Puttting up veggys

I love having jars of food in the cupboard that we eat. Over the years there have been foods put by that we didn't like or that the recipe didn't pan out. As a consequence, foods that are our favorites or get eatten the most.are what get canned.
Vegetable soup is a two day process and I get about 18 quarts that we enjoy for more than a year. The vegetables need to be ripe at the same time or some have to be bought or begged. This year the only thing I had to buy was the meat and celery and it is delicious, I had one quart that didn't seal that we ate for lunch.
Currently I am working on tomatoes, plain sauce, spaghetti and juice, plain and V8. I have been giving quite a few away because I don't have time to do the canning right away. Howard got the dishwasher (18") installed so I can wash jars in it, YIPPEE.
The glut of veggys is always a "problem" this time of year when time is a challenge to juggle. I took a large box of cabbage, tomatoes, greenbeans and carrots over to the shelter the other day. I am sure the indigent folks there enjoyed the homegrown tomatoes.
There are four wedding gowns and countless dresses associated with those weddings here to work on. I have been to the orthodontist's office (2 hr visits each time) three times in 7 days and as a consequence am feeling stressed to get my own work done. Then there was the depression and inability to deal with stress that I have been trying to get a handle on. On top of that a stressfull friend needed some place to stay till she could get some help. We got her into the shelter for now and hopefully she will get her life back on track.
I am needing some time to do some sewing without calls, folks dropping in and appointments so I can get some sewing done!

These days.

Back again and doing better.
I had a rough week of depression a few weeks ago after several months of being well without medication. It really caught me off guard when I began getting depressed late morning and it would get worse as the afternoon went. It was very severe for a week. I discovered the Neurontin I was taking at night for the fibro was helping the depression so I started taking it in the morning too. Also started taking sAMe every day too. I am feeling better but subject to stress so at those times I am taking a third neurontin to cover.

Transfering audio books to iPOD at two in the morning

Why am I awake? Did I drink too much coffee this morning? Are there too many cats on the bed? Possibly.
I love listening to audio books and if I turn the iPod on when I go to bed I don't want to quit listening. so I just finished up a neat adult fairy tale and wanted to add the latest two books I downloaded to my iPod. Now that that is done. I should go to sleep but the cats (three) are still on the bed so I shall sleep on the couch.
The last time I slept on the couch one of the cats brought a frog in the house and dropped it on my face which woke me immediately. I have had the opportunity to hold several of God's creatures lately because of the cats, the frog being one of them. Today it was a very new baby bunny. I did not think I was going to be able to get it from the cat, Patches but by the third try I was holding that precious thing. I held it till it came to it's sences and I released it in the woods. The other day it was a young bird that Cookie had caught that she allowed me to take from her. Again I held it till it became aware and let it fly away.
I am still feeling better and the dark cloud I was dealing with last week seems to be in the past. The terror that comes with those dark moods will be with me for a while. I needed to be reminded of that horrible place so when I have an opportunity to talk with anyone about their depression I will have that place fresh in my mind.
God is good.

sAMe and more neurontin

Depression hovered like a cloud over my head all last week. I recognized it right away even though I had very little of it over the past 16 years. The Effexor has been out of my system for four months and I have been feeling as well as before I went off the drug. The odd thing was I would wake up fine and the depression would begine to slide in around 10 to 11 am. I got to thinking that maybe the neurontin that I was taking at night may be helping and was wearing off in the morning so I began taking it in the morning also. There was quite a bit of relief but not enough so I added sAMe also and am feeling much bette but not totally the same.
I don't know what moods are normal for people. I can expect a down day but don't want it. I do a lot of self talk to banish the negative thoughts that want to run with my brain. So I am also taking some B complex and multi oil (fish, borage, flaxseed, etc.). This week is going better. I find myself praying more. I have lost some of the confidence that all will be well in the world. I am also getting rid of some of the stuff that is stressing me. (All the male ducks and the ducklings). I am making an effort to get my exercise a few thimes a week.
What's next? I am hanging in there!

What am I going to do with the squash?

Yep, folks better lock their car doors because I have got lots of squash and I pick it small!
I already grated a lot of squash and packaged it with the food saver and put it in the freezer but I suppose I can do some more.
Today Rylan (my grandson) and I dug up a row of Yucon Gold potatoes and had an interesting time. We found lavae eating the potatoes and doing a number on them at that. After some research I found that they are white grubs, the larvae of June bugs. They don't normally bother potatoes but the grubs were in the soil before we worked it into garden and found the potatoes growing around them to be good food. Four more rows of potatoes to dig when they are ready. We got about a half of a bushel of potatoes.
The mulching of gardens is going slow. I have been able to haul and spread two cartloads a couple times a week. It sure helps that we have had this cooler weather. The work is good exercise, especially for the abs, lifting forkfulls of mulch into the cart. The hardest part of the job is backing the cart up and getting it to go where I want it to go. Howard makes it look so easy!
I thank God that I found homes for all the ducklings except one and both the drakes. I was getting really stressed out aout the ducklings that hatched out (at least 24) and then I found two new nests the the ducks were setting on, AGAIN. So there are three ducks (hens) here and the goofy littly runt of a duckling that doesn't seem to be growing. I have everyone watching for a possible fourth duck that may be setting on a nest. She will come off the nest at some point if that is the case. It is also possible that something killed and ate her.
There are way too many critters in the neighborhood.We have a young racoon that is coming around and feels right at home here and I see that as trouble. Hopefully we can get him trapped and carried away. When Don and Deb came to check the corn they have planted here, they saw a good sized (maybe 200 pounds) bear headed for the garden, and Debbie went into action scaring it off . She has been salvating over this corn ever since we planted it in May!
Daisy took one of our cats and I hope he likes it at her house. The cats she brought to our house over the years sure like it here. So we are down to 6 cats which is a relief.
What a life!

Where is this summer going?

It has been a long time since I did a post. I have been working like crazy.
I have more sewing than I want this time of year! Now that the gardens are starting to produce I am trying to keep the sewing caught up (I am a self employed seamstress) so there is time to do some putting up of the vegetables.
We have been eating a lot from the garden, beginning with the lettuce that is now done. There must be a dozen smallish zucchini to grate and put in the freezer. We had BLTs, for supper tonight using tomatoes from the garden. Boy, they were good along with the cuccumbers in dressing. The beans are just now beginning to produce so the pressure canner will be dragged out of the cupboard soon

Daisy's cats were sick and she had me take them to the vet's for care several times. My hours are flexible and that's what Moms do for their kids. She had to have one euthanized and it was buried here along with countless others. It was not an easy week.

Tomarrow and Saterday the plans are to haul mulch since the weather has cooled off. I have tons of mulch, literally and what a blessing to have had it all delivered when tree trimmers were working in the area last fall. I hope my grandson Rylan will help me. We both need the exercise. A lot of the gardens have been weeded and some even renovated (ripped plants out and put new in) and all we have to do is put a nice heavy layer of mulch on the ground.

I have to remind myself to pray and have faith that all will work out as some things worry me more than when I was medicated with an antidepressant. I am still adjusting to no longer taking the Effexor Sometimes I get scared when before I was always confident that all was well. Funny what a pill will do! I had four days with depression this week that spurred me to start taking sAME. I really don't want to take an antidepressant as it has side effects I don't want to deal with.

Well, this long winded post should make up for the lack of posts lately!

Busy Summer

June just flew by!
The gardens are beautiful with perennials blooming like crazy and roses blooming all over the place. I just love those knockout roses. I got the garden at the mailboxes cleaned out and mulched today. I ripped out loads of quackgrass and put in a couple canna. So that is checked off the list of gardens to mulch.
The vegetables are doing great. Biggest onions ever and the tomatoes already have little tomatoes which is unusual but it is a great growing season with lots of rain, sun and warm temperatures.
Howard and I were worried we wouldn't be able to find a good mower deck for the cub cadet but we found a nice one for $150 that Howard will pick up tomarrow. That's what we get with the old lawn tractors, breakdowns and hard to find parts. We find everything new is junk and spends time in the shop which is a disappointment because the newer mowers aren't cheap.
I have the June bearing strawberry bed ready for mulch. It was a lot of work to get cleaned up and edged. We will have raspberries next year. I am astonished at how many canes came up with just planting 8 plants last fall.
The new raised bed is almost done. I have been filling it with composting organic materials (Lazngia method). I don't know what will I will plant there but it will be ready.
So once I get those two areas done I will move on to the pond. I am hoping to get it in a shape that it won't need much attention for a while, like a few years. then I would like to get some mulch in the perennial beds around the house. I am working towards having more shrubs than perennials for easier maintenance.
The ducklings are very confused about their mamas. Some are running around on their own, sometimes I see one duckling with what it thinks is it's mom only to have her fly away. There have been times that every one of the ducklings are with one mama.
As I have said many times, there is never a dull moment.
I hope I can find a good home for Oscar with the add in the paper offering the free neuter certificate to go with him. Found in the EatnPark parking lot three weeks ago, very tramatized, he is socializing very well. I think he will make someone a nice pet. I just hope it isn't me. :)