so.many.weeds.

I totally meant to post this weekend but ran out of time!  I actually got a lot done on Sunday, much needed house chores.  Saturday night I started weeding - wild night at my house!  My strategy was to have the sprinkler soak a section of yard, move the sprinkler and weed the soaked spot.  For the most part the weeds just came right out that way.

My internal alarm clock has been going off super early lately - like 3 or 4 am.  Yuck.  But, I can sometimes fall back to sleep a little bit.  Sunday morning I was up at like 5:30am.  I decided to take advantage of the coolness of the morning and start weeding.  I set the sprinkler in the back yard and weeded the front flower beds.  Then, I'd go in the back, move the sprinkler and weed back there.  I kept hopscotching back and forth until about 10:30am and I got it alllllll weeded!  Here's Rocky looking over my dead weeds.  This was really only about 1/3 of it, I had three giant trash bags full besides what's on the ground here!  While the yard was still damp I sprinkled 'weed and feed' over it in the hopes of bringing some of the grass back to life.

I have to say that my back and legs were SO sore Sunday and the next few days!  OMG.  Like so sore.  My next yard challenge is going to be pulling the foxtails out of my raised bed, and cleaning rocks out of the flower beds in the back.  Next month I am going to see if I can re-seed the grass.  The weed and feed container said I need to wait 30 days to re-seed.

Saturday morning I made it to farmer's market.  I was looking for cucumbers.  Last year I totally spaced it until the end of the Summer and by that time pickings were few.  I got there about mid morning and there were still lots of cukes!  I bought a few pounds, fresh garlic, jalapenos and dill.  Super fresh, beautiful, fragrant produce!  Perfect for pickles.

Sunday afternoon I set about making some spicy garlic dill pickles.  I know I've said before that canning is so much easier in my new kitchen, but seriously it is SO nice!  I've got lots of counter areas which made it cool to have "stations".  I also love my dishwasher!  I washed the jars while I was cleaning up the cucumbers and cutting the jalapenos and peeling the garlic.  The water started to boil right about when the dishwasher cycle ended which was perfect for processing.  The jars need to be warm so that when you add the jars to the boiling water it's not a shock - there's a chance a jar could break if it's put in cold.  I've never had that happen but it's better to be safe.

It never ceases to impress me how pretty pickles are.  My kitchen smelled so delicious!

After finishing the pickles I wanted to get some sewing done.  I went into the sewing room and who did I find in the closet snuggled with fabric?  George!  How cozy is she?

I decided to make some fabric baskets.  I've been thinking it would be cool to have some to hold random stuff.  I used the measurements from the 1 hour basket tutorial on Craftsy.  I didn't follow the tutorial, just got the measurements from it.  After making this one I wish I had actually read the directions.  Not sure what I was thinking but I left an opening for turning along the top edge instead of the lining!  It would have made my life easier to do it that way - now I'll remember for next time.

I made two at the same time with different facings.  This top one is a super stiff facing.  Not exactly my favorite.  The facing had a "memory" and kept some of the curl from being on the cardboard bolt.  I'm not a fan.  Plus turning it inside out was a super pain.  boo

This second one I used a soft fleecy facing that I use for my project bags.  I was pleasantly surprised that it held up like a basket.  I was afraid it would fold in on itself but it stands up nicely.  Currently I don't have anything in this pink floral one but I'm sure I'll fill it up with something soon!

I plan on making some shorter versions to put on my rolling cart to hold a few things like scissors and such.

chatting

I've been knitting, knitting, knitting!  Here is sock #1 of my plum medley socks.  Plum Medley is the actual colorway name.  I felt like it was very Fall and Halloween.  I started this sock on August 10th and finished today, the 22nd.  So, 12 days mostly knitting 1/2 hour a day and the last couple days my internal alarm has woken me up earlier than my alarm so have knit about an hour each day.

I went with the Fish Lips Kiss Heel (FLK) again and it went very smoothly.  I still have a teensy gap on one side so I will just add a couple stitches there but no gap on the other side.  I will have to pay more attention to try and figure out just why I'm coming up with a gap.

Today I had a half day of work since I'll be working Saturday morning.  Even though I know I'll be working tomorrow I still feel like I'm getting a vacation day somehow!  Isn't that funny?  The boys love it, I came home at regular lunch time and they haven't had to get back in their kennels.  Joey has a vet visit in a bit to get more sutures removed from his ear.  His ear is healing so well from his surgery, I'm really hoping there are no setbacks once all the sutures have been taken out.

Let's see, what else is new?  Honestly not much.  Temps are dipping back down into the 40's at night but still warm during the day.  I'm glad not to have to turn on the air conditioner, which I really just have for the boys to be comfortable during the day.  This is the sweet time during the year where my electric bill relaxes.  No air and no heat, it's pretty perfect!

I realized some time this week that I haven't done any canning.  Usually by this time I've made strawberry rhubarb jam and at least one batch of pickles.  The thing is last year I didn't eat all the pickles I made!  I still have 4 or 5 jars.  I made a triple batch last year because I had gone through them so quickly the year before.  So, I'm still deciding what I'll do.  If I decide to make some pickles I will only make one batch.  I think I want to make jam for sure but rhubarb isn't ready yet.

My Mom and I have a trip to the coast coming up!  I can't wait :)  I won't say when we're going in case any creepers read my blog. (I don't think so but must be careful) I'm really needing some beach time.  Some just sit and soak in the sound of the waves.  Some knitting in a chair in the sun or even overcast fogginess.  Just ocean time!  And, Mom time.  It's going to be good.

jam

So last weekend when I went to the store I noticed that strawberries were on sale and I bought a basket of them and enjoyed them. And then the wheels started turning in my head and I realized that I have rhubarb in the freezer! You guessed it, I decided I needed to make some strawberry rhubarb jam. It's funny because I usually associated canning things with summer/early fall and never think to can things at other times in the year. Usually my jam has turned out really runny so it's more like a syrup with chunks in it. Still delicious but not great on a peanut butter sandwich! This time I used a little more pectin (like 1/2 tbsp more) and cooked it for longer. I think it set up better this time. I still had the froth as per usual. It's super chunky and I think it's going to be delicious! In the craft house I am working on a table topper in the trip around the world pattern. I just finished the piecing and will work on quilting it a bit today maybe. I am also knitting up a new rabbit.  Maybe, maybe after this knitting project I might try my hand at socks.  I'm still pretty intimidated by socks but feel that I should give them a go!

I have to say that I haven't been reading as much as I was hoping I would. But. I have been listening to books on cd while in the craft house so I'm counting those books as reads on my list. I just finished listening to Eragon by Christopher Paolini and am now on the second book in that series called Eldest. I had read all of the books in the series before as they came out but it's nice to hear them. There are parts that I had forgotten.

back from the beach

Yikes!  I have neglected my blog!  Sorry about that.  What have I been up to?  A little pickling: enjoying farmer's market: And some much needed down time with my Mom at the beach! So much fun! We went to Ft. Bragg, CA last weekend and it was v. nice. Here was our view from the hotel room. Beautiful. We found a really nice beach with the help of a local and it was just perfect. My Mom may or may not kill me for this picture, but I think it's cute!
 We did some bird watching. They were hilarious! Mom did some reading while I did some knitting. We also trolled around Mendocino which was nice. There were some really cool shops. We also went to see Finding Nemo in 3D, which was awesome! Mom hadn't been to a 3D movie and this was only the 2nd one I had been to and we really enjoyed it. I loved sitting next to Mom listening to her laugh, she hadn't seen it before so it was fun to see her reactions :) All around it was a great trip!


ps: if you ever go to Ft Bragg you have to check out Egghead's for breakfast, it's sooooo good.  The smallest seating areas you've ever been in but worth it.  And now I must learn how to make garlic swirled crepes and it's their fault :)

to pickle or bust

Today I checked out the farmer's market hoping to find cucumber to pickle.  One of the ladies I work with had been there last weekend and said she had gotten a whole bunch.  I got there a bit later than I had thought I would and at first was kind of disappointed that I missed the boat.  There were cucumbers at a few vendors but they were either too big or not the right kind.  I asked at one booth and he said they were just starting to produce and to check back next week.  Huh.  I took another turn hoping I'd missed something somewhere.  I asked at the very last booth and she said "in the cooler."  Score!  I picked out about 70 cukes, some jalepenos and garlic.  Next stop was the grocery store and I got the very last bunch of dill!  I've never garned so much attention as when I was walking through the store with that giant (and I do mean giant) bunch of dill!  I had no less than 5 people comment!  It was hilarious.  One guy wanted to go with me home to make pickles!  Now I just need to find some grapes leaves and I'll be good to go.  There are some vines up the road so I'm going to stop and ask if I can have a branch - wish  me luck!

visit with Mom and pickles

So, last weekend I went to visit my Mom, it was great!  It was nice to see her face again and catch up a little bit.  Here are some highlights:

* We shopped till we dropped!  I found so many new clothes and Mom spoiled me!

* La Comida rice

* Pink pyrex from Mom!  Love it :) 

* Nice nice weather, pretty mild temps

* Beautiful farmer's market!  delicious scones, giant blackberries, lots of cucumbers, ripe everything

* Estate sale with tons of fabric to sort through, all you could fit in a bag for $1!!! Also found 3 other pyrex bowls for a quarter each!!!

* Sitting at the creek chatting with Mom after dinner Friday, it was fun to people watch

* Visiting with Mom's friend Nelly over breakfast at the Italian Cottage which has prolly the best cottage fries ever!

* Book sale at the library that we happened upon where I got a ton of books on tape for the hubs for .25cents each!

* Guava flavored french maccaroon that was gorgeous and delicious!

* Visiting with Jeannette and Nathan over "linner"

So, I had originally taken Monday and Tuesday off from work. Monday was going to be a drive day and Tuesday if I found enough cucumbers at Farmer's Market then I would be pickling.  So, Monday ended up being a clinic day at work so I drove home Sunday night, which is what I usually end up doing anyways.  But, since the doctor was gone the rest of the week, I got to take Tuesday off to make pickles!  I have to say, it was quite an experience!!!  Next time I will try to get everything prepared ahead of time, before I start boiling the water.....I felt a little rushed and dropped a jar in the scalding water spilling it (water) everywhere!  Luckily I didn't break anything or get burned.  All in all though, I'd call it a success. 

 There are these pickles made in Chico that are called Dave's Dazzling Dills, and they are wonderful!  They are spicy, and garlicky and tangy and a little bit pungent.  I try and buy some every time I'm there.  My mission was to try and replicate the flavor.  I found this recipe by doing a google search.  Luckily my Mom has wild grapevines growing in her back yard!  I don't know where in the world I would have found those otherwise.  So, since I was in a hurry I left peppercorns out of all of the jars except the first one, whoops!  Next time I'd like to add a little mustard seed, not sure if it will add to the flavor too much, but I just like them. 

 *****if you use that recipe make sure you only use 1/2 cup of salt NOT 1 1/2 cups**************

 

I've tried the pickles I made, the recipe said to wait three days.  They are pretty good, not as spicy or strong as Dave's.  Other recipes say to wait 6-8 weeks to try them, so maybe after that long they get stronger. 

This weekend I've been rearranging and reorganizing the craft house.  Mom gave me a couple bookshelves and one of those plastic drawer things.  I've got everything filled already with fabric and such. 

jam on

So here's a picture of the first batch of strawberry rhubarb jam that I made last Sunday.  I used the recipe out of my Ball Blue Book of Preserving.  It is a very easy recipe.  The thing with canning that I've found is that once you get everything set up and the water boiling it's easy to just make a bunch of stuff.  However, I didn't think ahead and had only bought one box of Ball pectin.  I had to stop after the first batch and run to the store for more pectin and then I did another batch.  

 

 So, you can kind of see up close here better that there are bubbles in my jam.  I'm not really sure how to get rid of that???  I skimmed the froth off the top of the jam after boiling it, but still all of the jars I made have bubbles.  But, all in all, I'm happy with the way it turned out!  I gave one jar to my friend Kristin who had said that she loves rhubarb and she said she liked it, so I think it was a success! :)

So, what's on the plate for this weekend???  I only have one thing planned, which is Kristin's son's first birthday tomorrow night.  I might make at least one skirt?  Last weekend I made one, it turned out pretty cute, very comfy.  I think I might add some lace to it, we'll see.

owlies and relish

Many, many moons ago Jan asked me to make her some owl pillows. Her MIL had gotten a catalog with this picture in it.

And so that's what she wanted. I put it on my to-do list. Last weekend I went out to the quilt store and looked all over for the perfect fabric for the tummies of the owls. Originally I thought I wanted some owl fabric a la Alexander Henry spotted owl. But, they only had a canvas with brown backround and it just didn't feel right. In the very back of the store there was a section with hunting/fishing fabrics. Which is pretty much perfect because Jan's husband is a hunter/fisherman and that's how their house is decorated. As are most of the men in this town :) this is what I came up with:

The picture looks like it is a stuffed owl that is the pillow, and I really wanted something easy to wash so I fashioned a pillow case instead of a stuffie. I'm happy with the way they turned out. The only iffy part for washing is probably going to be the felt I used for the eyes.
Aren't they funny???

So this morning I canned up some zucchini relish. This is the first time I used my food processor to cut up the veggies, and I noticed that it added a lot of air bubbles to the chopped veggies. I also added the veggies too early in the recipe and boiled then with the vinegar/sugar mixture and so therefore I think this created a ton of bubbles. Which I thought I had gotten out, but no. I took the jars out of the boiling water bath and there were a TON of air bubbles! a TON. So, I know that they won't keep on the shelf this way, so do I break the seals and start over??? How do I get those teeny bubbles out???? I made the same recipe last year, but I had hand chopped the veg which I think equals less air bubbles.

In other news, I finished the Percy Jackson series this week. I have to admit that I totally loved it! They are totally younger books, but full of action and a good story line. Yesterday I started a Beverly Lewis book called The Telling, it's the third and final book in a series of hers.

So this month is my month for the vintage sheet quilting bee and I've been receiving the blocks I asked for in the mail, it's so fun! Last night I laid them out on the ground and started making the leaf and stem blocks that will go in the middle of the flowers I asked for. Later today I'll maybe start on the butterflies. I have a feeling I'm going to love this quilt!

some relish, some Fall stuff

RELISH! Let's see, I think I made these jars on Tuesday night? After work. It's got yellow squash, red & green pepper, onion, and spices. I also added a couple cloves of garlic, but you really don't taste it. This time around, canning was a LOT easier! Apparently, though, I still can't read the recipe properly. It called for a small green & small red pepper, when I looked it over again after already adding both peppers, it only called for 1/2 cup of each and I had measured 1 cup of each. Whoops. Turned out just fine, though b/c without the extra 1/2 cup I don't think I would have had enough veggies to fill the jars. I guess that's serendipity!

Originally this weekend I had planned to bake.....but looks like that might not be what I'm doing. I love how I get a mental idea of what I want to accomplish and then the weekend turns out having a mind of it's own! So, yesterday I wandered aimlessly around stores - what was that? Turned out I was hungry and instead of feeling hungry I felt spacey....whoops. I did cut out a few quilt squares and worked on another Fall decoration. I know, it's not Fall yet, but I'm getting a head start - something a little new for me! So, this silly turkey I actually made a couple weekends ago. My Mom had given me all the fabric for it last Summer. He turned out sorta cute, huh? The hat might have to go, I'm not super thrilled with it. Okay, so then is this little pumpkin that I made up yesterday. It was from a pattern, I added the embroidery leaves on the front. I'm thinking that I will add a little raffia around the stem area, but I didn't have any in my craft stash - shocking!

So, the big news is that I finally finished a project that I have LITERALLY been working on for like 2 years. I haven't told the recipient yet, but I'm fairly sure she also doesn't read my blog. My best friend Jeannette had asked me to do a scrapbook for her son, the first 6 months. So, I have been working and working on it. Last weekend, DingDong Me realized that I had finished the first 6 months a looooooong time ago! Argh! so it has like 3 extra months in it. I usually like to end at a good place so it's ending right after Christmas. I can't wait to give it to her, hopefully she will like it :)

I also finished a knitting project, which I can't post a pic of yet b/c it's a gift :) I am finding that it's a whole lot easier/faster for me to knit with circular needles. Apparently I "prop" my needles in between stitches. I learned from a book, and so that's just the way that felt comfortable I guess, but it does slow me up a bit.

Industriousness

Okay, so the table is one that I found at the Hospice thrift that I love so much. I saw it and knew I just really had to have it. Once we get back to our regular house I think it is going to look so cute in the foyer! This is the frame that I have intended to change out for each season. As you can see I'm a little late with Summer, but at least it is still technically Summer! hee hee I love the paper and the embellishments!!!! I have so many ideas for Fall, it will be fun to see what comes out!
So, last Monday when I got to work, this pot with fleurs was sitting on my desk! My lovely coworkers put it together for me since my flower beds at my house have been ripped out during construction. Hubby did manage to salvage my bulbs for me, but still. So there was a cute little card that read: Gina's idea, Sue's pot and Debbie's flowers! So they all pitched in and it turned out wonderfully! It is on a plant stand that I have in the kitchen. I love it :)

I finally, finally finished the patriotic banner that I started last year! I fastened each star to the bias tape with a button to cover the stitches, I think it turned out fun!

So this past weekend I started my first quilt, cutting out some squares. I started that on Saturday, and then Sunday I made my first ever apricot jam! I have 4 books on canning/freezing/drying things so I thought I was ready to can up the apricots that I had picked. But, aparently I am not as great at reading directions as I had originally thought! So, in the Ball book there was a picture box with a spoon with jam dripping off of it to give you and idea of what the jam should do when it has reached the gelling point. I assumed that the spoon shown was the spoon you'd used to stir the jam while it was cooking. After I finished boiling the jars and panicking to get everything jarred up quickly enough I relooked at the book and realized that the spoon should have been a different spoon that was cold. Whoops. I think I am going to have to remake my jam. Luckily, I had bought a box of pectin and in the instructions in there it said I can remake the jam and add the pectin. What a relief! I have to tell you that even though I had read up on the subject, it was a little disconcerting trying to get the apricots peeled, mixed up, cooked properly, get the jam in the jars, wipe the jars down, get them in the boiling water, record the time, then worry about the seals on the jars. Now that I know what to expect though, I think it will go smoother next time. And, I do feel kind of industrious :)

The fruits of my labor :)