Still Harvesting

cucumbers, beans, tomatoes

 I discovered a pile of harvest photos that I haven't yet shown off this morning.  Most of the tomatoes are nearly green in the pics because I have been picking them at first blush.  Now that it's mid-September I've actually managed to harvest quite a few of them, and even my first couple of Fairy Tale eggplants, which are small but still tasty.

cucumbers, tomatoes, jalapenos.

After mowing the lawn a few days ago i discovered the blackberry vines growing over the fence from the neighbor's yard had a conciliatory harvest for me... probably in hopes that the bribe would keep me from cutting them.  It wasn't much of a harvest but I also didn't put much effort into clinbing around in the busshes looking for more.  Mina had them on her ice cream and said they were delicious.

Blackberries!

 Not sure if I already mentioned the results of my potato growing or not.  The 3 potatoes I planted never bloomed, but I was sick of waiting on them so I turned over the 3 gal. pots they were in and low and behold I had potatoes!  There was a total of about a dozen baby potatoes, and some tiny ones that were just developing.  I ate them!  The tiny ones are being saved for spring planting though, maybe I won't have to purchase seed potatoes again.

Beans, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers.

 Eventually all those blushing tomatoes end up looking like the ones below and I use them fresh or cook them up for salsa or spaghetti sauce.

Tomatoes, green peppers, jalapeno, onions, garlic, and lime.  Ready for salsa!

Cooking the salsa.

Cherry tomato bowl.  Plus a couple eggplants.

 So despite the slow end of August and beginning of September harvests, things have kind of picked up as the days are growing shorter and the garden is getting more shade.  We've been seeing temperatures in the upper 80s and occasional 90s the past couple weeks, but that ends this week and temps will continue to get cooler.  So far the tomatoes have managed to prove their worth, even though I haven't yet seen enough at any time to preserve.  The huge fat San Marzanos are driving me crazy though, they are so thick with tomatoes the branches are breaking through the string holding them to their stakes, but not a single one has ripened yet.  Maybe the change in weather will give them a nudge to finish up before they die?

Custom cabinetry.

 The last item to share is that we finished up the final touch on the kitchen before we put in the new floors... the custom cookbook shelf on the end of the island.  I need to pick up a few more little shelf brackets for the tiny shelves, but otherwise it is done.  I think it looks great!  And it's much handier than digging around in the dining room cabinets to find a recipe.  Also, the shelves are designed to contain and hide the electrical outlets for the island, which aren't visible in this picture because they face in toward the oven. 

I have been house hunting this week and found a great place with a lot of potential, including garden potential, just waiting on a response from the bank and needing to finish up the work at this house and we'll be ready to dive into buying a house!

Kitchen Is Finished!

Wow, kitchen remodeling made for a crazy week.  It's all done now, except for a few final touches, and I'm very happy with the result.  I pinched a nerve in my arm during the week though and it has been almost completely out of commission. 

Even the garden was kind enough to give me a few harvests while I was elbow deep in sanding dust, so I'd say the week was a win in every way.

The kitchen in its original form

My brother tearing out the coat closet

After removing the cabinet doors

Jenn working on refinishing the buffet in the dining room

Lower cabinets are gone!

New countertops getting put in place

Sink almost in.

Alex, being helpful.

Wow, what a mess!

Buffet all finished, still need to paint the wall behind it.

After removing the old island

All finished! Is it obvious what the next big job will be?

I am loving the new kitchen.  It's much more functional, even though it's laid out nearly the same as before.  There are a lot more drawers and better cabinet space to store everything.  A few little things still need to be finished, like touch up staining, painting the buffet wall, hanging the curtains, and building the bookshelf that will fit under the end of the island to hold cookbooks, but the biggest jobs are complete and the kitchen is usable again.  Eventually we will get to the next big project, installing new floors throughout the kitchen and dining room.

zucchini, cucumber, and peas

Potatoes (don't let the picture fool you, they are tiny)

Cucumbers, beans, and tomatoes

While I was busy with the kitchen, the garden still managed to give me a few pounds of veggies.  Nothing spectacular... but that seems to be how things are going this year.