Oct 9 2011

Beautiful Bee Barf

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Cabol

I’ve been feeling rather homesteady this weekend. Yesterday we went back to Andy’s chiropractor’s assistant’s house and picked another 360 pounds of apples, and then we spent about 7 hours making about 9 gallons of cider. Today, Andy started 5 of those gallons on the journey to being hard cider, and he bottled his blackberry wine. I worked on cleaning out the garden and replanted some strawberry runners. Our garlic order came in, and I was cleaning the garden spot for that…then I found all these runners that needed new homes. Maybe I can put the garlic in between the strawberry runners? We also collected four frames from our beehive and began the painfully tedious and sticky process of harvesting the honey without a honey extractor. We scraped the goop, comb and honey together, off the frames and then strained them into jars through cheesecloth. Not ideal, but it works.

The honey has a nice, but minty (?), flavor. It looks like we’ll get about a quart and a half. Not a lot, but since we haven’t had any honey since we moved here, it’s a step in the right direction.

Work on 114 continues.

Oct 4 2011

If only apple caramel were on the list…

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Cabol

Saturday, we spent all day making apple cider. Sunday, I decided to whip up 64 | Food | Jelly | Misc. Jelly — apple jelly. I figured the hardest part was getting the juice out of the fruit, and that was already done the day before. What could go wrong? My recipe didn’t include pectin because apples are so pectiny, so I had to get the gel setty part on my own. I pulled out my thermometer and brought the liquid up to “jelling” point and then some. It didn’t pass the “sheeting” test with a spoon, but I had faith it would jell. I filled the jars and processed them. When they came out, they were about as liquidy as water. I let them set for several hours, but they were still fluid. Thinking I hadn’t cooked them enough, I popped the lids, poured the stuff back into the pot, and started cooking again. Things were looking okay until I started listening to Andy and his internet apply jelly research. I added some pectin. The extra cooking or the pectin alone would probably have been fine. Together, I got The Blob. Still, I put the goop in jars and processed it thinking it would make everything better. I’m still not sure why. Reminds me of a post from the Yarn Harlot where she was knitting something and she knew the gauge/size was way off, but she kept knitting and knitting, like sticking with it will make it turn out right.

In the end, I spent a couple of hours and four cups of precious apple juice, and all I had to show for it was two and a half tiny jars of what sorta seems like apple caramel. It’s tasty, but don’t try and heat it up and pour over ice cream unless you like apple caramel plastic. Which it turns out I do.

Sep 29 2011

Abracadabra

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Cabol

Day 20: Continued 114 | Needlework | Cross-Stitch | Wall Hanging.

I finished a dragonfly today. Its body is a bit of a mess. If I had magical powers that made the things I cross-stitched become real, this poor dragonfly would keel over pretty much immediately after coming to life. Of course, if I did have those powers, I wouldn’t be stitching dragonflies. I bet it would be fairly complex to cross-stitch a hundred dollar bill accurately, though. At least for me. I’d end up arrested for counterfeiting. Do you think they’d give me cross-stitch supplies in jail? I would practice and practice until I had the craft perfected and then stitch a real dragon who would knock a hole in the wall of the jail cell and carry me away to freedom and not eat me for lunch.

“Let me out! Where is my dragon!!”

Sep 29 2011

Just keep stitching

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Cabol

Days 18 and 19: Continued 114 | Needlework | Cross-Stitch | Wall Hanging

The back of my cross-stitch fabric resembles Anya’s hair when we forget to brush it for a few days. Except more colorful. I really wish I could say I am getting better, but I think the opposite is true. I stitch on.

Sep 27 2011

One potato, two potato

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Cabol

Day 16: Completed 60 | Food | Jelly | Blackberry.

Monday, three of the four classes from Anya’s school took a trip to a local farm to harvest potatoes. The school kids planted the potatoes last spring, and the harvested tubers will be sent to the local public schools for lunches. Anya’s teacher brought back a bucket of taters for the class, and today they washed, cut, and cooked them. Since Anya only goes half days, she wasn’t going to be there for the class potato snack. Her teacher let Anya pick one out to take home, and we’ll cook it up with dinner tonight. Last fall when we did the harvest, we were joined by three buses of public school kids. This time it was just us until maybe halfway through, when one bus of kids showed up. The day was cloudy and misty, and the ground was very wet. We saw all sorts of creatures: a little snake, a mouse, a tomato horn worm cocoon, and a honking bunch of earthworms.

I made a batch of blackberry jelly Sunday night. It tastes a lot like the raspberry jam. Last night I worked a little bit on the Halloween garland, and I started to wonder if this is really a “fall” decoration. There is a miscellaneous holiday decoration where Halloween would definitely fall, but Halloween is in fall, and there are no Spring or Summer or Winter classes. I’m gonna go with it. Last night I also went back to the cross-stitching. No matter how carefully I think I count, I keep finding little mistakes. Some I fix, some I let go. I’ll just add a couple extra squares of yellow here, move the green over there. Perhaps in the end it will still look sort of like what it is supposed to look like. I still want to make apple jelly and can apples before I put away the canning stuff, but my canning energy is mostly boiled away. Andy is making a cider press.

My feet stink.

Sep 24 2011

Check, check, check!

Posted on September 24, 2011 by Cabol

Tired.

It might not look like much, but for someone who hasn’t canned in five years, those 12 little jars wore me out. During the whole process, I worried a stink bug would accidentally add itself to the ingredients. I don’t think it happened. I can’t guarantee it. I told Anya I wanted to dress up as a stink bug for Halloween and she shrieked and screamed and ran around in fear and terror. Or maybe she just said, “No. Stink bugs are scary.” Sounds like a challenge to me.

Went to the craft store today (after going to the community yard sale but before going to several other stores and arriving home and starting to can after 6pm). I picked up supplies to finish my jewelry item, fall decoration, plastic mesh needlepoint thing, and stamped item. I didn’t work on cross-stitch at all today. Hurrah! I did, however, do some lovely knitting in the car.

Did you know, 4 pints of apple butter uses about 4 pounds of apples? That leaves around 226 pounds.

Sep 23 2011

It’s Fall; Let’s Party!

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Cabol

Day 13: Continued 114 | Needlework | Cross-Stitch | Wall Hanging.

Yesterday, Anya’s school celebrated the start of Fall with a big party. The kids got to throw corn, walk in corn, make cider, drink cider, make apple cake, eat apple cake, blow bubbles, and eat bubbles. The highlight of the event was a play about Demeter and Persephone that the school’s new drama teacher and the music teacher helped the students put together (in two weeks!). Some of the middle school kids wrote a few songs, the elementary kids choreographed a dance, and the little kids learned a dance about leaves (RED RED RED!).

One of the teachers (who was a photographer in a previous life) borrowed my camera during the play. Alas, the camera battery wasn’t fully charged, so she was only able to get a few shots before darkness fell. The play was definitely the main event of the afternoon, and everyone loved it. I hope we get to have more celebrations like this one.

After the par-tay, Andy, Anya and I drove out to the house of Andy’s chiropractor’s office assistant. Andy was in for a sore neck last week, and he told about how sad we have been because our apple trees grew about three apples this year. The woman offered to let us pick apples from the four huge trees her family has in their yard. There are so many apples, she doesn’t know what to do with them all. By the time we got there, two other families had picked their fill, and the trees were still loaded. We drove away with about 230 pounds in the back of our car.

Andy really wants to make cider, but I won’t let him spend the money on a press. (I need to save the money for my fair projects!!!!) This weekend, I want to make apple butter (#65), apple jelly (64), and canned apples (21). I’d also like to (while I have all the canning stuff out) make some blackberry jelly (60), raspberry preserves (66), and possibly canned blackberries (22). The berries are all in the freezer from this summer. I’m not sure if frozen berries make bad jelly/preserves/jams. We’ll see how far I get before I collapse. Ooo, I also want to make apple sauce, and apple leather, and dried apple slices, and an apple pie, and some apple cake, and apple pancakes, and apple head dolls, and apple kebab, and apple pudding, and apple tarts, and apple pincushions, and apple skin yarn.

Today’s progress on #114 has been anti-progress. I realized I had done a whole whompin’ bunch of full stitches that were supposed to only be half stitches. I tried and tried to convince myself it would be fine, but, alas, I failed. I’ve spent quite a while this evening pulling those naughty stitches out. I will probably have to buy new floss in that color because I don’t think I’ll have enough now. I tried to pull the threads so that I could reuse them, but it was too messy where other colors had gone over/around/through.

Also, before lunch, Anya and I pulled out some craft foam sheets I bought months ago at the dollar store, and we are making a Halloween garland (161) I saw in a book from the library. All the pieces are cut out except some lettering I need black foam for, and I think I’ll be finishing this one up tomorrow…umm….after I finish all that canning. Or maybe not.

Sep 21 2011

I miss vacuuming

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Cabol

I made a pendant for #146 using a kit I bought at the scrapbook convention I went to a few weeks ago with some of my Crafty Buddies. I really want to say the piece is done and check the box on my list, but I have to find a chain or ribbon on something to hang it on. Bother. Still, it was easy to make, inexpensive (I’d already bought the kit), and pretty enough for a gift.

The work on #114 continues. I got very frustrated with a knot today, grabbed the scissors, and hacked a dozen or so stitches out. I must admit, though, that I am finding something satisfying about filling in the little squares. I finished a large leaf this afternoon, and I felt the same sense of accomplishment I get when I hear those little “pingpingpings” of dirt being sucked up when I’m vacuuming. I miss vacuuming. Sure, I could vacuum the wood floors, but it’s not the same. I could also vacuum our couch, but the couch scares me. Stink bugs live under the cushions. And other things…things that hunt stinkbugs…or that stinkbugs hunt. I’ll sit on the couch, but I will only vacuum it when people come to visit. Maybe. If I really, really, really like the people. And I can’t figure out a way to get Andy to do the vacuuming.

Worker guys are finishing putting in some new playground equipment at Anya’s school. I mention this because I found a picture of her playing on the climby-spiral-stumpy thing.

Sep 20 2011

I don’t like the blocks

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Cabol

Day 11: Continued 114 | Needlework | Cross-Stitch | Wall Hanging.

This morning Anya said she didn’t want to go to school. She didn’t like school. She wanted to stay home.

“Do you like your friends?”
Yes.
“Do you like your teacher?”
Yes.
“Do you like singing?”
Yes.
“Do you like art?”
Yes.
“Do you like yoga?”
Yes.
“Do you like dress up?”
Yes.
“Do you like story time?”
Yes.
“Do you like playing outside?”
Yes.
“Do you like blocks?”
No.
“So you like everything about school except for blocks?”
Yes.
“Maybe you could go and just not play with the blocks?”
Okay.

I’m glad no one will be able to see the back of #114. Stupid knots. I said, “You will not beat me, knots!” And then I just sort of left the knots there, hanging around on the back of the piece. Getting in my way? Yes. Beating me. No. I’ve done 1.8 leaves so far. I figure at this rate, I will finish this piece by the end of October. That is not going to work. I need some completed-project gratification. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll work on 146 | Craft | Handicraft | Jewelry. I have a project in mind that I should be able to finish in one evening — something easy, cheap, and gift worthy.

Sep 19 2011

Take me out to the ball game

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Cabol

Day 10: Started work on 114 | Needlework | Cross-Stitch | Wall Hanging.

Is this boring yet?

Not for me, at least. So that’s good. Sorry about the lack of cute kid photos. She is still both cute and a kid, but there haven’t been a lot of photo ops lately. Plus, it’s hard to take pictures with a cross-stitch needle in one hand.

I started my next project today, and in some ways it is easier than the last (all one stitch), but it’s also harder (have to actually count). This is more the cross stitch I remember from my youth. All sorts of knots in the threads, putting stitches in the wrong spot, misreading the color symbols, poking my finger with the needle. People keep wanting to know why I don’t jump to a different area if I dislike cross-stitch so much, but I figure I may as well get it over with.

I took my last project to scrapbook day on Saturday, and lots of folks told me about how much they like cross stitch and how it rocks. For me, cross-stitch is a lot like baseball. I don’t see the point. Cross-stitch, to me, is purely decorative. Mostly people seem to make wall hangings or pillows or Christmas ornaments. How many wall hangings / decorative pillows / ornaments does a person need? It’s like that scene from “Never Been Kissed,” where Drew Barrymore’s character is putting the finishing touches on a needle-worked pillow. She gets all excited as she snips the last thread and then carries the pillow into her room and puts in on her bed with the two dozen other needle-worked pillows. And then her turtle stares at her and wonders where its pillow is. But do turtles get pillows? No. They don’t. It’s just not fair.

You could counter with: “How many pairs of knitted socks does one person need?”

My reply: “People (who don’t live in Bermuda) need socks. And socks wear out. Or get lost in the dryer. Or are eaten by hungry Siamese cats left alone in your apartment while you go home for Christmas and your friend, who was supposed to feed him, gets super sick and misses a day or two of kibble.”

You might follow up with: “Have you ever knitted a pair of socks?”

My reply: “Do slippers count? Or a Christmas stocking? That’s like a really big sock.”

And then you stare at me thoughtfully and ask about the utility of a quilled turtle. “How are quilled turtles useful,” you say.

My reply: “Look! A bunny!”

In other news, Anya has started singing the following song bits:

– Take me out to the ball game…
– Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, how lovely are your branches!
– Find a friend and sit down on the floor…
– I’m a sea star, living in the sea, when I get hungry, for an ocean treat, I take my stomach out to eat. Sea star. Yah Yah Yah. Sea star. Yah Yah Yah.

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Bigger Than A Breadbox

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