Gardening and canning.

Wow today is the pinnacle of un-productivity, got absolutely nothing accomplished and from the looks of people I encountered it looks like the whole towns day was the same way.  But as promised a list of things that I need to can this year. 

This is my garden, five tomato plants, two canning, three salsa and sandwich. And eighteen little cucumber sprouts, they worry me being so small still a month old and only 4-5 inches tall,

This is my sad but growing Early Girl tomato plant with its two baby tomatoes, the other one is just as sad and only has one. They need cages soon; the stakes aren't working that well anymore. The Rutgers and the WI 55s are still little though just starting to flower.

Next year I 'm looking into heritage varieties,  not to sure about the tomatoes yet but a variety of cucumber, the Snow's Fancy Pickling was developed just down the road from where I live so it seems fitting, so that will probably be going in next spring.  With any luck in an expanded garden.

But these are my two plants so they are the corner stone of my preserving this year and the apples we will get from the local orchard.  I'll be putting up lots of tomato sauce if the plants are agreeable.  I use so much and would love to cut it out of my store purchases at least half of the year.  And pickles, something my partner and our niece’s love, me not so much but if it makes them happy, I'll slave over a hot stockpot for them.  The apples are my favorite part of the list, lots of applesauce, quite a few apple butters both 4oz & 8oz, more than a few apple jelly both 4oz & 8oz, and a couple apple pie fillings I think. 

Then quite soon I need to find a good cherry recipe because the local market has them cheap by the pound and they look great, and I looove cherry jelly, preserves, pie and everything else you could think of.  Lemon curd will be essential too, I want to gift some out so I'll need both 4oz & 8oz.  These are the must haves if I do nothing else this year, not that I'll be content to settle for this but it makes me feel better to know that my bare minimum is.

Lists, lists, lists

It's a funny, I always write a list pretending that it will guide my day, even have a daily/morning routine.  But for some reason whatever’s on my list doesn’t get done, however I got a hundred things that weren’t on today’s list done, so it’s not a total wash.  Today’s job was to clean the entryway, really, probably the easiest job in the house. Since it’s so small it’s a matter of

·         Take cardboard downstairs

·         Take aluminum out

·         Rearrange coats rack

·         Clean AC

·         Wash floor

·         Deal with cat food mess

A grand total of ten square feet tops.  But nope, not for me, it looked icky and boring, so I did everything else to avoid doing that. 

The kitchen is amazing, cans all crushed, dishes all done (This is a huge sticking point I did four loads plus hand wash dishes) fridge cleaned, sink cleaned, countertops shined, and cookies for a supervisors goodbye party cooling as I speak.

Laundry got done, four loads of that only a load of delicates and a load of miscellaneous left.  And my closet got cleaned, finally gathered some things that can absolutely go, found my canning supplies and decided to make a list of things I want to and need to can this year so I’ll be posting all that in morning.  All of this to avoid cleaning a space smaller than an average powder room.

Tomorrow I will clean the entry, and when I’m done I’ll post pictures. Every day I get a new space cleared I’ll post pictures of that to so I know not to let it get back to being too bad lest I have to share my shame with the world.

I am a housewife.

A housewife seems to have its definition neatly laid out, a wife who keeps house, or more eloquently put by the dictionary,

– A married woman who manages her own household, especially as her principal occupation.

And I’m sure that definition works great, but something about that word pulls at me, that it’s bigger than that.  I’m not a wife, not by the standards of the state or IRS, but I think arguing semantics is not the point here and truth be told I’m not that good at housekeeping either.  The dictionary also says that homemaker is a better word (even Microsoft word wants me to change it), as housewife can be used offensively, and granted it’s a good word I’m sure, but it’s not the word that calls to me.  I am a housewife for better or worse, when I can say that, even just to myself I know I’m where I want to be. So I do the dishes, and the laundry, keep my apartment as clean as I can stand and cook not as much as I would like, and far more than I should.  I’m a wannabe homesteader, though I only have one garden growing two things at the moment (neither of which I eat).  I’m a techie with 50’s sensibilities, a country girl in love with makeup and fashion that I can never figure out.  I dream of construction projects, and learning to knit and crochet, designing wonderful chainmaille everythings, a serial procrastinator with perfectionist tendencies, and a carnivore with sugar fueled compulsions.

This is who I am, These are things that do not change, and today I’m okay with that. But today I’ve also decided to work on the things that can.  So I want to start here on this blog, taking more pride in my home, working towards a healthier life, and finding out what I want for the future.

I want a place to share what I learn, and receive ideas from those generous enough to share them, about life, home, self, and everything else.