Kiwi Strawberry Jam

We got a great price on kiwi the other day so I bought some thinking I could make jam. I found a recipe that called for chopped kiwi and strawberries - 2 cups total fruit. The recipe sounded good and I had strawberries in the freezer cleaned and frozen in 1 cup packages. That and sugar were the major ingredients so I was good to go. I made the jam Sunday and it was really very good! It made 3 one cup jars and 3 4 oz jars. I find the smaller jars great for my use as I'm the only one who eats jam (most of the time) and I can finish a jar and them try another type. I will really enjoy eating this - the strawberries give it an interesting sweetness.

There really was more jars - I just shot this close up. YUM!!

A Snowy Day

We expected snow and we got it! Several inches this morning and more through the day. The snow was very fine and I swept the steps in the morning and they were clear. B got the snow blower out mid morning after I cleaned the cars off. Honey supervised us both. She just LOVES the snow. It's 23 degrees out. We did some more cleaning off this afternoon and instead of taking Honey for a ride, B just put her in the SUV while he cleaned the cars off a second time.

That blur by B is the dog who was chasing back and forth this early this morning

And I cleaned off the cars with this neat snow "rake" that is soft enough to pull the snow off and not scratch the car. Much better than the broom I had been using.

Dumped the broom and used the "rake" You can see the depth on the porch railing

No ride for Honey today!! But B put her in the car and she supervised him.



Snow

We got snow. Forecast says 5 to 7 inches.

Thursday rain

It was a gloomy day. Rain in the morning heavy at times. Honey had a vet appointment. Off we went with her barking incessantly. The visit went fine her normal yearly check up. Back home she was pooped and so were we!

Dinner is easy so I'm relaxing. Steak cauliflower with cheese and frozen Lima beans. Did I mention it's raining? We are expecting very cold temperatures over the next few days as is NJ and Philly area. No snow in the forecast We will stay warm!

January is for Organizing

When you look at the magazine covers for January - the "woman's" magazines like Family Circle, Better Homes and Gardens - you see they are all focusing on getting "things" in order. I suppose it's tied in to New Years Resolutions - something that neither of us do any more. After all, it's only a matter of how long before you break them. But I have been attempting to be more organized in my approach to tasks.
I have a running To Do list that I often add to. Now this list is somewhat specific and deals with the day to day stuff rather than lofty goals and unrealistic expectations. Over the past week I have crossed off tasks such as descale Kurig (something that the coffee maker recommends to do every three months and so it's also in my phone calendar and I get a reminder) put Christmas tree away, return iPhone case (I ordered 2 in error and Amazon makes returns easy), polish kitchen counter, freeze the leftover pizza, find lost library book (I'm still looking) do laundry (and when I cross that off I then have to put it on the list again), pay bills, do labels for file folders, clean out files in filing cabinet. I have some things I've carried over several pages - still have to order vitamins and download ebooks to the iPad from the library. But I'm making headway!
Today I worked in the loft on the file cabinet. I'm rather good at keeping papers and had folders with general headings - but I broke that out to better track and locate things I refer back to. So now I have folders for Home Improvements broken out by year and purchases and invoices from contractors go in those folders. Time passes by and we lose track of just how long ago we redid the kitchen floor or fixed the deck. And I also shredded stuff that really wasn't needed. Of course to do that I had to hook up a printer and then figure out how to print out labels for the file folders. So I feel I accomplished something today and the list is helping.
While the day was cool, it wasn't cold. I'm not complaining as no snow makes things so much easier. Yesterday, when we went out to breakfast, the windshield was clear of frost so that was really easy. Walking Honey is not a chore as we don't freeze and she doesn't slide. Well, off to start dinner - and get a glass of wine.