Quiet week

It has been a thankfully quiet week! Hot as southwestern Oklahoma, complete with blast furnace winds, grasshoppers, and 100+ temperatures. No rain in weeks. The grasshoppers have eaten almost all of the garden. We are still getting a few peppers and a few tomatoes. the neighbor sent us over several big bags of tomatoes a few days ago. After making a huge bowl of fresh salsa, I made spaghetti sauce from scratch. Also made use of the accumulating peppers to do another batch of pepper jelly. Tom had said, "You should put a ghost chile in it!". (Naga Bhut Jolokia, the ghost chile, is among the hottest peppers in the world.) So I added ONE to the mix of peppers I had. Dan wore gloves and deseeded it for me. The jalapeno peppers are already VERY hot, having cross pollinated with the ghost chiles. Tom comes back into the kitchen, where my jelly is already starting to cook, and asks, "You didn't really add a ghost chile did you? I was kidding!"
Oops! Now we have some extra spicy pepper jelly!

The power went off at the house this morning. I let the boys sleep in until the last minute, before awakening them to get ready for their library duty. The power was restored just as we were leaving the house.
Dan and Sam are preparing for "Trek", an annual/semi annual trip that the church group the older kids attend in West Texas, sponsors. this will be their first time to get to go. The group hikes into the wilderness and spends time together, with God. The twins have wanted to go with the group for several years, but this is the first time means and opportunity have presented themselves together.

It is less than 2 weeks until Tom and I have our 28th anniversary. I am sure we will celebrate in the usual manner... by doing nothing. Unless we get significant rain between now and then, we can't even cook out on the grill.
The red-flag burn ban in effect has forced me to stop grilling, which is mostly how we survive meals in the summer. Instead, I have been relying on the slow cooker. I don't think the crock-pot has seen in inside of the cabinet for two weeks now!

That's about all from us here. Have a blessed week and Thank you for reading!