Medo - yeah, this is a pretty fancy stove for a country boy such as myself. My wife bought it, when we built the house a year ago. I told her "just don't tell me how much it cost". And this is what I ended up with. Oh well, at least the pots and pans aren't leaning to one side now, when you try to cook something.LOL The first time I tried to operate it, I thought I was gonna have to have a psychological evaluation performed afterwards. It's very complicated.lol

EG

OMG YUM!!!!!! I'm not a huge jelly eater but the pickles!!!!!!!!! I can not wait!!!

So a dumb question, when making that much, over how many days and how far in advance did you pick all of those cucumbers??

For some reason I'm seeing myself picking a handful of cucs and then having to can them. And then doing it all over 2 days later. LOL. How many plants are you working off of as well?

Jeni, i've got 10 plants that run on a 6 foot tall trellis. You basically have to pick for the entire week, and keep them in the crisper drawers of your fridge until the weekend. Anything over 7 days, and they start getting rubbery. Then - get down with your bad self. You also have to make enough at one time to fit the recipe that you are using. That's the tricky part for me.....wondering if I have enough.

EG

LOL your wife must be very happy to have a hubs who does canning!! i had to learn a little from my mil, this time around i had to opt out cuz i had alot of things to do in town, but you better bet next time, i won't!! LOL my hubs!! not a chance!! LOL
my mom has a stove like that, WOA BABY!! i know the leaning thing, i use it til it can't be used no more!! and today i was estatic! i went to my kinda neighbor, and he filled my truck full of as he say's dukey!! LOL his grandson says to me ya know, your truck is full of sh**!! i just laughed!!
i was so happy!! now i let it rest for a while after tabor unloads it.
~Medo

Medo, Yeah - the only thing my wife said was "you better not mess up my kitchen". I ruined one of her good towels sunday with the pickling mix. Shhhh.....don't tell anybody! One time we were in Oklahoma, just riding down an old country road near Altus - (she was driving). Of course I was looking at the roadside scenery, and I spotted something! I told her to STOP THE CAR! Now back up...ok stop- that's good! I then barreled out of the passenger side and dove into the foliage on the side of the road, and started eating these red things! She said " what the h*** are you doing? are you crazy? Do you know what you're eating? How do you know it's safe to eat?" I told her " I may be from Alabama, but I know a wild plum when I see one!" I picked 2 gallons that day, and of course.....made plum jelly!

EG - looks real good - I love blackberry jam, my grandma's was the best! But tell me, didn't you go half crazy trying to squash those pickles into those jars?! I started out trying that kind last year, and very quickly switched to the 'wide mouth' style, MUCH easier to get the whole cukes into those.
jeni - as soon as you pick a few cukes, bring them inside and dunk 'em in a nice icewater bath for 5 - 10 minutes before storing in the fridge to wait for enough cukes to join in the pickle thing, keeps them crispy.

Dirt- yeah, I agree the wide mouth jars would have been much easier! But, i've also been a maintenance person my whole life, and if something don't fit right- we usually just go get a bigger hammer! Anyway, it was ALOT of work for one person, and I fully exhausted the entire english language of expletives! Good tip on keeping the cukes crisp in the fridge...Thanks!

EG

Thanks guys for the tips! I can NOT wait to make some pickles. But I hadn't looked into all the details. I have great gramma's recipe and all the ingredients minus the cucs (been freezing my fresh dill for a few weeks now :) ) and gramma just gave me the pot to boil them in. She has a pressure cooker she's gonna let me use once she does her peaches LOL.

And the crisper drawer and ice bath were EXACTLY the last details I needed.

Now bring on the cucs!!!

Nice EG!

Years ago, I worked with an Italian girl whose mother made pickled green tomatoes to die for. My daughters were little at the time and they still talk about them. I wish I knew the secret.

Maureen

P.S. I have the same stove and I love it! Wanna know how much it cost? Not telling - lol!

it costs more than my fridge we just bought and its 2 sided!! LOL with the ice maker and the water spout in the front and has the filter that tells ya when you need a new one!! LOL i KNOW that much!! LOL HE HE HE
ya i do know about if the smaller hammer don't work go and ask the neighbor across the street for his sledge!! LOL i was using my small regular hammer to put in poles and he brought over his small sledge!! what an aweseome kinda elderly neighbor he is!! made my job much easier!! LOL i'm about to do that again for my maters!! and use your guys thing for them, with the fencin. LOL ~Medo

Crap.....I can't stop thinking about the price of the stove. LOL .I'm asking her tonight! Maureen, medo - the suspense is killing me! That's funny... I'm sure glad there's FINALLY some humor in this forum. Maureen, I bet those pickled green tomatoes are yummy! Why don't you give us the recipe? Oh yeah- you don't have it! Lol NOW TELL ME THE PRICE OF THE STOVE!LOL just kidding.

EG

isn't the suspense totally killing ya!! LOL and if we did tell ya man, it wouldn't be fair, see the thing is, wemon stick together, so, cant. LOL ohhhh i agree!! you should tell us!! that sounds yummy!!
i'm reading this as hubs is reading his "america's first freedom" from nra, and its talking about some guy getting rid of our gun rights, by getting rid of all the guns and shops and all so we can't hunt. and such. dang!!!
i gotta can me some stuff! LOL hmmm.... i gotta learn it first though!! well i did do pickled beets last year, man it was just awesome!! :') ~Medo

Pickled beets are excellent! Ok......all jokes aside, I gotta find out the PRICE OF THE STOVE!!!!!! I think she bought it at Sears, it's a kenmore, has the warmer drawer in the bottom (I thought it was for pans and stuff)has 4 places to cook on top of the stove with a warmer "element" in the middle on top, as well. The front left "element" is a "power element" with simmer select. The front right has dual elements. God....I can't take it anymore, i'm going to ask her right now.
Crap!!!!! she said she can't remember! LOL Ok, i'm going to the Sears website.
OMG! I found it! The list price is $899.99 OMG! I think i'll grab my flashlight, and run out to the garden for a few minutes- that'll calm me down.....Breathe.....Breathe....Relax....garden good, stove bad. Bad stove! Ok, I think i'm going to make it.LOL

EG

LOL i'm totally laughin!!! LOL i paid about the same for hubs fridge, the stove we want is about 900 i think. LOL but the washer and dryer.....now that's a whole different story!! 700 a piece!! but i told him i could go for the one's that are i think 599 at lowes. they are them energy savers but front loaders. my mom has the big ones when they first came out!! i was in love with them!! i'm like MOM can i do my whites at your house?? please?? LOL it uses like very little water and gets things sooooo clean!!
if it makes her happy you should be very happy!! :') then maybe you'll get good food??!! LOL ~Medo

Ha! Yep, the front loading washers like your mom has use very little water. I've got one, it's a Maytag. Both washer and dryer are Maytag...they were $1500. Ok, Jeff -breathe in, breathe out..........think of the happy place...still have a pulse,Ah...Ok, i'm better. You've got to understand how I was raised. I value each dollar GREATLY! We do cook some good food around the house. BTW,what part of Kansas are y'all from? I've only been to Hutchinson...

EG

we're from the topeka area, only in the "country" area of it!! LOL actually between topeka and emporia, mack dab in the middle!! LOL i totally understand!! we are the same way, mom used to be till she married the man she is to now. they're truckdrivers. so he likes to live up to the jones, mom hates that!! i kinda laugh, i like to help out over there, so he gets tired of things fast so things roll down hill, i'm downhill!! LOL they get nice stuff, i pay some for it, that away no strings attatched!! LOL
hey! the stove coulda been worse!! it coulda been the 1600 dollar one!! LOL now that my friend is something to freak about!! LOL ~Medo now i bet ya feel better!! LOL **big grinn**

Yay! I feel better - see? âºâ¼â«

now that's just great!! LOL my mom's was very exspensive!! ours is NOT gonna be! LOL assuming that we can keep things under control we'll get it in the near 2 years!! LOL he say's this year, i'm more realistic!! i want the washer and dryer first.
we are setting up the tomato thingi's today. tabor is doing the poles for me. YAY!! how lucky did i get having a son like that!? LOL i figure it'd be great cuz he loves to hammer also and he can get all that frusteration out!! LOL so we borrowed the neighbors small sledge. LOL ~Medo

Does it strike anyone else as kind of kooky the way this post went from a "sweet tooth" to pickling to appliances.....and so on! Too funny!

well the pickles are in there and so is the stove!! :') and i'm a gabber!! LOL yep!! LOL but i take it your not giving up that recipe??? darn it!!! LOL ~Medo

(Jeff picks up the phone, and calls Italy.....) Ring! Ring!
(person on the other end) "hello?"
(Jeff) "hello, is this the pickled tomato lady"?
(person on the other end) "why, yes it is!"
(Jeff) "could I have your recipe"?
(person on the other end) "Yeah, I guess I could do that. Just don't give it to Maureen".
(Jeff) "why not"?
(person on the other end) "She doesn't like appliances and pickles in the same picture"
(Jeff) "Yeah, I know it." Ain't it a shame"?

EG

LOL LOL ROFL ~Medo

Ha! I'm sure this post will go down in history as one of the weirdest.

EG

well first off it has OMGoodness "HUMOUR" LOL did i just say the H word?? LOL
~Medo

I have nothing to add except for a few...LOL's - thanks for the entertainment factor tonight. :)
Oh, and I like my front loading Maytag washer! hehehe

ohhh i so want one of those!! LOL :')
i'm thinking this christmas!! LOL then i can be really happy!!
ohhhhh and SCORE!!! so we are outside, and i see the kids next door, they are mowing, and they are bagging, to trash it, so i'm thinking.....that'd sure look good in my compost!!! so i tell tabor,,,hey!! you oughto go ask john if i can have all of his grass clippings so they don't have to throw them away!! tabors like awwww man, so i tell him, you won't have to use the push mower all the time to get me the clippings i need!! ding ding he's thinking!!! gues what?? they have a huge yard and i got clippings!! :') now that's cool!! LOL can you say bunches of compost!! now add that with all of my horse poo!! man i am the bomb with of course the bay man!! LOL and the poo i'm getting later!! LOL
how do you have your comp tumbler set up? do you just kick it around you said? i want to set mine up so we can just spin it. i have cut out the spaces on both ends. now i have to figure something out. maybe i have some 2x4 that are long enough that i can use? LOL and just stick a rod thru them, thru the barrel. and spin it. no killing the grass. although i don't mind it under the clothes line. LOL ~Medo

Woo hoo! crystabel's got one too. Medo - For my compost barrel, I took an olive barrel, and drilled at least 200 1/4" holes in it. I put stuff in it, then tip it over on it's side and roll it around about once a week - to mix everything up. It's half full of compost now, and quite heavy. I wouldn't recommend this method for the average size person.....only big goofy rednecks. Like me. There's all kinds of ways to set one up for tumbling purposes.

I'm not sure my 8 plants will produce enough cukes to pickle, but that was the goal. I just don't have enough space to plant that much.

Oh, and I've got an old Kenmore gas stove. I wouldn't trade it for anything electric, but that's just me. And mine was free from my inlaws who bought a house that wasn't piped for gas and wanted their baby duck to have it. Lucky us. hehe

As for the blackberry jelly, we're just about eating the last of ours (it's the BEST!). I only hope that the blackberry bramble out back is a heavy producer this year because I can't wait to make more!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sinfonian's garden adventure!

Sinfonian - Welcome to the pickle/jam/stove/washing machine forum....your 8 plants should produce enough to make some pickles. There's lots of different recipes to use, which require small amounts of cucumbers. I'm making bread and butter today! I can't wait! And yes, the bbjam is sooooo good. I had 4 pieces of toast this morning, smothered in it. Also, the appliances that are free, are my faves as well...Take care

EG

free appliances!! so wayyyy cool!! LOL
ya today tabor decided he was hick, we told him he was redneck not hick. LOL
we push ours around, i let him get out his frusterations, LOL
so that makes us even. (tabor and i) he's one hyper kid, the thing for me is to try and put it to GOOD use!! LOL so i started him on gardening. he did pretty good for a while. and he absolutely is really happy when he see's some food that he gets from his plants!! LOL ~Medo

This is definitely a crazzzzzy post - freakin' hilarious!

"Sinfonian - Welcome to the pickle/jam/stove/washing machine forum....".....you forgot TABOR! Sounds like Mama keeps that boy busy!

Boo-hoo I thought I was getting the tomato recipe!

M.

yes!! have to or he is tooo nuts!! LOL
now WHO has that darned recipe??? alright Jeff!! hmmmmm...give it up!!! LOL "some" of "us" want "that" recipe!!! LOL
**big grinn** ahhhh so we have another halarious person!! YAY!!! another one to add to the craziness!! YAY!!??
i definately like that!! :')
well, i gotta get back to "trying" to organize that darned shelf so when we get all their materials for their schooling it will have a place to go!! LOL
can you see this, the 11th of aug they start school. i'm like OMGoodness!!! but it will keep them soooo busy and that's what i want so this will be great!! LOL but i wasn't looking forward to the "organizing" so soon!! LOL ya know, i'm not that!! "freaking now" (breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out,) and then hubs says if you don't weed all of that stuff out there i'm going to mow it ALLLL down, so i'm thinking ok, he hates to do manual labor, so i said, well fine, ( a few choice words) mow the sh** down!! in fact all of it!! every single bit of it!! i don't get into your stuff that you don't do anything about, but thanks, go ahead mow it all down!! (choice words again) and he said well with an attitude like that i will. ya know what, its still there, ummm.. so far. although i said ya BETTER NOT touch the one bed that has not one single weed in it!!!!

i tell ya, (of course i did not say this part i am telling you right now) if he does, i swear when i cut his hair i will cut him bald!!!! i am so not kidding!! and then i will take a pic and post it!! and then i will tell him mess with myperfect bed again!! hmmmm.....i better take a pic of that bed tonight while i'm thinking of this!! LOL
!Medo **feeling Very Onery today!!! LOL**

Medo - keep us posted on the hair cut. I must say if I were to use one word to describe you it would be "firecracker"!

Maureen

Well...hey Maureen! Isn't this thread the greatest? I must admit, it was worth the long trip to the New England Gardening forum and back to Northwest Alabama - to get you back over here. Medo....I hunted Maureen down, and dragged her back! LOL
Medo - if you want to cut the hubs' hair, i'll send my camera to ya, and you can get a closeup picture of it. Then, you can post the photo in the Pumpkins, Squash, and Gourds forum. You can make the title "does this look like a pollination problem?" Hee Hee

It's true! He did drag me back - no kicking or screaming though.

Ok this might sound crazy, and I come from a few message boards ;)

BUT we have daily threads. They are a lot of fun. Its basically like this except each day a new one is started and then everyone knows thats what that thread is about. People just chatting about anything.

Not sure if GW allows non-forum threads to be made but just an idea. I have really gotten to enjoying checking in a few times a day to get a good laugh.

Another cool thing is posting pictures of not our GARDENS, but of OURSELVES!!! So we have faces to put with who we are chatting with :)

Call me and online nerd ;)

ok here is the one of my one garden now, just so you know it does look good!! LOL i do have one garden!! LOL http://s158.photobucket.com/albums/t106/medontdo/?action=view&current=DSC01032.jpg
ok tabor is the king of making homemade bread!! WOW that boy can make bread awesome!! LOL
a firecracker ahhh??? LOL that's funny!! ***POP!!!***
i know, just kidding, but now i just got the one kid to potty in the bucket for me!!! YA buddy!! potty for the compost!! maggots for the compost, and what can i do now?? hey if the bats go in the bat house i'll have the bat stuff to!! LOL
i was thinking bats, horses, possibly chickens, goats, pigs maybe dogs??? LORD knows the dog next door has enough, she's a boxer and pretty big!! i bet they'd love to get rid of that!! LOL but i don't wanna pick that up!! but if i compost it with the urine and it would break down really good!! imagine all the black gold!! LOL ~Medo

ROFL Medo. Are you SURE you have a garden? Cuz I just got a white page from that link. ROFL.

{{gwi:1279302}}
now i wonder why it didn't show up, i musta posted the wrong one, ahhhhh, it should THIS time!! LOL and my two rugrats are in the background!! LOL
{{gwi:1279303}}
ohhhh heck and while i'm at it , this is tabor and the talla, and the skirt/shirt he made for her. it was his project!! LOL ~Medo

LOL. So you DO have a garden!!

And ur kids are adorable! You make me want to show my sweet munchkins off ;)

They ARE adorable!

why thank you!! yes, that's the only one i'm proud of!! LOL the grass has taken over the others, so i'm gonna go out and see if there's any seeds ready?? that way when he gets it (if he does) then hey have at it!! LOL one less thing i have to worry about!! LOL yep, that's the way i'm gonna look at it!!
**huge ONERY grinn** **with clippers on mind** LOL HEE HEE although i just may give him a very hard time afterwards letting him think i'm mad, LOL this can be so fun, cuz he's just so easy!! LOL
i think i'm gonna go check to see if any bats found the bat house?? LOL ~Medo

I saw the note under the pic that Tabor made the outfit. Are you kidding? If so, he did a great job!

Maureen

Hey....you do have a garden -yay! And the children look very sweet...just wait til they grow up, though! OMG...my daughter almost drove me insane....hey....wait a minute....I am insane! And it's all her fault. Just kidding, i've been insane my whole life.Hee hee

EG

OMG you mean i get to get MORE insane than i am NOW??? OHHHHHH NOOOOOO!!!! LOL she drives me absolutely NUTS now!!
that girl is only 6 and she "think" she has to act like a 13-16 yr old! and we wont' even talk about the boys, her idea of .....well lets just say, the boys pick on her, and we told her that they might be doing that because they like her, so she said that "well, ohhhh i'll just have to kick their butt!! " LOL now that's just bad!! and believe me, that girl could do it! her brother irritates her, she'll wait a few then go over and just WHOP that boy right in his jaw and he's just stunned. LOL and she just walks away like nothing ever happened.

yes that boy did that. he did a great job!! :')
{{gwi:1279304}}
i told him i was gonna post it and he was like MOM you better NOT!!!! i am sooooo mean!! LOL but a very proud mommmy!!
and yes i do have a garden, and one that i'm proud of, just one though. HEE HEE HEE

If at any time I appear to be a tad on the mental side, ponder this....I have 3 kids - all girls. Now 17 to 23.

Maureen....oh god, I feel so sorry for you. You poor thing. My daughter will be 21 in Feb. , and my son will be 17 in Nov. I know exactly what it's like.

EG

ohhhhh my so i will get worse!! and here i thought it would get only worse with menopause!! LOL ya, tabor is a walking horomone!! and only 12, how did my kids get to be so advanced in their ages for their ages??? LOL (did ya get that?? LOL)
hmmm......3 girls all.....OMG i feel for you!! even worse, sorry to be a traitor, but i feel for your hubs!! 4 females and ya know!!! LOL
~Medo

Medo - good pick up - poor hubby is right! Hormonally anyway. I had to deal with everything else. Bottom line, a lot of "give and take" but at the end of the day "no" means "no". At times the drama can be irritating but I always think (and tell them), tomorrow is another day. I just don't feed into it and it dissolves.

To be truthful, they are all good girls. Little issues here and there but all in all, good girls. Well, let's put it this way, this week my 23 yo is getting her 2 week vacation (she lives in Canada) and has chosen to spend it with her mom. I would NEVER done that.

LOL that's like me, my mom comes in once a month (truck driver) and when she does, i'm like dude, i'm so there, so we come up here and spend the night!! so we've been here since sat night. and tomarow she'll take me to our apt in almost holton, and when we are thru and we help load her truck, then we'll go home. LOL now i love spending time with my mom.
today befor it got to hot and humid, i went out and knocked all the spider webs down, sprayed with 12 mo stuff. and then did some round up for her. Love my MOMMY!!!! LOL ~Medo