Do you know what these berries are?

We have two trees that have these luscious looking berries on them. I have NO idea what the berries are! I'd love to know if I can use them for jam or ?? any recipe. Anyone have any idea what they are? The trees are about 7 or 8 years old, maybe 12 feet high, and were planted on their own (we didn't plant them and they weren't here when we moved here 20 years ago). If you know, please tell me! These trees are VERY prolific -- just look at all these berries on the ground going to waste!

It's now 10:20 am, and I've been up since 5:00 and gotten SO much done! I love it! I just love having a good, productive day.

I woke up at 5:00 because right before bed I heard the weather report saying it was going to be 57 degrees last night. I wanted to get up early and open up windows and air out the house. I love my central air, but after a short while, the house just feels "stuffy" to me, and I look forward to times when I can open up all the windows and air the place out.

Since I was up, I put coffee on and decided to make use of the cool morning and get some gardening done. I re-set the alarm clock for Jeff, got his lunch packed and his breakfast made, and headed outside by 6:15. I went to the vegetable garden and got all three vegetable beds weeded and hoed by the time Jeff got up at 7:00. I sat down with him while he ate breakfast and had a second cup of coffee, then headed back outside as soon as he left for work at 8:00. I filled the sprayer up with insecticide (sorry to all those who are cringing), and sprayed the 20 new trees we planted and my smaller ornamental shrubs and trees. Normally, I don't spray, but the cicadas are here in larger-than-normal numbers, and they will use small trees and ornamentals for something (laying eggs? hatching babies? I forget what...) and I didn't want to lose all those trees I planted. I also got all three perennial beds weeded (again!), and Weed-B-Gone sprayed in the driveway where weeds grow up between the cement slabs. I also sprayed insecticide around the perimeter of the house, the deck, the patio and the garden shed -- simply as ant prevention.

It felt so great to get all this done by 10am! Now I'm going to spend some time doing laundry and hanging it out (it'll be back up to the mid-80's by this afternoon), a quick trip to WallyWorld for tension curtain rods so I can sew a skylight cover in Jeff's bathroom. We always put one up in the master bedroom during the summer months -- it really helps keep the bedroom cooler. I also want to pick up some potting soil and transplant some houseplants that are looking a little gloomy these days. If I can get all that done today -- I've had a great day!

The vegetable garden is looking good! I've got blossoms on several tomato plants and one green pepper plant. Eggplants are looking really healthy. Zucchini's just poked up through the soil, but green beans, black beans and cucumber seeds may have rotted from all the rain we've had. I'm going to replant them as soon as I finish blogging.

Busy week

I have a lot of things I need to get done this week, aside from my regular household cleaning, tending to the garden, babysitting for Brayden, etc. I need to make a list to keep myself organized this week, so here it is:

1. Laundry - including bedding because it drys so quickly out on the line during this hot weather. DONE
2. Meijer's store - Apparently the only place you can buy Cremora in our area these days. I don't normally shop this store, but I need to stop by and buy 10 bottles of Cremora to stock up. I went. No Cremora. That means NO store in our area sells Cremora. Bah humbug.
3. Coupon clipping -- I sent Jeff out to buy two Sunday papers -- he came back with FOUR! All this coupon-ing apparently appeals to the accountant in him :) I have a lot of coupons to clip and my CVS, Walgreens and Kroger deals to plan. DONE
4. Menu-planning - after I do the above.
5. Vet appointment - Tuesday. Oh boy. Joey loves his cage and the trip in the car -- NOT. DONE
6. Time Warner Cable repairman on Friday - Don't even get me started on Time Warner Cable these days. I'm still recovering from getting hung up on, then getting a recording at 10:10 am that their offices weren't open, then having my entire DVR box erase all our taped shows. RRRRR
7. More weeding -- this wet Spring and now hot weather is just been an incubator for weeds. The gardens I weeded just two weeks ago are over-run with weeds again, despite mulching and putting PREEN on them. I'll save this for the end of the week when slightly cooler and less humid weather is supposed to arrive. - DONE
8. Call telephone company to come trim trees hanging over our wires -- this may appease the next-door-neighbor a bit as well, since they are trees near the one he wanted to cut down. Done, but only informed by Cincinnati Bell that they no longer provide this service ahead of time -- they wait for things to break. Higher prices, less service...that's the way these days!
9. Buy a new fountain for the little pond in the front of the house - our plastic turtle has succumbed to plastic-turtle-disease and needs to be replaced.
10. Hair cut - Long overdue!

I now have Brayden on Thursdays and Fridays, so I need to re-arrange my normal weekly schedule. Here's what I've come up with:

• Mondays - Coupon clipping, sale planning, menu planning, other paperwork and filing, possible CVS or Walgreens trip, Laundry (weather permitting)
• Tuesdays - Housework - upstairs
• Wednesday - Housework - downstairs, laundry (weather permitting)
• Thursday - Brayden, gardening
• Friday - Brayden, yard sales, possible 2nd CVS/Walgreens trip if sales warrant it
• Saturday - Quick housecleaning and pickup, grocery shopping
• Sunday - Gardening, relax, fun stuff

CVS Revisted, CVS Rainchecks w/ECB's!

I made another trip to CVS today because they were out of stock earlier this week on several items I wanted. For my $38.00 in purchases, out-of-pocket money today was .07 cents! Here's what I purchased: 2 Chex Mix - $1 each (normally $1.99) 2 Cascade Dishwasher Gels $3.99 each (normally $5.49) 10 cans BumbleBee Tuna - .66 each (great sale - normally $1.99) 1 Listerine Smart Rinse - $3.49 (normally $3.99) Coupons: $3 off $15 CVS purchase $1 off Chex Mix x 2 coupons = $2.00 $1 off Cascade x 2 coupons = $2.00 $1 off Mouthwash I used $13.00 in ECBs. Total amount out-of-pocket: .07 cents I received $3.49 in new ECBs - so I made a profit of $3.42! However, I found out something new about CVS. Earlier this week I went to pick up Chex Mix, and they were out of stock. They issued me a Rain Check with no expiration date for the $5/5 price! I will hold onto this until I find more coupons and, hopefully, get these for free again. They were also out of the $6.99 Oral B toothbrushes - so I asked the store manager about them. He had the cashier issue me a Rain Check for them -- with a note to issue me the $14.98 in ECB's when I purchase them even if it's AFTER the ECB offer date!!! I have no idea if all stores do this, but it's definitely worth the effort to find out!

The Best Things in Life -- are FREE!

I've been cruising the web and frugal blogs today, and came up with some nice freebies. Many of these may have a time limit for availability, so you'll want to take advantage of them "PDQ", as my Mom used to say! FREE 1 yr subscription to Woman's Day Magazine FREE at Home Depot - Buy 1 Shrub, Get 1 free - Printable Coupon FREE (after rebate) bottle of Wish-Bone's new Bountilfuls Salad Dressing - I bought the Hearty Italian and REALLY like it! Tastes like an upscale restaurant salad dressing. If I remember correctly, the price was $1.89 (on sale at Kroger). Printable Coupon - Lowe's - Get $10 off $25 - you have to use a VISA card with this purchase.

One reason not to dust

"Dust Art" - That's right - this piece of art is done on the dust on the back window of a mini-cooper! You can see more "dust art" here.

Summer is here! My Summer To Do List

Although the calendar says summer is still a few days off, the weather says that summer is officially here, with temps in the 90's all this week.

I have a list of annual things I need to get done to prepare for summer living. Here's my list:

1. Wash down all outdoor furniture*
2. Sweep back deck and patio - done
3. Bring stack of firewood to outdoor firepit - done
4. Blow up Brayden's pool - done
5. Put flowers in planters and place around deck - done
6. Put covered trash can near barbeque area.
7. Hang hose reel and hose. Make sure nozel doesn't leak, buy washer at hardware store if it does - done
8. Clean out fountain and put on timer - done
9. Wash patio door - done
10. Check grill propane tank - done
11. Check grill grate - buy new one at Lowe's if needed - done
12. Put up canopy on back deck - done
13. Hang patio lights in canopy roof
14. Put candles on patio table
15. Hang windchime in canopy structure
16. Sweep front sidewalk - done
17. Use Roundup or other weed remover on cement spaces in driveway
18. Sweep front porch, including under porch roof (spider web patrol) - done
19. Shake and sweep Welcome Mat - done
20. Wash front door windows, front door hardware, doorbell - done
21. Polyurethane front porch wicker furniture
22. Plant geranium in gnome - done
23. Paint mailbox (?new color?)

That's all I have for now, but I may think of more as I go!

A helpful hint if your GRILL is looking old and sad. Go to the hardware store and buy a can of black spray paint made for hot surfaces. Tape up any handles and knobs, then spray paint the exterior of your grill. I swear, you will think it's a brand new grill when you're done! And do you know you can buy a new rack for your grill for just a few dollars? I replace mine about every two years just because it starts getting rusty and wearing out in places. You can also buy new lava rocks for your grill at any hardware store. It's easy and more cost efficient to restore an old grill before throwing it away and buying a new one!

Is your OUTDOOR FURNITURE looking tired? If you have resin or plastic furniture, go to any hardware or WallyWorld store and buy a can of spray paint specifically designed for plastics. In just an hour or two you can spray paint life right back into your furniture! We went from tired old green plastic chairs to bright and cheerful yellow and blue (2 of each) for under $10 (3 cans of spray paint).