Don't you just love this picture of Shalom? This is the first time she has gotten to drive her own cart. You would have never known though, she wheeled around that store like a pro! There was a sweet little old lady looking at the butter, Shalom drove right over to that lady, parked her cart touching the lady's cart and stared at the lady, she also checked out the butter while she was there. The lady talked to Shalom and giggled. We hooted and giggled right along with her. We stacked her cart as full as we could get it. She didn't mind.
Last week we canned grape juice. We tried the neighbor's recipe. Here it is if you want it: Fill up a stock pot with clean grapes (just washed and stemmed), fill it up with water until it's a couple inches above the grapes. If your stock pot is the big kind put 5 cups sugar in it and stir. If it's the smaller stock pot put in 3 cups sugar. Boil for 30 minutes. After 30 min. run it through your VICTORIAN STRAINER. Use a shortened auger since the long one will clog. We wondered if you could buy the shortened one or if someone sawed this one off. It was bought at a yard sale for $4.00 by our neighber. He was so kind to let us use it. We even ran the pulp through the strainer a couple times, there was so much juice! Pour into jars and can. We used a very cool canner. The neighbor (again) let us borrow their CONSERVO. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Well, I'm madly in love with CONSERVOS!!!!! This ingenous canner is the most time saving device I've used!!! You can put 18 jars in at a time to can!!!! Sadly, it is an antique. But, if you're blessed enough to own one, great for you! I am on the hunt!
Tonight was cleaning night. Everyone got a job including shorty (Shalom). She got a rag and helped me clean out from under a bathroom sink, she also helped her mom clean the windows. Tom swept upstairs and down and shook the rugs. Jamin cleaned a bathroom and dusted around the ceilings. Celia cleaned windows, Josiah cleaned a bathroom and did chores. I dusted and did odds and ends. Isn't it a wonderful feeling to have a clean house? My great aunt and grandma were clean freaks (grandma still is at 87 years old). At my aunt's funeral my cousin told the story that when he spent the night at his granny's house she was taking the sheets off the bed even before he got up in the mornings! That is the way it is in my home. People use 50 glasses around here because I have them loaded up in the dishwasher before they even set them back down on the table. If my kids can't find something they always come to me first, "Mom! where is such and such? I can't find it." Sad thing is, usually I can't remember where I put it. Awwww Nuts!!! Sorry guys!
We had fresh green beans for dinner tonight thanks to my husband and Celia's late crop. We had a chicken grown right from our own back yard (and butchered in Sept, remember?) stewing in a crockpot all day and potatoes freshly dug. We really do need to get those out of the ground before any real snow starts to fly. The carrots we will leave in the ground and cover them up, after it gets cold the sweetness just bury's itself in those roots. Yummy, for sure!!!
Well friends, it's getting late. I truly hope you have a wonderful weekend. Don't forget to write to Tom with your home care/gardening questions. E-mail him at the address below.
Blessings on discovering your rich, homespun heritage!!
Janele :)
