Growing Panes

Yep, panes, not pains! We have windows! Well, most of them anyways. The upstairs windows haven't been installed yet, but I think they are waiting on the stairs because I assume it's pretty hard to carry a giant window up a ladder!

Here's what part of the upstairs looks like. There is going to be a bonus room over the kitchen and garage, and the rest will be storage.

The showers and bathtubs are also in! This is the shower in our master bath. I love the two seats!

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Our cotton has gotten pretty tall too!

Almost too tall for Lance to hood spray! The "hoods" (those yellow things behind the tire) keep the chemicals from getting on the cotton leaves and killing it.

All the spray in the world won't keep these pests out of the cotton field!

Our peanuts are also about to overlap in the middles of the rows! Our neighbor, who is also growing peanuts, has had some problems with people stopping on the side of the road and digging up the peanuts to see if they are ready. If its not bad enough that they were going to steal his peanuts, if they leave the dug up peanuts on the ground, the deer will find them and know that there are peanuts under the ground, and they will dig up an entire row! So far, neither us, nor him have had that happen, but I'm sure its only a matter of time.

We also got baby chicks back on Tuesday!

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Our garden is also producing like crazy.

Look how pretty our corn is! Unfortunately, I think we've almost ate it up.

I always cook my corn in the oven this way:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Put the corn in aluminum foil.

Put butter all over the corn.

Sprinkle salt (or garlic salt, if thats your thing) over the corn.

Wrap the foil around the corn and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Try it! You'll never boil again!

I've also been frying squash like crazy!

If you live in a 3rd world country, and do not know how to fry squash, here's how I do it:

Slice squash.

Batter squash with corn meal (sometimes I put meal and squash in a ziploc bag and shake it to batter, but mostlyI just put the meal in a plate and mix the squash around).

If you're using fresh corn meal like me or would just like more, add salt.

Cover bottom of skillet with vegetable oil and heat.

When oil is ready, place squash in skillet in one layer.

When that side of the squash is brown enough for you (I peek) flip it over with tongs.

When both sides are done, I place the squash on paper towels to drain the oil.

Eat up!

You can also fry okra the same way! I would've had some pictures of that, but somebody beat us to the okra row in the garden and swiped all but one pod!

I may not have a green thumb...

But I definitely have a purple thumb!

Fungus? Frostbite? Bitten by the purple people eater?
Nope, its thanks to the mountain of purple hull peas coming from the garden!