catching up......

Ok so it's been almost 2 weeks since I have posted anything here. There has been lots going on and time to sit and blog has been minimal but today maybe a little time can be set aside to share. I have been continuing to do my preserving and as much as the last several days I have not, I will be making some pear vanilla jam today. I was blessed to be able to visit a friends home and she has a pear tree that is filled with pears! I managed to snag 2 small bushels and will make the jam hopefully today and then plan to can pear halves with the rest. This year so far my root cellar is filled with strawberry and  blueberry jam along with blueberry syrup, pickled garlic scapes and pickled beets, spicy honey mustard, peach jam, peach chutney and peach halves, red onion relish, whole tomatoes and tomato sauce. It's always a lot of work but the rewards in the cold winter months is well worth the effort put forth in harvest time.

my root cellar so far.....

I have also been drying some herbs in my new herb dryer from Lee Valley which is exciting for me. I haven't dried herbs before so as much as I'm doing it very simply it's still fun to do. So far I have only done sage, lemon verbena and rosemary but it's a start. I have some more to dry and will try to make time for that today too along with also those pears halves if I can squeeze that in! And maybe walk the dog and some yoga for me.....and I have an appointment at 1! I can see that my day is filling up as I write!

We have been continuing with our house renos and are picking out tile flooring this week. We have holidays in October and our main goal is going to be laying the tile! Yikes! It's a big job but I have confidence in my partner that she can do it and I will help wherever I can. It is going to transform our space and is going to look amazing! Our goal is to somewhat have the renos completed so that we can start entertaining our friends by the holiday season. It's been a long haul but so well worth it. I have lived in my home for 20 years and it needed much updating and now I can be proud of it once again. I can say it fell into a deep sleep for a while and now has been awakened not unlike so many other areas of my life. It has been a year of transformation.

Blessings to all,

Maggie