the sweetness of friends~

my friend andi of my sisters knitter

has been hosting a KAL/CAL on ravelry

the goal.....to finish as many UFO'S or WIP's 

the reward.....a finished project!!!!!!

and andi, being the sweet girl she is, will also be doing a drawing at the end

where she is giving away goodies like yarn, fiber & stitch markers

she is also hosting a KAL/CAL in October

stop by ravelry & check it out

i've found by joining this group, the reward for me is not the finished item,

nor the prizes at the end....

it is the friendships that are made, the encouragement offered a long the way,

and the closeness of those in the group

case in point...

andi has a friend who is in the need of some comfort

she let the group know she was doing a comfort blanket & ask for help in achieving this goal

the girls in the group came through!

soon someone in need will feel the warmth & care of not only one kind & thoughtful person but

 a whole group of caring women

when i think of the women in this group, i'm reminded of this african proverb...

"If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

~*~

and if you are in the area

don't forget the wool gather at youngs dairy on saturday & sunday

cheer at the end of a poopy day~

i am a caregiver to a person with dementia

needless to say

some days can be a challenge 

and at the end of those days, i find myself drained

both physically & mentally

yesterday was one of those days

and my sweet daughter knew it was going to be one of those days

when i came home

sitting on my table was a vase of sunshine wrapped in ribbons of my favorite colors

and the sweetest card

she's a little bit of heaven that girl of ours 

~*~

flower friday~

~sunflower~

kinda corny & a kitchen tip~

and so the squirreling continues

i went into town to have lunch with my mom and to  hit up a few garage sales & to buy corn

(we don't grow corn as it is like candy to the raccoon's )

i know, i know

you can buy canned corn all ready to dump into a pan

but there is nothing better than fresh corn

the hubs being the good guy that he is

removed all the husk

a quick bath & a scrub to remove the silk

into a pot of scalding water

onto a rack to cool

and here's the nifty part

use a angel food cake pan! 

 this makes for easy removal of the corn from the cob

and

catches it all in the pan

i learned this tip from rachael ray

corn goodness

 i double bag & squish out the air & use those twist ties

that are growing by the hundreds in my junk drawer

throw in the freezer & enjoy that when everyone else is eating

that awful canned corn, we'll be enjoying fresh corn

even lucy loves corn!

she grabbed a cob & ran as fast as she could

(to the living room on the rug of course)

~*~

still behaving like a squirrel~

the jars of green beans didn't have a chance to cool off before my mom called & said she had apples!

moms are great aren't they!

our family friend Rich had excess apples & offered them to us

we love homemade applesauce

such pretty little apples

core, quarter & cook

i'm lucky in that my mom found this attachment for my kitchenaid

it makes for easy work when it comes to making sauce

see what i mean!

no seeds, peels or cores...magic i tell ya

and there you have it

yummy, wholesome & free with just a little bit of time & effort

~*~

kitchen tip~

i keep a roll of masking tape & a sharpie marker

in my kitchen gadget drawer

it comes in handy for...

~closing boxes & bags

~ marking the contents of jars

~labeling anything you can stick tape to

what's your favorite kitchen tip?

~*~

a bushel and a peck~

i love canning

it's in my blood

the love of gardening and canning was passed down from my granny & granddad

to my mom & dad

and on to me

and i'm happy that my daughter (babs) also has canning fever in her blood

we're all like a family of squirrels...always putting something up for winter

(i think we have a squirrel gene)

we have a garden, but the rabbits ate our green beans....twice!

so...... i was thinking no beans for us   booooo

but then.....

yesterday my mom went to my sister in laws & picked up nearly two bushels of green beans!!!!

she (marianne) had a bumper crop this year and offered her excess to us

i started canning yesterday afternoon & i'm still going strong today

i'm thinking i'll be canning tomorrow as well

given that i now have a surplus of green beans

i'm giving dilly beans a try

green beans bathed in brine & the spicy goodness of garlic, mustard & dill seed & pepper flakes...yum!

ahhhhhh, is there any sound sweeter than that of canning lids popping when they seal

happy canning!

~*~