Our youngest son who works for Les Schwab Tires (he has worked for them nearly since high school graduation and he is nearly 28 now) has moved to Hailey, Idaho. This is an advancement for him and we are proud of his progress with the company. He is very good at what he does and this has earned him respect of his bosses and co-workers. His new place of employment is about 100 miles from us, so no not far away but still seems odd not to have him close by. I guess this is the Mom in me kicking in and feeling a little sad but at the same time so happy for our son, his wife and family. Yes it also means not seeing the grand daughters as much either but we can make trips up to see them when the weather gets nicer!

Gotta let our kids grow up and spread their wings to fly on their chosen path!  I will always worry about him, maybe more because he is my baby, even though in my heart I know he will be just fine.

Ok enough being sad…. LOL . Besides I have this adorable nearly 3 year old whom my husband and I are raising (she’s another granddaughter) and she keeps me very very busy.

Onward and upwards! I am ready for spring, gardening, walks again and already making stacks for the upcoming ‘sisters trip’ in June!!! Life is good and God has blessed us all.

Of course it is entirely possible that other folks have thought of this as well, however, I will tell my story anyway.

Have you ever needed to put a bouquet garni (ok a bunch of spices) in something but don’t want them to remain in the dish. Yes you can fiddle with a piece of cheese cloth or muslin and make a little package. Wait for it………I found a much better and easier way to do this. I have a little tea infuser on a chain with a hook on the end so I just fill it up with the spices, clamp it shut and hang it on the inside of the pot I am cooking in. the chain is long enough to use in a fairly large pot and I could attach more if need be. When its all done releasing its wonderful flavors and aromas I simply lift it out and discard the used up spices! Viola! as they say. Works very well. Try it you might like it. (I was going to add another picture that shows this little gem open but for whatever reason it did not want to upload.)

Today, among other things, I baked and then froze squash from our garden. Spaghetti squash and Butternut squash.  After cutting the squash in half and removing the seeds I then  baked the squash for what seemed a long time at 350 degrees untill they were good and soft, I let them cool just enough to handle and then in an epiphany got out an ice cream scoop and used that to scoop out the meat of the squash from the shells.  Wow should have thought of that a long time ago because it worked like a charm.

I then put the squash into bags and sealed them with our vacumn sealer, this squash will taste so very good this winter.

I then made a batch of peanut butter cookies, oh yeah, Suzie Homemaker here for sure today. Since I retired from my day job just over a year ago I have had much more time for these things that I so enjoy and feel compelled to do!

Over the past few days I have processed 4 different types of peppers as well. Anaheims, Poblanos, Pimentos, and Cubanellas. The Anaheims and Poblanos I roasted under the boiler so as to be able to skin them before freezing. the Pimentos I canned in small jars and the Cubanellas I just seeded and cut into slices and froze them.

Enjoy the fruits of the season and of your labors, now and later on as well!  It is therapy for me and could be for you too!  If you don’t know how or don’t have any books about canning/freezing you can find it all online! Just use google and off you go.

Today’s project was to make and preserve a big batch of pear mincemeat.  Mom used to make this and it was so yummy that i had to try it myself. Credit for the recipe actually goes to the Farm Journal Canning & Freezing cookbook (not sure of the date but its been out for years). So 15 pounds of pears,  4 pounds of raisens, 13+ cups of sugar, a bunch of oh-they-smell-so-good spices and lots of chopping and cooking later here is the result. 5 quarts , 9 pints, and one pickle jar all done, sealed and labeled.

Yes it is a lot of work and required lots of standing whilst cutting, chopping, etc. I did use the meat grinder on my kitchen-aid mixer to do the fine chopping but the rough chopping was all done by my hand.  The house still smells like the spices even hours after I was done with the batch. All of these things, not to mention just seeing the jars all sealed and in rows makes me happy. It is such a feeling of accomplishment to preserve foods which I know my family will enjoy later.

I print my own labels using Avery’s online template and print feature. One can save the labels but as I don’t make the same thing again on the same day/same year often I don’t bother to save and heck it takes no time at all to make up new labels anyhow. Thanks Avery for this great service!

Ok I have had this little dealie for years – it’s intended purpose was to hold bra’s during washing so as to keep them from getting all tied up with other items.   Did I ever use it for that? Heck no, never could remember to do it.

Today as I was loading the dishwasher and had quite a number of lids to put it, I had a brainstorm!!! Oh yes they do happen once in a while and sometimes are quite innovative too.  I thought to myself, self why don’t you find that bra holder dealie and put all the lids in it and throw in the dishwasher and keep them from sliding all over the place.  So I loaded it up (I know amazing that I managed to remember where it was) and put it in the dishwasher. The cycle is still going so have not been able to see how it did but can not imagine any issues with it. Dishwasher just got done and woo hoo  looks like it worked very well!

Now must get started on a big cheesecake for a small dinner (party-get together) we are having tomorrow afternoon/early evening.  Family and friends coming for bbq’d steaks, spuds, salad, deviled eggs (already made today), and this dessert I am making.

Ok off I go. Hope anyone who reads this and has one of the ‘bra’ dealies will try my idea!!! Thanks for reading our posts.

When we were kids [back in the day, decades ago] there were two or three things we always looked forward to in the mail.  Remember, for several years we only received mail once or twice a month, because we lived on a homestead accessible only by water or small plane.  Our Dad went to town for supplies, and to longshore the monthly freighters that supplied that town.  But that is several other stories.

So there we were, anxiously awaiting what in the mail?  Packages from our Grandma in California, and in later years the boxes of school books from the Calvert Course and the library box. Oh my, again with the several other stories.

High on our list of favorite mail however was THE WISH BOOK.  You all remember those, right?  No?  Okay, for the ‘too young’ or folks who never experienced it, this was the Sears Roebuck Christmas Catalog.  Actually we received two, because Montgomery Wards also had one.  We spent literally hours and hours pouring over these two beautiful publications.  Pencil or crayon in hand, we would mark our initials by the things we wanted. Some items got marked by all of us, some were individual choices.  Primarily it was toys, but also clothes and things for our family. It kept us entertained for weeks!  We also knew that we would probably not get any of our selections, but we could dream and so we did.

Last week I found out that our young granddaughters discovered their own ‘wish book’.  The 6 year old brought the catalog to me, proudly sharing each item she had circled and put her initial by. Upon hearing her, the 3 year old said “Gma, I could mark some too.”  Off they went, happy for a while at least with their own shared ‘wish book’.  Definitely brought back memories, especially when I shared the story with my sisters.

Ah, now those of you from our generation, and a few after, are saying “But there isn’t a Sears or Wards Wish Book any more!”  [Whereas the ‘too young’ are still just bewildered.]  You are right, there isn’t. **  But then it is not a Christmas catalog, but one that is more dear to the hearts and green thumbs of our little grands.

Gurney’s. 

Uhuh, the fall perennial & flower issue!  They will be non-partisan and do the same when Burpee’s and the others come through as well, plotting and planning what looks beautiful and that they MIGHT convince their folks or grandparents to order and help them ‘plant’.

Meanwhile, they help with the watering, harvesting and preserving, asking a million questions and reminding us “but last year you did it this way, Gma, don’t you remember?”

**In looking for an image of a vintage Sears Wish Book to use, I see that they do have one still.  Apparently none of us bought enough to remain on their list!

Most folks play “rock, paper, scissors”  well we play  Rocks, Driftwood, Beach in our world. My three sisters and I have an undeniable attraction to rocks, chunks of driftwood, pieces of bark, moss, trees etc.  We are particularly fond of beaches near and around Haines, Alaska, however, pretty much any beach will do.

Walking along a beach, possibly barefoot with our pants legs rolled up a bit, splashing in the waves, looking for shells and rocks or just watching the waves roll in is a treat for us. As children growing up on a homestead in SE Alaska we used to sometimes find Japanese glass floats – those were special treasures.

Driftwood evokes memories of our childhood and also sparks creative ideas for things to craft! Chunks of smoothed-by-the-water driftwood can be theraputic just to stroke and admire. I have to admit to having shipped home (with our household goods) several pieces of driftwood from Kodiak island some years ago. They were just so cool and my husband said well put them in the boxes and ship them – so I did!  Big chunks of driftwood make us drool (ok salivate may be the nicer term) as they might look very cool in our yards but normally must just stay where they are. Pieces of curled up birch bark are special finds along with chunks of wood with moss growing on them.

We will hunt for, and find, rocks just about anywhere. We are not sure what draws us to  a particular rock but they just call to us so we must take them home.  Eldest sister, Denise, has a rock tumble and has an eye for ones that will tumble nicely.  Some rocks just beg to be taken home and placed lovingly in a flower bed or on a table, shelf, or mantel.  My husband and I  brought home a fair sized rock from Canada during our drive through coming home from Kodiak, AK to Mtn Home, ID in 2011.  Lynn, my husband, said we had to have an A rock to commemorate our passage through the country. This rock has a spot in our front flower garden.  All of us have seen great huge interesting rocks we would love to have in our yards as a focal point but, sigh, they are usually way too big to move let alone get into a pickup bed.

We don’t settle disputes/arguments with rock-driftwood-beach but they are all important in our lives.  We are all blessed that our husbands let us be us and bring home crazy things with all these pieces of inspiration!

So I guess the only thing left to say is   Stay Calm and Rock, Driftwood, Beach On!!

Click on the picture to view the slide show.

A) Is it nice to wake someone up when they are sleeping?  No wonder the ground hog is often grouchy.  Come on, you could get the same info from the weatherman and have it as accurate.

B) Here in SW Oregon it really would have depended on the exact timing of the awakening. It’s sunshine! No, it’s cloudy with a chill breeze! Wait, wait, well there it is…

C) Hoping we do not have six more weeks of serious winter, although by calendar we actually have over six weeks.

Now, to cheer yourself up, look at a seed or nursery catalog, because even if you’ve not intention at all of planting anything, the beautiful foliage, fresh veggies and gorgeous flowers are bound to make you feel … well … springy!