I Cannot Tell A Lie - I Canned Some Cherries

Tuesday was the first summer-like day in NC: hot and humid. What better way to beat the heat than by canning? (*rimshot) Our fabulous neighbors have an incredible cherry tree laden with fruit. Lucky devils that we are, they gave us free reign to pick to our hearts' content. The first project - "Spirited Cherries."


My oh my. That's a lot of cherries.


Welcome back, canning apparatus!!


Cherries going into the boiling sugar/water.


Ahhh... An enormous vat of boiling hot water on an 85 degree, humid day.


Natural born canner.


Bee-you-tiful! Now we have boozy cherries for Manhattans and the like. Next up - sour cherry preserves.

The Harvest Looms

We've been tapping into the lettuce, chard and broccoli for quite some time now. Now the green beans have entered the picture. Before too long, we'll be in sugar snap, cucumber, and zucchini heaven. Here are some updated pictures!


Yellow Squash - nonstop blooms these days


"Where do baby squashes come from?"


The first SunGold Tomatoes of the year.


The peas have totally shot up the trellis. Note 2nd crop down below. The white dust you see is Dipel - a natural "insecticide" that we use on all our tender-leafed plants. It works really well and is inexpensive and non-toxic.


Cabbages are reaching the "head" state. Maybe later this week!


Cucumber is climbing its trellis like a champ and is currently ablaze in yellow flowers.


Had our first bean harvest last night! Delicious!!


The rhubarb has been *loving* the cool, extended spring we've had. Hopefully it will tough it out when the temps & humidity increase.


Dwarf iris blossom


Harvest time! Chard, broccoli and green beans

Happy Syttende Mai!

For all you non-Norwegians, Syttende Mai is Norwegian Independence Day. Can't think of a more appropriate backdrop against which to showcase my latest design.

It's another mod from Sew U. I purchased the Janie patch at The Gay Dolphin (greatest store ever?) a few years ago - and it might be the only worthwhile thing ever to come out of Myrtle Beach, SC. What a hole.

But I digress. Decided to go with the contrast thread and the star-shaped buttons. It has a nice baseball-shirt-meets-gas-station-uniform look. And it's a bit of a tribute to one of my favorite Janies of all time. I'm in love with a-rock & roll woah!

"They've Gone To Plaid!"

Spaceballs, anyone? Nevermind.

Rob liked his birthday shirt so much that I thought he should have another one. I absolutely love this fabric! And, on a personal level, this shirt really marks a step up the sewing growth chart for me. I didn't cut any corners - I finished all the seams (because this type of material will ravel away into nothingness if you don't). It's one of the most professional-looking things I've made and I'm confident that it will hold together after lots of washing/wearing.

Rockin' Some New Duds

I am notoriously bad about buying clothes. The older I get, the more I absolutely cannot stand shopping. And, as much as I love Built By Wendy, I am not about to drop $160 on a goddamn button-down shirt. Luckily, Wendy stuck a few easy-to-modify patterns in her book Sew U. I can debate the merits of the actual sewing instruction in her book, but it is a great source of inspiration for customizing. As she says, she's mostly there to serve as a "launching pad for your own creativity." Here's what I did with that advice.


"Western" style button-down plaid shirt with contrast yoke.




But wait - there's more!

Yeah. That's right. I sewed myself some jeans. I've had this material since my first trip to JoAnn about a year and a half ago. Red tag denim - some built in Spandex (Denim + Spandex = greatest invention ever??), and a little on the shiny side. Figure I'll beat it up a little and take off some of the sheen. I am really proud of these things! They turned out! And they actually fit!


Well, they'll fit once I take in the waist a bit and get a more permanent closure device. Maybe paper clips are the new safety pins ...


You're welcome.

New Garden Additions

To paraphrase The A-Team, I love it when hobbies come together. On Friday, I decided to plant some flowers around the front of the house. A known enabler, Rob (aka Murdoch) constructed two planter boxes for me. Here are the Hannibal-approved results.


Vinca, petunias, alyssum & moss roses


Celosia, alyssum, moss roses, zinnia & gazania

Little known fact: Bosco "B.A." ("Bad Attitude") Baracus was an avid collector of Victorian-era seed catalogs.


Impatiens and lobelia for the shady spots
I'll post more pictures later, as the new plantlings are competing with the dying remains of the daffodils. Not exactly a breathtaking picture at this point.

The vegetables have benefited from equal parts spring rain and bright sunny days. Just a few more weeks before they start producing in earnest.


It's starting to sink in how up-to-our-ears in zucchini we're going to be. Already looking up recipes in the canning books. Good thing you can pickle anything!


PEAS


Cauliflower ... any day now (?)


We've harvested the chard a few times. Delicious and colorful!


So, salad tonight then?


Cabbage - personally, I think this is every bit as pretty as a rose.


Broccoli keep on a-comin'.


Cucumber has a firm grip on the trellis. They won't take over the yard this year! And hopefully they won't topple the trellis ...


Beans in bloom


The unsung heroes of the garden - the herbs. The rosemary is flourishing. AND delicious.


Oregano and thyme also survived the winter and seem to be doing rather well. Not pictured: the volunteer mint patch and the new dill plant.