Fresh berry smoothies are a great dessert/snack for kids---make one for yourself.
Posted on 07/01/2025 5:32:22 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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Fresh berry smoothies are a great dessert/snack for kids---make one for yourself.
If you can use it safely, I found Rodenticide with Fast killing active ingredient bromethalin (0.01%), like JT Eaton 750 4 lb ($22 at Home Depot) this to be the best for the money. Keep non-rodent from eating the poisoned ones (cats usually no better).
The peas are almost done and as we are leaving Monday for a week out of town, I’ll get my last picking Monday morning and cover them with floating row covers to try to keep them dry and deal with whatever I find when we get back. Hopefully many seed pods will be dry by then.
Thank God that you can do gardening considering your infirmaries.
I have posted little due to much work working on bikes (free, plus parts are approx. lowest cost I found by the grace of God) and my arthritic typo-fingers becoming worse (poor circulation in hands does not help, I must often put my arms down after a short time to get warm blood flowing into them) unless I type very slowly, and in any case it takes much time. Minor compared to your affliction, while God's grace is sufficient, as we seek Him, and I biked about 18 miles last Friday, and working till late at night, thank God.
And despite the early heavy May rain and new roof dumping water into the front harden section, and less sun this year (partly due to a growing tree, plus neighbor's shrubs), most toms recovered here and actually are growing strong and healthy, with much foliage (too much phosphorous?) if no ripe toms (+ over 90 degree fruit does not set), yet little evidence of the yearly blight that has been appearing every year about this time.
And I thank God for warm weather, and if sometimes oppressive, I prefer that over cool and cold temps.
Only one pic of garden for now, of back section. Glory to God who will make all things beautiful in His time. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
Bike pump carriage:
My late Irish mom made the best potato salad I ever had, for she would boil the potatoes just until firmly soft, and then drizzle a little apply cider vinegar over them, before adding mayo. That is all I can remember.
My m-i-l made hers using Hellman’s with just a touch of mustard, lemon juice and Italian dressing, aside from the S&P.
I do that for chicken or turkey salad too. Gives it some extra flavor.
Those rubber/vinyl mats are nice for killing off grass. Don’t have to weigh them down around the edges to keep them from blowing away. I’ve got an old rubber truck bed mat and wish I had 20 more.
Johnny’s and Farmer’s Friend sell 5 mil polyethylene sillage tarps that market gardener’s use, 24’ x 100’ for $250, black on one side and white on the other.
Tractor Supply has 3’ x 50’ of 4 mil solid black poly for $20 which is more my size and price range. Gonna pick up a couple next week.
I just LOVE your big beautiful healthy looking tomato jungle!
I’ve probably told you this before, but her books about her life are absolutely hilarious, too!
Yes, I have used many of her recipes to rave reviews. She knows what she’s doing. :)
Mom showed up yesterday with all of the leftovers from a luncheon she hosted over the weekend. My fridge is packed - and we’ve already eaten a meal from it once. Looks like we could make three more!
We are taking a Road Trip today to some of our favorite spots. ‘Avoca Merchantile,’ a trip across a newly constructed bridge that spans the Wisconsin River, Lone Rock (famous for both the warmest and the coldest spot in Wisconsin for some odd fluke of the location, the bluffs and the Wisconsin River) then on to Peck’s Farm Stand and Petting Zoo (Yay! Baby Goats!). Somewhere for lunch - probably Culvers, she LOVES that place - and a stop for milk because Beau is still home from camp awaiting vehicle repairs and seemingly drinks a gallon a day.
We got the Bread and Butter Pickles canned, but we will not be asked to join, ‘Pickle Packers Union 101’ based upon our sloppy work, LOL! It was the first time either of us did B&B’s other than refrigerator style, so there may be some re-packing of jars and re-sealing. Meh. Live and learn - and everything sealed properly, so we won’t be food poisoning ourselves or anyone else, there’s that!
Yesterday we fertilized tomatoes and anything in pots, and did a MAJOR weeding in the walkway all around the greenhouse, then I raked the gravel/sand and it looks like it was just installed - except for two dead roses that need to go. I’m giving up on roses in that spot. You’d think it would be perfect with lots of warmth off the greenhouse, full sun and good drainage, but it’s not proving to be. :(
The HEAT is on! Nothing but 90’s, humidity and ‘chances’ for rain for the next few weeks. I may get to know my garden hose once again. It’s currently buried in weeds, so that’s another area that needs a weed whackin’!
It never ends this season...Yeesh! ;)
Many years ago I had a Great Aunt and Uncle who owned a farm a few miles east of Ava, MO. Pawpaw trees grew in abundance along the banks of two spring-fed streams that ran through their land. Those trees were wild and the fruits had a lot of seed in them, but the flavor was amazing.
I've tried a few times to grow them from seedlings that I got from the state nursery through the MO Conservation Department's Grow Native program but I haven't had much luck with seedling survival - probably due as much to my ignorance and lack of proper seedling care as it was to quality of the planted stock. Year-old baby trees need a lot of love to get a good start in the clay soils here.
Now that I've gotten my chestnut orchard fairly well established I want to try again with the pawpaw trees. This time I'm going to use improved cultivars and make a concerted effort to do a better job of caring for the saplings. I left enough space to add understory trees to the rows between each of the chestnuts. I've already added several tons (literally) of compost to the planted rows. I intend to prep the new planting holes this fall so I won't have to fight with sticky springtime soil when it comes time to install the new trees.
With any good luck I'll live long enough to taste the fruit of my labors.
bttt
I haven’t made macaroni salad in ages, but this looks pretty good! Your relatives are so lucky!
Those smoothies are very pretty, and would be great on a hot afternoon!
Rubber mats are fantastic. Stall mats are my favorite, but those things are so heavy that I don't care much for handling them these days. That and they're crazy expensive now if you buy them new. I need to pick up a few more to put down around the new raised beds where they won't need to be moved until the beds rot out and have to be replaced.
I'm really liking the hallway runner matting that I put down along the asparagus bed row. It was stupid expensive (Amazon - $250 for 3'x50') but it's light enough to pick up between growing seasons, heavy enough that it should last for years, and it's not woven so nothing will grow through it.
I use a bit of mustard too, along with some chopped hard boiled eggs in mine. Celery for crunch, a little bit of minced onion too. Not too much though.
There are two types of CNC machinists at work. Those for whom it's a career and those for whom it's a decent paying job. The former tend to have a mechanic's roll around tool box and work at one machine all the time and the latter walk in carrying a set of calipers and their steno pad and bounce around 3-4 machines. I'm somewhere in between. I'm new and at 60, won't be working there for 30 years so a big tool box doesn't make sense but I'm fully blue collar and like my tools.(and enjoy a 2 hour tool bag search with morning coffee)
An electrician's meter bag type seems like it will work.(meter as in multimeter, amp meter etc) The height is the larger dimension and they're small - 8-in W x 13-in H x 3.5-in D. A tool pouch basically. I need it to hold a set of 6" calipers in plastic case and a 6" x 9" stenographer's pad and not have those get buried. That and a few small tools and 2-3 pair of gloves.
Once the calipers, steno pad and gloves come out, they're out for the day. Pull those out and hang the bag out of the way. There's not enough work bench room to even set my little duffel style bag. They've got some really strong magnet hooks at work so I can hang it by the handle attachment rings right on the sliding door of the machine. There are enough external pockets to hold an assortment for any milling job and not have to take a single step to grab anything. Company has a 5 year warranty and nearly 5 star reviews everywhere.
Today is a GEM of a day! Nice breeze blowing, very low humidity - not as ‘crisp’ as Fall, but could be a pre-fall day. Of course, we’ll be back to 95 with humidity by Friday (ugh).
Tell Beau that when my dad (who made it to 100) was asked what was the secret to his long life, the reply was immediate: “MILK!” Dad drank about a half gallon a day. I would have to crush the jugs to keep our recycle bin from filling up in one week. Dad’s love of milk came from having cows when he grew up (his sister milked the cows) & the milk was kept cold in the spring house in glass jars. I’m sure the worn path to the spring house was primarily from dad’s trips to get milk! BTW, that spring house is still standing & some folks wanted to buy it a while back & move it to a ‘heritage farm’ where they have moved other historical buildings. They said it was one of the best examples of a spring house in the valley. Dad said ‘no’. The farm has been sold & my brother told the buyer (a developer) about the offer on the spring house, just in case he was thinking of tearing it down - the guy is always looking for that last nickel, so there’s a good chance he might sell it.
I wish I could work on projects today or get a load of dirt. The company is someone I don’t know, but I’m sure mom expects me to ‘hang around’. I might be able to sneak off to the shop while they are ‘chatting’. The macaroni salad was very good - I had some for breakfast! :-) I love black olives, roasted peppers & green onions & sweet pickles. The dressing is good - you could substitute in pretty much anything you like if you don’t like the veggies she’s using ... not everyone likes black olives, for instance.
Have a great Road Trip - always nice to have a break from the farm/chores/garden, etc.
She was a good cook! If you Google adding vinegar before mayo to potato salad, you get a LOT of links. Here’s one that explains it well ... Vinegar is their #1 additive to potato salad:
The 22 Absolute Best Ingredients To Elevate Potato Salad
https://www.tastingtable.com/1162848/absolute-best-ingredients-to-elevate-potato-salad/
Excerpt:
Ever chomp into a potato salad that just tastes bland? It’s very likely that the mistake you’re making with your potato salad is the lack of an acidic element. That zing or tang gives our favorite barbeque side dish that punch of flavor that is usually found in vinegar. Both mayo and oil-based versions of potato salad should use some element of acid, whether it be balsamic vinegar, Italian dressing, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, or even pickle brine.
I am normally not a fan of macaroni salad because it’s smothered/swimming in mayo with not many flavors present. PW uses only 1/2 cup mayo, red wine vinegar & some pickle juice so in addition to the ‘additions’, it’s pretty tasty. In the comments*, some folks complained about not enough dressing, but there was plenty enough for my tastes.
I used jarred red roasted peppers & had to guess how many to add - put in about a cup of them diced, then added maybe another half a cup. I used sweet gherkins & that small burst of sweet is really nice. Give it a try!
*I like reading the comments as there is generally something useful to be found, but what drives me crazy is when people say “great recipe, but I substituted x & x & x and did blah blah blah with the dressing”. So in other words, you changed just about everything except the macaroni ... & some people even change that!
I like reading the comments, too, and as you’ve said, sometimes people substitute so many ingredients that it’s not the same recipe at all!
We recently got rave reviews over chicken salad sandwiches that we made for an outdoor free concert last weekend. Hubby smoked the chicken over pecan wood for our dinner the night before, then shredded the (intended) leftovers into bite sized pieces for me to use in the sandwiches. I added chopped celery, a wee bit of minced onions, hand chopped pecans so they weren’t too chopped, red grapes cut into quarters or smaller, mayo, seasoned salt, pepper, and a little bit of garlic powder. The longer it melds, the better it is.
I made a dozen sandwiches on brioche buns, and there was only one left at the end of the night. There were 7 of us to feed. Even my neighbor, who is a fine griller/smoker himself, complimented my husband on the subtle smokiness of the chicken breasts. Fortunately, there was enough left to have it one more time for dinner last night.
We mentioned it to our son, and i could hear him drooling over the phone. I have a feeling we will make it for him when he comes in a couple of weeks. He doesn’t have a grill (lives in an apartment) so I’m pretty sure we can make it again for him. It’s always an enjoyable sandwich, and not the usual chicken salad.
Those are really cool tool bags! I’m not sure if I should show my husband or not! Maybe a Christmas gift idea for him though!
Sounds delicious!
Our company Saturday brought us a pound of smoked brisket - SO good. Good enough that I am thinking about taking up smoking meat.
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