Monthly Archives: October 2015

Crocheted Halloween and Thanksgiving Pumpkin Containers

Crochet, Occasions, ,

DSC08120A friend asked me to crochet a pumpkin, so I did, basically using this free pattern.  This pumpkin is made with 100% cotton worsted weight yarn,  with size G and H hooks, as suggested by the pattern.  I could not find the leaf pattern on the leaf, so I used a modified classic type of leaf design.

DSC08116 Then I thought of making a larger pumpkin using the same pattern, only I used double strands of yarn in orange and yellow 85% worsted weight cotton, with size H and I crochet hooks.  The pumpkin stems are made according to the pattern directions, only I used stitches to curve them a little.  The smaller pumpkin is 4 1/2 inches in diameter and 3 inches tall, exclusive of the  stem and leaf.  The larger pumpkin is about 5 1/4 inches in diameter, and 3 1/2 inches tall exclusive of the stem and leaf.

DSC08124 Here you can see the inside of the pumpkins under the lid.

DSC08121 The leaf on this larger pumpkin is made with two strands of yarn in different shades of green in a free-form design made up as I went along.

Key Lime Marmalade

Garden, Kitchen, ,

Because I had a little over 1 pound 8 ounces of key limes from our tree in the back yard, I decided to make some key lime marmalade.

DSC08010  Key limes at various stages of development.   This is the first year that I saw yellow key limes on the tree and on the ground.  I thought they must be ripe, and a quick online check revealed that ripe key limes are indeed yellow.

So I found some online sources, and followed directions for what looked like the most efficient method, which did not involve peeling the white pith off of the limes.   DSC07994 I sliced them, food, processed them, and soaked them in the requisite amount of water overnight, and brought the lime slices and water to a boil, after which I added the proper amount of heated sugar.  and boiled some more.

DSC08002 Here is my recipe from food.com.

DSC08000   I oven sterilized the jars in a 220 degree Fahrenheit oven, and boiled the lids. because they were lined with a rubber-like material.

DSC07995 Sterilizing the jars.  I left them right side up.

DSC07998  I boiled the lids with their soft plastic or rubberized liners.

DSC08005  After the least straight forward part, putting the lids on the jars, here are some refrigerator marmalades.   All told, it took me about four plus hours to make five and a half small jars :

  • 1 hour  Prepare the fruit
  • 1 hour  Clean the jars
  • 1 hour  Tend the boiling and congealing fruit
  • 1 hour  Sterilize and fill the jars

 

“So I Could Hear Myself Think”

Media, Science, Thought,

DSC08037 After listening to the radio for awhile this morning on my desktop, I turned it off, because it was distracting me, and I realized that then “I could hear myself think, ”  because I often think in words.  Then I remembered that my dad used to occasionally say that he needed to be able to hear himself think.  So my thoughts turned to him.   I gained both a subject on which to reflect, and a better means to do it, after quieting the background noise.