Jalapenos
2:27 p.m. - 2010-08-11


So far I have finished the applesauce just in time for the spouse to pick all the Italian prune plums. I tried making jam with those last year but that didn't work. This year I am going to get the dehydrator down and make prunes.

Holy cow, my hands are burning. I forgot to wear gloves when handling the peppers for the pepper jelly. I made apricot/cranberry/jalapeno jelly, and it was very tasty but didn't set up completely but is of a thick saucy consistency which will be fine for pouring over cream cheese. Next I made pineapple/jalapeno jelly, and it is still hot, so the jury is out on whether or not it will set up. Next I made regular green pepper jelly with regular peppers and jalapenos, and I followed the recipe exactly, no 'except for' about it, so will wait to see if THAT sets up before I form my final opinion of the liquid pectin product. I never have any problem at all with the regular powdered pectin, but maybe i just don't have the right touch with the other stuff. All recipes for pepper jelly that I have seen call for the liquid pectin and say NOT to use the powdered. Oh well, it only has to get to a saucy consistency to be useful.

In knitting developments, I am working away on a pair of socks for Abby, using that bamboo yarn. For some reason, these socks have been languishing forever, but I am finally turning the second heel. In sewing developments, the piece of batik in purples and green from Fabrix in SF has finally been cut out into a top for Melissa. It is a Duro-type top, so we shall see how it turns out. It is really a muslin for a dress for Melissa, but it is easier to do experiments with a top since it wastes less fabric. I am also interested in making some slips, probably because my mom once told me that making a slip was the first project that they had to do in home ec sewing in her high school days. I am thinking of making a cotton slip using one of the cheap IKEA sheets which has a texture totally bad for sheet use (sort of batiste-like) but good for linings and perhaps a summer slip. We shall see. At $1.99 for a whole sheet, it would be a cheap experiment.

The big excitement this week was a fire down the block. The family that lives there has three of the cutest little kids, so when the spouse, coming back from the store, came in and told me to come outside and view the happenings, I was at first worried about those kids. The neighbors congregated on the corner, watching the action, and the lady from across the street told me that the kids were OK, standing in a neighbor's yard and watching the firemen. And I just have to say, firemen are indeed cute and entertaining to watch as long as the drama isn't too dire. There were fat fire hoses running down the street in front of out house, and when the fire was out, the young firemen had to gather up the hoses, which involved lots of bending over in the street right in front of us, so my friend, the lady across the street, informed her husband and mine that they could go inside now whilst she and I stayed to admire the view. So we were entertained, and the house had no visible damage when I drove by it the next day. Apparently there was an electrical fire in the ceiling that the firemen had to take an ax to, but since the people already had some sort of tarp on the roof anyway, there is nothing to see.

The spouse has given me the Threads Magazine archive on CD with the hope that I will give away the mountains of back issues I have, so, since Auntie M has expressed an interest in them and is coming down for a visit this weekend, I should go try to find all the issues.