Update No. 061211

Ever notice my updates are the date???

Anyway.

We had 4.58 inches of rain on Friday so to say that gardening has ground to a complete halt would be an understatement.  We spent the day working on the inside of the house instead.  I'm moving my studio supplies etc into the living and dining rooms, with John's blessings, and turning my design studio into a dedicated office/library for myself and my wet studio well it'll be a wet studio once again. 

Rumor has it I ""may"" be able to get into the garden again come Thursday, it's supposed to rain again tomorrow and again on Tuesday.  Rain Rain Go Away... Go to Texas and Arizona where it's really needed, please.

Swine Flu Update

Well I'm recovering, finally, from the swine man swamp flu!  I still have a cough hanging on.  The canning came to a near screaching halt, John took 4 days off from work but the reality is 1. I'm more organized than he is, which isn't saying much btw, and 2. there was way more that needed canning than one person could do alone!  He did get a dozen or so pints of pear butter put up and a dozen or so quarts of tomatoes canned.  I'm feeling better but not by much, a simple drive across town  and back still wears me out and I need a nap just to recover from the experience.  To make matters worse I have a show coming up this weekend and I"m no where near being ready for the event.  More later from the kitchen!!!

Kitchen Sink Bottom

Here's the details from the bottom side of my new to me vintage kitchen sink! Ok dh keeps saying "it is new it's never been installed" Yup he's right!

John Cooking

He's focusing on getting the chicken broth started, after it's done simmering we'll put it in the fridge (he used my hot water bath canner to make it in) and in the morning skim the fat off the top, strain it, then can it in quart jars for soup making etc., this winter.

Starter Pantry Inventory List

This list is by no means meant to be comprehensive but it is a start for a well stocked pantry providing a large enough variety of foods for any and all occassions. -well I'll post it as soon as I can figure out how to put the link here!

Today

I didn't get the freezer addressed but that's ok John has Friday off from work, a four day weekend together he plans to take the new photos of the iceberg to the dealer to see about getting it fixed properly. It's still under warranty so why fight the thing, and I suspect because he's a guy that he'll be able to get the job done right this time.

I spent most of the day updating blogs and have applied for AdSense with Google, could be interesting. The rest of the evening was spent cleaning the kitchen, pulling out the fridge and vacuuming behind it, something that should be done at least once a decade right???

We did decide on putting hte maple flooring in the kitchen, will have to take a picture of the bare plywood, and I'll paint it whence it's in. I've plans to paint the floor in a black and white pattern. the walls will be painted Medici White ~ Sherwin Williams Paint, and the cabinets lettuce green, an nice soft green color ~ Dutch Boy Paint, and the ceiling Friendly Yellow ~ Sherwin Williams.

And since I didn't spend any time in the garden today here's a picture of last years marigolds, which turned out quite pretty.