To do list

I did some coupon shopping this weekend - Not "extreme" coupon shopping because I only bought what I would eat and the only reason I bought <i>four cans of soup</i>  and <i>two boxes of protean bars</i> was that my coupons <i>demanded that I do so</i> , I was only following orders.

I only got soup flavors I know I like and I did not clear the shelves. I am not a hoarder or greedy. Also, I don't have the storage. I would have bought a couple of very sexy dollar off frozen pizzas but my freezer is sadly, full of green beans and meat loaves. I have too much healthy food  on standby to store unhealthy pizzas. Even thin crust pizzas, the healthy alternative.

I also bought single bags of dog and cat food as well as a single box of diet dog cookies. I saved so much I was bale to pick up a brand new, deeply discounted, food processor. A <i>small</i> food processor, I didn't get crazy. I did decide to replace a very old, grungy processor that didn't like me very much. Ha.

In addition I ended the season for the coleus. It was time, they <i>could</i> have hung on a little longer but they were getting leggy and I, frankly, am getting a little tired of the early morning watering routine. I'm also very into getting this work done before it gets cold and I have to do everything in a sloppy rush. After I got rid of the plants I got really crazy and hosed off the out door furniture and put it in the basement.

Speaking of watering and putting things away, I decided that I am very tired of re-inventing the wheel every spring with the drip hoses. Every year I sweat and curse and work <i>really</i> hard to get the hoses right and it takes a lot of time and effort to re-create whatever I had last year. I <i>know</i> it worked last year and now in the spring I can't remember how I did it <i>last</i> year

This fall, I took pictures of what it looked like. I didn't do proper forensic shots of it but I think I got enough to remind myself of what it should look like next spring. I even drew myself a little map of where the hoses went and where they connected to each other. I still have a pepper plant out there with <i>a</i> pepper growing and of course the beans are still producing, albeit less and less but there are still many baby beans plugging along. I can't take out the rest of the hose system yet. My plan is to hose off the hose I took out and then let it dry out and then bundle it up with  an ID tag and map of where it went. I would like to do this with all the hoses and I would like to do it <i>soon</i>.

When I do get the plants out and the hoses up, I'm going to till the garden and get in some peas and grasses for the winter. This year I won't make the same mistake and just let it grow and grow until I can't till it under.

Oh! Speaking of joy from the garden! I <i>finally</i> scored Liquid Smoke! I can make the BBQ sauce! Woo! I'm going to leave watermelon in the garden until next weekend and that will leave two small melons to find other fun stuff to do with.