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amberfocusI meant to post the next chapter of Vortex today, but we had so much to do. I canned a batch of apricot jam, picked several pints of raspberries which are now in the freezer awaiting being made into jam, picked blackberries and am just one pint short of a batch of jam (I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere) for those so they are also waiting in the freezer, picked several pints of blueberries (ditto in the frezer), picked green beans, and watered three different gardens.
My batch of apricot jam was supposed to make 4 pints, but no, it made 3. I was not happy about that, because if I am going to do that much work, I want more than six cups of finished product. 8 cups is my "it's worth it" point. But I will know for next time that 2.5 pounds of aprictos really needs to be 3 pounds and I'll have to add another 2 cups of sugar. It's a no pectin recipe so I don't have to worry about changing the recipe up a little bit like I would if I had it.
The jam is so pretty. It's this rich amber orange color. It contrasts nicely on the shelf with the dark purple grape jelly and the dark red strawberry jelly, and the bright yellow mustard. Yes, I'm a food dork, but I love the color pallete and am curious to see what the raspberry and blackberry jams will add to it.
I do love cheating and using the blender. I can't believe so many recipes still call for mashing everything up with a potato masher. That takes a good chunk of time and is hard on both elbow and wrist when the fruit is not soft and squishy. The blender takes a minute. I am going to get a food mill, though. Because I really don't want to have to peel things like apricots and the food mill just sort of spits out the skin and everything else comes out the other opening. Still have to cut and pit them but that is nothing.
I am going to try to make a batch of raspberry jam in the morning. It's getting too hot to make it other times of the day. Then we are going to move a bunch of stuff out of Mom's garage and into storage, mostly to just stop her bitching about the fact that they are in her garage. Which is massive. And she has no hope of ever filling it. But it bugs her and I'm sick of listening to it bugging her. I know she will just work hard to find something else to complain about because that is the type of person she is, not happy unless she has something to complain about, but it'll be one less thing, anyway. I love my mother to pieces but I know her well.
We will also be getting the last of our stuff out of the shed out at the old house and putting it in storage, then there will be nothing else left there. It's maybe two pick up loads. On Sunday we have a guy coming out who will be painting the inside of the house. He won't paint it that day, he just wants to see how much there is to do. He will be painting it in exchange for our old Ford Crown Victoria car. I think we are getting the better deal, but he really wants it and doesn't want to have to come up with the money for it. And we don't want to have to come up with the money for painting right now when we are paying an extra $500 in medical expenses per month through October.
He will also give us estimates on how much it would cost to replace the interior doors and if the frames need replacing, too. And the backsplash behind the kitchen sink, and putting down lineoleum in place of carpet in the dining/fireplace/play room and possibly the master bathroom. And what needs to be done about the fence. And he'll see if he will be able to replace the window pane or lower sill of the broken glass window in the living room. It's a double pane window and only the inside pane is broken so we are hoping we can just replace the glass there. But he will tell us if it is something he can do or if we need to hire a window company. The outside of the house's trim needs to be painted and the gutters need replacing (but Chris and his dad should be able to do that alone). We might not be able to afford to do any of that before the end of the year when DH gets his Christmas bonus. They have been told it will be double of last year's bonus. We don't want to put too much into it, but yet at the same time it needs to be salable enough for this market.
We need to get the rugs cleaned still, so need to have someone give us an estimate on that, and one patch in the den repaired where a hot light laid on the carpet and burned it for ten minutes. We can take that patch out of the part of the carpet that will come out of the play room. So much to do.
Still I will try to get Vortex up this weekend, hopefully tomorrow. And I will be writing on the drive back and forth to the house (twice). I am still really wanting to finish this story off.
My batch of apricot jam was supposed to make 4 pints, but no, it made 3. I was not happy about that, because if I am going to do that much work, I want more than six cups of finished product. 8 cups is my "it's worth it" point. But I will know for next time that 2.5 pounds of aprictos really needs to be 3 pounds and I'll have to add another 2 cups of sugar. It's a no pectin recipe so I don't have to worry about changing the recipe up a little bit like I would if I had it.
The jam is so pretty. It's this rich amber orange color. It contrasts nicely on the shelf with the dark purple grape jelly and the dark red strawberry jelly, and the bright yellow mustard. Yes, I'm a food dork, but I love the color pallete and am curious to see what the raspberry and blackberry jams will add to it.
I do love cheating and using the blender. I can't believe so many recipes still call for mashing everything up with a potato masher. That takes a good chunk of time and is hard on both elbow and wrist when the fruit is not soft and squishy. The blender takes a minute. I am going to get a food mill, though. Because I really don't want to have to peel things like apricots and the food mill just sort of spits out the skin and everything else comes out the other opening. Still have to cut and pit them but that is nothing.
I am going to try to make a batch of raspberry jam in the morning. It's getting too hot to make it other times of the day. Then we are going to move a bunch of stuff out of Mom's garage and into storage, mostly to just stop her bitching about the fact that they are in her garage. Which is massive. And she has no hope of ever filling it. But it bugs her and I'm sick of listening to it bugging her. I know she will just work hard to find something else to complain about because that is the type of person she is, not happy unless she has something to complain about, but it'll be one less thing, anyway. I love my mother to pieces but I know her well.
We will also be getting the last of our stuff out of the shed out at the old house and putting it in storage, then there will be nothing else left there. It's maybe two pick up loads. On Sunday we have a guy coming out who will be painting the inside of the house. He won't paint it that day, he just wants to see how much there is to do. He will be painting it in exchange for our old Ford Crown Victoria car. I think we are getting the better deal, but he really wants it and doesn't want to have to come up with the money for it. And we don't want to have to come up with the money for painting right now when we are paying an extra $500 in medical expenses per month through October.
He will also give us estimates on how much it would cost to replace the interior doors and if the frames need replacing, too. And the backsplash behind the kitchen sink, and putting down lineoleum in place of carpet in the dining/fireplace/play room and possibly the master bathroom. And what needs to be done about the fence. And he'll see if he will be able to replace the window pane or lower sill of the broken glass window in the living room. It's a double pane window and only the inside pane is broken so we are hoping we can just replace the glass there. But he will tell us if it is something he can do or if we need to hire a window company. The outside of the house's trim needs to be painted and the gutters need replacing (but Chris and his dad should be able to do that alone). We might not be able to afford to do any of that before the end of the year when DH gets his Christmas bonus. They have been told it will be double of last year's bonus. We don't want to put too much into it, but yet at the same time it needs to be salable enough for this market.
We need to get the rugs cleaned still, so need to have someone give us an estimate on that, and one patch in the den repaired where a hot light laid on the carpet and burned it for ten minutes. We can take that patch out of the part of the carpet that will come out of the play room. So much to do.
Still I will try to get Vortex up this weekend, hopefully tomorrow. And I will be writing on the drive back and forth to the house (twice). I am still really wanting to finish this story off.
