Friday, June 14, 2013

How to get 10,000 page views, Salmon berry jelly, dirty little secret, fabric hoarder

I hit a milestone this week.  10,000 page views on this blog.  It took 5 years and 254 posts but I made it. 10,000 page views.  It probably would have happened sooner but I lost a lot of readers when I changed URL's.

Nuff bragging..
Jimmys Mom was here for a week.  It was  a delightful visit. We spent most of our time eating good food and just chatting. DD's Pico was a big hit as usual.  Maybe she will give me permission to post her super secret  recipe here.... someday.  I doubt it  though. She guards it  like Precious cuz it always makes her the most popular person in the room.  I wouldnt give that up either!   We stopped eating and talking long enough to make 2 batches of salmon berry jelly and one batch of blackberry/ cranberry jelly.  Jimmy and I have been  diligently gathering salmon berries  for the last month.  They are a delicate berry that look like raspberries  but taste very citrus-y.  They are also sparse, so we had about 10  sandwich bags in the freezer. One for each berry picking walk we took.   While I was digging through the freezer  to make sure I didn't miss any, I found  two 1 gallon bags of black berries from last year that had somehow been overlooked.  I also found a  bag of  frozen cranberries left over from the holidays.  I have 2 dozen or so jars of jelly now ... and a big plus?....I now have room in the freezer.
When it comes to berries I always make jelly instead of jam.  Those tiny little seeds wreak havoc with my dental work.  I put them in the blender and then  run them through  a super fine strainer.  What I have left is more than juice.  Its very thick and pulpy and makes a rich flavorful jelly with lots of body.  The season is upon us.  In WA state the salmon berries come in  in late May/early June.  The raspberries  and strawberries  get here in late June/early July.  When the raspberries finish in early August the blackberries  suddenly ripen and they are everywhere  until the end of September.  My plan this year is to have a jelly making day at least once a weak until all the berries, plums,apples,and cherries are completely harvested.

More home decorating.  The day after Jimmy's Mom left , I made two giant floor pillows  to add to my 1920's (ish) living room.  These were cost effective because I used three yards of fabric that Jimmy  bought for a Halloween costume three years ago and the two big fabric stores in town  are having competing sales, so I got a 5 pound box of fiberfill on the way cheap.  I still have half of it left so I will probably be making a few more cushions.  You can never have too many  throw cushions.

With all the sewing I have been doing, my fabric stash is getting really low!    I almost panicked when I saw how low it was getting.  Now you know my dirty little secret. I hoard  fabric!  I think everyone who sews does this though because fabric is so expensive.  When I find a piece that I like, at a price that I like, I always buy a length, even if I have no immediate plans for it.  I take any and all give-aways as well.  It pays off.  I might not go near the sewing machine for a couple of years at a time but, when I do it becomes compulsive behavior.  I cant just make one apron, I HAVE to make five. I cant just make two  cushions, I have to make ten. One skirt becomes three.  Maybe it is because sewing is so messy.  If I already have the machine out and the fabric stash is all over the room ..........I might as well make everything  right now before I put it all away for another year..... 

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