Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The Mundane

What do you say when you really have nothing to say?

That is where I find myself today.

I intended to post yesterday...but what could I tell you? I thought surely I would find something to talk about by today.

But, still nothing.

We had a pretty busy weekend:
  • A fantasy football draft party at our house Saturday afternoon.
  • A football fundraiser for WHS on Saturday night.
  • Church on Sunday morning.
  • Kelli and the grand babies came over yesterday to paint my spare/Brian's bedroom.

Maybe my writer's block is due to my physical state. I am just not feeling well. Not sick -- just not well, either. I have been battling a headache and blurry vision that comes and goes since Sunday. My only guess is that seasonal allergies have come early due to that beautiful weather we had last week.

I've finished reading one book and nearly completed another in the past week. But they are both still rattling around in my head...so nothing to report there either. (Though I do hope to watch a movie based on one of the books tonight before hitting the hay.)

I was expecting company this weekend, but travel plans have fallen through. The boys are heading north to work on the deer lease over the holiday weekend. Maybe I will join them...if I'm feeling better.

So, nothing real interesting to report today. But isn't that a part of life that is worth remembering too?

Friday, August 27, 2010

Thursday Night Lights Kickoff

Well, it is that time of year again. Football is in the air! It even seemed to be in the breeze that was blowing last night.

We have had cooler temperatures the last three days. Highs in the 90's instead of the 100's. The changes are most evident in the early mornings and late evenings.

Will is currently playing for the Bulldogs on the JV Maroon team. Way back when I was in high school, JV meant Junior High...not so in Texas football. The high schools have Freshmen teams, Sophomore teams, Junior Varsity and Varsity. Waller has opted out of a Sophomore team and instead have a JV Maroon and a JV White team. All WHS teams, except the Varsity team, play on Thursday nights.

(Junior High plays on Tuesday nights...so you could attend Bulldog games three nights a week if you were a die hard football fan. And then, of course, there is pee wee football, if you are a football fanatic!)

This year Will is wearing the number 54.

Isn't he handsome in his uniform?
Last night the Bulldogs met the El Campo Ricebirds on the field. (I am still not sure what a Ricebird is...their website shows a white eagle-looking bird in a red jersey.) Apparently, there used to be a lot of rice fields around El Campo, hence the mascot of a Ricebird.

Will is playing on the offensive line this year. So, I saw a lot of this...

and this...



and this, through my camera lens.



Followed by a lot of this...


and this...



and some of this...



and the chaos that this seems to be.



I like it better when Bri takes the pictures. Then I can concentrate on the game itself. I lose too much of the action when I am focusing through a long range camera lens.

To approach the subject delicately, I will leave you with a picture of the final score board.


Enough said.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

What's On My Nightstand - August


I missed the 5 Minutes for Books Nightstand carnival on Tuesday...and in July...and in June.

Oh, well, better late than never!

If you want to know everything I have read since May, you can click here to see my Reading List for 2010. (Items 18 through 31 were read this summer.)

In the past month I have posted my thoughts on the following books:

One For the Money; Two For the Dough; and Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich; Love And War: Finding the Marriage You've Dreamed Of by John and Stasi Eldredge; Jemima J: A Novel About Ugly Ducklings and Swans by Jane Green; and Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell; all mentioned here.

And Hotel On The Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford; mentioned here.

Currently Reading:
Becoming Jane Austen: The True Love Story That Inspired the Classic Novels by Jon Spence

I have so many books on my book stand that I have resorted to the draw system for reading them. Seriously! I have written down every title on a slip of paper and when I finish a book I draw another slip to decide what I am reading next. I am sure if something jumps out at me, I will rush it to the top of the list.

Without further ado, my 'To Be Read' list.

Still on the nightstand from April - The DaVinci Code; The Senator's Wife; and Snowflower and the Secret Fan

Left from May - The Happiness Project; Choosing Gratitude; The Postmistress; and Sullivan's Island.

New additions to my nightstand include:

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

The Familiar Stranger by Christina Berry

(all links for the 'To Be Read' list are for Amazon, just in case you would like more info on a particular book)

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Joy In The Garden

I grab my gloves and the little black basket with its pink embroidered "F" on the front. I slide my feet into my floral print Sloggers and open the back door. As I step out onto the deck, the thick Texas heat engulfs me. Yet the shadow of a smile begins to play at corners of my mouth.

I stroll across the driveway, the basket swinging from my right hand. I walk to the far side of the garden having decided to start at the opposite end today. Halfway down the first row, pink tomatoes peek out from behind lush green leaves. The smile tugs a little tighter on my lips.

As I walk up the next row, my eyes begin to scan the pea plants searching for the dark purple hue of the mature pods. In the distance I hear the low rumble of summer thunderheads. The smile on my face grows a quarter of an inch, at least.

I wander through the squash vines which look as if they are about ready to give up the ghost. I tug at any fruit that appears ripe enough for the kitchen. Tucked under a large squash leaf is a stray cucumber that has 'escaped' its place and managed to remain hidden until it rivals in girth and length anything that has grown this season. My smile grows; a little more visible to anyone who might be watching.

Though the sun is shining and the heat is pressing in, I begin to hear the light "spit, spit, spit" of raindrops on the elephant-like okra leaves behind me. The drops get larger as I valiantly search for the perfect sized cucumbers. I see the leaves begin to shake and I hear them rattle as the rain drips all around me. My smile grows wide.

With sweat on my brow and my basket filled with the fruit of our labors, I swing open the back door and allow the cool air from inside to wash over me. As I begin to prep the fresh squash for our dinner, I listen to the rain pouring onto the roof, and I notice the smile is still there.

"The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth."
by: Dorothy Frances Gurney
(This verse hung in my Grandma Fulton's kitchen for as long as I can remember. Since writing this post on Monday, I haven't been able get the quote out of my head.)

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

OMG!

I know I sound like a teenage girl, but...

Oh My Gosh!

Jamie Ford commented on my blog post from last Thursday!

Jamie Ford!

The author!

I am so surprised...and honored...by Mr. Ford's visit to InGoodeTime. But it really made me stop and think about the old adage, "If you have nothing good to say, say nothing at all!"

I certainly hope Mr. Gladwell doesn't stop by to see what I had to say about his book. (I am pretty sure I used the word 'boring'.) Ooops!

Monday, August 23, 2010

It's Back To School Time

Today is the first day of Will's sophomore year! Can you believe it? I certainly can't.

It seems like just yesterday that I was taking him to Kindergarten. My how times have changed!

And speaking of changes, why are boys so different from girls when it comes to 'back to school'?

I shared with y'all last week about his whirlwind shopping trip for back to school clothes. It would take days for the girls to finish their shopping. But, the differences go much deeper than just that.

Jim was even saying the other night how different the girls were. The night before their first day of school, they would try on every new outfit so that they could make the very best impression.

Will? Not so much. Even though he is wearing a new t-shirt and jeans...he has on the ugliest and oldest pair of shoes that he owns. And his brother owned them before him! What is the deal? We bought new shoes last week, for heaven's sake!

The girls always 'needed' new school supplies. Every.single.year.no.matter.what! Will has a stash that Kelli found in his closet that he has never used. By the looks of it, those school supplies have been accumulating since he was in Junior High!

And last, but certainly not least, when asked if they were ready to go back to school after a long summer vacation...the girls always responded with an enthusiastic "YES". Even the one who wasn't too thrilled with school. You know? My social butterfly? School meant seeing friends and catching up with each other, even if you didn't particularly enjoy studying. Will...not so much. (Of course, I suspect that he was looking forward to it more than he let on.)

If he is like his brother (and in many ways, he is) he will not tell me about school picture day or football picture day. He will not want to buy his yearbook or any 'spirit' t-shirts. If he goes to Homecoming, it will be a last minute decision with no time for preparation on my part. And he may or may not bring home a single book all year long. All so totally opposite of his sisters.

Well, ready or not...new shoes or not...school is in session. Let the chaos begin!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet


Sometimes you read a book that stirs you emotionally. And sometimes you read a book that makes you reconsider something that you have always accepted without questions. And other times you find a book that does both.

Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet: A Novel has been such a book for me. In the same way that Katherine Stockett's novel The Help made me reconsider the many sacrifices made by ordinary people for Civil Rights in America and Mary Ann Schaffer's The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society made me ponder what is was like for those countries that were occupied by the Germans during World World II...Jamie Ford's novel about Henry, a Chinese American boy and his Japanese American friend, Keiko, made me stop and contemplate for the first time what happened to the many families who were interred during that same World War right here in America.

I grew up in Arkansas and remember taking Mrs. Avery's Arkansas history class in the 5th grade. As we traveled through the 1940's in the pages of that sienna colored textbook, I vaguely remember the mention of the Japanese Internment Camps in Arkansas. As I looked it up online this evening, I was surprised to find that Arkansas actually had two camps...and they were both in counties that neighbored where I was born and raised.

But, back to the book:

The book is written in a split-narrative; it begins in 1986 with flashbacks to the 1940's (predominately 1942). The setting is Seattle's International District at the height of World War II. Twelve year old Henry is the only Asian student attending a white school on a scholarship. That is until the day that Keiko shows up. Henry is Chinese; Keiko is Japanese...and Henry's father has hated the Japanese since he was Henry's age and Japan invaded his homeland of China.

I felt for Henry as he faced the abuse of his classmates...some physical, but mostly name calling and being ostracized for his ethnicity. And then again, as he is forced to make a choice whether or not to treat Keiko the same way because of his own father's prejudices.

The last line on the back of the book jacket sums up the storyline nicely:
His search will take him on a journey to revisit the sacrifices he has made for family, for love, for country.

My favorite quote from the book?
He'd learned long ago: perfection isn't what families are all about.

To which I can only say, "Amen & Amen".

I highly recommend this book. I know that it seems like a sad story...and I did shed more than a few tears as I turned some of the last few pages. But as its name suggests, there was a sweetness mixed in with the bitter. In an interview with Mr. Ford that is recorded at the back of the book, he is asked why he wrote in both the past and the present. His answer: I wanted to give the book a more redemptive ending...in the 40's there really wasn't a way to give it an ending that felt satisfying...after the war was over, it didn't suddenly get better for Japanese American families. Their lives had been completely turned upside down.

Neither did he take a moral stand on whether or not the internment of the Japanese was right or wrong. He only presented the story...and left the reader to draw their own conclusions.

Again, I highly recommend this book. It is 5 star good!

I read this book on the recommendation of Lauren over at Baseballs & Bows...who read it on the recommendation of Carrie over at Reading To Know...who read it on the recommendation of Anna over at Diary of an Eccentric...I think you get the picture. Read it, because it is that GOOD.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Inspiration In The Kitchen

I'm just dropping in for a moment as I wait for my son to finish getting dressed so that we can hit the mall today for some back to school shopping. We are trying to beat the crowds who will be storming the stores during the upcoming weekend. Texas has a tax free shopping weekend each year before school starts. I would rather spend an extra $8.25 per $100 than to take on those crowds!

Anyway, I was dropping by to share a few recipes that have been a hit in our house the last few days. Each of these came from The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes From An Accidental Country Girl by Ree Drummond. If you have spent much time on any one's blog in the blog-o-sphere, you have probably ran across a reference to Ree...and it was most likely her cinnamon roll recipe, which I have yet to try.

Our family has come to adore her Spicy Shrimp which we first got a taste of at my SIL's house one Christmas. It is now a staple for our week on the water each summer. Everyone wants to be there for Spicy Shrimp Night!

I went searching for her cookbook at Barnes and Noble a few months back...but they were out of stock. (I know I could have ordered it...but I never know when I will have time to stop back in to pick it up!) Then three weeks ago, I was in Half Price Books thumbing through the popular releases section when I saw Ree's face smiling back at me. One copy...and it was mine, all mine! At half price! The good Lord was smiling down on me at that moment, I just knew it.

Since picking up the cookbook, her cornbread has become my husband's favorite. He thinks it is my recipe...and he thinks I am a genius in the kitchen when I make that cornbread.

Over the past few days I have made her Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever (and boy is it ever!) and last night we tried the Olive Cheese Bread along with 'Linguine for Brianne'. It was a HIT!

So, if you would like a little inspiration in the kitchen, drop by and visit The Pioneer Woman. I can honestly say that I have yet to try a recipe that my family did not rave over!

And I will try to remember to post my revision of 'Linguine A'la Anne' which we have dubbed 'Linguine for Brianne' because it has been her favorite dish since she was in elementary school.

Off to shop with a 15 year old boy for school clothes. This should be an adventure!

Edited update: All his shopping completed in 45 minutes. He walked out with exactly eighty-nine cents left of his budgeted back to school allowance. CRAZY!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Move In Day

Last Saturday was 'Move In' day at Blinn. Actually, they do not have dorms at the campus Brian will be attending this year...but he found an apartment complex right on the edge of the campus.
Brian, Will and Jim loaded up the truck...
...and the trailer with most of his furniture.
He was able to talk his little brother into helping with the move.

And of course, it is always nice to have Dad around to make the minor repairs when moving.

Look at how small that kitchen is! With four growing boys sharing this apartment, I sure hope they don't all get hungry at once!

Ever the mom, I insisted that he let me make his bed before I left. My real reason was that I wanted to be sure that his bed was made at least once in the nine months he will be living there!

Suite D...all moved in and ready for his freshman year at college!
I bet by today it doesn't look anywhere near this neat!
We are so proud of you Brian. Study hard. Work hard. Make the most of your Freshman Year. We love you! Mom & Dad

Friday, August 13, 2010

What I Read In July

A few thoughts about the books I read in July:

One For The Money, Two For The Dough and Three To Get Deadly (The first three books of the Stephanie Plum mystery series) by Janet Evanovich - I read all three of these while we were at the lake house. Nearly all of the books in this series have made it to the New York Times bestseller list. (It is now up to 16/plus a few side stories like Plum Spooky and Visions of Sugar Plums) Despite a great opening line in book one ("There are some men who enter a woman's life and screw it up forever."), I just don't get the appeal. I wish I had quit after the first one and read something that interested me more.


Love And War: Finding the Marriage You've Dreamed Of by John and Stasi Eldredge - I loved John's book Wild At Heart and their combined effort, Captivating. So, I was really looking forward to reading this book. With 29 years of 'marital bliss' under our belts, I have come to realize that marriages need tune-ups just as much as vehicles do. Maybe even more. This is just that kind of book. John and Stasi have just celebrated 25 years of marriage themselves, so even though this book would be great for newlyweds, it is written from the viewpoint of battle scarred veterans. (If you have been married longer than a month, I am pretty sure you have a few scars of your own.)

One of the things that has really stuck with me as I read this book is that I am not the only woman who feels like she is "a disappointment". Seriously. If Jim says, "I couldn't find any clean socks this morning." I hear, "You are such a bad wife that you can't even keep up with the laundry." If he says, "The kids didn't do their chores today." I hear, "Your children are going to be undisciplined slobs because you are such a bad mother." Don't judge me. I am just being honest with you. It is nice to hear from 'the experts' that this is all a result of being a woman living in a fallen world. (The man has his own 'demons' to deal with - that of feeling like he isn't 'man enough' to provide for and protect that which has been entrusted to him.)

The other thing that stuck with me was from Chapter 11, entitled "The Chapter On Sex". Boiled down to three lines, the Eldredges have this to say:
  • You need to do it. Often. In a way you both enjoy it. Immensely.
  • If this isn't the case, then you need to deal with why it isn't.
  • 'Cause you need to do it. Often. In a way you both enjoy it. Immensely.

Enough said.

Jemima J: A Novel About Ugly Ducklings And Swans by Jane Green - Last summer I read a recommendation for this book on another blog (I can't remember which one). I went in search of it, couldn't find it, bought a different book by this author and promptly forgot all about it. (Though I did enjoy reading the book I picked up in it's place, The Beach House) Fast forward to this summer where I stumbled across the book at Barnes and Noble during one of my afternoon jaunts through the store. I decided to see if it was worth all the fuss...and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. It is a little bit dated (written in 1999) and it was tough getting past the beginning of the 'online dating' storyline. After all, we now know that not everyone on the Internet is who they present themselves to be...whereas, the characters in the novel respond in a very naive fashion since the Internet and online dating are both a new phenomena. I enjoyed getting to know the main character, Jemima J, who is overlooked at work and in her personal life predominately because she is 100 pounds overweight. She longs for a better life and is constantly planning to begin that new diet...after this one cookie...oh, might as well eat the whole bag so that it is not a temptation tomorrow. Since I am currently battling my own lethargy towards weight loss these days, it was nice to have a heroine that I could relate to. The Ugly Duckling does become a Swan, but by the end of the book she also finds out that beauty is on the inside and that you are still who you were...even though you weigh 100 pounds less! I needed that reminder.


Blink: The Power Of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell - I picked up this book on a recommendation from Tim Challies over at 10MillionWords. He reviewed Gladwell's newest book, What the Dog Saw and commented that the earlier works were better...so I started with Blink. The premise of the book is that we all 'thin-slice'; make an opinion of someone or something using only a brief experience. Sometimes those judgments prove to be good, sometimes they prove to be bad, and oftentimes they prove to hold some prejudice. Gladwell challenges us to trust our first impressions unless we know that there is something in those impressions that have nothing to do with the person or idea in front of us. I understand where he is going with the idea, yet I found the book to be boring. There are some good illustrations but I find that they are built on questionable surveys or obscure studies. I have always heard that polls and statistics are just numbers and you can make them say whatever you want them to say. I agree.

If I were to rate the books I read in July, it would be:
The Stephanie Plum Mystery Novels - 2 stars (You can escape in them...they just weren't that interesting to me.)

Love and War - 5 stars (This one is a keeper, having earned it's spot in my personal library.)

Jemima J - 4 stars (Good, but I probably will not read it again.)

Blink - 1 star (Nothing highlighted, was barely able to finish it.)

Thursday, August 12, 2010

A Year In The Life Of Our Hero

We are celebrating a birthday today. Not a milestone birthday...but a birthday worth remembering.

In honor of the birthday boy, here are pictures from the past year in the life of Our Hero.
He is the love of my life. My high school sweetheart. The one with whom I have shared nearly two thirds of my days on this earth.
He is their 'Daddy'. The one who helped change diapers, who taught them to ride a bike and to drive a car.
These three call him "Pappaw".

They help bring out the kid in him.


They are the light of his life.

And they bring joy to his heart and smiles to his face.



He is son and brother.
In short, he is a 'family man'.Through and through.
He is also our provider.


Whether bringing home the meat to fry up in the pan.


Or spending hours on the telephone keeping his customers happy everyday. (even at birthday parties...and on vacations...and in the middle of the night when I am trying to sleep...oh, did I say that out loud?)
He is the face of our company. We just celebrated 10 years! (Congratulations, Sweetheart! That is a huge milestone.)


He makes an effort to pass on our family heritage to the next generation.


He is a generous soul who would give you the shirt off his back if he thought you wanted it...much more if he thought you needed it.

(Here he is playing Santa Claus at the Christmas party. His favorite time of the night...passing out Christmas bonuses. This year he had to wear his reading glasses! That's okay, it made the Santa role more authentic!)
He has a playful sense of humor that keeps us all from taking ourselves too seriously.




And he keeps me in check. (Did you notice his hand in the background, pulling my hair during our Christmas portrait? Yeah, he keeps my introverted, self-reflecting personality in balance that way.)


Happy Birthday to My Hero!
I love you very much and look forward to celebrating many, many more...milestones or not!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

My Husband, The Comedian

Jim has quite the sense of humor. He is easy with his smiles and quick to laugh.

This is a wonderful trait, most of the time.

The thing is, he gets the most amusement from scaring me. I have learned over the past 29 years to be very aware of my surroundings...especially while in the bathroom. For some reason that I do not fully understand, he loves to catch me unaware and bang on the door to the bathroom or the shower which makes me scream.

Well, last night he got me good...and he wasn't even in the same room! I walked out of the master bathroom and saw this out of the corner of my eye.

He wanted me to see how much starch the dry cleaners were putting in his jeans, so he left them right where he took them off.

I thought someone was sitting in my bedroom and I knew it wasn't him because I could see him in the living room!

After I let out a little yelp, I walked to his recliner and hit him over the head with my book!

Serves him right, don't ya think?

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

I'm Thinking...I'm Thinking...I'm TTHHIINNKKIINNGG

Do you remember the scene from Night At The Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian when Amelia Earhart asks The Thinker for the answer to a riddle? The Thinker replies, "I'm thinking." Then a little slower, "I'm thinking." And then very drawn out, "I'm thinkkkkiiiinnng..." where he then drifts off into his own little world.

Like the Thinker, I've been doing quite a bit of contemplating this summer. Contemplating many different things.

Things like how I communicate. Not only on this blog, but through Facebook, text messages, email and even old fashioned telephone calls.

Things like relationships. I know they are always changing because people are always changing, but it seems that several of mine are changing at once. That gets me to thinking.

Things like responsibilities and expectations. Mine? Yours? Ours? Theirs? Whose job is it anyway?

Things like simplifying our lives. Is it even possible in this day and age? Canning pickles or growing a garden may sound old fashioned and simple, but they just create their own stresses.

Things like community or the lack thereof. Will we ever find a church home? How do we meet people when we live in an acreage community where everyone commutes into Houston and just wants to come home and crash every day?

Things like purpose. What is mine at this season of life? How can I live the days I have been given to the fullest and yet, still meet those responsibilities and expectations that I mentioned a few paragraphs back?

Things like decorating. I want my home to be 'homier' and less cluttered...but that is going to take time that I can't seem to find right now.

Well, there you have it. The things that have been on my mind lately, even though I haven't taken the time to talk about them.

I still need to write my vacation post...three weeks late! I am having a hard time finding opportunities to log on and sit long enough to write. Between work, the garden, cooking and laundry...for the most part, I only have the late evenings to write. And, quite honestly, my husband can't stand to see me sitting in front of a computer screen during family time. Another thing to contemplate, I guess.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Garden Update #5

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?"

I don't know about Mary's garden...but ours is beginning to look a little ragged. The weeds are taking over and it is just too darn hot outside to do much about them.
The tomatoes are really filling out. We have only harvested about a half dozen so far this summer. But we are beginning to see loads of green ones. Hopefully they will all be nice and pink in the next week or so.

The peas have fed us two family size meals, a small meal and we have two quarts in the freezer. I don't think we will be getting many more. The plants are still healthy, but I think they are about finished making for this summer.

We are thinking about planting the dry peas that we have taken from the garden so that we can get one last crop before it gets cold. I think we can pull it off, but Jim is not so sure. What do y'all think? We don't usually get our first frost before late November...and it is usually December before the cold really arrives.


Our squash plants survived the squash vine borer! It is true...just put fresh dirt over them after removing the dreaded pests, and TA-DAH. Nearly all of the plants not only survived but are putting on new blooms. See what a pretty green color has returned to their leaves. We should get a few more meals out of these plants yet.


I picked our first four okra pods on Wednesday night. The plants are nearly as tall as I am. We are all looking forward to our first skillet of fried okra. But that first pot of boiled okra and new potatoes will be all mine...mostly because no one else will eat it!


The cucumbers are going crazy! How many cucumbers can a family eat? I think we will have more than enough for all three of our families plus some.


The cantaloupes are coming along nicely as well. They are not quite as full as the cucumbers, but they are catching up quickly.


I think this baby will be the first to be harvested. Not sure how much longer we have to wait...but we keep checking on it to make sure nothing attacks it.


This was the fruit from the crops that we collected on Monday night after returning from our weekend in San Antonio.


Jim and I enjoyed the squash and peas on Wednesday night alongside a fresh pork loin. He sliced the tomatoes for salad last night.

Last, but certainly not least, I wanted to share with you the hot dill pickles that I put up last Friday night. You will notice eleven jars on the counter. The twelfth jar is in the refrigerator. Can you believe that in my first attempt at canning pickles alone I had only one jar that did not seal? I can't. I was scared to death that I was going to have a whole refrigerator shelf full. We have to wait three more weeks from today to taste them. I hope they are good. At least I now know what size the cucumbers need to be in order to fit in the jar.

The girls are wanting some sweet pickles. I may attempt that this weekend, if I find the time.

Well, thanks for stopping by and checking on our garden. We'll see you next time!