Peaches!

We went peach picking for the first time in a few years. They aren't as easy to pick as you might think. When picking berries, it's easy to see what is ripe and what is not. With peaches, some sides look ripe, however, when you pick them, they can be entirely green on the other side (they don't just hang from a stem like apples, so it can be difficult to see the other side).

Two pies are in the oven, I'll freeze some sliced, and then the rest will be canned. Oh - did I say 100+ pounds. And . . . it all has to be done today. . . . . and I still have errands to run. Yikes!

Check out that cool "drive-in" scale at the bottom. The wagon and boxes were weighed before picking so that all we had to do was drive the wagon onto the scale and weigh all at once. Very slick!

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Pincushions

My daughters and I sewed pincushions the other day. I think they turned out cute. One of us must have sewn with a different seam allowance and got a smaller version. Over the years, I have been using a magnetic pin holder, but after using my new pincushion, I really prefer this kind because the pins can be grabbed from the top. These will make cute gifts and is a great way to use up small scraps of your favorite fabric.

Oh, the directions say to tuft the ribbon/button. I couldn't get the needle to go through the fabric and filling without tearing the fabric, so we winged it.

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Whoa Nelly, Actual Knitting Content!

At family camp, I started a new toe-up pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks. I'm using the 5-stitch beaded rib pattern. After 3 times trying to figure all of the wrap around stuff with after the provisional cast on (finally conquered - woohoo!), I finally turned the page and followed the Easy Toe directions and that worked well. I think I need to FROG because they are too narrow. After reading about toe-up socks, it seems like there are a lot of people who like Judy Becker's Magic Cast-On method. I think I'll try this method next. There are 2 youtube videos that I found particularly helpful. Cat Bordhi's commentary will either leave you smiling or turning down the volume. Whether you like her commentary or not, the visual is very helpful. The other video was slightly different method (you wrap yarn around needle rather than make needle wrap around yarn, if that makes sense) and with less verbage. Take your pick. Youtube is so great for visual learners!

Size 0 needles, magic loop, 60 stitches about 10 st/inch.
Yarn = GGH Marathon Colorway 1314

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Favorite

My favorite picture out of the 450+ pictures taken.
Our 2-1/2 yr old baby with Tall Dude (18 yrs old, 6'7")

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Back home!

We just arrived back home from a week at family camp where Mama didn't have to cook, clean, etc. Woohoo! We had a wonderful time.

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Green Beans

Sink entirely full of beans.

Getting ready to blanch the beans.

4-1/2 gallons of blanched green beans ziplocks ready to freeze

The green beans are plentiful now. Having the freezer filled with garden produce is such a nice sight. I was reading up on blanching and found this site. With so many beans, I had already decided that I was only going to take the stem-end off and then freeze them whole otherwise it would have been a very long event and the above-listed site says that blanching them whole helps them to retain color and nutritional value. That settles the deal for me.

PS - Notice how the purple beans turned green after blanching?

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Toddling

See that 2-1/2-yr old holding the rope attached to the full bucket of blueberries? That pretty picture didn't last long.

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You get a Line, I'll Get a Pole, Honey

. . . . we'll go down to that crawdad hole . . . .Crawdad Song
Do you remember that camp song?

We went back to the blueberry field to get more blueberries. You can see the blueberry fields off in the distance. You have to cross that bridge over a creek to get there. My boys didn't make it to the berry fields for a while because they spotted much more interesting stuff beneath the bridge = crawdads.

Orange Boy had plans for the crawdad he caught. See how the color of the crawdad changed from the previous picture to this picture? That can mean only one thing. I didn't tell him how to do it. He called his Papa and took care of it himself. He especially enjoyed the fact that his little brothers weren't too interested in having some, so he was able to eat it all by himself.

That's my boy.

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Oregon Berry "Weed" Pie

Blackberries are considered weeds around our neck of the woods. We might as well have a little enjoyment with them.

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Never a Spare Moment

Here's the thing about having a garden. When the produce is ready, you have to pick it and deal with it. One more day, and these vegies would have been too big. Look at all of those green burns. And do you see those purple beans? They grow purple on the vine and then when cooked, they turn green and taste exactly like green beans. I love them all. I'm going to saute green beans in a little olive oil with some garlic and onions for lunch. Oh yum. Can't wait.

And see this 2-qt measuring cup of blackberries (Oregon's native weed)? Orange Boy said in his most pleading voice: "If I get enough blackberries, can you please make us a pie today?" How can I resist that? Of course he picked just the amount needed - 8 cups for a large pie. Now you know how I'll be spending most of the rest of the day. Have fun!

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Not Too Big for a Nap

Bunny, nearly 6-years old, is getting so big now. He's lost two teeth. His cute face doesn't have as much of the squishy cheeks that toddlers have. He doesn't need to take a nap anymore because he's "too big". But sometimes, if he takes a little rest in a well-used recliner, just happens to get a hold of his beloved polar fleece blanket, and the thumb finds his way in his mouth, the eyes involuntarily get very heavy and he might accidentally fall asleep just as he did here.

You know, he really is too big to take a nap now. But I'm glad I caught this leftover remnant from toddlerhood days gone by.

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Cooking with Mommie

I love this blurry picture - well not the blurry part, but this is what we deal with whenever we are in the kitchen cooking up some goodness. This little 2-1/2 yr old thang thinks he gets to grab a spoon, climb up on the counter and sneak samples of the goods - it's just part of the normal routine for him. It's really funny because he only uses those plastic spoons for this type of activity - not for eating meals at the table. And the sitting on the knees business - I love it. I've always had children shadow me in the kitchen when cooking. It used to somewhat annoy me because it would take longer to cook, usually meant more messes to clean up, etc. But now I've learned that allowing them to "help" has created children who love to cook, experiment, and love good food. It's also fun mommy/child time.

There have been wonderful paybacks for having children learning to cook and some not-so-wonderful paybacks (my hips can prove that). But, this is how it's done here at our house and whenever I look at this picture, it reminds me of this little kid and all the previous ones before him who took their place on top of the counter to have some special mommie time and some nibbles, too.

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Blueberries

We found a new blueberry field. It's a private field by appointment only. The price = $.75 per pound - unbelievable price for such a great organic, healthy food.

The picking was a bit more challenging - not the clusters of berries that you can tickle, but the price was right. They gave us cut out one-gallon milk containers with a rope attached to the handle that we wore around our waist. Great way to pick berries!

Pearly, the budding photojournalist

Blueberries and cream!

Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bar

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