Sunday's Story

Sunday, I woke up early again, but this time I managed to fall back asleep. I woke up for real just after 7:00 a.m. I filled in the Blog entry while sipping a cup of coffee.

Then I did the last load of weekend wash, ran the dishwasher and swept all the floors. I needed to get all the indoor stuff done this morning as this will be the last sunny day to work outside. It’s supposed to rain for the next five days!

So, I washed all the floors (backwards) and then went outside. It was windy and cool and I needed the jacket I had thrown on.

I slapped a fresh battery into the electric chainsaw and cut down the dead pine. It took a while, but it fell just like I wanted! Unfortunately, the branches held it up, but I’ll deal with that another time.

Dead Pine

Dead Pine Down (sorta)

I had to pull the riding mower out to get to things in the shed. I was gratified to find the battery was still charged and that the engine fired right up!

Next, I used the garden cart to haul all the patio furniture out of the shed. Once I had that in place, I took the hose box out of the shed (also using the garden wagon) and hooked it back up.

I also put up the window box under the kitchen window and put the porch rail planter in the garage. I need to buy some dirt for both.

I took off the reflecting pool cover, ran the hose to it and filled it up. I let the water run while I tried to net old leaves, dead worms, etc. Finally, I shut the water off and reeled the hose back in.

I noticed that the chives are just about tall enough for the first harvest. But, I still have half a baggie of last year’s crop in the freezer!

The front grass was growing tall in spots. Since it’s supposed to rain all this coming week, I thought I should cut it all level. Problem was, I didn’t have much gas in the can. But, there was just enough to do the front yard. The side law (being shaded) hasn’t grown enough yet to warrant cutting.

Before

After

It was about 3:30 p.m. and I realized I was starving! So, I lit a newspaper under the charcoal chimney after filling it with the last of my cowboy charcoal.

I put the sauerkraut in a pan on low to warm up.  Then I went out to the raised bed garden and planted two rows of peas. When the charcoal was ready, I dumped it in, set the grill grate to the right height, scrubbed it with a wire brush and then oiled it. I put the brats on and went inside to cut up the baguette.

I cut the baguette into brat-sized chunks and the sliced them almost through. I took two of them and dug out most of the bread.

Now, you know me and I would have roasted sweet corn as my side. And Westborn did have some Florida sweet corn in the husks. But, when I peeled a few of them, the kernels looked immature. So, I passed on them. Instead I steamed some frozen whole kernel corn.

When the brats were done, I brought them inside. I filled the baguette buns with sauerkraut, added a brat and topped it with good old yellow mustard. I put the sweet corn in a dish, topped it with butter and salt and then ate my Sunday supper.

It was excellent!

I rested a while on the bed (my back was starting to hurt) and then went out to put away the leftovers.

I cleaned up the minimal mess and then started making dessert: A Rhubarb Dump Cake. Note: I don’t “know’ this, but I suspect they are called dump cakes as you just dump stuff in and don’t mix anything.

So, I cut the rhubarb into 1/4-inch dice. That went into a 9x13 greased baking dish, spread evenly. I sprinkled on one cup of sugar, then one 3-ounce package of strawberry jello and finally a package of yellow cake mix (again, always trying to spread everything evenly.

I sprinkled in one cup of water and 1/4 cup of melted butter. I put the cake pan into a preheated 350 degree F. oven and set the timer for 45 minutes…

When the timer went off, I pulled it out and let it cool. Finally I cut a piece. 

It was very messy. It did have a good flavor, but was way too sweet for my taste.

I settled in for a Sunday night movie or something. But, I couldn’t find anything good on. So, I tried to catch up with my taped shows on the DVD-R. I finally gave up and went to bed after the 11:00 p.m. news.