Lost canning supplies. . .

I was going through old photos on my computer today and was able to find all the photos from my weight loss chart on my weight loss blog. So I was able to add them all back, and also added a few extras as well. In the search I also found a few food photos of recipes I had reviewed, so three more recipes have been updated with photos as well! Whew that was nice.

I pulled more grass today out of the garden, man it's like a jungle out there. I will have to buy more straw. This is going to take a couple of weeks, unless I get some help out there.

I cooked beets from the garden tonight for a snack. mmm yummy. I now have red stained finger nails though. haha Belle apparently loves beets. mmm That's mommy's girl! The only advice I have on these, is I have always boiled my beets for some reason. I really don't know why. Well, tonight I roasted them. I don't think I will personally do this again. To me it didn't add any to the flavor or texture tasted the same to me. But, was much harder to peel off the skin, when you boil beets the skin just slips off when done. I had to really work at getting the skins off the roasted ones. And I also had to worry about burning them. I never have worried about that when boiling. Since it didn't add to the flavor or texture, and is much easier I will stick to just boiling them. However, I do kind of wander if I had added oil to the skins before roasting if that would of made them come off easier. But, I really don't care to experiment since as I stated didn't seem to improve the quality of the finished product any, so why fix what isn't broken, ya know?

I so want to can some tomato jam, and zucchini pickles but can't find any of my canning supplies. Which are very expensive. It's so frustrating. I think I will just have to break down and buy new. Which is so irritating since I know I have some already! I am going to ask on Freecycle first though and see what happens. If I could just get a canning pot it would save me a ton of money! The other supplies aren't as big of a deal when it comes to costs. I hope some one on Freecycle will have one they are willing to part with. That would relieve me of almost 100 dollars. And if I ever find my other one I guess I could do double batches at least and get done with canning a lot faster then too.

It's a bouncing baby. . .

I went to get a sonogram at my mom's office today. And we found out it's a BOY! So we are excited to welcome Raphael Jaivon AKA RJ into our ever growing family.  As with all our other children he is running a bit small. But, that's better for me and a VBAC. Doctor Jensen said last week that bigger babies was harder to have VBAC's with, but looking at my other history didn't seem like that would be a problem. And both Vince and I were under 7 lbs closer to 6. so Yup looks like the too big won't be a problem! haha I've had a feeling he was a boy though from the beginning. How do I always know these things?!?!

After the sonogram, we went to The Great Harvest Bread company and ate free samples. Amber bought a loaf of our favorite savory bread, Dakota. And I was so tempted to buy some of the cinnamon burst bread with blueberries, and cranberries, and white chocolate chips it's sooooooooo good, but I refrained.

Then we went to NuWay's for lunch. This is the first location we just didn't care for at all. The location is awesome, as far as roominess (most are very very tiny, started in a valentine diner, tiny things!), but they do not know how to drain their meat, it was full of water and horrible. I didn't even finish mine! We both said we wouldn't go back there again. The onion rings and home made pop were good though, but we won't go back for burgers again.

After that we went to a antique mall both her and I had been wanting to go to. It was HUGE. Had a ton of good stuff and not too overly priced, a lot of things wanted. But, nothing I direly needed so I restrained myself once again. I used my new sling and loved it, and I'm quite sure Belle did too.

I have a little more done on the skirt, but have been working on the garden and it's soooo hot out there! It's exhausting. I have been pulling grass and putting down straw. The straw seems to keep the grass and weeds from growing. I'm hoping in the next week or two to get all the grass out and a good layer of straw down. Cause the strawberry patch where I have a lot of straw has very little grass, and absolutely no weeds. So apparently that's what I need to do! I cut my finger in two places today pulling the strong grass. grr, so for sure need to do that. I also need to get a few more tomato cages. We bought more soaker hose and have been working on getting it laid out. It got too dark this evening before we rearranged it completely but did add it to the rest of what we had. Tomorrow I will tweak it's route through the garden. Some of the tomatoes need a bit more water. And I'm thinking about transplanting what the grasshoppers left of the Kohlrabi over to where I have the tomatoes and strawberries cause the grasshoppers don't seem to be such pests over there.

A Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window...lots and lots of vegetables.

I am thinking...of how to get rid of the ants eating up my maters.

I am thankful for...the fruit of the earth.

I am remembering...the first slip I made on my own.

I am hoping...to get a lot of sewing done before the baby comes.

I am creating...a butter yellow crepe maternity skirt, almost done.

On my mind...what gender the baby is.

Noticing that...I still have a ton of stuff to do.

From the kitchen...dad's home made pizza.

One of my favorite things...pumpkin butter.

What I am reading...blogs.

Picture for thought I am sharing... 

First fruits of my garden!

First skirt almost done!

I finished the back of the skirt, finished the raw edges of the layers and stitched the sides together. Now I just have to finish the sides raw edges, add elastic for a waist band and hem the bottom. I'm really liking it so far. It is not as puckery when I press the seems open, which they aren't in this photo, but at least you can get a idea of what the skirt is shaping up to be. I also prepped the quilters cotton and the muslin for the next skirt and slip, took the stitching out I put in for pre-washing and pressed the quilters cotton, I'll leave pressing the 108 inch wide muslin for another day. If only my hands weren't so arthritic and Belle would let me do something with out her for a bit I could get a lot more done in a day! haha But, I just have to steal minutes here and there from Belle, and then if I get more then a minute or two my hands start contorting and cramping, UHG!

Every one's been bathed, and are ready for bed now, maybe I will get some more done on the skirt tomorrow!

I wanna see S'more Does!

We started over again with the BBQ. Sent Vince to get brand name charcoal, a lighter, and some more collard greens. It was a bit windy and we had to weight the grill down, but other then that this time things worked out. And we even got to have s'mores! mmm yummy! Amber, Lela, Belle and I sat out in the wind and roasted the marshmallows for them. While we were sitting there a male and female pair of white tail deer came to drink water from the lake, it was awesome! I am going to have to go out there more at dusk to see if I can catch a glimpse of them again. They were definitely playing, and having such fun.

My sister Amber watched Belle for a while, and I was able to trace and cut out the jacket pattern I want to make later on. And pin together and sew the front of my buttery gauze skirt. It's a little puckery but I think that's just due to the kind of stretchy fabric that it is. I think once I wash it and such it may be better, either way I am liking it I'm pretty sure. I am hoping that the jacket I want to make to match it will come out ok too, I'm just a little worried about the collar part. UHG. Hopefully it will be wearable. haha

Hoping maybe by the end of this week I will have some ripe tomatoes, I know I will for sure harvest some beets though. I think some of my cantaloupes have some flowers as well. That will be awesome if they do!

BBQ Friends

I didn't get much done again it was in the triple digits so majorly hot out there. We did get to the feed and seed store and bought the straw for the strawberries but didn't get it put in the strawberry patch yet.

Then we went to Walmart and bought a few groceries, they had corn on the cob 20 cents a ear, and watermelon only 2 dollars a melon. They also had new Bush's baked beans with onions, they were pretty tasty actually. Then I decided we needed to get a grill, so we bought a grill. The cheaper end one but I think we will like it.

After Walmart we went to Aldi's and got some meat, and a few other things. Then back to Walmart for some Popsicles and chocolate for s'mores.

Came home and Julie was here waiting for us, so Vince started to work on putting the grill together. Took Vince a while to get it together then we went cheap with the charcoal and never could get it to light, and ended up just using dad's gas grill. lol Never did get our s'mores and ran out of gas for the gas grill too and ended up making the corn on the cob, the baked beans and the collard greens all in the microwave, cause by then it was near 11 pm! lol haha But, we decided to send Vince back for new charcoal tomorrow and some more collard greens and we'll try it again tomorrow! lol haha I'll also try to get the straw on the strawberries tomorrow too.

Strawberries were planted!

I was able to get all the strawberries put in today, and bought another soaker hose for them. But, was too late to buy the straw for them. So will buy that tomorrow. But, I'm just happy I was able to get the strawberries in. I may put in some collard greens tomorrow too.

I also updated my Richard Simmons Food Mover page on my recipe review blog. It's been needing to be done for years now. But, now with blogger offering the additional 10 linked pages, I was able to configure it much better then it was before. I'm thinking about doing the same for explaining, HELP for Healthy Exchanges.

Then I cleaned up my sewing area. I really needed to get some clothes folded, but of course that didn't happen. Oh well there's always tomorrow. I think I will start on my skirts again on Sunday. As they say always seem a day late and a dollar short on my plans! I was hoping to already be working on them today but oh well.

One of my friends sent me a tutorial to make a ring sling. So I am so going to try it! I'm going to use the measurements from the one I bought at the swap meet, but use the tutorial for how to sew in the rings and such. I will need to order some rings as well. I'll be dreaming of what fabric to use....

One of my friends etsy shops, Swell Midcentury Delights, is being featured for a free give away, so go on over and sign up! She has the cutest stuff, and buy something too! She's offering 20 percent off on anything you purchase this week in her shop.

Doctors and Sling Addictions

I met my new doctor today. I love him already. He seemed to be fine with every thing I asked him. And seems to be the perfect match for me. So I was really happy about that. He also knows my beloved childhood doctor Gutherie. What was really funny is he said, and he's so old, he was old when I was a new doctor and I'm not young. haha Well, I'll probably be in to see him soon too. I am scheduled for a sonogram on the 11th, so I guess that is when we will find out what sex the baby is. I really can't wait to know what we are having. I can't decide which I want though, a boy or a girl. I know I'll be happy with either though. I did get some lab work done though, and really liked the lab nurse, she was super sweet, and very kind. I think I will like her. I'm sure I am going to keep Doctor Jensen for even when I'm not pregnant.

We had a swap meet at La Leche League tonight. I was able to get Belle a lot of clothes, and fed my sling habit and bought a new ring sling, I almost bought another sling too! But, didn't....now I am kind of wishing I had! But, of course everyone knows I have this sick addiction to slings. haha Funny thing is though, I had this padded ring sling that was just so big on me and always falling off I didn't think I liked ring slings. But, this one was so beautiful at the swap that I just kept eyeing it till I just couldn't stand it any longer and asked the woman who brought it if she would help me put it on so I could make sure I was doing it correctly. It was quite a bit smaller then the one I have and not padded. It fits perfectly! And has a beautiful velcro pocket. I love it. So I was able to add to my ever growing collection. It's great for Belle now, and I think will be good for the new baby too, looks perfect to nurse in as well. Yup, I think I am in love with it. I may use it as a template to make a few more, since it seems to fit so well.

I also asked around at the meeting for a good ped recommendation. I heard of three names, so hopefully insurance approves of at least one. I know I have to get one before the baby comes, if I want the baby released from the hospital. *sigh* So hopefully will find a good one.

Skirts and Strawberries

I received beautiful gifts from a friend today, hand made apron and bonnet. I didn't get a chance to take a photo yet, but will soon and will post it. They are truly lovely and I love them!

I only got two strawberry plants planted today though because the ground was so parched I couldn't really dig or make hills with it today. So I rearranged the soaker hose and will be soaking it a while so I can soon. Friday Vince will buy another soaker hose so I can do more of the garden with it. And also some more straw. Also while I was out there, I was pulling some of the grass out of the garden that had furry tops, kind of like wheat if the top of wheat was green and furry. As I was pulling it, I thought one of the furry tops had fallen off and landed on my arm, till the furry top started crawling. UHG, I had picked it up and threw it before I realized it was only a caterpillar. Because of the wind he didn't fly far from my throwing and he gave me the saddest look! lol He was so sad. Ok will try not to throw any more caterpillars.

Amber took me to Joann's cause I cut two pieces incorrectly due to the cat running through my pattern right before I started pinning, and because I was trying to hurry before Belle would be wanting me. So I went back to buy more fabric, and also decided I would make a matching jacket for the skirt. I couldn't believe they were completely out of the fabric I had bought just two days ago! I asked them to call the other location but they said they couldn't cause I didn't have the fabric bar code number. *sigh* So I ended up buying some half price natural colored muslin to make myself another slip with a lower neck line then my first. And then we went to a antique mall. Found a lot of really cute neat things, if only I had money. I just loved the baby planters. My mom used to always give new mom's a flower planted in those kind, and I would love some. The cutest one was a blue lamb with lots of intricate real lace detail that had been porcelain glazed over. It was so sweet, but it was 18 dollars. They had one as cheap as 7 though. If that lamb had been 7 I don't know if I could of had enough self control to not get it. They had several radios too, and I've been wanting a real vintage one, but they didn't have any of the kinds I really wanted or needed.

I just decided to have Vince take me on out to the other Joann's and thankfully they had the fabric I needed, so I was able to get it after all. Then we went to Braum's and I tried their new maple walnut ice cream, I do believe it's my favorite of all now! Belle was so happy to eat it too. haha, she was sticky from head to toe. Then we went and bought Belle some milk and got a few more groceries, then home again home again jiggity jog. I hurried and stitched the edges of the fabric up real fast, and threw them in the washer. So hopefully I can get to cutting it soon and get started on putting the skirt together!

Another wonderful thing happened tonight when I turned on my pc, I was looking for the icon to open up my internet browser, and I noticed a icon that said chart. Ironically enough I was just looking for a chart file I had on my old homestead website, that I gave up due to them starting to charge, and then upped the charge to outrageous amounts. It was a weight loss chart I was keeping on homestead but had linked from my weight loss blog, the link was broken since I gave up my homestead account. And I had been wandering if I had kept the chart some where, and yes I had! So since blogger started letting you add those extra 10 pages, I made two new pages using the code source from what I had saved. So now I have my complete weight loss chart, and year of Curves chart they kept as well. So glad that wasn't lost.

On sad news Lela's been nauseated since the convention. So we got her some anti nausea over the counter medication and she ate a ton of fruit and some Popsicles tonight. I think I will buy some more Popsicles tomorrow. We really like the Philly swirl ones.

Well tomorrow I get to meet Doctor Jensen, so I better hit the hay.

A Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window...bugs, lots and lots of bugs.

I am thinking...of the wonderful meeting we just had.

I am thankful for...elders.

I am remembering...all my pregnancies.

I am hoping...to really like Doctor Jensen.

I am creating...a butter yellow crepe maternity skirt.

On my mind...all the new strawberry plants I just bought.

Noticing that...I have a ton of stuff to do.

From the kitchen...beef stroganoff.

One of my favorite things...new releases.

What I am reading...latest issue of Country Woman magazine.

Picture for thought I am sharing... 

Pattern I'm using for my new skirts I'm making.