Sylvia's Simple Shots

I am so grateful that frost has not yet arrived and the blooms as still in beautiful condition.

I found these pretty pink blooms yesterday morning.  They are Foxglove - Pink Panther. What a great name.

I love that I have pink bokeh in the background as the bed was in full bloom.

I recently finished reading this book. Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James.  I have read most of Austen's books and watched most of the movies so the backdrop of this story was familiar.  The Bennet sisters and their families.  I love old English historical novels so this was a real pleasure to read.  There are rabbit holes to go down, and it does not get fully resolves till the very end. 

On Tuesday I did a big grocery shopping trip to get ahead of whatever result will happen with Covid 19 and the schools reopening here on Wednesday.  

I managed to get 2 large containers of blueberries so they are now in the freezer for the winter serving on my rolled oats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I finished the new lampshade for the sewing area this week.  It provides light on the right hand side of the sewing desk and on the craft table I will use for cutting.  

The light switch is very convenient at the level of the top of the desk. A Hemma light cord kit from Ikea.

You will recall that I revamp the other light in this room here. 

I made Chokecherry Syrup yesterday.  I had picked fresh ones on Friday morning. I decided that since I confused the ones in the freezer for saskatoon berries on my cereal last week maybe I should be doing something with them.

I added the frozen to the fresh and made Chokecherry Syrup.  I made the syrup by boiling them and then pressing the juice through a strainer. I added sugar and a bit of lemon juice.

I processed the jars in a water bath.

I managed 3 small jars but it will add a bit of variety to Highbush Cranberry and Maple syrup for pancakes!

Flicker Macro Monday Challenge this week is "Footwear". The macro on the right is the buckle on my summer sandals. You can check my Photostream SMDPics to see what shot I submitted.
 

 

 

 

I am sharing with Angie who hosts Mosaic Monday #95

and Mersad who hosts Through my Lens #256.

With temps at only 4C this morning frost is not far away.  I will enjoy the next few days.

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.

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.