blog #304 >> This Weekend

It seems like I had a busy weekend, but really I think I just got a lot done.

The garden is all weeded, well I suppose the weeding is never really finished, but at least it's under control.


Here are the little green tomatoes that are starting to pop up on the tomato plants.

This is the monster head of lettuce that volunteered itself from last year's crop.

The strawberries are slowing down, but they also seem to be getting bigger. I've been freezing them all season for jam.

There is the random sunflower growing in the beans that I didn't plant. But I'm excited to see it start blooming.



I think my strawberry rhubarb jam turned out. I'm not really sure yet. It tastes great and I'm happy to say that all of the jars sealed, but it's not set up yet. I read the wrong page of the recipe and added the sugar at the wrong time. But I think it will be alright. The little bit of extra that I put in the frig. set up perfectly. And the jam in the jars is still warm, so it may just need more time. I've made jam before, but I've always made freezer jelly in the past and that's less temperamental. I'm just going to need to be patient and wait until it cools.

Here are the rhubarb slices that I thought looked like kitty faces.

This is my messy kitchen. I think I'll be cleaning sugar off my floor for weeks.



And here is the finished jam!


Let's see... other than making jam, it was Little Miss. Ada's first birthday. She did very well and didn't cry when we all sang to her and she even said bye-bye and waved when people left. She was certainly the queen of the party.


Oh, and this is the giant wasp that was stuck in my window when I got home. You can't tell in this picture, but it was really, REALLY BIG! I've never seen a wasp or bee this big in America. I remember when I was in Czech the bees were enormous and I'd run and get a Czech student and show them the giant bees and ask why they were so big. And they would all just look at me like I was crazy... Well, I guess I am a little, but I do wonder how they got to be so big... I suppose it could be a queen? Maybe? I hope she doesn't decide to make a nest in my window. I'd like to open it tonight.

And finally here is the vintage poodle pin the neighbors gave me. Thanks!

Well, that pretty much covers my random blog post about my weekend.
Cheers!
T