TRUTH

It's true what they say about zucchini. It truly does multiply overnight. Not only does it multiply in numbers but it also increases in size. We have had some truly wonderful zucchini, large in size and large in numbers. With one zucchini, we shredded about 6 to 7 cups of zucchini (most recipes call for 2 to 3 cups). We are getting very creative with different ways to cook them. Our latest favorite is called a "Mock Apple Pie". I would not have believed it had I not tasted the final product, but you would have a hard time believing it was not apples. We found the recipe online among many, by the way. Peeled, cored and sliced in a bag, it looks like Granny Smith apples. When cooked with your cinnamon, sugar and other apple pie additives, it looks and tastes and has the consistency of apples. My favorite rhubarb crisp recipe is now being used to make "Mock" Apple Crisp and we are going to feed our friends today. So all of you out there who don't particularly care for zucchini, don't knock it 'til you've tried it. Delish!!!
The plum tomatoes are ripening and they are very tasty. The greatest thrill though for me, is the pumpkin patch. It is overflowing into the yard with numerous pumpkin babies but the prize, the first pumpkin, is now starting to turn orange. It is a thing of beauty. We have successfully grown a pumpkin from seed and it looks fabulous. Can hardly wait for the first pumpkin pie.
What do the kids think of all our efforts? Well they think it is pretty cool but they would rather go looking for bugs. The roly poly is the favorite. Kyran now has a little net and you will often find him somewhere in the yard, net in hand, trying to catch butterflies and moths or turning over the downspout blocks looking for bugs. Both boys are expert bug catchers and Kaylin is very excited over every find. They are also very busy finding other things to get into as well. The minute your back is turned, they have found a new use for some product. The lastest escapade was pouring juice and iced tea on the patio to make it "slippery to slide on". The other day it was peat moss all over the driveway. Who thinks of this stuff?

Veggie Tales

I have been feeling a little guilty today for bragging on our gardening efforts and results. I did not set out to make anyone feel bad, especially our friends in Alaska who work really hard in their gardens combating constant drizzle and hungry slugs. In all my wildest dreams, I never pictured myself living in Kansas but that is exactly where I find myself so I was determined to try and make the best of missing the mountains and good ole' salt air and plant a garden. The one thing I totally desired to grow was a pumpkin. It is something that takes some good weather and a longer growing season and I have never grown one before in my life. The three pumpkin plants that looked so very small in the big space I planted them, have now completely filled the area and then some. It was so exciting the day I saw the first baby pumpkin on the vine. We shall see how successful this venture is if even one reaches maturity. The rest of the veggies are just the bonuses. We have harvested two beautiful zucchini this week with more not far behind. We also have three cucumbers that are just days away from being perfect and the fresh lettuce has been a real treat. Tomatoes are now hanging in clusters, still green, but looking great and guess what? Not a slug in sight. Gee, it's only June. Lest anyone think we have it easy, you should know that we had some torrential rain that ripped the leaves of the poor plants to shreds and we have planted carrots twice and both times the seeds seem to have been washed away, but we have remained strong in our resolve to have some fresh veggies. We miss our Army guy a lot and that is our lemons and when life gives you lemons, you get to make lemonade. Our garden is our lemonade, something to occupy our mind and keep us busy until he gets home. Next summer we will make a farmer out of him too. So good growing all you farmer type people and enjoy those veggies.

First Fruits

Ok people, check out the first fruits of our labor.
Yes they are radishes! Neither heavy rain, hail, nor blazing sun shall keep our radishes from growing and we have had them all.

The kids were very excited to actually see something come out of the ground after watching the little plants get bigger and bigger. It's going to taste yummy on our next salad.

We also have baby zucchini, plum tomatoes and today we saw our first baby cucumber. The heavy rain we had while back shuffled our seeds around and we had radishes come up in three different spots, and we still have not seen any sign of a carrot. Some of the peas came up but we have since replanted the vacant spots and I will try one more time with the carrots and hope they don't drown with another downpour. Whoever said it doesn't rain in Kansas, has not seen it rain in Kansas and has not seen our lake which has flowed over it's boundaries into the campground.

Yard Sale Mania

This post is for those serious garage and yard salers. You are not a truly accomplished garage/yard sale person until you do a city wide sale. Let me tell you, it is an experience beyond description.
Of course everyone wants to get to each garage sale as early as possible so as not to miss any really great stuff they can't live without. However, when you are attempting to hit 40 to 50 of them in the space of a morning you just have to start somewhere and move as quickly as possible. In our small town, it is simply a matter of deciding where you want to start and drive from street to street. While there is a map to follow, you find that it is not accurate. There are those folks who, for whatever reason, have decided not to have their name or number put on the map and take the chance by just putting their "goodies" out, knowing that if you are driving down the street, and you will, that you will stop. Treasures abound for sure. We witnessed antique everything, the likes of which I have never seen in any one place at one time. People drive miles to come and try to find that perfect item. I believe you could have found just about anything your heart desired. This was the big sale of the year and is always well attended by hundreds.
Some people were very organized, having all of their items neatly arranged, catagorized and individually priced, and others, well let's say, it was a basic free for all, make me an offer, kind of deal. Most were somewhere in between, meaning it has a price but nothing is set in stone. A few places even were selling hot dogs, hamburgers and cold beverages. A lesson we learned here was that if you want to eat, don't wait too long. Every place we went to find that hot dog, was sold out by noon.
What great things did we find you ask? Well some great clothes and toys for the kids, canning jars for our produce efforts later this summer, a great little kitchen table for me, some cabinets for toys, Christmas village pieces, little bottles for a craft project, an antigue treadle sewing machine and a few other odd and ends.
By one o'clock we were exhausted and called it a day. We missed a few sales but I do believe we were able to visit the vast majority. So until next year our visits to yard sales will probably be limited to 10 or less at any one time. We have truly entered the realm of the serious garage sale junkies.

Babies

We are the proud parents of some new babies. No not exactly the cute, cuddly, pinch their little cheeks kind. No no. We have veggie babies. Ok eat your hearts out Ketchikanians. It is May 18th and we have baby zucchinis, tomatoes, strawberries and lettuce. The amazing thing is that I have not had to fight the slugs for them either. The pumpkin plants are looking fabulous as well as the peppers. Some of our seeds were a little displaced a couple of weeks ago with our huge storm but some survived. Other things like the garlic and onions were a little displaced but are also coming along. We are excited about our gardening efforts. I can't say as I have ever grown a pumpkin in my life so the prospect is kind of like expecting a baby I suppose. We will keep you updated on the "nursery" here.
The real kids are growing like little weeds as well. Kyran recovered from his surgery beautifully and seems to be healthy and his eyes seems to sparkle more than before. He loves to help water plants and he like to cook. Kegan is "happy go lucky" and marches to his own beat. Kaylin is losing the baby look and turning into a little girl. She loves to sing happy birthday but she only knows the one line so far. They all love the water and play in their little pool often on our hot days. They also like to play with bugs and try to catch butterflies. Of course we are all missing the Army guy but we try to keep order as best we can. We manage to keep busy without any trouble. Oh and by the way, the mosquitoes are terrible down here and we get dive bombed by June bugs if you leave the porch light on. I guess you take the good with the bad as it is any place you live.

Thunder

Tornado season is officially upon us. When the weatherman says "severe thunderstorm warning", they don't mess around and you better pay attention. After an entire day of warm temperature close to 80 degrees and high winds, the thunder and lightning final hit last night. My experience with thunderstorms has usually been quick, hard rain, thunder and lightning, with a duration of 20 to 30 minutes and not usually more than an hour in length. Well I have to say things are different in Kansas as have been many other things. Last night, we had an all nighter. That is absolutely no stretch. I believe it begain around 8 pm and I was still hearing thunder at around 5:30 this morning. This was not the mild gentle rolls followed by a few streaks of lightning mind you. This was house rattling, entire sky lighting stuff. As if that wasn't enough, tonight on the way home from church, we encounter a huge, almost black cloud in the direction we were driving. The rain came down and in a matter of a few moments we were in a rain storm so hard, we literally could not see the road and could only barely make out the white side line. After a brief pause to decide if we should just sit and wait it out, we chose to make a run for it and made it home safely. A tornado did touch down on Friday and again on Saturday in the same town, which caused a lot of distruction and some loss of life so it is serious business, even though we sometimes laugh and joke about being in Kansas. Our little garden that we planted last week, looked like a puddle so we hope it all survives. So for now, we are all tucked in for the night safe and sound.

More Learnings

1. Riding lawnmowers are a form of transportation, faster than horses, slower than cars.
People here have lawns the size of pastures. In order to mow them in less than a week, one
needs a riding lawnmower. They also can get you from point A to B in a fairly short time and
I don't think you have to have a driver's license. I could see some kid having a booming
business going from place to place mowing lawns. The mowers here are kind of like ATV's in
other places only they actually do serve a useful purpose.

2. Winter is not necessarily over even when you have days in the 80's. Case in point, we just
experienced some new record lows of 15- 18 degrees with wind chill of hmmm, well very
cold.

3. There are some serious RV camper type folks that start camping early. The park by our lake
is already starting to fill up. I would guess there are roughly 30 RV's of various sizes and
shapes already staked out.

4. Kansas needs more coffee shops.