I learned to make Jam and Jelly this year. Mom came over and we made some blackberry jelly with the many blackberries from our yard. Some were frozen from last year. They worked well.

 

We then made some Salsa Jam, Jalapeno Jelly and Habenero Jelly. My hands burned after that, even using gloves! Husband loves the Habenero Jelly. I like it but it gives me the hiccups.

 

My neighbor made some blueberry muffins from some of our blueberries (we share with anyone on the block who doesn't have blueberry bushes). She told me she misplaced her old cookbook with the recipe she liked. She said it was the old Betty Crocker binder checked cookbook. Well, I had Grandmas old Betty Crocker cookbook and the old binder-style with a checked cover Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. She was thrilled and copied both recipes.

 

For my Jellies, I used the recipes in the MCP package. I made the Jalapeno with half Jalapeno half Anaheim. The Habenero was really half habenero half orange bell pepper. It is still really hot.

 

Here is the recipe for the Salsa Jam - it is called Jelly in the recipe name, but you don't have to run it through a Jelly Bag.

 

Bad Bob's First Wife's Salsa Pepper Jelly

16 oz container medium hot salsa 

6-1/2 cups sugar

1-1/2 cups cider vinegar

6 oz package of Certo liquid fruit pectin (do not use powdered pectin)

 

Bring salsa, sugar and vinegar to a hard boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let set for 15 minutes. Bring back to a boil and boil hard for 2 minutes. Add liquid pectin, boil 1 minute more. Remove from heat and stire 5 minutes. Fill sterilizes jars and seal.

 

I used a boiled water canner and commercial salsa. 

 

The recipe was from Nancy Sageser, a former coworker from Tektronix. She contributed it to a fundraising cookbook - a coworker Maja Berge put together the cookbook (I helped a bit). We sold them to raise funds for a Christmas giving for needy families in the community.

 

I found some videos of my nephew on You Tube:

 

In this one he is one of several boys - my nephew has the yellow jacket.

 

Weight loss has been slow going. My weight is going down, but very very slowly. I am on a plateau. ew.

 

Today I harvested our garlic. We grow elephant garlic. It is all volunteer from garlic planted by the previous owners. We got some other types too this year, last year I planted some purchased cloves that sprouted.

 

Our garlic bed needs a lot of work. When Rich was rebuilding and pulling out beds in Spring 2006, he (in not his brightest move, but yet not his most clueless one either) dumped some of the fill dirt from one of removed beds on top of the garlic bed. This clotty junk dirt was on TOP of the beds with the garlic trying to sprout through. I cleared a lot of it out, but couldn't get it all without hurting the garlic.

 

Last fall after harvest, I was too tired to work on the bed, so now that I have harvested I am working on it now.

 

It has started raining so the dirt is soft enough to pull the cloves out - when it was sunny everything was stuck and it took a lot of digging to get the heads out. Now I am digging the dirt out and screening it, adding compost etc and only going to refill the bed by 2/3 or so. Husband will have a chance to rebuild this bed - we will see if it gets done...

 

 

I still miss Grandma so much. The song "100 Years" by Five for Fighting was on the radio. It made me think of her more.

 

The summer is sure going by quickly.

 

I am back on track with Weight Watchers and my weight loss. I have lost the weight I put on with Grandma's burial. I am also very encouraged to get to my goal weight - I am 5.8 pounds from my goal.

 

Carl is really growing this summer. He has had a spurt in his height and lost a little weight in the process. I had to dig out his 3T shorts - the 4Ts are falling down! He is also loving classes this summer.

 

We went to a Jazz concert at Powell Butte - the same one Carl chased grasshoppers at last year. It was cooler this year - much more pleasant. The music was great once again!

 

Here is the link to the ensemble and the location:

 

 

Here is a clip (lets see if I am doing this right!)

 

<object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Csx0xWtAKUo"> </param> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Csx0xWtAKUo" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"> </embed> </object>

 

 

I am still missing Grandma terribly. Today what set me off was I bought Carl a cinnamon roll - grandma loved cinnamon rolls. sigh sniff

 

I forgot a little tale of the night at Powell Butte. We took Carl's wagon with us to haul the food up. I had packed some of the food in my favorite Longaberger picnic basket. On the way down, my husband decided to ride in the wagon down the hill while sitting on my basket. We will be shipping my basket back to Ohio to be repaired. Surprisingly, he only broke the handle.