September Arrives

With an overnight shower.  Not the heavy rain we expected.   And this morning is sunny and very  humid from the rain.   I slept until 9am.  I have been very tired lately.  In body and mind.

The condition of the late summer garden isn't uplifting.  It all looks so tired, weedy and finished. I still have tomatoes, peppers and potatoes to harvest but the plants are reclining, have yellowed leaves.  And my green beans haven't even gotten started yet due to late planting. The chard looks fresh and young.  My carrots are a success for the first time.

I spent Saturday pouring boiling water into a yellow jacket nest in the old, unused compost pile.  The safest way to take care of the hive.  My raspberry canes were full of jackets.  And G got stung.  Five times I think on his hands.  They seem to side step me.  I gave up on the raspberries weeks ago.  I am hoping the October crop of berries will be enough to satisfy my hunger for raspberries.  I gave up picking blueberries.  11 quarts is too many.  Let the birds have the rest.

I used my own onions and carrots to make Italian Carrot Soup.  I had no heavy cream so used the thick cream of a can of TJ"s coconut cream (discarding the water).  The soup now has a slightly sweet taste I just don't care for in an earthy soup.  A disappointment.  I am now wondering whether to eat it (with disappointment) or just compost it all.  The latest batch of zucchini fritters was (is) a disappointment also.  I guess it wasn't a good day for me to be cooking.

Yesterday I cut apart a bunch of ripe tomatoes with bad spots, cracks etc and roasted them in a 300 degree oven for 3 hours with two fresh picked onions, some garlic and rosemary.  I served the roasted mess with pasta.  It was very good.  The alternative was a pot of tomatoes for Tomato Jam.  But then I would have to do the water bath.  I just didn't have it in me.

I wore a pair of size 16 pants I purchased in June of 2013 yesterday.  They stopped fitting at some point before the cold weather arrived.  I wore mostly size 20 pants during the winter and into spring.
It was the high point of my day on Sunday.  The scale shows no movement in weight loss but the fit of my clothing tells quite another story.  So, I will listen to my clothes while the scale tells me I have lost 9.5 pounds (the same thing it has said for 2 weeks) which is still a very good number but not what I had worked for.  I am drinking plenty of water today as I am walking with a friend at 1:30.

That's about all I have to write today.   I have housekeeping chores to do which will keep me busy. I have a second book to read (which will make three books in a row) and a visit to the garden to pick tomatoes.  I have a row of peppers turning bright red on the counter and I need to cut them into strips for the freezer.  I like my peppers red.  Oh, and jalapeños to pick and share with a friend who likes to make "poppers".  G says it is horribly humid outside.