Pickles Ain't Easy

 Rattlesnake beans and a magnolia tree. Two of my favorite things. I took that picture when I was picking beans this morning. 
Okay, I lied. It was early afternoon. 
And yet, still cool. It got down to around 55 degrees last night (which is about 13 degrees C) and knowing this was going to happen I opened up the bedroom window before I went to sleep and when I got up it was so cool that I put on jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. When I was picking I did take off the long-sleeved shirt so I was down to the tank top underneath and was quite comfortable. I'm not sure what's going on but my beans aren't as prolific or large as they were a few weeks ago although I think that may be because I planted them too closely together and the vines are shading themselves out. I came up with this theory because the beans on the overhead trellis which get a lot more sun are still going strong and are as big as the first ones were. 
Still, I managed to pick a decent basketful and decided to break out the canning kettle to make dilly beans which are pickled green beans and a big favorite with the kiddos. 
The canning kettle and the pressure canner are two entirely different things and are used for two entirely different methods of canning food. The canning kettle is simple a large pot with a lid and a rack inside of it in which you can make pickles or canned tomatoes or anything vinegary or salty or acidy as those things are not prone to harbor the bad bacteria. This is called water bath canning and for many years, that's the only kind I did. Then I got a pressure canner in which I can process my green beans when I am not pickling them. 
I have learned via a FB canning group that people can EVERYTHING including fish and eggs. Some people look for sales on things like potatoes and buy bushels full and can those. 
I am not going to that effort, trust me. Now if potatoes weren't available year round and were more expensive, I might, but they are, and they're not. I mean, my time and effort is worth something. 
And it is a lot of time and effort to can things. Especially pickled green beans, in my experience. 
You have to grow them, pick them, trim them to a size which will fit into your choice of canning jars, make the pickling liquid, which is vinegar, water, salt, and sometimes sugar, pack the beans into the jars which can take forever if you're really attempting to do a good job and get as many beans in there as possible, then put your spices in the jars along with the beans and THEN, pour the boiling liquid over everything without overflowing it (hello, canning funnel!), seal the jars with the lids you've prepared by heating them in almost boiling water and finally, putting the jars in the kettle which already has very hot water in it, raising the temperature up to boiling, and process the beans for ten minutes, which means to leave them in that water as it bubbles. 
Phew! 
It took me at least two hours to do all that in order to produce six pints of dilly beans. 
They fucking better be good. 
When I got out my kettle today and opened it, I realized it has begun to rust. I used it for the dilly beans but I will be buying a new one. I'm not sure how much pickling I'm going to be doing this year but it's probably not a good idea to process food in a rusty kettle. Also, eventually those rust spots will turn into holes. 
And when that happens, I use the kettles to put weeds in when I'm working in the yard. When Hank was a baby, I used one to let him play in during a very long, hot, summer. 

Last night I did something that I'm not sure I've ever done which was to take apart a jigsaw puzzle before it was done and re-boxing it. I've been working on that stupid, vintage Florida puzzle for probably a year and I am completely over it. I have lost all interest and since the older I get, the more useless it seems to me to finish something just because I started it when it doesn't matter one damn bit if I do or I don't, I finally said, "Fuck this shit," and it's gone. 
I went online to try and find another eeboo puzzle, the brand of puzzles I truly love and enjoy putting together, and found one on e-bay. 

This one is a "vintage" puzzle, not being made anymore but I really like it and ended up paying as much for it as I would a brand new puzzle off the eeboo website. 
La-di-dah. Life is short. 
Etc.

I haven't been in my most contented and peaceful mental state the last few days. I've been getting headaches and I think they are either caused by my sinuses doing something they should not be (allergies?) or my neck and shoulder muscles pretending they are steel bands. 
Or a combination. I find myself rubbing the areas under my eyes and also trying to stretch out my neck muscles which make that weird crunchy sound when I turn my head too far. .
So that's annoying. I rarely get headaches so of course I think I have a brain tumor but I'm pretty sure I don't, not really. This just doesn't feel like a brain tumor, not that I'd really know. 
Thankfully. 
I guess if this keeps up I'll have to go to the doctor and I swear to you- I have only been to the doctor once in the many years I've been going to Zorn's office for anything other than a regularly scheduled appointment except for kidney stone pain. 
God, I'm lucky. 

Mr. Moon's on his way home. My kitchen smells like vinegar. 

I guess I'll go make some supper. Arugula and golden and also black cherry tomatoes will be involved. 

Here's a picture I found of the potato harvest in 2021.

That was a good year. Also, Levon was really cute. 
He still is. 

Here's a picture Jessie sent today after he got a haircut at a real barber shop. 

Oh yeah. 
And of course August got one too. 

I think that's called a Sunburst Fade. Or a Burst Fade for short. Kind of a combination mullet and mohawk. 
Look at those eyes. 

Love...Ms. Moon