Island Treasures Retreat 2013

Last week-end was our annual stitching retreat, held at Kindred Spirits Country Inn. There were 24 of us this year, and we had a great time stitching, knitting, eating, and socializing. It seemed like we just finished one meal when it was time to head out for the next one! It's always nice to have someone else cook and clean up! Some of the more ambitious stitchers were up stitching until the wee hours of the morning! We also had a tutorial on how to finish cross stitch Christmas ornaments. Here are a few pictures from our week-end:

My room...I shared with my daughter, Amanda

Jalapeno Peppers, Tomatoes, and Pumgetti Squash?

What do we do with a full  bucket of jalapeno peppers?

First we make 13 half-pints of cowboy candy

Then we fill up the dehydrator.

There are still some more peppers left, they will be frozen. After the peppers were finished, it was time to look after a few more ripe tomatoes. I wanted something easy, so I bought a jar of Bernardin Fiesta Salsa Mix. If you haven't tried this yet, it makes delicious salsa. I am impressed with the results, and all you add is tomatoes and vinegar, and crushed chilies if you like it spicy. Easy, peasy!

Salsa cooking

 

 

These didn't go in the salsa, but aren't they nice?

We picked all the squash in our garden, just in case of a frost, and Dale came in the house with a few funny looking squash, saying he didn't know what they were. After a bit of research, I came to the conclusion that they are a cross between a pumpkin and a spaghetti squash. Apparently if your pumpkin or spaghetti squash was cross-pollinated last year, and you saved seeds to plant this year, you can get a funky hybrid.

Funny looking spaghetti squash

Look like spaghetti squash inside, just a darker color than normal

We cooked it up, added butter and parmesan cheese, and had it for our lunch. Tasted the same as a normal spaghetti squash.

Even the squirrels are enjoying the bounty. They just love the sunflower seeds from our sunflowers.