So much gardening!

 And cooking! And a day like that deserves a nap. Or binge watching another few episodes of Downton Abbey. I never did watch it when it was popular and new, so I've been watching it now, ten years later. I'm up through halfway through season 2. And I only started a few days ago.

This morning I started in the garden around 7:00 a.m. I was not paying attention to the time and forgot all about Mom's 10:00 a.m. doctor appointment! It was a good thing she called me. I went and picked her up, in my raspberry picking clothes! No makeup. I was a sight. But we made it! Not a second to spare.

I picked three tall yogurt containers of raspberries, a bucket of carrots, a bucket and a half of green beans, and a big bucket of tomatoes. The buckets are all varying sizes. A beach pail, a big beach pail, number 10 size can. But it was a lot of stuff spread all over my countertop. A LOT of things to wash, scrub and sort. I also picked a bowl of plums. I froze the berries.. Mom snapped about half the green beans for me. 

I made some roasted carrot and tomato soup. I didn't really have all of the ingredients for it, so it probably doesn't taste exactly like it should. I had no red bell pepper. But I made it anyway. Nor did I have vegetable broth, so I just use chicken broth. The roasted vegetables smelled really good while they were baking. I also bottled six pints of carrots, whole. I've never done that before. I baked a carrot cake. I roasted some sliced zucchini with olive oil and parmesan cheese. I cooked two different batches of green beans and had Mike deliver them to Connie Long up the street.

I harvested lettuce seeds. I watered the green beans, onions and raspberries with the hose, and hand-watered with buckets from the hose the cucumbers and peppers.

I remember years past in my backyard how I'd haul 5 gallon buckets FULL of weeds out of my garden. Sure am glad the weeds are at bay for a bit. That was HARD. I don't know why it's different, but I'll take it. More targeted watering? Free use of Roundup on baby weeds? Being out there every other day? More grasshoppers to eat the weeds?

I'm tired. We also had Mom over for lunch after her Dr. Appointment and blood draw at the imaging center. And the Dr never called me back with results. And tonight Mike and I  go pick up Gayela at the St. George Airport. She's going to stay with us for a few weeks I think.

And the aftermath-- Aaaaugh!!