Wishful Thinking...

 

 Never enough time. 

 

It's been four years, and yet it feels like yesterday.

 

 

I miss you, Dad.

We all miss you.

 

Always, 

Your #1

More For The Pantry...

Two days ago, I pressure canned five large beef roasts for ready-to-eat meals. Each pint jar contains enough meat for a meal for both Handsome and me.

I cut all the meat into large cubes and set the trimmed fat aside. Then, all the meat was browned (3 separate batches) with chopped white onion, and placed in a jar containing our current favorite seasoning, Salt Sisters ™ Tuscan Blend. 

Once the jars were filled, leaving a 1 1/4" headspace, I added the liquid from the browning process and topped off with boiled spring water. Then I wiped the rims with vinegar, placed the lids and rings and placed them into the pressure canner. They were canned at 11 psi for seventy five minutes and stayed in the canner until about twenty minutes after it depressurized. 

After all the jars popped and cooled, I removed the rings, made sure they all sealed and added labels before placing them in the pantry on the "meat" shelf. When Handsome asked me what was on the menu for our evening meal, I told him, "Mashed potatoes and a jar of the meat I just canned." I have a homemade beef gravy blend, so I added that to the juice in the jar as I planned to put the meat on top of the potatoes.

Within a half hour we were sitting down to a complete hot meal, knowing that we have more of the same in the pantry. Another fulfilling day behind me.

I have venison (a gift from a friend), chickens, and a turkey still waiting in the freezer. I'll do those over the course of the summer. For now, the shelf is full and it's nice to know we have options. 

Handsome had a procedure yesterday at the hospital, so we were out of the house and on our way by 5:50 am. Early for us! Even though I took needlework with me, I was a little too preoccupied to stitch while I waited. So much for my intentions. 

I work today, but I may sit down with needle and thread for a while after work. Right now, I'm mentally tired, so I'm hoping work takes my mind off things for a little while. I'll see how I feel when I get home. More on that later.

New Hollyhocks Photos...

I told you the hollyhocks would be magnificent this year once they all opened, and they aren't disappointing. I wanted to frame our front steps with the pretty pink ones that stand against the rail, but look at the rest of these pictures!

Didn't Kaleb do a great job in the kitchen garden? I asked him to leave the ground cover in front of the hostas because they get small purple flowers and smell wonderful. They're sort of a wild sage smell. I looked them up once, but have since forgotten exactly what they're called as I write this. 

One of the things I'm really excited about is that the pipe in front of the shutter on the left is going away soon. The power company said they're bury the line without charge. We just need to hire our electrician to hook up to the underground line they'll bring in. They'll even go under our sidewalk!

So the overhead lines are going away, and with it that ugly pipe over the shutter. The cable at the corner (to the left of the pipe) is buried in the ground, and goes all the way up to the roof where it's attached to our lightning rods. Over the 105 or so years they've been on the roof, only one or two have actually broken from strikes, which protected the house. There are still more up top, and they're intact. That assembly will, of course, remain.

This is what the flowers look like as you approach our back (friends and family) entrance. It's hard to see from here, but waaaay down in front, behind that bright pink plant is a new color!

What color would you call this? It's not really magenta. Sort of a true purple. Isn't it lovely? Mum would like some of these plants, so I may dig that one up along with a few others to take to her garden. I'll be warning her that they're bullies!

The birds love this garden, so I'm refilling the seed feeder nearly daily. On Sunday, a new visitor showed up. We had a rose-breasted grosbeak (male) stop for a snack, but I wasn't fast enough to get a photo to share. I'll keep trying. You do see the hummingbird, though, don't you? It's drinking on the right side of that red feeder. They also buzz around the hollyhocks and over to the honeysuckle, too, while all these blooms are inviting them.

And when I turn toward the Compass Barn, there are still clusters of hollyhocks on the other side of the walkway. I just asked Kaleb to remove those that provided hiding places for naughty cats near the birdbath. I don't want any sneak attacks. 

So there's a tour of all the hollyhocks in their finery. They smell wonderful, and they're a real feast for the eyes, too. I hope you're enjoying them almost as much as I am. 

 See you tomorrow!