The Mennobrarian

In and Around the Very Busy Home This Week

10:10, Tuesday, September 16, 2008 .. Posted in Homemaking .. 3 comments .. Link

This was the busiest past couple of weeks I can recall since planting time. There was church business to tend to right in the middle of canning. Also, my poor husband stuck his foot through a ceiling panel while installing an attic window, creating a huge hole and creating a mess. Even worse, it was the ceiling panel right over our bed! On Saturday evening I used muscles I never knew I had to hold a drywall panel in place while my husband nailed away. It was appallingly hot here this past weekend- a page out of midsummer. Our clothing was soaked through with sweat, and we must have looked awfully humorous (and extremely dirty) standing on dual ladders as we nailed this heavy panel in place.

With our first frost date less than a month away, I am trying to hurry and harvest whatever is out there in the overgrown, declining garden. And of course Spring bulbs are on my mind, and winter sewing sneaks in there somewhere, and then Christmas is coming....(which reminds me, I'll be doing a Christmas giveaway on October 1st, so watch this space.)

But you get the point, it is just hectic.

We also have to plan a trip out to Ohio next month to pick up our wood stove. This will help out greatly this winter as we have an endless supply of wood. Work is still progressing in the room that will be our bedroom.

In the Kitchen: In the midst of pickling peppers, canning that corn relish from our corn, and preserving left and right, I attempted to make stewed tomatoes for my husband. Now, you might find this strange, but I've never made them, never ate them, and none of my cookbooks have a recipe for stewed tomatoes. Even my vintage homemaking books from the 1950's lacked instructions for stewed tomatoes. (And you would think that a book containing a recipe for stewed prunes would follow through with a tomato variation, but no.) So, if you have a treasured stewed tomato recipe, please pass it on. Thank you.

On the Table: Something called "Cheeseburger Meatloaf" which contained relish, mustard, ketchup, and cheese, homemade buttered noodles, corn and cabbage salad, peach crumb pie.

In the Garden: We're still getting quite a few large tomatoes and peppers, but things are definitely slowing down. My zinnias are still blooming bright and pretty in the front flower garden, but the wilted sunflowers tell the real story.

Something Helpful: When I was trying to downsize a recipe from an enormous quantity to a more manageable one, I found this online recipe adjuster to be extremely helpful!

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05:34, Tuesday, September 16, 2008 .. Posted by haflinger
Ok Monica time to have a cup of tea and put your feet up..Oh I do know how heavy Sheetrock is. You poor woman,and what a mess that must of been.

All the canning you have been doing will taste good this winter. Well they are calling for killing frost on Thursday night and Fri for most of the state. Its that time of year here. And yes we do have a very short growing season. We are always thankful for what ever we can harvest on time. I love watermelons but can never finish them off.

Well time to get supper my friend..
Brenda

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10:13, Tuesday, September 16, 2008 .. Posted by gabbie427
I wish we had a garden this year to be able to can such wonderful goodes! Ah well....next year!! We have already found a friend who will loan us the tiller, and we are making lists of things we want to plant. Now we will ask a friend or family member for a piece of land, and we will be set!! Oh, and then I need to learn to can. LMSO I watched my mom do it for years, but never really paid much attention and learned. So I can study up before next year.

God's Blessings,
Amy Jo

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07:21, Thursday, September 18, 2008 .. Posted by CitySteader
I had to laugh about your hole in the ceiling! When my hubby and I were newly weds, he too put a hole in the ceiling while in the attic, and it was right above our bed too! I just laughed and laughed at him with his leg there hanging above our bed like that! Those sheet rock panels are HEAVY!!!