Saturday 30 June 2018

We're Having a Heat Wave...


And so, after a little musical interlude... we are indeed, having a heat wave. I personally don't mind it, but I know a lot of people tend to melt in these circumstances and find it difficult to function.

I'll begin by saying that I made a small batch of strawberry jam about a week or two ago. This year I did some things differently. I did use my own strawberries, but as I mentioned previously, they weren't stellar. I decided to use liquid Certo. Usually I use the packages of powdered Certo, so we'll see if this is any better (when I try the jam in the winter).

Have any of you tried the liquid before?

Trust me, it doesn't change the indecent amount of sugar you use to make jam.
That's only part of the sugar required.

Here are the berries before being cooked with the sugar and Certo. One other thing I did differently was using this:

Instead of using a potato masher to crush the berries before cooking, I just put the berries in a big pot with the sugar and Certo, then once everything was mixed up nicely and starting to heat up, I used the hand blender to mash up the berries. I think it might make a more consistent jam with smaller bits of strawberry.

I've already given away two small jars to co-workers as an end of the year thankyou.


This morning, before the extreme heat set in, I set to a task that has been bugging me, but I've been stretched in too many directions and have been to exhausted to get to. Our front walkway to the porch:

What a mess! I had weeded it much earlier when Spring first arrived, but the weeds and some perennials have been growing pretty steadily in the cracks ever since. So I grabbed my trusty kneeling pad, a big bucket to throw the weeds into, and my handy slicer that gets between the cracks.

With sweat literally dripping off the end of my nose, shifting between kneeling, standing and bending, squatting, and sitting on my rear end, I worked my way down the path until it looked one hundred percent better. I even tackled a few weeds in the beds on either side of the walk. I massacred my fingernails in the process. I am NOT a high maintenance woman with manicured nails. Quite frankly, they are still slightly stained from strawberry juice and previous weeding.
But they really took a beating with this job.

However, after a quick sweep, things look so much better. I even shared a moment with a hummingbird just a few steps away at the hummingbird feeder.


Husband and I ended up having a dip in the pool in the afternoon and again with the "kids" after supper when everyone was home from work.

If you have any doubt how extremely hot it was today, here is a picture of Samson melting on the concrete bench in the shade.


His face says it all.

20 comments:

  1. I use liquid Certo, and I do like it; I also use the crystals, but I think I prefer the liquid.

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  2. It's nice to know that there are other women out there with 'garden' hands and stained fruit nails.

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    1. Oh yes, a manicure would be lost on me. I once had gel nails - during the winter when I wasn't doing any yard work. I found them awkward.

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  3. Oh...you are so cute about the nails and strawberry stains! I do have a trick with that unwanted stuff in between pavers...sprinkle the grass/weeds with salt..plain old table salt. Everything should dry up and you can scrape it away without having to dig. I hope it works for you...we are in different area with different probs!

    Heatwave here, too. Storms coming tomorrow and I hope that helps to end it.

    Jane x

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    1. I worry that the salt might leach into the perennials and shrubs on either side. Not a problem for you?

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  4. Heavens to Betsy that was a lot of hard work, the weeding I mean! Path looks terrific now though. You can give yourself a hearty pat on the back!

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    1. I loved your "heavens to Betsy" - an expression I heard a lot growing up.

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  5. Replies
    1. He is handsome, the same as so many other identical tabbies to him.

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  6. Happy Canada Day! Your walkway is a job well done! Lucky you with a pool in these unbelievable temperatures; lucky co-workers to receive a gift of your jam. ... Mary-Lou =^..^=

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  7. I have not made preserves of any sort since I lived in Lake County! I'm trying to remember how I strained the elderberries. OMG, my elderberry jelly was to die for. Keep up the good work, and don't fall for any claims you can reduce the sugar and get the same result. All you reduce is the amount you eat, if that concerns you.

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  8. I've yet to make a batch of strawberry jam, but will do so (probably more than one batch) soon. I've never used any "thickener" in my jams and always reduce the ridiculous amount of sugar called for. Granted, my jam is on the runny side, but if it doesn't slide off the toast, I call it good! Hubby hates a thick jam anyway so it all works out.

    You did a FANTASTIC job on the walkway, beat up nails/fingers/hands or not. (You'll just have to cancel your hand modeling job for the upcoming week. That's what I always say when anyone notices my hands during gardening season.)

    Wouldn't Samson be cooler on any other surface rather than the heated up concrete?? Silly cat.

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  9. I'm like Samson. That's what happens to me in the heat :)

    Happy Canada Day!

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  10. Yep...Samson and me...melting in the heat.

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  11. My grandmother never used Certo in her jams. It was just fruit and sugar. She would taste the mash and usually ended up using much less sugar than our more modern recipes. Some jams had some apple in them for natural pectin. Did I mention she won a multitude of ribbons at the Peterborough Exhibition?

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  12. sorry about the excessive heat. We still have 'June gloom' every morning, at least. It runs out of time today, but usually it's 4th of July before it leaves for good.

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  13. Your walk way looks fantastic. I need to do a little weed-it duty, too. It is really hot here, too. UGH type of hot and humid.
    I bet that jam will taste just great! YUM! xo Diana

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  14. LOL his face does say it all. We have had a hot hot hot spell this weekend here in Chicago land area. There was some rain that moved through just a short time ago which did cool things down a wee bit. Nice to get rid of some of the humidity. Have a great start to the new week.
    xoxo
    Kris

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  15. We are into a unprecedented heat wave here in Maine. We are beginning a week of ninety degree weather. Some summers we have an occasional day or two near ninety, but I don't remember of a solid week. Most people in rural Maine don't have air conditioning. We can usually manage a couple of warm days by opening the windows during the night to cool off the house then closing windows and shades during the day.
    But a week of day temps in the nineties and nights in the seventies - we are not use to this.
    Winter is coming - soon I hope.
    the Ol'Buzzard

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  16. Lizzie doesn't go out but she has the same pose and face as Samson these days. Hot, hot, hot. That's a great idea about using the immersion blender on the jam. Very smart! I have to harvest basil and herbs but like you, I'm in serious weed hell. And it's too darned hot! Not complaining (after winter, I said I wouldn't) but observing a LOT these days! (And I loved the video!)

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