The gentle scent of wet dog wafts up from the three happy faces awaiting a share of my apple this morning. It rained overnight, something we haven't seen in over two weeks. It won't be enough moisture for parts of the garden the sprinkler doesn't hit adequately, so I'll go out later and drag a hose to water the sweet potatoes and the peppers. It will be a help with a couple of plants I've been watering this week to soften soil so I can transplant them out of the yard into pots.

There will be some cooking today, to use things I've thawed and to create a dish I've run out of. I usually make a batch of beans every few weeks, storing it in single-serving jars that go in the freezer, but I haven't made beans in ages, it was just too hot to cook. I have some tomatoes and sauce and chunks of onion and such in the fridge that will all go into this. And the beef will come from a package of frozen steaks I picked up for my ex that he never ate so he brought back to me. They were too marbled for him, so I'll thaw a couple and grind them for the hamburger I usually add to the recipe. This will clear out enough containers so I can wipe down the refrigerator shelves.

I also need to draw down the okra supply by pickling it. I looked at a box of cucumbers at my favorite grocery warehouse yesterday but they were a little too soft to use for fresh pickles, so it's just okra this weekend. I've eaten a lot of my pickles this fall and am almost out of the first batch. I need to research it, but I think eating fresh pickles, like eating fresh sauerkraut, has a probiotic effect because of the way those pickles work. Not the same as cooked pickles.

It's a day to start a new sewing project, and it's also a day to take a nap at some point.