Summertime

It's been a very hot summer, and I am starting to struggle with the 100 degree plus weather.  I don't mind it when it's in the 90's even, but when it starts getting around 95 or higher, most people that are familiar with Missouri know what that means!  HUMIDITY!!  The heat is one thing, but when you see 99% humidity almost daily on the weather station, it's overwhelming.  I have asthma, which means when the humidity is like this, it also means that I struggle with breathing.  I do not like my inhaler, for several reasons, but mostly because it makes me so jumpy.  I know this won't last forever, but I think we are going on just about a month of this, and I am ready for some weather changes!  I know we can't control the weather, but I just thought I would vent on it for a minute anyway. 

We have had lots of goodies from the garden.  I have not canned anything yet this summer though.  We have picked several batches of green beans, lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, garlic,  cabbage, onions, potatoes, peppers (all kinds), and brussel sprouts.  I think that is all, but I'm not sure.  There are some eggplant almost ready, and the tomatoes are becoming more dependable, so I should be able to can them soon.  I think a batch of salsa is in the future.  We also bought some peaches so I have been making things with them.  So far, there have been several batches of peach cobbler.  I sent two pans to work with Jeff for his buddies to share, we sent some to a friend, and of course, we had some too.  I also made my sister's recipe for grilled and brandied peach butter.  It sounded pretty interesting, so I gave it a shot.  I don't know this for sure, but I am guessing that her version was much better than mine.  You start out grilling the peaches on the bbq grill.  I forgot to brush them w/butter, so they stuck all over the grill.  I think that is what the brushing butter was for...anyway, I managed to save them from the grill, and followed the rest of the instructions more carefully.  The end result was very good.  It is very similar to apple butter, but obviously different too.  I am glad I tried it.  My sister is a chef, but I definitely am not.  I just like to cook, and try new things.  I also processed and froze 60 quarts of corn.  I took everything to the bed and breakfast to accomplish this, because my kitchen is not air conditioned, and the idea of having a large boiling pot of water on the stove for several hours was not very appealing to me.  I am glad I am done w/that!

We had some excitement here the other day with an animal that has not yet been identified.  I have seen this animal before, out in front by our windmill, about 2 weeks ago.  Jeff is pretty good at telling me I haven't seen things that I am positive that I did, so I was on a mission to find proof.  I was putting freshly dried sheets on our bed, and happened to look out the window to see this critter.  I ran to get the camera, at last being able to prove it to him.  After putting the picture on the computer and then printing it, I am not sure, but I think it could be a mountain lion.  I sent the picture to a friend with connections to the conservation department, and they sent it to a biologist.  We will see.  Jeff's reaction was not what I expected, but I'm not totally surprised by it either.  He asked me why I didn't get closer so I could get a better picture.  I said "you do realize this could be a mountain lion, right?"  he said I'm pretty sure it is, but you should have gotten closer.  The lesson learned is that I cannot prove anything to him, so I should stop trying.  Either that, or find a way to be braver, and perhaps try to pet the kitty next time?!

Last night was another first for me.  We went to see a live concert.  I know I am pretty old for never going, but it's true.  Jeff had the idea last winter, when he heard a radio commercial.  He suggested we invite our friends that we don't get to see very often.  It was an awesome night.  We started out by meeting Mike at a friend's house in Wright City, then we went on to Wentzville to a restaurant called Stephanina's.  It is a very good restaurant, and we HIGHLY recommend it.  Several years ago, Jeff and I ate at the one in Troy.  We had a really good house salad, cheesy breadsticks, and a large pizza.  Everything was so good, and it was really nice to be able to catch up with our friends.  From there we went to the concert.  We aren't sure if it started early, or if the first act was just short, but we only got to hear about 4 songs from Night Ranger.  Next was Foreigner.  I wasn't too excited about them, although I know all of their songs.  It's not that I don't like them, it's that they aren't a band I can say that I am just crazy about.  I was pleasantly surprised!!  They put on a really good show.  Next was Journey.  I wasn't sure how they would be either without Steve Perry, but I LOVE Journey, so I was excited.  They did really good.  I LOVED it.  The lead singer is definitely not Steve Perry, but he did an awesome job.  He ran all around the stage, jumped, got the crowd excited, and sang really well.  I am so happy that we went.  I love that Jeff is trying to step out of his zone and that he thinks of these things.  It is not something that I thought he would do, but I am so glad that he did.  Most people that know him, know that he has a difficult time having fun.  He is the sweetest guy I know, but he forgets that we need to spend time together, and he forgets that life is not all about work.  It is one of the things that we disagree on the most, and I am so happy that he is trying.  He deserves to take a break and let loose sometimes too.

2nd Trip this summer...

Bee and I just returned from our last adventure.  We went to Anheuser-Busch's Clydesdale farm, called Warm Springs Ranch near Booneville.  Bee has always had a huge interest in these horses, and I also like them.  We learned a lot.  The tour lasts about 1 1/2 hours.  They give you more information than you could imagine throughout the tour, but you also are allowed to get fairly close at times to these beautiful animals.  It was very interesting, and I would highly recommend it to anyone that is interested.  The cost is very reasonable too-only $10/person.  From there, we went to explore and find our bed and breakfast that we were going to stay at.  After getting lost a few times and wandering around, we found it!  I had stayed there several years ago w/Jeff, but he was driving and it was dark, so I didn't remember the details.  At this point, we went back and enjoyed a lunch at Olive Garden, did some shopping, and headed back to the bed and breakfast.  Along the way we found another wonderful day lily farm.  This one was much cheaper, and they had Stargazer lilies, which is something we both have been watching for.  They had bulbs of day lilies on sale for 1/2 price!!  We arrived at Rivercene (yes, that's how they spell it), and the innkeepers let us check in a little early.  We were greeted by two very nervous innkeepers, who had just bought the place.  To say they are overwhelmed is probably a big understatement.  They have a lot of big ideas and plans to put 1 million dollars into the place.  We will watch and see if they actually follow through with it.  This was Bee's first time staying in a bed and breakfast, and I just knew she would love the history.  The home was built by a river boat tycoon in the 1800's.  There is so much history there, I couldn't even begin to cover it here.  One of the innkeepers reminded me so much of Martin Short that I had a hard time taking him seriously.  I wish these two the best of luck in this huge venture, and learning the ins and outs of inn keeping.  I think they are finding out that it is not quite as easy as they thought it would be.  They have a lot to learn about housekeeping, but even having said that, I am glad we stayed there.  Breakfast was very good, and it is actually the first time that I have stayed at a bed and breakfast that served a breakfast close to my standard, so that by itself was a treat for me!  They brought us each a nice cup of hot chocolate while we visited, then showed us to the dining room to be seated for breakfast.  It consisted of fruit (strawberries, grapes, and blueberries w/a little powdered sugar dusted on all) and juice first, as well as a freshly baked home made cinnamon roll.  Next the main entree was brought in, which was an egg dish similar to one I make at my bed and breakfast.  The main difference was that he sauteed red potatoes with the peppers and onions, and he served it from individual souffle dishes.  There was a lot of food there, but everything was very nice.  I have been frustrated when Jeff and I stay at b and b's, including the time we stayed at this one w/the previous owners, because breakfast has not been what I think it should be, so this impressed me very much.  With me doing this for a living, I probably noticed things that I wouldn't otherwise notice, and raised an eyebrow more than once.  It's ok though because they are learning.  I wouldn't hold it against them at this point, however, if I return a year from now and see some of the things that disturbed me, I would have a different opinion.  The trip was finished off at a local peach tree farm, and buying some fresh peaches.  I will be making Jeff a fresh peach cobbler this evening for putting up with me.

It's Summertime!

It's been a bit since I have blogged-so I will try to catch up!  I had been so super busy at the bed and breakfast, that I was dreaming of a little get away.  Finally, after 2 months straight of multiple room customers, I got the chance!  I am not complaining of being too busy at the b and b, just saying that I was super swamped and couldn't get away.  Being busy for that long is definitely a good thing!  The July heat and the flooding issues have really deterred customers from following through on their bookings, so that gave me the little break I needed to get away (actually, a couple of times).  The first trip was a floating and camping trip with my friend Bee.  We have done this I think a total of 4 times in the last two years.  We have gone to Steeleville and floated on the Meramac, to Bennett Springs and floated on the Niangua, and one camping trip to the Lake of the Ozarks.  No floating on that trip, but camping anyway!  This time we chose Steeleville again, but at a different campground, and on a different river.  We stayed and Huzzah Valley Campground, and did a 6 mile float on the Huzzah River.  We weren't too sure about this trip, because our other one to Steeleville wasn't super impressive.  We did not like the Meramac River, because it was very muddy, we saw several snakes, and she is nervous about reports of drownings, etc.  I realize the other rivers have snakes too, but in my opinion, if you don't see them, then they aren't there!  Usually this trick works to calm my mind on the subject.  Anyway, we found the campground, and we were pleasantly surprised.  It was very well kept, and our campsite was directly along the river.  It was very pretty.  We set up our campsite, and then of course had to go get the last of our supplies, esp. wine coolers.  We had so much fun walking in the river, rock hunting, we played several games of ladder golf, read some magazines, enjoyed our hot dog roast and drinkies, and relaxed around the campfire...UNTIL it got dark, and then the critters come out.  We had an unfortunate incident with a killer racoon on one of our previous trips, so we get a little jumpy after dark.  Everything was fine until we heard a couple of very big splashes in the river.  We weren't messing around with that, so after shining our flashlights for a while, and seeing 2 sets of eyes, we freaked out and went to our tents.  In our haste, I forgot to put away the box of tabasco flavored Cheez Its.  We use these with cream cheese and pepper jelly.  You laugh, but it is actually very good-you should try it.  I realized this about 3:30 am when I finally talked myself into braving getting out of my tent and sneaking away to the bathroom.  Then I hurried back to the tent and couldn't sleep because of God knows what is out there!  In the morning, I went right away to put the crackers away, but they were gone-the whole box and all!  I guess whichever critter ran off with them got a surprise when they tore into them!  I would have liked to have seen that!!!  We gathered ourselves, and after a wonderful breakfast of fruit and doughnuts, we were off for our rafting adventure.  The water was very clear and everything was so pretty.  We started out in the water by getting rammed into by two other rafts in which the operators didn't know how to control them yet, almost getting smacked in the head by an oar, etc.  We got away from them and spent most of the day in our own little world. We would row for a while, talk, giggle, etc.  Then we would go to the closest beach and swim a bit, have a snack, then row some more.  We found this section that wasn't too deep, but had a pretty good current going, so we floated on our backs to the end of the beach, got out and did it all over again.  We did this for at least an hour, and felt like we had our own 6 Flags type of ride!  All was good for the rest of the float until we got to the end.  We managed to get ourselves into a pretty strong current, and Bee lost her shoe.  I started to go after it for her, but not being able to see around the corner, and the thought of missing our ride deterred me.  She just had to deal with being the one shoe wonder for the rest of the afternoon!  We are going back soon, but the next time we will be there for 2 nights!  Maybe we should bring an animal trap with us?