Posted on 05/01/2026 6:24:57 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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I still try to figure out how we got the 8 of us in the car, plus camping gear, clothes, and some food in that car, to be gone for a week or ten days. Mom was a master at packing things up. I guess it helped that Dad had been in the military, and after he was out, we moved every couple of years with job changes for him. Packed a lot of stuff in a little bit of space. (That tent was canvas and not lightweight like the nylon ones nowadays. Very bulky and heavy.)
I bought some established tomatoes from a garden center back in April and put them in gallon containers. One of them was an Early Girl. When the plants got about 2 feet tall I planted them in my double 5gallon buckets the first of May.
My dad built a large plywood box that went on top of the station wagon for our luggage, gear, etc. He had these two things that clamped on the sides of the roof (similar to ski racks you see on cars these day) & the box was strapped on that way. The box was almost the width of the car roof & maybe 2/3 as long. It held a lot of stuff! I don’t know what happened to the box, but I saw the old ‘clamps’ in the pole barn the last time I was at the Old House.
FRENCH VANILLA CAPPUCCINO
Method---heat/stir milk/vanilla til it starts to bubble. Offheat stir in/dissolve sugar.
For perfect foaminess, froth mixture w/ blender or commercial frother.
Carefully scoop off foam; set aside for luscious topping.
To assemble cappuccino: pull a shot of espresso or use strong
brewed coffee in a mug. Pour in hot milk, then add froth.
Add a sprinkle of cinnamon to finish.
Those ‘Early Girls’ sure live up to their name! :)
My tomatoes are still in cottage cheese containers (started them all from seed) and they are about 18” and stocky. They have been well loved!
They are going in the ground this coming Sunday. Peppers, too. Broccoli and Kale and Cabbages are already in.
Then I can fill in with flowers. I have two more types of beans to plant, but the soil just FINALLY hit 70 degrees the other day.
Zone 5 growing is always a piece-meal operation it seems!
I LOVE Iced Coffee in the summer months. So many yummy things to add to the glass. ;)
Yup——— FRENCH VANILLA is the classic CAPPUCCINO.
Add chocolate, caramel, pureed raspberries.....its all good.
“...a certain ‘glazed’ look on her face...”
My boys were 3, 4 & 5 when I married - instant family! I am very familiar with that look, LOL!
I actually had to water the garden this morning! It was fun! Of course, Grover ‘helped’ me. He learned all about the hose and why you don’t get in the way when Mom is watering! It’s 84 right now, and 104 in the greenhouse, so pretty much everything is pulled out of there. It’s a useless oven from June through mid-September...but it sure is nice to have on either end of the growing season.
Found this recipe today. It looks fantastic, and supposedly has ‘gone viral.’ Glad I planted two Jalapeno peppers...and I just discovered two more that will be going in the ground, too. Must’ve had a ‘Senior Moment’ and over-bought, LOL!
Viral Cowgirl Candy
This Cowgirl Candy is even better than candied jalapeños. Fresh pineapple and jalapeños are pickled in a sweet vinegar for a tart, fruity, hot, can’t-stop-eating treat.
https://www.allrecipes.com/cowgirl-candy-candied-jalapenos-and-pineapple-recipe-11968468
OH, HELLO! :)
You’re right! I forgot that on the longer trips, we had a car top carrier! We used that on the trips that lasted a week or two, especially as we got older. Hard to believe my oldest brother was with us even after he had graduated from HS, was in junior college, and was dating a wonderful young lady who a few years later became his wife. Next to my husband, he was the nicest guy I knew, and the best big brother ever. All 3 of my brothers have been great, but he set the bar very high. He always watched after us younger kids, and was very patient with us. I miss him.
I have been ‘banned’ from making Cowboy Candy since my brother & niece’s hubby lost control (& good sense) & each ate a whole 8 oz. jar in one sitting. My brother almost ended up in the ER with severe heartburn chest pains & the hubby said he had ‘fire shooting out of his butt’ & he thinks the CC ‘gave him hemorrhoids’. Sheesh.
I’ll have to try the Cowgirl Candy - looks good to me!
Not quite “all”: Here in the mid-South or “Southern Midwest” or whatever one wants to call it, most locations are from “abnormally dry” to “D3” drought. Much of the area within 20 miles or so of us is “abnormally dry” to “D1”, but right at our location we’ve been unlucky, and D2, I’d say. OTOH we were lucky with timely modest* rains, last week, so, the 1st 3” or so of soil is in pretty good shape right now**. Dig past that and it gets dryer in a hurry in areas I don’t water regularly & deeply. Our dense clay soil underneath the first 2-3 inches of lighter soil tends to let moisture in, and down, slowly.
*The problem for us this year has been that NWS will forecast several days of rain, with totals of 2-3” area-wide (higher where t-storms train), and then we get rain on maybe 3 of those days, totaling under 1/2”. Between those “rainy” spells we get, in the dry periods, more of those “bluebird days” than I can ever remember in a Spring, and lots of low humidity, breezy, fire risk warning(s) days. It’s great if you want to hang clothes outside to dry and have nice strong clothespins!
This has resulted in the short short term drought map, from NE Arkansas / SEMO to Virginia...
https://ndmcblends.unl.edu/cdi/version_3/ndmc_cdi_short/png/short_term_cdi_2026-05-25.png
...looking much improved over the mid term map:
https://ndmcblends.unl.edu/cdi/version_3/ndmc_cdi_mid/png/mid_term_cdi_2026-05-25.png
**Just over a week ago, when I mentioned our 4-day run of “bluebird days”, those 1st 3” of topsoil were quite dry, esp. for spring, in this area. Our well pump has been getting a workout, to do all the watering.
We are not too far from a major river that, mostly fed from far away, has been at average to slightly above levels, but this spring has not had the usual spring flooding. At least our aquifers are in pretty good shape, compared to many out West: The well isn’t going to run dry anytime soon... :-)
Noted! I imagine it’s the “same deal” as our Menards: Both Bonnies and a local plant vendor come in with the plants — on staggered days, I believe.
Why “our” Walmart doesn’t seem to be doing this, I don’t know. There IS a LOT of competition within a few blocks of them, including Menards, and at times, Menards gets pretty aggressive with their pricing.
Hmmm...!!! My jalapenos (of whichever variety) are nowhere near fruiting yet, BUT, Aldi had bagged jalapeno peppers, ~3-1/2” to almost 5” long, 8 oz. for $1.00, a couple days ago, so I grabbed a bag. I figured even if we don’t use them all, I’ll get seeds galore out of the deal, and then I get to see if they grow true. ;-)
I guess I could also try (lesser amounts?) of Cowhorn peppers in a couple months, if someone wants to taste test the recipe with “real heat”. I don’t think I’d even try those ridiculously hot Thai peppers I grow for wifey. Clint (Eastwood) Candy?
Whups, that was supposed to be “the short term drought map”!
My Early Girls were in a 6-pack & the tallest maybe 6” tall when purchased, and I immediately transferred several to my 2 liter soda bottle pots - then the two strongest to 2+ gallon pots a few days ago, as they indeed were quick to set fruits. They now have a few green fruits almost 3/4” round, so, they likely will win the race to who is is going to produce ripe fruits 1st: As several varieties flowered about the same time, a few weeks ago (and a few tomato plants I bought in 4” pots had a few flowers @ purchase.) The EG’s were not the 1st to flower, but, they seem to be going the fastest from that point. The two plants that seem like the best candidates to beat them are the 2 strongest “Patio Tomato” plants, as they were the strongest & seemed the furthest along when purchased. However, their fruits seem to be developing slower.
I’ve never had good luck with EG’s in the ground: They were always weak, poor producers that died in mid-July. However, putting them in pots in partial sun seems to be working well. :-)
Early Girls to me are quite bland, but will be fine for uses similar to the Romas wifey uses a lot, and, Romas have jumped in price big time @ the grocery stores.
I have an old hatchet I’d like to restore. The wood handle is unique, I can’t find a replacement. There is a good sized chunk of the wood missing. Was thinking about making an outside mold of aluminum foil and filling with wood filler. Thoughts??
Congrats Howard and family. What a picture, he should start modeling.
Jung’s had a great not-so-hot-but-very-flavorful pepper called, ‘Sweet Heat.’ It might be in the Totally Tomatoes Catalog...?
I grow that on years when I’ve been requested to make the Cowboy Candy for those that don’t like it even to the not-so-hot-IMHO flavor of Jalapenos.
Pepper Joe’s has it, too:
https://pepperjoe.com/products/sweet-heat-pepper-seeds
But that Jalapeno & Pineapple combo just trips my trigger! :)
I may have to buy some jalapeños & give it a try - it will be a long wait before my plants are producing.
Oh, me too. I don’t even want to THINK about Canning Season yet, LOL!
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