A Productive Weekend

It was a good weekend.  I’m worn out from it, but it was fun.  On Friday, when I got off work I got some new tires put on the truck.  They were needed badly.  I was going to have them do an alignment on it as well, but they told me the lower ball joint on the passenger side was worn and the wheel had some play in it, so it couldn’t be aligned.  Hopefully tomorrow I’m going to be replacing that with Becky’s dad’s help.  The good news about that is that it is a part that is less than $50.

On Saturday, I left about 8:30 in the morning to put some gas in the gas cans so I could mow the yard and work the tiller through the garden.  From then on, I stayed outside until 3 in the afternoon.  I had to replant some watermelon (If it all comes in, I’m going to have a ton – want some?), squash and zucchini.  Hopefully it will all come in strong this time and I’ll have plenty.  I need to fertilize the garden soon – maybe if I can get that done everything will do well.  I’m more excited this year about our garden than I was last year, or even the year before.  In all, we’ll have:

• Watermelon (up to 25 pound melons)
• Yellow crookneck squash
• Zucchini
• Potatoes
• Okra
• Green beans (tendergreen improved – stringless)
• Carrots
• Peppers (Several kinds of bell peppers)
• Broccoli
• Cucumbers (We should have lots and lots of these too – Becky is going to try pickling them)
• Onions (Yellow and white)
• Tons of tomatoes – 20 plants in all.  Becky will can tomato juice this year.

Once I finished in the garden, I mowed the yard.  Although that wasn’t particularly hard work, it still wore me out.  It wasn’t even that hot, but the sun beat down on me the whole time I was out there – I still have the sunburn to prove it.  But it was still relaxing in a way – I mow between 2 to 2.5 acres, and it takes me probably 2 or 3 hours to do it.  So I ride the mower around just thinking about anything and everything under the sun.

Once all the hard work was done, I came back inside and relaxed for a little while.  We bought some spareribs and got them going in the oven for a couple of hours, then I threw them on the grill for a few minutes to sear the outside of them.  Once it was all said and done, they were falling off the bone and were some of the best ribs I’ve ever had.

All in all it was a good weekend, even with the little bit of bad news about the truck.  Hopefully that will all be taken care of this week and all will be peaches & cream, or a bed of roses, or whatever else you want to compare it to.  I know, I’m probably dreaming, but things have to get better at some point. 🙂