Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Cold Day and Warm Hearts



Sunday morning we awoke to our first really hard frost.  It was cold!  27 was our overnight low.  But we are two folks who love the cold.  36 years ago we made wedding vows to each other on a cold beach in Douglas, Alaska.  Yes, it was our anniversary.  We had not made a plan on how we would celebrate.  We brainstormed while having our first cup of coffee.  It has been a very workie last few months and our budget is a bit tight.  So we needed something cheap and not anything like work.  I, tentatively, suggested taking our canoe for a spin even though it was pretty cold.  DH loved the idea!  So after a leisurely breakfast and taking Runa for a walk I packet a picnic and DH loaded up the canoe!

We had planned to go to a bigger lake but the wind started to pick up so we went our nearby favorite, Branch Pond in Palermo, Maine.  Here is a photo journal of our frosty time on the lake.

Peak Foliage!




My Sweetie!

Great Blue Heron


Not much need for the paddle with the electric canoe!

Reflecting on reflections~~~



We had FUN! Afterwards we went out for ice cream at John's, of course!  (a hot shower when we got home....yes, I am wearing 3 hats!)

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Bounty!


It has been the sunniest and hottest September that I ever remember!  Very grateful for a cold rainy start to October.  Some "dreary" weather is allowing me a bit of time inside away from the bounty of my gardens!   This has been an incredibly busy fall for us.  We took on a lot so we are truly looking forward to winter and enjoying the fruits of our labors!  Here is a bit of what is up on the this place on earth!! 


Firewood has just begun...

A very fine potato harvest despite lots of bugs & blight!

We finished the painting & cork flooring upstairs!  YEAH!  Waiting the 7 days for the sealant to cure, then mop boards, and then the moving back in process! 

 CANNING!!!!


Peppers are just so pretty!


I had an epic day of canning this week. I put up 14 quarts of green beans, 8 pints of spicy dilly carrots, and 23 half pints of my famous eggplant relish all in one day!  It was me at my time management best!  I got up early and headed out to the garden to pull carrots.  I had leftover brine from my pepper pickling so I decided to make a labor intensive carrot pickle for my son who has requested not to receive any holiday gifts from us!  He says that our help with college and medical expenses are enough!  Wow!  I haven't really liked making these carrot pickles in the past but, this year I assure you, there is an extra dollop of love in them! My son loves all things carrot!  

After pulling carrots and collecting fresh dill seeds I headed back to the house to start topping the beans I had picked the day before.  While prepping the beans I had my dishwasher full of jars running through the sanitizing cycle.  I canned the beans first.  It takes about an hour for each batch to pressure can start to finish.  During that time I prepped the carrots that need to be washed, peeled, cut, & blanched.  by the time the first batch of beans were decompressing I had my carrots in a hot water bath.  I did my second batch of beans and some clean up.  At 2PM I took a 30 minute break to eat something and stretch.  Then on to the eggplant!


This a recipe of my own design.  A few years back I grew some eggplants from a packet of seeds that I got for a dime just to give it a try.  Well I ended up with an abundance!  There is only so much eggplant parmesan & ratatouille a family could eat.  Enjoying the flavors of Indian Cuisine and always looking for something to put on my homemade crackers I came up with this recipe....that I happily share with you below!  I finished everything around 6PM.  I did sleep well that night, nothing like a productive day for a restful night of sleep.  Much more to do so I better get cracking!


Eggplant Spread with Indian Flair! ***** 12 – 13 ½ pints ***** Sterilize Jars *****

In a large stockpot add:

1 cup olive oil
4 lb eggplant; chopped into bite size pieces (about 16 cups)

Dry roast in a cast iron skillet until they pop:

2 tablespoons Cumin Seeds
4 tablespoons Fenugreek Seeds
2 tablespoons Mustard Seeds
1 tablespoon Coriander Seed

Add roasted seeds to oil and eggplant ~ cook until eggplant is tender.

½ cup minced fresh ginger~set aside (use mini chopper)

Add garlic to mini chopper 1st  & chop

10 large cloves garlic; minced
4 tablespoons chili powder
4  teaspoons ground ginger.....................ADD to chopped garlic to form a PASTE
4  teaspoons turmeric
½ cup white vinegar

Now add to Eggplant in the Pot:

3 cups White Vinegar
2 cups sugar
4 Tbls Chili pepper flakes
4 Tbls Pickling Salt
Fresh Ginger
Above Paste

Stir over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until boiling***Grind up mixture with hand held blender

½ inch head space ~ Pressure Can 6lbs for 8 minutes


Gets BETTER with Age! (like me!) 

Deborah Diemer Copyright 2015

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Change



Another grey, murky day in Maine.  The weather forecast is predicting a change and the sooner the better as far as I am concerned!  My gardens are suffering, slugs, mildew, and blight.  I am looking forward to fall!  The first signs are starting to appear.  Asters are in bloom and the wild apple trees are loaded.  This little tree's apples are pretty good.  Looks like I'll get some applesauce this year!
 

A bit of natural spookiness too!  Dreaming of halloween! 


My Etsy life in a bit of an uproar.  I am in the process of emptying my 2 rooms so we can continue the cork flooring project.  It is quite a project!  It is always amazing during a move all the discoveries one makes.  Definitely using the process as an opportunity to purge physically and metaphorically.  I plan to make some changes in the coming year.  I have been photographing tons of vintage items so I can keep listing during the construction time.  I will be setting up my sewing machine so I can sew but something tells me between harvest & floor laying I won't get too much done.  I have set up my office in the living room.  I hope to stay in touch and share some to the floor work.  Here are some photos of some new vintage finds as well as the moving in progress!

I am keeping the photo station up until the last minute!

The sewing room is next!

Runa loves the new cork flooring!  Well maybe not, she is just a love!

Living Room Office

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I Spin Yarns, Weave Dreams, & Sew to Mend the Soul

Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun
Hand Made Eco-Friendly Home Decor, & Toys
Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 
Beach Finds & Copper Wire Ornaments

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, & Lifestyle on the Land: 
http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com
http://www.pinterest.com/injoyemporium
www.facebook.com/injoyemporium
https://twitter.com/InJoyEmporium
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"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Letting Go



There is this time every summer that, as a gardener, I just sort of let go.  What can be done is done or it may just be a weariness from all the work.  It is a time for a bit of respite before the harvest and garden clean up are in full swing.  That time is now, especially helped by a heat wave, it has been in the high 80's for days!  I got up before 5:00am this morning and took a walk with Runa, trying to beat the heat.  For the first time in a long while I grabbed my camera.  It has been some time since I came to this blog "place".  It has been a challenging summer.  My son broke his leg in the spring.  There have been many trips back and forth to the college campus.  Surgery, crutches, then complications so more travel for me and times of tension and worry.  Things are, finally, settling down.  The boy is on the mend and so is my psyche!  What has brought me peace during these times besides a supportive partner, is this place on earth.  I have often thought of starting up "here" again but I couldn't come up with a good segway for return.  So the time of "letting go" seems as good as any.  Here is a little photo journal of my dawn stroll with a bit of news from around the land.

The pond has been wonderful this summer!  I took a dip right after my walk.  I jump in everyday sometimes too tired to swim so I just float and look up at the heavens and relax.  The pond is quieter too.  We found a new home for our ducks so one less chore and little more freedom to travel.


A couple of photos of the "let go garden".  Plenty of dill!  Dilly beans will be processed soon!



A rare Vern sighting.  Except for meal time we hardly ever see him.  He is off on his own adventures these days.  Runa is my ever present companion!  Here she is begging for a bean.  She is such a lovely creature.  I am very grateful for her friendship.



 Still battling the beetles.  But they aren't making me so mentally crazy this year.  I sort of enjoy my evening of beetle collecting.  I might not be motivated to get outside around 8:00pm if I didn't have the beetles...who knows?


My favorite kind of flower is the one that creates a vegetable and can be tilled under in the fall!  This is a Long Pie Pumpkin flower surrounded by crimson clover.


A new experiment this year is letting a friend have a garden spot here.  It has been a very nice addition.  I have learned a thing or two from this beginner gardener.  Like I might not need to do quite as much work to get a good harvest.  Her garden is producing well even with being "neglected" more than my patches!


Well I have found my path back.  I will try to show up a bit more often.  All is Well~
wishing the same for you~~~~


~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I Spin Yarns, Weave Dreams, & Sew to Mend the Soul

Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun
Hand Made Eco-Friendly Home Decor, & Toys
Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 
Beach Finds & Copper Wire Ornaments

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, & Lifestyle on the Land: 
http://injoyemporium.blogspot.com
http://www.pinterest.com/injoyemporium
www.facebook.com/injoyemporium
https://twitter.com/InJoyEmporium
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/injoyemporium…

"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Lupines


I am not much of a flower gardener.  I tend to be fixated on practical plants that are edible.  Over the years, though, I have made an effort to be a bit of a Lupine Lady, at least on my own property.  Starting with a few plants and seeds I have encouraged this amazing display around our pond.  There is a practical aspect for planting these flowers.  They create a buffer of plants that are left unmown around a pond contribute the the health of a pond.  The plants create a bit of a barrier that prevents thing like grass clipping from blowing into the pond.  That sort of organic matter will contribute to muckiness <---technical term for yucky swimming water ;) The slope above the pond is just a little less mowing my semi-mowing obsessed HD has to do.  Most areas where I plant something near the lawn has to be flagged off to prevent it from being mowed.  But Lupines are my DH's favorite flower so they are safe from the blades!  So the more I spread the less lawn we have.  There is the added benefit to it being just plain beautiful for a couple of weeks!


It was a dreamer's day that spun me visually undone
in cloudless skies of wild blue, beneath a basking sun
I drove the mountain road, where flowers bloom wildly to the sky 
lupines, lilies, of twinkling starry hills 
tallest summer grass, wildflower entwined
with deer to rob such beauty blind
with an other worldly view, I climbed and climbed
leaving all darkened, lowly thoughts 
so blotted from my mind



Don't these Vintage Ice Tea Spoons sort of remind you of the Lupines?



~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys


Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 

Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, &  Lifestyle on the Land:  


"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Friday, June 12, 2015

Back~~~


The Boy is on the mend.  My gardens are planted.  And the best news, we are sleeping in a new bed!  After 2 1/2 weeks of sleeping on the floor, the couch, the frat house, & hospital waiting rooms a bed feels like pure bliss.  New cork flooring is down in the bedroom.   That much closer to the end of our 22 year journey of building this house together.  I can't say I have truly caught my breath yet.  Still weekly trips to help out my son.  The gardens need care.  The next phase of ---> can we really, finally, finish our house this summer needs to begin.  And, oh yeah, I have 4 Etsy shops.  But a little breather is in order.  At least a mental one.  Big Breath ~~~in~~~out~~~



BY MEREDITH HOLMES
At last I can be with you!
The grinding hours
since I left your side!
The labor of being fully human,
working my opposable thumb,
talking, and walking upright.
Now I have unclasped
unzipped, stepped out of.
Husked, soft, a be-er only,
I do nothing, but point
my bare feet into your
clean smoothness
feel your quiet strength
the whole length of my body.
I close my eyes, hear myself
moan, so grateful to be held this way.




~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys


Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 

Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, &  Lifestyle on the Land:  


"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry