Sylvia's Simple Shots

My one and only trip to the Legislative Grounds this summer.  

The pools seem to be back up and in operation but there is still quite a bit of construction taking place.

The birds and the flowers carry on no matter the situation.

Love this purple flower not sure what it is.

The crows were creating fine silhouettes.

The high bush cranberries are not yet ready to pick.

The Sea Captain's Wife by Beth Powning is the book I finished this week.

Azuba Galloway grows up on the Bay of Fundy and dreams to leave it shores to travel the world. When she meets and marries Nathaniel Bradstock, a veteran sea captain she is sure her dreams will come true.  But their first child is born, her sea life is put on hold. In the small town, Azuba forms a friendship with the local minister and the company is welcomed.  But the locals suspect shenanigans. As a result, Azuba and the child join the captain on his next journey.

The journey is beset with challenges - confined spaces, taking orders from the Captain, ferocious storms, a female living in a male world and food shortages. 

The marriage survives but just barely! 

This is a cottage jacket I purchased while I was still working.

The cuffs were getting ratty and worn.  

It was time todo something about it before they were beyond repair.

I used some of my newly acquired stitching skills to firm up the edge and add some pretties as well.

Maybe I should have used something other than embroidery cotton but it will help for a while.

The ReUse Center always provides surprises.

I found a wonderful pair of pinking shears made in Japan.

They cut very well.

They need a bit of oiling and I am sure will serve me well for years to come.

I bought a chalk pencil from Michaels and some stencils to help me create uniform patterns for sashiko stitching.

I am still trying to figure out how to add embellishments to my linen coasters.

After check out the internet chalk pencil was one of the choices to transfer patterns but easily removed.  I don't want to wet my coasters.

 

Harvesting - High Bush Cranberry Syrup

I was out to visit my sister yesterday which was a much nicer day than Monday. One of the tasks was to pick up the High Bush Cranberry Syrup she made on Monday.  She picked 2 pails of them in the snow with gloves to keep her hands warm!  We generally process them together but the berries were wet and she decided to just do it!

We have decided standardized our jars for preserving. She is using pint sized Mason Jars with Gem Lids which you see in the photo that hold 1.5 cups. I brought her 2 flats of them which I unearthed from my corner kitchen cabinet that have been sitting there since I moved years ago.  I will be using the 1 cup tapered Mason Jar with Standard Lids.  Those are the ones you see in the background of this photo. 

I brought a few of the 1 cup jars back with me so I can make Chutney nearer to Christmas time.

Mosaic Monday #7

We had a great birthday card on the weekend.  There was a row of yellow happy face balloons welcoming the birthday girl.

We had to have a different plan because we could not hang them as they would have upside down smiles.  Do you know that sharpie markers are deadly to balloons?  Well, they are!  We found out.

My sister and I picked high bush cranberries.  They were very ripe and we had our hands very red before we were done.  We picked an ice cream pail each. The berries where processed into pancake syrup.  We each ended up with 10 cups of syrup each.  It was processed into jars and will be a welcome addition to breakfast during cold winters.

While I was picking I heard this knocking noise so I took a walk to investigate.  It was a woodpecker poking holes in the side of a garage.

I could not resist the wonderful yellow wood bench in the park where we picked berries.

Someone last week shared their apron.  I have not much use for aprons in my previous lives but I have been using one in the last couple of years.  I bought this one at IKEA in their Christmas clearance.  I liked the way the ties adjusted around the neck and down the arms to the waist.  Red was a good color.


Sharing with Maggie at Normandy Life and Mosaic Monday #7.

High Bush Cranberry Syrup - Start to Finish

Recently I picked High Bush Cranberries with my sister who knows how to make them into wonderful syrup.  It can be eaten with pancakes, ice cream or in my case cereal. 

The first picture is the berries which were plentiful and the bushes were not much higher than me so picking was delightful. Once cleaned they went into the pot, they then spent time in the food mill to extract the juice and pulp and remove the seeds and skins. Back to the pot with honey for a bit of sweetness. Once back honey is melted the syrup is poured into jars.  They were processed in a hot water bath and now can be stored for eating. They will provide a reminder of warm sunshine during the cold winter.


Here's a link to the process for Cranberry Sauce.

Today I poured it onto my Red River cereal for breakfast along with yogurt and bananas.