I can can.

For my first canning attempt ever I decided to water bath can some BBQ sauce. So I got my stuff together.

What exactly is "liquid smoke" anyone know? Do I want to know? How do you make smoke liquid? The science of liquid smoke wasn't the weird part for me. The weird part was pouring in the molasses. A few weekends back I was at work and helped a fellow RN give a warm milk and molasses enema. Pouring the molasses into the pot of tomato sauce was kinda unnerving.


After I made the sauce I kept it simmering while prepping the water, jars and lids. Everything has to be 180 degrees F to prevent thermal shock (AKA glass shattering due to rapid temp changes). When everything was ready I poured in the sauce put the lid and ring on and got to boiling water. Because I have a pressure canner I left the pressure control thing off so steam would just escape. Around 10 min later I shut it all off, removed the lid and let them cool for about five more minutes. As I was getting ready to transfer the jars to a wood cutting board with a towel (to prevent thermal shock) I heard the lids one by one POP. Success!
There they are five jars of home made BBQ sauce ready for the pantry.

Next up: Pressure canning when I have something to actually can.

Speaking of cans thanks Uncle Jason for being such a good example to my son.

It's here! It's here! My pressure cooker/canner is here! Just in time for a test run before we start harvesting and canning our excess. Yay! I'm totally terrified of the canner since I've heard lots of horror stories about pressure cookers. Eeep. The giant warning notes on the side and top are not helping. An All American 21 1/2 Quart pressure cooker/canner. Got it off of Amazon. This thing weighs a ton. There is no way I'm gonna be able to fill it at the sink and transfer to the stove.
Mom is happy and so is Jack because he got a new toy in the form of a box. Nice muscle tee dude.

My first attempt at canning will be BBQ sauce. I got a great recipe off of allrecipes.com that has been approved by Travis. I'll make a huge batch, can it and no longer have to buy pre-made sauce. No crazy ingredients I can't pronounce. No HFCS (happy Carolyn?) and no preservatives. I know I could just make the sauce everytime we grill but we grill a lot and I don't always have the time to make it. This way I'll take the time today and have it redily avaliable for months on end. Just reach in the pantry and grab a jar.

Since I have the time I'll update everyone on the garden. The weather has been a bit hot but so far the only thing that has suffered are the hydrangia.

I love colorful stuff.
Still getting artichokes. I will be attempting to can these soon. Beans. Yup, I'll can these. Can you see the wall o' floweres behind them? Love it. Don't know what this is but it's edible and it looks cool. Chances of canning this? Zero.Zuccini squash. Yellow squash. Corn! Lots and lots of corn. I will keep these in the chest freezer on the cob. These are our "volunteer" sunflowers. They are huge. Some are red, some yellow and some are a mix. Good stuff.Peas. This type is not the kind that are shelled so any excess will be frozen. I know we have the other type but I haven't seen any action from them.
Blueberries. These are along the path where the clothesline is. I will hang clothes, turn around and eat them. I think that's the coolest thing ever.
Of course tomatoes. We will make our own tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce to can for the winter with all our extras.
There is more stuff in the ground like watermelons and soy beans but they aren't showing much. When they do I'll promise to share.

The projects never stop

Thankfully I'm the type to actually finish projects. Last Friday, it was the master closet. Once again I forget "before" pictures but here's kinda what it looked like.


Imagine that black rack holding lots and lots of pants. I had hung closet shelving in the laundry room closet before back when I was pregnant so this was nothing new.

When I was a kid my not so handy step-dad would hang things up in the house with plastic drywall anchors. He never took the time to figure out what could and could not be hung with those anchors. I remember lots and lots of holes where drywall anchors used to be and things coming out of the wall with anchor still attached to the screw. Good times. Since I did not want this happening with my closet shelves I opted for this:
It's a toggle bolt, referred to as the "cadillac" of drywall anchors. More often than not the wall gives way before the bolt does. The nerve racking thing about these, if you've never seen them, is the size of the hole you have to drill in the wall to use it. That bolt above requires a hole this large:

The first time I used one I read the directions four times because I didn't think I was reading correctly. Nope, you need a hole that big to get the bolt in. Jack is also amazed at the size of the hole.So, you put the bolt on the screw leaving enough room for the bolt reach the back side of the drywall.
Then you just pop it it. Literally, you wait for the "pop" of the bolt opening up on the other side.

FYI, if you mess up in anyway after this point the bolt is long gone. Pulling the screw out isn't gonna happen and unscrewing it from the bold will result in the bolt falling down in between two sheets of drywall.


Install the shelves. Curse the guy at Lowe's for not cutting the shelves to the proper length resulting in a gouge in your wall. Then remember that spackle is your friend.

Admire your curious child and his giant cloth diaper butt.

Put everything back and jump with joy as your closet looks somewhat more organized.

Turn around and realize that your bathroom is now a disaster.

In this house...

...mom is not afraid of a mess. This is why I don't get puree baby food. At this stage food is for learning not the base of his nutrition. Babies this age still rely on breastmilk/formula for nutritional needs so why bother with puree? He eats what's on my plate: whole green beans, whole peas, sliced banana, sliced avocado, bread, edamame, applesauce, zucchini, pasta, rice, pinto beans, pita bread and broccoli. Why should I pay for puree food? He won't let me spoon feed him, he wants to use the spoon himself so I give it to him.

P.S. That plate is a set of four plastic plates that I bought at Goodwill for $1 each. They were new from Target. How could I tell? They still had the Target clearance tag on them that read $2.38. I saved $5.52, yes!

Room project + impulse buy = long post

I got the new Windex Outdoor Window Cleaner the other day. I was hunting around at Wal Mart for ammonia and saw it. Earlier in the week Trav had complained about dirty windows so I picked it up.Now, before anyone complains about Wal Mart let me just say that my mom worked in the pharmacy (not a pharmacist, mainly stocking shelves) for years and liked it as much as you can like a retail job. She came in at 5AM and they let her clock out every morning to pick us up at home and take us to school. Can't argue with that.

On with the impulse buy. I like it. Worked really well. Now, I just have to figure out how to make my own refill. The problem is finding a detergent that leaves a "streak free shine" because not having to squeeee/dry windows was nice.I don't care for ladders.

Now on to the good stuff. The sewing/reading/play/family room. Previously it was the sewing/guest room but we really don't have out of town guests over and Jack needs a place to play where I can get stuff done. I also need to not have a TV in the room or I end up turning it on (I have little self control). Travis thinks kids should not spend all their time playing in their rooms and I think a family space is important so this was my solution. I have no "before" pics because I forgot. Sorry. Just picture a sewing table, bookcases and a high, black 1930's bed sitting in the middle of the room.

Here's my sewing table flanked by two bookshelves. Travis bought the table and stool, his aunt and uncle gave us the bookselves. They don't match but I'm not one to turn down free stuff. On the left is some of my fabric. On the right is notions, books (for me and Jack) and photo albums.
Two nursing caps, one from LVN school and one from RN school. Bonus points to anyone other than the Jollyewe who can tell me which hat is which. All my essential mamma books. The nursing texts are in the office with the other boring stuff. Under the table is the luggage I scored at Rescued Treasures.

The vanity case is for knitting.
The smaller suitcase is for patterns and quarter flats/fat quarters (whatever you choose to call them).
The large case is filled with vintage linen. I clean out Goodwill of all sheets, pillowcases, tablecloths with a 1960's or 1970's print or embroidery.
These yummy fabrics I bought on Monday will join the rest.The big sewing project for this room was this wall hanging I made for Jack. Hung at his level so he can touch, feel and play with a basket of stuffed animals to the right.Two more baskets. One has toys and the other has the many blankets made for him by Great Grandma Chapin. The gate is up to keep him out of the bathroom since he now enjoys throwing stuff in the toilet. Can't forget the sleepy dog, Manny.Mamma's spot complete with laptop, bowl of edamame, my fuel of choice (I don't like coffee) and a fat cat warming the seat.
There is also a mirror to play with. I kept the bed but put it on the floor Montessori style. I lay on it to read or knit. Jack climbs up, down and naps on it.


I hung ten paper lanterns hanging above the bed. Honestly, I think that's my favorite part.

Hope you enjoyed the room tour!