Mmmm....peaches!

I canned 35 jars of peaches today!! Pam came and instructed me while she helped me peel. She made me do all the processing part, so I think I could do them on my own next time.
Yum. I LOVE peaches!!

Here is the process in case you want to try it!

Ok....so I had 3 boxes of peaches (60lbs). It requires 35 jars with the matching lids/rings. You will also need the canner with the drop down tray thing.
I stuck all my jars in the dishwasher to sterilize them and kept them in there til I was ready to use them so they would stay clean and warm. I washed the rings in the sink. I put the lids on the stove in a pot of water and slowly bring them to a boil to sterilize and then turn them down low (and just leave them there).
Now you need to make your syrup. You need 6 cups of water for 1 cup of sugar (this is a light syrup...we love it...not too sweet). We had a huge pot and did 9L with 6cups of sugar. Put it on the range and warm it up slowly (you don't want to burn the sugar but you want the sugar to dissolve). Also leave it simmering on the stove by the lids. Then fill your canner with water so that the bottom of the hanging rack has 1 inch of it covered. Put it on the stove to boil. (So you now have three burners on.)
Now you need to prep the peaches.
Get a huge bowl and fill it with cool water and add 1 TBsp. of salt (this will prevent them from browning). I'm sorry but don't know the ratio. It was the hugest stainless steel bowl. Ok...so now peel your peaches and pit...putting them into the bowl of salted water.
Once your canner has started to boil and your syrup has warmed up...and you think you have enough peaches peeled. Start filling your first 7 jars. Grab the peaches out of your bowl with clean hands....shake off the water. Fill the jar to the neck. Then pour your syrup over them until there is 1/2inch space left. Wipe the rims of your jars with a clean cloth. Take your lids out of the hot water (we have a magnetic lifter) and put them on the jars. Put your cleaned rings on til they are fingertip tight (don't use two hands and make it totally tight). Now put them in your canner....ours fits 7. Lower them into the water and be sure that the lids of the jars are covered with water. Bring to a rapid boil, then turn down a bit and boil them for 25min. Set that timer! Now back to peeling!!!
When you have 10min. left on the timer, start prepping your next 7 jars...filling/syrup/lids.
When your timer goes...remove your jars (again we have a lifter) and place them on a thick amount of towels on your countertop in a place where you won't have to move them for 24 hours. You do not want to move them or mess with the lids. Let them seal!
So then you stick in your next 7 and then keep on peeling!
If you can get help with the peeling (like I did!) then the canning process is pretty easy and you can run it like clockwork.

P.S. Make sure that you start another bowl of salt water for the peaches half way through so they don't go brown. If you are alone/slower you may need to do this more frequently. Use up the first peeled peaches first. Also...I had to make more syrup for the last canner (I had done 9L and did 3L more with 2 cups of sugar). So you will need 8 cups of sugar for this recipe.


I hope this helps!! I'm sure everyone does it differently but sometimes looking on the internet or asking around could be overwhelming!
If you have any questions about what I wrote (it IS late!)...let me know!

These live in the front garden...

Pinterest

Have you started pinning yet?? Do you even know what Pinterest is?
It is another good waste of time on the computer. But hey. It is so cool!
It is for all those times when you're browsing through someones blog, or looking on some random website and see a photo and think..."THAT IS SO COOL!", "I want one of these!", or "I could make this!". But then you lose the page and forget all about it and life goes on.
Well this is a place where you can store all those cool photos with their matching links and organize them into sections so you can see them. For example, these are my sets (called "boards")...
beautiful kitchens, photography, kid stuff, words and quotes, home decor, DIY and crafts, hair style, fabric, and lovely places. Then the next time I'm going to renovate, I can go to the set of "beautiful kitchens" and remember all the lovely things I've looked through over the last while.
And the better part, is that it is simple. You simply press your "Pin It" button in your tool bar and it has this scroll down part to select the board to drop it into and voila...amazing, fast.
I think you may need to be invited. So ask me to invite you! And let me know if it works for you to see my boards.

The C word.

So today was a new experience for me.
In the spring my doctor informed me that I needed to get a colposcopy done. (Yes, men...this involves some details about a cervix and so you may want to start humming right now, plugging your ears and switching to a new blog at this point.)
Our local hospital does not perform the procedure, so they send you off to Vernon to get it done.
It basically is a more detailed pap test that in the end will confirm if you do or don't have abnormal (ie. cancerous) cells. So it is slightly stressful to say the least, and I had to wait a few months to get this done.
I arrived at the hospital to a line of about 5 ladies my age...waiting nervously in their backless gowns to go in. I smiled at the girl beside me and said..."Man, isn't this fun!" to which she also smiled and we talked the entire rest of the time which was nice to calm our nerves.
So about 10 minutes later, I was called in and the test went fine and the doctor and I both were relieved that I didn't need a biopsy or anything further as all looked well. The doctor and her attendant looked as happy as I did and informed me that I was the only one in today that didn't need one. So phew. Now I've been thinking of the girls that were waiting out there with me and praying that their results were just as clear as mine.
It opened the door for a little of the "what if's". What if today I was told that I had cancer and what would that mean for our little family who is already dealing with quite a lot at the moment. So I feel thankful and blessed to be healthy. Praying for those who aren't.

Musical madness

What a weekend.
We went to the ROOTS and BLUES!

It was busy! For those of you who are unfamiliar with the event, it is a musical festival that has run in Salmon Arm for the last 19 years. It has around 5 stages running through the day with various artists that range from the Blues (like Taj Mahal to Celtic fiddlers (like Colin Grant or Rachel Davis)to kids music (Sharon & Bram)
and just overal amazing musicians like The John Butler Trio from Australia and the wild and crazy Five Alarm Funk group from B.C.
We left our house at 4pm on Friday and came home at midnight. Back to the festival at 10am and returned at 11:45pm and the same on Sunday. Yawn.

The boys did well for such a busy schedule in the 30 plus weather. We did send Shea off to Nanny's at supper time on Sat/Sun. as he was quite exhausted and uncooperative by that time! (Thanks mom and dad!)


Luke and Pam were there with their kids and a few of our other friends as well. They hoola hooped, made flubber, climbed walls, ate mini donuts, watched circus performers, sang, hopped and had fun staying up late. I'm sure they will be excited to go again another year.

In the bag...

Let's shift the conversation over to something a tad less serious.
Let's talk products. What is in my makeup bag...

My under eye skin was getting so dried out from my strong eye makeup remover that I thought I'd take a trip to Body Shop while we were at the coast to find some lotion that would work around the eye area. I was directed to this new line of products...
Nutriganics as well as an aloe eye defense cream.

I thought it looked like it'd be good, so I thought I'd try the foam cleanser as well.


It takes all my makeup off and then I just follow it with the eye cream. I sometimes alternate between using the old standby, the Camomile Makeup remover.


I have pretty good skin and try not to use too much makeup, but find I still need some coverup to put in the T-zone area of my face. I've probably used the Covergirl line ever since I was a teen. I have tried other (cheap) types but they never worked as well for me as Covergirl.
This has been my latest foundation.


I need less than a dime size amount, so it lasts for probably six months.
Then I follow up with the powder.



I use a bit of eye-liner, shadow and always mascara. And surprise, surprise...I prefer Covergirl. I have used this one the last few times, and it does the job.


I have never been much good at applying makeup and find the more I put on, the worse I look...so the reason I do wear any is pretty much to help me not look washed out and to eliminate the shiny and uneven skin tones. I've had professional people do my makeup in the mall or for grad and at Mary Kay parties, but I didn't ever like it. I keep it pretty simple. If I'm feeling special, I'll put on a bit of blush and lip gloss!

Since I got my hair cut short, it has been necessary to get a strong hair spray. My slippery hair would never stay put for 2 seconds if it weren't for this spray my stylist suggested.

It is the only product I use in my hair, as my hair can look greasy far too easily if I try any sort of paste. I use basic shampoos like Pantene or Tresemme and switch it up all the time. I have such a sensitive scalp and such fine hair, that I have to be careful to use very basic hair products. Salon shampoos seem to drive my scalp crazy! which is somewhat fortunate as they are so expensive anyway!
Hmm...what else can I find in this bag...the only lipstick that I've kept around, which is pretty ancient and should probably be chucked is by Clinique. I can't even find the picture of what I have, as mine is the pale green color container. You know the one? I think it came free with a little makeup bag because I bought their foundation. I've never been good at picking out lipstick. I find the red tones make my teeth look yellow, and yet can't find the right shade of the plum brownish either.
Oh well, thankfully my boys don't care!
Ok, your turn. What do you keep in that bag???

Where are we at?

So here we sit. Still unsure of what our future holds. Not knowing if there is a job just around the corner or not for a long while yet. For the first month or so, it was a bit of a shock, but also an adventure as we thought of the possibilities of what/when/where. Looking through real estate and dreaming at night of all the things that could happen in the next few weeks. But nothing is really happening! And the summer is quickly passing! It has been frustrating to say the least. As months go by (four now) I'm sad to say that I at times have lost my confidence, security, patience and trust that things will work out. I'm not sure what God is trying to teach us in this. I started out thinking that God would provide Greg with a better job than the last one, and thankful that we had this opportunity to make some changes, grow, stretch and learn. But now, I just want an answer! I'm thinking, what is the purpose of this?! The limbo, waiting and putting life on hold makes me stressed out, not a good wife or mother. I know that Greg is trying his best to get his resumes out there. He has made a lot of connections and has been active in the "web-geek" world. He's done many interviews. But with that stress and dealing with three rowdy boys who require relentless amounts of discipline from sun up to sun down. It is hard. I can't lie. So keep praying. Maybe when I finally give up and pack it in, that's when the job offer will suddenly arrive...but somedays I feel like I've already packed it in, so I guess not!
We will try to enjoy what is left of the summer, but it is hard to feel like you can take a holiday in this sort of situation. And as always, we could be worse off...like friends of ours who are homeless and moving from a house-sitting situation to another while toting their three kids around. I know we are blessed. We are. We will survive. It just stinks right now is all.