Another lovely day, but definitely feeling like fall.  Considering we are still in August, this seems a tad early, just as summer came rather late this year, like the second week in July!  Is this a trend?  2013 is the year for solar maximum so does this mean we will have more warm weather?

After peeling, cutting, preparing jars and lids, this is the result of my efforts:

28 pints (500 ml) of beets.  That means we will have to eat one pint every other week.  I guess we can do that.  I have boiled up the mouse-chewed beets and will make beet jelly from that.  Eeewww, you say?  Not so, it tastes like grape jelly with all the nutrition of beets.  Great on toast!

I'm late up this morning.  Dennis left at 4:30 a.m. to drive Susan's goods and chattels to Kamloops where she will start the next chapter in her life.  Good for her, I say!  She is tired of the long winters and loves the heat, so without having to leave Canada she has chosen a mighty fine place to be.  A condo overlooking a golf course - sounds lovely, especially when I am looking at all the work one must do to prepare for winter where we live out in the boondocks!  Ah well, it is a lifestyle not suited for everyone, clearly, because hardly anyone lives here!

You can tell I'm running on very few hours of sleep.  A power outage last night kept me awake wondering if Dennis would get up on time.  I should know better because he has a built in alarm clock it seems.  He was up and at 'em at 4:00 a.m., along with the 3 border collies who were raring to go.  After he left I brought them all and their beds into my room, ordered them to their beds, and got a few more hours sleep.  Today is bean picking day.  Plus, I noticed my vehicle insurance expires today so I am forced to go to town to renew my insurance.   I have been meaning to go to the bank and get my hair cut so this will be a good day for that too.  I also have to check under the hoods of the Landcruiser and the van for rat or mice nests.  We seem to be over run by the little creatures this year.  I hate driving along and having mice run across the dash.  It is startling and unnerving because you never know if they are going to run over the back of the seats and over your shoulders and up your neck.  It is also difficult to drive with mouse traps set inside the vehicle. 

Enough of this musing.  I had better pick beans while the sun shines and before I have to make myself presentable to the public of Burns Lake!