Graduation Day

Wednesday was graduation day. I finished my six weeks of cardiac rehabilitation that was required for me after my open heart surgery in March. I’m glad that I went, completing the series of exercises to regain my strength and to breathe. I noticed some shortness of breath during the 2020 hunting season. I couldn’t walk as far I could in 2019. I had to rest more often to catch my breath. I’m hoping that this year I’ll be able to keep pace with my younger brother Ken Beck.

I know people say I needed to be careful and not to push myself, but if I didn’t push a bit, I don’t think I would be strong enough to keep up with my daily chores. Last Monday, I helped my friends can tomatoes, salsa, and spaghetti sauce. It’s an all-hands event scalding, peeling, and cutting up tomatoes. Caution needed removing seeds and stems from the peppers: green bells, cow horns, jalapenos, mild and hot Italian wax. The aroma of garlic and chopped onions filled the kitchen as the concoction rendered down. I believe that we’ll be making more today and possibly more ketchup-pepper mix. It’s great on burgers and a simmering sauce for roast beef, if anyone can afford the price of beef.

Thursday was chore day at my house. I prepared stuffed peppers for my supper and tossed them into my Crockpot. I carried a load of towels down to the basement to wash. The grass outside was too wet to cut grass, so I burned a bag of trash. Because it was wet I hooked my lawn roller to the lawn tractor and made a few turns around my yard. Over the spring and summer, a few ruts and rough spots developed and needed my attention. By then, the towels were washed. I would have hung them outside to dry, but the trash was still smoldering. I like fresh air smell to towels dried outside, but not smoked.

By now the grass was dry and could mow. I did my lawn and my neighbor’s. Tomorrow and the next day is the neighbor’s yard sale. I wanted their lawn to look nice too. I’m not sure what they plan to do with the house, but I hope my new neighbors aren’t told that it comes with free lawn service. While mowing beneath my apple trees, fruit had fallen and was being chopped. I decided to pick apples for a friend who used some last year to make cider and apple butter. Better to share them than to waste. Later I delivered them to his home. He had a leg injury and hadn’t healed completely. P.S. the stuffed peppers were delicious.