Tag: jams

A Day With Nothing To Do
Projects · RV Living

A Day With Nothing To Do

Sewtropolis2 Comments

Last weekend the stars all aligned in the right order and I actually had 2 days with nothing on my calendar!  Raising my boys those days came few and far between – I’m talking years!  But now it seems they come along every few months and when they do I bask in the glory of a day with nothing to do!

I started my day baking a loaf of Greek Yogurt Banana bread because I had a couple of bananas that were past the point of when I like to eat them and some Greek yogurt (of course)   Then I made a loaf of The Best EVER Chocolate Zucchini bread to use up one of the zucchinis my sister gave me out of her garden.  I found the recipe on Pinterest and let me just say – OMG!! It is SO freaking good!  It has the consistency of cake – I’m sure it’s not good for you at all even with the zucchini, but I don’t care!  I can easily eat the full loaf, which is why I took both loafs to work with me on Monday and shared them with my co-workers.

I also had a gallon bag full of huckleberries my sister had given me a few weeks ago.  I love making jam, so that gallon bag is now 6 jars of jam – some of those jars will become Christmas gifts!  (PSA:  yes, it’s time to start thinking of Christmas especially if you like to make your gifts like I do!)

But the best thing I did this weekend was sew while binging on Longmire!  I love that show and not to give anything away -but one of the main characters (Vic) is now living in a Airstream Argosy motor home!  JUST LIKE ME!!!!  (except I have a Argosy travel trailer – but STILL!!!)  I think it’s becoming a thing!

Back to sewing – I finished my shower curtain!

Really all I had to do was hem all the edges and add grommets.  I don’t know why I procrastinated so long.  My bathroom is starting to look legit.  I think it’s time to renovate!

Anyway, once I was done with the shower curtain I decided make a baby quilt using the left over fabric.  I cut a bajillion 2.5″ squares for this quilt to assemble 49   9-patches.  Once again a quilt I saw on Pinterest was my inspiration.  (I love Pinterest)

I was able to sew this quilt together fairly fast (which seems to be key with me), so next weekend I think I may start another quilt just like it using all my leftover orange and white scraps.

Before you even ask – No, I’m not pregnant and as far as I know, neither are my boys.  I’m learning that not all my quilts have to be queen size.  In fact, it might stand a better chance of getting finished if I make fewer blocks (i.e., crib size).  This quilt will probably end up in my Etsy store once I get it quilted – which is on my list of ‘to-do’s’ this weekend.

Till next week!

Nikol

A Powwow and Raspberry Jelly
Athena · Projects

A Powwow and Raspberry Jelly

SewtropolisLeave a comment

Hello!  What a week I’ve had -so far.  As you know I’ve been staying at the KOA for the past few weeks.  The good news is I love it… the bad news is, they are SO PACKED this time of year that I had to leave for 11 days!  Long story, but when I went to extend my stay they had already booked up and had no room at the inn until Aug 10th.  So I will be staying with family and friends for the next 2 weeks.  Yay for family and friends! 

First stop:  Spokane!  I dropped my trailer off at the Spokane Airstream dealer to have them figure out why there is water leakage under the trailer when I hookup to city water.  Hopefully it will be as simple as tightening a few hoses and won’t cost an arm or leg. 

I stayed with my sister for the weekend and while there she, her friend Shirley and I went to a Powwow in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho – which was so much fun!!  All I can say was WOW at all the color!!  There were so many people that I could not get close enough to take pictures of all the dancers in main arena.  This is the best I could do – sorry – it does nothing to show off how beautiful and elaborate all the outfits were!

  
But I managed to put my brave pants on (pun intended) and ask a couple of dancers if I could take my picture with them.  The one on the left looks all mean without a smile, but he was super nice and was all smiles before and after the picture.  Same with the hottie on the right.

  
My sister and Shirley were giving me a hard time about missing my chance to grab a husband.  So to get back at them, I asked another dancer, who was dressed up in a gorgeous outfit if he would take a picture with my sister.  We nicknamed this guy “Chief I’m Single” because his friend was trying to set him up!  So many missed opportunities! LOL

  
Now onto the creative stuff – In my last post I teased that I would show you how I make Raspberry jam – well, here it goes:  

 Step 1: go for a long walk along the Green River trail where raspberries grow wild along the river!! 

 step 2:  Pick about a gallon of berries!  You will need the extra for your yogurt parfait or smoothies. 

Step 3: enjoy how beautiful the trail is!  

   

   

 Step4:  get down to jam making business!  I used about 1/2 gallon of berries and the juice of one lemon.  I love experimenting with different flavors and since I am planning on giving these jars of jelly away I though lemon would be a safe and refreshing option.  I washed the berries off real good – (I was more concerned with critters than chemicals spray). I then put them in a pot over medium heat with about 2.5 cups of sugar and let it boil for about 10 min stirring constantly!  

  I did not use pectin in my jelly – instead I boiled the mixture until it had the consistency of a thick syrup and then boiled a few minutes more.  Then I laddeled it into sterilized canning jars, covered with a lid and canning ring then boiled in a canning pot for about 10 min.  I found with Jellies you don’t have to boil very long before you hear the lid seal.  Sometimes it will seal even before I put it in the pot! All good signs! 

   

I did all of this in the comfort of my own trailer!  It makes me happy that so far I haven’t had to give up anything but debt by downsizing to a 27′ trailer.