Early Morning Concrete Pours

We are up early again this morning because the husband is pouring at 6:00 am. This is a hard time of year for him; all the contractors are calling because they want their foundations in before the weather turns. He is not a morning person. These kinds of days require copious amounts of coffee.

I spent yesterday morning on (never-ending) paperwork and phone calls. Our insurance agent is working hard to find us—and probably several other businesses—another carrier.

After lunch, I finished the Kaland Weekender Tote. It came together quite nicely. I really liked the way the inside pockets were made. They have little pleats at the bottom:

I would give this design and pattern a solid A. The only change I made—and it was a minor one—was in the zipper casings at the top of the bag.

I compared this bag to my travel tote to see what kinds of mods I might need to make. My travel tote is much deeper, but the sizes are otherwise comparable. Re-creating that travel tote is going to be a winter project for sure.

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I’ve been overdosing on zucchini bakes for the past week:

This is just zucchini, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning. It makes a great breakfast food.

Here is the tomato report thus far: The Oregon Star and Northern Ruby paste tomatoes are coming on strong. Northern Ruby has become a very close second favorite to Oregon Star. The tomatoes aren’t as large but there are tons of them.

Cherokee Chocolate may have taken over from Cherokee Purple as another favorite. These are huge! I’ve had several that are over a pound each. I got a variety called Earl from Sarah, which is also producing enormous and very tasty tomatoes.

I cannot find my green tomato varieties. I know I have Cherokee Green and I may also have Aunt Ruby’s. I have been squeezing the green tomatoes on all the vines—which is the best way to find the ripe green ones—with no luck. They may not be ready yet.

The Blue Boar Berry plant is loaded and those are just beginning to ripen, as are the Red Pear. I think I also have Yellow Pear but haven’t seen any ripe ones yet. I’ve gotten a ton of yellow tomatillos but the other tomatillos, the ground cherries, and the cape gooseberries are a bit further behind.

The weather looks to remain hot and dry for another week, at least, so I won’t have to worry about an early frost. Unfortunately, I don’t think the monsoon moisture coming up from the southwest is going to make it this far north.