Sunday Scripture...

Psalm 27:1

 

It's My SIXTEENTH Blog Anniversary!...

When I typed out my first post on March 15, 2009, I never in a million years thought that 1) I'd have a single person interested in anything I might have to say, and 2) that I'd still be at it SIXTEEN years later!

What I've found is a loving blog family, built through all these years of sharing my thoughts with you, and you leaving daily comments for me, too. I admit there have been days when I've seriously contemplated shutting this all down and fading off into the sunset. You've all been so kind to me, and encouraged me to keep doing what I'm doing, so here I am.

Well, I can tell you today that I still have a thing or two to say, and I'm still happy to share my creative endeavors with you. While that remains the case, you can count on me to continue to write my daily posts.

So to celebrate, beginning Monday, March 15th and ending Friday, March 21st, I'm going to post a giveaway each day. If you like what you see on a given day, simply leave a comment on that blog post to be entered into the drawing for the item(s) in that day's post. You can enter once per post, but you can enter every day. Comments on this post will not count toward drawings that start on March 17th.

These are not "domestic only" drawings either. It doesn't matter where you live, but if there are tariffs or taxes due, the winner will be responsible to pay those.

Come back on Monday and I'll reveal the first giveaway item. I'll reiterate the terms each time, so I hope you don't get bored with that. If I don't already have your address, winners will need to get them to me. If I don't receive an acknowledgement from the winners within two days after the winners' announcement, or I'll choose another person in their place.

I'll choose winners on Sunday, March 23rd - after the drawings close - and then announce all the winners on Monday, March 24th. PLEASE be sure to come back on Monday, the 24th to see if you've won.

I sure hope you're as excited as I am! See you Monday for DAY ONE!!!

Jammed...

Handsome got his wish. Yesterday, we processed the strawberries I picked up from the delivery truck on Sunday. These strawberries were hauled north from Plant City, FL and they're delicious! 

I stood and cored them on Monday, then bagged them in two quart batches to make life easier on canning day. All I had to do was dump them into my Kilner pot with the SureJell™ pectin, and once that mixture came to a boil, add sugar. It had to come back to a boil, and cook another minute to be ready to pack into pint jars. The jam was processed in a water bath for ten minutes and then removed to cool on the counter.

I purchased sixteen pounds (24 pints) of strawberries. After they were cleaned and packaged, I had four two-quart batches (plus another four cups to eat fresh). I processed two batches at a time, and we ended up with just shy of nineteen pints of jam.

This morning, they'll be labeled to put away. I'll have to rearrange the jam shelf in the pantry a bit to accommodate all these jars, too. Of course, a few will immediately be gifted, but I won't need to can strawberries this summer. I'll be able to concentrate on something else from the garden or local market instead. 

I think it's time for my morning coffee, accompanied by a small bowl of fresh strawberries and cream. A nice start to the day, don't you think?