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Thankfully, the bunnies are feeling much better! |
Around here, we have been enjoying what is starting to feel like summer- the garden is beginning to produce, and we have had amazing fresh salads several nights this past week.
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There is nothing better than going outside to pick your fresh food, and then eating it a few minutes later! |
Prepping strawberries for jam |
I love kitchen gadgets! This "Tomato Shark" made hulling the strawberries easy! |
Canning helpers |
More canning helpers... ;) |
Boiling strawberries and sugar |
Exciting canning action shots taken by my husband |
Found a great recipe in this book- strawberries and sugar :) |
The jam came out really loose, as there was no added pectin. I like it this way; it is more like strawberry topping. I often use jam to flavor my yogurt, so this worked out perfectly for me.
In other farm news, the lightening bugs are back. I can't really begin to describe to you what that looks like here- I know most people have seen lightening bugs before, but I have never, ever seen them like this before. The low lying fields and trees are positively full of them, millions of them, and they sparkle and sparkle and sparkle. It is a sight to behold; the first time my husband and I saw them here, we were in the car and we stopped and just looked out the windows for a long time. Just the other day, Brian caught one in the house and took a photo before setting it free.
The chickens are really laying now that the days are longer...anyone need any eggs?
And finally, I had to get new storage for my fabric and pattern stash, because the old cabinet caved under pressure :) This was my Mother's Day gift, and I am very pleased with it. However, moving the stash made me realize that I have far too much stuff, and I think I am to the point where it is stifling my creativity because I don't know where to begin. So what did I do when my friend offered me some nice fabric on Wednesday? I took it home and crammed it in with the rest, of course. Some habits die hard. I did immediately put some of that fabric to use though, and yesterday I made myself a new sun hat for the summer using Butterick 3850 - a vintage Betsey Johnson accessories pattern circa early 1970s.
I have listed it for sale on eBay as part of my clean out. This is a neat pattern, and I have never seen it anywhere else. I need to get a good photo of the front for the Vintage Pattern Wiki. And here are a few too many pics of my finished hat!
My fabric was a little floppy, but I kinda like it that way, and I plan on starching the hell out of the brim to make it just a little less so. It is called a "fireman style" and is perfect for really keeping the sun off. And I love this fabric with the bees, citrus, and checks- it is all summer!
Well , now that I am back in the swing, I have a lot of blog reading to catch up on too! I hope the weekend is treating you well!