Happy Mother's Day!!

I awoke at 6:30 AM on Sunday, Mother's Day. While I am thinking about it, Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers I know. I truly believe that you are the glue that holds the family together!

I reheated a cup of coffee and finished the rather lengthy Blog entry for Saturday. I was getting a second cup of coffee when I happened to glance out of the kitchen window. The bird feeder which I filled Friday night (six days after first filling it) was now empty! I know it was windy yesterday, but I think the squirrels have come up a new plan of attack. Bastards!

I gave Luanne a call, but only got her voice mail. So, I left my Mother's Day wishes for both her and Sadie.

Then I started on the rhubarb pie #2. I made the dough this time using the food processor (I figured out the problem, now that I am not rushed for time). The dough was resting in cling wrap in the fridge when Lu called me back.

Life down there is still all about the goats. In fact, yesterday, they set up two tents and a mini-petting zoo at the South Hill Spring Fest to sell their wares. So they (and their two volunteers) are dead beat today. They haven't figured out what their profits were yet, but they sold a bunch of stuff and bartered some for fresh asparagus.

After we hung up, I went back to making the pie (see Saturday's post for the recipe). This time, I just set the timer for 45 minutes, and then checked the crust. I covered it with tin foil and set the timer for another 20 minutes. Today, much like yesterday, the juices overflowed onto the half-sheet pan and burnt black. But, unlike yesterday, this time I had the time to take a picture for you (see Photo's).

Next, I started housecleaning. When I finished with that, it was 1:30 PM. Then I took apart my kitchen faucet. I have what I thought was a unique problem, in that the hot water in the kitchen sink barely comes out, but the bathroom sink and tub (further on down the hot water run) works fine. But when I mentioned this to my brother Carl, he said he had the same problem in his bathroom (sink barely flows, but the tub works fine). We both suspect some sort of calcium build up. So, I thought if I took apart the on-off knob, I might get it cleared out. I made quite the mess, but in the end, it had no effect.

Next, I hooked up the hose outside and stuck it in the tub, turned on low, to clean out the reflecting pool. Since I was out there anyway, I refilled the suet cage and the bird feeder (I want to see what the hell those tricky squirrels are doing). I also broke up a whole loaf of Pumpernickel bread that had started to mold (what a waste!)

I realize now I forgot to mention it, but on Wednesday when I went to Lowe's for the tractor air cleaner, I bought one of those poly tow-behind lawn rollers (that you fill with water to get it to weigh 280 pounds). It took forever (and the assistance of a helpful elderly gentleman) to get the damn box in the back seat, BTW.

Both my front lawn (where the old pine tree was cut down) and the back yard (where the last tenant had his pool) are very uneven. So, I'm gonna try to fix it. My brother Carl has one and he said it goes together quick. He also said now was the perfect time to use it.

So, assembly was next on the list. But first, I took out the last year's tomatoes that I added the hot Italian sausage I grilled last weekend and the basil to, put it in a saucepan and turned it on low. I covered the now cooled pie with cling wrap and put it in the fridge.

It did go together quick, BTW, but only when I stopped using the little wrenches they provided (nice touch, though) and got out my metric socket set and wrenches. But, I now have tools all over the garage again, dammit.

I rolled it around back, pumped up the one tractor tire and pulled that around back, too. I shut the garage door and went out through the back door (it's a favorite trick of thieves around here to loot your garage when you are in the back yard, so I don't play that). I took the hose out of the reflecting pool and started filling this bad boy up. It was about 3:00 PM, BTW.

When it was full, I hooked it up to the tractor. I know it was just a few days ago that I cut all the lawn, but it could really use it again. So, I figured since I was towing this bad-boy around anyway, I'd use the mower, too. Jake has me almost (almost) convinced that the reason I seem to need to cut the lawn twice a week is that I cut it too high. Well, maybe so, but I like the "thick carpet of grass" look. Besides, it's supposed to keep the weeds at bay.

Be that as it may, I changed the cut from "5" (the highest) to "4" and started out back. I was about half way done out back when tragedy struck. One of the branches the wind had knocked down popped up and knocked the belt off! So, I shut off the mower and went inside to find my owner's guide (I have no idea how the belt is supposed to go). I found it and then went back outside to try and get it right. It took a lot of finessing, but I got the damn belt back on.

I finished the back yard and headed out to the front. Now, I must tell you, it's never been that easy to cut the small front yard with the big tractor, much less towing a big-ass drum filled with water. But, I got 'er done! I unhooked the roller on Jake's patio, put the lawn mower away and closed everything up for the night.

I don't care what the ToDo list says... It's 5:30 PM and I am finished! I washed up, threw my clothes into the washer (with a ton of kitchen towels) and changed into my work-out shorts and tee shirt. I sat on the couch, eating a piece of pie. I'm not sure if it's because this pie was in the fridge and the first one never was, but this dough seems tougher or thicker or something. Filling's still good though.

I started to read my book. After a while, I put my legs up on the couch. Ah, that's better...

About 7:00 PM, I cooked up a box of Penne Rigate pasta. When it was done, I mixed in the sauce (I had to add a bit of the pasta water that I'd reserved as the half day simmer thickened the sauce too much) and let that get happy.

I got a plate of it, topped it with Parmigiano-Reggiano and went in to watch my Sunday night shows.