Jam Time...

No, not "crunch time," but "jam time."

Hubby bought a BUNCH of strawberries. I mean, like 10 quarts of strawberries. We froze them with the intention of "sometime" making jam or using them over ice cream. Today, a beautiful day with a good breeze, we jammed...

He brought out the jars, the lids, the berries. And I dug up my Canning Bible - also known as the "Ball Blue Book of Canning" - and looked for my favorite recipe. Don't you love the "I eat local" apron? I needed it! 

The dogs got sequestered, the pots got filled and we got to work, at about 9-ish this morning. We finished about 3 p.m. We have 40 half-pints of strawberry jam and about 20 half-pints of a "berry blend." Because we had a little batch of the frozen strawberries left, I grabbed a bag of frozen "berry blend" that I had stashed for my smoothies. 

Wowza. Was that ever (in my humble opinion) a brainstorm! As you can see, the strawberries were pretty big. We couldn't really get them to mash down properly. But I don't care. 

I had a chance to try some Young Living Essential Oils - their "Vitality" line - and put a drop of Ginger Vitality in the strawberry jam. I usually put ginger in my strawberry jam, because I like that tiny kick - it cuts the sweetness. Young Living Essential Oils is the only company that differentiates, having its oils FDA-compliant for ingestion as well as topical use and diffusing. 


As you can see, I don't skim. Hubby and I talked about it, and every time I have skimmed my preserves, I've lost a lot of the good stuff. So we just call that top layer a "mousse" and live with it. It tastes fine. Put it on your muffin and go for it. 

What we did find was that with the "berry blend" it actually "moussed" less. 

For the berry-blend batch, I switched up the oils, again using the Vitality line, but in Orange this time. It brightened up the flavor. 

Oh, and new tip!!! I ran out of lemon juice. Thanks to The Google, I found that yes, indeed - you can use LIME juice. Which I had. It's a little more acidic, so it helps the pectin along, and it's a little milder in flavor, so you don't necessarily get that sense of "lemon" in the jam or preserves. And I like lime better anyway. 

Again - half-pint jars to the ready; I like the quilted ones. Not for any other reason except that they're pretty. They're all cooling now and we'll put labels on when they're finished - probably tomorrow night after work. 

So in the pic where Hubby's scraping out the pan, you'll be happy to know that I also tossed in the recycle bin a BUNCH of phone books. Remember those? Well, for some reason, we had a bunch that we hadn't yet tossed. Out they go. I'm reclaiming the "crap-catcher" desk area too. 

I was really happy to have the 5 day (Squeeeeeeeeeeee!) Memorial Day weekend off. We got a lot done, and it was nice to get organized, feel accomplished and spend some time not having to be anywhere for once. 

I taught, of course, and we all had a blast, but overall, it was nice to have a break from the day-to-day routine. 

Hubby and I are going to take an inventory of what we have in the basement in regard to what we've canned over the past few years. Stuff in "the pit of despair" migrated a bit and we have to put it all on one shelving unit. If we have to toss stuff, we will - I did have an incident with some apple butter where the seal failed... It happens. I can salvage the jars and rings. The lids get pitched. 

As long as the seals are good, we can keep the stuff and eat it. It's stored in a cool, dark place, so it's still good to consume. 

Knitting...

I've been catching up on my blog-reading. I also pulled out a WIP since my office is about 80% organized. Or at least I have the piles under control. I still have a lot of work to do, but it's getting there. 

So the WIP I pulled was the February Lady Sweater - from 2013. Go ahead, smile. But anyway, it's on my list of things I want to wear sometime soon. 

This is a beautiful yarn: Classic Yarns Silk Wool DK in "Geranium" - which is actually a lovely lilac color. It actually looks brighter in the picture; it's a "dusty" lilac in person. It's a 50% silk / 50% wool blend, which has great stitch definition and a soft, soft hand to it. It is, to my dismay, a tad slippery. I'd prefer bamboo needles, but the Addis were the only ones where I could hook an extra cable length to them. 

Here's the issue...well, here are the issues... I've been knitting baby stuff and socks for a long, long time. Those are small things. 

I picked up this WIP because my left thumb wasn't happy with the sock, and yes, I know - Second Sock Syndrome. I figure I can knit on the sock at work, because it's small and easy to memorize in terms of the simple pattern. 

This is Gull Lace once the yoke is done. And I'm not "winging" that one! And the issue is that at this point in the yoke, there are 296 stitches. 

Two Hundred Ninety Six. In DK weight. This ain't no sock, folks! That's a lot of stitches. I'm at the point where I think I can start the lace pattern, but I have to have Hubby help me "size" it. You have to drape the yoke on yourself and see if the underarm area "almost" meets under the arms. Even though I've got a very long cable on this, I still have to hold onto the one part, because of the slippery nature of the yarn, so that the stitches don't fall off one end. So I'm "winging" this enough to say "If one side is 'almost' there, then the other should be fine." I have to have him help me hold it and measure it. 

The one thing I don't like is there's no schematic. I would love that. But I can deal with it, I guess. I have no choice. I'll have to show you the buttons later; they're vintage that I got as a gift. 

Biking...

I have a sore rear end. We did another section of the Isle a la Cache trail - it actually goes from Romeoville up past Rt. 83. We got to Rt. 83 and I'd had it. Hey, only the second ride of the season and we did more than 16 miles. Not too bad. I did take some pics, and I have to go through them. Here's one that Hubby took of me. I have to find its corollary - I have a picture of me in basically this same outfit, 30 pounds ago. 

We figure we can work on this trail for a while. It's also part of the Centennial Trail and then hooks into the CalSag Trail. My aim is to get back to our longer rides. I find that the combo of riding and yoga are ideal for me. I find the riding meditative too. 

Not only the cadence thing (I'm getting the hang of it) - which means the pace at which your legs move while pedaling, but the trail itself. I used to try to keep up with Hubby - which is insane. He's more fit than I am and frankly,  he likes fast rides. I want to look around. 

I used to get mad. Really, I'd get peeved because I thought that maybe it's a nice thing to just talk while riding and spend time together. But we have different ideas of what a ride is supposed to be - and that's not a bad thing. It's perspective. 

Mine is this: My ride is my ride. His ride is his ride. At first, he wanted me to keep up with him, but physically - before the heart procedure especially - I couldn't do it. I just didn't have the hang of the gears (I have a 21-speed older Trek bike) and the cadence? Wasn't happening. My heart wasn't in the right shape, even though I was on medication. 

After the procedure, I was ok, but I still don't like whizzing by stuff. One thing our county and our state have done right: we have some remarkable bike trails. They're paved; they're mixed-use; they're well-maintained. Some are by the canals and some are by the rivers. 

This particular trail is between the canal and the river. We pass a shipyard, we pass through some areas of denser forest preserve, and we pass through some areas that are more open. This trail also utilizes some of the old bridges, and we see everything - deer, chipmunks, squirrels, and all kinds of birds, both flying and waterfowl, and of course reptiles and amphibians, including turtles sunning on the partially submerged logs and the odd snake in the middle of the path. The vegetation ranges from ash trees, oaks, vines, honeysuckle and those blasted cottonwoods. Seriously, whoever introduced the cottonwood to this country? Shoot 'em. We were chewing cottonwood fluff, when we weren't breathing it or having the fluffies poke us in the eyeballs. With glasses. Both of us were noticing our allergies kicking into high gear. 


As a matter of fact, on this 16.9 mile ride, we saw two - TWO - indigo buntings! We routinely see Great Blue Herons, and this time, we also saw a couple of Black Cormorants land in the river to feed. 

The trail is part sun and part shade, so it's always changing and always fun to ride. And - very few challenging hills! At least for now, that's what I want! I can wait to build strength a bit and then we can tackle the more strenuous trails. 

So you're likely to see more pictures, as I can snap them. I suppose one day I'll bring the "real" camera. I like my phone camera, but this trail is quite diverse, and there are some places where the phone camera just can't get to. For example, there are some gorgeous lilies in the swampy areas, but I can't get the zoom in close enough without it pixelating. 

Random Picture...

So Hubby got me a beautiful pendant for Mother's Day & our anniversary: a London Blue Topaz in a striking teal color. Today, while waiting for the jam to cool down, this pulled up next door... 

I'd wear this car! It's not the original color, but the restoration was amazing. It's a 1957, I think, but I didn't go out. My neighbor seemed to be in deep discussion, so I didn't want to bother him. 

They're getting the house ready to sell, and my mother has expressed interest in it. Not sure I want my mom next door, but I did tell her that I'd rather have her there than in my house. 

It's nothing personal...she feels the same way. But next door would help her. Might drive me nuts, and definitely would increase Hubby's workload... This will require further discussion and rules. And boundaries. Lots of boundaries. 

That Sinking Feeling...

...when you realize you're supposed to knit ACROSS the turned heel so you're on the proper side to pick up the gusset stitches.... 

Crap

Let me explain for the non-knitter readers: you pick up stitches along the side of the heel so that you make that "right turn" to work on the foot of the sock. But if you're an idiot, like I am apparently this morning, you have picked them up on the OPPOSITE side from where you're supposed to be. And you end up purling across the instep.

See, in knitting socks, you're knitting in the round. That means, normally (unless the pattern says otherwise), you ALWAYS just knit. No purls. 

So. I could turn the thing inside-out and proceed, but there's the dilemma of picking up the other side backwards, if you will. 

So I'm just going to frog it. I saw a set of stitch markers that had various phrases that I'm using. "Crap" is one of them. 

Turned heel

Otherwise, I did turn the heel, finding a source for the math. Go ahead - laugh. I should know this, and knitting involves math, but I'm just a dunce when it comes to that. 

So I did that last night before I toddled off to bed. So that's the excuse I'm using: I should have knitted across, but I was too tired. 

And it was even worse. Of course, yesterday being July 4, everyone in the neighborhood becomes a pyrotechnics expert. In spite of the fact that it's illegal in IL. And in spite of the fact that it's just plain neighborly to not be lighting off M-80s in the relative 'burbs. 

I didn't fall asleep till about midnite, and the noise didn't abate till then. Yes. I can call the cops. But no. It won't do any good. We've had that argument before, and really there are too many idiots buying the stuff. We would need better policing at the border between Indiana and IL to really make the point, but nobody wants to do that. And our state troopers are busy getting drunks off the roads. 

I'd rather they do that. If someone blows their hand off, I'm not very sympathetic. It's your own blasted (sorry) fault. 

Biking...

New duds

Got me some new biking duds!! The shorts have a nice gel insert. I have some older pairs, and the padding has flattened. So I have new gloves (I rather like the older ones, but these are lighter), and tops and the shorts. 

So we went off yesterday, before the real explosions started, so we could be home with the girls in time. 

Hitch

Hubby says he's going to order a hitch for my truck. Here's what we have on his: it's a multi-use thing where you can put a ball on it to haul a trailer. This also hauls the bikes nicely. You can lock it, too, so that you can leave your bikes if you need to. Normally, we don't lock it, but then we're not leaving our bikes for an extended period of time. 

You can tell we're on the edge of the country. The trail we chose was a mixed-use trail. There were 2 guys on horses. We rang our little bike bells (yes, the ones you had as a kid) and went carefully around them. Though I'd have preferred to get ON the horses!! So the trail isn't totally paved. It's got that finely crushed limestone that the horses prefer. 

There were walkers, folks with strollers, runners - everyone uses the trail. The bad part is with that surface; it's a little wonky now because of the recent rains. In some spots, it's washed out, and in spots, the gravel has pooled, which makes it interesting to navigate. You have to be consistently on the watch, and it's a little rough on the body, too. Couple that with the fact that I gained some poundage over the Convention, I hadn't been on the bike in 3 weeks or so, and we had a headwind... It was not a fun ride. 

Hitching rail

I mean it was; I'm proud that I did it. But it was a pretty wimpy ride all things considered. I only did about 6.8 miles. 

Here's another way you can tell it's a mixed-use trail. That thing I'm hanging onto is a hitching rail.

Yes, I think this will be my "before" shot. Spandex is nobody's friend, but truly it does make the ride a lot more comfortable. 

As far as the biking itself is going, I don't think I'll be doing any today, but maybe tomorrow we can get out if the weather cooperates. It's a very nice way for me to get exercise in addition to the yoga. 

Moving Out...

Kid #2 and I are going to his new area to look for apartments. He needs to get there by mid-July, and it's fast approaching. He's been dilly-dallying, and I think the little birdie needs a shove out of the nest.

We've decided to put bookshelves in his room, make it truly my yoga room, and store the massage table in there (it folds up). When we have guests, we have a queen-sized air mattress that isn't all that bad, frankly! 

Supervision necessary

My office (Kid #1's room) has become a dumping ground and it really needs to be cleared out better. 

As far as organizing goes, Hubby built me a new place for my shoes. Kid #2 can take the old rack to his place; he's kind of a shoe maven too...And right now, they're all piled at my back door. Size 12s take up a LOT of room!! 

So as he's doing that and I'm turning the heel of the Fluro sock, I hear him laugh. This is what I see down the hall. 

Raisa apparently thinks he needs supervision. She wandered over there and plopped herself in the middle of his job and just waited him out. 

What a silly dog!!

The Garden...

Lookee what I found on my dill!!! My friend Susan B says that this is a swallowtail butterfly-to-be! They love dill. And this is really why I planted what I planted this year. 

Dilly Caterpillar

I didn't get any good shots of the bees on the coneflowers. But suffice to say, their little legs were LOADED with pollen. 

Again, we'll have more dill than we can use, so let the butterflies have it. 

The French Lavender is coming along nicely, and the petunias are nice and bright. 

We have a problem with one of our hummingbird feeders. I think it's leaking. And we're sad that we're not seeing more hummers this year. 

I'll try to get pics of the coneflowers soon. 

There's still a few weeks to wait for cucumbers. We're lettucing like crazy. And perhaps at least 2 weeks till the first tomato.

A Quote...

Here's a quote that actually pinpoints what SCOTUS just did to us.

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.  Abraham Lincoln

It's already started. Now the religious whackos are after their own version of Sharia law: let's discriminate against ANYONE who's NOT US. So they're already lining up to see if they can get a "religious exemption" so that they can NOT hire LGBT people. 

Because, you know, Jesus likes the hating. 

Random Picture...

Bubble, bubble

Just because I like the water action. Hubby got a new bubbler for the one bird bath. It took a while to get the solar panel into the sun (we want to keep it in the bed so that we don't have to worry when mowing) and when it did, it took off!

Again, taken with my phone. This 41 megapixel camera is crazy-good. 

I turned up the two smaller ones in the other bird bath, but I have one "bubbler" and one "trickler" - which is fine. Anything that keeps the water moving reduces the chances of mosquitoes laying eggs. 

We just have to figure out what to do with the birdbath in the back. Probably move it off the patio and closer to the driveway, so that it gets more sun. It's very shallow, though. So maybe its ultimate destiny is a base for a planter. I keep going back to that. Put some pea gravel in it, stick a pot of flowers in there and let it be. It's even too shallow to be an actual planter itself. 

This weekend, I have to find some time to make up the jelly. I found a recipe for Herb Jelly and Tarragon Jelly. It's all coming up at once!