The Best is Past.

 Our leaves are falling quickly and I am afraid that the best is over.  Of course, there are still many lovely spots south of us who will just be coming into peak time.

Hubby went to see his mother today and they had a nice visit.  It is hard to see your parent getting older but I feel that anyone who is able to see them during their waning years is very fortunate.  Because my mother lived in England, I never saw her before she died.  The last time I had been there was five years prior and, although we talked on the phone, it wasn't the same as being face to face and being able to hug her.  Whatever the situation, though, it is hard.

I did the first step toward making my sourdough bread today.  The ingredients are mixed and are now left to sit overnight and then can cook tomorrow.  One of the really great things about sourdough-besides the taste, is that you don't have to knead it.

I am slowly making progress on the quilt that is on the frame.  I have 12 more passes to do.  Each one is on a section approximately 4 inches square and is made up of 4 inch blocks.  I am quilting each one separately so it is taking a bit of time.

Blessings, 

Fall 2020

 Yay, Judy'[s husband is fine.  I am getting frustrated with the new outbreak of the virus after so many of us have done everything required of us, we are facing record numbers of people being diagnosed.  I am angry because businesses may have to once again close,  those in long term care homes being isolated and the vulnerable dying.  And why, because a group of people think their right to do what they want overrules the safety of everyone else.  It is time the government takes serious steps against those who social gather inside and outside.  Fine all of them not just the organizers.  If you are there and not where a mask, you get fined.

Now that I have that off my chest: we had a lovely weekend.  On Sat. hubby and I went to a friends cottage (members of our bubble) and enjoyed a lovely visit and boat ride on their pontoon boat.  The colours were beautiful as was the weather.  I took a bunch of photos and will add some at the end of this post.  Yesterday, after church, we sat outside on the deck and enjoyed the day.  Today, was a bit more somber and members of the Burk's Falls Village Quilters gathered at our late members home and chose some items from her fabric and notions.  We all felt sad at the reason for our being there but plan to each make a quilted item in her memory.

Tomorrow, hubby gets to visit his mother in hospital.  A special exception is being made for him as he is the only child who doesn't live in the area and wasn't on the list to see her.  The fact that we were just tested for covid was a factor in this happening.

Our leaves are dropping quickly now so I am glad I got photos when I did.  Hope you enjoy them.

Blessings, 

O yjpihjy O sae fph/

 Judy, hoping to hear your husband's covid test is also negative.  Be sure to let me know.

I am finally starting to feel inspired to quilt.  It just kicked in today after spending all summer making masks.  I have added my personal touch to a friends pattern-this is the one I was testing, as I wanted it to be bigger.  I also have the quilt on my frame about 1/3 done.  I need to get started on my customer quilts as well as I promised them for Christmas.  

It was another lovely day although we did have shower spurts.  Hubby was working on adding an addition to our deck so it will be about 14 by 10.  The extra length will give more room on the door side of where we have the bug tent.

I was just giggling over a article about how our fingers can sometimes come up with the oddest conglomeration of letters when our brains go on the fritz.  What I found the funniest was the comment of people who received these garbled messages.  Some knew exactly what the person was saying and others asked if the sender had just had a stroke.  For some reason, I found that really funny when, of course, if it had happened, it was anything but humorous.

I lately have had a problem with putting my fingers on the wrong place on the keyboard so it looks as though I am writing in code-language not computer.  My biggest problem is pressing the caps lock when I just want the shift.  I never used to have this problems so not sure if it is age, dexterity or carelessness.  I now have to make sure I proof read before I send.

Blessings,

Mini Bombers

We are continuing to get lovely, fall like weather.  Hubby and I spend a good bit of the day outside.  He more than I as he is doing wood etc.  We do take time to sit on the deck with a cup of tea and chat.  I have a problem doing nothing so today I trimmed the dog's nails.  We have three feeders near the deck and the birds have been going crazy.  None of them are particularly concerned about us so we have little feathered creatures flying around our heads like mini bombers.

Last Wednesday our doctor sent hubby and I for a Covid-19 test as we had symptoms-just one really.  We drove an hour and a half north, had ours noses poked, drove back home again and then waited.  I just got the results and we are both negative.  I figured we would be as if I had it, I would probably be in the hospital.  I have problems breathing under normal circumstances so am sure if I had the virus, I would be in bad shape. Also, we have been stringent in following the guidelines so, if we did have it, I don't know where the source would have been.

We are supposed to self monitor for another week which we do anyway but don't have to isolate so now we can go and get the groceries we need.

Hope you and yours are staying healthy.

Blessings,

Apple Butter

 I finished the test pattern I was working on and now will add a bit more to turn it in to a small table runner.  My next project is to finish the quilt on my frame.  Tomorrow, I will be doing more apple butter and fruit jam.  I thought you might like to try making the apple butter so here is the recipe.

Blessings,

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Yield 12 cups.

 

You will need a very large slow cook or cut apples into small pieces so they take less room

 

Ingredients:  12 pounds of apples-baking ones are best but any kind of firm apple will do.

Peeled, cored and sliced (I didn’t peel mine).

 

½ apple cider vinegar

3 cups white sugar  (I only used 2.  It depends on your preference and the sweetness of the apples.)

1 cup brown sugar.

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 cup raisins (optional)

 

Place apples and vinegar into slow cooker, cover with lid.  Set on High and cook for 8 hours, turn to Low and continue cooking 10 hours more

 

After 18 hours, add all the other ingredients and cook 4 more hours on low.

Mixture should be thick and a dark brown.

 

(It is hard to get the timing of making this correct as it could finish while you are in bed.  I turned the cooker down to lowest setting before the last 4 hours and then turned it back to low when I got up.  It seemed to work well.)

 

Place mixture in hot, sterilized jars.  Run knife around inside to ensure there aren’t any bubbles.  Cover with lid and screw top. 

Place in canner and boil for 10 minutes.  Remove and let sit undisturbed for 24 hours before storing.

 

Original recipe is from allrecipes.com and then I added my own touches.

The Wisdom of Reusing

 I got a really great buy at a Salvation Army thrift shop today.  I have been looking for a good leather handbag in a brown shade and hadn't been able to find exactly what I wanted.  The shop in Huntsville reopened recently after moving to a new location and we dropped in today after grocery shopping.  I found a lovely bag made by Roots which, when new was around $300.00.  I paid $3.00.  It has both a shoulder strap and handles and a outside zipped pocket.  Just perfect.

Now I will get rid of all the other bags I have except my summer one which is also perfect-it is Suttles and Seawinds, yellow, quilted and was given to me by a friend.  This is a Canadian company from Nova Scotia and I love their clothing.

I rarely buy anything new preferring to go to thrift and other second hand shops.  I once got a beautiful suede skirt and long vest made by Dior for $30.00  I have also found sandals that are worth over a $100.00 for next to nothing.  Why would anyone want to pay full price for something that is mass produced and shoddily made when for less money you can buy classic?  You also have the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting an organization that helps others.

Of course, I was raised on second hand.  Our clothing was either given to us, made over or bought at rummage sales (does anyone remember those?).  Most of our furniture is also preowned and again we have found vintage and antique dressers, free good quality flooring and many other items that we treasure.

There is so much waste in our country that I think it is important that we reuse as much as possible.  Of the 3R's, I think reusing and restoring are the most important.

Have you found anything recently that was a great buy?

Blessings,

Getting Ready for Winter

I remembered to ask our granddaughter to pose for a photo with her bread on Sunday so I was able to take a screen shop.  Didn't she do a great job?

 I have got a lot of canning done the past few days.  I finished my apple butter, did grapefruit marmalade which, along with the peach marmalade I did on Saturday should keep me in stock.  I have jam yet to do, chili and probably another lot of apple butter.

We may get frost tonight so I brought in my geraniums and got the rest of the flower gardens ready for winter.  We still have zucchini and pumpkin in the garden but they should be okay.

Tomorrow grocery shopping and then Wednesday should be free although I am sure something will come up before then.

Blessings,
 

Another Professional Baker in the Family

 We have got our first frost warning for tonight.  Hubby brought in all our tomatoes.  We could have covered them but there aren't a lot left and most are on the road to being ripe.  We can finish them indoors.  Tomorrow I will be picking up my apples and peaches from a friend who has a friend that brings a load every fall.  Saturday will be peach marmalade making day as well as freezing the apples.

I have half finished the test pattern that I am doing this week.  It is coming together quite well and I like the look.  It has been the perfect project to get me back at quilting.

If you had children going back to school today, I hope all went well for them.  Our grandson started on Wednesday but his sister doesn't go until Friday.  When we Skyped with them yesterday, Hope showed us the bread she had made.  She did it from scratch and I haven't seen a better loaf.  I think we will have another professional baker in the family.  She has 3 adult cousins in that trade.  I should have taken a screen photo to share with you,

Blessings,

A Pop of Colour.

 Our trees are just starting to show their colour.  I think the red against the green backdrop looks more dramatic than a field of red.  It is rather like when you have a quilt of muted colours and add one bright.  Everything takes on a different look.

Don't have time to write any more this evening as I am running behind and still have a couple of masks to do.  Have a great evening.

blessings,

Stay Safe

 Happy Labour Day.  If you were away for the weekend, I hope you have arrived back home safely.  It seems some people go a bit crazy on this last long weekend of the summer and in an attempt to cram in as much fun as possible, they forget to observe safety.  There have been a number of drownings, collision and other avoidable deaths already and most people are still travelling home.

I spent the day labouring.  I did the usual Monday laundry, dusting and other beginning of the week chores plus starting a batch of yoghurt.  I began some sourdough starter yesterday so gave it, its first feeding today.  Making the grandchildren's back to school face masks was the other item on the list and they are almost done.

It will soon be time to start taking fall photos as our trees are donning a nice shade of red.  It will be a while before they are in full colour though.

Blessings, 

Studio Reorganized.

 Sounds like I am not the only one who is in the mood for preserving.  Judy mentioned canning some peaches.  I am not sure if I will be able to do any this year as they seem to have sold out quickly.  Anyone else started freezing, preserving their crops?

I got a good start on redoing my studio today.  I previously had my cutting and ironing tables (desks) back to back but now moved them so they are at right angles.  I took the serger from the old treadle cabinet and replaced it with the singer hand crank.  The serger will go on the sewing table.  All my batting is now in one place and the totes that hold Christmas fabric, doll dresses as well as leather and other non fabric materials are easier to access.  Still quite a bit to do  but I should have it done tomorrow.

Hubby was having back problems today so I got him sorting all the Christmas, birthday and other cards that we have accumulated.  Many don't have envelopes and some envelopes don't have cards.  Now they are sorted, I will put them in labeled freezer bags so we will be able to find what we need without going through everything in a drawer.

It is gradually getting cooler so we may have to think about starting up the wood stove soon.

Blessings,

Harvest Time

 Judy, I am glad we aren't the only ones to get our days confused.  I find that it isn't only the retired folk that have problems.  Sometimes a day just  feels like it should be something else.

We had a nasty rain storm just after supper so I had to turn off the computer.  It seems to have passed now so I can get things finished up.

I made half a dozen jars of zucchini relish today.  The recipe called for 12 cups of zucchini and I got it all from the green one shown here.

The yellow may look like an under ripe zuke but it is, in fact a different veggie.  It is a cross between a zucchini and a blue pumpkin.  I am going to cup it up and steam it before freezing and am anxious to see what it is going to taste like.  I am not sure what I am going to do with it.  Probably just keep it as a vegetable and serve with meals.

Yesterday, I really got into  baking.  After processing all the ingredients for the relish, I  made chick pea muffins and a double batch of hummus.  The relish had to sit overnight and then it was cooked and jarred today.  It isn't cool enough to do much preserving yet so will just freeze the tomatoes for the chili.  I think I will do more relish and it makes a nice gift but am going to substitute green tomatoes for some of the zucchini. Pickled beets, peach marmalade and mixed berry jam will be added to the shelves eventually.

Tomorrow I am back to quilting.

Blessings,