Try, try again....garden!

Well, we got some rain last week. First time in over a month and now they are finally going to take us off the burn ban! We also, for the first time in a long time, went for a few days without going over 100 degrees!  I was so happy to see clouds!

I've had nothing much in the garden this summer....it was too hot to set tomato fruit or anything else so I had just a few piddly tomatoes, a few cucumbers, no peppers and not much else. We certainly would be hungry if the family was relying on my garden!  I have had enough okra and eggplant to do a batch about once a week....nothing to write home about this year!

Fall is going to be better...I keep telling myself that.  Ok, I'm an Oklahoma State fan, we're used to looking forward to a better 'next' season!  I went out today and replanted cucumbers and swiss chard...still too hot to plant spinach, lettuce or turnips.  I also planted some little gourds, maybe I'll have some for Halloween and Thanksgiving...

That's the thing about gardens, if you fail one season, there is always another season right around the corner! 

School Starts Tomorrow!

Tomorrow this time, I'll be the mom of a ninth grader and eighth grader. don't know if I'm ready to tell you the truth.  As a high school teacher myself and a ninth grade teacher for more years than I want to say....it scares the soup out of.  He's now playing for all the marbles.  Mistakes cost a lot!  Mistakes can sidetrack your entire life....I don't know if he's ready...

I'm sure he'll be fine, I just worry...

Tomorrow is supposed to be almost 100 degrees again.  We broke last week after over a month of over 100 degree weather.  My garden is toasted but there are signs of life now that we got about 5 inches of rain last week and even a day that didn't hit 90!  I honestly was getting worried about large shrubs, we were so dry! I am just thankful that we don't have to live this winter of off what I've grown this summer....very few blackberries, very few tomatoes, peppers, anything else!

Hopefully, my fall garden will be better than this summer garden.  I pulled most of it a few weeks ago and put it out of it misery.

Now back to worrying about tomorrow! First day of school...SCARY!!!!!

Getting Ready...

School's starting around here in the next few weeks.  I'm ready.  It's too hot to do anything else, I'm tired of having so much fun....I'm tired!  We need to get back into a routine at my house.  The month of July, I usually stop making meal plans and we just fly by the seat of my pants.  The kids are running all over, I never know who will be here for dinner or lunch for that matter.  I could be cooking for two or twelve.  The pool is overflowing with teenagers and that's ok with me!

But about the first of August, I begin to yearn for normal.  I printed out four months of meal planner calendars yesterday and today, I'm filling August completely up using my stockpile in the freezer and pantry.  I've started penciling in kid cooking nights.  This year, each child will be cooking at least once a week, using pantry items.  This keeps them from coming up at the last minute with strange items that I have to buy last minute at full price.

My daughter cooked penne pasta with tomato sauce and fruit salad on Monday, my son will be making Hamburger Helper.  He is not happy about participating in this exercise.  I don't care, I want him to learn basic cooking....he says he already knows...we'll see! 

Gardens dead...so is everything else..

I am so very thankful that we will not have to rely on what I'm growing this year for our winter's bounty.  Claremore hit 115 yesterday and the last rain, even a few drops, came at least a month ago.  I have been carefully watering young trees, shrubs, perennials and my fruit plants.  Today, many communities have started water rationing and threatening rolling blackouts on electricity if we all don't cut back. I desperately don't want a ban on outside watering! 

We have an in-ground pool....it's over 90 degrees in the pool...so it's not really refreshing.  I've told my husband and kids if we go on water rationing, the pool will be drained to save the trees and plants.  It's really getting bad, as bad as I've ever seen it.  I keep praying and praying for rain and fall....and football season!

In Oklahoma, football season is an exciting time.  Mostly because it's the beginning of fall, and the end of hot, hot, dry, dry weather!  The entire state is waiting on football!  and a hurricane, which is what the weather people say is the only thing that will break our drought...so while those on the coast pray for no hurricanes, we, in Oklahoma know it's the only thing that will save crops and animals.


I guess what they say is true, one man's misfortune is another man's misfortune.......