Strawberry Freezer Jam

It is that time to preserve what we grew.  Here is my favorite way to preserve my strawberries.  Psst… and it’s really easy!

These are some of the strawberries that I have been picking from my garden.

I prefer to blend my strawberries, not crush them.  I am not fond of chunks.  I am pretty sure that this is NOT recommended, but I have had good luck for the last couple of years with this method.

Next, I added the pectin.  Then the sugar.

Once it was completely mixed and clump-free I poured the jam into the freezer jars.

Here is the final product.  I let it set up for a while then into the freezer.  It will stay in the freezer for a year.

Avatar… Yes, Really

I know about all of the hype around Avatar, and how everyone thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread.  That being said, I had no interest in seeing it.  I had to force myself to watch it last night, more than anything I kind of wanted to see what everyone was talking about.  So I did.

Let me just say that I never went into this movie thinking this would be a blogable experience.  But when the movie was over, I knew that it definitely was.

In my opinion the whole movie was about a sence of entitlement and a bigger picture.  When you think about it, it happens all of the time.  Someone thinks that they need something more than the next and it will benefit more people than you keeping it. 

I wonder what would happen if something was completely eliminated because it wasn’t ours to take and we could no longer get it?  Would the world come to an end?  I doubt it.  We would figure it out, because that’s what we do.  We are smart, even though sometimes we don’t always act that way. 

 If a global law was passed that we could no longer cut down trees the world would not end and we would be just fine.  Yes, people would be out of work, but new jobs would be created.  Where would we get printer paper and toilet paper.  We would figure it out, more jobs would be created to figure this out.  Hopefully this would mean a bigger focus on recycling (that’s just one of my hopes).  

I think that sometime we get so caught up in the next new thing that we forget that sometimes all we need are the basics.  We don’t have to keep taking and taking because we think it is something that we need.  I appreciate the practices of homesteading and sustainable living.  The world is not ours for the taking, everything in life is about give AND take.  Just dont forget the GIVE part.

Happenings at my Home

For Mothers Day, I made my Mom this bag.  It was my first non-dress/nightgown.  I lined it with    lime green.  I think it turned out great.  I am going to have to make myself one too!

Addison wanted a garden of her own.  So here it is, there are two of these raised planters.  There is one on each side of her playhouse.  She has pink flowers and red/green peppers growing right now.

My garden has been changed over to raised beds this year as well.  In this picture I have spinach, lettuce, and arugula.  So far I am loving the beds.

So far I have sowed/planted

lettuce                   arugula

spinach                  bok choy

carrots                   onions

potatoes                garlic

The Strawberries are flowering.

Mommy and Addi’s watering cans.

The Crabapple looks beautiful.

The Beautiful Truth

Have you seen it?

The Beautiful Truth is a movie about a 15-year-old boy who wants to find out more about a doctor and his claims of curing cancer.
Dr. Max Gerson claims to have found an alternative way to treat diseases in the 1920’s.  Cameras follow the boy as he proceeds to find out as much as he can about the “cure” for numerous diseases.

The Gerson Therapy is a safe, natural treatment developed by Dr. Max Gerson in the 1920’s that uses organic foods, juicing, coffee enemas, detoxification and natural supplements to activate the body’s ability to heal itself.  Over the past 60 years, thousands of people have used the Gerson Therapy to recover from so-called “incurable” diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.

For me the movie was a little hard to follow, but not hard enough to lose my interest.  It left me wanting to know more about the actual “Gerson method” of curing cancer and other diseases.  I thought it was insightful and it really did make sense.  So go ahead and watch it, I would love to hear your input on this one.

Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day…My Favorite Day

Earth Day is tomorrow and I get so excited when for this one day everyone is talking about what I talk about all year.  I am one of those girls that thinks “Earth Day is everyday”.  I truly wish that everyone would be more like-minded, and I know that more and more people are. But, I will take this one day a year to talk up the environment and how easy it really is for us to make it better.

Anyway…  I will absolutely be watching Oprah tomorrow, as she always has a great Earth Day Special.  I can’t wait!!!  And The City of Redmond is holding it’s annual Earth Day Dry Cannon Litter Pick Up on Saturday the 24th from 10:00 to 2:00@ Sam Johnson Park.  Be there if you can!!!  Check out what you can do to chip in in your community.

Quick Sewing Project

Addi loves to help me in the kitchen.  It is always a little stressful and pretty messy.  I have been meaning to find a pattern so I could make her an apron, but just haven’t gotten around to it.  Little did I know that my friend Ann had one just to fit the little person who needed one.  It really took me no time at all.  Ooohh, did I mention, it is reversible?

Compost Troubles, I Think

HELP HELP HELP!!!

A few days ago I decided to turn the compost pile.  It is moving along very nicely considering it is winter.  I saw some of my beloved worms and some great soil at the bottom of the pile.  I also saw 2 mice that had made their home in my soon-to-be black gold.  I jumped as I do every time I see a mouse, envisioning them scurrying  up my leg.  I was disgusted, thinking of those gross rodents living in my pristine pile.

What to do:

1) Nothing, they don’t hurt a thing.

2) Get the out of the compost.

My questions about them being there:

1) Will they eat my worms?

2) Is their urine/feces harming my pile/worms?

I think I will find a way to get them OUT of my pile.  But before I do that, I really want to hear from you about what you think I should do and what kind of  damage they might cause.

Thank You

Spring is calling my name

Spring is calling my name…and this is how I know

Addi Kay and I took a trip to the back yard.  I looked for new growth and she went to her sand box and “planted seeds”.

Succulents are making a comeback in my yard.

The Pussy Willow Tree is beginning to bloom

And…all of the bulbs have emerged

*sigh and smile*

Reducing Lunch Waste

This year my husband and I have been very good at packing our son a lunch for school.  Of course there is more than one benefit for doing this.  School lunches tend to scare me all together (we will save that for a different time).  Our main reason was to make a conscious change in what we put the food in.

It occurred to me last summer that we would go through quite a few seal-able plastic bags in a week.  I had everything I needed to pack his lunch in a more reusable way, I just had to do it.  I really did wonder if this was going to be one of those great ideas that took off  and later old habits took back over.  Not this one!  We always use reusable containers for lunches now.  I have even cut out all of the box/pouch drinks and switched to a cool camouflage thermos.  That alone made me very excited.  Not only do I get to more closely monitor the sugar going into the growing 6th grader, but I also have NO waste.

You can do this too.  Here are some ideas of things I think might get you started.

http://www.etsy.com

If you haven’t visited Etsy yet, do.  This is a website for people to buy and sell handmade goods.  You can even shop by location to support you local community.  At this website, you should check out “reusable bags”

http://www.builtny.com/

This is a cool company called Built out of New York, making lunch bags fun.  Be sure and check out their many other products.