Prepping the outside for winter

I spent most of Friday doing yardwork. A hard freeze was predicted for the night and my grandchildren were all somewhere else so Friday was a perfect day to get lots done. 

I mowed and edged and did lots of pruning of all the flowering bushes as well as pulling up the last of the zinnias. 

All the clippings got bundled and bagged and will be picked up Monday. Our city's waste management picks up our trash, our recycling and our green waste. 

The backyard was in need of organizing too. So I put one play area on the east side....

Another play area by the back door and picnic tables. (If you don't live in Oklahoma or haven't followed my blog for long, you may be wondering about that giant gray thing. It is a concrete safe room for tornado protection. Yes, we have been thinking of ways to beautify it but haven't yet got around to it)

The grandsons will be thrilled with this new digging area made with paver stones from a neighbor and dirt of pots that need replaced. 

The only plant still growing in the vegetable pots was this jalapeño. It has tiny peppers and quite a few buds on it. My husband moved it up near the back door to protect it from last nights freeze. It survived th night just fine. But I am wondering if it will actually give a harvest. 

There were 2 pots of succulents on the front porch and I brought them in for the night too. They really thrived this summer. 

The 2 pink rose bushes both still had a few blooms. So I clipped and saved the pretty ones before I whittled down the bushes. 

One quirky thing about my town is we are home to lots of Canadian geese that live here year round. For some reason, they forgot to fly north and now they just stay. 

They look cute but when a big bunch of them hang out on streets or sidewalks for long, there is a lot of icky big goose you-know-what on the ground afterward. 

There they go, marching down our street in row...... I am glad they weren't hanging out here while I was working so much yesterday. 

some of this weeks cooking

we were out of our favorite homemade sauce  so I made an extra large batch.
I don't use an exact recipe.  It is pretty simple and I just mix it up until it tastes right.

it uses lots of tomatoes,  a little olive oil and onions.
spices are oregano, basil, garlic and just a little sugar.

first the onions get sauteed-   then the tomatoes and spices are added

after it simmers a while,  it gets divided into meal size containers and put in the freezer for future meals.

while the sauce simmered,  I mixed up and baked a loaf of Raisin Bread

Raisin Walnut bread - mixed in the bread machine and baked in the regular oven.  I used  my grandparents bread recipe but increased the sugar and added nuts and raisins when the machine beeps time to add stir ins.

Raisin bread

1 cup water
2 T butter in cubes
1 t salt
1/3 C sugar
2 t cinnamon
3 cups flour- bread flour is nice but all purpose or your favorite would be fine
2 t yeast
put all ingredients in a bread machine on the dough cycle, then add
1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 3/4 cup raisins ( I like to chop them a little too) when the bread machine beeps for the add in time.
When it is finished rising, punch down and form into a loaf and put in a well greased loaf pan.
I think I used an 8 inch loaf pan but it would work in a 9 inch loaf pan too.
Let rise again and then bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes.

My grandmother made raisin bread and she always topped her loaves with white frosting.
I don't add frosting as we like our raisin bread lightly buttered and toasted.
either way raisin bread is Yum!

my husband's work lunch and breaktime box - I packed a turkey and cheese sandwich on a homemade bun, Popchips and olives.  Also grapes, a jar of fresh pineapple chunks, cashews and jalapeno string cheese.  Beverages are coffee and a bottle of water.