Hey, That's Jam Good!


On Monday, June 4th, I was in the kitchen doing some work, and I just happened to look out the window to check on the garden. I saw my neighbor, Dawn Houston, in my garden and realized she was building me a sprinkler system! I couldn't believe it! I rushed outside to help her. She had already done quite a bit of it herself. Hopefully this picture shows it well enough. While we were out there finishing it she told me that she and her husband had watched me often trying to water the garden with our hose and then having to chase after Vaughn. They said that morning they had watched me as I was interrupted literally 10 or 12 times, and it was the last straw. They felt so bad for me that they decided to build me a sprinkler system that day. Dawn's husband was a work, so Dawn just came over and did it! I have the best neighbors in the world. I guess I also need to thank Vaughn, because if it weren't for him, my neighbors wouldn't have felt sorry enough for me to build the sprinklers! I must say it has made my life so much easier! I don't have to stand out in the garden for an hour each day and water with the hose. I don't have to chase after Vaughn. I just turn on the water and let it go!

In mid-June a local grocery store had a good deal on Raspberries, and a good neighbor friend of mine picked up a case for me. We ate quite a few of them, but then I decided to make jam. I had never made jam before, so this was a new experience for me. The jam wasn't as thick as I would have liked, but the flavor was very nice. Brian said he really liked it. In fact, he said my jam was "Jam good!" I love that man!











Here's a better picture as far as the color of the jam. I do have to say that I very much prefer home-bottled jam to the stuff you buy in the store. You can decide how much sugar you want, and it just tastes so much better!









This is my neighbor, Dawn Houston, who built me the sprinkler system. On the 13th, she called me and asked me if I wanted to learn to fillet fish. I said, "Sure!" Dawn and her husband Klein had gone fishing that day and brought home some trout. So I went over and filleted a few fish. It was so cool! Then the next day she asked me if I wanted to learn how to smoke fish. So I came over and she showed me how to set up the smoker with the wood chips and everything. It was so cool! Dawn is amazing!







Don't these fillets look great? I'm pretty sure these are some of the fillets I helped with. When they were done smoking, Dawn brought over an entire fillet for me and Brian to try, and it was amazing! It was so dang good! It was way better than any fish in the store you can buy!








That same day Dawn brought over just some regular fillets, and I bottled them for her. I had never bottled fish before, so I was nervous. I didn't want to ruin it because of all the work that Dawn and Klein had gone through to get them. But they turned out just fine! I never thought I would bottle fish, but there it is! It looks a little bit like what you would find in the lab of a mad scientist, doesn't it? I also bottled some cherry jam that day, but I guess I don't have a picture of it. Melvin Kuhni let me pick cherries off of his cherry tree, and we couldn't eat them all, so I decided to make jam out of them. It turned out more like a syrup, but that's okay. It will go great on pancakes!


That evening (we're still on June 14th), I found Vaughn on our couch playing with our "Guess Who" game. He was sitting in such a funny position..... he was practically doing the splits. I had to get a shot of it. It looked a lot more uncomfortable in real life! Brian said Vaughn inherited my flexibility.









Father's Day was on Sunday, June 17th. I decided to make a homemade card for Brian, and I had Vaughn sign it. I used this picture of Brian and Vaughn. It is my favorite picture EVER! It perfectly describes the kind of father Brian is. Brian is so patient and loving with Vaughn. He is so good at spending quality time with him. He likes to help Vaughn to learn about new things. I am very lucky to have him, and so is Vaughn.




We of course went to see Brian's parents on Father's Day. We made Brian's dad a card, and put this picture on the front of it. This was taken quite a while ago, but we just had to use it! Vaughn loves Grandpa Higginson. He loves to be held by him and rocked in Grandpa's rocking chair. Brian's dad is great at getting Vaughn to sleep! He is also very patient and loving with Vaughn. He lets Vaughn play with his glasses, and sit on his lap while he is at the computer. He also is very tender with Vaughn when he gets hurt. They share a very special bond.


In mid-June we started harvesting peas from our garden. And speaking of peas, Brian's father absolutely loves fresh garden peas. So I made sure to bring him and Mom Higginson over a bag of shelled peas.















Here's a shot of a small batch we harvested. Brian and I had fun just going out into the garden in the evening and picking pea pods and munching on them straight from the garden. I can't tell you how satisfying it is to be able to go out into the garden and eat food that we've grown! It is so cool!










Here's a shot of our zucchini plant back in June. Poopa always tells me that if all else fails, and nothing else will grow, zucchini and squash will! He's right! Our zucchini plant was producing before our other vegetables.









I tried planting beets this year, and I was so excited to see that they grew! If you've never seen a beet, this is what they look like. Not only can you eat the beet, but you can eat the leafy greens that grow above the ground. They are great in salads. I had some beets that were the size of baseballs before I harvested them! Beets are a sweeter vegetable. I never thought I liked them because I had tried them at a buffet and they were pickled. But when they're steamed, HOLY COW they're good! Brian's sister Amy got me hooked on them!









I'll mention here that on the 21st of June, I decided to make strawberry jam from some strawberries that my neighbor Dawn Houston gave me. If you think the strawberries you buy in the store are good, you should try home-grown vine-ripened strawberries. They are fantastic! They are so much better than the store-bought ones! The jam turned out okay, but again, it wasn't as think as I would have liked. I guess home-bottled jam is naturally less thick than the stuff in the store. But it's okay since it tastes so much better!

Once the peas started producing, we really had to stay on top of harvesting them. I was picking batches like this every few days!











Here's a shot of the shelled peas. Vaughn and I had fun shelling peas together. We would put in a show and while we watched it, we would shell peas together. Vaughn is really good at it! It is so cute to watch him pick the peas one by one out of the pod. He would eat some of them and throw some of them. And miraculously, some even made it into the bowl!








I think I'll wrap up this entry. I'm excited to get caught up, and hopefully it will happen quickly! We're getting there!

Here's one for the road.....



Love, Lisa