This post has a number of different things. I thought everyone would enjoy them.
The above are sad pugs because they only have a few old plush toys left. Garm has torn most of them up and just about all that was left was the "Packer Doughnut". Ugh - he's no fun! Then, Yeah - Mom finally shelled out for some new toys! Garm was trying to decide what to tear up first. Thea is playing it cool.
A view from the living room window. In the fore ground are impatiens in the window boxes and spilling out of the Main Garden are phlox with heavy heads from the rain. Next is Great Blue Lobelia that flowers in the Vegetable Garden. I don't know how it got there. Probably the compost. But it is a welcome late bloomer since most perennials are winding down now.
Here are some more late bloomers that are so welcome. I'd forgotten I'd planted them. I really should put some late August flowers in my perennial garden - it looks pretty dull towards Autumn.
I snapped this at night and the flash lets you see the fish much better than in daylight. They are so lovely and graceful I could watch them for hours. They will come up to the surface and seem to beg for food. It's just too cute!
Now this is weird! I'll bet you can't guess what that ultra bright spot is. I was trying to take a picture of the gazebo when a mosquito flew in front of the camera and got caught in the flash. Doesn't she look like a tiny plane??***********************************************
Now the rest of this blog is:
How I Made Jelly From Queen Anne's Lace Flowers!
Deemom on S&DMartin 1971, had a recipe for making this jelly. It was very simple and I was intrigued so I thought I'd make it this weekend.
Get everything ready and go out into the stifling heat to pick..
18 of the large flower heads. (Right now there are only small ones growing, so I had 36 little heads.)
Watch the Swallow Tail for a while and try to get a decent picture of him without sweating onto the lens.
Get back into the air conditioning and steep the heads (after I rinsed the critters out of them!) in boiling water for 30 minutes.
Strain out the liquid to 3 cups ....
Add lemon juice, pectin, and sugar and boil hard for a couple minutes. Add a little yellow food coloring, and ....
pour into jars then ....
put on some Martha Stewartish (I know that isn't grammatically correct) lids. Isn't that lovely?- It's a good thing :-)
Process for 5 whole minutes then place on the garage floor on a plastic cutting board to cool .... Later, when they can be picked up without giving you 2nd degree burns, arrange them artfully, creating a jelly table scape ......
on your counter top after clearing away everything you really keep there. Stand back and admire your handy work! The color is like honey and the taste is quite good - sort of lemony with a hint of grass or something. (Neither Steve nor I could really pinpoint the other taste.) I'd say it was a complete success.
I forgot to put the following picture towards the top of the blog and it's too much trouble doing that now. It shows the shelves filled with the pickles we canned last week. All of the supplies, spices, instructions, rings and lids are stored there. Steve made the shelves and they are perfect.
Behind them is a room that the previous owner built that is very small but it hides an old furnace that was too big to remove from the house when he replaced it. It would have to dismantled piece by piece and taken up steep steps so it comes with the house. The next owners will inherit it too.
It's super sturdy and I just love how it looks - kind of like something you'd see in Granny's basement. Wouldn't you agree?
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Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.
Henry Ford
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Bye for now,
Alyssa
