Harvesting the Garden

We have been busy with the garden. Tons of zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, onions, peppers, squash, and tomatoes. The tomatoes are just starting. We have made one batch of salsa so far, and next up will be tomato sauce. Dale is busy cooking and freezing squash every day while I'm at work. The zucchini is being shredded and frozen for winter. I have a new yeast bread recipe that calls for a cup of shredded zucchini, and it has become our new favorite bread, so we need lots of shredded zucchini to keep us in bread for the winter. I also want to make some more cowboy candy and some pickled peppers. We have a ton of jalapeno and Hungarian hot wax peppers still in the garden. Before long it will be time to pick the carrots, turnips, parsnips, and the remaining beets. Oh, I almost forgot about the baking beans. They are just about dry enough to pick, and they make the best baked beans! The variety we grow is called Jacob Cattle Beans.

Mixture of cherry, beefsteak, and plum tomatoes

Spaghetti squash, zucchini, green peppers, and jalapeno peppers

Funny carrots!

Butternut and buttercup squash, pumpkins, onions, and a few more tomatoes

On the Needles

I have decided to join in and start my own Dreambird, after seeing all the beautiful color combinations. I am using yarn from my stash, so it's not the most colorful, but I'm hoping it will look good with black or grey dress pants. The grey yarn is KnitPicks Stroll Basalt Heather. The feather yarn is Hot Socks Spectra. There are still some more colors in the feather yarn, some greens should be showing up in the next few feathers.

1913 Singer Treadle

I can't believe that I never posted about my newest sewing machine acquisition. I got her for the fantastic price of $50. The cabinet has been professionally refinished, and the machine itself runs like a dream. I didn't get the manual with it, so I need to figure out how to wind the shuttle bobbin, but I'm pretty sure I can find that info somewhere online if I just take the time to look. Isn't she a beauty!

Provincial Exhibition Results

This is the first year that I entered my knitting in the provincial exhibition. I didn't know what to expect, as I had never even been to the exhibition before. I had to make three trips to Charlottetown, one to drop off my knitting, one to pick up my knitting, one an extra trip in between to check out the competition and to see if I won anything, and I did! Two first place ribbons, two seconds, and a third. My two pairs of mittens didn't win  anything :(   Next year I hope to enter not only knitting, but maybe some quilting and cross-stitch also. I'm going to be one busy girl this winter!

Hat and mitten combo, and preemie set

Work socks and baby set

Fancy socks (and my foot, lol!)

Fancy mitts and work mitts

Sad Days

This is a picture of my mother-in-law, taken July 16, 2013, on her 92nd birthday. She has lived with us for the past 5 years, and in the last couple of months her dementia has increased significantly.She has basically stopped eating, stopped talking, and is now so weak she is spending most of her time in bed. The doctor was out to see her tonight, and we have made the difficult decision to put her in hospital while awaiting a nursing home bed. As soon as a bed is available in the hospital, probably tomorrow or the next day, we will take her in, and at least we will know her basic needs are being met, as she won't let us help her, and she no longer has total control of her bodily functions. My husband is quite torn, as although he knows we cannot properly look after her anymore, he made her a promise years ago that she would always live with us, and now he feels that he's breaking his promise.

Busy Days

We are busy, busy, busy with the garden. Canned beets, canned beans, dill pickles, dilled carrots, dilly beans, mustard beans, bread & butter pickles, dehydrated zucchini chips. Today we have made 9 quarts of bread and butter pickles and have another batch ready to go this evening.

Yellow beans in the pressure canner

Canned beans and dill pickles

Dehydrated zucchini chips

Mustard beans

Bread & Butter Pickles covered with ice

Canning Season is Underway!

I picked 2 buckets of beets this morning, giving me 9  pints of canned beets and 2 quarts and 1 pint of pickled beets.

 

While the beets were cooking, I made a strawberry cheese pie. It has a layer of cream cheese, a layer of strawberries, and a layer of lemon pudding and dream whip. It looks delicious, and I can;t wait to try it out.

 

After luch, it was out to the garden to pick peas. Fortunately I had some help.

Jessica and Jasmine helping to shell peas

 

 

 

 

 

We had peas for supper, and I put 10 cups in the freezer

Yesterday, July 16th, was my mother-in-laws 92nd birthday. She has dementia and I don't think she was quite sure what all the fuss was, but we managed to get a few pictures.

Mildred with granddaughter Amanda, and 5 of her great-grandchildren

Mildred with her son David and his wife Glenna, who came over from Nova Scotia for a visit