Monday, June 28, 2010

More little quilts.....

They are so colorful and I'm sure they will be appreciated.....



2 pics of the same one.....





They are so much fun to make! I've made 14 so far!
I'm taking a little mini vacation over the 4th, so I'll talk to you after next week.
'Til next time, Love ya, Jean




Thursday, June 17, 2010

My garden.....

is at it's peak right now.......









I wish you could come over to see it!
'Til next time, Love ya, Jean




Monday, June 7, 2010

New Fence.....

This is a little walkway over to my composter.......
I just laid it in the dirt, nothing fancy, it's called crazy paving and I used a stepping stone, bricks and some concrete pavers that I already had.....
This is where the fence starts.....
This enclosed area is where I keep my wheelbarrow, tools and such.....

This is the side yard that separates me from my neighbor.....
I trimmed the bushes since then and cleaned up the junk that was laying around.....


This are the gates and they open to 8 ft wide.....
I had to take a lot of plants out of this area, so now it's time to put them back!
I love the new fence, it looks so NEW!
And you can see, I have my work cut out for me.
'Til next time, Love ya, Jean



Wednesday, June 2, 2010

It's that time of year....again!

I'm pretty sure I did a tutorial on this last year.....

Strawberries.......made into Jam.....

They must be mashed up first.....
Put some fruit pectin in to thicken it and then lots of sugar to make it sweet.....
And then you have to cook it in a big pot.....


This is what I started with..... Of course, I had to pick them and clean and cut them into pieces first.....

The jars waiting for the goodness.....

These had to be washed and put into boiling water to be sterilized.....



This pan has the lids in it. They have to be put in hot water and left there until it's time to use them.



This very large pot is what I used to give the filled jars their hot water bath. Ten minutes is all that it takes.


And of course, who has to be in the middle of it all, Dusty with his Buddy Doggy.....




The finished product..... 17 jars of wonderful, delicious Strawberry Jam! What a treat this is.....


I actually made two batches because I had everything out and I figured I might as well save some time by making it all today.




A closeup of the jars...
I just wish you could smell this..... sheer Ecstasy!



My strawberry patch is producing by leaps and bounds this year.....it must be the compost that I put in there last year. Because of this, I decided this would be great to have -- it's an ice cream maker! Oh, and it makes some delicious ice cream.....and the strawberries compliment it so well! Yummy! My family loves it all! And I have such a feeling of accomplishment.
'Til next time, Love ya, Jean