Are You Tired of Tomatoes Yet? I'm Not!

Been reading through some of my previous entries and it has been brought to my attention (by myself) that I may be a bit of a dreamer. Wait! What? Yeah! Me! A dreamer! I dream of all of these projects that need to be done, and then I say I'm going to do them and actually post my intentions here and then I guess it's gone. What it really boils down to is that in my mind, I accomplish a lot more than actually gets done in reality (which is usually on a far distant planet from where I live).

Where does that leave me and my mind? Here we go again!

My tomatoes are ripening! A bit at a time, this last week we've had beautiful sunny skies and normal temperatures. Perfect for ripening tomatoes. So, seeing as how I'm only working for 1/2 a day today, when I get home I will get these picked and turn them into juice! Lots and lots of juice! Yum!

I say that a lot, "Yum", must be I like food!

Speaking of food, I have some leftover roast beef in the fridge that will get turned into pasties tonight. With home growed potatoes and onions, and mine will have green peppers in it, all smothered with beef gravy.

So, yesterday I posted my current intention to have my Grandson's birthday sweater finished this week, and guess what? Last night I finished the main part of it. There is still a few pockets to knit and attach, weave in ends, and wash and block, but I just might be able to pull this off. Most times I will, when my current project is almost done, start on my gauge swatches for my next project, to give them time to rest, and block out so I can get good solid accurate stitch and row counts, but this time, I'll go ahead and finish the sweater, then work on some socks while my gauges are resting and blocking... My current sock project is a cotton self striping yarn called Jamaica. Picture neon pinks, greens, turquoise and white stripes. I didn't put in a design because it would have been lost! Then I have yarn for 3 more pairs just waiting. I'll work on those while my gauge swatches are doing their gauge thing.

Another current intention is to actually get out and PICK SOME BLACKBERRIES! They're free for the taking, it's just a shame not to go get them. Mosquitoes and flesh eating pickers and brambles aside, they're just there. And they won't be a lot longer. So here's the plan: Get home, pick tomatoes, turn them into juice and while they're cooking down go pick blackberries. Sound do-able? I thought so, but then I never plan for Murphy's inevitable appearance either.

Another must do this afternoon is to get tools, etc.. rounded up so we can start on the wall unit tonight. Hubby got a HUGE aquarium at the resale shop (thanks bunches, CS) and in order to keep me happy about having that much water in my living room, he's agreed to build it into a wall unit that will also house the tv that we can't watch because we no longer have satellite service, the dvd player that we can't use because neither of us can figure out which group of buttons to push to make it go, and the stereo that doesn't work because of some wiring issue.

But... I will get my desk back! That's a plus.

And, yes, the dishwasher did get fixed! Not by me, but not because I couldn't have done it, but I was busy canning, so hubby fixed it for me. Yay!! No more washing a gazillion canning jars by hand!

Augh. Have to hurry and get my barn cleaned out. I got more hay coming.
Also gotta venture out to find more sticks for my tomatoes.
Oops one of the chickens is out again. Ok got that done.
Now to find some branches. Let's see. The ideal branch should be fairly sturdy, have at least one fork and be.. Blackberries! The blackberries are comin, on!
A bit of a historic detour here if you've never had the pleasure of picking blackberries.
Blackberries are (or should be) a winter sport. You have to put on long jeans, socks and something a bit sturdier than flip flops.

I don't like flip flops, the thing that goes in between my toes and all.

Anyway, You also need a long sleeved shirt and dont' forget to put up the hair.
Picking blackberries is not a sport for the faint of heart. If you can fend off the hungry insects, there's the occasional bear or two who may have already marked that berry territory for himself.

Ok I made that up.

Yeah the bears are there, you see signs of them regularly, but actually see them very unregularly, but I've really never had to go one on one with a bear over a blackberry.

So let's say you've risen victorious over the insects and the bears.
There remains an arch enemy you will not win against, and that is the bushes themselves. They will reach out and grab you, pull on your hair, snag clothing and leave their little barbs deep inside your clothing (or skin if you didn't wear you armour) and itch and scratch you.

Are they worth it? You bet, they are good! And they only last a week or so, due to the birds and bears and all.. So get em while you can, boys and girls, and then you can resume your stick hunting adventures. Oh yeah, and get the hay loft straightened up! Did that chicken really get out again??