Breezing through summer...

  Here are the first 11 jars of homemade salsa...turned out beautifully.  Fresh tomatoes, jalapenos, bell peppers, onions, garlic, cilantro--all from the garden. A bit of cumin seed and sea salt, and VOILA!  I will make one more batch before it's all done. That should get us through the winter, I hope.  It was a little labor intensive. For some reason, I didn't get out the food processor, simply loved the morning of peeling and chopping and cooking it until it was ready to can and go into the water bath canner.  I'm pretty happy with the results.

  The jalapenos were hotter than hell. I took a small bite to check and (without seeds) it nearly burned the skin off my tongue !!  (NOTE:  I love hot peppers and eat them all the time)  So, I put a minimal amount into the mix, and saved the rest for two jars that are marked HOT.  Someone in my life will talk about how things are never hot enough for them, and I will award them a jar of 5 alarm barnburning salsa. Then we'll see what they think. LOL

  The peppers are still coming like crazy, and I have already frozen 20 quarts of slices.  I am going to stuff and freeze some, with perhaps a wild rice mixture, or maybe a sausage and vegetable...I don't know. Any suggestions??

  I have canned tons of tomatoes and dried more. I have dried onions and Romas and fruits and okra. I have also frozen a lot of okra, and it is now producing enough fast enough that I will be pickling some young pods any minute now. I also have about 25 pounds of garlic that I am going to dehydrate some and pickle some whole cloves. It is winding down though, and I may not get much more green beans to can...maybe a few for some lovely dinner dishes...

  I have not been making it to many meetings..once a week, sometimes. I am working 4 hours every day of the week. And with the canning and all, I am running out of daylight. I know th9s is temporary...and then I will get back on  schedule.

  Alright. Time to post a few pics and then head out to the garden. I have one last load of laundry in the dryer to fold and then that is done for the day. I got bread made yesterday and some of the canned goods put away. I am going to have to enlist the help of my renter and get my pantries cleaned out and straightened up.  Maybe later this week, we can get that done.  Maybe....*grin.

  Here are a few pictures of the bounty...some may have been posted before, I can't think...

  Namaste.

Another day in the life...

  Just a quick post this morning...I am off to a funeral about 2 hours south of here. My darling sister-in-law's mother passed away and we will lay her to rest this afternoon. A sad  day...and a wonderful woman who will certainly be missed.

  I've been very busy trying to juggle my new schedule with all the garden work that is happening this time of year...been up early and late canning and freezing and drying the bountiful harvest from the earth. Yesterday I canned tomatoes and okra, diced tomatoes, pickle relish, freezer pickles, tomato juice and baked bread.  For the moment, there are absolutely NO vegetables sitting on my center island that are not in jars!!!  It's a miracle, I tell ya !!  lol

  The weather has let up a bit, still hot but not so much stifling humidity. I was surprised to see that yesterday's heat index was still 102...didn't seem so bad after 110.  lol Had a little rain early this morning...

 I still have some errands to do before I hit the road... a dryer full of clothes to fold and put away, chickens to feed and dogs and cats to see to. Won't take long, and I will be on the road by 10.

 Life and death...my niece Skyler is having a hard time losing her grandma...she called me and sobbed..I just want my granny to come home, she said. I am the closest thing to a grandma she has now...she is 7. This is one of the most beautiful close knit families I have ever known, and they will help each other through this hard time with love and support. Their mother raised 4 beautiful strong daughters and has been the guiding light that has kept them all close.  She will be missed...a loving woman who always made me feel part of her family. Finally free of the arthritic body and pain she has known for a lot of her later life.  ON her way to the next great adventure, wherever that takes her...

  Okay--I'm outta here.  Don't forget to tell the people you love that you love them. You never know when the time will come that Creator calls you or them home...

 Namaste.