WEDNESDAY WORDS 4

Ashley, our pumpkin girl

I like to bring this picture out every October.  Ashley was 7 months old when Laurel plopped her in a pumpkin.  It looks like she thoroughly enjoyed it, even grabbed the lid on her own!

I spent a couple quiet days at home, trying to get rid of this cold.  I feel fine but am still coughing and blowing my nose.

On Tuesday I took care of the rest of the ripe tomatoes.  I've given away many boxes of them and made a batch of tomato jam for Howard.  Now I have a few containers of chopped tomatoes in the freezer, ready to add to some hamburger soup, or make into another batch of jam!  I'll add the recipe in case some of you have extra tomatoes.  Or you can save the recipe for next year's crop.

TOMATO JAM

12 to 15 medium tomatoes

2 cups white sugar

1 small package lemon Jello

Blanche tomatoes in boiling water, put in cold water. 

Peel and cut up enough to make 3 cups of chopped tomatoes, with juice.

Boil for 10 minutes in a heavy kettle.

Add 2 cups of sugar and boil for 10 minutes more.

Remove from heat and stir in lemon Jello until it is dissolved.

Pour into jelly jars. ( I poured the jam into my 4 cup measure first to make for easier pouring.)

Seal with wax or store in the fridge.  Makes four small jars.

This recipe came from Aunt Beatrice Pederson.  A jar of this jam was often her Christmas gift to Howard as she knew how much he liked it.

When I was taking a picture of two of the jars of jam and my crust of bread and jam, I decided to take a picture of some of my carrot crop too.  There are six bags of carrots on the table and I gave a bag to Jodi and Laurel too, plus there are still some out in the garden.  I planted them in a wide row and covered the newly planted seeds with moist peat moss. The rains and fertile soil by the foundation of the old barn did the rest.

Now I'm going to eat that crust of bread and jam, along with a glass of milk.  Then I'll start packing up the Escape and head to Estevan this morning.  Our accordion group plays at St. Joseph's this afternoon at 3:30 for their monthly birthday party.  Tomorrow evening at 6:30 we play at Creighton Lodge.  The last Thursday of the month they have a KFC supper with entertainment to follow.

On Sunday evening and during the night we had 3/4 of an inch of rain.  There were dark clouds to the north and reports of heavy rain, hail, lightning and thunder between Torquay and Estevan.  We were just on the edge of it here.  I did hear some rumbling and there were small hail on the deck but mostly just rain at the farm.

Howard has had to stay off his foot this week as it is still swollen from the fall he had in the garage last weekend.  X-rays showed no broken bones so that was good.  

I'll be back to the farm on Friday.  I'll take my computer to Estevan on Sunday so then I will officially be moved, although I'll be back and forth, at least until the snow flies!  We hope that isn't too soon.