Visitors and rhubarb

The two together ... great combination!

We had a houseful Monday evening. Super fun. Thanks to all of you for coming over. Always a treat to have folks over.

My rhubarb doesn't exactly look like this picture. My rhubarb has gone wild and is being picked constantly. How much pie can you make and still fit in your clothes at the end of the summer?! Shucks! I tried something new last week and must share the recipe with you. We used it all up last night ... and it was a serious hit.

If you have access to rhubarb .... and need some other way to use it ... here's a great one!

Rhubarb Slush Punch

8 cups rhubarb, chopped
8 cups water
2 cups granulated sugar
1 3-oz package strawberry-flavored gelatin (dry)
1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice

Cook rhubarb and water in a large nonreactive saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until very soft, about 20 minutes. Strain and discard pulp; return liquid to saucepan. Heat liquid, then add remaining ingredients; stir until sugar and gelatin dissolve.

Freeze mixture in a 2-quart plastic food container. When serving, put frozen punch in a punch bowl, and add 2 quarts ginger ale. Serve.  Makes about 1 1/2 quarts.

I did what the recipe said and ended up with twice as much ... my rhubarb is quite moist in the beginning of the season. Tonite I'm making more, but only adding enough water so the rhubarb doesn't burn in the bottom of the pan while it cooks. I added lemon lime soda to the frozen stuff in a pitcher ... and it was awesome! Good enough to use up every drop of it ... along with 8 litres of soda. I'll let you know how the more concentrated version works out. I plan to just add the water when I make the punch. I might have to start hunting another freezer ... just for rhubarb! Try mixing with lemonade ... (I'm seriously wishing I had a bunch of that in the freezer right now!) or anything else that strikes your fancy.

Let me know how it works out!

"I Can Explain"

Rearing of children is something else.

We go through all these phases of having "guests" live with us.

"Who?"

"Not Me"

"I Don't Know"

I'm sure there have been many others that have lived with us as well.

Friday evening Blayde brought me an industrial size back of Vermiculite for gardening purposes. I should have vermiculite for the next several years. I hope it doesn't go bad. Went to grab a pair of scissors and came up with with half a pair. I know that scissors are light, but it was sort of like lifting your purse when you didn't replace the wallet full of change in it. An expected light lifting.

Probably because I came up with half a pair of scissors.

Mom: "What on earth happened here?"

Brock: "I can explain."

And so we move on to the next phase of life. The "I Can Explain" guest is here. We really like this one. It takes responsibility for it's actions. It keeps us from wondering .. although sometimes it probably leaves us guessing for a little while. If in the end "I Can Explain" owns up to their mistakes ... we all learn from it.

I could write so much on life lived with teens, but won't do it at their expense. That's not fair to them .. and none of them are illiterate.  I should secretly be writing a book or journal somewhere ... published when they are all gray haired like their mother. I'm not doing that either. I figure that God gave us memory relapse in our old age for a very good reason. I'll remember the fun stuff and forget the things that are best forgotten.

This weekend, tho', we had a very good lesson in "I Can Explain" that went well beyond the scissors coming out of the cup as half a pair. Somedays you just have to smile when you see your young people turning into responsible young adults. Makes parents smile and their hearts warm ....

It is raining!!

Second day in a row with rain.
The firefighters fighting the blazes certainly need the rain.
The grass will love it.

Let's hope the vegies outside agree with everyone else!

If it keeps up .... I'm going to warm the house with some pulla baking tomorrow.

It has been a while.

Rain, rain, come our way ....

It looks like ... we just may be getting some rain today.

Cross your fingers.

We desperately need some.

The cucumber plants are nearly all blooming.

The pickling cukes even have what looks like little starts of cucumbers.

Mmmm ...

Tomato plants are growing like crazy, but not yet blooming.

Carrots are up in the greenhouse and I may have seen a few outside. Need my spectacles on to see if it is a weed or not.

Strawberries are blooming and shooting runners. The plants are large and luscious!

Rhubarb has gone wild.

The flowers I am planting this year are planted and/or potted.

Next come the peas ... and the peppers need to make it into large pots. I bought marigolds to try and keep the aphids at bay. Should probably go get another couple of 6 packs of those for tomato companions as well.

The lawn is mowed and looks beautiful!

Couple of hostas in the ground and hoping to see something wonderful out of them so I can split them next year.

Next year ... a larger cleared spot for a garden ... moose fencing ... and canning jar shopping.

For the moment ... I love going out there after a day at work to see what else is popping up ... and what I need to thin.

The truck lost the serpentine belt yesterday.

Don't ask me.

I don't know about these things.

I do know that it had worn away the top of the pulley that it rides on.

And I do know that it picked the most convenient place to quit.

Not at home.

It picked the parking lot of the Super Shops ... where it should be getting new pieces today.

We cannot hardly believe that we made it home from Valdez on Monday. We haven't a clue how that happened. Well ... we do have a clue. We have a mighty big clue. Remember that Finance Department that wasn't sure it should be going? That one couldn't have handled a breakdown somewhere between here and Valdez. God was watching over us.

After waking up to a nightmare that "Charlie the Bear" (grizzly kind, mind you) had me in his arms sometime at about 1:38 a.m., I was up at 5:30 this morning. Laundry is spinning this bright and early morning. Anna & Tia are over at Jolene's and going to help her do some packing for a move to a new place of living. They'll have a grand day today!

Me, I'm just hoping for rain ... and to work 'til 11pm tonite!

We made it!!

The weather was absolutely beautiful! Not a stitch of rain, the sun was bright, the air was warm ... wonderful camping weather! We camped at a campground that I would definately go back to again ... even had a shower facility for our use.

The Marina in Valdez.

Taken from the Old Valdez townsite that was moved after the '64 earthquake.

Plenty of s'more makin' going on.

Waterfalls unlike anything I've ever seen in my life.

Thompson Pass covered in snow.

Barely inhabited God's Country.

The Marjanen crew that camped the weekend with Matanuska Glacier in the background. Was a fun weekend!

Have you ever ....

had weeks of "down" days.
Days, that seem to turn into weeks, where you feel like you're looking down the tunnel to a life that just doesn't seem to change?
Don't get me wrong. I know that I am incredibly fortunate and blessed.
The challenges along the way are sometimes a wee bit stressing.
Sadly ... I know that mine aren't big challenges.
Others are facing those.
Stress is debilitating and I just need to figure out how to get rid of some of it.

Jari was working out of town for a week. I am, oh, so thankful for the work. I just like to have my cake and eat it too! I want him home. Thursday night he surprised us and came home a day early ... bringing some prizes with him. By the way ... he likes to do that frequently. The surprise thing. The last stint gone, he texted me a day earlier than his anticipated arrival home date and said "Just Landed". This time he brought home starfish from Homer.

They're presently drying outside ... Oreo was quite entertained. :)

Yesterday I was tired when I came home. Beyond exhausted. Tired. Brock picked me up and I told him I was taking a 30 minute nap before I started dinner. He has been taking a guitar class in summer school and wanted me to come see what he had learned ... before I took a nap. He showed me. After I spent some time "ooohing" and "aaahing" over this new thing I found in my kitchen.

Yes. It. Is.

A new gas range.

And it is actually in my kitchen.

Put there by my sons.

Yes .... my boys must like my baking and my cooking ... and one works at Lowe's and gets tremendous deals. :)

Don't ask me how many times I caught it in my peripheral vision last evening ... and had to stop and gaze. I really couldn't give you an answer to that one.

I still can't quite believe that we own this thing!

It has been at this address since Monday sometime ... hiding and waiting for installation.

It has not been on my shopping list.

The old one had been on the prayer list.

Praying that it would last a wee bit longer ... I seriously think it was as old as this house is.

I have these little moments where I realize things and spout them out. "Oh. My. Gosh. I don't have to turn the muffin tins anymore!" "I bet I don't have to bake them on the top rack anymore!"

Then I have to stand and gaze again.

I really can't wait to get home and start baking. Strawberry rhubarb pie for the boys Monday evening. What do you think? Once a week all summer long? At least?

We're off to Valdez this weekend. I've hemmed and hawed.

The Finance Department says we probably shouldn't be going.

The Mental Health Department says to go.

The New Places to See Department says it will be a whole lot of fun to see something new this weekend.

The Gardening Department got all the tomatoes replanted last evening and has the weekend watering under control.

The Laundry Department has only 2 loads left to go this morning because it's been under different management lately.

The Gotta Keep the Hands Busy Department is going to move a cabinet downstairs right now and find a knitting or crocheting kit to take on the road with her, which means that ...

The Blogging Department is going to sign off and finalize a few things before she leaves for new places to photograph over the next few days.

Have a safe Memorial Day weekend. Remember our soldiers and their families who not only risk their lives every day for us, but have all too often sacrificed their lives so that we can enjoy all the freedoms we do today.

Barbeques and cucumbers ...

Saturday? That barbeque? It was really awesome. The food was delicious ... and the whole rest of it was great! I didn't do a darn thing. I watched a bit and sat on my behind ... between eating and drinking coffee.

This was taken at 11:37 pm or thereabouts on my way home. This our Alaska. It is still unbelievable to me that I can say that. We go to bed in the light of "day" and wake up in it as well.

My justification for sitting on Saturday evening was ....

that I really did work on Saturday ... all day long. The back could certainly feel it when I was done ... but oh, it felt so good.

Joyce  ... cucumbers will certainly climb. When they seem to be headed in the wrong direction just tie them up the way you want them to go. I've even used zip ties to keep them up on the screen until they figure it out themselves.

Yes ... my cucumbers are in pots. I am trying something new ... constantly. This greenhouse will hit 100 degrees in the not too distant future. Plants dry out so quickly it is unbelievable. I'm hoping that these pots will contain a wee bit of the moisture. If it doesn't work ... you won't see it again next year! We plan to can massive amounts of pickles ... now that I learned to buy "pickling" cucumbers.

Today is already Tuesday. Kids are out of school and I am sleeping later in the morning. Computer time is slashed. So is Blog Time. Anyway, today I came home from work a bit early. (Made me wonder what on earth I'd do with myself if I didn't work full time!) Brock and I started working on the temporary garden. This looks really hokey ... but it has a purpose.

Really, believe me, it does. Tires hold heat. In addition to that ... we (really Jari is) clearing land to the right side of this picture. I aim to expand a garden heading that way ... just not this spring. I'm not digging two gardens by hand with a shovel. No thanks. So tires it is. Potatoes and zucchini coming to a local tire shop near you! Then we dump out the dirt and use it next summer ... worms and all.

I'm pretty stinkin' easy to please.

Most of the time.