Thought I would try to get a few words in while waiting for the coffee water to heat, or the downpour to start, whichever comes first LOL. I might lose the internet momentarily if the downpour starts, but it's hasn't been much of a problem.
Wow. What a work week! We had our store wide inventory this week, and it has been stressful getting ready for it. But we had our best inventory ever!!!!! Lots of hard work by everyone in the store, and the results prove it. My manager is starting her vacation today, as I am.
Par for the course, it will be a working vacation, as I catch up on things that have been sadly neglected, and we get ready for our annual 4th of July family gathering. There are about a zillion green beans that need to be picked and canned. With the rain we are to have today the harvest may not happen. But it wouldn't be the first time I went and squished in the mud while barefoot LOL.
While my coffee is cooling a bit, I just have to let you in on the most wonderful coffee maker ever!!!! Gene had it sent to me for Mother's Day and I love it!!!!! I put my drip coffee maker under the counter. It's called a French Press, and some of you may know exactly what I am talking about. (Here comes the delicious rain!). It's a simple glass pot with a three part filter which screws on to the metal shaft, which in turn is connected to the lid. You place the coffee into the pot, heat your water, pour it in and press down the lid/shaft/filter. It completely removes all grounds from the water, as you press it down, trapping the grounds on the bottom. They recommend you use a coarse ground of coffee, but I use regular drip coffee and I have never had a problem with grounds in the coffee when poured. The taste is awesome!!!!! Much better than drip or percolated. It's very easy to use and makes coffee much faster. It really is an ingenious design, not expensive, and something everyone who likes coffee should try. It takes up very little counter space, and cleans easily. Here is a pic:

Starbucks sells them or you can get them online. They are wonderful! They come in different sizes and there is bound to be a perfect size for your family. Mine is an 8 cup maker, but I use large coffee cups and average 3-4 cups. For us it is just right. Gene did very well indeed and couldn't have sent me a nicer gift!
Speaking of Gene, he is in Iraq and has been for several weeks now. God has protected him, and heard my prayers. Most importantly, God has told me yes in keeping Gene safe. While he is across the globe, we manage to stay in touch to some degree. Gene does an admirable job in calling. Now if I could just always get to the phone when it rings. From now on I am taking the phone to my nightstand so I won't miss any calls. The time difference means he has to call really early or really late. And I have missed some calls this week GRRR!!!! My heart rejoices though, because I know he is okay.
My oldest son James, has been here for a visit and now that my vacation has started, maybe we can really visit now LOL. All too soon he will be going back home, and who knows when the next visit will happen? He and Sidney have really enjoyed having time to re-connect, and even Gene was able to spend time with them before leaving for Iraq. He treated them all to some fun time and took some photos. If all goes well, they will all get together again in a few months.
So far I have been able to harvest some Basil, and currently I am drying my recently harvested Lavender blooms. I never noticed before how much the bumblebees also love lavender LOL. No less than 6 were buzzing around the whole time. They went so fast, I had to be careful in reaching for a bloom to snip off, 'cause if I wasn't careful I would grab a bee instead. But they didn't mind me being there, and I left more than a few blooms for them. My newest lavender plant is doing well and it will be next year before I see any blooms from it. In time I hope to have reams of lavender!!!!!
My little raspberry plant actually bore a few little raspberries!!!! I didn't realize that it was a white variety LOL. But oh they are so good after you knock the ants off LOL. I see I will have a fight on my hands as it grows. I don't mind sharing, but they can't have it all. My little blueberry bush has a few that will ripen soon. I can hardly wait!!!!! Now I just need to find a yummy plum tree to plant this fall.
I will need to process all the summer squash that is coming in fast and heavy. I bet if I went out there I would find more ready to pick. This summer and spring has seen us with frequent rains. We are now well above our rainfall level and I hope it continues all summer. We have a few days of sunshine and a few days of rain. Perfect!!!!! Except for potted flowers, I don't have to water the garden. There's something about God's rain that makes them grow so much lusher than when you hand water. My Thyme plant is overflowing and desperately needs harvesting as does my massive Rosemary. I'll have to remember to harvest some fresh chives for our July 4th celebration. They would be yummy in a potato salad or on butter roasted potatoes. The corn will be just fine. While we lost a stalk or two in the storm a couple of weeks ago, and they were all laid down on the ground, they stood back up and now have tassels on some of them. They are over my head by several feet, and it will be so nice to get the corn! The bases of the stalks are still slightly curved, but that's okay too. Now to get up and get busy processing the squash. I usually slice and freeze it, as it can always be cooked fried or boiled later. I will need to go through the freezer and see what may have been overlooked from last year and get rid of it.
Maybe I will have time today to organize my files LOL. But I don't count on it. Veggies don't wait. Files do.
Be blessed!