Weekly Recap #17

{April 24 through May 1, 2016}

Gardening

• I harvested a few more strawberries. I am cleaning, flash freezing and packing them up into freezer bags. If I can collect enough of them, I want to make strawberry jam. If not, I will most likely make a dessert or two with them.
• The cucumbers in the main garden have flowers. The peanuts have also sprouted flowers. It is beginning to look like I will have success growing onions this time around and I am shocked! If they are actually successful, I will have five or six onions -- a very small crop. But, I planted just a few to determine if they will grow in our new space.
• I purchased a food dehydrator. I did not want to spend a fortune and this particular machine got decent ratings at Amazon and elsewhere. I purchased some more Clean-a-Screen trays so that I can utilize all the trays that came with the dehydrator to dry herbs. I am going to purchase more Add-a-Tray and Clean-a-Screen trays in the near future as the machine allows a maximum of twelve trays!

  There is just something about cutting herbs straight from the garden and laying them out in a single layer for the dehydrator that makes my soul sing. I started two layers Sunday morning – Parsley and Basil. They should be done between 20 - 24 hours.

DIY Shed aka "The Barn"

• Dan managed to get all the wood cut for the trusses (the roof). He is now working on the things that support the trusses. His allergies hit him hard Sunday; so, he called it quits. There is no hurry. It will get built sooner or later.

Kitchen (Canning)

• We made some grape jelly from a mixture of store bought red and black grapes. We did not get any wild grapes last year. I believe the reason is lack of rain during the summer. I am hoping that this year will be different. If so, I will make more jelly from wild grapes.

  In the meantime, I bought grapes on sale to make jelly for Dan and myself. We canned Sunday (May 1) using the Heritage Collection purple Ball jars that I had for some time now. That is why it looks so dark.

  We managed to make a mess and I burned my thumb. In spite of this, it is so worth the effort. Dan's words upon first tasting was "We are never buying store bought jelly again"! I am in agreement.

Miscellaneous

• I started reading and finished a book, The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. I first learned of this series (The Wheel of Time) years ago long after the first book was written. It is considered to be a classic among the fantasy genre. The first book was no longer being sold. And, I am one of those folks who have to start from the first book in a series. I finally landed the first and second book at Half Price books not too long ago.

  This book was an extremely good read. It has been ages since I was sucked into another world via written words. There were times I was in so deep and then I would be jolted out of the world mostly by Abby Gail (my cat) who demanded my attention. These are the kinds of books I once loved and the kind of books I used to seek because they were my escape from the harsh reality of life and loneliness in my youth.

By perseverance the snail reached the ark.

Charles H Spurgeon (1834-1892)