Here's some good stuff we're enjoying around our house these days.
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The surprise lilies are blooming. Always a welcome sight in August when the heat has gotten to many of the other flowers.
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| We successfully grew brussel sprouts from some plants found in the middle of the road. |
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Theo roasted them with a little oil and Parmesean cheese and they were delicious.
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| However, we haven't been as successful with our tomatoes this year. Between the deer and the stink bugs, we have only gotten one. Luckily, Uncle Billy's are doing well and he has shared his bounty. |
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| We've been eating them a lot of different ways including in this yellow squash and tomato casserole. The squash came from our garden. |
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We have a large crop of pears this year. We're relatively new at harvesting pears and we're still learning the best way to do that. However, so far we have enjoyed some to eat and made pear sauce. I may make a pear and blueberry pie tomorrow.
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I refinished the top of a stand I got from my parents house. It has been in the family as long as I can remember and was very well used--meaning the top was in pretty bad shape. I forgot to take a before picture, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.
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| Ward got a new replacement for his favorite backpacking tent that had developed a leak. He mailed it back to the company for a repair that he expected to pay for, but they replaced the whole tent with no charge. He hopes to get another 10 years use out this one. |
Wow, your lilies are gorgeous! What a nice surprise!
ReplyDeleteHow did you refinish your table? I have a few family heirlooms that could use a little love. I hate jobs like that so it ends up on the bottom of my to-do list.
Your backpacking tent story reminded me of something we saw in WY this summer--a man and his daughter were training goats to use for backpacking. 2 goats were already trained and had 30# packs on their backs and 2 more were in the process of being trained. It was fun to see and the goats (and man) were super friendly. I might *almost* be convinced to try backpacking if there was a beast of burden to help me with it. Ha.
I love pears. Aren't fruit trees notoriously tricky to deal with?
We are getting a glut of tomatoes this year. We've only had 1 zucchini so far but have been gifted with 2 club-size zucchinis. I made zucchini boats stuffed with sausage and tomato stuffing for dinner this week and that was a hit--new recipe for me so I was thrilled that it worked out and felt like a hero for getting rid of the huge zuke in one fell swoop.
Completely off-topic, but as a mom of 2 Eagle scouts, you'll understand the excitement in our home as my son is smack dab in the process of completing his Eagle project. His troop is installing a sidewalk in a local park--SO grateful for a troop leader who is also a general contractor and can provide much-needed guidance through the process (and he's committed to helping the kids in the troop succeed which is heartwarming for this mom).
Eagle projects come in all shapes and sizes, but I haven't heard of one that involves a sidewalk. I'm sure it will be much appreciated by park goers. Congratulations to your son on this very major accomplishment. My kids learned so much from the whole process and I'm sure that your son will, too. When you start looking at colleges, there are some scholarships that involve Eagle Scouts, so look around for those.
DeleteI only finished the top of this table because the legs are very intricate and there's no way I could deal with all of those surfaces. They don't look too bad and give it some character. Or that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I did a major sanding on the top until I was down to raw wood. Then I stained it with a color to approximately match the rest of the table. I then did multiple layers of polyurethane (4 I think) with steel wooling or sanding in-between. Most evenings I did a step and the whole thing took about a week. Next up, is refinishing a bowl that my brother-in-law made. It's a long story, but about half of the finish is gone. So my goal is to make it look good again. I'm not very experienced, so I'm starting with things that already look pretty bad.
I might go backpacking too if I had something to carry my pack. Speaking of Boy Scouts, on one of the backpacking trips my sons took to Philmont, they had a mule to help carry things part of the way. My husband said the mule had a mind of its own and was much more trouble than it was worth. However, goats may be different and better suited for the job.
The Eagle Scout project started out as a gravel pathway but after talking with the people in charge of the park, it was decided that a sidewalk would last longer and be a better thing to do. Trust me, if it weren't for the leader, we would have definitely steered him in another direction!
DeleteMy husband went to Philmont but looks like that won't happen for my son, what with covid and funding issues and whatnot. One of the scout leaders in my son's pack has talked about using an alpaca but I think that could be as problematic as a mule.
Your surprise lilies are so pretty! And look at those sprouts you grew! From plants you found in the middle of the road? Wow! Too bad about your tomatoes, but, glad your uncle is keeping you supplied with some from his garden. Pears fresh from your tree! Yum!
ReplyDeleteI think you did a great job refinishing that table. It looks beautiful.
That's so nice that Ward received a new tent to replace the one that tore. Now he won't have to worry if the patch would hold. :)
I hope you continue to enjoy good stuff around your home. Please enjoy a slice of the pear and blueberry pie for me, too, if you make one! :)
My neighbor's son found a flat of vegetable plants in the middle of the road. After trying to find the owner without success, he gave them to his mother who gave them to me. They were the inspiration for us to build two raised beds this year for veggies. While the plants went in kind of late, we were also able to harvest bok choy, broccoli, and arugula from the found plants.
DeleteSorry, Strayer. I accidentally deleted your comment. I guess I got carried away when I was deleting the offensive ones. Anyway, I don't know if I'll be able to grow brussel sprouts again, but it was fun this first time.
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