Friday, October 11, 2019

Racing Time

Recently there are mornings (like this one) when I'm not sure how alive, alert and productive I am.  I know I'm not winning the race.

We've been going full bore every day to wrap up all the end-of-the-season tasks that must be done before the snow flies.  It's totally bamboozling how each year at this time something "new" has to be added to the tasks that must be done in preparation for winter.  So it goes.

Last night, after a couple of days of beautiful, dry weather, the rains started again giving us over 1-1/2" of moisture with more predicted for today and through the weekend.  Just to add a little excitement to the hurry-flurry of activities, we're being warned of possible snow during the overnight low temps.

Late last week I pulled the pepper plants that have been growing inside one of our cold frames all season. 


These were the peppers still on the plants.  I tried to show their size by propping a ruler by them (fail), so you'll have to believe me that the largest ones were 3-4" across.  We've been eating a pepper sliced up raw with each meal since then and they have the best flavor of any harvested earlier in the summer.  So good.


In my spare time (a few minutes before I pass out each night), I've been working on this pair of blue hued socks for Papa Pea.  Halfway through the second sock, it became (unfortunately) apparent I was going to run out of yearn.  This has happened once before when knitting socks for him-of-the-big-feet, so with these I finished off the whole toe with some navy blue yarn I had and it actually doesn't look odd at all.  Besides that, he rarely takes off his shoes when walking around in public.

As it's been getting darker instead of lighter all morning, we're expecting the rain to start falling again today so I'll be spending my day house cleaning and putting up our Halloween decorations.  Then at the end of the month, the ghosts and goblins go away and the decorations for Thanksgiving will be put out.  Then right after that holiday, the Christmas decorations make an appearance and . . . 

Time, would you please slow down?  I'm having trouble keeping up.

20 comments:

Michelle said...

Sigh. It goes faster every year, doesn't it?

Leigh said...

Oh my, that end of the year rush. I reckon I'll get to miss that this year, since most of my garden dried up from upper 90s and no decent rain since August. Our temps are nicer though; actually getting down to the upper 50s at night. I'm glad to see so much of your garden did really well. We just take what we can get, yes?

Mama Pea said...

Michelle - Yes. And it kinda scares me. :o(

Leigh - Oh, gosh, there's absolutely nothing you can do when you're subjected to those extremely high temperatures and no rain. Even with all the moisture we got, my raised beds (which drain so well) did wonderfully. This was the year we grew the green manure crop in the field garden so I don't know if it would have been a bust if I had planted it out as usual. The only thing we are really gonna miss that would usually have been grown there are Brussels sprouts which we'll do without and, of course, potatoes which we are going to have to buy.

Sam I Am...... said...

Look at your gorgeous, HUGE peppers! I know that aging is catching up with me...I get half as much done as I used to and time goes twice as fast but just go down my list and keep plodding away at the chores.
I understand about "big feet"..I wear a 9 1/2 to 10 and I am 5'2" or I used to be! LOL! If my feet weren't so big I am sure I would be taller! I was 34 here this morning! Love it!

Faith said...

Those are beautiful peppers. I imagine that they have flavor that you'll not find in a lifetime of searching at the grocery stores. Remember when you were a young one, everything had flavor. We picked some up at the farmers market, and I froze a good bit of them. Will enjoy their flavor when the colds winds blow.

Mama Pea said...

Sam I Am - I know what you mean about supposed to being taller! I'm the shortest one of all my aunts and mom, but my height is in my torso. If I had the correct length of legs, I'd be much more than 5'3". (I'd probably be a gorgeous model then, too. Yeah, right.) ;o)

Good to hear your temp was 34 this morning. That's 5 degrees colder than we were up here in Minnie-soda!

Faith - What's amazing about the peppers is the FLAVOR! Superb! And you're right, commercially raised food these days does NOT taste like it did when we were growing up! Sad. :o(

Cockeyed Jo said...

This year has sped by even faster than last year, if that's possible. Your not so great day rivals my best day.

Mama Pea said...

J.L. Murphey - Even though I'm tired just now, I so need to remember to stop and look around at how very fortunate I am and take the time to appreciate that fact. Also, t'would be easier on mind and body if I could learn to estimate more accurately how long a task actually takes. Either that or we all really do need to find a way of making the hours, days, months, years s-l-o-w d-o-w-n! (Any chance of that, ya think?) :o)

wisps of words said...

Of course, time seems to go faster, as we age. When we are young, life stretches on, "forever." So we have "time" for everything.

As we age, we become quite aware, that our life does _not_ stretch on, before us, "forever." Which puts pressure on us.

Either to choose, just what we _want_ to do.

Or to continue to _try_ to do, what we have always been doing, when younger.

And 'when younger,' becomes not just 5 years ago, by last week, and yesterday.

📕📚📕

Mama Pea said...

wisps of words - Truth to what you say, my friend. At the same time, I hope it's a long while yet before I decide to say, "At my age, I can't do that anymore." Yes, the body is not able to do what it used to do when we reach a certain age, but our muscles (both physical AND mental) start to atrophy when we stop using them!

wyomingheart said...

Why is it that the last of the garden seems to always taste the best? Those peppers are perfect! We picked the remainder of the Gerry tomatoes this afternoon and have started coating them and freezing for fried green tomatoes this winter. We are expecting a hard frost tonight, so time marches on... and so do my tired feet...lol!

Geraldine said...

The socks look great. 😊 What a beautiful colorway. Your hubby will love them.

veggiesyarnsandtails.wordpress.com

Lynne said...

I think I know how you feel. Seems like I'm always racing time as I get older. Don't really like it at all,but it's jut the way it is! UGH !! Do hope you get most everything done. xo

Sherry said...

Time flies by faster every year for sure. I'm not sure I'll have everything done, lol Have a Blessed Day.

Mama Pea said...

wyomingheart - I think that's so we want to plant a garden again next year! We had a slight frost last night, but all the greenery left in the garden didn't get zapped. Won't be long before it does now though! I'll keep plodding along right with you until we get all that needs to be done done! ;o)

Geraldine - Hi, and thanks for commenting. Yes, he doesn't have any socks that are close to all blue as these are. I like the color, too!

Lynne - There are times when I am SURE time is actually going faster! Or is it that I'm going slower? :o(

Sherry - We'll never have everything done! If we did, we wouldn't know what to do with ourselves!!! :o)

Cockeyed Jo said...

Nana,

At my age, I'm a few years older than you. I automatically double my time estimates. Then when I finish the task early, I feel good about it. I know it's just a mind game, but sometimes it's not. Cockeyed Jo

Susan said...

I'm not sure if time is moving faster or if I am slowing down (of course, I am sure, but in total denial). I was out working in the garden yesterday and was stressing out about how I was going to squeeze in planting garlic. I just decided not to plant it. It's frustrating, to say the least. Especially when the weather is not working with you. Those peppers are wonderful!

Kris said...

Don't know if your "run out of yearn" was just a Freudian slip (yearn vs yarn), but this time of year I really do run out of "yearn" for getting things done. My "yearn" lasted much longer when I was younger. LOVE the idea of solid toe color. Good job.

Mama Pea said...

Susan - You hit the nail on the head (of good decisions) when you said you decided not to plant garlic. I looked at the calendar just this morning to see when I planted mine last year --- the 19th. Am I ready to do that this weekend? Nope. Do I need to plant garlic this year? They have beautiful, large, organically grown bulbs at our co-op year 'round. How many bulbs do I use a year? Okay, now compare the cost of buying it with what my time is worth when I plant it, mulch it, water it, weed it, dig it, cure it, and store it. You know where I'm going with this, don't you. Sigh.

Kris - Wow, that was a true blue Freudian slip! And you're so right in that my "yearning" did run out on that job. For a fleeting moment, when I knew I was going to run out of YARN, I contemplated ripping out the toe of the first (finished) sock,re-knitting it with the plain navy blue yarn so it would match the second sock on which I had to use the navy blue yarn. As you say, my "yearn" used to last longer. Thankfully, I came to my senses and didn't do that!

Dianna said...

You've been busy! The peppers look delicious and the socks cozy. :) Hope you are having a lovely fall.