The pods from the Purple Hyacinth Bean look brighter with the bright sun on them. They are actually darker than the picture shows. Love this well behaved vine. Makes me think of behavior in the garden. Some plants are docile and will fit in where ever you put them.....and then there are the bullies, who take over everything. Geraniums are one of the ones who behave. They grow larger, but they don't take over. In fact, if they are placed in a planter with some bullies....they stay small and may stop blooming. I have chocolate ajuga growing as a border for my herb garden. When I was planting it, my friend said that I might not like it. It's not quite a bully....it can be easily pulled out...I do like the way it grows and fills in. I wouldn't call Black Eyed Susans a bully either....though they pop up everywhere in my yard. Docile or bully....there's room for them all in my yard.
The schedule at the pool has changed and we won't be going this morning. We'll have to do some arranging to get our three times in this week.
Yesterday I spent a big portion of my day in the kitchen preparing food. I started out making muffins and ended up making our dinner. I thought about a different way of doing things when it comes to food prep after I looked at this.....http://www.aturtleslifeforme.com/2011/06/freezer-meals-on-cheap.html
Why not spend a few hours....4 or 5 days a month doing all the prep work and then freezing the food in baggies?So many things that I make start out by browning onions, peppers, carrots etc. If I had those handy...already done and frozen...it would make less work for me. We already portion out our meat that way, so the meat thaws quickly. This gal baked a bag of potatoes and then made twice baked potatoes and wrapped them for the freezer. A great idea I think. I've had good luck doing this with a few. I wrap them in saran, foil and then put them in a plastic container. They are so fresh, when they come out...you'd never know they had been frozen. Right now, corn is available. Cut the corn off the cobs and put in plastic baggies to fix during the winter. I have breads and muffins in the freezer from baking days. A huge batch of spaghetti sauce in the crockpot and portioned out in containers. I already do this with soups. We love homemade soup and the recipes always make so much...so the excess goes in the freezer. I have two freezers downstairs. A chest freezer and a side by side. I'm going to make some changes there...one for meats and other big things and the side by side for things prepped for meals. I don't know about you, but often I want to have something for dinner, but I don't make it because of all the prep work involved. I simply make something easier and less time consuming. I'll give it a try.
I ordered a new comforter and shams for our bed last week. I'm anxious to get it. It's in a patchwork pattern with jewel tones...rich burgundy, golds etc. It's going to be a change from the off white comforter that is there now for the summer. I'll show it when it comes. Fall is coming fast and I am getting that "nesting" feeling.
How about you?
Balisha
