The juice is loose!

The garden has started producing tomatoes in earnest. This evening Jeff and I gave my recently acquired Champion juicer it's first try, since I had also gotten my desired optional screen. In about 15-20 minutes we ended up with several gallons of juice! This sure beat the hell out of my old hand-cranked method by a mile. The juice itself is nice and thick but without the seeds or skins, I will begin cooking the stuff down tomorrow with the ultimate result being pasta sauce/marinara. This is only the beginning, however. The harvest of the last several days is only the tip of the tomato-y iceberg. Some of the Roma tomatoes will be frozen as they are, quite useful later on in dishes needing whole 'maters or things like soups and stews. More sauce will be made and frozen, and lots will be had in upcoming meals too. Quite a bit of the harvest will be shared with friends as well.

The smell of tomato sauce being made is one of my favorite smells, it reminds me of late summer, and, these days of course, Mom. So I am sure I'll get a little more than wistful as my olfactory senses go into overload. That's not a bad thing. One thing I know, Mom would have loved this juicer. I hope I make her memory proud.

Feel free to pass on your way down your friends list

Ugh. I was afraid this would happen. For a good while, I could keep my fidgety self occupied with doing little tasks around the house and shop. Now even moving from one place to another here is a futile exercise in pain, numbness and stumbling, if I manage to keep from falling down outright. This makes me not want to even get out of bed in the mornings. Sitting around all day is not doing anything for my well-being. In fact, it's soul crushing. While I might be able to occupy myself playing some sort of video games or other distraction, the sitting (the only mildly tolerable position I can manage while awake) is starting to take it's own toll, my legs feel like rubber after a while. And to top it all off, Jeff is under the weather as well and looks like this will take some time to clear as well. I did not get to making the tomato sauce like I had hoped, the constant walking to the stove to check and stir would have driven me crazy.

I hate, hate, hate this.

My increasing pussy posse

Today, out of the blue, my cadre of neighborhood cats increased by one.

I was in the sunroom, and I saw what I thought was one of the two "regulars" that hang around here come up to the door. Upon a closer look, it was one I've never encountered before. The thing is, this new kittykat walked right up to the door, and then accepted my petting with no qualms whatsoever, and with Kodi not far away. The new one looks related to the male we are calling "Tigger" except with white from the belly down as opposed to the orange whorls that Tigger has. Sure enough, not long after my introduction, Tigger shows up as if to say "See? I told you they're cool. Now watch, here comes the kibble!" No to let anyone down, I poured some food for our new guest and his old, familiar brother.

Later on after Jeff got home, all three of the cats were waiting on the back deck. Pinky was there scratching at the screen for attention, the other two were hanging out. Jeff give everyone some more food, and I manage to get this shot;



From bottom to top, Pinky, Tigger (aka Snaggletooth, his teeth are completely screwed up) and, for the moment, TiggerToo. I hope to get better photos soon.

Kodi was at the door not knowing what to do next, he's getting outnumbered! Kodi is tolerant of the cats to a point, at least when we are around. In the open territory of Mayhem Acres, however, Kodi will give chase. More to the point, the cats will give the chase and Kodi will fall for it. They have mastered the Kitty J-Turn and will return to what they are doing while the dog is still insanitybarking around the yard.

These cats are also the giving sort. In the picture you can see what remains of a big green katydid. These are the cats' favorite night time playthings around the garage while I'm inside tinkering. This is a typical scene:

Pinky: (running into garage with prey/offering) "Meeoof!"
Me: "Whatcha got now?"
Pinky: (mouth obviously full) "Meeoof! MEE-OOF! Mphfmfmfmm. *purr*"
Me: "I'm sorry, I don't understand! *giggle*"
Pinky: "MEOW!" (Katydid flies from now open mouth)
Pinky: ...
Me: You know, I get you every time. Ya think ya'd learn by now."
Pinky: (Srs cat is srs expression) *Takes off, goes crashing around the garage trying to recapture the critter*

Tonight it was MEEOOFMEEOOFMEEOOFMEEOOFFF as she came into the building with a mouse. Great. The last thing I need is mice in the garage, or a dead carcass of one stinking up the place. I left her to her cat-and-mouse game for a while as I came inside to do a few things, along with writing this post.

These cats are pure entertainment, and they do tend to earn their keep. I hope they have been fixed so there won't be a new batch. If they are indeed strays, and no one owns them, I might claim them and have that deed done.