A Canning Fool

Well, I've been up to it again...CANNING! I've made dill pickles, that are still not ready. The soonest I can try them out is August 10. That'll be three weeks. I'm ready to eat them now as we ran out of dill pickles last week.

So while I'm waiting, I'm trying out new recipes. The second thing I decided to can was bread and butter pickles. They are refrigerator pickles. They turned out delicious! I made two jars using cucumbers out of our garden. Two days later I tried bread and butter squash and cucumber pickles. We didn't like the squash as it wasn't crunchy enough. I won't be making those again. I've made 3 quarts of bread and butter pickles since, as we've just been getting small amounts of cucumbers at a time.

The next thing I decided to make is deal relish. We go through store-bought dill relish like crazy! They were a pain to cut, but it only took about an hour. I bought 8 pounds of cucumbers and an onion from the farmers market. I'm letting them sit for three weeks to let it pickle well.

The next thing I tried was green pepper jelly. I grew up thinking why would mom make jelly out of green peppers! Well, as an adult, I've gone to parties that have pepper jelly served over a block of cream cheese with crackers. It was yummy, so I decided to try my hand at it. I followed the directions to a tee. One problem: I walked away to wash my hands and the jelly boiled over. I freaked out. Well, as I was about to pour it out because I thought I burnt it, I tasted it and it tasted good. So I added food coloring import them into jars. I processed the jars and it worked perfectly. And it taste great! Hubby wants me to add another jalapeño to make it spicier next time.

The next recipe I tried was pineapple jam. It didn't gel at all, so now it's called pineapple syrup. Next time I think I'll add some pectin.

The last thing I've made is watermelon jelly. It turned out wonderful and taste great.

I'm finally starting to run out of jars. My friend Lisa told me how Menards has jars really cheap right now. So Hubby and I decided Sunday we're going to celebrate my birthday a few days early, and go to Lamberts in Sikeston, Missouri. After that we're driving 30 minutes north to go by jars from Menards. Happy birthday to me!!

During this whole canning process, I've been talking with two of my friends from high school, as were all new to canning. We've been having a ball! We're getting ready to get together next weekend and share goodies we've made, and make some more stuff! I can't wait!

Next up to be made: jalapeño bread and butter pickles, sweet relish and carrot cake jam. I'll let you know how it turns out!! Toodles! ~Kim

My latest project!

Two days in a row! I've been working on this in between canning and cleaning. I'm not quite sure I'm finished with it but I wanted to post it to show that I have been busy doing something other than canning. 

I'm not in love with the ribbon, but I haven't decided what else to do with it. And please don't judge my front door. It terribly needs to be painted but we can't decide on a color. Our storm door is maroon and our shutters are tan. We're thinking of going with tan so we don't have to paint the shutters to match the door, and then the gutters won't match anything. I don't want all those problems!! Of course, as hot as it is, who knows when we'll be able to paint the doors. 

Jason and Kaitlyn brought in more veggies from the garden last night. Four cucumbers, two zucchini and a squash. So I'm making bread and butter pickles right now. My cukes are in the fridge with salt on them. And I won't have to wait 3-4 weeks to eat those. They'll be ready in 24 hours!! I'm gonna take a jar to my daddy as he's the only one in the family who likes them other than me and Jason. Well, off to do something else. Maybe I'll do something else crafty or homemaker-ish and post again tomorrow!! 

I'm An Official Homemaker!

I'm sorry to all of my readers (insert sarcasm here as I'm sure I have very few readers!!) for neglecting you for 5 years. I've been busy raising a kiddo! And up until a year ago, working full time while doing that. A year ago I lost my job and have been a stay at home wife since. I say stay at home wife as my daughter still goes to school. It would be a disservice to her education to pull her out of school, as I wouldn't have the disciple to teach her the way she is taught at the daycare. Plus, I want her to have the social interaction she receives at daycare. I say all this, not to justify anything, as it's what is best for my family, but to explain why I don't call myself a stay at home mommy. 

Anywho...I'm officially a homemaker, why you ask? I've been cooking and cleaning for a while now. That makes me a homemaker. What's changed? I CANNED DILL PICKLES!! Yes, in my mind, I'm now an official homemaker. 

Here's the proof: 

I canned nine quarts total. Now to wait 3-4 weeks. I'm ready to eat them now!! 

I'm looking for more stuff to can. My hubby has a new baby (our garden) who is trying to get as many veggies as possible  for us. But from all that I've read, you can't safely can squash and zucchini. So, it looks like I'm learning to blanch and freeze vegetables too!! We have a Foodsaver that I've used a couple of times. I guess it looks like I'll be getting more use out of it now. 

Thanks for reading. I'm going to try to start blogging more often, even if it's more of a journal for myself!! Thanks for reminding me of my blog Cat!! This one is dedicated to you!!!

I've been crafty!

I actually did something this weekend!! Of course, I'm too lazy to take any pictures. Yesterday I met with my stamping/scrapping buddies at the Chamber and worked on Thank You cards. I'm trying to get ahead of the game before I have a baby shower so I'm not rushing to get cards made and out. I've got 38 completed so far. I also got rid of a LOT of paper last night. I have accumulated lots of scrap paper in my years working for printing companies that I've finally decided to part ways with. Luckily my wonderful friends were willing to take it off my hands!! Hopefully next weekend I'll have a ton more items to get rid of as I get my stuff organized.

I'm trying to get into nesting mode. Once I get all of my scrapping/stamping stuff moved into my dining room/stamp/scrap area (got a totally cool six foot by six foot shelf from IKEA) I'm going to get rid of my desk and get another shelf for the spare room. Then, all of my fabric/sewing/needlework will be organized in there. I also need to get the full size bed that is in that room back to its owner (actually her mother in MO) and pick up a crib that she has for me. I also need to go to my MIL and pick up two chest of drawers that she's so kindly offered to us. One for us and one for the baby. The one for the baby needs to be sanded and refinished to match the crib. I'm so fortunate for everyone offering me stuff (crib, dressers, baby stuff). That means so much to me and will save us a ton of money.

On Tuesday I'll be 15 weeks along. I'm ready to know the sex of the baby...NOW! And believe it or not, I'm actually ready to start showing! I wanna see my baby bump! I'm ready to feel it move and for it to actually feel like I'm really pregnant. I'm finally over the morning sickness and the exhausted feeling that I had during the first trimester, but now comes all kinds of other issues...back pain, hip pain. I know it will all be worth it in the end when I see that sweet baby's face in November!

Well, I guess I should go get some dinner. My tummy is starting to growl!! Toodles!~Kim

Guess who's preggers???

Yep, it's me...who else would I be blogging about!! I haven't posted in a while. Not because I've been busy. Cause I haven't. I've just been exhausted!! Luckily this first trimester will be over next week. Hopefully the exhaustion and sleepiness will go away too! We're leaving tomorrow night for vacation in the Keys. I'm excited to go and relax, but not looking forward to the long drive down!! I've got some stops planned for some quilt shops along the way, so maybe it won't be so bad. Plus, I'm taking books, stamping projects, knitting and quilting projects with me to keep me entertained and keep Jason awake while he's driving. Hopefully it'll help pass the time.

Anyway, back to me being pregnant...yep, I'm pregnant! I'm due November 13th. And that's about it! Sorry for such a boring blog!! More later, maybe!! Toodles! ~Kim

Kneedeep in the Hoopla

How's that for a catchy title?? I have been knee deep in it, that's for sure. Knee deep in sewing! Still can't post any pictures, because it'll be my luck, nobody reads my blog until I've posted presents for them and then they see...all because I wanted to show the world my goodies. The girls at the crop last night saw them...and loved them as much as I do. How am I supposed to part with this stuff?? I love it so much!!

Anyway, not much else is going on. Three day work week next week. And you know it's gonna be the longest week ever. I thought this last week took forever to get through, but next week will be worse!!

Well, I guess I should get going. Still have some presents left to make and some cleaning to do...

Toodles! ~Kim

Didn't make my deadline!!!

Well, I tried. I worked so hard, but December 1st came and I'm still not complete. Hopefully will get done with all of my Christmas stuff this weekend. I'm getting ready to teach a rag purse class, so hopefully I'll get a couple done today. I'm waiting until I get everything done before going to the laudromat to wash and dry all these "raggy" things!!

Since I spend every waking hour at home sewing, I've been working on my Christmas cards at work on my 10 minute breaks. It's worked out rather well. I also worked on some cards last night at the scrapbook store. It was our last crop there as the store is closing. It's rather sad too. I was originally invited by my stamping demo, but once I came, I really started feeling like a part of a family. We're still going to get together, at least twice a month as I'm able to use the Chamber of commerce twice a month since my boss is a member. We're going to try to get together at the library too. So, it's sad, but it's not the end of the group. I'm glad about that!

Well, I've rambled on about nothing, so I better go! Toodles!~Kim