Sunday morning rambling - July 2, 2023

It's 7 a.m. Sunday morning.  I've been up for more than an hour.  The Husband and the great beast of a dog are still asleep (although the great beast of a dog did wake up long enough to gobble up a can of dogfood).  

Although this dog is not a huge amount of trouble, I will be glad when he goes home.  This morning when I got up, his big butt was stretched out on our couch, head on a pillow, snoring to beat the band.  I don't like animals in my house, and I especially don't like them on the furniture.  

It has been incredibly hot this week - temperatures near 100, dangerous heat alerts from the weather app on my phone.  What little gardening I've done has been in the early mornings or late afternoons.  So far, all we're getting is squash and cucumbers.  Loads of both.  Earlier in the week, I posted a "free cucumbers" message on my Facebook page and had a couple of takers for upcoming harvests.  Yesterday, I gathered nearly 18 pounds of cucumbers.  Someone is coming to get them today.  There'll be more in a day or two.  

I tried to make "cinnamon pickles" a couple of days ago.  The recipe called for "red hots" candy, but I could not find any (what's up with that?).  "Hot Tamales" candy seemed like a fair substitution, but it wasn't.  After the candy coating dissolved, gummy insides remained and had to be strained out.  My pickles turned out faintly pink and faintly cinnamon-y.  Good thing I only made three pints.  I probably shall not try the recipe again, even if "red hots" cross my path.  In fact, unless some wild bit of motivation hits me, I probably won't make pickles (or relish) at all this year, since we have some left from last year.  All but one or two of the cucumber vines may go on the compost pile soon.

* * * * * * * * 

I want to go somewhere, anywhere.  

Since we sold our camper a couple of years ago, we have not had a real vacation.  The Husband has had several work trips that seemed interesting enough for me to go along, but they have been short trips that did not turn out to be fun.  

Working from home has probably aggravated this mood.  I go for days without leaving the yard or speaking to anyone except The Husband and the relatives on the hill who happen to cross my path between here and the garden.  

Where would I go if I could go anywhere?