Magic stuff...

Today, I worked on saving some of my leaking ice packs ($6.40 each to replace the best ones that are from Walgreen's).

I had them in Ziploc bags, but more and more blue gel leaked out and then one of the bags itself leaked.  Being rather tired of blue gel on my pillow cases and in my hair, I decided that stronger measures were needed. With my test run (on the cutting board above) still usable after a couple of week use, I decided to repair the others still in the plastic bags.  The first step was to use hot water to clean off all the sticky gel and then let them finish thawing out.

Next, I dried them off and then applied my "stronger measure."  Once these were done, I repeated the process for four more.  I now have nine repaired ice packs.  [Can you see the icky, leaky, blue-gel-covered Ziploc bag in the background?]

Duct tape is magical stuff.
Duct tape make me giddy.
I think I need some GREEN duct tape....

Other than ice pack repair, all I did was rest.  I am weary from extra labors and I do have to go out and about on the morrow to see the surgeon.  I did call Firewood Man and whimper about the back railing.  I couldn't help myself.  With all the rain and rain and rain we've had, Firewood Man spent the entire weekend not enjoying the holiday but rather still catching up on all the mowing and mulching for his main source of income.  Maybe this week.

I am also weary of maybes, even though I completely understand them.

After our dry, beautiful days, we are back to STINKING HOT AND HUMID.  That's really why I mostly rested.  I thought about trying to prune a bit more, but after walking outside and starting to sweat and shake just getting out the equipment, I put it all back and returned to the comfort of my air-conditioned house.

I wanted to try making bran muffins, having chosen a recipe, but it calls for buttermilk.  I do have buttermilk, however, I cannot figure out which 8 ounce mason jars are frozen buttermilk and which are frozen yogurt.  Clearly, I erred in my trying-to-not-waste-ingredients process.  I was putting rubber bands (from asparagus bundles) on the jars of vegetable broth, back when I made chicken broth, too.  Next time I try to freeze buttermilk, I hope that I can remember to mark those jars with a rubber band.  SIGH.

In case you were wondering, strawberry smoothies with protein powder, chia seeds, and flax seeds taste a bit too "healthy" for me.  However, using the NutriBullet really does make short work of them,  from refrigerator to straw in practically a blink of the eye.  Almost magical.  Clearly, I no longer have a creditable excuse not to incorporate them into my diet.  SIGH.  Seeds stuff, I'll do.  Just not kale.

Oh, man, could you imagine an okra smoothie????