We’ve been slicing, dicing, stewing, jamming, freezing, canning and generally gorging ourselves on the fruits (and veggies) of the summer.
So, what do you like to do with the gifts of the season?
Summer Busyness
These summer days seem to slip by a little too fast. We find ourselves spending much more time outside, working on house projects, cooking, gardening, storing up food for the winter. It’s already August, and I realized I hadn’t shared any scratchcraftiness with you in awhile.
Virginia, in addition to the above, has been keeping her needles busy (both of the knitting and crochet variety). I just recently fired up the ol’ dusty spinning wheel and am trying to motivate myself to finish a cardigan that has been on the needles for way too long (it’ll be out of style before I ever get a chance to wear it – and, yes, this is the same cardigan mentioned in earlier posts).
A little glimpse of some of the things created over in our neck of the woods:
Details may, or may not, be forthcoming. But, more projects are definitely on their way. By the way, the creature at the beginning of the post belongs to the same family as the chinchilla. Can you guess what it is?
See for yourself:
Juicy
Not long after this picture was taken, a certain someone could be seen with a bit of juice running down his hands and chin.
Let’s hope I have enough self control to allow an actual harvest to take place later this summer. Still, it’s pretty exciting – the first fruit of the season.
Patio in Place
This long weekend, we celebrated our independence by toiling hard, sweating lots, puzzling, planning and plenty of flopping (on the ground, the nearest chair, the hammock). But, after moving (by hand) over three tons of flagstone and about a ton-and-a-half of sand we went from this:
to this:
(Virginia is pushing between the stones a mixture of sphagnum moss + water + dirt + moss from our yard. With the shade, a good amount of moisture, time and some luck we should have some nice moss growing between them.)
Our new patio has been in the works for two years. We had plans to do it last summer, but around this time I was just undergoing my third consolidation treatment followed by several weeks in the hospital. Needless to say, I was in no condition to lift anything, let alone play in the dirt.
Not anymore. However, I think we’re ready to not lift anything for awhile; to sit back and enjoy some summer evenings with a small fire and a glass of wine. (I guess I still need to get some furniture built — my uncle gave me plans for his quite comfortable adirondack chair — but we’ll improvise until then).
Cherries = Summer
And, cherries (the tart, Minnesota variety) = jam!
I added a few cranberries (for pectin), and the jam is just on this side of tart. Tasty.
It’s nice to see the freezer and the pantry beginning to fill up with the bounty of the season. Winter may be cold here, but it’s much easier to go through it with little jars full of Summer.