Sunday

We had intended to go to breakfast this morning but Honey got sick. Tummy trouble that started at 4 o'clock and woke me up. She was doing better by 8 and we gave her some eggs and cheese which helped. By mid afternoon she was back to normal.

It was a busy weekend just doing things around the house. Several loads of laundry, meals to cook, general cleaning and dusting. I've been working downstairs trying to refuse the "stuff" we have. I'm making headway.

Dinner was roast in the oven with potatoes and carrots. It was very good and there is enough left over for sandwiches or something.

No, it's not exciting but it's enjoyable.

Canning and such

Here are some pictures of the canning I did last week.

My first project was blueberry jam. It turned out VERY sweet! But VERY good!

Notice that green "thing" in the back. This is a new product - a small batch Ball canning rack. The nice thing is it fits into most stock pots so you don't need to buy a large canner to try caning out. 3 pints (or half pints) fit in it. The important thing is to use a stock pot that will allow the water to be 2 inches over the top of the jar. Anyway, I used that but since the blueberry jam made 6 jars I had to do it in three batches. Next time I'll use the canner.

And here the jars are, all lined up. When totally cooled I take the twist on part of the lid off, label them and store down stairs.

The next project was Onion Relish with thyme. I chose this because Vidalia Onions were available at the local WalMart for $2. for 4 pounds. This recipe took about 2 pounds along with thyme sprigs from my pots, apple cider vinegar and light corn syrup. After simmering on the stove about 45 minutes to cook the onions, I water bathed them in that handy green small batch canner rack. This made 3 jars.

And here it is in the stock pot being processed. Since we live at 1200 ft above sea level, I have to add 5 minutes to each water bathed batch so this went for 25 minutes.

I enjoyed canning and will be doing another type of blueberry jam today using the larger canner so that all the jars get processed at once.

The new Weber grill is going to be delivered today so depending on how many parts it comes in will depend on when we start to use it! B took the old grill apart and took it over to the Township's appliance dumpster. So we are all ready!!

It rained today

It's 6 o'clock and dinner is in the oven. B is in the living room looking at the Philly news and I'm at the bar in the kitchen facing the kitchen so I can see the stove. While we had a rather gloomy and rainy day, apparently we didn't have nearly the rain South Jersey had - Elmer had 9 inches and Glassboro (where we went to college) had 7 and Philly had over 4. We didn't reach that at all. When we had rain it was a misty drizzle.

I did nothing this morning...well, it's Sunday and that's what Sunday is about! We did go to breakfast. I had a toasted corn muffin and ate the entire thing with 2 cups of coffee. YUM!  We got home and I just puttered around and really can't say what I did. I was on the computer and looked at the ads in the Sunday paper and ....well, I don't know. We at lunch around noon - hot dogs on the grill. Let me talk about that grill... it's a Charm Glow that we got at Home Depot several years ago -maybe three. I use it often - keep it covered with a heavy duty cover and feel I take good care of it. And the grates are kinda shot so when B started talking about a replacement I was all for it. The Webber grills sounded good! We had looked at them last week when we went to Ace Hardware. Went on Amazon and some other web sites and Amazon looked good with no tax and no shipping charge....and we ordered it. YEA. As I cooked the hot dogs I thought - gosh these things are taking forever to get done...and the temperature on the lid (not that it's accurate) said 320 so.. anyway the new grill should get here this week.

So for whatever reason, this afternoon I felt inspired. First I worked downstairs on the lower level. I have books on line to sell for our local library and I reviewed what I had and removed about 12 that were not going to sell since they had been on line for over 2 years. I also straightened things up and made it look neater. I then went up to the loft and did a quick sort of the "stuff" on my desk and filed, shredded or did something with everything. YEA..

And then I went to the kitchen. I've been trying to get back into canning. The other day I did blueberry jam - and it was good. Rather sweet but good. So I canned 7 jars in 3 batches. Today I first baked a cake. Now it was a mix so all I did was mix it up and pop it into the oven. And I still have to make icing. I then started the next canning project Vidalia Onion Thyme Relish which turned out OK. I canned three half pints and have a bit to taste. It's oniony with a sweet tart taste.

I also just finished icing the cake.Icing is REALLY good!  For diner we had roasted chicken using the convection oven...love convection.

And the day was good...and I'm tired. Busy afternoon and it's still kinda soggy out. So we will have some cake and relax..happy Sunday!

A new week ...A new month

I'm posting from the iPad Realized I could do that easily while we sit at the table having coffee, reading the paper and watching the news. Maybe I'll post more as this is easy and convenient. It's 65 out and we had rain overnight. B just brought Honey in from one of her many morning walks.

The news jus reported that there was a tornado touchdown both in Scranton and on Wayne County. Fortunately we only had heavy rain and moderate winds.

Catching up on my pictures

Back in May, Honey and I were spending some quality time in the living room. I had my IPad and find it works better up on the arm of the sofa since she often lands in my lap. When we first got her I was very adamant that she not be on the chairs or sofa. That didn't last very long! I cover the sofa with a sheet and have accepted doggie tracks on the two leather chairs by the front windows that she bounds into to see outside. The sofa still looks OK but it's hairy as she really sheds!

 We got a kiddie pool since our first lab loved to splash in the water. It's up on the deck that runs around the house and with the gates, that is an area that she can run around in. Well, she is interested in the water but looks upon the pool as a VERY large water bowl. Here I am trying to encourage her to "come on in".....

 This is as far as we got... and she still doesn't go in the water!! Thought labs were water dogs???

Maybe some day.

 My day lilies continue to look good. I took a lot of pictures because this is the first year they have done well. Really pretty.

 And it's not all fun and games around here, either!

I did a beer can chicken on the grill last night that turned out very good! Since it was a large 6 pound Purdue chicken it took about 2 hours but was worth the wait. I made potato salad that was exemplary, if I do say so. Along with that fresh green beans that B purchased the other day when he stopped off at the store for me. And he also purchased Kirby pickles so I could make another batch of Ma's pickles.  This time I purchased some dill at the store since my dill is not doing well. I also cut up 3 green peppers and put the vinegar/water mix on them as well. And, to fill up the final jar I added some sweet onions. Never did onions before with this recipe so it remains to be seen how that will taste. The pickles sit out for several hours and then into the refrigerator. Much easier than canning and very good! I think of B's mom and what good things she made whenever I make one of her dishes.