A Few Projects

Two rows done in this picture

My quilt is coming along. I've almost got all the rows sewed together. Then I'll need to find some fabric for the back and get some light batting as it's going to be our spring quilt. (I'm borrowing the idea from my friend Holly to have a different quilt for every season. Doesn't that just sound so happy?) :-)

Our container garden is coming along nicely. Most of my plants are looking happy. I think watering them every morning has been the biggest difference over last year's garden attempt. I was so inconsistent in the watering back then and my poor plants suffered. I'm really trying hard to do better this year. I've been harvesting cherry tomatoes and my lettuce needs to be picked. The problem is, that we keep getting lettuce from our produce co-op and we can't eat it fast enough! What a wonderful problem to have!

I was also reading over at the Chickens in the Road blog and she mentioned canning her soups, stews, and chilis for the days that she's too busy to cook. I just thought - that's brilliant! Why don't I ever think of doing things like that? I make all that stuff from scratch as it is, but it's a pain when I'm in a hurry. Well, okay, I do know the reason why I haven't canned that stuff yet. I still haven't conquered my intimidation of my pressure canner. It's quite silly really! So, I've been reading on pickyourown.org where they have step-by-step instructions for canning everything. I've had great success using their recipes for jams and pie fillings when Ball Blue Book's recipes failed me. Here is their page on pressure canning. I am determined to conquer the pressure canner this year! What a lovely dream... to open a quart of my own homemade beef stew in the dead of winter made from carrots and potatoes and onions that I harvested myself! Mmm! Let's hope it becomes a reality!