Adventures in Canning

Hello!

Andy and I have spent a lot of time this summer picking food out of our garden and perusing the aisles of various farmers markets. Which means that we get a lot of fresh produce, very often. We have more peppers and tomatoes than we know what to do with. So what do we do with them? We can them!

So far we have made dill pickels, canned tomatoes and salsa! We've eaten some of the extra salsa and it was delicious! It's really exciting to have a supply of food if armageddon comes. Canning is exciting and easy once you get the basic steps down. Laura was nice enough to get us a wonderful canning book that explains the steps in basic language.

Here is a photo montage of our pickling and canning tomatoes efforts.

Consulting the canning literature while the pickling spices steep.

That's a lot of cucumbers! Turns out, it was too much cucumbers.

Andy looking pretty with our fresh dill flowers.

Canning tomatoes all shiny and clean! Ready to be skinned and chopped!

Andy filling jars and adjusting headspace.

I am a Consumer Whore

It's been done. I've done it! And I'm not taking it back (hopefully). I purchased an iPod today. A little blue Nano. I'm still thinking of a name. Lil' Blue didn't like my laptop, or my laptop didn't like the new iPod. So I've set it up on my desktop and everything works fine.

I have discovered the vast and fascinating world of PodCasts. So far tonight I've listened to Garrison Keillor tell me about what exciting things happened this day in history, and I've seen how to cook an asparagus omelet. It's quite exciting for me to discover these things. My reading might be slowed down now.

Speaking of reading! I've discovered a most wonderful author, Michael Chabon (possibly pronounced: Sha-bone). As of today, I've read 2 books and 1 novella by dear Michael, and I've loved, loved each one of them. It's so great! I'm also currently reading H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds and it's great as well! Books can be so invigorating.

Hopefully this little iPod will help me block out the annoying noise of people on the train and I can relax more on my way to work. I'm looking forward to listening to new and exciting Podcasts and possibly learning something new.

This week I have a Wednesday night bike ride planned, which will hopefully be well-attended and fun. Then over the weekend Andy and I plan on doing a little anniversary camping down south. Possibly visiting a familiar Red Wing coffee shop and getting our frequent buyer cards stamped. Good things!

The Life and Times Book Review

Hey! Since my daily commute takes about an hour of bus and train rides I've been reading a lot. I enjoy reading very much, so this has been a delightful predicament. Here are some of the most memorable books I've read. We'll start with my favorite!

The Complete Collection of Sherlock Holmes (In Two Handsome Volumes), by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I happened upon the complete collection at Half Priced Books for very cheap in two delightful and the most handsomest volumes I've ever encountered. I was at first wary of these stories as I'm a fan of more modern writing. How wrong I was though! I've never been so enthralled with a set of stories since Harry Potter. These are some of the most intriguing and exciting stories to read. One of my favorites is the novel A Study in Scarlet, which is the first of the stories. Currently I'm reading The Memoires of Sherlock Holmes. I recommend these stories to anyone who enjoys a thrilling story and a challenge to an inquisitive mind.

The Undercover Economist, by Tim Hartford
This is an enjoyable book uncovering the mystery of economics. Overall, this is a fun read. I feel as though I understand how the world works better. It would be satisfying to see some economic policy that actually worked and would help to get us out of this is maybe "recession." The examples given in the book are more understandable than my Econ 1101 professor's Oreo and Milano comparisons.

The Final Solution (A Story of Detection), by Michael Chabon
This is a cute little novella about a mute little boy and a very old man solving the mystery of a stolen bird. It's a terribly cute novel and when I found out that the author thought of the old man as an incredibly aged Sherlock Holmes. I was inspired by this novella to read Sherlock Holmes. It is very well written and each description is hilarious and detailed.

The Optimists, by Andrew Miller
Generally when I read a book I get something good out of it. I like most books, I'm not too picky, usually books I don't like are more "eh" than "I might want to stop reading." I really wanted to stop reading this book. It made me angry, it wasn't good, it didn't make me happy, it didn't make me think, it didn't make me feel anything other than boredom. The main character didn't do anything and the writing was boring. If I looked at a map of London, I would probably be able to trace the steps of the main character, because the author felt it pertinent to name every street this poor soul walked down. It was annoying, and unnecessary. As is this novel.

Rule Number Two (Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital), by Heidi Squier Kraft
This is an excellent memoir of the author's time in Iraq and the terrible things she had to work with. As a professional psychologist she not only experienced the war first hand, but she also listened to many other experiences. It is a really moving story and it makes me thankful that we have such wonderful people over there supporting each other.