Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Getting Busy Again

Today I finished cleaning stuff off the TV stand I gave to Oldest Son.  With a small shelf unit stacked on top, it had become kind of a catch-all for odds and ends of sewing supplies, quilt books and crafty supplies.  Son's workplace is generous with holiday time off - paid, which is nice for him - so maybe tomorrow or the next day while he is home we can drag the stand down the hall to his apartment.

There are a couple of bags containing ham bones defrosting in the fridge.  Son picked up two of those bags of mixed beans for ham and bean soup and the beans are soaking in water until morning.  Tomorrow I'll boil the bones, remove the ham and simmer the soup all day.  After we have had a couple of meals of it, I will can up the rest.

There are four gallons of cranberries thawing in the fridge.  Once the soup is simmering I can start cooking the berries up to make cranberry juice to can.  Son brought me 50 lbs. of berries this past fall and I need to get them out of the freezer.  It is full right up to the lid, mostly with cranberries.  There are probably all sorts of good things down in the bottom of the freezer, underneath all those berries.  The only advantage I can think of about having a less than perfect memory is that you get surprises now and then.  Like when you find out what is at the bottom of the freezer that you forgot was there.

There is a reason for this burst of energy.  I really want to spend some guilt-free time with my sewing machine, and that is a bit hard for me to do when I know I should be doing things like making cranberry juice, especially since I have put it off for so long.

I have always enjoyed sewing since my mother taught me more years ago than I care to think about.   I was listening to my granddaughters talking about the latest fashion trends - the ones with the hefty price tags, and I had to smile thinking that they would be horrified if they were clothed the way I was at their ages.  I don't think I had a store bought dress until I was at least a Junior in High School.  My mother and I sewed nearly all of my clothes and when I think back, I had some really nice things to wear.  We didn't shop for clothes, but for patterns and fabric.  I don't sew clothes so much any more, for the prices of patterns and fabric have gotten so high that it no longer pays.  But I do love making quilts and that is what I am looking forward to working on.

Just as soon as the last gallon of cranberries is in jars and on my shelves in the form of juice.

15 comments:

  1. We had beans and ham bone two days this week. Yum!

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  2. Gorges...That's one of my favorites, too. I almost always make a big batch so there's enough to can a few jars.

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  3. Mom made lots of my clothes growing up, Vicki. They were great. I got a speeding ticket for sewing too fast in high school home ec class. By then I had been making some of my clothes for a couple of years. I don't remember ever buying a dress, ever. I like the ones I make a whole lot better than the ones on the rack at the stores. Happy quilting!

    Fern

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  4. Funny that you are fixing up ham and beans today, as I got our ham bone out from Christmas and set the bones to soaking yesterday also. The wife will fix up a big pot today for us also. That along with a big hunk of corn bread will make for a great meal to welcome in the New Year. Not that I'll be awake for bringing in the actual New Year as I will be asleep well before that.

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  5. A speeding ticket in home ec class...now that's funny, but I understand it. By that time I had been sewing clothes for a few years, too. Your comment kind of got me fired up to drag out fabric and patterns from my stash and add to my wardrobe. I detest shopping for clothes, but can spend hours happily sewing. It is such a shame that kids aren't taught skills like this any more.

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  6. Jim...Ham and beans along with cornbread is one of my favorite meals, too. I hadn't thought about it being a meal to ring in the New Year. I guess because I haven't gone out to celebrate the New Year in, well, years. Too many amateur drunks on the loose to suit me, I suppose. Being a bit of a night owl, I will probably see the New Year in with a cup of hot chocolate, party animal that I am. :)

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  7. over at 'five acres and a dream', leigh has a recipe for cranberry jelly. it looks yummy.

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  8. Deb...I've been looking for a cranberry jelly recipe, but most call for other ingredients like oranges and are more a traditional cranberry sauce. I found the recipe you mentioned and it looks really good and just what I had in mind. I will give it a try. Thank you.

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  9. Cleaning out my chest freezer is on my to-do list for the next week. I am sure I'll have more then a few surprises...comes with the age, right?
    Wishing you and yours a very happy and safe New Year. I celebrate the ringing in on east coast time. I haven't rung in a new year in my time zone in ages. Cheers, SJ in Vancouver BC Canada

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  10. Happy New Year to you, too, SJ. That's a good way to do it....ring the new year in via east coast time! Although the very last place I would want to be on New Years Eve is Times Square in NY. Large crowds are not for me.

    Sometimes those surprises can be good and sometimes, not so much. I'm hoping for a chicken or two and maybe a package of pork chops, but I probably will find a bag or two of stuff that has been there so long it is unrecognizable as food. I swear that after I die and my kids are cleaning out my apartment, then and only then will all those thing I have put away for safekeeping surface! Ah, well. Keeps life interesting. :)

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  11. Mom, you would be proud. We are making ham and potato soup today, from leftover Christmas ham. Got to love what you fine on Pinterest.
    Today is a day we'll be taking down the tree, packing away all of the ornaments and decorations and cleaning. Each of us has a list of things we want to get done today, or at least need to get done today. It's a house cleaning day.
    We hope 2016 is good to you.
    Love,
    David

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  12. Son...I am proud! Good for you, making soup from leftovers. It sounds delicious.
    Looks like you have a busy day ahead of you. Give Staci and my Grands a hug from me. And a Happy New Year to you all. I pray this year will be a good one for us all.
    Love, Mom

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  13. I had ham bone and bean soup tonight. Some of that I made a week ago and froze. Given the temps outside are in the teens, it's a good night for soup!

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  14. There is something wrong in the universe when Minnesota is warmer than Georgia!! Near 0 degrees and below are predicted for the weekend, however, so I expect it will be either soup or chili for me then. Both good cold weather foods.

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