Saturday 2 September 2023

Saturday, September 2, 2023

 I've been somewhat MIA lately. We have had family from out of the province staying with us for a few days. Prior to them coming, we had to get two spare bedrooms ready for company. If you are like us, or if you have a "project husband", you may use a spare room for storage, the place where crap goes to live that you think you can't live without but you don't have a proper place to put it.

As well, materials from an unfinished upstairs project were living in one of the spare rooms. Dust and detritus from the project had created a coating over pretty much everything in that spare room, so plenty of putting things back (into the garage), even a little purging (yay!!), and a deep cleaning was in order. 

There has been plenty of egg collecting and garden harvesting. August was incredibly wet and not consistently hot, so things grew and grew and grew. Every day the hens get some bolted spinach or lettuce, sending them into a rapture of excited clucking.

I have baked two kinds of zucchini muffins (which were consumed whilst the out-of-towners were here) and two kinds of zucchini loaf. I still have lots of zucchini left. That might be tomorrow's project for me. I can just freeze things for some other time. I have already frozen some shredded zucchini as well.

Today, I decided to make pickled beets. These are not my favourite. I prefer hot cooked beets with butter, salt, and pepper. But husband and daughter's boyfriend love them. 


Here is a great big pot of them, ready to boil. I wash them, cut off the tops and bottoms, and cut into chunks. Later, when I run cold water over them, the skins just slip right off. 


It only made four jars, but aren't they a beautiful colour? This is the stage at which I poured the hot syrup over them and put on the lids. They aren't done with their water bath yet.

Whilst the company was here, husband took advantage of extra hands (i.e. 3 young strong men and one older, but still strong husband) to bring a giant tank out of the basement. It is scheduled to be purchased by someone this coming Wednesday. It was an ordeal getting it out of our very old basement.



Only one finger injury and one snagged shirt ensued. There was a great deal of sweating, stopping and starting, reconfiguring, swearing, placing of mats on the floor, getting soaked from the rain when it went from front porch to carport, and then finally victory. 

This is the beginning of the long weekend in Canada. Monday is Labour Day. For thirty-one years, I would have been already getting my classroom ready, and experiencing that combination of excitement and anxiety as a new school year is about to start. Like that old Bits n' Bites commercial, you never know what you're going to get each year, a "whole new ballgame". ( I hope this link works)

https://www.google.ca/search?q=old+bits+n+bites+commercial&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-ca&client=safari#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:9719b280,vid:MJLF6hQGZwk,st:0

 Sometimes new students would arrive (AFTER you have labelled everything, created a seating plan, and figured out you had JUST ENOUGH hooks on your coatrack), and sometimes there would be a shuffle of students. 

But alas, it is now someone else's task to prepare for a new school year. Yes, I will still do some supply teaching, and that suits me right now.

Did you see the "blue moon" the other night? We stood outside to look at it, and son said, "It's not even blue. It should be blue." That made me laugh, because I don't even know why the term "blue moon" was adopted (yes, I realize it is the second full moon in a month, but did the term happen first and then the expression, or did the expression precede it?).

I love this time of year with the purple and yellow colour combination in my beds, the crickets chirping, the pre-fall feel in the air. I hope you all have a contented weekend. 

29 comments:

  1. Those jars of beet pickles look beautiful! I've got a raised bed full of them and am waiting a bit longer before making pickles (which I love). Meantime, I pick a few for us to enjoy at supper every few days.

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    1. Isn't the colour pretty! I only planted two small rows, but they did well.

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  2. I love the color of the jars of beets! I haven't had pickled beets in ages, but I did like them as a kid. I doubt my husband would eat them, though!

    We're enjoying the subtle change in the season. Fall in South Carolina is really beautiful and I'm looking forward to it.

    Happy Labo(u)r Day weekend!

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    1. Ha ha, thank you (and yes, there is a "u" in labour) :)

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  3. First, congratulations to those fellows for wrestling that tank up and out to the carport. Hooray for the season ending abundance of produce and hen treats. And congratulations on using zucchini to a good end. And pickling those beets!

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    1. Wow Joanne- you are definitely heading up my cheering section! Husband was so incredibly happy to get that tank out of the basement!! Could never have done it without the help!

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  4. Lovely beets! I'm with you, much prefer plain beets to pickled, so I make some of each.
    I had to laugh about your clearing project! I just did the same in my ebay room, to make room for an air mattress for our weekend visitors. This winter my goal is a total purge of that room to make room for a full size bed. We shall see if it is even possible.

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  5. We love pickled beets. I grow a long variety especially because of that! Easy to slice, however thick.
    You have really been in action.. nothing like impending visitors to spur things on

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  6. I love pickled beets but have never made my own. They do look lovely.
    You must be feeling happy getting things cleaned up and also getting rid of that huge tank., Always make use of extra hands, especially if they're family. I make a list before mine arrive lol It's so satisfying to get rid of rubbish and have everything fresh and clean.

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    1. Ha ha, is that the running joke, don't come see grandma or she'll put us to work?

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  7. Your spare rooms sound exactly like ours! Except we're finally down to only one!

    I think I've only made pickled beets once. Like you, I prefer them boiled with butter, salt, and pepper. But they're a nice addition to the winter diet, no matter how they're served.

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    1. I've had beet salad in restaurants where pickled beets are served on arugula with goat cheese and maybe walnuts? sunflower seeds? Don't remember, but it was good.

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  8. You have been busy and much has been achieved. I prefer my beetroot roasted and will be roasting one from our allotment later today.

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    1. Daughter and her boyfriend like them roasted as well.

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  9. I love beets any which way I get them. I have an old tank, not used, owned by Hydro and they won’t pick it up. I am alone and have no one to get rid of it, so if I really want it gone I will have to pay “got junk” to come and remove it. So it sits in my junk room/laundry room. My newer/smaller tank is in furnace room, a much better place for it. Have a wonderful long weekend, the weather is beautiful. Gigi

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    1. I laughed at "junk room" because we have certainly used that term before. Yes, I'm so grateful for the weather - so very done with all this rain.

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  10. I'm with you on the beets! Love roasted beets, but they take so long. Hubby loves his pickled ones, so I make them for him and slice and freeze plain guys for me.

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  11. I'm not a fan of beets in any form, though I'll eat an occasional pickled one. I'm not sure why, as I know we ate them when I was a child (boiled usually), but I think it may have had something to do with the way they stained my potatoes. :p
    Thank goodness for the extra hands on deck to get that tank out of the basement. it looks like a monster.
    In response to your comment on my blog, the goal is to live part-time with one or the other of my adult children and travel for the remainder of the time. I do know I don't plan to buy another home for myself.

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    1. Ah, thanks for answering my question. I know you do love to travel, especially cruises.

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  12. Zucchini -- the veggie that keeps on giving! Good thing it is so delicious and has lots of applications. I can relate to the guest room/storage area. I'm the same way. Drop in overnights are a cause for panic (and rarely happen); I always need a little notice. But apart from injuries it sounds like a good visit -- and nice to have the help. Enjoy the long weekend.

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    1. We did have lead time before the guests arrived. We would have been fine if it was one person, but it was the second bedroom that made us do a good clean up.

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  13. pickled beets look a lot of work for someone not fond of them. I hope the men-folk appreciate your work; my first emotional reaction to to tell'em make your own !

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    1. Oh, not to worry, my "menfolk" do lots of things for me (the roof of my chicken run for one!, fix my brakes, help carry heavy things, constant upgrading and repairs of house stuff...). It all evens out in the end. I get a ridiculous amount of pleasure in growing, harvesting, and preserving. There's a lot of "homesteader" in me, I think.

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  14. The fruit, veg and herbs that we grow.... grow in abundance. But any attempts at growing tomato, avocado, strawberries and peaches totally fail. So next time you come to Australia, bring me a crate of tomatoes and zucchini, and I will exchange spring onions, figs, apricots, leeks and potatoes with you :)

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  15. The pickled beets are so pretty. I love them but have never grown them or tried to pickle them. Oh, any time company comes I have clean out to make room. My little sewing room has to be turned into a guest bedroom.

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  16. I had a giggle imagining your hens going into Rapture over garden treats! They are treated so well.
    The beets do look lovely and while I enjoy them in many variations, they always taste like dirt to me. Always. :)
    I'm sure you had a lovely time with your company, and now you have two tidy and ordered guest rooms. (to fill up again? That's how it works!)

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