Preserving (rec.food.preserving) Devoted to the discussion of recipes, equipment, and techniques of food preservation. Techniques that should be discussed in this forum include canning, freezing, dehydration, pickling, smoking, salting, and distilling.

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Default dill pickles

5 quarts small whole pickles with plenty
of dill.

when i was cleaning them the night before
i popped open a pint from the first batch
that i made on 6/30. they were yummy.

i mistakenly made a few small batches after
the first which had more salt in them, but
i doubt that will stop me or my bro from
eating them.

digging garlic today. not too many bulbs
but enough (and if it isn't enough i have
plenty more i can dig up any time out back
in the more wild garden).

beans are doing well, starting to see plenty
of flowers. have to train some climbers
up the fence instead of runners swarming other
neighboring plants.


songbird
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Default dill pickles

On 7/20/2017 12:38 AM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Wed 19 Jul 2017 05:49:05a, songbird told us...
>
>> 5 quarts small whole pickles with plenty
>> of dill.
>>
>> when i was cleaning them the night before
>> i popped open a pint from the first batch
>> that i made on 6/30. they were yummy.
>>
>> i mistakenly made a few small batches after
>> the first which had more salt in them, but
>> i doubt that will stop me or my bro from
>> eating them.
>>
>> digging garlic today. not too many bulbs
>> but enough (and if it isn't enough i have
>> plenty more i can dig up any time out back
>> in the more wild garden).
>>
>> beans are doing well, starting to see plenty
>> of flowers. have to train some climbers
>> up the fence instead of runners swarming other
>> neighboring plants.
>>
>>
>> songbird
>>

>
> I only make "new pickles" with dill and garlic and therefore only
> make 1 or 2 pints at a time because even when refrigerated they
> "ripen" too quickly for my taste and the saltiness can become
> overwhelming. I'm the only one in the house that eats them.
>
> The only other pickles I make are bread & butter, and I usually make
> a dozen pints or so. We don't have a garden, so I must buy all my
> produce. One source I have usually has fresh Kirby cucumbers.
>
> When I can get really nice green beans I make dilly beans, both
> savory and sweet/spicy versions.
>

We have a dozen or so pickles of varied types, mostly older jars in the
pantry. This year our cucumber crop was a total failure. Mold hit them
early on as we received a bit more rain than we needed at the time. Same
with the green beans. Luckily we had a very good carrot crop so made
dilly carrot sticks.

If Ma Nature screws up things then we introduce her to something new.
Currently we are staggering around with near 100 degrees daily and then
a rush of rain. The mocking birds did in the sparse crop of figs so no
fig jam this year. The kumquat tree lost its blooms and, believe it or
not, two months later it popped up blooms and even more than the ones
that were dropped in the freeze. Weather here has been strange for the
last year, we're not used to hard freezes followed by very hot summer.

I don't think we will starve as the pantry closet in my office is full
of goodies. Dear wife has made a batch of pickled okra and sweet
peppers, they will sit for at least a month before we eat them. If one
crop fails we seem to have another crop that is humongous.

George
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Default dill pickles

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
....
> I only make "new pickles" with dill and garlic and therefore only
> make 1 or 2 pints at a time because even when refrigerated they
> "ripen" too quickly for my taste and the saltiness can become
> overwhelming. I'm the only one in the house that eats them.


i don't think the salt is required for anything other
than the taste so you could always use less or none at
all.

have you tried Pickle Crisp (a calcium additive which
helps keep things crunchier)? i've not bothered with it
as we'll eat dill pickles in about any form short of
slime mold.


> The only other pickles I make are bread & butter, and I usually make
> a dozen pints or so. We don't have a garden, so I must buy all my
> produce. One source I have usually has fresh Kirby cucumbers.


we made many quarts of bread and butter pickles last year
and the year before, but this year with my brother trying to
avoid extra sugar we're not planning on making any of those.


> When I can get really nice green beans I make dilly beans, both
> savory and sweet/spicy versions.


i like dilly beans, but generally canned beans of any
kind are not high on my list of edibles. more like
emergency rations in case of disaster or something like
that. most things sweet and sour i'd like and adding
a little heat to them is good too.


songbird
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On 7/21/2017 9:49 PM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Thu 20 Jul 2017 04:45:26a, George Shirley told us...
>
>> On 7/20/2017 12:38 AM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>> On Wed 19 Jul 2017 05:49:05a, songbird told us...
>>>
>>>> 5 quarts small whole pickles with plenty
>>>> of dill.
>>>>
>>>> when i was cleaning them the night before
>>>> i popped open a pint from the first batch
>>>> that i made on 6/30. they were yummy.
>>>>
>>>> i mistakenly made a few small batches after
>>>> the first which had more salt in them, but
>>>> i doubt that will stop me or my bro from
>>>> eating them.
>>>>
>>>> digging garlic today. not too many bulbs
>>>> but enough (and if it isn't enough i have
>>>> plenty more i can dig up any time out back
>>>> in the more wild garden).
>>>>
>>>> beans are doing well, starting to see plenty
>>>> of flowers. have to train some climbers
>>>> up the fence instead of runners swarming other
>>>> neighboring plants.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> songbird
>>>>
>>>
>>> I only make "new pickles" with dill and garlic and therefore
>>> only make 1 or 2 pints at a time because even when refrigerated
>>> they "ripen" too quickly for my taste and the saltiness can
>>> become overwhelming. I'm the only one in the house that eats
>>> them.
>>>
>>> The only other pickles I make are bread & butter, and I usually
>>> make a dozen pints or so. We don't have a garden, so I must buy
>>> all my produce. One source I have usually has fresh Kirby
>>> cucumbers.
>>>
>>> When I can get really nice green beans I make dilly beans, both
>>> savory and sweet/spicy versions.
>>>

>> We have a dozen or so pickles of varied types, mostly older jars
>> in the pantry. This year our cucumber crop was a total failure.
>> Mold hit them early on as we received a bit more rain than we
>> needed at the time. Same with the green beans. Luckily we had a
>> very good carrot crop so made dilly carrot sticks.
>>
>> If Ma Nature screws up things then we introduce her to something
>> new. Currently we are staggering around with near 100 degrees
>> daily and then a rush of rain. The mocking birds did in the sparse
>> crop of figs so no fig jam this year. The kumquat tree lost its
>> blooms and, believe it or not, two months later it popped up
>> blooms and even more than the ones that were dropped in the
>> freeze. Weather here has been strange for the last year, we're not
>> used to hard freezes followed by very hot summer.
>>
>> I don't think we will starve as the pantry closet in my office is
>> full of goodies. Dear wife has made a batch of pickled okra and
>> sweet peppers, they will sit for at least a month before we eat
>> them. If one crop fails we seem to have another crop that is
>> humongous.
>>
>> George
>>

>
> At least you have a well stocked pantry, George, crop failure or not.
> It's too bad about the things that didn't work out.
>
> I made a dozen quarts of Corn and Okra Soup to put in the freezer,
> one of my favorite uses of okra. I do love okra pickles, but so far
> this year have not made any. As you know, I have to buy all my
> produce. The okra I got for the soup was perfect. I hope the next
> batch I buy is just as nice and I can put up a few jars of pickles.
>
> When I shop tomorrow I may pick up a small amount of okra just for
> frying up, to go along with chicken fried steak, fried corn, and
> mashd potatoes.
>
> The Kirbys I can get will do nicely for my bread and butter pickles,
> but I'll not get to that for another couple of weeks.
>
> We've had almost two weeks of nightly rains which is unusual for
> Phoenix, but all it does for is water down our brick patio and our
> large plants. :-)
>

Miz Anne handles the garden at her church and has had a humongous gift
of okra, cow horn variety, very big around and very long. As our part we
put up pickled okra, cut okra frozen, and have fried a few batches. I'm
getting tired of okra.

Our sweet peppers have outdone themselves this year and we have
harvested a few large buckets of them so far. Now the heat is starting
to slow them down. A few tomatoes are still working but most of
everything in the garden is starting to wilt. Might have gotten lucky
there as we need to refurbish the artificial "dirt" in the raised beds.
I'm looking at rental small cement mixers as we are getting a bit to old
to sling a tarp with "dirt" in it. If you garden there are many ways to
get things done without breaking our old backs and arms.

George
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Default dill pickles

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> songbird told us...
>> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>> ...
>>> I only make "new pickles" with dill and garlic and therefore
>>> only make 1 or 2 pints at a time because even when refrigerated
>>> they "ripen" too quickly for my taste and the saltiness can
>>> become overwhelming. I'm the only one in the house that eats
>>> them.

>>
>> i don't think the salt is required for anything other
>> than the taste so you could always use less or none at
>> all.

>
> If you add absolutely no salt, all you have is cucumbers is water.
> Not very appealing. :-) I use a very minimal amount of salt, but as
> they age the flavor bcomes saltier and pickles become much softer.
> This is the sort of pickle commonly served in Jewish delis. They
> stay crisp emough for me for about 10 days, then I toss what I don't
> eat. I really don't like mushy pickles.


oh, no, we use a mix of water, apple cider vinegar,
salt and a little sugar for the brine.

the kind of pickles you are talking about are more
like the fermented kind that people used to get right
from the barrels. we don't do those kind.


>> have you tried Pickle Crisp (a calcium additive which
>> helps keep things crunchier)? i've not bothered with it
>> as we'll eat dill pickles in about any form short of
>> slime mold.

>
> No, I've never tried Pickle Crisp. The pickles I make and can always
> stay crisp enough without additivies. I would use it if I was having
> problems with crispness. Usually my canned pickles stay crisp for a
> good two years, if they last that long.


i'm not sure if you are pre-fermenting them or not
before putting them in jars and sealing them up?


>>> The only other pickles I make are bread & butter, and I usually
>>> make a dozen pints or so. We don't have a garden, so I must buy
>>> all my produce. One source I have usually has fresh Kirby
>>> cucumbers.

>>
>> we made many quarts of bread and butter pickles last year
>> and the year before, but this year with my brother trying to
>> avoid extra sugar we're not planning on making any of those.

>
> B&B pickles are one of my favorites. I have made them using Splenda
> for a friend who is a serious diabetic and the results were
> surprisingly quite good.


the recent news about most artificial sweetners
isn't all that great and i've never really liked
them anyways. stevia is incredible, but i'm not
doing much with it either. so far i don't have any
sugar problems, but i also don't want to get my
brother into "sugar substitutes" when he's quite
happy doing without.


>>> When I can get really nice green beans I make dilly beans, both
>>> savory and sweet/spicy versions.

>>
>> i like dilly beans, but generally canned beans of any
>> kind are not high on my list of edibles. more like
>> emergency rations in case of disaster or something like
>> that. most things sweet and sour i'd like and adding
>> a little heat to them is good too.

>
> I don't liked canned green beans in general. In fact, I don't even
> like frozen green beans. However, pickled green beans are something
> different to me, and I like all that I've tried or made.Sometimes I
> add a few red peppers to the jars. Just enough heat for me.


about the same here. i love a bit of heat in
almost anything (including many jams ).
unfortunately Mom doesn't like anything with much
spice so i don't bother to grow any hot peppers.
a bottle of sriracha sauce or some curries are
about all i bother with. i do love red peppers (the
non-hot kind) and last year i roasted a bunch of
them and froze them well packed in jars. i use
them as my tomato substitutes now that i can't eat
tomatoes. they've been really yummy. this year we
have about 30 red pepper plants coming along.


songbird


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On 7/22/2017 1:53 PM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Sat 22 Jul 2017 05:18:17a, George Shirley told us...
>
>> On 7/21/2017 9:49 PM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>> On Thu 20 Jul 2017 04:45:26a, George Shirley told us...
>>>
>>>> On 7/20/2017 12:38 AM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>>>> On Wed 19 Jul 2017 05:49:05a, songbird told us...
>>>>>
>>>>>> 5 quarts small whole pickles with plenty
>>>>>> of dill.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> when i was cleaning them the night before
>>>>>> i popped open a pint from the first batch
>>>>>> that i made on 6/30. they were yummy.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> i mistakenly made a few small batches after
>>>>>> the first which had more salt in them, but
>>>>>> i doubt that will stop me or my bro from
>>>>>> eating them.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> digging garlic today. not too many bulbs
>>>>>> but enough (and if it isn't enough i have
>>>>>> plenty more i can dig up any time out back
>>>>>> in the more wild garden).
>>>>>>
>>>>>> beans are doing well, starting to see plenty
>>>>>> of flowers. have to train some climbers
>>>>>> up the fence instead of runners swarming other
>>>>>> neighboring plants.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> songbird
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I only make "new pickles" with dill and garlic and therefore
>>>>> only make 1 or 2 pints at a time because even when refrigerated
>>>>> they "ripen" too quickly for my taste and the saltiness can
>>>>> become overwhelming. I'm the only one in the house that eats
>>>>> them.
>>>>>
>>>>> The only other pickles I make are bread & butter, and I usually
>>>>> make a dozen pints or so. We don't have a garden, so I must
>>>>> buy all my produce. One source I have usually has fresh Kirby
>>>>> cucumbers.
>>>>>
>>>>> When I can get really nice green beans I make dilly beans, both
>>>>> savory and sweet/spicy versions.
>>>>>
>>>> We have a dozen or so pickles of varied types, mostly older jars
>>>> in the pantry. This year our cucumber crop was a total failure.
>>>> Mold hit them early on as we received a bit more rain than we
>>>> needed at the time. Same with the green beans. Luckily we had a
>>>> very good carrot crop so made dilly carrot sticks.
>>>>
>>>> If Ma Nature screws up things then we introduce her to something
>>>> new. Currently we are staggering around with near 100 degrees
>>>> daily and then a rush of rain. The mocking birds did in the
>>>> sparse crop of figs so no fig jam this year. The kumquat tree
>>>> lost its blooms and, believe it or not, two months later it
>>>> popped up blooms and even more than the ones that were dropped
>>>> in the freeze. Weather here has been strange for the last year,
>>>> we're not used to hard freezes followed by very hot summer.
>>>>
>>>> I don't think we will starve as the pantry closet in my office
>>>> is full of goodies. Dear wife has made a batch of pickled okra
>>>> and sweet peppers, they will sit for at least a month before we
>>>> eat them. If one crop fails we seem to have another crop that is
>>>> humongous.
>>>>
>>>> George
>>>>
>>>
>>> At least you have a well stocked pantry, George, crop failure or
>>> not. It's too bad about the things that didn't work out.
>>>
>>> I made a dozen quarts of Corn and Okra Soup to put in the
>>> freezer, one of my favorite uses of okra. I do love okra
>>> pickles, but so far this year have not made any. As you know, I
>>> have to buy all my produce. The okra I got for the soup was
>>> perfect. I hope the next batch I buy is just as nice and I can
>>> put up a few jars of pickles.
>>>
>>> When I shop tomorrow I may pick up a small amount of okra just
>>> for frying up, to go along with chicken fried steak, fried corn,
>>> and mashd potatoes.
>>>
>>> The Kirbys I can get will do nicely for my bread and butter
>>> pickles, but I'll not get to that for another couple of weeks.
>>>
>>> We've had almost two weeks of nightly rains which is unusual for
>>> Phoenix, but all it does for is water down our brick patio and
>>> our large plants. :-)
>>>

>> Miz Anne handles the garden at her church and has had a humongous
>> gift of okra, cow horn variety, very big around and very long. As
>> our part we put up pickled okra, cut okra frozen, and have fried a
>> few batches. I'm getting tired of okra.

My favorite dish with okra is Cajun style shrimp gumbo, going to make
some next week. Had to buy store bought shrimp but that works too.
>
> SInce I have to buy our produce I always have just the amount I want
> for any given purpose. I always buy fresh okra when I want it for
> any specific purpose. So now I have the soup. And I bought some to
> fry tomorrow. I don't ever bother with canning or freezing it, other
> than in my soup.
>
> I grew up on what I guess you'd call yellow field corn and that's
> what I prefer, but it's almost impossible to find in stores these
> days. I'm really disappointed about that. All I can find is sweet
> corn, usually white. I don't bother. I buy frozen hellow corn
> kernels when I want corn, or on the off chance that I find some at a
> roaside stand.

Don't feel bad about field corn, we grew six acres of corn, white and
yello, 12 inch or longer ears. Cows, the mule, the pigs, and the
chickens got a lot of it but we ate it in the early stages and,
sometimes, the whole family had to stand in line to the only bathroom. <B>
>
>> Our sweet peppers have outdone themselves this year and we have
>> harvested a few large buckets of them so far. Now the heat is
>> starting to slow them down. A few tomatoes are still working but
>> most of everything in the garden is starting to wilt. Might have
>> gotten lucky there as we need to refurbish the artificial "dirt"
>> in the raised beds. I'm looking at rental small cement mixers as
>> we are getting a bit to old to sling a tarp with "dirt" in it. If
>> you garden there are many ways to get things done without breaking
>> our old backs and arms.

>
> It sounds as though you have a glut of sweet peppers. I love
> peppers, but again, I only buy the few that I need. I use them diced
> in chili or sloppy joes, along with red ones. I also make stuffed
> peppers every so ofen. I don't much care for them in in preserved
> way, not even in pickles.

We grow six to ten sweet peppers each season if we can get the right
plants or seeds. I still grow our own plants with a heat pad with the
planting soil in rows of cups in my home office and a sunlight lamp
above it 24/7. We do buy tomato plants, etc. but I like to grow our
heirloom peppers regularly. I can't do any outside gardening anymore as
I can only walk on flat surfaces anymore and the lawn is lumpy. As I age
the partial paralysis seems to get worse. I have a walker too, but
seldom use it. Miz Anne is still almost as spry as when we married in
1960. Her mom lived to be slightly over 100 years old, and her Mom's
close cousin lived to be a 101, several of her aunts, etc. lived over a
hundred. I don't think I want to go out that old, I'm getting more tired
and useless as I age. Thank goodness we lived in three foreign countries
and five US states so we got to see the world while we were young. I
just redid my will and had it covered by our sometime lawyer. I should
have become a lawyer when I look at his bills. Sheesh!






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On 7/22/2017 4:15 PM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:

>>>>>
>>>>> At least you have a well stocked pantry, George, crop failure
>>>>> or not. It's too bad about the things that didn't work out.
>>>>>
>>>>> I made a dozen quarts of Corn and Okra Soup to put in the
>>>>> freezer, one of my favorite uses of okra. I do love okra
>>>>> pickles, but so far this year have not made any. As you know,
>>>>> I have to buy all my produce. The okra I got for the soup was
>>>>> perfect. I hope the next batch I buy is just as nice and I can
>>>>> put up a few jars of pickles.
>>>>>
>>>>> When I shop tomorrow I may pick up a small amount of okra just
>>>>> for frying up, to go along with chicken fried steak, fried
>>>>> corn, and mashd potatoes.
>>>>>
>>>>> The Kirbys I can get will do nicely for my bread and butter
>>>>> pickles, but I'll not get to that for another couple of weeks.
>>>>>
>>>>> We've had almost two weeks of nightly rains which is unusual
>>>>> for Phoenix, but all it does for is water down our brick patio
>>>>> and our large plants. :-)
>>>>>
>>>> Miz Anne handles the garden at her church and has had a
>>>> humongous gift of okra, cow horn variety, very big around and
>>>> very long. As our part we put up pickled okra, cut okra frozen,
>>>> and have fried a few batches. I'm getting tired of okra.

>> My favorite dish with okra is Cajun style shrimp gumbo, going to
>> make some next week. Had to buy store bought shrimp but that works
>> too.
>>>
>>> SInce I have to buy our produce I always have just the amount I
>>> want for any given purpose. I always buy fresh okra when I want
>>> it for any specific purpose. So now I have the soup. And I
>>> bought some to fry tomorrow. I don't ever bother with canning or
>>> freezing it, other than in my soup.
>>>
>>> I grew up on what I guess you'd call yellow field corn and that's
>>> what I prefer, but it's almost impossible to find in stores these
>>> days. I'm really disappointed about that. All I can find is
>>> sweet corn, usually white. I don't bother. I buy frozen hellow
>>> corn kernels when I want corn, or on the off chance that I find
>>> some at a roaside stand.

>> Don't feel bad about field corn, we grew six acres of corn, white
>> and yello, 12 inch or longer ears. Cows, the mule, the pigs, and
>> the chickens got a lot of it but we ate it in the early stages
>> and, sometimes, the whole family had to stand in line to the only
>> bathroom. <B>
>>>
>>>> Our sweet peppers have outdone themselves this year and we have
>>>> harvested a few large buckets of them so far. Now the heat is
>>>> starting to slow them down. A few tomatoes are still working but
>>>> most of everything in the garden is starting to wilt. Might have
>>>> gotten lucky there as we need to refurbish the artificial "dirt"
>>>> in the raised beds. I'm looking at rental small cement mixers as
>>>> we are getting a bit to old to sling a tarp with "dirt" in it.
>>>> If you garden there are many ways to get things done without
>>>> breaking our old backs and arms.
>>>
>>> It sounds as though you have a glut of sweet peppers. I love
>>> peppers, but again, I only buy the few that I need. I use them
>>> diced in chili or sloppy joes, along with red ones. I also make
>>> stuffed peppers every so ofen. I don't much care for them in in
>>> preserved way, not even in pickles.

>> We grow six to ten sweet peppers each season if we can get the
>> right plants or seeds. I still grow our own plants with a heat pad
>> with the planting soil in rows of cups in my home office and a
>> sunlight lamp above it 24/7. We do buy tomato plants, etc. but I
>> like to grow our heirloom peppers regularly. I can't do any
>> outside gardening anymore as I can only walk on flat surfaces
>> anymore and the lawn is lumpy. As I age the partial paralysis
>> seems to get worse. I have a walker too, but seldom use it. Miz
>> Anne is still almost as spry as when we married in 1960. Her mom
>> lived to be slightly over 100 years old, and her Mom's close
>> cousin lived to be a 101, several of her aunts, etc. lived over a
>> hundred. I don't think I want to go out that old, I'm getting more
>> tired and useless as I age. Thank goodness we lived in three
>> foreign countries and five US states so we got to see the world
>> while we were young. I just redid my will and had it covered by
>> our sometime lawyer. I should have become a lawyer when I look at
>> his bills. Sheesh!
>>

>
> It's a wonder that you're able to do as much as you do, considering
> the health issues you've had. David and I both have health issues,
> but nothing we consider too serious and all are well managed. I am
> 72 and he is 68. My dad passed at 81 and my mother at 84. My dad's
> mother passed at 101, and all my other relatives have lived at least
> into their 80's except fort one aunt. No one knows how long they'll
> live unless they've been given a death sentencce, but neither of us
> wish to reach as old as 100. Strength and health always seems to
> decline as the years pass. I know I can't do today what I could do 5
> years ago, but it doesn't worry me. I take it fairly easy, and I
> know what my limits are. At least we both still have our minds. :-)
>
> We had our wills redrawn a few years ago when we moved to this co-op.
> I have no relatives to leave anything to, and David chooses not leave
> anything to any of his relatives. The admistrator of our wills is a
> very close friend who is nearly 20 years younger.
>
> When I was a teenager my parents bought burial plots for themselves
> and for me, but they're back in Ohio. David and I decided on
> cremation and have prepaid the Neptune Society to handle every aspect
> from cremation to arranging for our ashes to be buried in the plot in
> Ohio. We don't have to think about any of it anymore.


My parents are buried about three miles from where they lived most of
their lives. One aunt, three cousins, my elder sister and her husband
are all buried no more than 20 feet from them. I'm going to be cremated
and my dashes tossed into the Gulf of Mexico. A friend says he will take
care of it, he will flush me down a toilet and I will eventually get to
the Golfo de Mexico. He jokes about it and my wife gets upset, old
sailors have seen to many burials at sea to worry about it
>
> I have lived in the UK, France, and Germany, and travelled to many
> other places. David hasn't travelled abroad, but we plan to travel
> to some local areas that David would like to see. Our cat family of
> 4 would miss us terribly if we were gone for any length of time, but
> making our last trip to Ohio for two weeks last year, we had a really
> wonderful cat sitter and they all seemed to fare well with her care.


I've visited those countries and several dozen more but have only lived
in the US, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Got a call the other day to go back
to Saudi and told the guy I don't run so fast anymore so don't call
back. <G> Oddly, I still get Christmas and birthday cards from some
Saudi and Yemeni friends and it has been years since we worked and
fished together.
>
> I may have told you before, but I have serious spinal stenosis.
> However, with treatment from my pain management doctor, I am 99% pain
> free. I can walk perfectly well, but not for long distances.


Welcome to pain city, I am eat up with arthritis and my doctor's say
there's nothing they can do for it. I use some over the counter stuff
that holds down the pain but now my fingers are getting stiff in cold
weather.
>
> David just had major surgery on his righrt shoulder including a badly
> torn rotator cuff, torn ligaments and torn bicep muscle. The surgery
> went extremely well and he is still having physical therapy for that,
> but it will be 100% in a couple more months.
>
> We boght a new car yesterday to replace our 10 year old Ford. The
> new one is a fullly loaded Honda Accord sedan. I doubt we'll ever
> have to buy another car again. :-) Either it will outlive us, or
> we'll be declared too old to drive. :-)
>
> Such is what comes with age!
>
>
>

George
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On 7/22/2017 9:46 PM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Sat 22 Jul 2017 06:38:04p, George Shirley told us...
>
> <snip>
>
>> My parents are buried about three miles from where they lived most
>> of
>> their lives. One aunt, three cousins, my elder sister and her
>> husband
>> are all buried no more than 20 feet from them. I'm going to be
>> cremated and my dashes tossed into the Gulf of Mexico. A friend
>> says he will take care of it, he will flush me down a toilet and I
>> will eventually get to the Golfo de Mexico. He jokes about it and
>> my wife gets upset, old sailors have seen to many burials at sea
>> to worry about it

>
> We thought we might get some flak from relatives when we told them
> the plans we had made, but surprisingly everyone thought it was a
> good idea and some considered it for themselvs.
>
>> I've visited those countries and several dozen more but have only
>> lived in the US, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Got a call the other day
>> to go back to Saudi and told the guy I don't run so fast anymore
>> so don't call back. <G> Oddly, I still get Christmas and birthday
>> cards from some Saudi and Yemeni friends and it has been years
>> since we worked and fished together.

>
> mobility issues and stamina would probably prevent us from travel
> abroad. It's not impossible, of course, but it might not be that
> enjoyable any more.
>
>> Welcome to pain city, I am eat up with arthritis and my doctor's
>> say there's nothing they can do for it. I use some over the
>> counter stuff that holds down the pain but now my fingers are
>> getting stiff in cold weather.

>
> I was developing overall osteorthritis at about the same time I
> developed the spinal stenosis. Cuyrrently, at least, I no longer
> have any pain because I have quarterly spinal injections of a steroid
> and also use a Fentanyl patch. According to my doctor, the patch
> controls my arthritis pain as well as augmenting the treatment for my
> back. So far it's working well. I only occsionally get any kind of
> stiffness.
>
> I wish you well with the arthritis. David uses an over the counter
> product (it's somewhat like a jel) call IcyHot with Lidocaine and
> Menthol. It has practically no odor and has been very effective.
> You can feel it work within 15-20 minutes and it's effect lasts quite
> a while. If you haven't tried it, you might take a look at it.
>

My arms look like someone beat me with a stick, probably because I limp
on the right side and hit door frames, etc. I use some salve I make
myself plus a gel called Arnicare, it helps with muscle pain and
stiffness and swelling from injuries and bruising. I've had people take
a look at my left arm and then look away. If someone asks how I got
bruised I just grin and say my wife beats me. They don't ask again. <G>
Actually it's where my dog stands on my left leg or left arm that causes
the bruises and a whole lot of blood thinners from the doctors.

My wee great granddaughters often ask me how I got a bo-bo Granpa. That
leads to hugs and kisses so there is something useful from the bruising.
I'm happy, been married to the same woman for 59 years, two kids, five
grands, six great grands. I'm happy and just keep limping on. I do have
a nice collection of canes in the hall closet, wife says I look dashing
with my cane. She does the heavy lifting, mowing, etc. The electric
lawnmower goes faster than I can walk. I do do the trimming of the edges
because the edger does go fast. <G>

Looks to be another sultry and wet day here in La La land.
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songbird wrote:

> 5 quarts small whole pickles with plenty
> of dill.


7 quarts some days ago, 21 quarts yesterday.

i knew that 15 cucumber plants was way too
many!

i mentioned to Mom yesterday that perhaps we
could figure out how many quarts we wanted to
do yet and then when we reach that stage we
could remove some of the plants because i really
don't want to spend most of my free time this
summer doing more pickles than we actually
want. we'll see how that goes... i'm
trying to get my large north garden project
finished - because of the amount of digging and
how much time it takes to sort through all the
dirt getting the target weed roots removed i'm
probably going to be at this for a few more
weeks yet. oh well, the exercise is very good
for me. in a few more weeks i should be down
5 more lbs.


songbird
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Wayne Boatwright wrote:
....
> If I had to do that amount of diging and mulching, I'd be dead! :-)
> It's probably a good thing that we don't have a garden. I just buy
> the small amount of prime produce we need to do any picklng or
> canning. At least the end product is not store bought. :-)


it has been coming along ok. this picture was
taken on the 29th of July:

http://www.anthive.com/img/tasks/thm...edoing_thm.jpg

i'm about 10ft to the left of there now.
i love the exercise, as today was cooler i was
able to make good progress. rain forecast chances
for Sunday and Monday - so dunno what i'll manage
to get done. i have 3 other projects to do after
this one this summer/fall/winter (before the ground
freezes) on top of the regular garden chores and
harvesting and putting things up. i love it all.
could do it 24/7 if my body would tolerate it.
alas, i am getting older too. just glad i can do
what i am. within a few more weeks i should be
in really good shape as we get towards cooler
weather and i have lost a few more lbs and built
up more muscles.

today i scrubbed more cucumbers, but didn't have
quite enough energy to get them in the jars and
sealed up. will get that done tomorrow sometime.
picked beans yesterday and cleaned them up and
then steamed 'em. yum! love fresh beans.


and this pic is from another garden:

http://www.anthive.com/img/mixed-flo..._Thyme_thm.jpg


songbird


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On 8/5/2017 10:31 PM, songbird wrote:
> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> ...
>> If I had to do that amount of diging and mulching, I'd be dead! :-)
>> It's probably a good thing that we don't have a garden. I just buy
>> the small amount of prime produce we need to do any picklng or
>> canning. At least the end product is not store bought. :-)

>
> it has been coming along ok. this picture was
> taken on the 29th of July:
>
> http://www.anthive.com/img/tasks/thm...edoing_thm.jpg
>
> i'm about 10ft to the left of there now.
> i love the exercise, as today was cooler i was
> able to make good progress. rain forecast chances
> for Sunday and Monday - so dunno what i'll manage
> to get done. i have 3 other projects to do after
> this one this summer/fall/winter (before the ground
> freezes) on top of the regular garden chores and
> harvesting and putting things up. i love it all.
> could do it 24/7 if my body would tolerate it.
> alas, i am getting older too. just glad i can do
> what i am. within a few more weeks i should be
> in really good shape as we get towards cooler
> weather and i have lost a few more lbs and built
> up more muscles.
>
> today i scrubbed more cucumbers, but didn't have
> quite enough energy to get them in the jars and
> sealed up. will get that done tomorrow sometime.
> picked beans yesterday and cleaned them up and
> then steamed 'em. yum! love fresh beans.
>
>
> and this pic is from another garden:
>
> http://www.anthive.com/img/mixed-flo..._Thyme_thm.jpg
>
>
> songbird
>

And here we are with 90 plus daily, gardens are not producing much and
we won't start a fall garden until the weather gets a little cooler.
Your pictures make me think you live in some hills or on a mountain, we
prefer flat land as in the bottom of an ancient sea. A few feet down we
hit sand and clay. I miss our beautiful Louisiana soil, several feet of
detritus from centuries of tree leaves and such. Toss a seed into that
dirt and then jump back. Our property there had just the right amount of
sun and shade. We moved here to be close to our get and I'll be damned,
we still don't get to see them much as they are all busy with jobs,
kids, etc. Should of stayed in Louisiana.

George
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George Shirley wrote:
....
> Your pictures make me think you live in some hills or on a mountain, we
> prefer flat land as in the bottom of an ancient sea. A few feet down we
> hit sand and clay.


you've never wandered through the website then
as it has details about location/terrain/watershed,
etc. very flat here, Saginaw River Valley bottom
used to be an inland sea. there's layers of salt
and coal underneath.

the area in the first picture is a slope downwards
from the front towards the back, but not by much
and the front is where the drainfield is at so that
was built up with sand and topped with actual topsoil
pretty much the only place where the soil is actually
good that didn't need to be amended. the downslope
goes to the back and where you hit the native soil.


> I miss our beautiful Louisiana soil, several feet of
> detritus from centuries of tree leaves and such. Toss a seed into that
> dirt and then jump back. Our property there had just the right amount of
> sun and shade.


full sun for the most of the veggie gardens, but now
that the cedars are getting bigger and the north hedge
is also casting a bit of shade at times. still we have
decent production.

soil is clay with some sand out back where the fenced
gardens are at where most of the veggies grow. it has
been amended and improved over the years and the gardens
produce well. clay is only a problem if you work it
at the wrong times. otherwise it holds a lot of moisture
and nutrients. the added worms/worm pee/worm poo has
done wonders along with any extra organic stuff i can
scrounge up.


> We moved here to be close to our get and I'll be damned,
> we still don't get to see them much as they are all busy with jobs,
> kids, etc. Should of stayed in Louisiana.


it's pretty normal from what i can tell. it's just
the younger generations are all into "me, me, me" and
all the social gadgets but don't connect much with the
older family. we see it here too. it is pretty rare
anyone visits even if they are a half hour away or so.
*shrug* doesn't bother me much since i always have
plenty to keep me busy and i'm not super social anyways.

ok, well, time to get a moving before it gets too
late.


songbird
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On 8/7/2017 9:09 PM, Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> On Sat 05 Aug 2017 08:31:57p, songbird told us...
>
>> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>> ...
>>> If I had to do that amount of diging and mulching, I'd be dead!
>>> :-) It's probably a good thing that we don't have a garden. I
>>> just buy the small amount of prime produce we need to do any
>>> picklng or canning. At least the end product is not store
>>> bought. :-)

>>
>> it has been coming along ok. this picture was
>> taken on the 29th of July:
>>
>> http://www.anthive.com/img/tasks/thm...edoing_thm.jpg
>>
>> i'm about 10ft to the left of there now.
>> i love the exercise, as today was cooler i was
>> able to make good progress. rain forecast chances
>> for Sunday and Monday - so dunno what i'll manage
>> to get done. i have 3 other projects to do after
>> this one this summer/fall/winter (before the ground
>> freezes) on top of the regular garden chores and
>> harvesting and putting things up. i love it all.
>> could do it 24/7 if my body would tolerate it.
>> alas, i am getting older too. just glad i can do
>> what i am. within a few more weeks i should be
>> in really good shape as we get towards cooler
>> weather and i have lost a few more lbs and built
>> up more muscles.
>>
>> today i scrubbed more cucumbers, but didn't have
>> quite enough energy to get them in the jars and
>> sealed up. will get that done tomorrow sometime.
>> picked beans yesterday and cleaned them up and
>> then steamed 'em. yum! love fresh beans.
>>
>>
>> and this pic is from another garden:
>>
>> http://www.anthive.com/img/mixed-flo...03_Squash_Thym
>> e_thm.jpg
>>
>>
>> songbird
>>

>
> You're a "busy body" and I mean that in the nicest possible way. I
> can't imagine getting done all that you do.
>
> I just bought some beautiful fresh green beans at a farmer's market
> yesterday. I love them and they are a favorite. I also like them
> pickled with dill and garlic.
>

Dilly beans! One of our favorites and for all the family. Been putting
them up anytime we get a green bean harvest that is worthwhile. That's
why we miss the dirt we had in Louisiana. Many feet of detritus over
centuries of leaf dropping. Here, we have to make "dirt" to grow
anything at all. Sometimes we get a big crop of climbing green beans,
other times the bugs get them.

I keep telling the boss lady we need to go fallow for one season and
rebuild our man made dirt and then we can plant anything we want. She
just wants to plant stuff regardless of the dirt. We both grew up on
small farms with really good dirt so she seems to think all dirt is good.

It's raining again, Hallelujah!
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Wayne Boatwright wrote:
....
> You're a "busy body" and I mean that in the nicest possible way. I
> can't imagine getting done all that you do.


Mom has been here for 20yrs now and i think
i've been here 10yrs. working on it all as we
get time. most of the major projects are done
(finally), but there is always something else
to do. i have three other projects lined up
for the rest of the season. not sure i'll
get to them all, but i should be able to...

i really despise exercise for the sake of
exercise alone, but if i can do something
useful and get exercise out of it then i'm
very happy with that instead. i don't watch
much tv, i read books and garden or listen to
some music and chatter with Mom once in a
while. today i worked outside about 3hrs
total. it gets too hot for me. however,
i did get a few subgoals done today so that
feels good. tomorrow i'll have to get out
earlier so i can get more digging done.
between family things and rains i've not
made a lot of progress this week. getting
there.

i'm really a very relaxed person and not
a busy body at all. i try to be very
efficient with my efforts (physical problems
with a knee or back at times). i'm also
someone who is very task oriented so once i
get on a project i'll keep chipping away at
it until it gets done. some people mistake
this for determined.


> I just bought some beautiful fresh green beans at a farmer's market
> yesterday. I love them and they are a favorite. I also like them
> pickled with dill and garlic.


dilly beans are great, but i have yet to
make any. a friend gave us a few jars of
them and they were gone pretty quick once
they were ready to eat. i think they would
actually be easier to make than the dill
pickles i've been having to scrub.

will check the beans and cucumbers in the
morning... most of what i'm picking now for
the beans are the wax/yellow types. the
green beans i'm trying to rebuild my seed
supply so i'm trying not to pick too many
of those.

cheers,


songbird
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George Shirley wrote:
....
> centuries of leaf dropping. Here, we have to make "dirt" to grow
> anything at all. Sometimes we get a big crop of climbing green beans,
> other times the bugs get them.


this has been a pretty good season here for
the beans. only a few have "rust" spots or
other damage.


> I keep telling the boss lady we need to go fallow for one season and
> rebuild our man made dirt and then we can plant anything we want. She
> just wants to plant stuff regardless of the dirt. We both grew up on
> small farms with really good dirt so she seems to think all dirt is good.


it is a lot of work to renovate and amend
raised bed gardens. you should get a few of
those grands to help out with that once the
weather cools a little.

for us the veggie gardens all started at
the exact same state. clay with some sand.
after 15+yrs they are doing pretty good.
the worms/worm pee/worm poo and any green
manure and/or extra organic materials are
paying off. every garden i've been working
on since i got here about 10yrs ago started
as barren and very little worms. now when
i'm out there i'm finding worms and all
the veggies grow much better now than how
they looked when i first started. like
when i would grow some beets the leaves
used to be small, pale, with holes. now
the beets look like they should.


> It's raining again, Hallelujah!


yay! we've had some rains here or there.
sunshine yesterday and today. maybe rain
tomorrow. we'll see... low to mid 80s
but humid enough to keep me inside for the
middle of the day. later this week we'll
drop to the upper 70s. hope we're done
with the really hot weather, but it might be
too soon for that realistically...


songbird
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