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| Pomegranate Flowers |
Another warm and sunny day. According to the forecast, we will be in the 80s this week. I approve!
It took me a little longer to get started, today, but, I managed to accomplish everything that was on my to do list for today! The family room has been dusted, tidied, and vacuumed! I also went through the last stack of mail and processed everything - tossed what I could and filed the rest. I still have another stack of papers (mostly insurance forms) on my desk to be filed, but, the stack of mail in the family room has been dealt with. Tidying the family room is one completed project crossed off my May projects list that I made for myself (next cleaning/organizing task on that list is my bedroom).
In addition to tidying the family room, I brought in my trash cans and neighbor T's trash cans (she called and asked if I could do that as a favor and I said yes, of course). Then, practiced the piano. Did a load of laundry (most of the knitted and crocheted blankets; couldn't do the one on my bed because, well, a certain kitty cat was sleeping on it and I didn't have the heart to disturb him!). Ran the dishwasher, watered the houseplants and replaced the burnt out light bulb near the back door. I also did a little knitting while I watched the evening news.
Later in the evening, I finished weeding that third flowerbed and watered the back garden. I've now weeded the three flower beds I had wanted to weed! I have decided to continue weeding and I've picked the planting bed where the peach tree is growing. The regular watering of the peach tree has encouraged the grass to grow in that planting bed!
Today, I am grateful for:
- Daughter is feeling much better
- A sunny and warm day
- Getting my to do list done!
- Phone calls with friends
- Working appliances
Today's joyful activity was spending time in the garden, watering and weeding.
Tuesday was wet and windy. Today the sun is shining, the sky is blue and I hope to do some laundry (but the machine leaked and flooded the floor over the weekend, so I shall be watching carefully!)
ReplyDeleteOh, no! Hope your washer works without any leaking today! I'm glad you are having a sunny day. :)
DeleteWe have had two hot days which have produced thunderstorms but I managed to get some yard work done, anyway. But more importantly, I caught up on the paperwork--if you can ever catch up. There always seems to be more.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to get some yardwork done, even with the heat and thunderstorms. Hope all your seedlings are coming up, nicely. One is caught up on the paperwork only until the next mail delivery! LOL. I am getting a little better about tearing up and putting the obvious junk mail in the recycling bin, outside, before I bring the mail inside, but, even so, I find myself putting the rest of the stack of mail aside to deal with later and that's when it starts to pile up!
DeleteThat sounds like a very nice and productive day! Paperwork and phone calls are finished here for now, still need to do some filing and shredding today. My husband goes for his 2nd shot this afternoon and I go tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
ReplyDeleteWell done on your paperwork and phone calls! Hope the filing and shredding does well. Hope your husband and you have minimal side effects from your second shots. Keeping my fingers crossed for you! :)
DeleteThe weather has improved here today but I still have the heating on, so it's not that warm yet ... a beautiful blue sky and sunshine though!
ReplyDeleteI'm having a quiet day today (Wednesday). I've spoken to my sister and will speak to some of our cousins later on so it's turning into a really pleasant family time.
The nights are still a bit cool here, too, even though the days are warm. I'm glad you are having sunshine and blue skies. Sounds like you are having a nice day with family time. I'm doing more laundry, washing the quilts.
DeleteI thought of you this weekend. I was at a garden center and saw a pomegranate tree for sale. I don't know how they would do in this climate, but I am tempted to go back and buy one just to see. Winters might be a problem, but I just don't know.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how well they'll grow in your area, especially in the winter, but, you might give it a try! They drop their leaves in the winter, here, so, the tree itself might survive the winter. What hasn't done so well in the winter in my area have been my two moringa trees. One plant might have died, the other has no leaves, but, the trunk is still a little green, so, I'm hopeful.
DeleteWow! Love it.. The flower is so gorgeous!!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteI commend you on “your stick to it ness”! I think breaking big projects down into smaller “chunks” is the way to go. ❤️
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susan. A big project is sometimes too overwhelming and it is hard to measure progress. Breaking things down into smaller tasks makes it easier to tackle. It might take longer, but, that's OK.
DeleteMy, you have been busy! I chuckle to hear that a certain cat is more important than getting a blanket washed! I think I would be just the same. The saying is "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie" but letting sleeping kitties lie is heartwarming and needs a meaning of its own!
ReplyDeleteToday was DH's turn for dental work, and we set off before light to reach the city by 8 am. DS and DDIL turned up in the parking lot later, with a legitimate excuse as they were taking delivery of some of our maple syrup. Of course we all had a good long chat socially distanced, too. Just like last year, it was cold and damp but worth standing around just to be together.
Ha, ha, my daughter said I should have just moved Dancer and taken the blanket, but, I quoted the "Let sleeping dogs lie" to her, with a little modification to add "cats" to it. :D
DeleteThe time seems right to get things done! I think I feel more motivated to do things when it warms up! I'm also trying to keep the momentum going before I get too tired!
Glad you were able to meet up with your DS and DDIL after the dental visit. Hopefully, it won't be long before you can all get together again - perhaps over the summer, for a barbecue or something, when the weather improves?
Good for you! But you're making me feel guilty with all this industry! I haven't touched the pile of post that I said I'd tackle today. Instead I'm making jam, and regretting the decision as my feet are killing me and I really don't want to be standing over a preserving pan! Hope it reaches setting point soon...
ReplyDeleteOh, but, you are being very productive, too! The post can wait while there's jam to be made! Speaking of jam and preserving, I still haven't tried your pumpkin chutney recipe (in case you are wondering why I haven't said anything about it, yet!). I've been known to sit on a tall stool when stirring jams and chutneys, because I can't stand for long. Hope your jam has set by now - what kind are you making? Is it for the person who requested a particular variety of jam, last month?
DeleteYES!! He wanted black grape and chilli jam, and as I had loads of black grapes in the freezer, I thought I would oblige him. Well remembered, Bless! I didn't enjoy making this jam the last time, because it took a long while to set. This time I have added extra pectin and lemon juice so I'm hoping to get a good set ... but at the moment it's stuck on 103°C. Sigh!
DeleteOh, I'd forgotten about the pumpkin chutney recipe, so don't worry about it. No obligation to make it, but if you do I hope it works well.
I've never tried black grape and chilli jam! It sounds really good! Hope it does set for you (maybe when it cools, a bit?) Otherwise, call it a really "spreadable jam"! :D
DeleteIt boiled to 106°C and started to go a slightly brownish shade that told me it was about to burn. The saucer test produced no wrinkle but I could see that the cooled mixture was close to congealing so I took it off the heat, added another half bottle of pectin and bottled up. By the time I went to bed the jars had cooled down completely but the contents were still very runny so I feared the worst when I got up this morning ... but to my relief it had set nicely! I'll know what to do in future but I must say that this jam is very laborious. I received the grapes for free but just stripping them off the bunches and washing them took hours, and that was before making the syrup for the jelly, which forms the basis of the jam, which took hours. I wonder how much I can get away with charging!!! 😉
DeleteI'm so glad the jelly gelled for you! I made grape jam years ago with some grapes my roommate and I picked from a vine growing on the university campus. Well, she was going to make the jam and I, the newly arrived foreign student, was only helping, especially since I had never made jam with grapes before (only with fruits such as mango and pineapple that had been available to me prior to my arrival in the States.) I did ask her, at one point, "Shouldn't you stir it?" I was told no, you just let it boil and I thought, "Ah, the American way of making jam!" As you can imagine, not stirring the boiling jam had disastrous results as it boiled over and we had grape jam all over the stove, under the burners, down the sides and on the floor! I think we were finding grape jam residue for months afterwards! :D
DeleteMy grape jelly recipe which came as an insert in a box of pectin states to add sugar and bring the prepared juice to a full rolling boil (which can't be stopped by stirring), then, add the pouch of pectin and bring to a full rolling boil again; boil for exactly 1 minute, then, ladle into the prepared jars. They also recommend canning the jars in a hot water bath (which almost all American jam/jelly recipes call for) and leave for 24 hours to set.
Well, since this was a special batch of jam made to order, I think you should charge a fair price for your trouble! Or, check online for what others are selling their homemade jams and jellies for and go from there?
Ah now that is interesting... I have used powdered pectin here but the instructions are to mix it with the sugar prior to use. I learned this to my cost because once I decided to add some pectin later and ended up with hard little lumps of congealed powder that had failed to blend in with the jam!
ReplyDeleteI must admit I have tended to avoid the US preserving recipes which I have found online. They seem to be for very small quantities of jam, rely on added pectin (regardless of the fruit being used), rarely mention anything about setting point and always this thing about the hot water bath, which I don't really understand or see the need for. (Some of them refer to "freezer jam" which don't seem to be preserves in the true sense at all?) As I am still learning I will just stick to what I know/understand!
Ah I was just joking about the price. I know roughly what the going rate is for homemade jams, as I have checked out other producers at the markets/fairs I have attended. The reason I am wondering in this case is because I sold the last few jars of the previous batch of grape/chilli jam very cheaply to get rid of it (and partly because I thought it wasn't that nice!) I think this customer bought one of those last few jars and he might wonder why the price has changed this time ... but one argument in my favour is that I have used much larger jars this time, because I didn't want loads of them hanging around for months!!
Gosh your grape jam volcano sounds like a project never to be repeated! Lesson learned, eh?! :o)
You could also tell your customers that the cost of ingredients have gone up due to the pandemic and that's why you are charging more, this year. :)
DeleteWhat a productive day you had. You got the family room all done including dealing with the mail. The mail does pile up doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteThis past week I cleaned our mudroom really well. It's a small room off of the kitchen leading into our garage through which is the only exit from the house to the back yard. The mudroom is also where the washer and dryer is and shelving where I store our canned and dried foods so it's a busy room.
It was good to give it a thorough cleaning.
You were very productive, too, Debra. I think I overdid it, though, because now, I'm sidelined with a sciatic nerve pain!
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