Day 11

Electricity

In this area, I am completely unprepared. If we loose power, I have a generator for short term. Long enough to can up what is in the freezer, I hope. But other then that, we will be out for the count. Even now that it is almost the end of September…almost 6pm… it is getting dark. I do feel like I could go to sleep, but could I sleep till the sun comes back up? Nope! So what to do with no power?

The fridge would become a storage area in the summer. In the winter we might be able to use it like the old ice chests. I do have several clocks that run on batteries, so we would know what time it is for a few months till they died. I have one old mantle clock that needs some work, but will keep time once it is up and running. No television, no washer, no microwave, no computer, no freezer, no fridge, no cell phones, no house phone ( voip ), no radio.

What we do have is a ton of board games, puzzles and cards. We have books and crafts ( sewing, crocheting, knitting, tatting ). Not to mention the work that will need to be done. With no appliances, the work  load will have at least doubled. Laundry will take longer, cooking (for those that don’t cook from scratch now) will take longer, finding food will take longer ( no grocery stores ), heating and cooking will take longer ( gathering wood & starting a fire ). Plus, now candles need to made as does soap and other cleaning product. Clothes need to be fixed, altered or made.

For the people that do most of this everyday, I don’t think that it is going to make much difference to them.

The radio is something that I feel will be a real loss to us. Everyone in the family is very into music. So maybe I need to look into some type of small solar unit so that we can still have music.

Need to Do or Get

1. Get mantle clock fixed
2. Look into more games
3. Get a solar panel to electricity for the day time radio use.
4. Get belt  or two for the treadle sewing machine

Yart

Day 10

Lights

This is another area where we are good. I could not make it indefinitely, but I could make it a year, hopefully. I have a lot of tapers, jars and 11 oil lamps. Not to mention all the votive and tea lights. I have the supplies to make a few more candles but nothing of any significance.  I also have a couple gallons of lamp oil and a couple gallons of olive oil ( more for cooking, but I still have it. ) Wendy Brown talks about making and using tallow candles. These are candles that are made with animal fat. At our living history museum, they have a tin smith. He makes candle boxes for tallow candles. The box has a lid and a latch. Now your thinking why do I have to lock the box….? Well, he explained that it is because critters will want to eat your animal fat candles. So if your going to make them keep them in a safe place. The reason I went with tallow before bees wax is because tallow should be easier to find unless you have bees already.

If you have bees or can get wax, ie; neighbor, friend, family, then you can make candles with the wax.

But whatever way you make them you will still need to have wicks. These are cheap and won’t take up much space in your box of supplies. You can dip or pour.

Need to Do or Get

1. Get more wicks
2. See about purchasing wax in bulk. 5 or 10 pounds
   See about getting bees

Yart

Day 9

Laundry

This I can say that I am pretty good on. I have a line outside and lines strung up in the basement. I haven’t had a dryer since we moved in here, that was almost 11 years ago. ( I have an electric dryer and a gas line. Never got around to either getting a gas dryer or putting in an electric line. ) I have a wash board and I have a mop bucket to wring the clothes out. Now I haven’t had to use either of these items as I still have use of my washer. I have them none the less if the need arises.

As for laundry soap, I have what I use normally about a 2 month supply. Then I have the washing soda, borax and fels naphta. That should last me another year. ( I have made before, so am use to using it. ) Then I also know the how to’s of making lye and using animal fat to make real lye soap. This I have never done but I do understand the principles behind it. So hoping that I should be fine for washing clothes!

Need to Do or Get

1. Learn to make lye
2. Learn to make soap with said lye

Yart

Day 8

Livestock

Well, Lets see I can’t have chickens or goats. What I am allowed to have is bunnies. We only have 1 buck right now. We are still working up the gumption to raise them. The raising part doesn’t bother me but the harvesting does. I know I need to get over it. It is a meat source that my family would be grateful for when the stores are closed. Alas, I am squeamish. Yep, big baby here. My biggest fear is that I couldn’t do it quickly and the animal would suffer…. and haunt me forever. I need to find someone that would let me watch them do it. Reading in a book or even watching it on you tube, just doesn’t seem to do it for me. To be able to ask questions and see the answers would suit me fine. I think that once it is dead I could process with no problems. So at least with that part I’m ok. Plus, the skins could be tanned and used in a great many applications.

I don’t see our city changing the ordinances any time soon considering that we now have a rodent problem in my area. But I may see if they will let me have bees. I’m not sure why they won’t but I’m sure I will find out soon enough.

Need to Do or Get

1. Look into getting 2 does
2. Find plans to build a hutch
3. Get all the supplies for the does
4. Just do it
5. Go to the city and see if I can get bees.

Yart

Day 7

Growing Food

I know some of you out there are saying I have a black thumb. Or my association won’t let me have a garden. Well, did you know that there are several varieties of plants that you can grow in pots or even hide in among you perennials. Now is the time to see what you are able to do.  I consider myself to be the half-a$$ed gardener.  So I am not the best one for advice. But there are a ton of books on the subject and you could always contact your local extension office.

I have had a garden for the last 3 years. We will be revamping it this coming year. (If only I had more land). The area that I use to garden is on the south side of the house. It is in full sun all day and had no air circulation. With that being said I still get a great many things out of the garden. One of them being experience. The first year I did as the book said and had 16 tomato plants in each of the boxes. Then went down to 12. This year I did 9 per box and they were doing so good. ( See experience) I think I would have gotten at least 2 bushels. ( Had some problems with critters this year ).  I have a dwarf 5 in 1 apple tree in the ground and a dwarf 4 in 1 pear in a pot.  I now have 5 blueberry bushes growing in tires and two grape vines. Plus I have a bunch of mints, chives and sage all in pots. I also have Echinacea and lavender in the ground. I had raspberry’s but I dug them all up and put them at my mom’s house. I am also looking into hazelnuts or a walnut tree.

My best piece of advice here is to try, try and try again. Just because it doesn’t work this year doesn’t mean it won’t work the next. See what grows well in your neck of the woods and give it a try!

Need to Do or Get

1. Get more Heirloom seeds
2. Look into a nut tree / shrub
3. Get lumber to re-do garden
4. Try and find a 4 in 1 cherry tree
5. Look into window farming for winter greens

Yart

Day 6

Food – Long term storage

Metal cans only have a shelf life of about 2 years. Home canned goods could be good for up to 4 years ( with a decrease in nutrients ). But when your hungry, you will eat whatever is available. Doesn’t that just sound yummy! So what are you going to do so that you can eat something edible.

First your going to see what you have available locally and learn how to preserve it.

Can It

Dry It

Freeze It

Ferment It

Pickle It

Sprout It

Store It

Jerk It

Salt It

Smoke It

Grind It

I’m not going to go into a ton of detail on these things. I have been learning over the last few years how to do many of the above. Sometimes I have success other times not so much. I have the luxury of failing right now. My life and the lives of my family don’t rely on me getting it right all the time. But if the time comes when we have no other choice then I am confident in my ability to keep them feed for the long term.

Need to Do or Get

1. Get more canning jars… Can one ever have enough
2. Buy Tattler Lids ( lots of them )
3. Buy more disposable lids
4. Learn how to make pectin
5. Get more salt 
6. Get more seeds for sprouting
7. Buy a bolt of muslin ( for making bags to hang meat ).
8. Get several more crocks

Yart

Practical Magic

Welcome Movie goers… I hope that you have enjoyed all that you have seen so far!

At this stop along the film I would like to share with you just one of my favorite scenes of the movie… Trust me it was very difficult to choose just one but here it is!

Favorite scene

Now that you have watched the scene… Here is a little recipe for you to take on your way to the next stop in the film!

In Blender With Ice add

1 oz Tequila Premium

1/2 oz Hiram Walker Blue Curacao

1 1/2 oz Sweet/Sour Mix

Blend and Strain

Garnish: Lime Slice

But if traditional is more your speed then try this recipe….

1 1/2 oz tequila

1/2 oz premium triple sec (preferably Cointreau)

1 oz lime juice

Rum the rim of a cocktail glass with lime juice, and dip in salt. Shake all ingredients with ice, strain into the glass, and serve.

Read more: Margarita Cocktail recipe http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink5260.html#ixzz1YY6Kp0Sx

 

Remember don’t drink and fly…. and please make sure you have your umbrella in case you decide to jump!

Yart

Day 5

Food Stocking Up

This is something that I completely agree with. You should have food in your homes. FEMA says that you should have at least 3 days. But when you look at all of the disasters it should be closer to 1 week. I prefer a much longer time frame.  If food supplies were to be disrupted, even like they were in Louisiana, then you might just starve if all you can do is heat up a can of something.  I remember a few years ago, middle of summer, we had a huge power outage. It lasted for almost a week. Grim and I were curious, as how the other half lived.  We headed out to one of the grocery stores that was still running on generators.  Honestly, it was the saddest thing I had ever seen. People were walking around with microwavable dinners and dried beans, as there was nothing left. No power to turn on the microwave and no idea of what to do with the beans.

I didn’t cover this in the cooking section but I will mention it here. Please if your going to store something, make sure you know how to cook it and if your family will eat it. Can you imagine being in a crisis (though enough), but to make matters worse you can’t figure out how to cook the bean and then no one will eat. Or they do eat it and end up with tummy troubles. So if your family won’t eat tuna now what makes you think that they will eat the 300 cans you got on sale when there is an emergency?

Another point Wendy Brown makes is that if your family is only use to eating highly processed foods, what are they going to eat when that runs out? Your going to have to think local, local…. LOCAL! Go to the famers markets and see what they have….. Fruits, Vegetables, Honey, Herbs, Spices, Fermented items, possibly dairy and eggs. If your really lucky they will also have meat and fish. These lines of commerce should continue. So if your unfamiliar with how to store and eat something now is the time to find out. And now is the time to introduce it to your family.

Simply put, if the trucks stop running, your going to eat things you never thought you would eat. Better to be prepared now.

Need to Do or Get

1. Need more 5 gallon buckets
2. Need more glass jars
3. Need to get more local honey
4. Need to find a better supply of eggs

Yart

Day 4

Cooking

I have a gas grill, a smoker, a propane stove and the fire pit. I have several cast iron frying pans. I know that eventually if this don’t return to normal then I would run out of fuel. So solar cooking just might be the way to go for me. That is if we don’t get the wood burner. I will still need to find a way to bake. I think I can make bread in a Dutch oven.

Need to Do or Get

1. Make a solar oven to try out. Click Here
2. If homemade solar oven works then price real solar oven. Click Here
3. Pick up a Dutch oven that is cast iron

Yart

Day 3

Fire

If your like me then you have a furnace that has an electric ignition, that won’t work if there is no power. So how do you stay warm? Like I said before I live in the North and we get cold, not as cold as some but cold none the less. Wendy Brown offers the suggestion of heating rocks to help stay warm. I love this idea. We have a fire pit that could be used for this purpose and some bricks. I also like the idea of solar passive heat. Here is one place that you can find out a bit more information. You can also heat water with solar, click here to find out more.

We have a gas grill, a smoker, a propane stove and a fire pit. I realize that eventually if things didn’t go back to normal I will run out of fuel. But I still will have the fire pit. That is an asset. I can use it to cook on as well as to help with staying warm. There are trees in the neighborhood and we have an ax. Now I need to get a wood rack and get back to getting our wood pile built back up.

We are also looking at getting a wood burner for the living room. We have an open type concept, so the living room, dining room and the kitchen will receive the heat. It could even make the entire main floor decent. Not sure since I don’t have it yet. But that would be great if it made it so we could sleep in our beds and not freeze to death… I guess that would be an added bonus…. LOL!

Something else that Wendy Brown talks about in the book is, Ok, you need fire but where is it going to come from. I have a nice stock of matches and we have a flint fire starter. I also learned a neat trick. You take steel wool and a 9 volt battery. It will start a fire very quickly. I saw that on one of the discovery channel survival shows.

Need to Do or Get

1. Get a wood rack
2. Get the wood burner
3. Buy more propane
4. More matches
5. Learn how to use a bow fire starter
6. Find more down trees, chop, split and dry
7. Try to find hot water bottles (Do they even still make these?)
8. Make heavier blankets
9. Have heavier clothing (ski-doo jumpers, snow pants, good boots)

Yart

Day 2

Water

I think that we tend to take water for granted. We go to the faucet and water pours out. Or we go to the potty and the flush takes the waste away. But what if that ability was gone? FEMA recommends that you have 1 gallon of water per person per day. Now lets think if the water was out for a month. I have a family of 5, that would be 150 gallons. That is a lot of water.

I have 2 – 55 gallon drums for water and  lots of vinegar jugs that have been repurposed for water storage. I also have 1 rain barrel, for cleaning water.  There is a creek about 1/4 mile down the road. I have a radio flyer wagon that I could use in the warm weather to haul water. We are also just over a mile from one of the Great Lakes. The thought of hauling water from that distance tires me out, let alone actually have to do it. We do live in the North so winter is a problem for us when it comes to water. Luckily, we will get snow that can be melted down to use. But the water in the rain barrels would be frozen.

**Side note** Don’t use plastic milk jugs for water storage. They will eventually leak. I know this because I was using them and they all leaked after awhile. That is why I use vinegar and soda bottles.

Need to Do or Get

1. Water purification system (Berkey or homemade)
2. Water purification tablets
3. 2 more 55 gallon drums (for drinking water)
4. 4 more rain barrels (for garden and cleaning)
5. Figure out some type of gray water catchment system. (To water the garden in hot weather

Yart

Surviving the Apocalypse in the Suburbs

I picked up this book by Wendy Brown yesterday. The premise of the book is that you have 21 days to prepare for the end of the world as we know it. The author has broken the down the tasks for each day. You can check out Wendy’s blog here.

I think that this is a great idea considering that I do live in a Suburban neighborhood.

So I will be for the next 21 days blogging about what I find that needs to be done to make it so that we could survive the apocalypse until  either things go back to normal or a new way of life is established.

Day 1

Shelter

Luckily, we have a 3 bedroom house with a full basement and  detached 2 car garage. We also have the advantage of living on a corner. The roof was replaced just a few years ago, but the windows are old and horrible. But I know how to plastic them up with duct tape and I also have window quilts to use. We have no way to heat the house for the long term if there was no electricity.

Need to Get or Do

1. Get wood burner (already spoke with Grim and we know where we are going to put it.) Nextag has a lot of different listings. Good place to start looking. If your interested click here. I think I am going to look at the local hardware and see what they have.
2. Start replacing windows one at a time. (We will replace the two in the living room first as this is where the wood stove will go. Keep that room nice and toasty warm.)
3. Fix the basement walls. (At some point the basement was shored up with pylons. I don’t think the wall will cave in but the cinder block has been shifting for the last two years. Damn clay back fill.)
4. Weather strip around all the doors. (This should be done by everyone even if they don’t expect a disruption in life. I did this a couple years ago but it needs to be done again)
5. Fix screens in windows that don’t get replaced. (Several of the screens have holes and duct tape fixing them.  Yep, my neck is a little pink… LOL! Make do or Do without.)
6. Fix or replace gutters (for future catchment system)
7. We may look into a solar heat & solar hot water systems. (I would rather wait till we one day move to get these items but we may not ever move so that is something to think about.)

Yart

42 Degrees

That is how cool it was this morning. It doesn’t look like it is going to get much warmer at night any time in the near future. Autumn is making a grand show of itself this year. Grim needed to know when we turned the furnace on last year. Good thing I blog about most everything. We didn’t turn it on until November. The only reason I turned it on was because it was 28 that morning… LOL! I told him had we had a little wood burner I would have waited. But it was just to cold in the morning for showers without some type of heat. I need to go and see if there is going to be another freeze your buns off challenge again this year!

I didn’t get to the pear until today. I juiced them in the steam juicer and strained out the pulp. I had 3 cups of pulp that I turned into Almond Pear Sauce (3~12oz jars). Plus, the 11 cups of juice that I will be making syrup out of later tonight (9 pints). So now it is officially done. At least the Pears. I still have the two bushels of apples. I should be able to get 1/2 to 1 full bushel done tomorrow! It will all be made into sauce and maybe some butter. But here are the recipes I used today.

Almond Pear Sauce

3 cups of pear pulp

1/2 cup pear juice

3/4 cup of sugar

1 tsp of Almond extract

Heat, jar and water bath for 20 minutes per pint 25 minutes for quart

Pear Syrup

11 cups of pear juice

11 cups of sugar

Bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes.

Jar and water bath for 10 minutes

Remember to always check with the National Center for Home Food Preservation first before you try any recipe to see if it is safe. The rules change all the time. So it is better to be safe then sorry.

Yart

Processing

I was able to get all the raspberries processed. 7 ~ 12oz jars and 5 pint sized jars! With all the jellies and the other jams. I think we will be all set for the upcoming winter. I see a ton of jelly rolls and waffles in our future… LOL!

After I take Teenage monster to practice I will be come home and get the rest of the pears juiced / cooked down. A few more jars of pear butter won’t hurt to have in the pantry. I think I am going to make pear syrup with the juice this time.

Thursday I will get the apples started. I was going to do it tomorrow but Grim will be home, doctors appointment. Nothing serious, just a check of his shoulder. And if it doesn’t rain I will be out cutting the grass. Hopefully, that will be the last time this season. With all this hokey weather it stayed green and growing all summer.

Next payday I will be going and getting a 50 pound bag of potatoes to can up. I still have enough carrots from the last two years that I don’t need to do them. I think I would like to do more tomatoes. I don’t feel like I did enough this year. You never know maybe one more bushel.

I will also have to check the one farmers stand that I go to should have peppers for like 12 @ $1, at this time. I also need to get some squash to put in the cellar. I will wait till closer to Thanksgiving to get the yams, for storage. I think I might even try to can some of those up this winter also.

I’m still trying to clean out the freezers. What a chore. Good thing I only have one big and one little. It is going to take me a couple months to get it finished. As long as it is done by the time Grim brings home a deer or two, we will be fine. Not complaining, just stating the facts… LOL! I have 3 giant turkeys that need to be cooked up. Can’t wait for turkey broth. I love the stuff! I cooked a ham on Labor day. Grim and the monsters love that!

Yart

Lots to Talk about

With the way things went this summer Grim and I have decided to get the basement walls fixed up. Then we will fix all possible entry ways into the yard to keep out the damn r*ts. That way I will rebuild the garden to something that works better for us. When we built the garden 3 years ago, I went off of what I thought would work. And it did work, but it didn’t really suit our needs. I had the 12 4x4 raised beds. This time we are going to build 1 24x6 raised bed in. I will also be able to add the the drip irrigation. Cutting the grass will be so much easier…. or I might just build a walk way all the way around and not have to worry about it at all.

All of the herbs died, as did all the blueberry bushes. My mint and chives have held their own. The lavender should be ready to start harvesting next year. The grapes grew this year but not one grape did we get to eat. They never turned to purple. And yes, I did buy purple grapes, Grim asked the same question. Maybe it is still to early. I will be looking for borage to plant for next year…. so if anyone has any seeds that they would like to part with please let me know.

I am working with a lion brand yarn right now to make Teenage monster a scarf to match her varsity jacket. Once I am done making it I am going to get more of this wool and make hot pads. It is the thickest, softest yarn ever. The color is Claret, it is a deep wine color and her jacket is a burgundy. They seem to go good together. I may never have to make more hot pads once these are finished.  LOL! I also need to get my butt in gear. I bought yarn last year to make a crocheted blanket and haven’t done it yet. Good thing fall is on its way.

Well, since it seems Picky monster has hidden my sugar I have to wait till they get home from school to make the raspberry jam. I need to get that done tonight so that the berries don’t go bad on me. This is the first time in years I have picked fall raspberries. I think I like them better then summer ones. But then again next year I could have a change of heart… LOL! Yep, you guessed it I’m fickle! I also need to get the rest of the pears cooked down and started on the apples. I think that pears and apples will be waiting until tomorrow though.

Today ended up being a run around type of day. Took the monsters to school, then had to pick my mom up at the shop and take her home. Then had to take Grim’s car into the shop…. brand new and one of the pieces of trim fell off. I also had to go to the post office because my mailman was late getting here Friday and then when I went Saturday they were already closed. But I have my package and I have already started on my “Introduction to Natural Wellness” course. I think I will be done sometime in November. I have read the first unit, but I need to go back and take notes and flash cards. The test for unit one seems very straight forward.

Yart

Remembrance

I got 2 bushels of Mac’s and 4 quarts of red raspberries. The family all went out and picked! What a great way to spend a crappy day. We were all together 10 years ago, as we were today. Even though my oldest was just in 1st grade she remembers the turmoil that followed the attack. I remember the panic, the shock and the horror of watching it all unfold on the television. I know I gathered my family close to me and we prayed like we had never prayed before, for the fallen, for the hero's and for living.

I remember and will never forget!

Yart

Just stuff

I have been cleaning house all day. Of course I have had some computer time. In that time I have found a few things that might be of interest to you.

10 Creative Kid Projects (great Christmas ideas)

Homemade Blueberry Liqueur

Boiled Cider

Ginger Ale by Alton Brown

Free Printable Cash Budgeting Envelopes

And since school is back in session I thought I would revisit a classic.

Homemade Poptarts

Yart

At Home

I am at home. Yesterday I didn’t get here until after 3:30 and then didn’t get home again until after 9. It was just one of those days that didn’t seem to want to end or want me to be home. Still I got 8 jars of Vanilla Pear Butter made. The recipe is below. I have a couple of other links to share. For today I am cleaning out Mouthy’s room today. That child creates more messes. The other two will have until Sunday night to get their room cleaned. If they don’t I will be doing that on Monday morning. These rooms are so small that a couple days of not putting stuff away looks like a tornado went through. They did a really good job cleaning this summer. But they have let it lapse. Plus the rabbit is back in there since the a/c is out of the window. So he needs to be comfortable.

I got some interesting news last night. I don’t want to jinx it so I won’t say to much. But it is one of those things that it could be the best thing ever or the worst. I am putting my faith in the powers that be to lead me in the right direction. Enough of that. I have a pot of chili on the stove, might even make corn bread. It has been raining here for two days straight. I have the inside windows all closed. But not the storms. I think it is suppose to heat back up this weekend. But if it doesn’t and this trend continues then I am going to start closing up the storms. It isn’t that it is cold so much as it is so damp. Grim laughs at me cause I am always cold unless it is 80+ out there. So I have my sweat jacket on working around the house.

Carrot cake whoopie pies

Chicken Vegetable Alfredo Soup

Vanilla Pear Butter

Yart

Blogging Bee

I posted a link to my grinding wheat post and this week I was featured. This is kewl so I thought I would share!

Yart

First day of School

Well, the monsters have all been dropped off at the proper location. I was suppose to go to the gym today, but I just don’t feel it. As much as I love the thought of getting my days back, I hate school. I miss my monsters terribly. Grim is on a permanent job for the next 3 weeks, which means he has a set schedule. It makes going back to school easier when everyone is on a schedule. Today is a half day. After I pick them up I need to take Teenage monster looking for a Home coming dress. I really hope we can find one quick. Neither one of us enjoys shopping. So as soon as she finds the dress there will be no having to keep looking just in case. Yeah!

Now all the tomatoes are done. It is time to move on to other foods. I have a large stock pot full of pears that I really need to put into the juicer. But I think that is going to have to wait until the monsters are in school all day tomorrow. Just so I have time to get it all done. After I juice them I will run the mess through the pureer. With what is left I will make pear butter. Oh, I can’t wait. I only got a few pears last year, but I decided that pear butter was nectar from the gods… LOL! So I really need to make more of it this year. I still might make it out to get raspberries. I don’t know… the weather has turned cold. I know it would be the perfect time to pick.  Just being lazy, I probably will get down there tomorrow. I think a magic fairy is going to bring me a bushel or two of apples. I have to pay for them but I don’t have to go and get them. LOL! Plus, they are cheaper then the ones around here. If that is the case then I will be making apple sauce later in the week. The monsters just love it. So why not have it on hand.

I have a couple of tomatoes that I was able to salvage from the garden. Mr. stripy, purple Cherokee, and a couple of the Italian paste. Now that they are ripe, I need to gut them and get the seeds ready to save. So then next year I will have my own seeds and hopefully, won’t have to buy any starts.

Oh, I almost for got I have some links to share.

How to make Yo-Yo napkin rings

Homemade corn syrup

Homemade girl scout cookies

Pastitsio

Free E-course for Cooking Traditional Foods

I signed up for this, this morning. I looks like it will be full of great information. And as I learn new things I will pass on some of the knowledge. Or at least the links…

I am still waiting on some things to get here in the mail. The first is the vintage remedies beginners kit. I got that one first to see if doing herbal things suits me. I would like to think that it would fit very well into the sustainable lifestyle. But I don’t know if I have what it takes. The next  package is my wool csa. I am so looking forward to finishing the project that I started with the first skein. I’m not sure if it is a scarf or a runner. I guess once I get more wool, plus this is my first pattern. I came up with it all on my own….

Yart

A Family Affair

We got the bushel and a half peeled and cut up. The first 6 quarts are cooling… yep one decided to break as soon as it hit the water. Seven more are in the canner and I still have 10 more waiting for their turn in the pool… LOL!

The monsters did the peeling and Grim did the cutting. I am so blessed to have a family that will pitch in when I am swamped!

Oh, she found a date…. so now I need to find her the dress!

Yart