Thank you for all your condolences. My Dad will always be remembered with joy by those of us who knew him and loved him.
Now, as cold as it may sound, life gets back to normal. We all still have to go to work, to eat, to sleep, all those little things that make up our daily lives.
We all know that knitting is a part of my daily life and there has been knitting. More specifically, there has been finishing. The Queen Silvia shawl came off the needles earlier this month but the blocking had to wait until we got home from Abbotsford. That happened yesterday (the blocking, that is).
This isn’t a large shawl by any means. I probably could have blocked a little harder, but it’s the perfect size for a scarf or shoulder cover. Finished size is approximately 46” x 18”.
In other things, the garden is still producing but it is beginning to slow down. While I was away, John kept picking beans and yesterday I froze another two bags (about 4 meals worth) of them. The tomatoes… oh, the tomatoes!!
I think John has 7 or 8 litre containers of stewed tomatoes in the freezer and there are still more coming.
The basil is still going strong, but we have more than enough pesto to last us until next year so I’ve decided to give some away. A friend didn’t have much luck with her basil and, since she’ll be around the house for her grandson’s birthday, I’m letting her have as much as she wants to pick (or I might pick it for her). It is slowing down somewhat as the nights are cooling down, but there’s still enough there for a good batch of pesto.
And, while I was away, John even canned nine quarts of peaches! We did give a couple of jars away and we had to sample one (it wasn’t a full jar) but there are still a few jars that will not be touched until the dead of winter, when we’re craving summer. Or maybe we’ll open one to have with our Thanksgiving dinner. I can already imagine THAT feast!
All in all, we have our small freezer almost full of produce from our own garden. It’s a wonderful feeling!
Posts
The little shawl is so pretty. And being white, it should go with everything you wear with it. :)
ReplyDeleteYou have been very lucky with your tomato crop, compared to myself. My plants all produced their first blooms into finished fruit, but that was it. The plants dried up and died, so I only collected about 3 dozen fruits from a full dozen plants, and then they were done. Not sure what caused this to happen. In early Summer, they were growing very nicely. Maybe it was all the rain, or something else. Guess I'll never know, but I hope it never happens again. I love my tomatoes too much to be denied them so badly. :)
Happy eating for you and John this Winter. Nothing better than having a freezer full of your own home-grown produce. :)