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Thursday, June 26, 2014

Green Beans and Red House


I kept myself busy snapping beans yesterday as the painters opened can after can of Redwood stain and slathered it on the dry thirsty weathered cedar logs.



How did I sleep last night, you ask! Well, as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out like a light...mentally exhausted from the stress of the day. Worrying about the painters suffering a stroke in this 94 degree heat. Anxious about how the red color was looking but afraid to see.  Struggling all day with the dogs as Weetie has decided she just might bite strangers who come onto the property and Eli, on the other hand wanting to meet those strangers in the yard, see what was in those cans, and stand up on the ladders. So, back to how I slept...at 1:30 am I sat straight up in the bed as a loud voice in my head warned, "you have a red house, a red house! There is no turning back! This red house is yours! The neighbors are driving past, pointing and laughing, saying why would they pick that color?"  I tossed and turned and came up with all kinds of solutions as to how we could change the house color back to brown. How can everything seem so horrible in the middle of the night?

Okay, everything is not ruined, and that ugly splotchy pinkish-red first coat in the picture is gone. Folks, I was feeling sick. There will be pictures. The second coat of stain is going on right now.  I hate to show you the house just yet as I have noticed that as the stain dries it becomes darker. Whew! Here's just a peek. Still the first coat and excuse the mess..



With that said, I can get back to the green beans. After snapping and washing there were enough beans to process a canner full...seven quarts. Oh, and adding to the stress of yesterday was this pressure canner full of hot steam, rocking on the stove. I can picture that thing exploding one day. Things like that happen in my kitchen, you know.





And the beans turned out good. Every jar sealed...



Thank you, if you have managed to stay around this long.  :)  Hope to be back soon.

Love,
Henny



13 comments:

  1. And I didn't fall asleep last night till 1:00, dozed fitfully and woke up at 6:00!
    I agree - we need to learn to ignore those middle of the night thoughts when everything seems hopeless.
    My issue was finally hearing from an agent on my book - a dream come true - and then realizing I have massive re-writing to do and I don't know how. In fact I should be doing that RIGHT NOW. I feel a blog post coming on.
    And your house looks pretty darn good so far, by the way.

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    1. Oh I am so happy for you! Congratulations! I can imagine all that was on your mind. No wonder you couldn't sleep. I will be looking for that post.

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  2. I like the red, and more applications will darken the overall color.
    Yesterday, I cooked fresh green beans, new red potatoes, squash and meatloaf, those green beans were so tender. I'm not a good canner, you have to get someone to show the methods to get good outcomes, but I can freeze :)
    Your beans look scrumptious !
    ~Jo

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    1. Now that was a good old southern meal you cooked. One of my Mothers favorites. Jo, I am so worried about the red color. One minute I love it and I look again and I feel sick.

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  3. I'm the same when any painting has to be done. I'm so afraid of 'getting it wrong'...but quite frankly,who else would care about the colour of the paint on my walls!!
    Jane x

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    1. Hey Jane. This was a big decision. Hope we don't regret it!

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  4. Well I like the red. It looks really good so far! I don't like pressure cookers though- those things scare me!

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    1. Oh Terri, I hope we like the red. One minute I do and the next, I don't!

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  5. It is funny when it is somebody else. Glad I am not the only one out there who goes through these things! :) I drive myself crazy!

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  6. I haven't had canned beans since I left home in 1957. Mom canned many quarts of beans.

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  7. I bet you have missed having them. Green beans are my favorite vegetable to can.

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  8. I hear you Henny. And can sympathize. I struggle with paint colors too -and hate them one minute and love them the next. Change is very hard for me tho I want to do it! Personally, the red looks great. And think of your sweet little house saying "Ahhh-that feels great and I look great!!" But I know how you feel. I panick over paint too. Dont know why!

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  9. Nice mess of green beans. Nothing tastes as good as home grown.

    I do like your house's new color.

    Thanks for stopping by to visit.

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