Friday, September 29, 2017

Right Now September 2017


Here's what is going on for me Right Now on this penultimate day of September ...

Reveling In -  Cooler temperatures (finally!) and the slow approach of fall. I wrote this exact same thing last month, but then we had several weeks of heat and humidity. Now it seems like autumn may really be here to stay for a while.


Hoping - That we see some color in leaves instead of them just drying up, turning brown, and falling. We haven't had rain for 6-8 weeks and all we've got so far is dead, crunchy leaves and the remains of the squirrels' acorn feasts all over the driveway.


Drinking - I'm almost ashamed to write this, but I've been drinking Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Creamer in my morning tea. I don't even remember why I bought it in the first place, but I'm on my second bottle of the unhealthy stuff. It's 35 calories/tablespoon, so I've started actually measuring it into my tea so I don't "accidentally" pour in a big glug or two. It's not the worst vice a person could have, but I really do try to eat and drink real food, and there is barely anything real in this stuff. Hopefully I'll break free of the obsession soon. 

Planning - 
It's a big maybe, but I might visit Ryan in Fort Collins for a long weekend next month. I can't get him to commit to a specific weekend, so I'm trying to decide if that's due to his busy schedule or if he'd rather not have his mother visit for his birthday. 

Watching - Call the Midwife. I'm very late to this show but I had started to watch it once before, and John said that hearing the screams of all the women in labor made him feel faint. I don't doubt that at all (he had to leave the delivery room several times when the boys were born), so I'm enjoying it myself this week while he is in Denmark. All those hand knit baby clothes!


Making - Cheesy Panade with Swiss Chard, Beans, and Sausage. I came across this crockpot recipe while looking for something to do with Swiss chard. John plants it, but I think it tastes like weeds, so I tend to ignore it in the garden. I've got my cubed bread drying out and the rest of the ingredients ready to put in the crockpot for dinner tonight, with high hopes that beans, sausage, and cheese will hide the taste of the chard. I misread this as "Cheesy Panda" and emailed John that's what's for dinner when he gets home tonight; somehow he has managed to hide his excitement. 

Picking - The last of the garden produce - tomatoes, peppers, a few string beans, and some zucchini. By next month, probably only Brussels sprouts will remain.


Making, Part II - Zucchini pickles. I already have enough shredded zucchini frozen to last me until next year, so I'm making pickles. This is a win-win because I pick the zucchini when they're small, make something we'll eat, and don't have to leave giant zucchini on my neighbors' porches. I've already made dill pickles; the bread and butter variety are up next.

Purchasing - Another freezer. Just last month, I wrote that I was dreading cleaning out our two freezers after all the garden produce is harvested, processed, and frozen. The universe may have heard my whining and said, "Hey, I know how to help you clean out the freezer quickly!" Several weeks ago, our big 
23 cu. ft. freezer died, and I was forced to clear it out, decide that three-year-old shredded zucchini, defrosted limp string beans, and freezer-burned chicken breasts were not worth saving, then consolidate what was worth saving into our smaller 12 cu. ft. freezer. Our big action plan now is to buy another smaller freezer, transfer all the garden produce into it in an organized way, and defrost the old freezer so it will be ready to use for the rest of the stuff from the garden. I've got 15 Brussels sprouts plants and they are busy making lovely little sprouts that will need to be blanched and frozen.

Getting Rid Of - The big old (heavy!) broken freezer and hopefully an old refrigerator at the same time. I'm prepared to be extra-nice (and also pay extra) to get rid of these non-working appliances.

What's going on in your world right now?

15 comments:

  1. And, here I thought that my homemade cinnamon syrup was an indulgence! I think Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Creamer has me beat! Now, will Meijer's in Michigan have that - because I think that is a definite must have for vacation!

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  2. call the midwife is good, my husband says it isn't call the midwife until someone screams and you get that "camera shot". Never fails every single time. We love watching that show.

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  3. Our leaves are in the same state . . . not turning color; just falling - dry and shriveled. Really awful. Not a drop of rain in months. And that September heat-blast pretty much toasted everything in my garden. And although it's nice and cool today, it appears we're in for another blast next week. It's enough to make anyone reach for liquid Reese's . . .

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  4. Hmmm, I'm not much for non-dairy or fake creamers, but the Reese's one is VERY tempting...

    I've printed out the recipe for Cheesy Panda (love your name for it) - sounds delicious. And, I love Swiss chard. My Dad used to grow it, but Fletch only plants collards and kale.

    Hoping you go to CO. Zucchini pickles? Assume they taste good since you've already made them and are going to be at it again. Are they very similar to cucumber pickles?

    And Brussels sprouts - LOVE!! But the worms...not so much? Are you plagued with them?

    Hope your weekend is wonderful. Welcome home to John!

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  5. We haven't had measurable rain since July 24th and everything is brown and dry. My garden looks awful and I plan on cutting it down this weekend because I'm sick of looking at it and my efforts at watering were futile. I love Swiss chard and my favorite way to fix may be similar to what you are making. I make a throw together soup with sausage, white beans, garlic, Swiss Chard, & penne pasta. At the end I add lots of grated parmesan cheese. Hope you have a great weekend!

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  6. I think my mouth watered through the whole post. Call the Midwife was one of my favorites but I still have a full season left to catch up. Our weather is unseasonably cool and that might help the leaves turn vibrant colors, unless they're covered with frost or snow. I hope you get a chance to visit with Ryan (and Loopy Ewe)!

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  7. I'm sure I have a couple-few seasons of Call The Midwife to catch up on! I do like that show. That creamer must be pretty tasty! I hope you're able to go to CO!!

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  8. Oh Im all about GReat British Bake off . I have some time to myself tonight and I'll be watching!

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    1. I also love GBB! Really, I think anything from the BBC is far better than US shows.

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  9. I love Call the Midwife and, luckily, so does Dale. I drink my tea and coffee black so, while I'm sure that shot of Reese's is good, it just doesn't tempt me. Hope you can fit in that Ft. Collins visit!

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  10. Our weather has been so dry and hot that the leaves are just brown and falling as well. We did get that cold front yesterday, so the temps are much nicer today. But it's supposed to get hot again next week - DANGIT. I don't like Swiss Chard either; it does taste like weeds, but maybe I don't know how to cook it. I love all other greens, so it is an outlier for me. I watched Call the Midwife for many seasons, but I got tired of it and quit watching. I do believe that the BBC and PBS shows are much better than US produced shows. We have been watching the Vietnam War, but I can only watch that for so many nights. I find it wonderful, but depressing. We are so desperate for something to watch in the evenings that I recorded a bunch of old Roseanne shows. Hopefully they will be good for a laugh. These days I need all the laughs I can get, and I can't find any on TV. I'm sorry about your freezer! I keep waiting for mine to fail, it's old. I need desperately to clean it out, but so far I have been unable to force myself to do it. I,too, am curious about zucchini pickles. I hope you get to go to CO soon! Surely it's autumn there. Never feel guilty about life's little pleasures, and your creamer is a little pleasure. I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

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    1. See? I always leave the longest comment. I really do find your minutiae interesting.

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    2. I'm always pleasantly surprised that anyone reads my ramblings, and appreciate comments, whether long or short. Thank you!

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  11. Your garden sounds fabulous. Sorry about the freezer but sometimes the appliances just give out. Actually more often than I'd like. We have a really old small chest freezer in the garage. I filled it with tomato sauce and tomatoes so I hope it doesn't give out soon. Apples coming up. Today truly felt like fall here even though it was 75 degrees. We had heat earlier in the month. Colorado in the autumn is lovely. The bright gold aspen are usually spectacular.

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    1. A freezer full of tomatoes and sauce will be a real treasure this winter. Add some applesauce to that and you will be all set. I've been to CO in the fall before but never at peak aspen time. Maybe this year!

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