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Post by desertwoman on Sept 5, 2024 20:23:31 GMT -5
Started prepping for the feast on Sunday. Spent yesterday in the private garden, where we will eat, sprucing it up. Weeded, deadheaded flowers, cleaned up various ground covers that were starting to choke perennials. Today I made a gallon of chai (without the milk). I got this recipe from sitting at the hearth, in a Himalayan village and watching a woman making her big pot of chai. I was able to approximate quantities of spices as she added them to the pot of water. When served I will measure about half chai and half milk And then I made the ghee- 7 pounds of butter!
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Post by Mumsey on Sept 6, 2024 16:25:22 GMT -5
Hadn't been to the big city in way over a week. So went this morning. One thing led to another and I finally made it home 4.5 hours later!!! Took my time and got lots of things done/taken care of. This Sunday is a Hospice Event in the big city, Release and Remember Monarch Butterfly release by the river. Food, live music and program. I'm thinking I will go to that. Then Monday starts the dr appt routine with Dad and step mom. Then next weekend I'm thinking sis and I will go to Kalona, IA to the Amish, it's her birthday weekend, thought it would be fun to get away. We kind of celebrate our birthdays together though mine is in July.
Tomorrow is promising to be very cool, only upper 60's. Plan to get lots of outdoor work done.
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Post by binnylou on Sept 6, 2024 21:23:38 GMT -5
Today was one of those days…nothing on the list was crossed off. Maybe tomorrow..
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Post by desertwoman on Sept 6, 2024 21:58:28 GMT -5
Spent a lot of the day in the kitchen starting to cook for the feast on Sunday. Had help this AM making samosa filling and potato/cauliflower/peas mixture with spices for little potato cakes and raisin chutney. Cooked the papadum. Mixed garbanzo flour and spices for the pakora batter. Then this evening two friends joined us to make the samosas, form the potato cakes and chopped some of the veggies for various dishes. To be continued tomorrow...
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Post by breezygardener on Sept 6, 2024 23:08:25 GMT -5
After a quick trip out for a few groceries, spent the rest of the day just puttering. A bit tired after being out all day yesterday with a hospital followup visit & then some fun shopping.
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Post by Mumsey on Sept 7, 2024 5:22:18 GMT -5
My how quickly things change. Talked to brother last night. He got Covid earlier this week. Now step mom has it, Dad is getting tested today. I'm sure they didn't get it from me, I was careful about testing negative before going there, and then waited another 6 days. Covid seems to be rampant around here. I'm not doing dr visits this week with them sick. They are yearly follow up things which can wait another few weeks. Re-thinking next weekend with sis too, might put it off another week. I suggested to her she get the covid booster asap since she has been lucky so far.
Never made it to the garden yesterday except to pick tomatoes. Maybe today I can get some cleanup done.
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Post by datgirl on Sept 7, 2024 7:52:32 GMT -5
Talked to my older sister yesterday and she told me she was really sick. She took a Covid test and it was negative. Glad for her, but she is miserable with whatever she has. Went out to breakfast with an old girlfriend yesterday. That was fun. Came home and did a little clean up in the garden, planted a yellow Cone flower that I couldn't resist. It was on a clearance rack and looked like it needed a home. Picked up granddaughter from the bus stop and wound up having both of them for a couple hours so parents could go get some groceries. 3 1/2 year old decided she wanted to play grocery shopping from my pantry. After "buying" things from the pantry, her parents came to pick them up and left me with most of my pantry items all over the kitchen floor. So what a perfect time and excuse to do a clean out. Must admit, I threw out a few outdated canned items that I knew I would never use. I think they came from the neighbor that uses the food pantry. So now my pantry shelves are nice and clean and organized again.
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Post by emmsmommy on Sept 7, 2024 17:46:32 GMT -5
Well today definitely didn't go as planned. Out early and picked beans and a few cucumbers. Had just finished stringing the beans when kiddo wanted to go for a walk, so off we went. At one point she kicked her Crocs off and took off running full speed towards the well road and down she went. I assumed she'd gotten stung but quickly realized she'd cut her foot. Carried her back to the house and sat her on the edge of the bathtub while I cleaned her foot up and discovered the cut was much deeper than I thought. Sent a message to hubby to come home immediately and by the time I had her foot bandaged, clean clothes on both of us and carried her outside, he was there to carry her to the car. ER was practically empty and took her back immediately. Never cried during the whole ordeal but it took five of us to hold her down long enough to get the anesthesia in her foot to stitch it up. Nine stitches later we were out the door and headed to Walmart to get another antibiotic prescription filled. Thankfully this antibiotic doesn't taste hideous but we still have to hide it in her juice. I didn't realize that while I was holding her on the porch, blood dripped all over the leg of my pants and I was probably one heck of a sight walking around Walmart still wearing my ER visitor tag.
Received compliments on how well I cleaned and bandaged her foot and I have to credit grandma for my first-aid skills. Did replenish our supply of non-stick bandages and bandaids as we were pretty low. Kiddo is to stay off the foot as much as possible, which is going to be a challenge. Also will be off school Monday. Going to be an interesting weekend.
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Post by desertwoman on Sept 7, 2024 23:15:27 GMT -5
Covid seems to be rampant around here It's rampant everywhere. There's been a huge surge this summer. I've been back to wearing a mask when in grocery stores, Home Depot, etc. I hope you brother, step mom have mild cases. How's your dad doing?
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Post by desertwoman on Sept 7, 2024 23:19:13 GMT -5
omgoodness emmsmommy, That's a lot of stitches.
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Post by binnylou on Sept 8, 2024 0:03:18 GMT -5
Today was such a beautiful day, it’s difficult to stay inside for house cleaning chores. So, I didn’t. Instead, I played outside.
Dahlias needed their side flower buds removed. Most of the good looking buds were covered with organza bags, so I removed, pinched, and replaced bags.
The raised bed that grew red onions this year has been put to rest for this growing season. I topped it with manure/hummus, scattered seed for cover crop of Crimson clover, and gave it a good watering. I plan to do the same with the bed where Patterson onions were grown, only using mustard for cover crop.
Claimed a large cardboard box that finally went empty. It went to the garden for the melon bed. This year's melon plants won’t be making it to where the cardboard was placed, but perhaps next year’s plants might. The plants are in a raised bed and I want them to be able to run on to the adjacent area covered with cardboard/straw. That’s the plan anyway. I know the honeydew will trellis, but not sure about the cantaloupe. And the watermelon I’m not sure about. Doubtful, but Sugar Baby might?
Before I quit for the day, I burned the last of my weed whacker batteries by chewing my way in to the asparagus bed. It’s early, but I need to get it under control. Birds planted a couple of mulberry trees in the middle of the bed, one of which is above my head.
Set the trap for a ground hog. Got a raccoon.
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Post by desertwoman on Sept 8, 2024 0:27:36 GMT -5
Carried on with feast preparations. Had a busy morning in the kitchen. A neighbor friend came over and chopped all the fresh veggies for the various dishes that will be cooked tomorrow. I made the dal, toasted shredded coconut, mashed baked sweet potatoes and added spices and ghee, made two chutneys- peach from our tree and wild cherries from trees that grow all over our little village (including two on our property).
Took a break in the afternoon, went to town to water office houseplants (forgot to do that yesterday) and while there hubby gave me an acupuncture treatment for my sore back muscles. We stopped for a late lunch/early dinner. Then this evening he deep fried the samosas in ghee while I got a start on the shrikand- an outrageously good dessert made with yogurt 'cheese' (yogurt had been wrapped in a floursack dish towel and dripping for about 20 hours).
We're getting there....
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Post by Mumsey on Sept 8, 2024 9:49:14 GMT -5
As for the Covid Clan...brother has Covid and Strep throat. Step mom has Covid. They prescribed Paxlovid for her but the pharmacy doesn't have it. So many are not stocking it due to high cost....Dad was negative yesterday, doesn't mean he won't be positive in a day or three. So I'll be changing this weeks appts for them.
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Post by Mumsey on Sept 8, 2024 10:49:26 GMT -5
Cooking down San Marzano tomatoes. Looks like they will be sauce rather than juice. Really thick!
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Post by breezygardener on Sept 8, 2024 15:04:04 GMT -5
This morning we visited a little local independent plant nursery that specializes in native plants & perennials, with a few herbs & annuals thrown in for good measure. It was their Fall/end-of-season sale, & I ended up coming home with some nice bushy Italian flat-leaf parsley plants, a nice "Gorizia" rosemary, a native "White Wood aster", a native (I believe) astilbe, two Ostrich ferns, & two "compact' marjoram plants that, unlike other marjorams, "claim to be/might be" hardy around here. The owner gave the marjoram plants to me for free (we're steady customers) & said I might want to test the claim by leaving one outdoors & bringing one inside at frost time. I always grow marjoram (absolutely LOVE it with green beans) from seed, but have always treated it as an annual.
Then we made a quick stop for a couple of things at the market, & back home to putter. So all in all, a very nice day.
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