Can I Can? ...That is the question.

I think that's the question on the shoulders of today's home-growers. Are we really qualified to can like our grandmas and mothers used to do? I don't feel like I have this tugging at our wallet quite like the Depression, like my grandma did back when everyone canned and wasted nothing, but I still want to do my part. She made it look so easy and that makes me feel a little inadequate on whether or not I'll be successful at it canning. But I'm willing to try, and this week I wanted to try pickling. I mean, we grew the cucumbers, so let's do it!

I was very careful to follow the directions in the Ball Blue Book! That meant clean, hot jars and lids to work with and a large canning pot of hot water waiting in the background.

I think my cucumbers are a little big but I picked every one I could find so I would have the right amount. The recipe called for 8 lbs of cucumbers so we got out the scale and started adding...

...they were so pretty and green...
Chop, chop went the knife into workable sizes of spears.
Here I packed the jars as full as I could stuff them. Sometimes I got a little frustrated and chopped the cucumbers into smaller pieces and shoved them in just so I could win the battle of space inside that jar (I'm not sure you are supposed to do that). Then I laddled the hot brine (vinegar, sugar, canning salt, and pickling spices) inside the jars until the liquid was about 1/2 inch from the top of the jar. The handy blue tool I'm using inside the jar is to squeeze out air bubbles, an absolute must! If there are air bubbles insied your jar, bacteria has the perfect place to grow, so smoosh those cucumbers down all the way around until no more bubbles rise.

The jars go into the water bath for cooking. A water bath just means a big pot of boiling water.

15 minutes later, out they come.

You can see here the bright green jars have not been cooked yet in the water bath. The "dill" looking pickles are completely cooked and ready for storage.

There are a couple of wonderful things about canning:

I love keeping something we grew.

I love that there are no preservatives in this wonderful food.

I love that people appreciate these items as gifts (genuinely appreciate, no faking).

I love that our children are seeing where food comes from and they do have a choice in what they consume.

I love having a full cupboard.

I love actually tasting summer in the dead of winter...it just can't be reproduced!

I can't wait to try these but here's where patience begins...the recipe says to wait 7 weeks for them to cure so I'm not sure our hard work has paid off yet. I'm hoping for the best and I'm glad I'm not getting graded.

I Heart Maine

I'm back from Maine! Wow, what a beautiful city and friendly people. My husband was so sweet to take me around for the afternoon. We strolled (not walked quickly) around the shops without a care in the world. No watch, no time constraint....just us.

The streets were cobblestone and sidewalks were brick. I loved the colonial, American charm.

We ate on a floating restaurant that overlooked the boats bobbing in the water.

Then we walked off the seafood and went to Portland's Architectural Salvage and browsed around. Everything was so cool in there and there was no way we could afford the pretty stuff we really wanted.

Price tag on this baby? About $400 each. Yeah, we just looked around and didn't touch anything.

Off to the yarn shops! I bought this cute kit at Tess's Yarns. It was a darling little shop with everything hand dyed in Maine. This will be my first project knitting with ribbon. So far, it's going well.

It will be a heart scarf or belt and I can repeat the pattern to make it the length I want.

I also bought my first skein of Bamboo (the green skein in the background.) It is super soft like silk/cotton blend. I can't wait to try it out. I love getting things that I can make that will remind me of my vacation. I get fabric and yarn and make something cute out of it. People might comment on the item I made and then I have a little story about the history of the item. Who doesn't love a quick story?

You might remember the pattern I bought a while back. I finally found the perfect fabric for it. I went to a small fabric shop in Portland called Z Fabrics. The owner was there and she was absolutely precious. I showed her a picture of the pattern and we walked around and found this Miramekko design. The pattern print is in proportion for the dress...not too small, not too big.

I love the colors and think it will be a gorgeous dress! Pics of the process to come...

Patriotic Party

And the Patriotic Party Begins!!!!

We had a slight adjustment to the party as the hurricane came all the way up from the coast and visited OK just as our day began. Soooooo, we moved it into the garage instead...no amount of rain was going to damper this party!

Banners up and table clothes down, we set the place up for buffet food, BBQ style.

Ken made a Bacon Explosion for all to enjoy.

Yes, he wove the bacon together and wrapped bits of bacon inside the sausage then rolled all of that together. I think about 1 bite of this is the equivalent of 2 Bic Macs but it's so good! All you really need is one bite, with lots of BBQ sauce Head Country style!
I made these corn cakes out of Southern Living Farmers Market Cookbook (link under Book List).
We were so excited to get the most absolutely fresh corn from a friend and, oh, you could tell! It was sweet and plump with juices.

I made Strawberry/Blueberry Jam for all of our guests to take home as a little token of red, white, and blue joy.

The little girls painted their nails for this perfectly patriotic occassion.

It had rained until about 5 so we don't have pictures of all the guys huddled around the smokers and sopping the homemade rubs on everything but it was awesome. After indulging in the wide array of food, we lit fireworks and enjoyed the cooled off evening. Since it had rained all day, the grounds were damp and completely safe, the air was cool and light, so we were able to sit and relax and share company with all who came.


I'd like to thank all those in the military and their families for their ongoing service. And I highly recommend learning what the founding fathers went through by the series John Adams. It will enlighten you!

Little Bo Peep Skirt

I made these Little Bo Peep skirts for both of my nieces. I got them out of one of my pattern books, Seams to Me. They looked so cute on each of them. I was amazed that my daughter picked out each of the fabric pieces and told me what part of the skirt to put them. I loved watching her at the fabric store and critically going over the bolts of fabric until she found exactly what she was looking for. Oh, no....she's detail oriented like me, and she's only 8 yr. old. Yikes.

She did such a good job figuring out what each of them would love.

These are the side panels and ruffles. There's an elastic waist and fabric sewn on top of the ruffles.

I think she'll wear this one out.


This is the other one I made (along with my daughter's direction) and I don't know how my niece snuck out without me getting a picture but she did, so I don't have this one modeled. I'm sure you can use your imagination!

I love the birds on this one...so vibrant and crisp. Great color scheme and beautiful collections of prints. Way to go, little dear!

Vintage Patterns

I bought all of these patterns at a thrift shop for 25 cents each. It was a steal and I even found them in my size (yyyyyyyyeeeEEAH!). I'm going to paint you a picture of a different era....a sewing era full of talent and the absolute need for many outfits in one day.

Let's take a step back in time for a moment. Back to a time when patterns were 65 cents (full retail) and "Simplicity" was the name of the game.

Everyone woman wanted to be a Vogue woman and walk down her imaginery New York Ave with style (even if she had to make it happen herself).

Of course, after a long day of shopping, she came home and changed into her lounge wear. Once she was finished lounging, she changed into her bed coat. I love bed coats and I think I want to single-handedly bring them back to popularity. They cover up the private parts when you don't have a bra on, and they are not as heavy as a robe.

Those times were so wonderful with style. I'm not sure if you have seen the film starring Katharine Hepburn, where she changes outfits every 5 seconds, but one great afternoon - rent The Philidelphia Story. Oh my goodness, what wonderful clothes and extravagance on every frame of that movie. We are all spoiled on the inside (just a little) so watch this movie like you were a little girl dressing up in anything and everything and demanding all that you want. It's a fantasy movie and it's just delightful.