{"id":98552,"date":"2026-08-08T09:06:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T16:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/?p=98552"},"modified":"2026-08-09T07:25:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T14:25:06","slug":"it-is-saturday-and-we-are-at-work-bright-and-early","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lilesnet.com\/dailydiary\/?p=98552","title":{"rendered":"It Is Saturday And We Are At Work Bright And Early."},"content":{"rendered":"
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It’s 9:00 am, and we are outside working our little fingers to the bone!<\/p>\n

I marched into the veggie garden at dawn (OK, 9 am) carrying a zucchini seedling like it was a royal baby.\u00a0 Mary, meanwhile, stood beside her rose bushes with pruning shears, a leopard sunhat, and the expression of a woman prepared to negotiate with thorns.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“We have until the thermometer hits ninety,” I announced.\u00a0 “After that, we could turn into soup.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

At eighty-eight degrees, I finally planted the zucchini, patted the soil, and whispered, “Grow large, my green torpedo.”<\/span><\/p>\n

We collected a load of green beans, some of which will be dinner tomorrow and some will be laid outside in the sun to dry out (more bean soup on the way!)<\/p>\n

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The string beans have reached too high; we needed a ladder to get them!<\/p><\/div>\n

A bumblebee landed on Mary’s hat.\u00a0 She froze.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>“Don’t move,” I said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bee inspected her fake sunflower, judged it unworthy, and flew away.\u00a0 Mary resumed trimming, but one thorn grabbed her sleeve.\u00a0 She yanked free, stumbled backward, and sat directly in her wheelbarrow.<\/span><\/p>\n

I stared.\u00a0 Mary stared.\u00a0 The zucchini, newly planted, seemed to stare.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then the thermometer clicked to ninety.\u00a0 <\/span>“Inside,” Mary declared, water dripping from her forehead.\u00a0 “Immediately.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>We were back inside at 10:14 am, door shut and AC on full blast!<\/p>\n

\"\"

Oh my, the temperature is climbing.<\/p><\/div>\n

The remaining part of the afternoon we watched TV, and Mary made a light lunch since we were going to the Elks this evening.\u00a0 Robin popped in about 4:30 pm, and we had a glass of vino before heading to the Elks at 5:20 pm.<\/p>\n

The girls did their normal salads, but I went for the English Cut Prime Rib with a baked potato the size of Detroit, which, by the way, Mary finished off when I gave up!<\/p>\n

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The Elks menu was excellent this evening.<\/p><\/div>\n

They had a special drink menu, and of course we tried so\u2014the Lemon Drop Martini.\u00a0 \u00a0A Lemon Drop Martini is a sweet-tart vodka cocktail made with lemon juice and sugar.\u00a0 It’s usually served chilled in a martini glass, often with a sugared rim.<\/span><\/p>\n

Typical ingredients:<\/span><\/p>\n