Gardening and jam making

Yesterday, my son's fiancé's mom, Glenda, gave me the idea to try making jam the old fashioned way with no pectin. I came across a recipe that calls for the juice of a lemon plus rind with 1/2 - 1 cup of sugar and 4 cups of berries. I tried it with 2 cups of strawberries first.

Today, after doing some gardening, I picked rhubarb and made it with 2 cups of rhubarb and two cups of berries.

We don't use a lot of jam so this, plus a couple more batches of something different later on will do. I like that it is quite tart? I did some weeding and adding of compost before picking the rhubarb and coming in for lunch.

The raised bed is growing wildly. Next year, my husband wants to build up the area around the deck to make it easier for me to access. Is this not a happy scene with the line of clothes behind my veggie patch and deck?

It's a pretty small garden space; however, all the little areas, plus the pots along with the raised bed provide plenty of veggies for us. I get a lot of satisfaction from that and I feel content to be out on the deck and in the yard puttering about in the mornings.

Can you see that pot of lettuce on the bottom left above? I need to pick some.

Results from the nerve impulse testing that I had done on Monday showed that I have a pinched nerve in my back. Add that to that the osteoarthritis hip and knee problems, and I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself. To top it off, the ortopedidic surgeon needs more up to date X-rays, so I'll have to wait until late August to see her again. Then, I discovered that booking at the hospital didn't get the referral for the cortisone shot that I've been waiting over two months for. It's not likely that I'll get it before vacation as I'd hoped.

My usual activities of walking, hiking, biking, and swimming are mostly out, so puttering, however laboriously around the yard is a balm to my soul.

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The left hand pot has peppers and Swiss Chard is on the right.

After lunch, I cooked the jam and I'm now sipping an oolong tea while writing this. Shortly, I'll head into the sewing room where I'll progress a bit more on the Swoon block. It took me a while; I almost got it put together yesterday. Wow, lots of pieces!

While I was in PEI, (1 very quick night and a morning) , I visited my sister's cafe with my daughter and my mom for lunch.

It's a lovely quaint space with something for everyone on the menu: vegetarian, gluten free, and regular food. The meat for the burgers comes from a farm just up the road. Everything is cooked or baked rom scratch.

 

On the way home, I stopped at a concrete place and picked up a couple small pieces for the garden. I think the Bhudda will be happy here.

The gremlin hasn't found his spot yet.

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I'm still knitting on my 3rd baby afghan while I rest my legs. I love the soft colors.

Well, my tea is long since finished and I really must move as I'm getting sleepy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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