There was nothing I would have liked more than to get started on that quilt yesterday. However, Mr. FixIt had an eye appointment and he needed to have that super duper extra strength eye dilation done. He asked if I’d drive him. Of course! How could I turn down this sweet man? I had a couple of errands to run in town anyway, so while he was in the doctor’s office, I took care of them.
When we finally got home, I mixed up a batch of cornbread and heated up the soup beans. Even though it was 95° yesterday, those beans tasted great! And speaking of beans, I recently watched a YouTube video about canning beans and decided those would be great to have on the shelf for quick meals in the winter. I bought an eight pound bag of pinto beans yesterday at Walmart. That should make about 12-14 quarts of beans canned in my pressure canner. All for under $6.00! Too often, I buy beans, forget to put them on to soak, then change my mind and make something else. Eventually, the beans get too old and hard and no matter what you do to them, they won’t soften up and cook right. This way I have them, I’ve canned them myself, and I know what’s in them.
In case you’re wondering, that is a generous squirt of spicy brown mustard on top of my beans. I grew up eating mustard on my beans…I have no idea why. I can’t imagine eating them without it. I added the chopped onions, but it turns out they weren’t Vidalia onions and they were WAY too strong for me. So, I fished them out once we sat down to eat.
We have seen multiple signals that the inflation is easing, but I still want to be prepared just in case we ever get into a food crisis like what happened during the pandemic and resultant supply chain issues. The more food we have put up in the cellar, the easier I will feel about the future. I have things set up here where I can do things like sewing for people if I needed to make extra money. I’m not saying that’s what’s going to happen. I’m just saying I’m a good Girl Scout and I believe in being prepared.
Mr. FixIt and I talked yesterday on our way back from town. I want to set up a sewing space where I can leave things out and not have to put everything away at night. We decided the game room downstairs would work great for now. There is a sliding glass door down there that lets in a lot of natural light. I can set up my tables there and I won’t disturb Mr. FixIt if he’s watching TV. And vice versa.
I picked up some sewing thread yesterday and got the buttons sewn on the sweater, so it’s officially finished! I’m very happy with it. I have the same yarn in a darker blue that will go really well with denim. I already have it in my knitting bag to start on the next one. One of our fellow readers commented yesterday how productive I am. I had to smile because I surely don’t feel very productive at times. I think of all the things I’d love to do, but all the other stuff gets in the way. Still, I am accomplishing more in my golden years than I did in the first half. I figure, as long as the people I love are happy, and I have something to show for my efforts, and I continue to find joy in that, I’m good!
Life is fleeting and it is what we make of it. This isn’t a dress rehearsal and all it take is to start pushing 70 to bring that into clear focus. My sweet mama just lived to be 78. We don’t know the number of days we’ll be given here, so we’d darned well better make good use of the ones we have, right? We can’t know what will happen in the future, but we can prepare ourselves as best we can and pray all good things will come to those we love.
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“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.””
James 4:6 ESV