Meanwhile in West Virginia

65°f/18.3°C, clear until mid-day when the smoky haze returned.

This happened in Southern West Virginia, and was posted on Facebook.  I can only imagine how the driver felt! No one was hurt, but they did not have the owner's permission to drive the truck, so I expect their wallet is going to hurt pretty badly.

As you can imagine, the comments on this were hilarious.

That tree saved their lives.

Up in Parkersburg, this portly porker has been roaming freely for a couple days, and apparently no one knows where he belongs. 

Perhaps it escaped from the same place as this goat? Although probably about 20 miles apart, so not likely.

And on the eastern side of the state, this happened today.

Is it the weather making people and animals get a little strange? I don't know. But at least in my family, everyone is still safe and relatively sane. Here's news from my oldest son:

He's retiring, sort of, from his position as President of Grant County Bank in Petersburg, WV.  He will continue working part-time for a while to ensure a smooth transition, and will remain on the board, but it is nice to see him beginning this process at age 57.

Of course our #3 son Derek beat him to it by 10 years, retiring at 47 for the second time! He is 3rd from the left (and the handsomest in my prejudiced opinion), very busy doing what he loves best--golfing, and being a grandpa. He's 54 now.

As for me, I had a wee scare last week with dizzy spells, shortness of breath and a tight feeling in my chest, all potential signs of heart trouble. So I went to Urgent Care (after getting the laundry started, bed made, breakfast cleaned up, etc, because that's how women are). They sent me to the emergency room, and after some tests and stuff, they determined that I had a UTI! I would never in a million years have associated those symptoms with that! Came home with meds; went back to my doctor today for my routine semi-annual checkup, and retested for the infection. It's still lingering, so more meds and that should fix it. (AC, see what I did there in the beginning of this paragraph?)

That explains why I have been feeling so tired lately. I thought it was just summer-weariness!

A couple good things coming up this week: the next open mic, featuring a guy from the next county over,

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and then Thursday, our oldest son gave us the nicest birthdays/anniversary gift: tickets to see Vince Gill in concert, a room reservation at the Marriott, and dinner! This will be a wonderful break, and we are so looking forward to it.

Ending with this, from Facebook. Canadian friends, rest assured that most of us in the US understand how nature works. Lord knows you endure enough aggravation from us! Just a few idiots spouting stupidity,  as usual.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Of Signs and Markets and Zucchini and Such

69°f/29 5°C, overcast. Should be cooler today, with a high of about 82°. Thank goodness.

So a few random things to share today. First, we stopped for dinner last night at the local Mexican restaurant,  and saw this new sign painted on the wall:

I'm not sure who came up with that, but it made me laugh!

The restroom doors are pretty cool too:

Before dinner we stopped by the local farmers market.  I wanted to pick up some eggs, and to check out this interesting vendor---a mobile book store.

Her books are all by self-published authors, and a quick check of several convinced me not to buy them, but I did buy one by the owner of this unit. I'll post a review after I read it. I also let her know about the open mic, and will be able to connect her with authors who may want to have their books in her "shop".

Jessie was at the market with her wonderful baked goods. She has a farm stand on a very rural road and does very well with it. People actually drive out there for her goods. She also sells through various stores in town.

Our friend Annette was there too, so I was able to get my eggs. She had some nice blackberries but I resisted, hoping we will go berry-picking at a pick your own place this week.

Yesterday's project was zucchini pineapple. I was used up a half dozen overgrown zucchini, ending up with 15 pints of faux pineapple. It's great in fruit salads, and many other recipes.

Larry accidentally pulled up some of my onions I grew from seed (even though I had very carefully told him not to pull these! Grrr) so we chopped those up for the freezer. Today we will cut up the other ones he pulled and put them in the dehydrator, as I am out of dried onions, and find them so nice to have on hand.

Saw these along the road yesterday. I used to know their name but have forgotten it. 

In Ravenswood,  this is the city's mural for West Virginia's mural project to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US.

These last 2 are from Facebook. Point Pleasant is the home of Mothman, and hosts the annual very popular Mothman Festival in September.

All you golfers, take note!

Until next time, friends!

Thursday

70°f/21°C this morning, hazy. The Canadian smoke is making its way here, with the worst of it expected tomorrow. Warmed to 95° in town but only 88°here at home.

We left around 9 this morning to pick up a 1950s formica table in Parkersburg,  about an hour away. It looked like it was in great condition, and for $50, it was perfect to go with those 4 aqua chairs we refurbished recently. On the way up there, the seller messaged me. The table had been left out in the rain, and since these old tables had particle board under the laminate that meant the particle board had swelled, raising up the edges of the top. Did we want the table for free?

Well, since we were already on the way, we said sure. It didn't look too bad when we got there, but by the time we got the table home, more of the edges had started to swell. I was doubtful that it could be repaired, but Larry thought he could do it.

So here it is now, and I think he's right!

One edge is repaired, and tomorrow he can remove the clamps and do the other side. How cool is that! I need to order replacement caps for the legs and then it should be good to go.

When we got home, I jumped right in to making sweet pickle relish. It's time-consuming, but one batch made a two-year supply, and used up all the peppers and cucumbers we had just picked.  

It was supposed to have some red peppers in it as well, but I didn't have any, and with this weird bacterial thing going around, I wasn't going to buy any! I use this on sandwiches, in deviled eggs, chicken and ham salads, and in potato salad. So delicious. Simple recipe: finely chop about 3 cups cucumbers, 2 cups peppers, and 1 cup onion (I did this in the food processor), salt and cover with cold water for 2 hours. Drain. Mix 2 1/2 cups sugar, 2 cups cider vinegar, 1 Tbsp each celery seed and mustard seed, bring to boil. Drain the veggies,  removing as much liquid as possible. Add to the boiling mixture and cook 10 minutes. Jar up and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes. 

Then I went out and watered with Miracle-Gro because my poor flowers are suffering in this heat, and Larry did more weedeating and mowing. So that was our day. Not exciting, but productive. Tomorrow morning I have a LOT of zucchini that I will make into zucchini pineapple,  and maybe shredded some to freeze for zucchini bread this winter. 

Next week our weather looks more reasonable, so I hope I can get some tilling done and some late crops planted. And, I hope, tidy up my poor flowers. 

Did I ever mention how much I hate July? I am sure looking forward to a break in this heat!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.