August's Bounty

Up late, as usual for this time of year. Tonight I canned 1/2 gallon of green beans and 1 1/2 gallons of stewed tomato.

The beauty of August is that the work in the garden starts paying off big time, and we have more than we can eat. That means, however, that I have to put by the surplus so that it does not go to waste and stays freshest and best-tasting for winter.

This week I've also put by another gallon of pickles (bread and butter, since the dill has gone to seed), and Tony harvested the potatoes.

Oddly enough, I harvested the pumpkins and most of the winter squash over a week ago. We were set upon by squash beetles in the main patch, and so I pulled them to save them. I am trying to harden them further in the yard so that I can keep them whole through the winter, but if necessary I can cook them up and can or freeze them, too. It was a lovely harvest of sugar pumpkins, and a few butternut squash. The acorn squash has (so far) escaped the bugs, so those are still growing.

Good Advice

As I contemplate making this blog a bigger part of my life, and a bigger part of my creative process, I find the following article helpful.

http://www.my3boybarians.com/2009/06/10-blogging-mistakes/

the Douglas Adams Series, continued

Etsy Shop is now open

I've listed my first item for sale on Etsy. It's a series of patterns to stitch, based on the books of Douglas Adams. Here are some pics of the finished samples. Once I get them cleaned up and framed, I'll sell them as well. I'm hard at work on the next 2 series of stitchery, too!

today's guilty pleasure:

Degrassi. Did you know you can watch for free on teennick? Yes, you have to go to a site with "teen" in the name, but the show is still as drama-licious as ever. This is bad, I may have to stay up late.

We Got the Beets

You know what I like about the beet harvest? Even if you've picked them, you can store them for a good couple of weeks in the fridge before putting them by. Of course they're best fresh from the ground, but on a hot day like today, I decided to wait until sundown to can them. Then by the time it cooled off outside, I decided I would rather have a couple of beers, stitch up one of my new patterns (I've been designing like mad lately), and hang.

The Beets can wait till tomorrow.... a

searching for a porpoise...

I own about a million (ok, really a hundred or so) craft books. So why can't I find a pattern for a dolphin????

Why do I need a dolphin? Stay tuned for a pic after I finish the project....