First Friday Off - 4 10's and Free day off.

Well, it's noon on my first free Friday off.  I have done my homework (yes I'm a 53 year old college student) and am trying to get caught up 3 days without internet access at home is a terrible thing.  2 days without television was even worse compounded by no internet compounded by the fact I am out of tequila and no way to make Deann - O - Rita's you see where this is going right?  Downhill fast.  But I digress, back to my first free Friday off.  It's not free, I put in 10.5 hours in on Mon, Tues, 13 hours on Wednesday and 10.5 hours on Thurs.  If my Kansas math serves me correctly that's 44.5 hours!  I actually saved 5.5 hours this week by being off on Friday.

Wait, I'm losing track, I've been to town to help a friend out.  I was amazed at what I witnessed.  A business owner called my friend a liar and stupid.  Can you say no more business from me or about 100 of my closest acquaintances?  that's a blog for another day Popular Forest Nursery, more later.

I dropped off my crack tiller to be fixed. Richard my husband, named my baby tiller the crack tiller, when it runs it sounds awful but does the job.  I gave up on it and bought an 18" rear drive Troy Bilt Tiller, that thing rocks, I can run it with one hand, it starts the first time every time and runs like a dream, however, Lowes, sucks and cannot put one together correctly but that's another blog for another day.


I came back home, went to the garden tied up tomatoes, picked tomatoes, picked cukes, checked the big top to make sure it was secure, stopped at the little garden and repeated the process.  See Pictures of my "big tops"  it keeps the plants cool.  My husband thinks I'm crazy but it works.

I know they look somewhat "rednecky" (is that a word?).  But it honestly keeps the plants cool and protects them from the 90 - 100 degree temps we have been having lately here in Virginia

I have a dentist appointment at 2:00 I guess the day has been pretty boring so far, but I'm enjoying every minute of it.  I hear my work crackberry dinging like crazy with new emails and haven't checked it once.  It's a good day.

Oh I started a batch of pickles (sweet) page 334 Sweet Crisp Pickles from the Ball complete book of Home Preserving http://www.amazon.com/.  Pictures later, they have to soak for 12 hours in Pickle Crisp http://www.freshpreservingstore.com/ .  I wonder if my mom and grandmother would have canned more if they would have access to a website like Ball Canning?

Ramblings of a Gigi.: Mini Canning Gigi Style

Ramblings of a Gigi.: Mini Canning Gigi Style: "I remember my mother canning, mostly green beans. She froze vegetables more than she canned, but of course that was about 40 years ago, so ..."

Mini Canning Gigi Style

I remember my mother canning, mostly green beans.  She froze vegetables more than she canned, but of course that was about 40 years ago, so my memory is probably clouded.  I know my day to day memory gets clouded!  Anyway, it's just my husband and I now.  No need for quart jars of whatever.   I've been canning small or mini batches this year.  I love it.  I'm actually thinking about using a smaller canner for the water baths.  Who knows.  this is my first venture, we shall see.  I love my books for canning, the Ball Blue book and another one I bought a few years ago, Ball Complete book of Home Preserving, 400 delicious and creative recipes for today.

Today I canned 4 pints of basic sauce and 5 pints of sweet crisp pickles.  The sauce took 3 hours, using my fresh from the garden Roma tomatoes.  I used what I had harvested, chopped them in the food processor, processed 3 carrots, julienne style (I added the carrots for the natural sweetness and I have way too many carrots that needed to be used up) and threw it all into my favorite stainless pot and let it boil down for 3 hours.  The sauce is beautiful.   



The pickles  - were started yesterday.  I'm just now finishing them up, it's 10:30 pm.  They were a little more complicated but the recipe is on page 334 of the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.  I used the Ball recipe, but cut it in half.  My husband likes this idea, that way he's not eating 87 pints of sweet pickles this winter or we're not giving them away for all the holidays!  By the way, they would make a great gift - and besides, it would be difficult at best to re-gift homemade pickles. Now I have a quart of pickle juice I will re-use or save to make dressing with later.

Oh I forgot to mention I put together a batch of banana peppers for Richard he likes them on his sandwiches for lunch.  I boiled them in vinegar and crushed red pepper flakes for 5 minutes, let them cool and re-used the original banana pepper jar that had 2 measly peppers rings left!

It's been a productive Sunday.  The jars are cooling off and the popping continues. More later, I'll share my other pictures and recipes from the Ball Books - Strawberry Vinaigrette, Habanero Gold (YUMMY), Orange Chili Marmalade and 2 varieties of Bread & Butter Pickles later.  I have to work tomorrow.

Watermelons, Pineapples, Sponge Bob and my 6 year old Grandson

Walmart is a trip in itself, but taking my 6 year old grandson elevates it to a whole new level and a larger receipt.  Landon had talked his papa and I into several different items we did not really need.  But that's okay, after all, he's our only grandchild.  We finally made it to the Fruits and Vegetables.  We get corn, potatoes, onions, all the usual suspects and then we come to the watermelons and pineapples.  My husband gets a watermelon and pineapple.  Landon promptly tells his Papa "that's where Sponge Bob lives, in a pineapple.  I think nothing of it and neither does my husband.  We get home, put away all the groceries.  My husband puts the watermelon in the refrigerator, our grandson is all excited about having watermelon later.  Richard, proceeds to cut up the pineapple, my grandson starts screaming NO PAPA NO that's where Sponge Bob lives you CAN'T cut up the Pineapple it's his house.  That was 2 weeks ago, the pineapple is still in the refrigerator, and we're on our second watermelon.  Sponge Bob lives on.