Cursed Beets, A Visit From Lindsey & Bubby's Birthday




Brian's sister Amy called me on Tuesday, June 26th, wondering if she could borrow my pressure canner to do beets. I told Amy I had some beets I needed to bottle as well, so we decided to make a day of it! I picked all the beets in my garden, and here is me holding the biggest one.
















We had a wide variety of beet sizes. It was fun to compare them.


















After washing the beets, we cut off the greens leaving about one-and-a-half inches attached. This helps the beet to keep its color while boiling. You have to boil the beets to soften the skin so it can be peeled before bottling. To the left are our beets before boiling.






Here is me holding my biggest beet after it has been skinned. It was huge---about the size of a baseball.












Here's a closeup of that same beet. Doesn't it look like something out of a horror movie? It also reminds me of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom where the guy pulls a beating heart out of another guy's chest. Gross!









Unfortunately, our beet bottling didn't go as planned. In fact, it was a disaster!!! I read the wrong instructions and we processed Amy's beets for WAY TOO LONG, and at a higher pressure than needed! They came out looking like pinkish-white onions. And to make matters wrose, the bottles had lost a lot of water. We were so disappointed that we didn't give each other any high-fives, and we didn't take pictures of the finished product! I felt so bad that I had ruined Amy's beets, that I vowed I would make it up to her! I told Amy that in the meantime, when she wanted to eat her beets, she could add some red food coloring to them to make them look better!




I wound up pickling my beets because I promised some pickled beets to the man that gave me his pressure canner. I felt mixed feelings when they turned out perfectly. I was grateful to be able to give the man good pickled beets, but I felt bad because I had ruined Amy's beets! She was hoping they would be a rich purple color like the bottle to the right!










Two days later, at about 7am, I was trying to unload the pressure canners from our trunk. I was in a hurry because Brian had to leave for work. I also had a 13-gallon trash bag full of glass bottles that I couldn't bottle with, and needed to throw away. I unloaded the canners and set them on the ground, and then picked up the trash bag full of glass bottles. I completely forgot that the canners were at my feet, and when I turned around, I tripped over the canners and landed on the bag full of glass bottles! Brian had come outside and saw the whole thing. He told me later that he thought, "Doesn't she remember she just put the canners there? She's going to fall! Yikes!" I wound up shattering most of the glass bottles, and a shard went into my wrist. It immediately started bleeding and pulsed with my heartbeat. It was kind of cool, except for the pain! I had little shards in my hand and wrist as well. And I had really scraped up my shin and dented it! It took over half an hour to stop the bleeding. We tried closing it up with a butterfly bandage, but it was clear later on in the day that I needed stitches.

That same day I went to deliver the pickled beets to Mr. Fife, and I wound up dropping the box holding the glass jars and they shattered all over his front porch right as he opened the door! I wanted to cry! I wanted to cuss the beets! I decided at that point that the beets, every single one of them, were cursed! Luckily I was able to save several jars and Mr. Fife got his beets!







Luckily this sad week has a very good ending. We were able to celebrate Bubby's birthday! Here he is looking very handsome!












Another awesome surprise was Lindsey came down to visit from Rexburg, Idaho where she is attending BYU-Idaho! We were all so happy to see her! Yvette Annear, a very good friend of our family, was also at the party. It was awesome! It was like a little reunion! Yvette brought us some wedding announcements too! Yes, she is getting married to a guy named Manuel. He is a hottie, and since she is too, they will have beautiful babies!








Here's Ben and Emily's daughter Prairie, enjoying herself at the party. She is so dang cute! Whenever I see her I have to take a moment to spaz, and then I'm okay.












And here's Brian and Vaughn hanging out at the party. I must say that Vaughn is totally a "Daddy's Boy!" Every morning when Brian leaves for work, Vaughn throws a crying fit!




So now we're caught up through the end of June. One more month to go and we're totally caught up!

Here's one for the road...



(This is a shot of the tail-end of the infamous "Thirty-second Hug." We went to visit Brian's parents after Bubby's birthday party. Brian's sister Amy showed up with her kids, and when Vaughn saw Kimball, he ran to her and hugged her for over thirty seconds! It was adorable!!!)

Love, Lisa