Hopeful for the weekend

And I'm hopeful for it to go either way. This weekend (today and tomorrow) is Crawdad Days in Harrison again. Currently, we are scheduled to work Saturday, and while we'd love to go to Crawdad Days, the hours would be nice, too. So either way, we'll be happy about it. Quentin figured out that if we work the scheduled 5 hours Saturday, he'll have almost NINE hours overtime. With what we've worked over so far, plus Saturday, it would give me just short of a full 40 hours plus my holiday pay for Monday for my anniversary holiday. So our checks will be VERY nice next week. I am really enjoying the extra cash, because we're allowed now financially to do some things that we need to do, like pay off back bills and get things we need. Like the parts for the bailer bucket, and next, build the solar dehydrator ... I've got enough stuff to make do for now with garden beds without building them. I can work on that after the dehydrator's built. I'm gonna need it if I can get everything in.

That reminds me, after Quentin leaves and I get my lazy butt actually dressed and all, I need to get out and see what the last couple days chilly weather have done to my tomatoes and see if any of my seeds I planted last weekend came up. I'd really love to have me one of  those little $30 knock-together greenhouses with a few shelves in it to start seeds in, but I think this year, I need to concentrate on the bailer bucket first, and the solar dehydrator next for major projects. With not having a good way to pressure can, I don't want to do that if I can avoid it.

The hot plate is great for general cooking, heating water, etc., but I don't think it would be all that great for canning on, and we don't have the approximately $500 to spare right now for an apartment-sized propane stove and the tank and hose and getting the tank filled and all the other assorted whatnot that goes into that. And since the electric here isn't that terrific, I don't want to be running something like an Excalibur all night while we're at work, or all day while we're sleeping, and running the electric bill up. I'm a cheapskate. Sunlight is free. There's room to put a solar dehydrator (with the legs in old plastic coffee cans of water to keep the ants out) outside, adn even if it takes a few days to get things dried enough, dried stuff takes up less space. We also don't have the similar amount of money it would take to buy a small upright freezer ... even the smallest chest freezer is too deep for someone as short as I am, and once again, I worry about the electric pulling too much juice and tripping a breaker, as odd as the electric is here. So it's solar dehydrating or bust!

With any luck, if the seeds I planted last weekend are coming up, I may have photos in a few days. The wonky spring we've had has seriously delayed all my gardening, but I'm determined to do something this year. No matter what. But, hey, at least the rain has helped in that our area is getting up to near normal for needed rainfall (only 7 inches short as of a few days ago) and it has saved me having to water the maters! Not too many books today, but still a few goodies!

KINDLE FREEBIES OF INTEREST


Container Vegetable Gardening Made Easy: How To Grow Fresh, Healthy Vegetables At Home In Pots
Pest Control for Organic Gardening: Natural Methods for Pest and Disease Control for a Healthy Garden
Natural, Non-Toxic Cleaning Made Simple: A Collection of Easy, Inexpensive, All-Natural Recipes
Slouchy Hat Knitting Pattern
Permaculture: A Step by Step Guide For Home Permaculture: How to Become an Expert in Home Gardening Techniques
(2 Book Bundle) "The Beginners Guide to Knitting" & "How To Knit Fingerless Gloves And Mittens" (Learn How to Knit)
Organic Gardening The Beginner's Guide: How To Start Your Own Natural & Healthy Garden