Farmer Nan

Did I ever tell you that I used to be an amateur farmer? I spent every summer of my childhood with my grandparents on their farm and that was no vacation from school! We had to work, but Grandma and Grandpa managed to make the work a lot of fun and we learned a lot, too. We learned how to grow vegetables and flowers, how to control pests, we became expert weed pullers and harvesters. I remember one summer when we were planting a corn patch. Grandpa went along the row first and dug a small hole. I came behind him and put four corn seeds in the hole. My sister followed and put two pumpkin seeds in and Grandma covered the hole and watered it. We were complaining how long it was taking and Grandpa said "See that last hole over in the corner? Your lunch is in that hole." That meant that we couldn't break for lunch until we were finished and that made us go much, much faster. I think Grandpa helped put seeds in so we could catch up. Then we spent the end of the summers canning and freezing what was left after they sold some to make a living. Grandma also grew about a half acre of flowers that she sold to local florists.

When my ex-husband and I moved here to the mountains in 1991 we had a large garden every summer. I froze or canned all we grew, and in a house with no air conditioning it was a hot, sweaty job. I did most of it by myself, with some help from Fred when he wasn't traveling. After we divorced and I moved to this house I decided that a large vegetable patch was too much for one person so I just have a small raised bed that I put a few things in so I can have fresh veggies when I want them. Otherwise, there's a produce stand near the Post Office I can go to, or our county Farmer's Market on Saturdays is incredible. I believed that my food preservation days were over.

OK, so I have this friend, Nan. We've known each other for around forty years, so we have a lot of history and have shared some incredible adventures. You know? I'm sure you have a friend or two like that. We can almost finish each other's sentences. She lives in the eastern part of the state in a little community called White Level. Before she met and married Chris she was sort of a "city girl". Then they gutted and remodeled the house that was his mother's and they moved in and now she lives in the middle of nowhere.

They planted a large garden this year. In a recent phone conversation Nan was a little overwhelmed with all that was coming out of the garden and she didn't know how to freeze or can anything. She had a pressure cooker but was afraid to use it because she heard all the old horror stories about them blowing up and, at least, destroying a kitchen or, at worst, killing someone. She didn't realize that a lot of safety precautions have been built in to the newer models. Plus her little Virgo self was petrified of botulism. I explained on the phone how easy it was to freeze food, but she was still apprehensive. So, being the WONDERFUL friend that I am, I volunteered to go down there and show her how.

The big, scary pressure cooker

Before I got there she consulted with some neighbors and ventured out on her own and froze some yellow squash that couldn't wait for my visit. I think what she really wanted was a hands-on demonstration on how to use that scary pressure cooker.

I arrived on Friday afternoon and gifted her with my well-worn copy of "Stocking Up", the bible on how to preserve food in all kinds of ways. On Saturday morning we started canning tomatoes. First you sterlize the jars with boiling water, then blanch the tomatoes (again in boiling water), skin and core them, then pack them in the jars. Add sterlized lids and put the jars in the pressure cooker and cook according to directions. Easy peasy. We did twelve pints of tomatoes.



Before



After

She also has these beautiful purple hull peas and figs coming in, but we didn't get around to doing anything with them.

Except eating the figs.. Nan made an appeizer with them on Friday night - she cut them in half, put a small dab of goat cheese in the center and added a little piece of proscutto ham on top and put them under the broiler until hot. Yum! Their fig bush wraps around two sides of their house so it wasn't like I was depriving them of any and I was able to leave with a large bag full. I stopped at my sister's house on the way home and traded several of them for some chicken parmesan that my BIL made. Good trade!

It was a lovely little trip and by leaving on Friday and returning on Sunday I missed most of the holiday traffic on the roads. I'm glad to be home. I'll be spending the next couple of days listing more of the things I found for the GREAT STUDIO CLEAN OUT AND STASH PURGE.  I still have lots of goodies that you might be interested in.

Listing, Listing, Listing

I've been spending lots of time listing all the studio treasures in my shop. For days now, I've been listing. I hate that it takes so long to photograph and list each item. For this Great Studio Clean Out and Stash Purge I'm not worrying too much about taking Grade-A pictures. I just want to get the stuff up there so it will find a good home. A few things have been mailed out today, but I'm surprised that this

 hasn't sold yet. C'mon! You can't get a better deal at $20.00 for a sterling silver bracelet. I actually have four of these.

This carnelian stone set into a cast sterling silver pendant is still around, too. This one is only $35.00 and is ready to hang on your own chain or cord.

I've listed about 20 things so far and I'm not even half way done, so go see if you can find a bargain or two for yourself! It's never too early to shop for Christmas, you know.

Listed So Far

Here's some of what I've put in the shop so far. (I just realized that the Etsy Mini above will change every time I add a new item! How cool is that?) Click on any item to be taken directly to the listing. I hate that it takes so long to list each one! I have so many more to go. Keep watching!

The Great Studio Clean Out and Stash Purge

I got up early this morning and started going through boxes and drawers in my studio. I'm really excited about this and I found SO MANY things that I'm going to put in my shop to share with you. So far I've found and cataloged nearly 50 items that will be included - some of them individually and some in groups - and I'm not done yet. A small sample is shown above, just to get you started. It was raining this morning and I had to wait for some light before I could take photos. I'll start listing them tonight and continue until they're all up there. I created a new Shop Section called "Components, Studio Stash" and everything will be there. There will be something for everyone - pieces and parts for those that want to make their own jewelry as well as some finished jewelry and pendants that you can put on your own chain or cord. And, you won't believe the bargains! Let's get this party started!

Extra days and the Stash Purge

Pinks from my garden

OK, so my schedule on paper and the one in my head are all out of sync this week. I had written down that I was supposed to work in one of the galleries last Sunday, but it turned out that I was not on the schedule for that day. I have no idea why it was written in my personal calendar, but I was happy that I didn't have to go in and work. Then, I did work on Wednesday of this week (yesterday). I like to sign up for Thursdays if I can, so I went about thinking yesterday was Thursday all day because I was at the gallery, and I woke up this morning to realize that THIS is Thursday, so I've gained another day. It's like that "Groundhog Day" movie, except I'm going to be doing different things today than I did yesterday.

This orchid started blooming last January (see the snow on the ground outside the window?). It STILL has lots of flowers on it!

This has been a strange time for me in that I've not been producing much, if any, new jewelry. The health stuff and the family issues have thrown me for a loop, and I have a pretty good inventory right now. (Mainly because people aren't buying much silver jewelry, but that's a whole nother story.) And, with silver so frikkin high I don't want to be buying any supplies right now. So I tell myself I'm on sort of a sabbatical, but in the meantime I'm not bringing in much money. THEREFORE...


Today I am going to start working on the Great Studio Clean-Out and Stash Purge.  I've been reading Kate McKinnon's and Andrew Thornton's blogs and they're the ones who inspired me to do this. I have so many bits and bobs and pieces and parts that I know I will never use. Some I made and some I bought, but it's all good stuff. I'll start today going through things and photographing them and then I'll list them in my Etsy Shop in the hopes that someone else will put them to good use. I've been hoarding some of these things for a long time and if I list them for what I paid for them you'll be getting some really good deals compared to what they would cost you today. Watch this space for previews - I'll be posting photos here and on my Facebook Fan Page as they're listed.

Cautiously Optimistic

Today has got to be one of the most gorgeous days on record. "Chamber of Commerce" weather. 74 degrees, light breeze, not a drop of humidity. A perfect day for washing windows and drying sheets on the clothesline. And a good day to update y'all on my health condition. Quietly. With no fanfare. I have not had a hive in over a week. Shhhh..... don't wake them up!

The weekend before last I was in the Emergency Room with my face swollen up like a basketball. My bottom lip was touching my chin. As far as I know I hadn't done anything different except take some ibuprofen, which I hadn't taken in several months. (I used to live on ibuprofen when I was on the couch with a bad back.) The Useless Allergist I saw back in March said to avoid it because some people were allergic to it and at that point I was avoiding anything that had the potential to cause an allergic reaction. That day I think I just grabbed the wrong bottle and didn't think much of it until I had to drive myself to the hospital before my eyes swelled shut and my throat closed up.

The ER Doctor gave me Prednisone, Benadryl and two shots of Epinephrine and I was still swollen. The sweet nurse put me in a room with a door so I could sleep off the Benadryl and kept bringing me warm blankets. After five hours, there was talk of another shot of Benadryl and of admitting me, but I protested. We agreed on a third shot of Epinephrine and a promise to take more Benadryl when I got home. They sent me home with a 6-day pack of Prednisone and an EpiPen. It took almost two more days for the swelling to go away completely.

So for the next few days I'm on Prednisone and feeling like Superwoman, but crying all the time - that's just how it affects me - and the hives were suppressed. I got a lot done. I finished the Prednisone four days ago and I haven't seen a hive. Now, I'm weaning myself off the other antihistamines. Keep your fingers crossed! And toes! And anything else you want to cross for luck. I'm trying to stop running to the mirror every time I have a little itch to see if it's a hive. I'm not going to celebrate for a while yet - at least until I get off the antihistamines for awhile. Shhhh.......

Notes from the Lane

First, here's my little acrobat. She decided she needed to check out the view from the window at the very top of my house. She jumps from the floor to the counter to the top of the refrigerator to the top of the cabinets. I get very nervous when she does that!

I picked the first strawberries the other day. Not very many, but they're oh, so sweet and juicy right off the plant.

Whoa! I don't think I'll be going in my shed any time soon without looking around REEEEAAAAALLLL good before touching anything!

This is Alvin. He lives under my back porch. He likes to stuff his little face with bird seed and bring it back to his nest. It's his purpose in life to torment Lola, and he's doing a fine job.

A hillside of ferns in the dappled light. Don't you think there's a city of fairies under there?

The wild laurel is starting to bloom.

And the flame azaleas. Although, they're losing their flowers because we've been in a heat wave.

A view across the river. The picture just doesn't do it justice. There's not enough green in my camera to capture it all.

Fred and I planted this Frasier Fur in the early 1990's. It was probably only 4 or 5 feet tall when we bought it with it's root ball wrapped in burlap and used it as a Christmas tree for a few weeks, then planted it here. It must be 20 feet tall now.

That's it from my little corner of the world right now. Summer is here in full force - it's been really warm. Too hot for this early in the year. But, the wild roses are blooming and the world smells like a Victorian boudoir, so who can complain? If you look at the gorgeous pictures above (and remember to click to enlarge) you see why I endure the harsh winters here. This is what it's all about! It's paradise.