my best friend thea

has been gone over 10 years.
we lost her to inflamatory breast cancer

she came to see me last night.

I know she is ok and all.......but still I worry.

she said 'being dead is not bad at all, actually it's pretty cool, you float around......no body......total freedom'

she told me ' I don't want you to be afraid of death'

I told her I was not afraid of being dead.......but of dieing.

she looked pretty good for a dead woman..........

I miss her so very much,
not a day goes by, ( as she will tell you if you run across her in heaven)
that I do not talk to her......
Or my mom and dad....
or evelyn........or gramma rad............

I was so happy to see thea, to me that was a great great gift.

OVER 50% off!!!

one pound of assorted soap ( about three bars)

NO choice of color or scent12.00 a pound plus shippingorder 4 pounds and deduct 10% off the total ( before shipping)
( I am going to float that sale announcement until the stock is gone )

quick soapie update

the goat milk soaps are being made.....

peach

almond

grapefruit lily are all in the curing room now...... look for them in about 6 weeks

there will also be a blackberry goat milk.. coming soon

apple spice

pumpkin spice are due to be made this week...........so they will be ready for fall.....

and btw, fall is in the air.........

vi

canning season and summer rain

OVER 50% off!!!
one pound of assorted soap ( about three bars)
NO choice of color or scent
12.00 a pound plus shipping
order 4 pounds and deduct 10% off the total ( before shipping)

( I am going to float that sale announcement until the stock is gone )

ok

sooooooooooo

it's raining today

I canned over 100 pounds of food last week......

the work for that alone should have made me DROP 100 pounds off my fat behind no?

ha

if I lost an ounce it's because I cut my finger

anyway

something is eating my potatoes

we think it's thumper not bambi

we aren't sure if it's a gopher or a bunny

MY potatoes

do you understand the magnatude of that???

MY YUKON GOLD potatoes

YUKON GOLD

my very favorite potatoes

oye

the rat dies.......................

ok

anyway

we are going out to the potato farm in about two weeks

I am going to get about 50 pounds of hopefully bakers and boilers.......

and go back and get another 50 of bakers and mashers in the fall......

our winter pantry is starting to fill up

tomorrow I am going to easton........it's carole's birthday

we are taking her to lunch and then to the yarn store...

then I make soap the rest of the week

oye

vi

end of summer soap sale

ok we are clearing out

and making new

we have many scents we only have one bar of......

or the color is off

or I just plain do NOT like the scent ( that happens a lot....YOU however may love it)

so

here is the deal

OVER 50% off!!!

one pound of assorted soap ( about three bars)

NO choice of color or scent

12.00 a pound plus shipping

order 4 pounds and deduct 10% off the total ( before shipping)

this is a great way to get small stocking stuffer gifts that really are afordable.

ok drop me an email folks

vi

21 pints of necterines....it's a very good thing

ohohoh
spiced necterines......
to DIE FOR

2 cups of cidar vinegar
3 cups sugar
spice bag of 2 cinnamon sticks, 1/4 teaspoon cloves and 1/4 teaspoon ginger

drop the necterines into boiling water for 3o seconds
drop into ice water
peel
( skins should just slip off)
cut in half and remove pit
put the halves in the syrup
simmer for about 10 minutes

to can,
do a boiling water bath 20 minutes for pints
pack the jars full!

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

we are having four halves that I saved out tonight with chicken breast.
and corn
but I am thinking.....pork and necterines
turkey and necterines
cottage CHEESE and necterines
necterines...........plain

hmmmmmmmmmm

ok so now I got to get psyched up for the 25 pounds of peaches
I am doing something LIKE applesause
only with peaches
chunky peach sauce
with ginger and cinnamon...............
doesn't that sound GOOD?????


vi
just a knittin, a canning, and a soapin away

and damn I am tired today

a thought for the day

good morning folks

it's not too early here......about 9:15am
which as most of you know is pretty late for me
but be that as it may
here I am
drinking my coffee and sort of waking up

i need to go out into the garden
I got flying or falling from the sky ROCKS to investigate
and here I thought rocks were subject to the same laws of gravity my fat ass is........cause I fall down the stairs regularly......
as I am NOT a clutz........
I personally blame GRAVITY

but apparently the rocks are immune to GRAVITY.


ok
I weeded yesterday.......which while it SOUNDS boring I will tell you it was exciting what with the HUGE worms i got out there
and apparently there is viagra in them there manures.....
cause them worms were all doing the wild thang...........

seriously I could not pull one freeken weed without a couple of copulating worms coming out
and they ain't no skinny worms
any fisherman's eyes would glaze OVER at the sight of these guys.......
thems some big ass worms............

so here I am dodging GRAVITY defying rocks and giant horny worms.......

all in the effort to bring in the harvest......
which brings me to BAMBI

apparently i HAVE thwarted bambi in my quest to keep the monster tomato vines upright........

I tied the stakes to the fence........ except the tomato vines are about 6 feet away from the fence so there are lines to cross under all over the garden

the lines to cross UNDER are about throat high on bambi............
the lines to cross under do not bother me..........
I am short
walla...
deer proofing of sorts!!!

I am such a genious

hey never mind, I am a genious.........I am
just ask my chickens


til next time

vi

hihi it's me vi again

I'm back for a second
I forgot to tell you all
the ghosts here apparently pulled out the little thing that makes bernie's watch stop
they did it on the 4th of august at 1am
we all were sleeping
upstairs with the door closed and the air on.........
bernie, me and the cats
the chickens were down in the basement
soooooooooooooooooooooo
say hihi to our resident ghosts..
they were having a party in the studio

Buy a man a weedwhacker.......... I KNEW IT

I just knew if Bernie got that weed whacker my garden would never be the same

you guessed it
he decided to WEEDWHACK everything in sight

and I did mention that he is 'plant impaired'

yup
I could send him to the garden for parsley and he would bring back nightshade or worse...

(now you know why I keep a years worth of toilet paper........ I figure with our luck the leaves he would try and use would be poision ivy)

ok soooooooooooooooooooooo
what whacky adventures did bernie have

lets see.......

1) he decapitated a lily, a poppy, some spider wart, and a small oak tree..........
( not bad for an amatur huh?)
2) then he stepped UP his pace, and got the jewelweed...........
3) approuching the garden.......... he warmed up by whacking the outside of the fence........
so far no major problems........ one leaf off a potatoe plant


however the CROWNING glory....................

he whacked my soaker hose............
RIGHT where it comes out of the faucet

you know the one............ that is laid out UNDER the mulch in all the veggie beds...
that I rely on to keep the tomatoes etc hydrated while we are in this heat wave/dog days.........

oh man...........

can I send him somewheres?
can someone send me a hose repair kit..............TODAY?

suggestions anyone?

I can't kill him, he didn't finish the endless kitchen remodel from hell yet


til next time
vi

off to philly

Ok folks.....I am off to the big city
tomorrow ( probably when you all read this it will be today....... )
I am off to philly
I was to come home baring meat.....( imagine the hits I am going to get with THAT phrase)
I was to stop at the packing plant down there and get beef.........
( oh yeah....I am going to get hits......... dirty old men and horny teenage boys huh?)

I was going to get a hundred pounds of beef and a hundred pounds of chicken......
and if the pork was on sale....... a hundred pounds of that

yes you read that right..........hundred pounds
it is for a YEAR you know
anyway, I didn't get enough canning done out of the freezer and I don't have the space to park this while It waits it's turn in the aluminum jaccuzzi (aka my pressure canner)

so that brings me to my NEXT bright idea
I want a second freezer.......
oh and a generator to run it in the event of black out
( that generator would also power the well pump long enough to flush the toilet in the event of a black out...........if not the hot water for the shower..........)

I want a chest freezer

I am 5' tall........and almost 1" if you will give it to me.

bernie says I will fall in the chest freezer and the lid will come down and I will be trapped........
frozen alive
hahahaha
or frozen dead
a vi cycle........ could I be grape flavored???


oh........... well anyway
you all better miss me

vi