fixer's food for thought

We spent a peaceful Labor Day weekend. We did the obligatory canning Saturday. Besides that, nothing real big. This stands in contrast to how our like used to be. We always had a home improvement project to do on a three day weekend. Whether it was painting, installing doors and windows, updating lighting or landscaping, we always had something scheduled. We were able to see what we could do to this place with hard work. We were able to substitute our labor for money we lacked. We are currently ...

My recliner died yesterday. It was quite old so we got our money's worth. I think the reason men are so attached to their chairs is they are all we have in the house to call our own. I am lucky since I have a chair, end table and lamp. Everything else is my wife's. We have started negotiations on it's replacement. I am trying to sell her on the aesthetic, "form follows function". Meaning, how it sits is much more important than how it looks. I will keep you posted on the outcome. ...

We canned forty-two quarts of tomatoes today. We started in the garden picking what needed to come to the house. We got cucumbers, squash and honeydews. The melons are delicious. This is our first time growing them. Then we started canning. It was a long day at the end of a long weekend. We decided to do what we could today so we would not have to do any during the week. We will have maybe ten to fifteen more quarts after all of the tomatoes ripen. That is great since it matches with the ...

Things went well today and we finished trimming the shrubs. I did get concerned it was taking too long. When my wife asked what time it was, I replied four o'clock. Actually, it was only two. I then went on to say that we needed to hurry in order to finish before sundown. She worked frantically and we finished at four- thirty. The problem is she thought it was six-thirty or seven. Needless to say, she was not very happy with me. I find myself in the doghouse and I don't even own one.

I went today to pick up the canning tomatoes we purchased. The quality was much more than I expected. However, they could be riper. We try to can tomatoes that are very ripe. It seems their flavor survives the canning process better. We have decided to see if they will wait for another week. I hope we don't have to can in the evening during the week. I can do beans alone, but tomatoes are a different story. Things move quickly and it is hard for one person. At least it is for me. We have ...