A Big Orange Rain Barrel

Sweetz and I decided to head to CampingWorld today to get a few things for the camper.  We try to keep everything in working order so we can be ready to roll out whenever the weather is pleasant and we can work a trip into our schedule.  It's been so hot recently that a trip doesn't seem like a pleasant way to spend time right now.  The house is cool and the garden is needy so camping will have to wait for lower temps.  One item needed was a exterior light cover plus some extra bulbs.  We looked at the large exterior rugs but I thought they were pretty $teep for what you get, plus they didn't seem like they would be comfortable.  I decided I'd check out some big box stores to see if I could find something softer for the toes. 

We stopped in the BIG farmers' market off the main highway but fortunately didn't need anything they offered.  Beautiful produce though - the kind that seems to be grown in large greenhouses because everything is nearly perfect.  I was thinking that everything had to have at least one bug bite to be edible!!  We each got some ice cream and enjoying sitting on a bench watching the shoppers ogle the produce.  Must be a fabulous year for peaches because nearly every vendor had piles of them.  The tomatoes were $2 lb which I thought was high - but hard to say since we get ours free from our own garden.  Yipppppeeee.  About a mile from our house is a nice local farmer's market so we stopped to check out the fresh corn.  We found some nice Silver Queen corn at a better price...so we bought a dozen ears.  OK, now, we're set with corn for a few days!  Yummies for our tummies.

Since we've decided in this economy we probably can't sell our house, we thought a rain barrel would be a good "green item".  We checked some at a garden supply place while we were out and about today and bought one.  Not sure how much rain comes off the roof at each downspout, but however much we get, all the water will be handy for watering purposes.  I'm thinking we should get a second rain barrel just in case... Maybe we can make one ourselves since they are priced kinda high for a big plastic barrel with a couple of attachments! But now we have a "pattern".  Should be easy peasy.  Now that we have a rain barrel, how long will it be before it rains??????  We saw some barrels which were painted to blend in with a house.  NEAT.  Sweetz said that's what he wants me to do.  The one I admired the most was painted to resemble bricks - so that's the plan - my next project - painting the orangey brick colored barrel to look like it's made of bricks to blend in with our house.  Think I can do it? Well, all painting projects begin with a can of paint.  Lowes here I come...

Yesterday I went to the library for my book exchange ritual and stopped at Sonic for burgers for supper. I checked out some new shops downtown and saw several people I knew so it turned out to be an interesting way to have some afternoon fun.