Canning Frustration

As I gain more experience in canning fruits (IE peaches) and tomatoes, I notice I'm leaning more towards a condensed version of packing the jars.  

I've noticed that no matter how hard I try, if I just barely cook the peaches/tomatoes and pack them in (and I do shove them in), I still get ton's of extra space after processing. I poke. I stir. I shove.  I fill up to the 1/2 line before I put the lids on.  And this is what I get. 

(*Side by side comparison of normal canning verses the more cooked down condensed version.)

I'm not sure why this bothers me.  Is it simply aesthetics? Or is my frugal nature peeking through?  I mean, if I can spend some extra time cooking the peaches/tomatoes down more, prior to packing, than I seem to get a quart jar that is full top to bottom.

Take yesterday for example.  SM wanted more peach "slices" canned up.  (I like to cut up smaller chunks and cook them down a bit, almost like a chunky applesauce.)  SM had bought me another basket of peaches on Wednesday.  I blanched the entire basket yesterday morning.  Peaches where the skins slid off easily, I sliced up nicely and "hot packed" them up.  The greener peaches that I had to fuss with more to remove the skins, I cut up smaller and cooked them down a bit before I canned them up.

Even after stuffing and stirring the sliced peaches in the jars, I still have jars that have lots of wasted space in them. 

And look at how the liquid came down in the jars?  

How does this happen?  Is it still safe or should I refrigerate those jars and eat them quick? 


Signed: Paranoid in NC

*BTW...I made up some fresh salsa yesterday using  Linda's recommendation of Pioneer Woman Cooks Restaurant Style Salsa  It was very good.  SM gave it 2 thumbs up.  (He likes it HOT so I added extra jalapeno.)  This is for "fresh eating".  Not sure if you can "can" this recipe up or not.

Four On The Floor

We're closing in on 8 weeks since we've placed Ginny under "house arrest". 

As you may recall, my "sweet Ginny-Girl" appeared to have torn her ACL.  Instead of opting for a $1500 surgery, we instead decided to try "conservative management" or CM.  The theory is to simply allow the knee to heal itself by severely restricting her activities.

A few weeks ago I was talking to the wife of a patient of mine (who happened to be a vet) and I mentioned what we were up to.  She cautioned us (again) that Ginny will likely blow out her other knee but said she's seen some interesting solutions.  From simple ($) to advanced ($$$$) surgical procedures, to CM patients like Ginny.  She told me of a case where the dog was a heavy breed (120 lbs+) and the owner opted for a custom made brace instead of surgery.  She said it worked. It took a long while, but it worked.  With a shrug of her shoulders she said "To each his own."


At 7 weeks of CM, SM and I find that Ginny no longer holds her leg up and (while we can still tell she favors that leg) she is routinely putting all four feet on the ground.  I still think she doesn't flatten her pad all the way down (pressure more on her toes) but this is already such a vast improvement that SM and I are very encouraged.

Now the trick is to start increasing her activities slowly and curtail them if she starts to show regression.  The articles I've read said to allow at LEAST 8 weeks before you start introducing more activity.  Since I can still tell that she favors that leg, I'm going to hold off and wait until September before I start to increase her activities.  She seems to be handling her restrictions well and (since it's so hot) I don't see any reason to push it.


I know once cooler weather hits, she'll want to run and play, so I think September might be a good month to transition her over.

In The Jungle

Everyone's been showing their garden "jungles" lately so I thought I'd do a post too.

The tomatoes and peppers that are in the ground are still doing wonderfully.  I've had one harvest of green bell peppers and the plants are shooting out new leaves and blooms.  I see that some new fruit is setting on the peppers.

  

The blight seems to only be affecting 6 plants that are in my raised bed.  Interestingly, the Brandywines and Matt's WC that "hug" the blighted plants are resisting it so far.

I haven't sprayed in over a month.  All the tomatoes in the ground are still unaffected, so far.  

The tomatoes have lots of blooms but no new fruit is setting...too hot.  I've said it before but I'll say it again, my future summer plantings will all go into the ground.  The raised beds just get too hot and the plants suffer because of it.  Spring and Fall plantings are fine to go into the raised beds, so they still have a use.  I'm wondering if next springs strawberry's should go in the ground or in a raised bed.  Any thoughts on that?

The "vining" plants are too shaded and crowded.  We're making do for this year, but we plan on putting all these "creepers" in the new extension we'll dig out this Fall.

Lima beans are in full bloom and the bee's are all over them.


Have a happy weekend gardening!

Plethora

I've always like that word.  Plethora.  Overabundance; excess; profusion.

Yep, that's what I've got alright.  

To those of you who are struggling with your gardens this year...I'm sorry.  This is going to be obscene.  Turn away if you must, but this is what my kitchen looked like yesterday morning.

One counter was full.  So I opened up an "overflow" area.

And then I went out and picked another basket.

And then I went out and picked 4 1/2 pounds of Matt's WC (which I froze).

Feast or famine this year it seems.  I'll take the "feast" while I can.

Frump Girl

When did I become such a Frump Girl?


On the weekends (or days off that I take in the middle of the week like today) I'm all business.  I have a list of things that need doing and I wake up, toss on my clothes and go.  Bed head, bad breath (not really...I DO brush my teeth first...I mean yuck!), I rub the sleep from my eyes, don't even bother looking in the mirror, (bra? what bra?) and I'm gone!  Things to do!


So it always comes as a surprise to me when SM comes up and gives me a hug and a kiss when he wakes up in the morning.  Especially when Frump Girl is in the house.


"Ack...Frump Girl!" I protest shrugging him off.  He just snuggles in harder.


"You look fine."  He reassures me.


"Ha!"  Even I can see the bags and the freaked out curly hair in the window reflection.  "I'm a witch, a hag!"


"No, you're not.  You might be a bitch and a nag from time to time."  He says grinning at me.  "Look...You just woke up and I haven't even had a cup of coffee yet and you're hard at it.  Have I told you how much I appreciate all of your hard work?"

"Yeah, but I look still terrible."  I respond.

"Have you taken a close look at me this morning?"  SM asks.

"Well, you are looking a bit rough around the edges but since I like my men to look like men, you look pretty good to me." I reply.  "Is this what happens to us after we've been married as long as we have?  Frump Girl and Crusty Old Guy?"  I ask.




"On second thought...don't answer that." I say putting up my hand in the stop position.


(*I still look 25 in my head, though...)

Winter Squash and Pumpkins Revisited

This is my first year trying to grow winter squashes.  I love winter squash and I will definitely plant more next year than what I did this year.  (Part of next years garden expansion will be to make more room for all the squashes and pumpkins I'd like to have.)

I did 3 plantings with 4 different varieties as I wanted to experiment with the timing of harvests and the production of different types of winter squash.  

To start, I planted one patch at the beginning of May and another in June.  I love butternuts, so I planted (SESE) Waltham Butternuts along with (BC) Georgia Candy Roasters (which the SVB's killed.) 

Since the SVB's wiped out half of all my early plantings, (in July) I planted (BC) Sweet Dumplings.  I planted 6 hills but only 2 came up.  I swear these are the prettiest plants.

I didn't have anywhere else to put them so they are in the raised bed that had the potatoes in them.  They are still very young, no blooms yet.

I also planted (in July) another variety, (BC) Butternut Rogosa Violina "Gioia", which completely failed to germinate.  I think planting in 100 degree heat may be too much for them. 


So out of the four varieties I started out with, only the Waltham Butternut and Sweet Dumpling remain.  This week I picked about 7 pounds of Butternut from the May planting.  I waited until the vines were browning and I didn't see any "green" to the flesh.

I cleaned them up with a bit of bleach water and they're sitting on my counter waiting to be processed.  Since we don't have a basement or root cellar, my only choice is to process them now since we have at least 2 1/2 months of hot weather yet to go.  I don't think storing them in the fridge is a good option. Overall, I was hoping for larger fruit, but these are respectable considering they are in the "shadier" part of the garden and also in newly turned ground.


The June Waltham plantings are putting out blooms and fruit, so I'll have another small harvest come August.

The Pumpkins that I replanted in July (SVB"S killed the May batch) are starting to vine.  

We're a good month away from seeing if fruit will set though.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  I'd love to get a pumpkin harvest this year.


And I actually have watermelons on the vine...another first for me.

More on the watermelons when they mature.

My First Salsa!

I made Spicy Tomato Salsa from the Ball Blue Book yesterday.  Knowing that I'd be working with hot peppers, onions and garlic, SM went out and bought me a food processor.   I've been "old school" using a knife and cutting board all these years.  It's about time I moved into the 21st century.

Not too big, not to small...just right.  I've never worked with a food processor before and I must say they make a quick job of it.  If feel like a real scratch cook now.  I've always been a "cook" but somehow that piece of machinery makes me feel like I'm authentic now.  The real deal.

It took me about 3 hours, start to finish and did I use every tool in my arsenal as the cleanup dishes show.

SM described the salsa as "quite tasty".  A medium heat.  (I did add 4 cans of tomato paste to the recipe as it seemed pretty loose.)  That likely diluted the heat a bit. 

All in all a good first effort.  SM is wanting to try different salsa recipes so if y'all have a favorite (online) recipe let me know.  SM eats salsa everyday so this will make good use of our tomato crop.

I think I'd like to try a peach salsa, a black bean salsa and a corn salsa.

Speaking of peaches.  Remember I had 2 big baskets of peaches that SM bought for me?  Well, Ronnie and Connie were driving back through on their way home to Ohio from their beach vacation and spent the night with us Saturday.  Connie completely forgot about buying peaches as she likes to can them too.  Connie thought they'd find more orchards on the drive north.  "Not likely."  SM told them.  "All the orchards are about an hour south."  So I sold them the other basket.  It worked out great.  One basket of peaches is about all I want to handle in one weekend.  One basket made 2 batches.


SM is heading back into SC on Wednesday so he's under orders to buy me a basket once a week until I say stop or until the season is done.

Reality Check

I've been considering my place in the world lately.  The economy still doesn't want to "snap out of it" and I'm wondering, (like I'm sure a lot of people are) if I've survived the first bloodbath only to get nailed in the next.  (There are "warning" signs at work again.  Sigh.)

(Am I the only one out there that feels we're heading into some deep sh*t economically?)

Anyway, while my gut is telling me that something is coming down the line, my head is trying to wrap itself around the possibility that my secret wish just might come true.  What's my secret wish?

That I might just become a housewife.

That's right.  A housewife or "The Wife of the House."  The person whose fulltime job it is to manage everything about the home. 

Right now I'm SM's wife.  Oh, I manage the house alright but I do it during those bits of time here and there when I'm not working for "The Man" earning the "Big Green."

I've worked everyday outside of the home my entire marriage.  Even before that.  Lets just round it off at 30 years of full time employment.  I'm a modern woman after all and I grew up knowing that I'd have to provide for myself and eventually my family.  ("Working for a living.  Living and a working....I'm taking what they're giving cause I'm working for a living.")

You see, I fantasize about early retirement.  Early retirement for SM and I meant that we'd live a partime kind of life by the time we'd reach our middle 50's.  We wanted to RV for 4 months of the year (Playtime) and work the other 8 months (Funding the playtime).  That's not goin to happen with this economy.

And with Dr T's retirement this week, my fantasy is now "front and center" but in a different way.  Simply put...I'd now be happy with a break at least.  But this kind of falls under the "Be careful what you wish for."  If I "break" now, I might not get hired back again anytime soon. 

I teased SM about that today.  I started the canning process at 6am.  By 2:00 my "dogs were barking" and I commented to SM that "this farming thing ain't for sissies" and that I really needed to "toughen up and stop being a pussy" about all the housework that is in front of me.  That "this will become a fulltime job in and of itself" and that he really needs to "suck it up" and  "become the sole bread winner of the family."

SM looked at me and said "What planet are you living on?"

Never have truer words been spoken.

Sunday Buffet

 *Sunday Buffet is my smorgasbord of random thoughts and observations.

This past week has been a tough one for me emotionally.  I suppose that's why there hasn't been many posts coming out of me. 

Dr T retired this week.  I've worked with Dr T for 11 years now.  His last surgery day was with us on Friday.  We had a nice retirement lunch after we finished procedures.  No big party.  He didn't want that.  Just "the gang" along with his wife and son.  Chinese food, presents and stories.

I was on post-ops with Dr T Saturday morning.  His very last patient knew he was retiring and thanked him for his excellent care and wished him a "Happy Retirement".  We finished up.  He handed me his keys to the building.  I gave him a big basket of fresh veggies from my garden.

We walked out to his car to stash everything in the back.  We hugged and stood there looking at each other like you do when you've known all along that this moment would come and you'd say all the right things but suddenly they're all stuck in your throat and your mind goes blank and you're standing there like a fool with nothing to say.

"You know how I appreciate you...."

"Yeah"....nodding my head "I appreciate everything too"....or something like that.

We both turned away and I walked out across the parking lot heading to my car on a hot Saturday morning in July.

I didn't think I would cry...But I did, and I am. 

Dr T has been a wonderful mentor, friend, coworker, firecracker, teacher and father to me.  Chapters close.  We all know that.  New chapters open.  Dr T said "Today is the first day of the rest of my life." 

I'm sort of envious of his new chapter.

In This Heat

In this heat, I only walk the pups a few blocks.  We usually do 1-2 miles every morning.  I try to haul myself out there to do a solo mile but some mornings are so hot and muggy I'm not even inspired to do that.

In this heat, I'm grateful to have electricity so we can have AC.  I can't begin to imagine the cranky "bee-atch" I'd be without it.

In this heat, I only allow Ginny outside to do her business.  I usually let her lounge the morning away outside until it gets hotter.  My poor girl is turning into one big red itch. With her Vet's "OK", I've increased both her antihistamine and her fish oil pill to twice a day.

In this heat, I water the garden everyday.  Tomatoes are still ripening and the squash that hasn't been hit by the SVB's are still putting out.  Shockingly, the bush beans I replanted last week are starting to come up.

In this heat, I'm also amazed to find the lima beans thriving.  They have tons of blooms on them and are starting to develop pods.  I've never grown lima beans before.  When I planted them, I only got about a 50% germination rate so I didn't expect much to happen.  We're still a long ways off from getting a harvest but "so far, so good".

In this heat, I find it ironic that I'll be "heating up" my kitchen to preserve my tomato harvest.

And since SM was in SC yesterday, I asked him to pick up a couple of baskets of peaches too.  

So I guess we all know what I'll be doing this weekend.  Stay cool, guys!

Fun With Squash

As the summer doldrums set in, I search my world for things to write about.

As I was cutting up some summer squash to steam for our dinner last night, I noticed that I had two squashes that grew together.

Siamese squash.

Looks like a bunch of "eights" to me.  Hey...A drinking game!  "Eighty Eighty summer squashes on the wall.  You take one down and pass it around Eighty Seven summer squashes on the wall."

(I could make dolls out of them.)

Oh!  I've got it...Fat Bottomed Girls you make the rocking world go round!

That's right, Sisters!

Fast and Furious

I only planted 2 Matts Wild Cherry tomato plants.  Turns out, all you really need is one.  These are the monsters of my garden.

I took Jane's advise and froze these to use in soups this winter.  Note to self:  Next year, just plant one!

Sugar...Ah Honey, Honey

Last weekend SM said that a humming bird came right up to his face and "chewed him out" because we didn't have our feeder out.  So I went ahead and made up some sugar water and put it out.  We then watched while 3 hummingbirds dodged and weaved and chased each other away from the feast.  (Simple entertainment around here, folks.)

Today I noticed that the feeder was empty and made up some more sugar water for the "chittering" birds..."Okay,okay!  Keep your feathers on.  Geez!"

I popped outside later to find the birds still "chittering" away and saw this.

I got me some happy bees.  They drained that sugar water within a few hours.

So if the flowers in your garden just ain't attracting the bees, put out some sugar.  You'll have bees before you know it!

And everybody needs a little "shug-ahh" from time to time.  (Be sure and say that with a l-o-n-g southern drawl..;)

Me Weekend

It's been a busy week, at work as well as at home.  SM's brother Ron and his wife Connie came down from Columbus and visited with us the past few days.  Every other year their extended family, children and grandchildren, rent a house along the beach somewhere on the east coast or Florida.  This year they're heading to Surfside Beach which is just south of Myrtle Beach.  Of course they invited us to come along for a night or two this weekend.

We usually try to do the beach weekend thing once or twice a year. I personally like to go in May or September when the rates are cut and the kids are back in school.  Less crowded.  With the economy the way it's been SM and I haven't been to the beach in a few years.

I hemmed and hawed all week on whether or not I wanted to go.  Who doesn't want to go to the beach?  Am I nuts?  (Not really.) 

The garden is coming in full tilt this week.  The lima beans and summer squashes I'd replanted about a month ago are blooming.

I have given away more tomatoes than I care to simply because I haven't been able to muster up the interest to process them and can at night after work.  I told SM that this farming thing is a full time job.  (Is there such a thing as a weekend farmer?)

So when the "chips" were down this morning and I had to decide if I was going or not, I went with not.

I wanted a "me" weekend.  (You know what I mean.) 

No responsibilities to anyone other than yourself.  I can do what I want to do.  Or I can do nothing at all.  Peaceful, quiet..."me" time.  It's been a long time since I've had "me" time.  The dogs, the house and the garden all need attention, but that's all a part of the "me" time.  I can concentrate on what needs doing this weekend.  (And I have a list.)

So while everyone was having coffee, showers and packing up this morning, I went out and picked through the garden again.  Abundant tomatoes.  Enough to share another round with our grateful neighbors who don't garden. 

Summer squash is starting to come in again, so I made up a travel basket loaded with enough baby squash, cukes and tomatoes for the 14 people at the beach house.  Connie says that they haven't been able to harvest anything yet from their gardens in Ohio so the fresh veggies are very welcome. 

I didn't part with any of my green and yellow beans though.  I'm a bit of a bean hog.  I love me some snap beans and since the beans in the raised bed failed, I've been harvesting out of a little 6 foot (in-ground) patch I'd planted.  Oh Yum!  We've been fresh eating them for the past month.  This morning I thought they looked done so I pulled up the plants this morning and re-seeded the patch again.  (It's a little late but I thought "what the heck".  It'd be nice to get one more batch in before the first frost.)  I had enough picked fresh this week to freeze up a gallon bag of beans.  I also went ahead and made some spaghetti sauce with the ripe tomatoes I had left. 

I think I'll work on peaches tomorrow...(maybe).  And later this week Salsa!

Stages of Ripeness

My kitchen counter is currently occupied with tomatoes at different stages of ripeness.

 
Last year, as soon as a tomato got close to ripening on the vine, the dang birds would poke holes in them.  This year I try to snag them as soon as they start to turn.  Usually within a few days they ripen up. 

I have one batch that looks like I could can them today. 

Do you can as you go?  Even if it's only one or two quarts?  Or do you stick them in the fridge to slow things down until you get enough to can a batch?

I thought of making sauce with the first few smaller groups.  Then when I start getting a bunch coming in, I'll just can them up whole.

What works for you?

The Frog Doesn't Lie

We got a new fridge delivered last Monday.  We allowed it 24 hours to adjust and thought it still felt a bit warm.  I cranked it up to it's highest setting and  slowly migrated food back over to the new fridge.

By Friday, it still seemed warmer on the refrigerator side than our old 15 year old fridge that was out in the garage cranking away in the 90 degree heat.

"I'm calling them." SM said.

"And tell them what?  That the new energy efficient refrigerator we bought from them doesn't seem as cold as our out-dated 15 year old energy hog?"  Me.  "Why don't we get a thermostat and compare both fridges?"

So SM went out and bought a thermostat.  "It was only 97 cents.  They had some with butterfly's and flowers on them, but I know how you like frogs."

Isn't he cute?  Love my froggie!  And froggie doesn't lie!  Our old refrigerator measured a crisp 35 degrees.  The new fridge measures 44 at best.  

A Sunday phone call to Lowes and "Here we go again."  Shuffling food back and forth.  They're supposed to be here by 7am this morning.  Wish me luck!

It Was Only A Matter Of Time

Well, I held it off for about a month, but the big B has finally come to town.  Blight.  

After having heavy thunderstorms everyday for the past week, I went out this morning to inspect the garden.  I'd noticed yesterday that the leaves were curling on several of the tomatoes in the raised beds.  I knew their feet were wet.  Nothing I could do about the massive amount of rain we've had this week.  Today, everything is yellow and spotted, it's hit that quick.  It's currently effecting the raised bed only. 

(Shrug)...There's not enough fungicide in the world that can keep up with this weather pattern.  We have the next 3 days of no rain and then we're back into it.  SM said "Looks like we might not be canning much this year."  

"Maybe...Time will tell.  The other bed is still hanging in there and there's always the Farmers Market.  Which makes me question if we should even bother with another expansion.  I mean this gardening stuff is fun but am I throwing good money down the drain when I can just go get a bushel from the FM and be done with it?"

Since it looks like the tomatoes on the plants are starting to turn this week, I'm going to leave them alone and harvest what I can as the week goes by.  Pull up the diseased plants next weekend maybe. 

For Whom The Bell Tolls

I've never been into hot and spicy foods.  That SM's thing.  He's Mr Heat Miser. 




So when I grow peppers I grow just a few jalapenos and banana's for him.  When I cook something hot like Chili, I make it mild for me and let him add all his hot sauces to it.  I'm just a wimp that way.

You know how in cooking they call the mixture of onions, carrots and celery the "Holy Trinity"?  I can agree with that, but there's a fourth ingredient I always add.  Green Peppers.  There's just something about the flavor of a green (or red) bell pepper.  I don't care for them raw personally, but I'm fine with the cooked variety.  

Last year, our green pepper crop suffered from sun scald, so this year I planted all the peppers in and amongst the tomatoes.  When I transplanted my babies (Carolina Wonder and California Wonder) they were busy and full.  Within a month or so, they got all tall and leggy.  I was told to "pinch them back" to promote more foliage, but I didn't.  They were starting to bloom and I got greedy so I let them do their thing.

I've noticed that I can never really get a BIG bell pepper.  I wonder if my perspective is off with being exposed to the huge grocery store peppers?  

I've watched our peppers now for about a week and they didn't seem to be getting any bigger.  In fact they started to become more susceptible to scald, bugs and spots.


So I thought "waste not, want not".  Even small bell peppers cook up just fine, so I went out and pulled everything I thought I should.  Most of the plants only put out about 2-3 peppers each.

So whats the big mystery about growing peppers in the South?  Perhaps green peppers are best as a more Northern crop.  SM and I have discussed the extreme sun that seems to zap them.  This crop is better than last years so we know that giving them full sun is not good.  We also think that, while the tomatoes did help protect them, they also crowded them too much.  We're actually discussing building some kind of a shade cloth contraption next year to try and protect them more.  I planted some in raised beds and in the ground.  Both seemed to produce the same amount, so where they're planted doesn't seem to matter too much.

 Any thoughts out there?  Tips that have worked for you?  I plan on planting ALOT more plants next year if all I can hope for is 2-3 bells per plant.

Full Metal Jacket

We staked our tomatoes when we transplanted them this Spring using limbs from the Bradford Pear we cut down.  Most of the limbs were in the 5-6 foot range.  This has worked out pretty well until this past week.

The tomatoes are in full fruit.  So they are extremely heavy right now.  (Expect some posts about my first attempt canning tomatoes soon.)  Add to that the fact that we've had nightly thunderstorms this week and at least 4-5 inches of rain so far.  The back yard is actually "puddling" right now.  With high winds and soft ground the stakes came right up.

The tomatoes fell on top of each other.  Fortunately they didn't snap.  SM went out and bought some of those heavy metal "T-Bars" and placed them strategically and we used some twine to try and keep them up and give them some support. 

 
Some are still laying on the ground.  I'm letting them be.

Jane, over at Hard Work Homestead, posted about her thoughts on her experiments on growing tomatoes.  Now you might think growing tomatoes is a snap.  Ha.  I'm coming to learn that nothing related to growing your own food is as easy as you might think.  I've often thought "What the heck am I doing" but I refuse to give up.  I mean, 100 years ago people survived on a lot less than what we have today.  Why can't I grow a freaking tomato?  Whats all the fuss about?

The "fuss" is what Jane (and I) are fussing about.  Got blight? Early, Late?  No fruit?  Is it possible we've fussed our plants into an early tomato demise?

I have a co-worker who has a degree in agriculture.  I never knew.  We started talking about my SVB infestation (I lost all of my squashes and pumpkins to the little bastards) from a few weeks ago.  She'd never experienced it.  Hello?  I can't be the only one on the planet who doesn't have zucchini coming out of her....Ummm.  OK...Back on track. 

Anyway, we started talking about tomatoes and one thing led to another and "What?  You don't prune?  Oh Tami...You need to trim all those branches away.  You'll get more fruit!"

"Well, I didn't mulch as good as I could have and I'm worried about Early Blight so I did trim off the lower branches that were turning yellow."

"You really should get out there and prune them way back."

"No.  I did that last year and everything failed.  I think I'm going to let Mother Nature do her thing.  They're fruiting up pretty good.  Maybe not as much as they could but the plants seem pretty healthy."  (I swear I could see her shaking her head at my ignorance.)  Maybe I'm delusional?  Insane?

Where's my full metal jacket? 

I'm beginning to believe that all the "fussing" we do as modern, intelligent gardeners is messing up the natural order of things.  I mean, maybe a tomato plant is only supposed to put out so much fruit.  Maybe all "pruning" we do actually hurts the plant and makes them more vulnerable to disease.  Reading all the comments to Jane's post makes me realize I'm not the only one who thinks so.

On another note...I did spend this morning dropping off tomatoes and cucumbers to our immediate neighbors, feeling a bit like Santa Claus in July.  I always try to keep my neighbors supplied with the random tomato, squash or cucumber in an effort to maintain good relations with them.  I've got great neighbors and it's a small price to pay for the "Thanks for keeping your eye on my house while we're gone" or "Can you let the dogs out?" emergencies that crop up.  (Small price to pay IMHO)

They pretty much know I'm crazy already.  (sigh)  Isn't it nice to know where you stand with people?

Silver

SM and I married in SM's hometown in Ohio on July 5th, 1986.
 

His extended family was SO much bigger than my own that it just made sense to have the wedding there.  Plus SM's family was more religious than mine and the parish priest agreed to marry us.  (I didn't mind marrying in the Catholic faith.  If we had had children I probably would have converted.)  SM and I attended Pre-Cana classes in Columbus, but had to drive the 2 1/2 hours to the small town in the hills of eastern Ohio so Father K could counsel us also. 

I remember attending the group courses in Columbus. I thought they were fun, life lessons that I enjoyed participating in.  SM and I have always been pretty much on the same page so it came as a shock to witness other couples arguing and disagreeing as we went through the course work.  I often wondered if they could "fail" the course and their priest could deny the marriage.

SM (27) and I (24) were living together before we got married. (The scandal!)  None of us had a lot of money and it didn't occur to us to have a big, fancy, expensive wedding.  This was all about family and friends.  And trust me...It took a village to get us married.

SM's older sister Joanne and her husband (Kent/"Moose") have a big home with a few acres that has always been Party Central for the family.  "Moose" (my brother-in-law) can BBQ like nobody's business, so we had our rehearsal dinner (party) there. 

A hot summers night, firefly's, four wheelers, kegs of beer in ice, loud music (Kent was partial to Cajun music at the time), the whole town was invited.

Our wedding day arrived hot and humid, but sunny.  An unusually hot one for that part of Ohio.  Most people didn't bother with having AC's back then as the evening lows would drift back into the 50's and 60's at night and room fans were used to keep you cool whenever the temperatures would get too hot in the daytime.

My Mother is a petite woman, 5 foot nothing to my 5'8.  She offered me her wedding dress which I was thrilled to wear.  Mom found a lady who could alter it enough to fit me.  The gloves were hers too.  The veil we had to make.  The dress was classic 1950's with the big hoop skirt, buttons up the back and (Yeah Me!) pointy boobs.  I was very flat chested at the time and was so excited that I'd have the illusion of big boobs that the dress maker was told to leave it alone.  My sister and SM's sister were my bridesmaids.  We found their dresses for $10 at the JC Penny outlet store.  The guys we suited up right in tuxes from a local shop. 

My Dad had a business friend who owned a party store and as a gift to me (and Dad) he let Mom and I go shopping through his warehouse for all the supplies we needed for the reception...all at no charge.  We used silk flowers and with the use of a hot glue we made all the bouquets by hand.  My parents paid for all the alcohol and drinks.  SM's family chipped in for the food.  His sisters and the Women's Auxiliary cooked all the food at the Fire Hall...chicken, cabbage rolls, perioges, salads, breads, pies and cookies...tons of food.  SM's sister Bern worked at a bakery and gave us the wedding cake. 

SM's brother Yash took our wedding pictures and had one of those great big video recorders, the kind you held up on your shoulder.  Taping your wedding was the new thing to do back then.  It never occurred to SM or I to arrange it.  Too expensive.  I don't know what inspired Yash to do it but, as bad as the tape is, it was fun to see everybody on film.

 At the rehearsal we discovered we'd forgotten to arrange for the organist but a quick phone call from Father K took care of that.  (* Note the big 80's Hair)

In this town if you get married you had to have a Polka Band for the reception.  SM and I paid for that.  Boy, did they suck.  It was kind of a rite of passage though.  You haven't lived until you've danced to "I've got a Polish Girlfriend", the classic "Chicken Dance" and "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" as your last dance.  SM and I did arrange for a boom box to play our opening song "Sea of Love" (the Robert Plant version.) 

SM went golfing the morning of his wedding day and goofed around the rest of the time.  I went into a nearby town and had a bacon cheeseburger with fries (Hey, I had a craving!) at the Big Boy for my breakfast.  The waitress couldn't believe I was eating at the Big Boy on my wedding day.  (Where was I supposed to eat?)  Then we ran around decorating the Town Fire Hall and checked things at the church until it was time.

The only AC in town was at the church so the entire bridal party got ready there.  

SM forgot his socks and had to borrow some from Father K.  

I didn't want to be taller than SM and didn't want to spring for shoes I'd only wear once, so I kinda got married barefoot.  (I wore little white socks.)

The wedding went off as planned.  

 
By this time it was HOT.  I don't really remember eating or drinking much of anything at the reception.

 

But I was dancing...a lot.

 We all were.

Did I mention that I danced a lot?

SM and I didn't spend that much time together either, we were both so busy with our guests.  The bridal dance was a big deal back then.  If you wanted to dance with the bride (or the groom) you had to drink a shot first (your choice of booze.) I think our bride/groom dance lasted about 45 minutes.  Or until the booze was gone.  I'm not sure which.  And then came the bouquet and the garter toss.  (See my socks?)

 I think we wrapped things up by 10.  My dress was hanging on me by then...I'd lost so much weight.  (The next morning at my SIL's house I discovered I'd lost 14 lbs.) 

We honeymooned at a timeshare on Fort Myers beach that my FIL owned.

SM freaked out 2 days after the wedding.  I remember him sitting there staring like a zombie.  "What's wrong?" I asked.  "I can't believe I'm married".  He looked stunned.  He snapped out of it quickly enough though.

Me?  I freaked out about a month later..."I'll love you forever and I'll live with you, but I don't think I can be married to you."  SM's eyes were pretty big during that speech I can tell you!

25 years later we're still hitched.  Our secret?

Have a sense of humor.

Maintain a bit of mystery.

 

And always marry your best friend.