JCK88

Awww.. C4C, we don't live in museums with roped off rooms. However, pitching stuff you don't need leaves room for stuff you do...so thanks for the reminder. I'm fighting a bit of clutter here, too and it just took me determining to work at it like a job every day until it was done to make it go away. I couldn't believe all the space in the basement afterwards! C4C they won't remember you for your clean or messy house...they will remember you for your kind heart and your love of canning!!

Oh great....LOL I wonder if Stephanie did this because of those pancakes....

"> This is Burnie, the cat who cans. LOL He likes it when I organize storage or clean shelves. He thinks I do it so he can have a new spot. Aside from this, Burnie is the cat who follows me everywhere and is involved in anything that I do in this house. As you see, I was moving over the pears to make room for some apple sauce here. But Burnie had other ideas. I should add here that Burnie is really named General Ambrose Burnside. (My husband named our cats after Civil War Union Generals. Burnie's brother, Mac, is named after General George McClellan.)

You're right about routine.....but don't make it a rut and you'll be fine! Oh..babysteps asked me to give you this:

How exciting! Congratulations to him and to your family.

Vic, He knows you cared. May your good memories comfort you and your family in the days ahead as you and your family deal with the grief. Dementia means you lose your loved one over and over and over. It's so very hard and my heart goes out to your family. Keeping you and them in our prayers. Remember, he's at peace and out of pain now. And he knows you love him. Love is as strong as death. He knows.

LOL! That's why we couldn't tell you! Also, your bog DID show up at first! Then...it got eaten.

Crystal, the best laid plans....at least you still have your sense of humor!

Ah yes, the old moving madness that makes a person declutter--and then wonder why they are moving, LOL That was us some years back when we lived in Virginia--we did exactly what you are doing. Love those totes!

Westie, I sew mine and my daughter's dresses, but not the uniform for dh.

Aw Vic, be careful of that arm. You don't want to get yourself MORE sling time!!!

OH HERE is the comment box. I finally found it. Nice heart flowers, Angela! Your cornbread sounds yummy but would likely kill me...LOL

Awww Stephanie, that pup will have a good home...God's plan. Hugs.

Kathy, not everyone can be in the country. You're doing great with the things you do have. Keep on working toward your goals!

Westie, you can decorate for Flag Day in June! And you shouldn't forget National Speak Like a Pirate Day in September!!! ARRRGH, LOL

This is a Civil War fifer. It's my dear hubby, John. Yep, that makes me a fife wife, LOL Playing the fife isn't easy. The first lesson includes learning to get a sound out of the instrument. This can take weeks in some cases. It is said that if you can get a sound out of it right away, you have talent as a fifer. That's not entirely true. Both John and I were going to do fifing together. I could get a sound out of the thing immediately and the fife group was impressed mightily. However,I couldn't play it because I'd run out of breath due to allergies--and we didn't know it at the time, but I was developing Sjogren's Syndome, which made me really, really tired. So John's the only fifer in the family but I get to march in parades anyway, with the civilians. And you know, that's not so bad, either. I figure that I represent the women of the Sanitary Commission, or the nurses, or the viviandiers who also served on the Civil War battlefield. Besides, I do like my hoop skirts, haha! And this is Katy, scrunched down hugging a little pal.

Yes, that is really me. Of course, I'm at a Civil War event. We were getting ready to march in a parade that day.

Nothing like a little dangerous living to spice up one's life! LOL

This is an experiment -- I'm not used to blogging. It feels strange. I don't know if I'll keep up with this. Anyway, it's good to be in the new message boards and although I am fighting Sjogren's Syndrome brain fog today, I am learning the ins and outs of the place.

Welcome Aboard!!

Well, we aren't as good at making meals an event as you are Stephanie--with just three of us, it's hard to be eventful at mealtime! However, during the power outage, I found that finding ways to bake things made a huge difference. You're right about some kind of sweet treat making the difference between feeling deprived and feeling like we pulled one off big time despite current conditions. We have also served dinner on the floor on a blanket and declared indoor picnic night on occasion. For this, we toast our hot dogs in the fireplace, have smores stuff on hand for dessert, and serve up home-canned salsa and chips. We also played board games DURING dinner one night during the outage. We can get away with that sort of thing with just a small group--it might be a huge mess with a larger and younger group. This is fun in the middle of winter when there's a foot of snow on the ground and more falling out of the sky.

Check these links that Violet posted earlier in other threads http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/uga/uga_can_breads.pdf http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/questions/FAQ_canning.html#30 http://extension.usu.edu/files/publication..._008_(2007).pdf The reason you shouldn't can breads and cakes is that their density is such that heat doesn't penetrate to their core. This allows botulism to survive. if you DO make cakes or breads in a jar, keep them in the fridge, treat them like perishables and eat them right away. I used to make these until Violet updated me.

Leah!!! What a sweetheart you are!! Somebody asked me for a recipe for these and I didn't have one...only..now I forgot who it was. But I'm also delighted with these. I might mess in them one of these times. I just hadn't gotten around to doing a search on this. What a great gift you just gave me. (I'm SO tired, having a Sjogren's flare up ...your post made my day!)

Oh...I just saw that ArmyOfFive4God of asked about the lemons.!! Thanks for the bump Angela! I'm so sorry! I realize she posted this during my inlaw's visit when I just did not come on here. Since I always use "posted in last 24 hours for active topics, well,...some things fall through the posting cracks! Anyway... I dried the lemons in the convection oven until they were dry. Then I put them in the blender and pulverized them. Then, I sifted them because pulverizing in the blender doesn't reduce it to a powder--it makes a powder AND granules. The granules should be set aside for use as dried lemon peel. The rest of the stuff then can be made into a finer powder by using a mortar and pestle. This powder can be used to flavor anything from cookies to "instant lemonade" that you make by adding a teaspoon or two to a large glass of water along with sugar to taste. It does not dissolve into the water completely because some of the peels are teensy bits that just don't dissolve, but it doesn't mar the nice taste of the drink. I don't know if these instructions make sense--but that's just about all the entire mysterious process, LOL (check your food dehydrator book for a good temperature to dry at. I haven't found the optimal one as mine didn't mention lemons. Still, I have done this twice and it worked fine.)