It's Saturday!

Have my youngest son here this weekend.  Even makes the coffee taste better.. if that's possible.. lol We're going to totally re-do the front flowerbed.  It's been quite a mess for the entire year and the fact is ... I'm tired of it!!!  Haven't the faintest idea what it will turn out to be, but it certainly can't be any worse than it is.. 

I don't know if I've mentioned my rash...  I've had it since February of 2014 and it seems quite content to set up housekeeping and stay until it retires.  The only reason I'm mentioning it is that I've totally set aside all the wool and fiber things to see if I can find the culprit that is causing it.  So.. I have taken up watercolors.  

I realize that I will never take the place of Picasso or Michelangelo...lol... but I do enjoy the process. So for the time being this will by my passion.  Not that I won't be doing some knitting or crochet or sewing...  I just won't handle the raw wool for a while.  (She says that and somewhere deep inside a voice is snorking... )  Well, I'll try to stay away from the raw wool... :)  

I had another heart cath a couple of weeks ago... results wonderful.  Dr. says will not have to have another one for years..  Now to work on the bradycardia.. slow heart rate.  I think this definitely is caused by the meds I take for familial tremor but I've tried 2 other meds and they didn't work so this is my last option... I think.  We'll see.. :)

Every year I say the same thing... can't believe how the year has passed so quickly.. but... Here we are at nearly Halloween and the holiday season is upon us once again.  All the heat from the summer will be gone and we'll be complaining about the cold...lol   Personally, I think we just like to complain.  :) 

I suppose I should get busy if I plan on accomplishing anything, so I will just say ... I hope everyone has a wonderful day.  I know I will.. since every day spent with my children is a day worth it's weight in gold.  

Today In My Life... December 24, 2010

Today is:  Friday, December 24, 2010

I got up this morning:  feeling a little down.  It's Christmas Eve and none of the kids are able to come home.  It forces me to remind myself of all those holidays... when my children were growing up or I was unable to get time off on the holidays or there was a  lack of money for long trips... and the tons of other reasons that my Mom or Dad had to spend their holidays without us there.  It's true... we never understand or appreciate our parents until we are parents.. and in similar circumstances.  ;o)

As I look out the window:  the flock of crows that greet us every morning by doing a fly-by of our window have not shown up yet.  In fact, none of our morning greeters.. sparrows, wrens, chickadees... have shown up.  Wonder if they are hiding out in preparation for the cold front moving through.  Supposed to get really cold (at least for us..lol.. don't point, Phillip!)  ;o)  

I am hearing:  my sweet DH in the shower.  He (and I) have loved that shower that our sons put in for us.  Really will miss all the wonderful memories that have come with this house.. ;o(

I am thinking:  that perhaps I feel a little like Monte Walsh.   We went to McDonald's yesterday morning and had  breakfast.  Someone had left the Herald Democrat  newspaper on the table.  It's about 1/2 as wide as it used to be, has about 1/10th the number of pages and reminds me more and more of the very old newspapers of the Wild West that had no pictures.  And now with the e-readers, I'm afraid the same will be happening with "real" books.  I'm afraid the world as we know it is changing much too rapidly for me......

I am thankful for:   magic markers and corn cob ink pens.. ;o)

Creatively:   thankful for Joe Camilleri of Mangiare .  Wonderful chef who unselfishly publishes on his blog some of the most mouth watering recipes imaginable.. woo hoo!

Just a thought:  Colors... like friends.. beautiful each to itself.  Colors.. beautiful in a mish mash of random shapes... each close and making each other shine!

 

It's Holiday Time...or How to Make Cranberry Relish...

I was talking with my daughter this morning. This is what she wants for Christmas... ;o)

Cranberry Orange Relish

Gather ingredients...

1 pkg. fresh cranberries
1 medium orange
1/2 stick cinnamon
1 cup sugar

Because I wanted to can this batch, I placed 3
half pint jars in water to cover and the lids in water and placed both on the stove to bring to a boil. There is no need to boil the screw caps since they will not be in contact with the food or the lip of the jar. (If you have never canned fresh fruit, I would suggest you go here to learn how to do home canning.)








Wash the cranberries and pick out any soft or bad ones. Pick the stems. Wash the orange with a veggie wash. Place the cinnamon in a medium saucepan. I used navel oranges so I cut the pithy ends off my orange. Cut the orange into quarters. Place 1/2 the orange and 1/2 the cranberries into a blender or food processor and grind. Empty into your saucepan and repeat with the other half. Add the sugar and stir to mix well.









Place on medium heat and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, the jars have been boiling and sterilizing while relish has been prepared.








Using a pair of tongs, pick up one jar and pour the water out. Sit as closely to your cooking relish as possible and using a metal spoon ladle the relish into the sterilized jars. Try not to get any on the lip of the jar as this will stop the lid from sealing. If you do get some on the lip, use a damp cloth to wipe the rim of the jar. Using tongs, dip a lid out of the boiling water and place on jar. Place the screw cap on the jar and tighten just finger tip tight...not screwed on hard.






Since I know these will be used within the next 2 weeks, I placed these back in the same boiling water for a 10 minute boiling hot water bath. If I wanted to keep these for a year, I would use a much bigger hot water bath pan and the water MUST cover the jars at least an inch. The hot water bath is make sure the heat inside the center of the jar reaches high enough temperature and maintains it long enough to kill any lingering bacteria.






After the 10 minute hot water bath the relish is removed from the hot water using the tongs and is wiped with a clean dishtowel. They are placed on a clean dishtowel to cool for several hours or overnight. The lids should pop and form a suction. When pressed in the center the lids should not give any... If it does move up or down when pressed, then the seal has not sealed well enough and you should place in the refrigerator and use within a week or so.


This recipe can be used (without the cinnamon) as a fresh relish and requires NO Cooking... if you want to make it the day of or the day before it is eaten. To keep for any length of time it should be cooked and/or canned.

If you try this, please use caution since you will be dealing with very hot, boiling liquids.

I do so love this stuff..lol This is the second batch I have made since before Thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy this little tute... Daughter mine... ;o)

We Had A Wonderful Time!

We had a wonderful time! Thank you, Bev!

Purpose for today...

'My purpose is to __________ today. I am thankful for______________'

This is a much harder fill-in-the-blank than I thought it would be. This is one sentence of an email that my aunt sent to me and I thought it would be a good thing to fill in each day...you know...kinda "get off on the right foot" kind of thing... phew... I don't think I have ever just sat down and thought.. "OK, what is my purpose for today?" lol...you'd think I could come up with something!

However, I am terribly thankful that the election is over. I am still concerned about the welfare of the nation as a whole... but perhaps new blood is what is needed in Washington. We shall see.

We went to town yesterday and shopped in a few shops. Christmas decorations are already out and you know what that means... Time to start counting the days. I think the holiday season has become very commercialized, but I nevertheless enjoy the fact that families get together...and if not for the holidays, this may not happen so frequently. Besides... I love to give gifts..lol

Daylight savings time has ended and this picture is our meadow at 5:45 pm these days. The autumn winds have almost blown all the redbud's leaves away and the meadow grass has turned brown. The days are cooler and last night ..for the first time...we were too cool with only the one quilt and our sheet for cover. I am seriously considering making a king size quilt...a first for me. We'll see if that works out... ;o)

Seasons

The cooler temps and sunshiny days have made the days wonderful for the last week or so. This evening is Halloween...tomorrow is November. Didn't this year just start a week ago?

We seldom have any Trick or Treats show up at our door. The highway is much too busy even at night for children to be walking up and down the road. So we miss much of the fun of the holiday. But plans are underway for Thanksgiving and Christmas...

With both of us recuperating, there has not been massive amounts of "hobbying" being done. But the evenings do require something in the hands..grin So the coffee 2-ply is slowly becoming a naalbound scarf. It's done in a tube which will be warmer and will have fringe closing the ends. The coffee color does not show up well in the photo due to the warm tones...(will have to change that setting on my camera!) I tried it on my neck and found it a little scratchy... will have to get to my Yahoo spinners group and see if all Corriedale is that way or if it is something I am doing with the dyeing process...