15 miles out in the country for a sandwich from the Mennonite store, Dutch Oven Bakery. We shared a sandwich that had turkey breast slices 1/2 inch thick. The slices were thin but stacked high. It was delicious and plenty. We both had a peach fried pie, hand-pie. It was awful. First of all, there was dribbled over it an icing of powdered sugar. Plus, the pastry was flaky like store bought goods. The filling was thickened, very thick, lacked peaches but had too much sugar. I never did find peaches, so quit eating. 

They sell wrapped candy by the piece. I had pecan in caramel dipped in chocolate. I chose peanut butter filling dripped in chocolate for Tommy. These went up from 3/$1 to 60 cents/each. We sat under a tree and ate in the car. We could get out and eat at a picnic table, but the wind was very rough. 

The store where I bought Double Luck green beans for $0.69 still had plenty. Five cans came home with me. I should have bought another 10 cans. 

At the PO I had a huge package, dishes I ordered from Belks at a great sale price. I hate them, so they are still in the car to return them. They are they type dishes that have the scuff marks on the pieces like they are old and scuffed. Nasty looking. 

On the way back from the bakery, I wanted to go to the orchard to get apples. But, Tommy passed it. Usually, I would have him turn around and go back. But, today, I told him we could go there next time. I had assured him he should stop at a yard sale we passed on the way out and told him not to stop. But, at the first yard sale I spotted on the way in, on the way out we did stop. 

I found books for a quarter apiece. I purchased a workbook, the kind with pages to copy for children. The activities were all early childhood lessons and the first part was reading readiness. If my back had not been hurting so, I would have shopped more. As I was digging around in my purse and came up with only three fivers, she said to just forget it. Okay. 

This is just the type book I would have bought to use at the daycare. Many of the pages were ripped out, but still stuffed into the book. Okay, I am ready to go. Oh, this table also had about a dozen tiny, blunt scissors. This sale would be great for a mother, home-school teacher, or a teacher. I didn't ask the woman what the setting of the teaching was. Now, I wish I had looked for manipulatives.

The best part of the day was getting home to a nap. Well, having a meal ready for after the nap sure helped my happiness. 

Decluttering--I found the top to one of Tommy's Tupperware canisters. He says he bought these at a five and dime. No! I also salvaged and put into the dishwasher another one of my Tupperware bowls and lid, something I sent home with food. One lid from a cheap container is in the trash. I will probably work on this box intermittently for the rest of the evening and tomorrow. Hopefully, the box is empty by Sunday night. We will have even more walking room in the kitchen when I finish. Yay for decluttering! 

We had leftovers: pork roast with bbq sauce, rest of squash and zucchini for Tommy, salad with grape tomatoes for me. 

After dinner the microwaved peach fried pie was better, sort of. At least there were peaches in this half but not many. Still, the pastry part was like a fresh glazed doughnut, not what I was hoping. It was still too sweet. And, strangely, the gelled part did not get softer when heated. 

How did your Saturday play out? What is on the agenda for Sunday? Do you like fried pies?

Great Saturday Shopping, Price Drop

 We went to the Festhalle Farmer's Market and I found homegrown tomatoes. The market only allows farmers within the county to sell their produce and products. There was everything to imagine. I found tomatoes and squash to bring home for $5 each, so $10 spent on produce. We bought apple fried pies, also known in some parts of the country as hand pies. We both wanted peach but by the time I went to the car for cash, peach was gone. So, apple fried pies were delicious. 

Tommy loves fast food. We got burgers and sat in my driveway. It was so peaceful! I offer to make a sandwich from chicken, bologna, anything he wants, but he says he wants something hot. And, I am not averse to having a Whopper with cheese, lettuce, and tomato! 

For the last year or so, I have been struggling with plastic bags that tear up before I can even put anything in them. So, I finally called customer service. The woman sent me three coupons for $4 each with an expiration date of today! So, I had to work fast, considering I only got these coupons a week ago. I bought a box using one coupon and still had to contribute $1+ tax to the purchase even using the coupon. 

Today, I decided I needed to spend the other two coupons in Cullman or go to the store once we got back home. We only want to get into the house and relax when we drive so far. So, I went into Publix and found what I wanted had been on sale. I got two boxes of bags for $7.50 and had two coupons for $4 each for a $3.50 product. I spent $0.63 for tax on two boxes of storage bags, 180 in total. I spent $0.63 cents for tax. Good deal! 

We dropped off the dozen shirts, so that is gone. 

Gas has gone down again to $3.43. 

Tommy saw a large hawk flying along with two mocking birds chasing it. Mocking birds are vicious and fearless. I have seen them terrorize cats and crows, now hawks. 

I had a nap when we got home. Tommy never wants a nap, he just does...lol. Friday night, I slept about an hour, if that, so I needed a nap. 

Tommy is out watering flowers. Next spring, we will have an irrigation system that goes from pot to pot. I saw one on someone's porch. So, they do exist. I had no idea, just wished it existed. 

Believe it or not! I put out a package of woody chicken to thaw! I am so disgusted and irritated. I will cook it, but only because it is thawing. 

Tommy spends hours using a reacher picking up bits of trash from the carpet around the house. Right now, he is putting together a cordless, stick vacuum cleaner that has a hepa filter. This won't be for the whole house and dust that has been here for about 16 years, but he can at least get up what he sees and wants to get up. In four hours the battery will be charged and I suppose he will be using it all over the house. Of course, the cleaner will use the corded, more powerful one. So, YAY for a vacuum he can use instead of a reacher. 

About the hepa filter, I need it. Regular vacuums just push out dust into the air. With almost twenty years of dust, I suffer. It would be worse having it pushed back out into the air up where I breathe. 

Tonight, for dinner I am combining stuff already cooked and leftover--half a jar of spaghetti sauce, spaghetti noodles in the refrigerator, and ground beef we cooked last night. I will probably add some zucchini to the sauce. No, I sliced zucchini and squash, he got slices of red and orange peppers, and some grape tomatoes to a huge bed of salad greens. So, he had a hearty and healthy dinner. 

Around midnight, he tried out the little stick vacuum using his walker with one hand and the vacuum with the other. After three minutes on a "clean" carpet, the dust bin was full. This was in front of his chair, in front of the front door, and toward the hall. 

Do you have a full-sized vacuum or a stick? Does the stick seem to do a really good job? 

Are you going to markets that limit vendors to farmers in your county? 

Have you ever observed a mockingbird terrorizing crows, hawks, and large birds? This happened daily at my house, but I cannot see out well here. 

Saturday Nothings

It was 96F by Tommy's car thermometer. It really was hot out. When I bought tomatoes and greens, I let them ride up front between my feet. It seemed still too hot in the back seat.

When I asked Tommy about any Farmer's Markets, he said there was one right near his house or at lest on the path to other places. He showed me too late, so I did not get to see it. Besides, it was closed. Next time I saw it, we had other things on our minds. THEN, when I saw "oranges and bananas" listed along with fruits grown locally, I knew it was not the market for me. We go to Cullman about once a week for whatever, so I will still buy there.

I cancelled my colonoscopy in Cullman that would have been around 12 noon. When I scheduled it for Birmingham, the time to show up was 6:30 am. Boy, did I make a mistake! I hate to change it back but for another date in Cullman, but I am tempted.

At a place I frequent and spend money, they were giving tshirts with their advertisement. I asked for one, then dared to ask for one for Tommy. She gave me two tshirts and one for Tommy because, "I just want them off my shelves." . New clothes for free! We wear anything like this in yard or house. Besides, I need a new shirt for using when I color my hair.

I heated the rotisserie chicken from the foodbank for use to eat tonight. Salad with it was perfect.

I have had a huge package of frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts that I bought on sale last spring in the refrigerator, thawing. These are some I bought, knowing they would not fit in my freezer and sent home with Tommy to keep until I had room. I was just to the point I was going to have him bring them to me. Luckily, they were still here instead of at my house. Hopefully, they will be thawed by Sunday night.

Since all this happened, I am having to gather clothes for all occasions. I passed a rack with leopard print knit skirts, found my size, found it had been reduced to $7 and paid $5 for it. YAY! I rarely wore the one I had, but really wanted another. It's a size too large...sigh...so I can get the smaller size if it is still on the rack after the markdown. If not, I will just cinch in the waist a bit. Actually, it does not fit like it is too big, but I can feel the waistband moving.

I suppose if I have to buy clothes, this is the best time of the year for a sale. I buy anything I need for the next winter in the spring since I cannot stand 3/4 or long sleeves.
at one store, the clerk was nice enough to get me a chair and bring clothes to me. I will probably never get that lucky again.

Well, it is bedtime according to Tommy, so I will get out of his way.

Doctor Visit, Market, Lunch, Dinner, Grocery Shopping

The appointment was at 10:30 and three blocks from my house. YAY! The only reason I took a morning appointment was he does not do afternoon appointments. The doctor wanted me to lie on the table so he could feel the area below breast and just below my waist. I cannot lie on the table without a pillow under my knees. I didn't want to ask for one, so I just raised my knees with feet flat on the table.

The back of my thigh started cramping and I started making noises. The cramp happened just as he barely touched my body. He was so confused, asking me if that light touch hurt. I could not speak, just make noises. When the cramp let up, I started laughing and told him it was a cramp on the back of my thigh. He said he got those too at night. I have a cramp in the back of my thigh about once every two or three weeks and only when I turn and reach to turn off the lamp.

I had lost two more pounds!

There was no free lunch today, good thing since I got out of the office at 12:30. Tommy was at my house, waiting for me. I did not have anything for lunch, so I got two Whoppers for the price of one.

When I finally got to the market at 1 pm, all the squash was gone. On Thursday, I will go early and get enough to make a squash casserole. Everything else for our meal with be no carb, so the squash casserole will not cause too much damage.

Tommy had gone to WM while I was at the doctor's office and had refreshed my stash of Ziploc plastic storage bags and freezer bags to the tune of nine boxes per my list.  Since neither of us can stand without hurting to wash dishes, we use these. He appreciates not having to wash my dishes to bring them back.

I usually let BK put mayo on my Whopper so the lettuce won't fall off. Today, no mayo. I brought it home and put Miracle Whip on it, and it was soooo delicious. I need to get the little MW packets to keep in the car. I put reduced chicken in a pan and sliced a potato, putting the slices and put all I could in the pan with chicken. The last two potatoes were wrapped in foil and baked in the same oven. Then, I took a half-hour nap.

He took home one breast and a baked potato, and the slices cooked with chicken. The breast was so huge he will get three or four meals from it. Somehow, one of the baked potatoes was left on the stove. While here, he had chicken, potatoes, and sliced tomato.

When he left, I put the chicken back in the oven so it would cook more and put more slices of potato in for me. It was ready when I came home from the grocery.

I went to Publix. My a2milk was $7 for two half-gallons. I purchased eggs, blueberries, bananas, two 16 oz. containers of Daisy Cottage Cheese--$2 each. Cream cheese was reduced.

Now, I am gagging at The Bachelorette.