Theft-
Just when you think life is going pretty smooth you see something and her left scratching your head thinking is that really what happened? I was going into my home office/bedroom yesterday. When I looked out through the window I saw four people that looked familiar. One of the adults was carrying five or six pears in their arms. I did a double-take because they walked right by our pear tree and those look like our pears-
It took me a minute or two to register that they probably took them. There is an easement between our lot and the duplexes next to us. They look like they were out for a walk, walking slow and just decided to take some. I was so shocked it took a few minutes for me to register what probably happened. I went out a few minutes later and they were gone. I don't know that I would have asked them or confronted them since I don't really know them. I went out on my lunch break and picked as many pears as I could reach and brought them inside. I mentioned this to Dave when he got home and he said "oh that's odd, the next door neighbor yesterday said "you guys have a lot of nice pears". " Dave harvested the rest of the pears last night and brought them in-
September Is Preparedness Month/ Covid Style-
Yes it's that time of year! National Preparedness Month. With all of the weather disasters, fires, snow, hurricanes, electrical outages now there's also Covid. Another reason to think about being prepared. When Covid first hit I brought in my emergency medical kit. I had bought a cheap plastic tool box and filled it with of different kinds of bandages, OTC meds, including surgical masks. Those masks were really cheap when I bought them, not so much now. I've always told myself as a reminder- we're one highway away from empty grocery stores. In other words there's only one main highway in or out of Boise. If there is a major snow problem, summer fires, etc it would be pretty scary with stores emptying. Good time to remind yourself to have extra foods that don't require any preparation (bonus) as well as lots of water on hand. I bought some extra batteries recently and realized that most of my oil lamps were pretty low. I brought my bottles of oil in and will refill. I'd rather have those kinds of things done and not need them than the opposite. And it's so easy to do a little at a time! There's tons of resources online so feel free to check all that out or you can search this blog for my previous posts under the topic preparedness. You can store all kinds of things easliy, in closets, under your beds, garages. Lots of info here Ready.gov And don't forget your pets!
Harvest/ Food Preservation Time!
We've been having a really great harvest the last week or so of tomatoes, lemon cucumbers and several peppers-
We bought some peaches from a local orchard and I processed all of those this last weekend. I froze a small amount to keep through the winter. The rest I froze until this coming Labor Day weekend. I have 5 days off!!! They will be thawed and I will be making jams and chutneys. It was pretty tough in Boise to find any low sugar pectin, anywhere! I finally decided to try the local natural grocery store and found lots of Pomona's pectin, talk about happy! I bought five boxes and that should be plenty-
This weekend I also cleaned out our freezer and found some of last Summer's peaches buried. I thawed those and made a really big peach and blueberry cobbler, wow was it good! Here it is going in-
We've been having a really great harvest the last week or so of tomatoes, lemon cucumbers and several peppers-
This weekend I also cleaned out our freezer and found some of last Summer's peaches buried. I thawed those and made a really big peach and blueberry cobbler, wow was it good! Here it is going in-
Yummy!
I like to use this recipe for the topping- Topping For Crisp
My fermented pickles are coming along great after one week. I decided they weren't quite sour enough, so I'm giving them another week. They'll store for months in the fridge. I'm using my Vegetable Master fermenting jar with an airlock for one recipe and 2 Masontops for another recipe.
Making lots of salsa with are dead ripe tomatoes, peppers from the garden and lots of fresh cilantro and purple onion. I just a little bit of red wine vinegar and salt and it's good to go. I make this tonight to use up some tomatoes, it's Fried Catfish BLTS, it's delish!!! I used Tilapia since I couldn't find any catfish.
For other foods-
I have a couple gallon bags of Rhubarb in the freezer, will make Rhubarb sauce and a new recipe I saw recently Newfoundland Rhubarb Relish. I found another one that's a bit different. I think I'll make a couple of small batches and I will report back!
I have a gallon of corn to make Corn Relish, will can this time.
Will be canning pears too.
I may thaw some frozen apples, since we're about out of Apple Butter. Homemade is so GOOD!!! With 5 days off I will be focusing on food storage/processing as you can see!
Extra Office Heat Solution-
With Autumn-like weather starting in a bit (50 this morning) winter is around the corner. Last month I decided to buy a heater for my home office. Instead of running the furnace all day while I'm working I thought about buying this heater, closing the door and saving some $$$-
With Autumn-like weather starting in a bit (50 this morning) winter is around the corner. Last month I decided to buy a heater for my home office. Instead of running the furnace all day while I'm working I thought about buying this heater, closing the door and saving some $$$-
We had similar ones before and they worked great! Very safe. I got it from Ace, since I like to support local stores! It's on wheels, is oil-filled for radiant heat, 3 settings and a thermostat. Warms up gradually and Anya loves it! Should easily pay for itself, only $65.00.
6 comments:
I can just imagine you being the very busy little preserving beaver over your 5-day "vacation" coming up. And, oh, the shelves of goodies you will have put by at the end of the long weekend!
Why in the world do people think that taking produce of any kind from a person's private property isn't the same as stealing from a store? Years back when we lived in Illinois on a country road, one of our big, old apple trees was in our yard at the end of our driveway near the road. One day I looked out and saw an unfamiliar vehicle that had pulled in the driveway next to the tree. A teenage boy was picking apples from the tree and putting them in an "apron" made with the tail of his shirt. A woman (looked to be of his mother's age) was sitting in the driver's seat. I went out and asked if he wanted to "buy some apples." He dropped the apples on the ground, jumped into the car and they sped off. Yep, I'd call that an attempt at stealing. Just like those people helping themselves to your pears.
That’s a shame about your pears. We have a community garden plot and have thought, in the past, that we were “losing” some of our produce. Last September, I had saved and planned for one last huge tomato canning round. When we got to our plot, most of the tomatoes were gone! After talking to some of the other gardeners, we bought an inexpensive bicycle lock for our gate this year. Works like a charm!
I will say that we donate our excess produce to the local food bank. We just don’t want that decision take out of our hands.
Thanks Mama yes my vacation will be busy! But I will try to build in some free time to do something fun as well. Wow a truck in daylight stealing your fruit that's pretty Brazen. I always figured if I lived in a rural area I would have a big lock to gate four people couldn't just drive up onto my property. That's just sad
That's sad Katie. We had a local Refugee community garden that had tons of produce ready and somebody went in with a truck and took absolutely everything at your to go so they had to start locking their gate and put up signs. They also had a whole bunch of other community gardens in Boise and cleaned everything absolutely out. That to me is just sick. Those families are relying on that food and then somebody just goes and reaps the rewards without the work. Just a total loss of integrity and some of our citizens
I see your new heater gets the cat seal of approval! LOL We have a couple of those too and really like them.
That's infuriating that people would just help themselves to your pears. Unfortunately, the old kindergarten "finders-keepers" mindset is all too common. Equally unfortunate, is the modern idea of entitlement to somebody else's "wealth," in this case, your pears!
Your pears are gorgeous, no one can deny that. Your pantry is going to be filled with all kinds of lovely things.
Thanks Leigh, Anya has figured out it's just as warm as the old heater/fan! Yes, sad, people are lazy I think too....
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