Monday, April 26, 2010

Crazy Hippie Jelly

Aaron: How does it make you feel that, for your first time canning anything, you made crazy hippie jelly?


I feel great about it! Success! We had all of these violets growing in our yard and I had been wondering what I could do with them, if they were edible, etc, etc. And then I stumbled across this recipe and I knew that I should try it. I am sure my neighbors think I'm crazy. I was crawling around on our lawn for an hour and a half picking flowers while two little chickens followed closely behind.


One neighbor even stood out on his deck and asked if I'd been stung by a bee or something. Embarrassing. But it's good to use what grows around you and come winter, these little pots of sugared jewels will be a welcome reminder of spring.

This recipe was very easy, but the canning of it was a little high-stress. I kept wishing that I had a grandma there to show me how it's done. Not quite sure I mastered it. Are you supposed to put it into the jars while it's still boiling or take it off the heat to fill the jars? Help!

Anyway, I have 10 little jars of violet goodness in my pantry, so I guess I did something right!


Sunday, April 4, 2010

Picnic No. 1: Easter


We decided to go for an Easter picnic at the last minute. We hadn't planned a fancy meal or anything. Enjoying the weather seemed just the ticket. When we got to the arboretum, we were ecstatic to find the magnolias in bloom! The purple-pink flowers are so pretty, but I swear: they bloom for like a day and then look like brown, depressing death. So, it was nice to catch them while they were here.


I liked the bark on this tree.


Elf always thinks the picnics are just for him. They kind of are.



Best friends.



Aaron and I took turns reading one of our favorite read-aloud books: My Side of the Mountain. Yes, we ate cold pizza.

Menu

Pizza, two kinds
Fresh strawberries
Homemade half-moon cookies

Thursday, April 1, 2010

4 Happinesses




1) Oregon

2) Donkey Baby

3) Nice Weather
4) Gardening