A Perfect Sunday Afternoon

A Wonderful Sunday afternoon was spent napping and making apple butter for christmas presents. Except for my poor chapped, calloused hands I'm as happy as a cat napping in the warm afternoon sun. Every warm day as we head into winter is a gift from God. Can't upload the pic of the sleeping cat, but it says it all. Maybe tomorrow.

Harvest Time

Today was one of those Little Piece of Heaven days. Cool in the shade, comfortable in the sun with sweaters on, today was the day to bring in the sweet potatoes and the basil. We are getting close to frost time (avg first frost date November 6). Here are shots of the basil:

Before the harvest, being smothered by tomato plants.

Look how huge the plants were this year!

I don't know how purists do it, but I strip the leaves off into a bowl (with a cat warm from the sun snuggling up to my back as I sit on the ground), swish in water to clean, spin in salad spinner to dry, wrap in wax paper or parchment paper in recipe-sized increments, and freeze. When I go to make tomato-basil soup, I just remove the right-sized packet, crumble the frozen basil, and dump it in the soup. It works for me.

More People Should Do This

My husband and I started "pedestrian dating" recently, after gas prices shot up. I had been oblivious to the whole thing until I saw 70s-era LINES at local gas stations just before Hurricane Gustav. I got home with the groceries and said "I don't want to give those money-grubbing crooks another dime". My husband suggested walking, and another fun date-night activity was born. There are several locally-owned restaurants within walking distance of the house (2 just down the street), so this is fun. And we don't have to drive across town and back in traffic for it. We sometimes get dessert. We'll walk it off if we go to the pizza place. We enjoy the walk together, looking at the unique houses in the neighborhood. We don't dress up or go anywhere fancy- we can split a 10-inch (good- from a local shop) pizza for less than $10 if we both drink water. At most we spend less than $30. And no gas money, no downtown parking, fewer hassles. We may not do it as the weather gets colder (or we may stick to the corner cafe), but I sure have liked it so far.

Another Beautiful Sweet Potato Moment

Here is another beautiful blooming sweet potato flower. To think the homely root has such nice flowers! God blesses us every day.

Working Hard

Is a lot of fun! Husband wanted to watch a movie, and I came home a little early, so we walked to the video store and back tonight. I must fix dinner. Here is a nice quote:

From The Garden Yard (1909) by Bolton Hall

"Suppose that a man owns his house, even if it be but a bit of a bungalow, and suppose he has a bit of land on which he can raise most of what his family eats; he may have to work hard, especially if his family cannot help in the work, but at least he is independent; at least panics, lock-outs, change of circumstances, or even loss of health will not reduce him to starvation." 

We don't have that much land, and we do have a mortgage, but it is a good thought.

Jorge the Mighty Hunter

Well, I found out why Jorge isn't coming around for the food pellets (actually, he did yesterday, but was more excited about the scratch behind the ears). Check out this picture. Yes, that is a bird in his mouth. I should feel bad about it, but I don't. The backyard is a jungle, after all. That is actually a neighbors yard. We DO mow our grass. Cats like high grass. It reminds them of their ancestral savannah.  They can feel like The Mighty Hunter On The Prowl. Mice and small birds take warning! Jorge is out for blood! (Most of the birds around here are invasive species anyway, so it is just as well).

Finishing the Bean Saga

O.K. We'll try this again.

Here's what we were doing during the Vanderbilt-Georgia game. The picture got rotated in the upload- rotate your head 90 degrees to the right, if you can.

And here's the finished product- peas ready for busy winter work-nights.