Cool Morning

It was 71 degrees when we woke up this morning in south Mississippi.  I am grateful for the break in the weather.  The garden has gone wild, given over to the insects and weeds for now.  I canned 20 quarts of tomato sauce this past weekend.

This is my sock yarn blanket that I have been using what is left from my skeins of socks I have made in the past. My daughter has her eye on this one.  She likes boho decorating.  It is coming along slowly and will be put away for a while when I start on my Christmas projects.  

Now I know this looks like a stick but I purchased the L hook from Shady Groves on Etsy.  I have been contemplating making my own someday but I like to buy unique hooks from other people.  My husband brought me tree branch, more like a small log, and said "Here, I got you a crochet hook". He's a funny guy.  I am not using this to make this blanket, I am hoping to use a heavier yarn with this.  It is a beautiful hook.

Have a great day!

Garden life and Growing Gifts

The garden is in full swing.  Potatoes look good so far this year after the diseased results last year.  There is also a parsnip growing from a top we planted.  Beans are perky, garlic has sent up shoots and we have extra tomato plants growing with the new crop from last year.

A fig tree arrived as a gift from my coworker after my MIL's passing.  It is a nice healthy tree, we are not sure if we will keep this as we aren't huge fig people, but maybe we will.  It likes it here.

My husband brought home one of the citrus trees that I bought for my MIL.  It had to live in a pot in Missouri and we are anxious to put it in the ground and let the roots spread out.  The tree is probably 7 or 8 years old and has a few lemons on it already. 

We had a lot of heavy rain and thankfully flooding hasn't been to bad along the coast.  

Time of the Year

This is the time of the year where everyone is anxiously awaiting spring.  I have been struggling with blueberry bushes, do I want to add more and knuckle down?  What plants are going in the garden this year?  I am late with starting seedlings.  Now is also the time to start planning crafted Christmas gifts, I am already taking stock of yarn and various other materials.  I have been saving bits of yarn from socks and hats and have started a large granny square blanket. 

Not large enough yet but it will get there. 
We have also been toying with buying land but have decided to put that on the back burner for now.  The only land cheap enough are in flood zones and with a proposed casino in the works our land prices will go up.  Timing is everything.
So it's Monday, and I always love the question about what I did during the weekend.  My answer is usually, I planned the weekly menu, baked two loaves of bread, sewed some clothes and worked with some yarn.  Pretty exciting stuff for the twenty and thirty somethings lol. The flu and sinus infections are running rampant here, please take care. 

Road Trip to the Ark

Made a surprise road trip to Arkansas to pick up wood slabs.  It was a nice trip, very hot. 

The Ash slabs will become a table once it has dried out more. 

Of course I couldn't stop at a couple of flea markets while there.

Frankoma bean pot, new condition, very cheap.

Old Hickory, never used, my husband will put an edge on it.

A liquor store having a huge sale.  Vanilla extract in the works. 

What I really went in there for.

I came home to pick tomatoes.

This is what I pick everyday usually.  My coworkers are very happy!

Red all the way through.  I had my daughter run this morning to pick up my eggs from the egg lady.

And I did not pick this up in the Ark, but she wanted to have her picture taken.

Old One Eye

Not a bad weekend, thanks for stopping by!

Relish

While on the way back from the weekly food shopping trip my husband asked me when was the last time I canned relish.  It had been a while due to the decrease in garden size most relishes are made with cheap ingredients.  My neighbors behind us have a huge garden and they are done picking in June regardless of what continues to grow so we are able to glean from them.  People at church, the local farmers market and a man who comes to my work with flats of fruits and vegetable should be able to see us through also until we increase the garden again.  

Zucchini Relish (two days) 6pts

10 cups peeled and finely chopped small zucchini

6 - 8 bell peppers seeded and finely chopped

4 large onions or 6 small finely chopped

1/2 cup salt

2 1/2 cups white vinegar

4 cups white sugar

2 T cornstarch

1 t ground nutmeg

1 t turmeric

2 t celery seed

1/2 t ground black pepper

Put all your chopped vegetables in a stainless steel bowl or a crockery bowl.  Cover with salt and place a weighted plate on top to keep them in the brine.  Let sit overnight.

Rinse in cold water and squeeze out excess liquid by hand.  Mix your cornstarch and seasonings and add to the white vinegar in a large pot.  Heat until boiling and once the sugar has dissolved add vegetables and simmer for 30 minutes.

Pour into clean, hot, sterilized jars and process for 10 minutes in water bath canner (185F). Complete seals.

Tomatoes

I am always excited when the tomatoes start coming.  That is when the real work starts, stink bugs will follow soon after.  Our garden is a lot smaller than in years past but we plan to extend it more next year.  We had lost one of our beds due to a tree, then had to take the tree down anyway.

Growing Great Garlic

I received this the other day, other people curl up with an epic novel:

I have never tried to grow garlic before though it is something I have always wanted to do.  I hope to take this on in the winter. 

It had me at the Preface: