Today was the first day of school for my kids. They attend the local public schools and I couldn't be happier that they go there. I couldn't do the homeschooling thing. I applaud those that do, but it's not for me. I feel confident in my school district's abilities to teach my children and I also feel that they are safe in their school.
Well, I have a kindergartener and a sophomore. Talk about an age gap! I know there are lots of people who have that age gap too, but many have ones scattered between those two ends.
For a couple weeks, we've been talking about the first day of school with both kids. I get the ever present groaning from the 16 year old. He's not about to say he's even the slightest bit ready for school to start. Secretly I think he is ready. He doesn't see his friends everyday in the summer, so this will be a nice change for him.
My 5 year old has had mixed emotions about school. At one moment she's asking if school starts the next day and then the next time I turn around, she is giving me this worried look, like she's not too sure she wants to go to school. I think it's all been an act to get a little more attention, but I've kept reminding her that school will be so much fun, she'll get to have lots of play time in class, recess, p.e. and learn so many neat and wonderful things.
Well, we drove up to the school and I had to all but keep her from jumping out of the car and running into the building. She's ready. We walked into the gym to wait for the buidling to open and she lined up with the rest of the kids. Once they were told to head inside, she walked like a big girl with her class, found her room and sat down at her seat. The whole time, she had this HUGE smile plastered to her face. I gave her a quick kiss and hug and told her she'd do great, then I left. Several people messaged me this morning asking how I did when I was leaving. Well, I did great too! No tears!
I couldn't say that when I took my son to school for his first day 11 years ago. I at least held it together until I got out of his sight. I can say I didn't break down and bawl, but I left with a few tears that day. Why did I do it then, and not now? Why is the first child different that the last child? Who knows. I'm sure there is a psychological answer, but I don't have time for that! LOL!
It's amazing how these kids grow up so fast and change. One day we are changing diapers and dealing with spit up, then the next thing we know, they are driving out of the driveway on their way to high school. Don't blink!
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Adventures in preserving
I've never really canned anything until my mom and I canned green beans last summer. Well, I'm hooked! I've had to buy store bought canned green beans recently and they are not nearly as good as my home grown canned green beans. Even the "low sodium" canned beans in the store have less taste than my beans. I don't add anything to my beans when I prepare them. Just garden green beans and water. That's it!
The picture above shows the load of beans I brought in the other night. They were gorgeous! These were sold at my farmer's market stand, but this is what I am working with! I had picked a brown paper bag full of beans earlier in the week, so those were the ones I was planning on canning.
We started out the adventure with snapping the beans. My 5 year-old daughter wanted to help with part of this, so she got her own little pile and started snapping away. She lasted about 20 minutes and then she was off to play. We kept on snapping beans and were done before we knew it!
The next step was getting them all cleaned up and ready for the pot of water. Mom likes to hot pack them. She feels she can get more into the jar, so that's what we do. You can cold pack them if you wish. It's all up to you. We worked in 2 batches, since we had so many beans. The first pile went into the pot of water to boil for 5 minutes. While those cooked, we got the jars washed up and ready to pack. The first round we canned pints, then decided some quarts were needed too.
Mom worked on heating the jars up with HOT water while I finished up the beans. We switched the canner over to the large burner and filled it to the appropriate line with water. A small pan of water was on a back burner with boiling water to heat up the lids. Once the beans were done, we brought the hot jars to the table and started ladeling the beans and water into the jars. These jars are Ball jars, but we've had Atlas jars and Mason jars as well. All have worked well and we typically buy what's in the store.
Once the jars are filled, we wiped the tops down and placed the hot lids onto the top of the jars and put a ring on it; tightened just till it's secure. Into the pressure canner it goes. Ours is a Presto. Beans need to be processed in a pressure canner, not a hot water bath. They are a low acid food and bacteria can grow inside the jars if they are not pressure canned.
We secured the lid of the canner and turned on the heat. The weight is not on the canner at this point. You wait for the steam to start coming out of the vent at a steady pace and then time 10 minutes. The pressure starts building at this point. There is a little air vent that will eventually rise and seal the canner. Once your 10 minutes is up, you place the weight onto the vent and wait for it to toggle at a steady pace.
This is when you start your processing time. The pints were proccessed for 20 minutes and the quarts were processed for 25 minutes. When you are done processing, you removed the canner from the heat and LEAVE it alone! Don't take off the weight, don't open the canner, don't try and cool it down too quick. When the canner cools down and the air vent drops, you will remove the weight and time 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes is up, you can then remove the lid. We always open and pull the lid towards us. This allows the steam to escape away from us and not into our faces.
As with anything-PLEASE read the directions for your canner. These directions are for the one we use and they all can be a little different.
Remove the jars with jar lifter and set on a towel. They will start to seal as they cool. Any jars that do not seal can be refrigerated and eaten within a few days. If jars seal correctly, you can store them for about 1 year. We leave the jars on the table on a towel for a couple days to cool completely and settle.
This is the finished product!
We started out the adventure with snapping the beans. My 5 year-old daughter wanted to help with part of this, so she got her own little pile and started snapping away. She lasted about 20 minutes and then she was off to play. We kept on snapping beans and were done before we knew it!
The next step was getting them all cleaned up and ready for the pot of water. Mom likes to hot pack them. She feels she can get more into the jar, so that's what we do. You can cold pack them if you wish. It's all up to you. We worked in 2 batches, since we had so many beans. The first pile went into the pot of water to boil for 5 minutes. While those cooked, we got the jars washed up and ready to pack. The first round we canned pints, then decided some quarts were needed too.
Mom worked on heating the jars up with HOT water while I finished up the beans. We switched the canner over to the large burner and filled it to the appropriate line with water. A small pan of water was on a back burner with boiling water to heat up the lids. Once the beans were done, we brought the hot jars to the table and started ladeling the beans and water into the jars. These jars are Ball jars, but we've had Atlas jars and Mason jars as well. All have worked well and we typically buy what's in the store.
Once the jars are filled, we wiped the tops down and placed the hot lids onto the top of the jars and put a ring on it; tightened just till it's secure. Into the pressure canner it goes. Ours is a Presto. Beans need to be processed in a pressure canner, not a hot water bath. They are a low acid food and bacteria can grow inside the jars if they are not pressure canned.
We secured the lid of the canner and turned on the heat. The weight is not on the canner at this point. You wait for the steam to start coming out of the vent at a steady pace and then time 10 minutes. The pressure starts building at this point. There is a little air vent that will eventually rise and seal the canner. Once your 10 minutes is up, you place the weight onto the vent and wait for it to toggle at a steady pace.
This is when you start your processing time. The pints were proccessed for 20 minutes and the quarts were processed for 25 minutes. When you are done processing, you removed the canner from the heat and LEAVE it alone! Don't take off the weight, don't open the canner, don't try and cool it down too quick. When the canner cools down and the air vent drops, you will remove the weight and time 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes is up, you can then remove the lid. We always open and pull the lid towards us. This allows the steam to escape away from us and not into our faces.
As with anything-PLEASE read the directions for your canner. These directions are for the one we use and they all can be a little different.
Remove the jars with jar lifter and set on a towel. They will start to seal as they cool. Any jars that do not seal can be refrigerated and eaten within a few days. If jars seal correctly, you can store them for about 1 year. We leave the jars on the table on a towel for a couple days to cool completely and settle.
This is the finished product!
Good luck if you decide to try this for yourself! You won't be disappointed with the taste of fresh green beans from your garden or local farmers market! Enjoy!
Managing My Priorities
Recently I've had to take a step back and re-examine my life priorities. How many of us do this on a regular basis? I know I don't very often. What made me do this is our local 4-H Club. We've had several kids graduate high school this past year, a few families moved to other states and another couple families that have decided to take a break. Those families that are taking a break or not returning at all due to "burnout" have decided that this is not a priority in their lives. That is their opinion and they have every right to feel that way. 4-H is something that can be very time consuming and if they feel they can't give the time to do it, they probably shouldn't be doing it. I know I've had to give up on certain events that I was once a part of because it just wasn't something I could give my all to. I still help out if I can, but I'm just not as involved as I once was. And that is OK.
Years ago I was very involved in Relay For Life. It's an event sponsored by the American Cancer Society. It's very near and dear to my heart since my son is a cancer survivor. I was part of the planning committee for several years, but once we found out we were having our daughter, I decided that she needed to take priority and I stepped away from my responsibilities there. I know I left it in very capable hands and the Relay has done exceptionally well since.
Now that my daughter is getting older, I am getting involved in other things. The farmer's market in our local community is a new venture that we've been involved in for the past three years. She loves to help me garden and this is a way to bring in a little extra money for the family. It's not something that I could retire on, or even quit my day job for, but we are able to grow food for our own family and share with others in the community that aren't able to garden or don't think they can garden.
Other activities that have me hopping are Tae Kwon Do, coaching volleyball, chickens, my daughter's gymnastics and starting kindergarten this year. I know it's a lot on my plate and in a couple more years, things will get even busier with more kid's activities. I don't regret any of the craziness, because I know one day the kids will be grown and on their own and I'll have a whole lot less to do. I'm just going to hold on tight and keep looking at the things I do and decide what needs to stay and what needs to go.
It's all I can do and that's what works for me.
What works for you?
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Feast or Famine
I know too much of a good thing can be bad for you-sweets, tv, internet. The list can go on and on. Well, right now the "good thing" that is turning out bad is water. We have been getting rain off and on for the last 2 weeks and it doesn't seem to be ending. We have been in an extreme drought for the past 2 years, so you would think I would not be complaining, but we can't always be happy, can we! ;) I was thrilled when this rainy system started, but 4+ inches later, I'm ready for a little reprieve.
The creek near my parent's farm has been out of it's banks for several days now. We haven't had a lot of water for the past several nights where we live, but further up stream, they've had buckets dumped on them, and that has been keeping the water levels up. Luckily the road hasn't been washed out yet, but if it keeps it up, the road will be under before we know it.
Usually this creek is just a little trickle of water. It had even dried up for several months last year. Now it's only a couple feet from the bridge. The bridge stands about 20 feet over the creek, so there is A LOT of water here now.
When we bought our place 5 years ago, we had a few big rains that flooded our front yard. Our house sits approximately 300 feet from the road, so we have quite a large yard. It also sits lower than the road, so there is a berm of soil between the ditch and our yard. Over the years, the soil had worn and eroded away. The berm wraps around the north side of our tree row and west along the trees. It too had worn down over the years. Due to the erosion, water would run down the south side of the berm and into our yard. One large rain and our front yard was completely under water. Knee deep water! 20 feet from the house! I was scared at first, but then realized that the water would run across the driveway into the field.
After several pools showed up in our yard over the next 2 years, my husband decided to talk to a local construction company that digs ponds. The soil from the pond would go to raising the berm to keep water out of our yard. We brought the front berm up about 3 feet and the north side of the tree row raised about 5 feet.
Once we were done with the pond we sat back and waited for the rains to come again. Guess what happened.... 2 years of drought. I think we had a total of 4 inches of rain in those 2 years. It was probably more than that, but it sure felt like we only had a little bit. We had a crop failure and the pond was quickly loosing feet of water. We have a pretty good supply of ground water close to the surface, so the pond kept some water in it at all times. There were a few months last summer that we thought it might dry up.
I guess I should quit whining about the rain. We were begging for rain for the last 2 years and now, we have it.
The creek near my parent's farm has been out of it's banks for several days now. We haven't had a lot of water for the past several nights where we live, but further up stream, they've had buckets dumped on them, and that has been keeping the water levels up. Luckily the road hasn't been washed out yet, but if it keeps it up, the road will be under before we know it.
Usually this creek is just a little trickle of water. It had even dried up for several months last year. Now it's only a couple feet from the bridge. The bridge stands about 20 feet over the creek, so there is A LOT of water here now.
When we bought our place 5 years ago, we had a few big rains that flooded our front yard. Our house sits approximately 300 feet from the road, so we have quite a large yard. It also sits lower than the road, so there is a berm of soil between the ditch and our yard. Over the years, the soil had worn and eroded away. The berm wraps around the north side of our tree row and west along the trees. It too had worn down over the years. Due to the erosion, water would run down the south side of the berm and into our yard. One large rain and our front yard was completely under water. Knee deep water! 20 feet from the house! I was scared at first, but then realized that the water would run across the driveway into the field.
After several pools showed up in our yard over the next 2 years, my husband decided to talk to a local construction company that digs ponds. The soil from the pond would go to raising the berm to keep water out of our yard. We brought the front berm up about 3 feet and the north side of the tree row raised about 5 feet.
Once we were done with the pond we sat back and waited for the rains to come again. Guess what happened.... 2 years of drought. I think we had a total of 4 inches of rain in those 2 years. It was probably more than that, but it sure felt like we only had a little bit. We had a crop failure and the pond was quickly loosing feet of water. We have a pretty good supply of ground water close to the surface, so the pond kept some water in it at all times. There were a few months last summer that we thought it might dry up.
I guess I should quit whining about the rain. We were begging for rain for the last 2 years and now, we have it.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Blackberry heaven
This summer has been the first year we've harvested wild blackberries. We found a patch at our nearby lake and the State Park regulations allow for people to harvest for their own use. We decided to head to the lake and try it out.
.JPG)
These are not thornless blackberries, but they are delicious. The State Park staff have mowed paths throughout the patch to make it easier for pickers to get to the berries. We loaded up on a Friday morning with our jeans and long sleeves and plenty of containers. Jeans and long sleeves are a must if picking wild blackberries. Those things can grab you and practically pull you into the cans in a matter of seconds. I thought leather gloves would be a good idea, but they made pulling the berries off much harder. When you pick these berries, they are soft or really soft. You need to know how much pressure to use and leather gloves just don't let you feel that.
.JPG)
We usually pick in the morning, so it's cooler. This summer has been strange with cooler than usual July temperatures, so the two times we went out, the picking was great. We typically spend about 1 1/2 to 2 hours picking. By that time, we are either hot and tired or our fingers are full of tiny little thorns.
When we get home, we get the berries ready for the freezer. I freeze mine in a single layer on parchment paper. Once frozen, they go into my food saver bags and back into the freezer until I decide what to make with them. The first time out picking, I froze all my berries. This second time out, I froze 3 quarts and kept about 3 cups out and made a blackberry cobbler. It was so rich and delicious! I can't wait to make more! I think I may be done picking for the year. My fingers are tired of thorns and I'm running out of summer to get up there.
These are not thornless blackberries, but they are delicious. The State Park staff have mowed paths throughout the patch to make it easier for pickers to get to the berries. We loaded up on a Friday morning with our jeans and long sleeves and plenty of containers. Jeans and long sleeves are a must if picking wild blackberries. Those things can grab you and practically pull you into the cans in a matter of seconds. I thought leather gloves would be a good idea, but they made pulling the berries off much harder. When you pick these berries, they are soft or really soft. You need to know how much pressure to use and leather gloves just don't let you feel that.
When we get home, we get the berries ready for the freezer. I freeze mine in a single layer on parchment paper. Once frozen, they go into my food saver bags and back into the freezer until I decide what to make with them. The first time out picking, I froze all my berries. This second time out, I froze 3 quarts and kept about 3 cups out and made a blackberry cobbler. It was so rich and delicious! I can't wait to make more! I think I may be done picking for the year. My fingers are tired of thorns and I'm running out of summer to get up there.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Growing Up
Goodness, this spring is flying by and things don't look to be slowing down any time soon. We have been so busy with our garden, track meets, school and work. Oh, and a very special birthday just happened. Our little girl is 5 years old now. I can't believe it. Where has the time gone?? Wasn't she just born? Didn't we just move to our new place with her being this tiny little thing? I guess I blinked and now 5 years has gone by. Sad, I know, but I wish she would just stay little forever.
Our daughter isn't the only one that is growing up faster than I would like. Our 15 year old son is getting more mature acting everyday. That is no doubt a blessing and I never thought I'd see it happen. He is and will always be my baby. I've probably babied him more than I should have, but considering his early years, I guess you can't blame me. Or maybe you should. You decide! :)
I've been noticing little subtle things in this last year that all teenagers go through, but there have been big things that have really made me stop and think, "Wow, this kid is turning into a grown up!" He went to a concert this spring with some youth from our church. He invited his girlfriend and one of his good friends to go. They and a couple other kids rode with one of the adult sponsors and on Sunday, the lady came up to me and told me what a polite boy I have and how he held doors open and acted very appropriately with his girlfriend. I was floored by the compliment! I always expect my son to be polite around others, but to have her come find me and tell me these things, just made me very proud of the young man he is growing up to be. He must have left a good impression on her!
Another thing that is making me stop and think, is the hobbies and interests he is getting into. He is starting to wean himself away from the video games (Thank the Lord!) and he is wanting to learn how to weld. He plans on working for his grandparents this summer on their farm and is hoping his grandpa can teach him how to weld. My dad is a very good welder, so I think he will learn from the best. Hopefully he'll be able to work on some projects that we have around our place and soon be able to build his own. I am seeing all sorts of projects that he can build for me on the horizon! (Hee, hee!)
I know these stages in our children's lives are something every parent goes through, but until you go through it personally, it never registers in your mind how real it is. I am the farthest thing from a perfect parent, and I don't know if I know anyone who would think they are perfect in raising their kids either. We all like to sit around and commiserate together on what we screwed up on or how we would have done this or that differently. As long as we are trying our best and doing it with love and understanding, we are as close to perfect as we ever will be.
Our daughter isn't the only one that is growing up faster than I would like. Our 15 year old son is getting more mature acting everyday. That is no doubt a blessing and I never thought I'd see it happen. He is and will always be my baby. I've probably babied him more than I should have, but considering his early years, I guess you can't blame me. Or maybe you should. You decide! :)
I've been noticing little subtle things in this last year that all teenagers go through, but there have been big things that have really made me stop and think, "Wow, this kid is turning into a grown up!" He went to a concert this spring with some youth from our church. He invited his girlfriend and one of his good friends to go. They and a couple other kids rode with one of the adult sponsors and on Sunday, the lady came up to me and told me what a polite boy I have and how he held doors open and acted very appropriately with his girlfriend. I was floored by the compliment! I always expect my son to be polite around others, but to have her come find me and tell me these things, just made me very proud of the young man he is growing up to be. He must have left a good impression on her!
Another thing that is making me stop and think, is the hobbies and interests he is getting into. He is starting to wean himself away from the video games (Thank the Lord!) and he is wanting to learn how to weld. He plans on working for his grandparents this summer on their farm and is hoping his grandpa can teach him how to weld. My dad is a very good welder, so I think he will learn from the best. Hopefully he'll be able to work on some projects that we have around our place and soon be able to build his own. I am seeing all sorts of projects that he can build for me on the horizon! (Hee, hee!)
I know these stages in our children's lives are something every parent goes through, but until you go through it personally, it never registers in your mind how real it is. I am the farthest thing from a perfect parent, and I don't know if I know anyone who would think they are perfect in raising their kids either. We all like to sit around and commiserate together on what we screwed up on or how we would have done this or that differently. As long as we are trying our best and doing it with love and understanding, we are as close to perfect as we ever will be.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Spring Thaw
The last couple of weeks has kept me quite busy so I have neglected my blog. After the thrill of valentine's parties wore off we were hit with quite a nasty blizzard. I can't remember the last time I saw the amount of snow on the ground in this area.
We had plenty of warning that this "Blizzard of Oz" (as so many people have been calling it) was coming. We made sure we had plenty of food on hand either in the freezer, the fridge or in the pantry long before the stores were rushed and ran out of milk and other necessities. I figured I went through the proper preparations and had things ready for several days of being snowed in, now the weathermen will be wrong and we won't get a drop of moisture. Well, I was wrong and the weathermen were right-for once! Sorry, it just seems they talk up all these storms then they are a disappointment.
Anyway, back to our "Blizzard of Oz" that is on the horizon. It started Wenesday, February 20th. The school district that I work in let out school at 1:00. I headed home in near white-out conditions at times and could typically see about a half mile ahead of me. I wasn't too worried about the drive-I've driven in worse conditions. I stopped by and picked up my daughter from preschool and we trekked home. The roads weren't bad at this point, but I knew they would get worse as the evening wore on.
My son finally arrived home and then followed by my husband a few hours later. We made sure all the chickens had plenty of food and water and shut all the cats up in the garage. The storm settled in Wednesday night and by the time we woke up Thursday morning, there was about 10 inches of snow covering everything. My husband thought he would be able to get to work, so he got out on the tractor and bladed the driveway open. Once he got out to the road, he thought better about trying to drive down the road. The township road grader hadn't gone down the road at that point, so it was pretty deep. The grader did get down the road about 7 a.m., but the road had either blown shut or more snow piled up and it was way too deep to drive down shortly after that.
We enjoyed the day at home and felt fairly lazy all day. There aren't many days we get to do that.. The kids and I ended up staying home on Friday as well due to school being cancelled. My husband did finally get to work Friday, but it was slow going. Friday wasn't as snowy as the day before, so we were able to get into town and get our son to a Tae Kwon Do test. We ended up with about 13-14 inches of snow. For our area, that is a lot.
Saturday came with news of another storm heading our way on Monday. This one was going to have substantial winds and snowfall. Great, that's all we need is more white-out conditions. School on Monday was called off due to blizzard warnings from weather stations. Monday morning came and went with not much snow. A few little flurries showed up before noon. After lunch the snow started coming down. It was heavy at times, then lightened up. My husband came home and it really let loose. The wind was blowing pretty bad and roads drifted shut pretty quick. Tuesday morning we dug ourselves out and decided it was day best spent inside by the warm fire. I did get out and take some pictures.
We had plenty of warning that this "Blizzard of Oz" (as so many people have been calling it) was coming. We made sure we had plenty of food on hand either in the freezer, the fridge or in the pantry long before the stores were rushed and ran out of milk and other necessities. I figured I went through the proper preparations and had things ready for several days of being snowed in, now the weathermen will be wrong and we won't get a drop of moisture. Well, I was wrong and the weathermen were right-for once! Sorry, it just seems they talk up all these storms then they are a disappointment.
Anyway, back to our "Blizzard of Oz" that is on the horizon. It started Wenesday, February 20th. The school district that I work in let out school at 1:00. I headed home in near white-out conditions at times and could typically see about a half mile ahead of me. I wasn't too worried about the drive-I've driven in worse conditions. I stopped by and picked up my daughter from preschool and we trekked home. The roads weren't bad at this point, but I knew they would get worse as the evening wore on.
My son finally arrived home and then followed by my husband a few hours later. We made sure all the chickens had plenty of food and water and shut all the cats up in the garage. The storm settled in Wednesday night and by the time we woke up Thursday morning, there was about 10 inches of snow covering everything. My husband thought he would be able to get to work, so he got out on the tractor and bladed the driveway open. Once he got out to the road, he thought better about trying to drive down the road. The township road grader hadn't gone down the road at that point, so it was pretty deep. The grader did get down the road about 7 a.m., but the road had either blown shut or more snow piled up and it was way too deep to drive down shortly after that.
We enjoyed the day at home and felt fairly lazy all day. There aren't many days we get to do that.. The kids and I ended up staying home on Friday as well due to school being cancelled. My husband did finally get to work Friday, but it was slow going. Friday wasn't as snowy as the day before, so we were able to get into town and get our son to a Tae Kwon Do test. We ended up with about 13-14 inches of snow. For our area, that is a lot.
Saturday came with news of another storm heading our way on Monday. This one was going to have substantial winds and snowfall. Great, that's all we need is more white-out conditions. School on Monday was called off due to blizzard warnings from weather stations. Monday morning came and went with not much snow. A few little flurries showed up before noon. After lunch the snow started coming down. It was heavy at times, then lightened up. My husband came home and it really let loose. The wind was blowing pretty bad and roads drifted shut pretty quick. Tuesday morning we dug ourselves out and decided it was day best spent inside by the warm fire. I did get out and take some pictures.
The crabapple was flocked with about 2 inches of snow.
Our back door was blasted with a layer of snow.
The back door of the garage. The cats weren't sure they liked this view.
All in all we recieved about 20 inches of snow. Like I said earlier, we haven't had this much snow on the ground at one time in a LONG time. A week later and we are finally about thawed out. There are still piles of snow here and there, but we are starting to see snippets of spring. My garden got some much needed moisture and there is talk of more on the way. Hopefully it is in the form of rain and not snow. I've had my fill of the white stuff for a while!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)