patience patient ~

Patience patient ... This is what I keep telling myself.  I hate to admit it; but I miss being busy!  I have so much to do; but don't have the stamina yet to get it done.  I didn't think that the chemo would have this kind of effect on me.  I'm so tired all the time and doing something so trivial like sweeping the floor wipes me out.

The leaves are turning their beautiful shades of red and gold ...

These are some pics from prior years ... but they all look the same this time of the year.

 ~ the apples are ripe and getting turned into sauce and pies.  I just love my old applesauce colander with the wooden pestle.  It works better than the newer kind of sieves.  My sauce from one of the trees in the yard is always so pretty and pink from the red apple peels.

We've been seeing a few deer around ... checking out the apple trees in the yard.

Hopefully, next week I can start sitting back at the TajMelHal and see what's coming around there.

Until next time ...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

the 4 p's ~

Plums ... Pumpkins ... Potatoes ... Pie

As always ... never a dull moment around here.  Dear Hubby and I have been busy ... he more so than me.  Since my surgery I seem to be the foreman more than anything ... delegating different projects for everyone to do.  I help where I can as long as I don't have to do any kind of lifting. 

Today it's Plums ...

... peeled and seeded ...

... and turned into jam.

Yesterday and today ... it was Pumpkins ~  from Dar and Bills patch ... I picked out a few from the pile of them on the hay wagon to put by my door step for fall decoration along with some gourds.

... and Potatoes ~

... that I sat and watched as Dear Hubby, my sister Darla and her hubby Bill dug and picked up and put into bags ...

Thank goodness for the potato picker behind the tractor and they didn't have to be dug by hand.

Dar ... scooting around on the ATV ... being the foreman of that job :)

Today Dear Hubby cleaned up and canned 21 quarts of the small potatoes ...

I tried to talk him out of that project, as he's been so busy ... but he insisted on doing it.  Oh well ... all I can say is thanks ~ and that's one less thing for me to do on down the road:) when I'm feeling better. I'm so fortunate that he likes to cook and do canning with me.

I did insist on doing something today ... so I peeled up some apples and made an apple pie.  Then ... dummy me ... I forgot about it.  Slim had to run over to our daughters place to get our wood splitter and he asked me if I wanted to ride along.  Sure ... I'm ready to get out of the house for a bit.

We're over at Staci's place ... gabbing away and it dawns on me.  I FORGOT ABOUT THE PIE!!!  It's still in the oven.  It was suppose to come out an hour ago!

We mad dash it home ... all is well ... the house didn't burn down and the pie doesn't look too bad either.  Although, I'm afraid when we cut into it - it just might resemble applesauce inside it.

My mind has been through a  whirlwind of emotions ... concerning some health issues.   I was diagnosed with bladder cancer and had surgery last Friday along with my first dose of Chemo.  For now ... I'm coping, and feeling a little bit on the bitchy side of things ... this was NOT ON MY AGENDA!!  I know I probably shouldn't say I feel like this; but that's the way I'm feeling.  I'm not good at sitting around and trying to take it easy.

 I'm so grateful to have my family and wonderful friends supporting me through this.

I'll be fine; but if you want to toss a prayer my way and toss one in for my Dear Hubby and family too (cuz they're the ones who have to deal with me on a daily basis)  ... I'd appreciate it.  Love & Hugs to All!!!

Until next time ...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

wine caps ~

A few more Wine Cap mushrooms popped out of the wood chips over night ...

I found that the mushrooms that were still in the button stage I was able to keep some of the stem on them when cleaning and preparing for the freezer.  On the larger mushrooms the stems seemed a bit woody and tougher, so I just kept the caps on those.

Supposedly, they are a good mushroom for freezing.  As I had mentioned earlier, this is our first year raising them ... so like so many other things in life ... with these too ... time will tell :)








Four bags full of slice Wine Cap mushrooms, cleaned up and ready for the freezer:

While out checking on the mushrooms I also checked by the base of one of the trees in the yard where an oddity of a mushroom grows every year.  They are  called Deadman's Fingers ... as the photo will attest ... they look spooky like a dead man's fingers.

They are listed as Non Edibles - really now .. who would want to even try them??  I remember the first time I saw them I thought it was dog poo.  They come back every year in that same spot for the last five or so years.  I've never seen them anywhere else around the yard.

There were also these pretty little orange ones growing in the moss ~

... and some kind of puffball.  

There are so many species of mushrooms in our neck of the woods; but the only ones that we eat are the ones that we are 110% positive are edibles.  

We love mushrooms and that is why we finally decided this year to take the plunge and grown our own.  All our spawn was purchased through Field and Forest Products

Until next time ...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel

our first mushrooms ~

I looked out the window ... out across the yard, on the edge of the woods towards the wood chip pile we had made earlier this year in May...  Did my eyes deceive me or were those mushrooms popping up??  I could see them from the house.

The Stropharia Rugosa-annulata Mushrooms, aka. Wine Caps are growing!  Yeah!!!

This is our first attempt at growing mushrooms so forgive me if I seem a bit excited.  I felt just like a farmer walking into a barn and seeing a newborn calf... that kind of excitement :)

They are still in the early stage; but look how big they are already:

These are still in the "button stage" as their caps haven't separated yet from the stem forming the annulus or ring.

I only picked four of them today.  I'm excited to see what tomorrow brings:)

I'm hoping for a bumper crop out of our 5'x10' bed.  Stuffed mushrooms, mushroom soup, sauteed mushrooms, pickled mushrooms .... time to check out some recipes.

Hopefully in a few days we'll start to see something on the oyster mushroom - totem poles we planted also.

The weather is dropping into the near freezing and in some places freezing temperatures already at night and then back into the 60's- 70's during the days.  Prime mushroom time.

Until next time ...
So it goes in my neck of the woods.
~mel