How did the summer go so fast (again)?? My kids go back to school next Monday. We had so many plans! The first couple of weeks were pretty relaxed... summer break just started, right?! No need to rush into anything, lets just hang out. And then all of a sudden it was the Fourth of July. And then this and that. And now here we are 5 days before school starts, ah!
We made a bucket list of things to do this summer, we didn't have too many things on it. but what we did we have tried to cram in these past two weeks (and a lot of the things on the list won't get done). Made me start thinking, why do we wait?? Its so easy to put things off for another day (such as I'll start exercising tomorrow, I'll email them later,!.) But seeing it in a timeline like this (a school summer break) makes me realize how much time can be LOST! I'm setting a new goal, I'm not waiting.
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The first snowflakes of the season just started falling here about an hour ago. I knew it was coming, but still I am unprepared! We are only supposed to get 1-3 inches of snow here so it will probably melt within a day or two. But this early snow/cold has been a motivator to get some stuff done!
My (our) list of things to do: (my husband & kids help too:) collect seeds pick pumpkins (to make pumpkin seeds, and puree) rake leaves/compost get all the toys out of the sandbox, put bikes, etc. in the garage dig bulbs winterize camper wash windows (check!) clean up the garden What's on your list? This is basically an update to my post about what we planted this year in our gardens... we never did get the garden in town planted, so... no tomatoes to can this year, or peppers, which means no salsa! Or tomatoes for homemade tomato soup! Or tomato sauce or any other tomato goodies!
On top of not getting the garden in town planted, the garden that we planted at The Land didn't do so great either. The deer ate most of it (thinking of building a fence next year!) All I can say is UFFDA! A bad year for canning; we have onions, pumpkins, sunflowers, and green beans (which I decided to freeze because I have enough canned beans from last year left.) I guess we do have cucumbers for pickles though, so I have at least one thing to can! I've also been looking in the grocery stores for crates of pears (my son LOVES canned pears!) but haven't seen any yet. One thing I have in the works to can is Wild grape jelly, the grapes are about ripe! What else could I can?? I still had some tomatoes in the freezer from last year's garden so I decided to can tomato/veggie soup today to use them up! I used a recipe that I came up with a few years ago just for this purpose, to use up some of my frozen vegetables to make room for this years crop! I usually freeze quite a few green beans and carrots every year. And I freeze a lot of tomatoes as well if I don't have time to can them in the fall, and this recipe has been a great way to use some of these vegetables. Here is my basic recipe. I try to stick to this if I have all the ingredients on hand.
I did make a change to the recipe today and didn't add the great northern beans. The main reason I omitted these was to make it a lower carb soup, but also I didn't have any! (If you are wondering about the carbs, I calculate about 26 carbs per jar of soup. So 13 per 1 cup serving, but this soup is so good I always eat the whole jar myself!) The last time I made this soup I didn't put them in either, and it was delicious! Just not as filling as with the beans. So... here's the process! First I removed the skins from the tomatoes. The best way to do this is to put the frozen tomatoes in a pan of hot water for about 10-20 seconds and you will be able to slip the skins right off! (Save the skins for making homemade tomato sauce!) If you are using fresh tomatoes you will need to use boiling water to get the skins off, but I've found that for frozen tomatoes hot water works great! I always core my tomatoes before I freeze them, makes this part of the process go so much easier. After the skins are off, I lay them out on a baking tray or on plates to let them start to thaw. We planted most of the garden this past memorial weekend. And yes as I mentioned in my last post I did make the kids help! Did they like it at the time? Nope don't think so! The day we did most of the work was a warm and dusty day! They didn't seem to be enjoying it as we planted but later in the weekend I did overhear my youngest "bragging" to his sisters how many rows of corn and sunflowers he planted! Yes, hard work is something to be proud of!
This year we bought and planted heirloom seeds, this is something we are trying for the first time. We hope to be able to collect seeds to replant next year! Here is what we planted: dill pole beans carrots peas onions cucumbers basil sweet corn sunflowers pumpkins squash watermelon These were all the things we planted at what we call "the land" (We have an 8 acre property about 15 minutes from our house that we use for camping, gardening, hunting, recreation, & storage) We will also plant a garden soon in our yard in town. We always do our tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and herbs in our backyard garden. What did you plant this year? Summer break. Today was the last day of school for my kids and I think I'm happier about it than they are! We have quite a few fun things planned already, a trip to see Mt. Rushmore, Wisconsin Dells in July, camping trips, etc. But little do they know I have some other plans for them ;) This summer I am going to teach my kids how to WORK! Not just doing a few chores here and there in the house but actual physical -your muscles will hurt, you're gonna get dirty, you'll be tired- labor! I'm guilty of the mindset that its just easier to do everything yourself so it gets done right, plus I'd rather not listen to all the grumbling...I think as parents today we don't make our kids work as much as we had to when we were kids. Why is that? When I was 7 or 8 years old I started my first "job". I helped my neighbors pick cucumbers to sell, also helped bail, stacked in the haybarn, and walked beans! All hard physical outside work. But somehow I feel guilty for making my kids vacuum once in awhile? Yes, I know that we should let kids be little because it goes SO fast and they have the rest of their lives to work. But they need to learn how to do things for themselves (some of these things my kids know but could use more practice:) And I don't think schools teach a lot of these kind of skills anymore so its up to us to do it! Here's just a short list: plant a garden mow the lawn check oil fill gas pump up tires/use an air compressor pick weeds pick raspberries, beans, etc. dig holes for planting stuff hang clothes on the line wash windows vacuum out car use a sewing machine can food/make pickles ways to save money (turn off the lights sometimes!) laundry fold clothes cook basic foods sweep floors use tools, hammer, handsaw, drill etc |
About me:I'm a married mom with 3 kids, ages 16,14 & 12. Things I like: canning, fishing, trying to get organized, antiques, gardening, saving money, camping, looking for new recipes, and funny stuff! Archives
August 2018
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