It's Raining....Again

Anyone remember a song by Supertramp called, "It's Raining Again"? No? *sigh* I'm getting old!!

Well, as you might have guessed it's raining here in my neck of the woods....again. They are calling for about 2 inches of rain through this evening. It rained off & on most of yesterday. The creek in front of our house is rising. There is standing water in many areas of our yard. The ground is saturated, and the rain that's falling has no where to go at this point. So small streams & rivers are on the rise. There will be more flooding this weekend. Hopefully it won't interfere with our school days, but with more rain in the forecast, for next week, it's any one's guess as to whether or not we'll have anymore calamity days to make up in June. The thing I don't like about all this rain is the fact that the temperatures are on the warm-ish side, and I can't boot my kids outside to play!! I think we're all going a little stir crazy from being couped up in the house since December.

I've been working on next week's menu plan, and will begin a running grocery list. However, after being able to make many "stock up" purchases this past week, all we should really need will be fresh produce & dairy. And in quest to reduce our food waste, we'll be using up more leftovers this week. I even designated next Friday as LEFTOVERS night!! So hopefully, next Friday's food waste post will be MUCH shorter, if not non-existent! *fingers crossed*

I am also thinking about the garden, and what to plant this year. We've downsized the garden some over the last two years. Having a 30 x 70 foot garden was just too much of an undertaking, and too much for me to keep up with especially as everything came into season. One year I planted over 20 tomato plants!! There is no need for that many tomato plants...especially since I'm the only one who will eat them fresh. This year, I'll be planting more heirloom tomatoes, like I did last year, but not as many. This is what I am planning to put in the garden this year: 12-15 tomato plants (for canning & fresh eating), green beans, 2-3 bell peppers, 2-3 hot peppers, lettuces, radishes, onions, cucumbers, and possibly some carrots and/or melon (either cantaloupe or watermelon). We have 3 apple trees, 2 pear trees, 1 plum, & 1 peach tree. As well as red & black raspberries, and concord grapes. I would like to add a couple more fruit trees to the mix: another peach tree, another plum tree, and possibly 2-3 more apple trees. I really want to plant 1 or 2 Honeycrisp apples and maybe a golden delicious, too. I am really hoping that we'll get a good crop of apples, pears, & peaches this year. Last year, a cold snap got our apples, so I'm anxious to actually get a few. They've been planted since 2006 (we purchased them from Lowe's...not sure if that was the best idea or not). There is a mail order supplier, with reasonable pricing, that has come highly recommended by many people I've talked to: Stark Bros. My friend, Cheryl, has a Stark Bros. apple tree, and I know she's had success with it. And I think the size they come in, I could easily plant them myself, so as to not bother Brian with that task. So we'll see...I will have to talk to Brian before I order any trees, of course. I will be using Territorial Seeds & Plants again to order my heirloom tomato plants again. I had great success with their plants last year, and someday, I hope to save my heirloom seeds, and start my own plants from seed.

Well, I will working on laundry today, as Mt. Washmore is ever growing in our bathroom. Someday I hope to have the basement cleaned out some, so I can maybe string a clothes line or two, and hang some clothes to dry down there, especially when I can't hang them outside. Anything to save a little money on the electric bill, and extend the life of our clothing, bedding, and towels!! Hope you are all having a great weekend.

Love & hugs to you all!