Big Changes

Exciting changes going on here. This past Sunday a friend asked if I would make a quilt for him for his wife for Christmas and several friends contacted me about commissioning me to crochet some items. Then a random woman contacted me about making a sweater for her 10 month old niece & also asked if I could do some drawing & painting in her home. I'm so excited!! I guess I really never thought selling my handmades would actually bring in some extra money.

The other big change is Ken was offered the local job with the company he works for...and he accepted the job yesterday. It's a pay cut but to have my hubby home every night would kick all sorts of fannie. We'll be making some sacrifices but we have no doubt those sacrifices are beyond worth it. I've always been drawn to the way our ancestors did things way back when & now we will be implementing more of those things. I can honestly tell you I get my kicks out of making things with my own 2 hands rather than purchasing at the store. Some of the things I have already implemented are homemade laundry detergent, cleaners, baking breads, preserving food, stockpiling, crocheting many items, mending clothes & we only have energy efficient light bulbs in our fixtures. I feel guilty purchasing anything at the store if it's not on sale or if I don't have a coupon for it and I only purchase it if it is absolutely necessary. Our stockpile in the basement pantry keeps us out of the stores as well. I will be making our dog & cat treats and hopefully baking all of our breads. We are huge on enjoying the outdoors & I'll tell you, Upper Michigan has some of the most gorgeous places if one just gets of their butt to experience. The added bonus is it's FREE!!! We're looking forward to being able to spend time with our friends & family, sitting around the table playing boardgames and just having a 'normal' life. I'm sure it'll be quite an adjustment as it's been almost 10 years since we had a daily structure but it shall be fun!!

Ok, this kicks all sorts of bootie!!!

It's finally summer here in the Upper Penninsula of Mi. It take awhile but by golly, it's here...for the time being. We'll see what next week brings. Who knows, it may snow!!!! Anyways, the Farmer's Market downtown is going strong & each week more & more goods are showing up...which pretty much = one happy gal!!!! I'll have some recipes coming up with some of the yummalicious treats I scored while there.

But this post I wanted to tell you about a new Farm Stand I went to today. Now let me tell you this....it kicked all sorts of bootie!! Ken had told me about it last week on one of his trucking adventures. It's right outside of town so it's not far at all. We Yoopers measure distance in minutes...so roughly 7 minutes out of town, give or take. Holy bean bags!! I thought I was going there to get some blueberries & maybe a watermelon. Lemme tell you, this stand was stocked with fabulous goodies & I took it upon myself to stock up. Oh, almost forgot to mention...the prices were out-freaking-standing. Where else can you buy 2 pineapples for 5 buckaroos? Well besides Mexico. Ok, so back to what I got...here's a picture & a list...cuz I know you wanna know ;) ps...I am fully aware that my kitchen needs an update...but c'mon, that yellow counter-top rocks...you know it does.

1/2lb garlic which was 2 heads

3 1/2lb pickling cukes

1 papaya (never had real papaya...just flavored drinks)

3 1/2lb pears which was 9 fruits

2pts of blueberries

1 1/2lb sweet cherries

2 green peppers

3 kiwi

2 big cukes

2lb bananas & then the gal GAVE me 8lb FREE because they had a couple tiny brown spots. Chloe (the tortoise ) is going to be one happy reptile =) Then I'm pretty sure we'll have banana bread, muffins, pancakes up the ying yang for awhile...which totally rocks my sox!!! (p.s. I do the sox thing on purpose...it's for my Red Sox...heeehee)

An 8lb seedless watermelon

2 pineapples

4 zucchini's

6 lemons

a honeydew melon

5 limes

3 1/2lbs tomatoes (ours are not ripe yet so this will tide us over)

6 Granny Smith Apples

6 Golden Delicious Apples

10 ears of corn

3 1/2lbs baby reds

Whew...that's a lot of stuff eh!!! All for a very reasonable price mind you!! What will I do with all this in our household of 2 you might wonder??? Pickles, jams, waffles, breads, salsa, stewed tomatoes, juice, pie or tort, muffins, roasting, grilling, smoothies & canning are in this gals very near future!!

If I can can so can you!!!

Yup, you guess it, I've been canning again. Actually all day to be exact. I am afraid my Thankful Thursday weekly post will have to be postponed to tomorrow. I can call it Fwankful Friday then right? ;) Ok, back to preserving...totally did the peaches today & as far as I know they turned out yummalish!! Now, I haven't been canning for too many years. Usually it's the normal jams & jellies but this year I've allowed myself to go a bit bonkers in the domesticated department if you will. You'll see proof of such domesticated-ness in this very post!! Ok, so as my title says...if I can can, so can you. So, gather your supplies & lets go on a canning adventure with one huge dork...that'd be me =)















You'll need peaches. I have a bushel. Dork head me didn't measure it out exactly. Actually I rarely if ever measure things out. Cuz I live on the dangerous side. No wonder why the peas in the stew were hard!!! Should have read that peas need to be soaked. Anyways, that's another story for another time...Ok, peaches. Ok, so on the bottom I cut an X for easier peeling.

I then gathered my big honkan kettle that I like use for EVERYTHING & this fantastical apron my neighbor gave me for my birthday. Oh, and yes, if you look at the photo closely you will indeed see a Christmas clock on the wall behind the stove. Totally forgot it up there & honestly, I rather enjoy hearing a Christmas Carol each hour.

Ok, so miss dorkface HAD to model the apron. Not saying you will need a dork for this recipe...but it may help to be a lil dorky. It makes things funner. Especially peeling & pitting that many peaches. So yeah, put on something fun to wear that reflects some inner dork & some quirk. Plus the earrings help & the necklace sent by a friend completed my lovely ensemble.

Ok, peaches marked with an X, water boiling submerge peaches into the boiling water for ohhh about 60 seconds. You'll notice the skin starting to pull away from the yummy fruit. strain & then dump peaches into cold water. (This helps to get those skins off)

Peal skins, cut in half, pit & put into hot jars. Oh, and by the way you make a simple syrup of water & sugar to pour over the fruit. Now, be sure there are no air bubbles or your goods will turn yucky & all that hard work would be for nill. Wipe rims of jars, adjust lids & rings, tighten & place them into a boiling water bath. I processed mine for about a half an hour. They sealed up swell!!

During the water bath time be sure to model & show off some more "inner dorkiness" I do soooo love this apron Mrs Rinne gave me. It totally saved my shirt today & the roosters on it made me giddy with glee!!!

Applesauce...Shwell

Before you think I made a typo let me explain the title. Ok, this is highly dorky but it totally fits me =) Ok, when I was young we'd watch The Brady Bunch every night. Well in one of the episodes Peter says "pork chops and applesauce...shwell" That saying has stuck in my brain since then & if I talk about applesauce I automatically have to say shwell. I know...bizarre & a bit wackadoodle-ish.















We collected this bucket of apples Sunday night from Pat & Sam's house & I finally got time today to make them into yummy sauce. I first washed them, and cut off any not too swell looking spots. I didn't bother peeling them as the puree-er that I have would catch the skins. Plus the apples were rather small. (The next batch I will peel them) The picture I took of the apples cooking down turned out real crappy. So this is what I did...put the quartered apples in a very large pot, added some apple juice, a bit of sugar & water to prevent sticking. Covered the pot & let it boil. I stirred the apples periodically to prevent sticking & burning. I decided to use part apple juice instead of all water in the pot because I think that using all water takes away some of the apple flavor. It's totally up to the cook what they'd like to use.

After the apples were mushy enough I spooned them into Mom's applesauce maker. I recently blogged about this awesome gadget I inherited that was my Mom's. Using it today made me giddy as all heck. It was a lot of work but well worth it. As I rotated the wooden thing in the metal sieve the sauce dripped through the tiny holes & was then caught in a bowl that was placed under the sieve.

That whole basket of apples only yielded 5 jars. But it was a start & a trial run to the upcoming applesauce making days. Plus the apples made my home smell like Fall & inspired me to dig out my autumn decorations. Oh, how I love the Fall season!!! The apple orchard in Garden should be open starting next week. Then we'll be back in business and that is rather shwell if I do say so meself!!! =)

Everything Reminds Me of Her...

My 1st Communion with my Mom & Dad







Lately it seems like everything reminds me of my Mom. I do canning & Mom comes into my memory, I go on a crocheting frenzy, again, Mom pops in my head. The other night while going through some old books on the bookshelf upstairs I ran across my Mom's Needlepoint book. I decided to take it to bed with me & did some reading up on different techniques & whatnot. In the front inside cover my Mom had written her name in cursive & as I thumbed through the patterns & designs I came across a piece of paper that had a pattern for crocheted snowmen. I remember Mom making those lil guys for the Church Bizarres!!!




Yesterday Ken was home & we were both on each others last nerve. At one point I got sooo irritated with him I told him I didn't like him right now but I still love him. I guess we were both in a mood so to speak. It doesn't happen often but I guess even the biggest love birds need a break from each other.



I pretty much chalk my moods to my Mom's upcoming birthday, July 20th. For some reason I always get frumy froggish near & on her birthday. It's rather silly. She has been dead for 22yrs. I only knew her for 10 short years. Even now, sometimes my memory of her fades but it always comes back to me during times like these.



I'll tell ya what happened today. I was making some stewed tomatoes to be canned and my neighbor lady friend called me to tell me Pat across the alley was having a rummage sale today & if we wanted we could walk over there & check it out. I was total game!! Heck yeah!! I grabbed a bit of moolah & away I went!! I found an adorable Christmas tablecloth, some wooden bowls for salad, a quilted pillow, an 8 track of James Taylor & a set of old encyclopedias.

The James Taylor 8 track has a childhood favorite song on it..."You've Got A Friend" I just had to have it!!



Now one may wonder what in tarnation I would want an old set of encyclopedias for. Cuz I like reading em for funs sake!! Much to my surprise Pat told me she had a box in the corner for them. I went to grab the box & memories of my parents engulfed me. It was a Red Owl box!!! I remember on Saturday mornings going to our local Red Owl grocery store with Mom & Dad. It was located where our JC Penneys is currently.


I looked around more & what did I see but crocheted snowmen!!! I almost started to cry. I had just 2 nights prior found my Mom's pattern for such things & there were two similar ones in front of my face. I didn't buy them though...I plan on making a handful with Mom's pattern in time for Christmas.



After I returned with my fun rummage sale finds I cooked & canned 9 jars of the stewed tomatoes & began making applesauce & rhubarb jam. I ended up with a quadruple plus one batch of jam. What is 5 batches of jam called anyways? A pentagonal batch or perhaps a Cinco batch? Heckles if I know. I just call it a quad plus one.





These are a couple other things that remind me daily of my Mom...

Below is a picture of the afghan my Mom made that I sleep with every night. Yup, I'm a 32yr old kid who still needs a blankie. Actually I was in my 20's when my siblings gave me Mom's afghan. I had that "needing to sleep with a blankie" thing conquered before I was given this ultra fabulous blanket!!






Also, I inherited Mom's wedding dress. It was always a dream of mine to get married on her birthday & wear her wedding dress. When some people are shown our room they get the heebbie jeebies & think that Mom's wedding dress on the wall above our bed is eerie. I absolutly LOVE it & have a feeling of safety with it above me.




These "things" I speak of are just that..."things" I don't have too many memories of Mom, actually we didn't have the time in life to make oodles of fun, lasting Mom/daughter memories. I was 10 when both my parents died. But the memories I do have I hold tight & cherish & never allow myself to forget. It's all I have...things... to evoke memories. I wonder if memories of Mom will dance in my head as I sleep tonight.

How this gal gets her thrills!!

Our Farmer's Market is now starting to bloom with awesome produce & crafts & other baked & canned goodies.

Ken was home this afternoon so we both got to go. First we picked up more rhubarb, like 5 bunches of it. Ken just loves rhubarb & he has almost consumed all the jam I made!! With what I just bought we should be golden for quite awhile!! =)

I picked up some honkan HUGE radishes! Like for serious, they are the size of large carrots. The woman selling them used to belong to the Laide's Guild at Church with my Mom years ago. I recognized her but she had no clue who I was. We also picked up some romaine lettuce for us & some spinach for my tortoise =)

Speaking of my tortoise...her name is Chloe. Chloe Michelle to be exact. Ken really wanted to name her "Shelly" because of her shell skeleton. Total originality there! Anyways, my friend has been a foster Mom to Chloe for the past few months because we were on the road. Well, now with Ken back at Niagara & with me staying home more it's time for Chloe to come home!!! =)

There was a woman from a Farm in Iron Mountain selling fresh Free Range Chicken. The thought of the chickens not being penned up & not having anything injected into them totally appealed to us so we bought some breasts to try out.

Tomorrow I will be jammin 5 batches of rhubarb jam & making a big batch stewed tomatoes to can for future Ken's sketti meals. Did I ever mention what a fabulous cook Ken is? He's oober messy & doesn't clean up after himself but the dishes he makes have always been scrumptious!!

Why is it that most of the people who go to the Farmer's Market are 20 years or more older than me? Am I like one of the only people my age that get their thrills out of canning & preserving?

We be Jammin'

Today I woke up feeling fantastic!! Such an awesome feeling!




Seeing today was so awesome I decided to start on making my jams & jellies. Last weekend I bought some rhubarb at our local Farmers Market. Then today I had to go to the regular grocery store’s produce department for the rest of my fruity needs. I made a batch of rhubarb jam, one batch of strawberry/rhubarb jam, one batch of peach jam & one batch of pear jam. I ended up with 7 jars of the pear, 7 peach, 10 strawberry/rhubarb, and 5 jars of the rhubarb.

I have this thing, when I make something I have to share it with my neighbors. Mrs Rinne, my step Mom, My mom in law & my neighbor each got one of the strawberry/rhubarb, a peach & a pear. still have plenty for Ken & I. I still have cherry jelly and strawberry jam to make.

Living in Upper MI doesn’t give us much of a growing season. Hopefully strawberries will be ready next week so I can get on a roll with that. We have two local strawberry patches here where we can pick our own berries. It’s pretty much a tradition.

I also am trying out wine making. I found a recipe a week or so ago. I wish I knew where I got it from. Anyways, I’ve never tried doing this & haven’t a clue how it will turn out. Funny thing is, neither Ken or I are wine drinkers much. My first batch is apple wine. I figure I can cook pork in it if I don’t feel like drinking. I’m not very patient & this recipe requires patience…not one of my strong points. It’ll take 30 days to do it’s fermenting process. Each of those days I have to stir the water, sugar, fruit mixture. After 30 days I can bottle it up & then let it sit on the shelf for up to 6 months. I reckon by the time it’s done I’ll be ready for a drink!!

My friend Sammi stopped by today on her way to a rummage sale. I haven’t been to a sale in a long time. It was just up the street so we walked there. She found a couple things & I found this stinkan adorable kitty toilet paper holder thingy for a buck & I had to have it for my bathroom!! Doesn't it look sooo fartan adorable in there!!