The very first ripe tomato...

...it seems so late to be picking the very first ripe tomato of the year...I'll probably be covering these guys up to protect them from frost here pretty soon - or else lining every window in my house with tomatoes at varying stages of ripening - or making a huge batch of fried green tomatoes...

...although the tomatoes did quite well - no blossom end rot or other problems - they certainly did not do as well as they would have if they were planted in a proper garden...I'm thinking the soil here was just not very good...oh well - next year - right...

...this little one will make one perfect tomato sandwich - I guess the Man and I will have to fight over it...Scout probably will not be in that competition...

New Posts at The Vegan Version

I forgot to tell y'all - there are a couple of new posts at The Vegan Version - we've made 'liver'...

...A New Backyard...

...I guess the backyard is finally finished...

...again...the bulldozer just showed up out of the blue...and started pushing dirt around...

...they spent a long time this time...smoothing everything out...and getting the sloping and grade just right...

...now I'll have to make a new garden plot - but I'm so excited that next spring I'll be planting a garden again...

Apple Pickin' Time

...the apples are ready...

...and I'm ready for some apple butter and applesauce...

...enough to get us through the winter...

Earning Money...

Y'all know that Scout's an only child...and we're a family blessed with two good jobs...so it's all too easy to 'spoil' the child by giving him everything he wants...but we really do make an effort not to do this...and I'm afraid we say 'no' to his requests about as often as we say 'yes'...

...so...the other day he was reading one of his (many) fish books and got the idea that he needed a bullhead catfish...

...now for the non-fish-aware - that's a fish that can't live in any of the other THREE aquariums (aquaria) that he already has...so when he asked for it - I immediately said 'no'...

...but, after talking it over with his Papa - we decided that IF he can re-arrange his current aquaria to make room for the new one (without setting anything on the floor) and IF he earns the money himself - he can buy the new aquarium and fish...

...so he got to figuring (I love this little budget) - we don't give Scout an 'allowance' but we do pay him for mowing the lawn (about $10 per week - and we have a very short mowing season) - he apparently already had $37 dollars saved up - it's listed at the top as 'wallet money' - but after all his figuring - he determined that he needed $65.60 - and I LOVE it that he included a tithe in his budget...

...so Scout is on a quest to find moneymaking 'jobs' around the house...

..first up - I let him wash my car...he did an awesome job for his first time solo...

...he did an even better job vacuuming...my car is a LOT cleaner than it was...

...How do you instill the value of money?...

The Back to School Tradition

...we have always had the little family tradition of having a few little gifties for Scout when he gets home from his first day of school...

...nothing extravagant - this year just some clothes and a minnow net...

...and a book - it's the final book in the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins - not my kind of book at all - but Scout really liked the first two - it's young adult Sci-Fi and y'all know I'm not a big Sci-Fi fan...

...What's your 'Back to School' Tradition?...

First Day of Seventh Grade...

...we got everything ready the night before and set it by the door so that there would be no rushing around trying to find things in the morning...Scout wanted to use his Papa's old backpack that's been sitting in the closet for years - it's a sturdy one and still in good shape - and I'm all about using what you have...

...everything went smoothly in the morning - I made chocolate chip waffles (Scout's request) and Scout bounded out of bed - even though he was so keyed up that he had trouble sleeping the night before (we had been scaling back his bedtime for a week and he was in bed on time) - Jack was a little upset by the new routine - see how worried he looks that his boy is going to be leaving for the day - and with a bag - anytime you pack a bag - Jack gets worried...

...These photos were taken under protest...

...seventh grade is a milestone - being the beginning of the second half of the 12 year school career - and Scout is really excited about all of his 'electives' - Spanish - Band - Wild Science - Motion and Flight and Transitional Math (that's where they take 7th and 8th grade math the same year - and it will put him a year ahead when he gets to high school as he'll take 9th grade math next year)...

...going...

...going...

...gone...

...it really doesn't seem like a year since I posted this...

Scout's Last Day of Summer...

I told Scout that on his last day of summer he could do whatever he wanted...

...so we rode our bikes over to the park slough in order to get some weeds (Scout calls them plants) for a new natural display tank he's setting up for a bullhead catfish tank he's been dreaming about...more on that later...

...we had a fun ride on a very windy day...

...then for supper he wanted to go to the local Chinese Restaurant - I didn't get any pictures but I should do a post about it - the owners are friends of ours and it's just your typical Americanized version of a buffet style Chinese Restaurant - they treat us like old family friends and we love to go there...

...then we headed to the park - for the last installment of the 'Arts in the Park'...they serve free popcorn and koolaid and it's a really laid back affair...

...this one was a Bluegrass band called 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' (funny) - they were very good - Scout kept trying to figure out which one was which...

...and really à propos of nothing - this old truck was there and Scout wanted a picture of it...so there you have it...

...How are you spending your last days of summer?...

Baked Tofu Scramble (almost fat free)

...Y'all know I love me a good tofu scramble for breakfast...
...and today being Scout's last morning to sleep in and have a big leisurely breakfast before school starts - I decided to celebrate by making us one for brekkie...

...while Scout was still snoozing - I chopped up some peppers and onions...

...and mashed up a block of tofu with my potato masher on a piece of parchment paper - sprinkled it with salt, pepper and Mrs. Dash...I almost said it was fat free but tofu has some fat of its own - we just didn't add any...

...added the peppers and onions to the tofu...

...then stirred that every 15 minutes for about an hour - I was surprised at how long it took to achieve the texture I was going for - we like our scramble pretty well done with some chewy brown edges - if you like yours soft and moist it won't take as long...

...that looks just about right...now make some toast and vegan sausage...

...Ahhh! Perfection in a bowl...

Around the House - another small project

...since the mailman won't deliver mail when the snow piles up on the street and also becauce the mailbox was looking sort of rickety...

...we decided to move the mailbox into the driveway (the mailman has plenty of room to turn around there and we live on a dead end street)...

...there's a lot of red tape involved in moving a mailbox - we had to meet with the Postmaster and he had to come out to the house an inspect the site...

...once we got the OK - we got busy building a new mailbox stand (the Man did all that work and wouldn't allow any pictures)...then we dug the hole - we used a borrowed auger - it was different from the post hole diggers that I'm used to - as you turn it into the ground like a drill instead of pinching the dirt...it worked though...

...and here's the pretty new mailbox in all it's glory...we watched the mail delivery out the window to make sure it all went well...

...then Scout got to have the fun of destroying the old mailbox...

...we donated the mailboxes and stored the re-usable wood in the shed...

Fun Old Reads

...a couple of books that I chose based on their covers at the local library...Yes- I do that sometimes - I know you're not supposed to - but it usually works out well for me...

...The Virginia Housewife by Mary Randolph and it's a facsimile copy of the original - it was a lot of fun to read...

...and The Ladies' Indispensable Companion, which not only had recipes but also a bunch of home remedies...

I really enjoyed reading both of these...

Jack's New Blankie

...Scout and I went to the local Hospital Auxiliary's Annual Sale...

...one of the things that we got for a dollar was this sweet quilted blankie for Jack...

...he likes it a lot and lays right down on it when we bring it into the living room...

...I bet it was someone's crib quilt - which I think is so sweet...

...it has a sweet soft flannel backing too...

...and I almost forgot to post that there's a new post over at The Vegan Version...

Haying = the end of summer...

...Here's the cue that summer is almost over...

...Scout was outside playing and he came running and said...

...Oh No - Summer's Over!...

...well, almost...

Oatmeal Ice Cream

I was intrigued by this post at The Non-Dairy Queen
...hmmmnnn....I thought - Oatmeal Ice Cream...

...so I got busy right away cooking up some for our afternoon snack...

...this is what it looks like after cooking...

...I put mine into the blender because I wanted it really smooth...

...Scout and I found this adorable Donvier Penguin Chillfast Ice Cream Maker at the Hospital Auxiliary Sale (more on that later) and I found the manual online (I love the internet) here...

...the little sleeve had been in the freezer overnight and you just pour your ice cream mixture in...

... and start turning...

...turn the handle every few minutes...

...until it becomes really difficult to turn...then check your ice cream...ours was so frozen that most of it stuck to the beaters...

...then just scoop it up...

...it looked and felt just like 'ice cream'...

...add some chocolate syrup...and there you go...

...Scout said that it tasted like 'smores....I think next time I'll use flax seed goo made from whole flaxseeds as it's perfectly clear - then we won't have the little brown flecks...but the overall verdict was that this 'ice cream' is very good...