Clothes Pin Bag

When we were down at the Amish auction we stopped at a couple of garage sales.  One of the sales was at an Amish home and I picked up a little girl's dress for 10 cents.  When I was a child my mother would take an old toddlers dress, sew it across the bottom and use it for a clothes pin bag.  I have been looking for a small dress at sales with no luck.  You hardly ever see little girls in dresses anymore.  With the dress came a apron/pinafore so I made 2 bags.  I was telling the young mother what I was going to use the dress for and she told me that was an excellent idea and now she was going to make some.  I told her that it was a good way to recycle old small dresses and I'm sure she could sell them.  Wonderful memories and now I have 2 clothes pin bags made from an a little Amish girl's dress.  LOVE IT.

My new clothes pin bags.




http://homesteadrevival.blogspot.com/2012/09/barn-hop-80.html

Canning Beets

Brandon spent the night last night so he was here to help me can my beets today.  He was in charge of  slipping the skins off the beets and putting them in the boiling water bath after I finished getting them in the jars.  Also when he is here he always takes all the pictures.  He likes taking photos and goes on photo shoots with our son once in a while.  I got 16 pints of beets and was surprised to get so much.  This will last until spring if I don't have them all the time.
For lunch today I fried some bacon, potatoes and scrambled eggs.  The bacon and potatoes were from the pantry that I had canned and eggs were from our girls and just laid yesterday.  Brandon loves bacon and since he was such a good help to me canning today I made his favorite meal.

This is the recipe I used today when canning the beets, I got it from my sister-in-law Gale back in the 70s:
2 c sugar
2 c water
2 c vinegar
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp ground cloves
1 TBSP cinnamon
Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer 15 minutes.  Pour this over hot beets that are in hot jars and process boiling water bath for 30 minutes.  This is enough to makes about 8 pints.

Beets and the brine.

16 pints that Brandon and I canned today.

http://newlifeonahomestead.com/2012/09/homestead-barn-hop/



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Last Amish Produce Auction of the Year for Us

Ron, Gina and I went down to the produce auction today for our last trip of this season.  They had a nice small variety of things but my luck in getting things real cheap didn't happen this time.  Gina did get several boxes of green peppers at $4 a box (about 50+ per box) and several boxes of eggplant for $3 a box (about 15 per box).  She also got 1 box of cucumbers, some Chinese radishes .55 cents a pint and two 1/2 gallon boxes of red radishes for $1 a box.   I got some radishes from her and that was all I got at the auction, I didn't need any peppers or eggplant.  They had acorn and butternut squash but it went for way too much for me.  We left there and went to the 2 stores where I picked up some bulk spices and some ham base, chicken base and beef base that I will use when I make soup.  On our way out of town we stopped at a Amish farm stand and picked up a couple acorn and butternut squash and 1 medium box of BEETS.  I was outbid on the beets at the auction and I wanted some more beets to can and also Renee wanted some.  I love my daughter but I am not sharing my beets.  I canned 6 pints in July and have ate 3 pints already.  I hope to get 8 - 10 pints from these and will do them tomorrow.   
When we were at one of the Amish stores where they have fresh baked items I picked up a "Whoopie Pie." I have read about how wonderful these are and I decided to try one.  I got a pumpkin whoopie pie and it is probably a good thing that we are not going down to that area for a while.  That thing was absolutely delicious; I can't even explain the taste.  I can only ask myself "why in the world did I wait until I was 61 before I tried one?"  If you are ever in an Amish community pick one up, you will not be disappointed.

Some of the pumpkins at the auction.

A huge white pumpkin at an Amish farm.

Another large white pumpkin at the same farm.

Children playing at an Amish school.

Amish school.

Children at the Amish school.

Some beautiful sheep at an Amish farm.

Quiet Thursday with Renee

I spent my day sitting and visiting with Renee today while Tony (son-in-law) had surgery.  He did real good and will be coming home tomorrow.  The hospital was so full they had to put him in a holding unit until about 6:30 tonight when a bed came available.
Renee and I took our laptops and we sat and looked at several of the blogs I follow and also looked up the value of some 1/2 pint canning jars Renee has.  OMG these Ball jars are worth $30 each and she has some paint in one.   I'm sure I have some jars that are worth more than the food that is in them.  Canning season is just about done for this year.  I will be canning some vegetable soup mix this weekend and next week I will be canning some chili beans.  After canning is completely done I have plenty of other things on my list.  One of the things I need to do is to make some noodles and also some spaghetti.  I dry them after they are made and then freeze them for whenever needed.  Then I need to make and freeze some pie crusts to have ready for the holidays and whenever we want a nice treat.  
Tomorrow is "Amish" day so it's off to bed for me.  Later, take care. 

Vintage Canning Jars DONE

I am finally done pricing and putting on the correct cap on the 160+ vintage canning jars.  I set up a space in the shed with the card table, laptop, book, plenty of light and tea.  At first it was a little cool but as the day went on it warmed up real nice.  I have a heater out there I could have used if it had been cooler.  Setting up out there was a lot easier than hauling jars in the house and then back to the table that is set up in the shed.  I have them all covered up to keep the dust off.   What I don't sell the 2 weekends of Spoon River Drive Renee will put them on craigslist and then we will go from there.  I have a rare Ball quart jar that is worth over $200, Ron thought I should bring it inside but it is OK where its at.

Vintage Canning Jars

I finished pricing the vintage canning jars today.  Renee came over yesterday and we did some and I finished them today; now we need to add lids to them.  We need to add the original lid if at all possible to make them more valuable.  I have the lids sorted so the hard part is done.
Finished canning the russet potatoes that I started yesterday.  I am caught up with the things that need canned and an more than happy to take a small break.  Tomorrow I will work on the lids, Thursday I am going to sit with Renee when Tony has back surgery and Friday we are going down to Arthur, IL.
I did the yard work yesterday afternoon.  The yard looks like a park after it gets done.  The rain has turned the grass nice and green, the trees still have their leaves and the temp has been perfect.  Wonderful weather, keep days like this coming.
Later, take care.

Sunday in the Midwest

I will take a whole year of days like this; sunny, temps in the 70s.  Got up early and finished washing the canning jars and then we went on a "Sunday Ride".  One of those drives when you come to a T in the road and you take turns saying which way to turn.  We saw a lot of farmers in the fields picking corn and saw a couple trucks filled with pumpkins heading to the Libby plant.  I'm surprised at the amount of fields that are already picked.   I planned on taking my camera and getting some early fall pictures but left it at home.
Tomorrow morning I will do the russet potatoes and hopefully I will get the yard mowed in the afternoon.  I would prefer to cut it first thing in the morning but with the heavy dew we have been getting it doesn't dry out until after 10:30.   On Tuesday the high is only going to be in the low 60s and going to get down to 40 that night.  It is cooling off way to fast for me.
Ron picked a lot of peppers when I was washing the jars so after supper we cut them up and I have 5 trays of them dehydrating in my Excalibur dehydrator.  I still have a lot of peppers on the plants and am still getting tomatoes and zucchini.  I picked a few green beans yesterday and will cook them tomorrow, I will be able to pick them again the end of the week.    Now I need for my peas to start blooming.  The extended forecast looks pretty good for the next 2 weeks so there should be plenty of time for them to produce some mighty fine peas.  I guess I need to think about getting my garlic in the ground soon.  There is never a shortage of things that need done.
Later, take care.