The Unwinding of Summer

Summer is coming to a close.
My last two finals to take are tomorrow.
The last outdoor trek of the summer happens this weekend.
And what a summer it's been.

In the midst of all the current tiredness, I can't help but feel that I am so incredibly fortunate to be so tired. That all the moments of tiredness are and were so worth the moments with friends, with family, with movement toward the future, or with growth through goals.

So what were the highlights of Summer 2014?

1) I made it through another dual term. I taught three separate courses this summer-one of which was a new class for me. I thoroughly enjoyed my students this summer. I took four massage courses this term and I fell in love with many of the Eastern modalities. I'm registered for my final term. I'm scheduled and prepared for teaching this fall. I created a career plan that reflects the next two years and I know that I'm headed toward even more growth.

2) Per usual there were a lot of awesome outdoor adventures (all of which I wish I would have blogged about separately). There was a kayak outing on the Tualatin River, a solo SUP morning, and a day of kayaking with visiting friends. There were multiple solo day hikes, long day hikes with the ex-husband/Tall D as we reacquainted our friendship, and a few date hikes or runs with different dudes as well. There was a lot of running mileage as I continue to progress toward my goal of 900 miles this year. There was a women's weekend where I finally got to attempt surfing. There was the best back packing trip I've ever been on with one of my favorite massage school gals. There was a recent day of exploring Olympic National Park (with a hike, lots of driving, and a beach trek) with Tall D. And tomorrow he and I leave for a long backpacking weekend in the Wallowas in eastern Oregon.

At the end of our Herman Creek backpacking trip.

Short Sands surfing

3) There were a lot of awesome visitors! I had one of my best gals from high school in town for a night in August. Earlier summer included dinner/kayaking with one of my best gals from grad school and her boyfriend, my buddy R who relocated to Texas and I hiked in to float on a mountain lake, one of the housemates from last summer stopped by for dinner on his move to Seattle, one of my undergrad friends brought her husband for dinner while they visited to explore moving to Portland (they're moving here in December and returning for another visit in two weekends), and I met a favorite high school buddy and his fiance for happy hour when they passed through town. I also hosted local acquaintances who I don't get to see as frequently: an afternoon of tapas at the house with an old hometown mentee and her boyfriend and I happily reconnected with an ex-who-was-my-best-friend-for-years and his wife.

4) Granny celebrated her 103rd birthday! We celebrated per usual with a family BBQ on her actual day and the female clan tea party on Saturday. It's always great to honor the queen and to reconnect with many of the extended family who comes home to help celebrate.

5) I celebrated my 32nd birthday...and it was a phenomenal celebration this year. After all our history, Tall D still has a knack for making me feel especially special and appreciated on my day. This year I had my high school gal here during the weekend before my birthday and then on my actual day the two Ds and I hiked into a secluded lake and floated around in tubes with some beers. In the evening, I went out to my favorite Mexican restaurant with a handful of friends. And the day after my birthday, Tall D had gotten me tickets to one of our favorite soulful artists. It just so happened that one of my local gals and her husband also had tickets so we were able to connect with them at the venue. Such an incredible birthday this year--I definitely felt so special!

6) I dated someone new for several months and helped refine what I'm looking for and grasped a better idea of what matters versus what we think matters in the bigger picture. I had a lot of fun. I learned new things. I was amazed by the thoughtfulness he put into creating simple dates and at times I felt incredibly spoiled. ....and in the end, our timing wasn't right, the pairing was and wasn't right, and I decided to put dating on hold for a bit again...unless that "right" man falls in my lap of course. Har har.

A bonfire at the beach with the dude, dogs, brats, tunes.

7) I preserved a LOT of food. One of my personal goals for this year was to try to grow more and preserve more than any year before....and I am really happy with the outcomes, while also knowing that even bigger gains are possible in years to come. This year I canned: peaches, pears, salsa, pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, applesauce, pear butter, plums. In the freezer are: blueberries, raspberries, cherries, marionberries, strawberry freezer jam, kale, grapes, shredded zucchini, rhubarb, mint. This year I planted: tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, kale, spinach, leeks, strawberries, brussel sprouts, cabbage, onions, peas, green beans, corn, and beets. The brussel sprouts got ripped out due to battling bugs that spread to the cabbage & eventually the kale, the spinach went to seed quickly, I battled with mean bee and yellow jackets nests (twice), I learned that co-planting snap peas around the tomato cages is a bad idea, the zucchini didn't seem to like it's new location, I can never keep up with the green beans in time, and my absolute favorite thing I grew were the beets. I also harvested grapes from the neighbors vines that I let go crazy over the fence, I replanted artichoke plants, I left the garlic alone, I picked mint/rhubarb/marionberries from the yard, and the kiwi is absolutely loaded (for harvesting in December).

8) There were a lot of chicken transitions and build projects. At the end of the summer I currently have four hens. Two separate batches of Americauanas with one gray hen from my original batch that produced her and two roosters and then two new brown hens that are still growing. There is also a lil black Banty that came from my middle hen acquisition attempt....and she's currently laying! :) Build projects included continuing to tweak the rebuilt/moved coop, indulging in a few hammock recoup sessions under the rebuilt arbor, and this summer also yielded a date day of demolishing and building compost bins from old pallets.

9) Beyond my long term massage classmate/housemate, there was a young housemate here for two months who desired lots of companionship and to see parts of Portland/nearby. I spent a lot of time in conversations with her and we also took trips to the Gorge, into downtown, and down to Silver Creek Falls. Her youthful energy was fun and reminded me a lot of a much younger version of myself. That gal is destined for some pretty great things.

Portland Rose Garden

10) In the down moments, I spent a lot of time continuing to reflect...on growth, on how to align opposing versions of myself and land somewhere in the middle, on where life might potentially head. I had a few great afternoons laying in the hammock or suntanning on the back patio. I watched a couple great documentaries and tore through some sessions with various books from the library. I met up and spent dinners/happy hour/coffees with some of my closest local Portland friends. I remembered to grant myself grace, to be comfortable with and proud of what I see when I look in the mirror, and to embrace the constantly evolving nature of life. And at the end of the summer, as tired as I might be, I'm again so grateful for a rewarding experience of life that passed along. While it might not have felt as epic or total fun as last summer, this summer felt pretty darn fulfilling!

Hope y'all had a wonderful last few months as well!

Brain Dump of Recent Events

Life has been a whirlwind. I love how whenever I expect things to slow down, then things totally get packed in :)

--One thing I didn't mention in my last update post is that on the run date, we actually crossed paths with an old acquaintance of mine from my hometown. I got in touch with the guy via FB to find out if it was really him, which led to happy hour, which led to dinner & drinks during the next week with our one of our many mutual friends and his wife (who happens to be a former boyfriend and then we were best friends for years after the fact). So literally in the span of three days, I saw the two guys from my hometown who I hadn't really seen in 6-10 years, finally got the opportunity to meet the one guy's wife (who I loved...they are so wonderful together!), plus hosted my old undergrad friend and her husband who I had only seen once in the last ten years also (and they might be moving up here!!). Lots of reconnecting with some amazing people. Tonight I'm meeting up with the old acquaintance and another gal from our hometown in order to run Mt Tabor.

--I spent a morning Upicking cherries and then drove to my sister's for a fun morning/early afternoon of making strawberry freezer jam. And then on Saturday, I accomplished my simple goal of getting up with the sun on the solstice and embracing the whole day :)

--The second new housemate arrived and so far she's been great. She's only here for two months and based on how the summer is already going, I have a feeling those two months are going to fly by! Compromising some as with all living situations, but it's wonderful to feel like the house might be settled for a bit (fingers crossed....).

--I don't want to post too much about all my adventures and interactions lately BUT I had an amazing Sunday of making pies from scratch with left over strawberries from the jam making and rhubarb that was picked from the garden....followed up with riding on the back of a motorcycle through the backroads of my local area. It was SO.MUCH.FUN and I had a smile plastered to my face the whole time. It'd been forever since I'd been on a bike and it was incredible to see the country fields and farms from a different perspective with the breeze whipping us and the sun shining down. All of the mountains were visible in the distance, big American flags were flapping on farm lands, cows and alpacas were out in the fields, and it was fun leaning around all the curvy roads. The rest of that day was also pretty stellar with dinner thrown together and eaten on the patio with sparkly lights lit around and an easy walk with the dogs around the neighborhood. Things in life aren't always simple....but the moments that are easy and free seem to make life feel more spectacular.

--I celebrated the end of the massage term, so technically this week and next I'm "on vacation." Although my new work term started this week and I taught my first inperson course of summer term last night. My classmate and I are heading on our first backpacking trip Sunday-Tuesday and we're both pretty stoked. I just got a new backpacking book which has some great new trails to check out in it, and the old backpacking buddy (reg D) and I have been trying to figure out when we can get out on the trail together. He also came out with my massage classmates and I to help us celebrate the end of our term and so I could finally introduce old and new backpacking friends :) It'd be great if the three of us can manage a trip together. See again...this summer is going to be a blur! ;)

--We had our second book club meet up and I'm so happy to be back at it with these gals. Each one of them is so dear to me! We're reading: The Other Wes Moore this month, which is a book I've been wanting to read for a while, so I'm looking forward to it.

--Lil Jenny chicken passed on, so now the two mainstay ladies are full-time in the coop. They don't seem to be the brightest two of the bunch but they're still loads of entertainment at the moment! ;) In mid July I'll get two more chicks and raise them in the kennels until I can try to transition any survivors into the coop with the two that I have. Ideally I'd like to have at least 2-3 bigger laying hens for eggs and right now I just have one big bird and a small to mid sized bird.

--I've still been struggling with lower leg issues since trying to stage a comeback in the last few months. I'd finally paid to have one of my instructors work on my left ankle as it has been the thing causing me the most trouble. While it's definitely muscular, the bones in my foot and leg are pulling away from each other which isn't the most pleasant sensation and doesn't make running much fun. I've been wondering if different footwear might help, so I sucked it up this week and tried out new options at REI. While I'd been wanting to do minimalist shoes, none of them felt comfortable, so for now I'm trying out a pair of solid Brooks. Yesterday's run was less than pleasant also as my legs try to adjust to using my muscles a little differently. I've been hoping to run a half this summer, but at this point I know that I'd have to retrain back up to it and until I figure out the footwear issue....that plan might be on the back burner.

--The garden is seriously doing better than any other year that I've been in the house. Not only is my one raised bed going crazy, but the berries/grapes/kiwi are heavy with the start of fruit. I also was able to get the front planted like I'd hoped and it's fun seeing stuff trying to come up in a new spot. I have been lacking motivation for the last few days to work on yard stuff, but hopefully next week I'll get a few more projects done!

--Besides everything already mentioned there were a few other times of going out with friends or new people and hosting others at the house. Needless to say, as an introvert who sometimes passes as an extrovert, I've been spending this week in hibernation as much as possible so I can recharge. I've spent plenty of time just lounging on the patio or in the hammock doing nothing, working, thinking, or reading...relishing the simple pleasures and awesomeness of the backyard. As much as I absolutely love connecting with all the amazing people I have in life, I also tend to need some solo time for myself. It's been lovely to get a few days during the middle of this week to do just that....especially since tomorrow I'll see two separate friends coming from out of town, Saturday is schedule to be a hike/beach outing, and Sunday-Tuesday is backpacking time. For the fourth, I'm taking the dogs and Granny to the beach to save Roxi from the chaos of 4th of july fireworks in the neighborhood and then the following week is when I'll now have four different out of state friends all passing through in the same 4-5 days :) Ha! So excited to see everyone, but definitely glad for some time to recharge this week :) It seems like the theme of this summer is just taking things in stride. Accepting the chaos and seeking out the simple moments that exist too.

Hope you all have been doing wonderfully!

Garden Goods 2014

This last year I paid attention to what I used in terms of frozen and preserved produce. I'm hoping to can, jam, freeze, and dry my way through a LOT more goodies this year...preferrably from free sources if at all possible. Ie I'm trying to get the guts to hit up people in the neighborhood who let their apples & pears rot on the ground ;) I also will frequent the U-picks, my sister and I will be making strawberry jam together, and she's checking with her free blueberry source.

But with all the yard projects, I also changed one of the raised beds and I'm doing a much better job of using total raised bed space this year.  I'm also planning on harvesting and then re-seeding what I can also, ie radishes, carrots, etc.

Garden Box 1:

L-R: Leeks, spinach, carrots, radishes, lettuce, kale, beets, chives, strawberries. In background are the berries and grapes hanging over the fence.

Newly created & relocated cinder block bed: 

A raised bed just for the zucchini to take it over! :)

Background is mint under the berries and garlic.

Garden Box 2: 

L-R: cucumber, onions, bush beans, tomatoes w peas, kale, lettuce, broccoli, brussel sprouts.

Not pictured: more lettuce and an acorn squash in containers out front, two new artichoke plants, the Asian pear got moved this year, strawberries & blueberries in the front, the kiwi is covered in blossoms on the new arbor, and a cherry tomato is out front again. In the coming week I also hope to weed one more area of the front yard and see if I can use that space as another garden space for corn, onions, and a few other things.

It was a major battle with the slugs this year, so  I hate to say it but I caved and sprinkled slug killer all along the sides of the raised beds and below. I had tried picking the slugs off, epsom salt sprinkling, containers of cheap beer, & copper tape....none worked. The hazardous stuff seems to be doing the job.

We'll see what all comes to fruition but it's nice to see stuff finally growing!

Mid-September Happenings

Thought after yesterday's rant it might be a good idea to also post a quick update on life:

1) New term starts on the 23rd. I'll be teaching 14 credits. Two sections of our basic intro health course (2 evenings a week) and two of the stress course (both sections online). There is a new book for one class so that requires edits to lecture slides, planning, and exam questions. This next week I have to finalize the syllabus and edits to that course while the online courses are ready to go. Tuesday is all day inservice. While I'm happy to be "overloading" this term, there's going to be quite a bit of prepping/grading this term compared to others.

2) For the first time this year I broke my no new clothes challenge. I used a gift card to buy black skinny jeans...and I'm in love with them. Nine months and one new purchase still feels okay. Obviously I've purchased some thrifted wear and actually a few needed new items for running, but I think I should make it fine through the rest of the year keeping the no new purchase challenge back in tact.

3) I'm registered for massage school. I'll be in class Tuesday, Thursday, Friday days. It's a one year program. I have my financial aid set-up and with both rooms rented and my student loans deferred I should be able to make my payments and be okay. Again, I'm actually excited to be headed back into the learning environment and am hopeful for how this option will mesh well with the health instruction piece that I already do. Additionally I was told that after I practice for two years, I will be eligible to teach at the massage school also....how cool would that be? My idea would be to continue to instruct "part-time" and also massage part-time--both options together would get me squarely back on my feet as long as my course loads remain fairly secure....

4)  T returned to California and the dogs were sad to see him go. M is back in Taiwan. My other male housemate moves out on Sunday and the new gal taking his place arrives on Monday (and starts school on the 23rd), so the rest of Sunday will be spent flipping the room. The other new gal arrived on the 7th and she starts her internship on Monday. Again, I'm crossing fingers that the three of us females mesh well and are busy yet patient enough to live well together until mid-December. At the very least, it's nice to know that I (hopefully) shouldn't have to worry about searching for another housemate until after M is back. While M was here, we discussed potentially renting the middle room out to short-term renters when he returns, although it also dawned on me that he's a lil noisier than some so we'll see. ;) If all goes according to plan (cough, cough...when does the plan actually work out?! :)), then M should be here as a renter until next summer so we'll see....

5) Ironically I'm also sort-of being considered for a full-time position at my college. Second responses ended Friday. The job sounds fun and like a good fit. I'm not anticipating getting it but how ironic would it be if I suddenly did when I already have the massage school option lined up? I'm seriously, seriously crossing my fingers that any decisions will be made prior to school starting on the 28th, otherwise I'm up a creek without a paddle (ie out a chunk of change if I take the job....). Even if I did get the job and with a full teaching load, I think I'd still try to take one massage class at a time. Now that I'm registered, I truly do feel like I should do the massage option regardless. It'd make for an incredibly busy fall (and massively neglected dogs...) but it's a HUGE IF anyway and it'd pay off big time in the long run.

6) That vet trip took care of lots of birds with one stone. I also had Roxi tested again for heart worms since it'd been four years since her last positive test (she contracted them while at the humane society aka puppy seeming mill where we adopted her....) and we've been "treating" her with the backwoods method offered in Louisiana. (The actual heartworm treatment is incredibly expensive, hard to come by at times, and requires keeping an animal less active for 30 days. If you've met this dog, keeping her less active would not happen...and she's happy go lucky and healthy seeming even with the dreadful worms.) Both dogs had their nails trimmed and a general once over. I also have realized in the last two days that all four animals are dealing with fleas (most months they don't have them) so a Costco trip for flea treatment for all of them is happening.

7) Car is also getting overhauled as it was due for an oil change and I needed new wipers as we head into the rainy season. Seats are getting cleaned as they were N A S T Y from all the outdoor pursuits: dirt, sweat, water stains. (All human related as the dogs are relegated to the back.) Also discovered I needed new brakes so they're taking care of all of that at once. This summer saw more off-road type terrain for the Sorento and I continue to be happy for the AWD capabilities and separate space for the dirty dogs (even if I still miss my Civic gas mileage). Hopefully all this car servicing will get me through until at least mid-winter.

8) Which as horrible of a financial choice as this is, I've basically started just putting stuff on credit again for now. I know that I should be living within my means but with things like the vet trip and needed brakes etc (and the reality that my credit card balance really is going no where right now), it makes the credit card seem like a viable option. It's always still my goal to get myself into a much better financial situation and I have to believe that in a year or two that situation will truly arrive. I just need to keep working ahead to get there...and as weird as it sounds somehow I have to trust that getting myself a lil more in a hole might actually pay out in the end. (I know, I know....)

9) I have this goal to come up with a better composting situation and to convert one of my raised beds to try my hand at winter gardening this year. We'll see if it all happens. I also need to get my hands on some apples for sauce, apple butter, etc. Canned 7 quarts of tomato sauce from my tomatoes and tomatoes from my aunts.

10) And that's about life in a nutshell. Some of the other stuff I'm hoping to post separately...maybe pre-scheduled :)

A Day In the Life

So I've always loved when people do these "A Day in the Life" posts and it's been a long time since I've done one, so here's attempting:

7:15am Woke up to housemate's dog yipping at being kenneled. Got up.
7:20am Feed dogs, make and drink coffee, text check-ins, check on stuff around the house.

8:15am Begin vacuuming dog hair out of car & generally cleaning interior.
Break---10am to eat yogurt.
10:50am Finally finished (well 85% of dog hair is gone...). Sweep garage out. Put out recycling and garbage cans.
11:10am Vacuum house, spray baseboards with ant spray, freshen up cut flowers in house, take care of pet food needs, clean out fridge.
11:40am Get on computer. Email another supervisor about adding another fall class and check online course. Read other's blog posts. Text old coworker a question. Clean out email and look at jobs. Break for another yogurt. Apply for a job. Research local berry farms. Look up what I have to do to maintain/renew my teaching license.
1:50pm Put computer away. Check on dogs outside. Get dressed and put on face for day.

2:10pm Head out to Granny's.
2:30pm Arrive at Granny's. Grab her a hat and bottle of water. Tell her what we're doing this afternoon. Get her dirty laundry and load all into car. Head for berry farm.
2:45pm Arrive at U-Pick berry farm. Ask questions. Grab buckets. Granny was a trooper and walked the gravel road (with walker) to the blueberries. Start picking. Move Granny into shade as precaution and she points me to another section. Head to other section. Check on Granny and have her drink some water. Head to another section. Once bucket full round Granny up and head back gravel road.

4:40pm Load Granny into car with AC. Go back in and check out. Order Granny a blackberry milkshake. Tell her what time it is and ask if she wants to come over for dinner. Head for my house. Granny drinks milkshake en route and declares "I don't know what this is...but it's delicious!!" :)
5:05pm Stop at grocery store, answer phone call from Dad, and leave Granny with AC running.
5:25pm Get home. Unload Granny and get her situated inside. Put dogs up and Unload car. Start washing berries and laying on cooking sheets for freezing, while Granny snoozes. Put berries in freezer. Start Granny's laundry. Put away groceries.

6pm Start making banana bread from over ripe bananas. Granny wakes up and hangs out with Major. Start second load of laundry. Finish making banana bread and put in to bake. Make dinner. Wash pans so housemate can use them. Take out banana bread/muffins.

7pm Move Granny to table for dinner. Start eating.
7:30pm Dad arrives and joins us at table. Sit at table talking while Granny keeps working on hers. Feed her leftovers to dogs. Fold first set of laundry.
8:20pm Move Granny to upper patio and get her situated. Join Dad and Granny on patio for bit.

8:40pm Fold final load of laundry. Water raised beds. Move Granny's stuff to door for easy exit.
9pm Load Granny and Dad into car. Water front plants. Stop off at aunt's to look at her remodel. Take Granny home and get her situated.
10:20pm Get home. Dad goes to bed. Check on animals. Bag frozen berries. Bag banana muffins. Wash and dry pans.
11pm Shower---so good!
11:30pm Get on computer. Check work stuff. Return texts. Blog.
12am Bed.

CANNING: More Apples & Tomato Time

So one thing I'm pretty stoked about is all the preserving I've been able to do this summer/fall, especially after learning how to use the pressure canner--now it's incredibly easy peasy! I wish that I would have known earlier in the summer so I could have canned the green beans and a few other things---but maybe that'll be for next summer :) However, while it's not listed, doing more preservation this summer was one of my goals....and I definitely feel it's been achieved! 

Apple Sauce & Butter

So I mentioned completing the apples the other day. I now have 4 quarts and a pint of apple sauce and 6 pints of apple butter, plus the dehydrated apples from earlier.

I still have about six large apples in the fridge that I'll either eat, dehydrate, or slice up for apple pie fixings.

Tomato Sauce & Salsa

My favorite pasta sauce with onions, zukes, peppers, & garlic added w/ seasoning and a splash of white wine for flavoring. Yum! And I'm so glad to be back to making it again after the three and a half year hiatus!

Two quarts sauce and 2 quarts, 1 pint, 1 half pint salsa. (I didn't want to buy new jars so hopefully the quarts will keep once opened in the refrigerator.)

This was my first time making salsa and I didn't core the tomatoes based on the recipe I used SO it took quite a while to simmer down. The salsa still looks a little runny and who knows how it will taste on this first trial run...but I'm pretty impressed all the same. I primarily used this recipe here, minus the cilantro which isn't my favorite and which Heather also said I could add in when serving later.

I still have a box of tomatoes though so I need to do some quarts of diced tomatoes still and maybe do some freezer stuff too.

I also got a bag of overly done corn cobs from my aunt's neighbor to feed/spoil the chickens. ;)

CANNING: Tuna & Pear Butter

....HA! And no the tuna and pear butter are NOT together. ;)

TUNA:

A few weeks ago Tall D and his friend G had bought some major pounds of tuna from G's dad. They'd set half the tuna out to thaw in the fridge prior to the arrival of the bad news...and so on Saturday night their other apt mate J had texted G and I to make sure the tuna got canned on Sunday. Tall D must have been on the same wavelength anyway and G's mom was in town so it turned into a canning party. The guys made lots of experimental half-pints, we labeled everything, and had it canned by early evening....and I learned a lot about canning in the process of being allowed to help. While the tuna is theirs, it was still fun being a part of the process, learning, and I'm being rewarded with a few jars too...

Tuna Slabs waiting to be stuffed in jars

Double row stack of jars in the canner--three canning sessions

PEARS:

Yesterday evening I got the canner back so I could finally do something with that box of pears from my aunt (FREE!) and to hopefully do something with the box of apples I bought with my cousin last Thursday (20lbs: $12). The whole process of the pears took longer than I expected, although the second round went easier as I had a better idea of what I was doing. I decided to make pear butter as the pears varied in sizes and ripeness...and that way I could throw it all in and boil it down. Both tastes and smells delicious btw!

Pears in box

Simmering down after peeling

Finished product: 8 pints of pear butter

The other two jars pictured above are two of the quarts of apple sauce Mom and I made before. Tall D and I had talked this weekend about whether jars sealing themselves automatically is safe enough...and he made the case that it's better to process them through the canner. So I threw in two of the quarts...and hopefully it's good enough! ;)

I didn't get to the box of apples today...so they've taken the place of the pears in the fridge until I can get to them on Thursday or Friday. I see apple butter making in my future...but hopefully I've got this canning thing down now! (Many thanks to Tall D for checking in and answering extra questions about processing this evening!) And I might even do something with the tomatoes....

Now to think up some great uses for all this pear butter......gifts, but also tonight I thought about pecan waffles covered in pear butter and maybe some sliced up bananas--YUM! :)

Apple Preservation--Last Week

The Apple Orchard mom and I went to during her visit.

Beautiful apples--but as I learned later, not the greatest prices!

Mom peeling apples. 

Left over apples put to dehydrate this week.

Two bags of gravensteins and one bag of mcintosh's produced just three quart jars of apple sauce--but it's delicious! The rest of the apples I cut up this week and deyhdrated before they could go bad. The last two apples I'm planning on making a pie from or freezing pie fixings. 

I found a MUCH cheaper apple source, so I might attempt some more apple sauce......but first I have to do something with those pears still! :)

Garden Fare & Freezing

Today I was responsible for checking on my aunt & uncle's home, cat, & garden. They live about half a mile from me and have one of the most amazing backyards probably to be found in the local area. They'd encouraged use of the ready produce, and I came home with a gallon bag of green beans to add to the ones I'd bought at the farmer's market, numerous zucchini that had gotten out of hand, half a gallon bag of blueberries, a tiny bouquet of roses from Poppa's rose garden, and a few tiny pears that had fallen from the tree. Realizing I still also had all the original green beans that were starting to go bad and the half flat of strawberries in the fridge, I set about this evening trying to make use of the produce as best I could.

The blueberries were rinsed, laid on a cookie sheet to freeze, and bagged.

I shredded about four mid-size zukes and then one big boy, drained some of the excess moisture, and then created 2 cup bags for the freezer. Two other zukes were given to the very happy chickens. And then I decided to make zucchini bread & muffins, using this high yield recipe that I found online. A few were reserved for Tall D, some will be enjoyed, and others will also be frozen for later.

The green beans were readied and then I hem and hawed about attempting to can by myself. Deciding it was too much work for the evening (and being slightly afraid I might blow up the house....), I discovered a recipe in my "preserving book" for Szechan green beans. It uses vinegar and allows for up to a month of refrigeration---sounded perfect so I set to work. 

While I was in process, Tall D dropped off the dehydrator and lended a hand by taking on the strawberries for fruit leather processing. (Although the food dehyrdator didn't like the wax paper separation....so I'm going to have to try it via an oven dry tomorrow....) 

I actually could have created five quart jars of the Szechuan green beans, but ran out of the vinegar mix ingredients. Instead I came out with four jars, a bag of blanched green beans added to the freezer, a satisfied dog who I discovered loves green beans, and another additive to a veggie stir fry to be added to my backyard egg and feta scrambled egg tonight.

Which was then followed up with amazingness----quartered farmers market peaches, fresh backyard blueberries, and a bit of agave all over greek yogurt. After the road trip, I've been eating very minimally and trying to focus mainly on fruits & veggies...but this yogurt addition was delicious!

So what else will we still be harvesting and preserving this season? My aunt will have quite the harvest of pears this year that she's not sure what to do with, so I'm hopeful I might be able to can/preserve some of those once they're ready for harvest. Our tomato selection is looking pretty slim this year, even with the extra bushes I planted, but hopefully Tall D will be able to hunt out some other tomatoes and hot peppers to make his great salsa. If I can find a decent selection of apples, I'd love to make some apple sauce and apple butter. I picked my second round of artichokes the other evening also, so I need to try to cook those this week. The carrots are ready and the garlic should be ready soon too. We might get a few grapes this year and it's looking like a few kiwis will be edible too! While the garden boxes haven't been producing this year as well, I'm glad for the produce we have gotten and it's been nice to acquire more from other sources.

Peach Preservation

What to do with an entire "lug" of delicious peaches?!

Why can them of course!

I did the peeling and pit removal. Tall D did the boiling, syrup making, and actual canning. The chickens were glad for the peach skins. 

Six finished quarts of peaches in syrup. 

A tray of sliced peaches were frozen and there's still a pile of peaches in the fridge that will either freeze or be layered into the dehydrator! DELISH!

What's Cooking as of Late

 Townsend House is having a cooking link up--LOVE IT, especially since attempting to cook/bake/preserve more is on my list of goals for this summer.

Dinner last night: Pre-made eggplant raviolis (Costco) with sauteed spinach, sundried tomatoes, feta, & pesto

Dinner several weeks ago for a night with Tall D: baked salmon w/ Tony's seasoning w/ halved grape tomatoes and cubed red potatoes all over rice. Dessert: sauteed strawberries, homemade biscuits, & whipped cream

Beyond that we're in the season of simple summer meals:

Baked potatoes loaded with homemade guac & salsa; sides of sauteed onions & zukes; more homemade banana nut muffins; berry smoothies; mixed greens salad w/ feta, pecans, cranberries, & cucumber; backyard egg scrambles w/ spinach, feta, & onions; weekend blueberry waffles

I've also still got my summer goal of loading up the garage freezer so this week a Costco trip I did make: extra bags of frozen tropical fruit for smoothies, extra bags of organic, shade-grown coffee beans, loaves of local, organic bread (although I should really make my own & freeze them), pre-made raviolis. I'm still picking and freezing our blackberries as they come on...and there will be more fresh fruit and veggies to add as the season continues. I'd love to find a fish source but that's a work in progress :)

What's cooking in your neck of the woods?

A Good Sunday & The Coop's Done

Hi all! How have you all been doing? Hopefully well!

After a quick trip to the family beach house Friday night-Sunday morning, which included finishing the book for book club, a wonderful long walk on the beach with my gal N and her husband (who both also happened to be over there at their family house), and dinner with the two of them out at the local pub.....I was ready to come back to settle into my own home. As much as getting away can feel great, I definitely missed my own shower and bed! The trip was much needed however as I'm trying not to stress about all the unknowns in life. The reality is that I posted an ad on craigslist for a housemate and have had no responses, and without a housemate or a new job option, the smartest thing would be for me to move within the next couple months. (Although I really hope this doesn't have to happen!!) Additionally, in recent conversations, we've come to realize that what we based our marriage on was not in fact reality and there's a good chance that even though we're extremely compatible that really we're incompatible in some big ways.

Thus a few days away to listen to my soul was much needed....and it was great to come back to some wonderful things on Sunday afternoon.

1) My aunt invited me up to her place to pick blueberries from their bushes and she contributed some roses from Poppa's old rose garden. Walking through the same rows of roses that Poppa tended for years, picking which ones I wanted and breathing in their deep scent, honestly was amazingly good for the soul. Poppa was an incredible man....and there was something about walking through the rows that felt like his strong embrace was surrounding me.  I came home with a huge bag of blueberries and enough roses for two smaller arrangements:

2) Baking and preserving! One of my unofficial goals for this summer has been to work at cooking more (something that for various reasons I stopped doing in my marriage) and to also do more preserving of items from the garden. There is an extra freezer in the garage and it dawned on me that I should really attempt to fill it up with extra fruits, veggies, fish, breads, etc. Before I went to bed last night, I was able to make three rounds of freezer jam from those delicious blueberries. I also had two mushy bananas that I made into seriously a-ma-zing banana nut muffins, and a few of those were double bagged for the freezer also. To top it all off, I made a super simple but delish dinner for Tall D and I: baked potatoes topped with shredded cheese, salsa, & homemade guacamole with a side of sauteed zukes and onions. 

3) And almost the best news of all: the COOP IS DONE! Woohoo! Tall D finished it off completely late afternoon, including the laying boxes, ladder, and all. It was pretty entertaining watching a 6'5" guy chase two chickens around our large backyard so he could get them in the coop....but I have to admit it was cute when he presented me with the "finished coop: chickens included!" The ladies seemed pretty content clucking around checking out their new digs. They hopped up in the bush in there, pecked at the dirt, and eventually with our help they got up into the house part and explored their new beds. (Although at 11pm, we did have to go back out there and put them in their boxes...hopefully they'll get it on their own tonight....) It seriously looks great though and it's nice to have it done!! Now I can get started on all the other backyard projects I've had in mind :)

4) Lastly Tall D and I watched a great movie before he headed back to his apartment for the night. It's called The Way and is the story of a man who's son dies on the Camino de Santiago. He ends up continuing on to complete his son's journey. If you're into personal journeys, beautiful scenery, and some good chuckles, it's definitely worth checking out. 

Hope y'all had a great weekend!