blueberries!

What's New?

Joe and I picked 8 lbs of blueberries last weekend! I was afraid that we'd missed the season this year. So many blueberry farms were already closed, and the ones that were still open said that picking was slim. We went to a closer farm in North Bend instead of driving all the way to Arlington. I was relieved to find blueberries still on the bushes.

So far I've only made blueberry cinnamon rolls (no boy bait yet - school is starting next week and I've been overwhelmingly busy)

Currently Reading

• Mink River by Brian Doyle - I finished Mink River, and let me just say that the last paragraph was amazing. It's very long, but I'll give you a taste:

"...seven drops of water fell from the sky, headlong, pell-mell, sliding from the brooding mist, and then seventy, and then the gentle deluge, a whisper of wet, a thorough and persistent pittering on leaf mold and newt knuckle, web and wood, tent and vent, house and mouse, the rain splattering the sea, soaking boots, rinsing streets, fluffing owls and wetting towels..."

• If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things by Jon McGregor - Just started this last night. I put it on my to-read list after looking for more books written in the poetry/prose style like Mink River.

On the Needles
No time to knit this week, due to getting my classroom set-up, attending back-to-school meetings in my building, and just generally working my tush off to be ready next week when the kiddos walk through the door.

Looking Forward To

1. spending Saturday with friends

deep breaths

What's New?

I spent the last week camping, berry picking and stressing about a job I applied for. Turns out I have an interview coming up, so more stressing is in order. Just kidding (sort of). I do need to take deep breaths, and remember that I have much to offer. The rest is in their hands.

Tomorrow I get to take both cats to the vet for their yearly check-up. That should be an adventure. Afterwards I get to reward myself with rollerskating. Yep, you read that right. Rollerskating. I feel the 80's calling me.

Currently Reading

• Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements by Hugh Aldersey-Williams

On the Needles

My Leaflet cardigan is off the needles! Now it's time for sleeves.

Looking Forward To:

1. spending time with Luci the dog

changes

What's New?

I cleaned up my 'porch' area today in our 80* Seattle heatwave (I know... just roll with it). I got a new bistro set, and a plant stand for my herbs. Of course, it's too hot outside to sit out there, but I hope to enjoy it soon. Maybe I'll have breakfast outside tomorrow.

I used up all my u-pick strawberries making this jam, this jam, and this tasty dessert. The strawberry-honey jam is by far my favorite. It set up very nicely and has a pure strawberry taste (as opposed to traditional strawberry jam which kind of tastes like strawberries and sugar).

I've been so completely busy the past two weeks, it feels like my summer vacation will never start. I've been working at school on my room and my ProTeach portfolio (which is finally finished!), getting my placement file up-to-date (it's been seven years, after all), and staring at all the projects I need to tackle at home. It's a bit overwhelming, really. I'm going camping next week, which will help me unplug and unwind, and it can't come soon enough. I hope to emerge a more rested and centered person at the end of that trip.

Currently Reading

• The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

On the Needles

My Leaflet cardigan is almost finished! I have 10 more rows to complete before starting on the ribbed edge. Then, of course, I still have to do the sleeves, but those will go very quickly as they are only half-sleeves.

Looking Forward To

1. camping with Kristi & Tyler

October

I (almost) finished Joe's birthday present in time. I still need to add the words 'Avengers Assemble' to the bottom, and Captain America's 'A' and then it'll be finished.

The beginning of October was very sunny and dry, and the cats enjoyed watching squirrels out the window.

The trees around the corner showed magnificent color. Unfortunately all those leaves have come off in the recent storm.

I started a square for a quilt project to honor the memory of a college friend. It's the most complicated quilt square I've ever attempted, but I'm determined to give it one hundred percent.

Our haul from a small family farm. All but three of these are intended as food. In fact, we've already eaten one of them. I love the colors of carnival squash.

Even though I have no photographic proof, I've been knitting up a storm. Soon I'll be able to wear five hand-knit sweaters. Five! I almost can't believe it.

One other thing I have to mention: my five-year-old nephew called me on the phone the other day. Just because. It's by far my favorite thing that's happened this autumn.

farewell summer

Ice cream, blue skies, sun tea, adventures at the shore, roasting marshmallows, picking berries... I will miss the lazy days of summer.

Yesterday was our 48th consecutive day without rain in Seattle (the record is 51). Today is overcast but no rain yet. I think I'm ready for autumn: colored leaves, crisp air, apples, rain storms, soup, and sweaters. 

Yes, I am ready.

where have I been?

It seems I've taken a very long break from this space. My last post was in January, and it's already the latter-half of July! So what have I been up to (besides spending time with these adorable sisters?)?

I experimented with natural dyes for my spring eggs. Red cabbage is still my favorite (it makes blue).

Joe and I sometimes eat hard-boiled eggs as part of our breakfast. Since I love the look of dyed eggs, I decided to start dying my hard-boiled eggs all the time. Now I know when I reach into the fridge that the blue eggs are hard-boiled, while the white ones are not. It's especially helpful when I'm still half-asleep.

I went strawberry-picking with these three dear friends of mine. Along the way we found this old giant at a rest-stop along Interstate 5.

After many years of sewing, I finally organized my fabrics!

Now that my sewing space is more organized, I find myself sewing more often. This skirt, for example, used to be pants that had seen better days.

My local public library has seen quite a bit of me lately. I love the old brick building and its half-mile proximity to my apartment.

I recently returned from a two-week trip to Virginia where I visited with family. I love the first glimpse of the Cascade Mountains on the flight back. Seeing those snow-capped peaks reminds me how much I love living in the Pacific Northwest.

And while I love my whole family, this little man melts my heart.

ten things

In the spirit of Soulemama, here are ten things since my last post two months ago:
 1) I've made huge gains in organization at home


 
2) I celebrated another year of marriage with a picnic at the park


 
3) I picked blueberries


 
4) I went camping at Penrose and found treasures at the shore


 
5) I explored a very small town in upstate New York


 
6) I visited family


 
7) I made friends with Dempsey


 
8) I flew in a tiny airplane mere hours before Hurricane Irene hit the mid-Atlantic region


 
9) I smiled when I saw my mountains


 
10) I knit fingerless gloves for a friend


It's good to be back in this space. I hope to be around here more often. I know it's been quite awhile since I've posted, but I'm shocked to realize a full two months have gone by. My, how time flies.

raspberries

Last weekend I went raspberry picking with Joe, our friend Kristi, and my teacher buddy Blea. We picked raspberries at Biringer Farm, then headed over to Bryant Blueberry Farm to pick blueberries. I didn't pick many blueberries, but I'll probably go back for more. I have just enough to make blueberry boy bait a couple times.

My jam turned out runny again, even though I followed the directions and measured everything carefully. I think that's okay, though. I plan on switching from vanilla to plain yogurt (and possibly making my own... we'll see), and having plenty of runny jam to mix in will be nice. I also made raspberry fruit leather for the first time. I don't have a dehydrator, so I used my oven. The lowest temp on my oven is 170 degrees F, which was a bit more than the recipe recommends. What can you do? It's very tart and sticky, and absolutely wonderful. I think I'm going to make more fruit leather once I get my hands on a flat of apricots. I love apricot leather. Yum.

strawberry day

A week ago yesterday was strawberry day. Strawberry picking, strawberry jamming and strawberry cake-making. Smitten Kitchen comes through again, with a delicious recipe for Strawberry Summer Cake.

patience

Remember when I started my raspberry liqueur project? I've finally moved on to step 2.

Step 1 was seeping the berries in Everclear for a month (I let them sit for 6 weeks... whoops).

Step 2 involved straining the berries, measuring the amount of alcohol, and adding the appropriate amount of water and sugar.

Step 3 involves waiting while it ages in the fridge.

And step 4? That's the best step of them all. When we finally reach step 4 in October I will get to taste my creation. And I sure hope it tastes good.

peach salsa

First you need some peaches.


I used three and a half in order to get six cups (don't worry, the other half found a good home).


Add some chopped onion, red bell pepper and jalapeno.


Oh, and don't forget the cilantro.


Add some vinegar and honey, and give it a good stir.


Raw pack into jars, filling all the way to the top (it cooks down).


Process in a water bath canner for 20 minutes.


This recipe yielded 4 pints of salsa. I was worried about spiciness, so I didn't add the jalapeno seeds. My salsa turned out very high on the tasty scale, but very low on the spiciness scale. So next time I'll add the seeds.

Peach Salsa
6 cups pitted peaches, diced
1 1/4 cup diced onion (I just used a whole onion)
4 jalapeno peppers, diced (seed these if you don't want it too spicy)
1 bell pepper, preferably red, diced and seeded (though any color will suffice)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro or 1/4 c dried
3/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoon honey

This peach salsa recipe is from a Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op blog post.

Apricot-Blackberry jam

Following this recipe, I made two batches of apricot-blackberry jam yesterday.


The first batch tasted great, but didn't firm up enough. It's not so runny that I would call it syrup, but it is a runny jam. I think I rushed the recipe a little, letting it just boil, instead of hard boil. I couldn't help it, though; I was excited.


I didn't have enough blackberries for the second batch, so I ended up using 2 cups blackberries and 2 cups raspberries (from our u-pick experience).


I bought the apricots from the Lake City Farmers Market. Which means that while I harvested only half of the fruit in this jam, it all came from either local farmers, or in the case of the blackberries, a public park in Seattle.


I was patient with the second batch, and it turned out runny as well. Not sure what I did wrong, but at least it's tasty.