My Egolf, the car that kept giving

So I bought an Egolf 2 years ago, I wanted my mom’s 2008 van with less then 30k miles on it, but nope, hubby didn’t want it, so, got the EGolf.

Now I must say I loved it. Great get up and go, no gas, no oil changes, can use the hov lane, but of course these was a car payment.

So right now used cars are hard to find, so I sold my Egolf and finally got my van! Woo hoo, it has 31k on it 🙂 It also has a lift gate and ramp so I can but my tricycle in and start biking more…and NO payments…mama is happy!

I did the math – In the end, between the deal I got on the car, the tax rebates, the electric company rebates, and the what I sold it for, it cost me $100.00 to drive it for 2 years. Booyah.

Auugghhhhhh….I am sure I am not the only one who feels this way

OMG, this working from home thing sucks, not for me so much, as I have been working from home for a few years and had my office/craft room all nicely set up, then HUBBY has to work from home and auuugghhhhh.

First, now he has my office and I am in the dining room, my shit is everywhere, I have no drawers to hide stuff! I did put another table in, so that is my “crafting” area, and the dining room table is my “work” area.

At least the dogs and cat are happy to get into all my stuff and “help” me.

I thought “yea we can do this for a few weeks” HA, 6 months later he is still home. We have been married 34 years, and this 24/7 shit has been a preview of retirement, he has GOT to get a hobby when he retires, or one of us will be dead and the other in jail, not sure which because honestly I can be a little much at times too….just saying……!

Poor Puppy got a hair cut

My poor puppy had to get shaved because she was full of matts, she was not happy, still getting used to it.

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No longer the Shammy dog

Kitchen Mash-Up Fruit Swap Style

So I am growing mint, basil, (which I can’t kill) I got a few peppers, cucumbers, ect growing. I swap these with others in the neighboorhood and get plums, tomatoes, grapes ect back.

I have been leaving basil and mint for one of my neighbors, so the other day they left me a big plate of cherry tomatoes and concord grapes (with seeds).

What to do with grapes with seeds? Don’t want to eat them, so I made two things. Grape Juice and Grape/Plum Jam/jelly.

First things first, I plucked them off the stems and cooked them for about 10 mins, just water, nothing else. Then I pressed them between a bowl and seive to get the seeds out and then most of the flesh.

It is awesome grape juice, nothing added, but it is a LOT of grape juice, so I thought why not make jelly? But remember I don’t use pectin because of all the sugar you have to add….so I pulled out my drawer and found Geletin.

Hmmmm, so I put the juice in with the geletin cooked it for few minutes and put in fridge….first time did not work well, never “jelled”.

So I used some plums I received from a different neighbor and put them in a pan with water and honey, cooked them down, added the grape jelly sludge ,(like I said it didn’t jell) and more geletin.

Who boy, that is the ticket! Nice jammy grape and plum jelly, no sugar added, just touch of honey and nice and think, love it!

I got a Fig Tree

woo hoo, and it had fruit on it when I got it. Of course it had more on it when it left the store then when it got home, car was a tight squeeze.

But I have already gotten 2 figs off of it and more are coming, it is weird that only 1 to 3 fruits go on each branch.

will be keeping it pruned so it is small and I can reach it.

Sunshine is FREE

Remember to take advantage of the sunshine, it is free, cut your laundry drying time in half, put out jeans and towels to mostly dry, then throw them in dryer for 10-15 min to soften.

Keep an eye out on other items as they will dry quicker then you think.

Smelly dog blankets, stick them out there and let the sun burn off some of the stink!

Just because we could all use a smile

The “mystery” garden surprises again

So I was clearing out old stuff and notice some new growth, I thought it was more beans, I thought cool, but noooo, they are bell peppers!

I had planted those a while back and they never grew, so of course I put new stuff in. Now they have decided to pop up and say HI.

They are so cute, super small little peppers, of course you know I don’t EAT peppers or onions, so I will use them to trade with others for different veggies and fruit.

Also putting the flowers in my planters has been awesome, lots of butterflys coming by to say hello.

Not sure I like the new wordpress upgrade

I will sometimes write a few future posts, and I used to be able to see what days had a post scheduled when I went to add a new one, that no longer is available.

They have also made it hard to find the tags and categories, and pictures.

If I could figure out how to get to the old version I would…alas I will just suffer and not in silence 🙂

Why fix something when it isn’t broken???

HA, figured some of this shit out

So I tried to use the little plastic stick things that you write on for what is in your garden, I failed…..I moved my plantings but forgot what sticks when where.

So I got some larger, cardboard starter cups and WROTE on the outside with Marker…HA. Hopefully it works this time.

I have also been prepping my soil, been adding egg shells, coffee and tea, hope this works since my soil is aweful!