See that big ol’ piece of glass? No, not all the bugs and yuck (seriously, living in the country means a million more bugs!), that big chunk of glass in the middle there…
Well it should be right here…
But it’s not. So that means new windows! Yay! Lucky for us, they’re included in our loan. The contractors came out and installed them.
Now all we need is the carpet and we can move in! I’ve got some painting to do before they lay the carpet, though. I’d rather touch up a few scratches from the carpet than to spill paint on new floors!
You know how I said we fixed the toilets ourselves? Paid for and installed the parts ourselves…
Well, I go to fix up the place before carpet gets installed and this is what greets me:
Isn’t the inside of this basin so pretty? I’ve noticed that all of this town has bright orange water. I’m researching filters, but our well tested fine.
Not only did he take the part that I paid for myself, he also clipped the chain on the toilet lever. Why? I have no idea.
It didn’t stop there. Someone also took the shower fixtures.
And the light over the garage. And the hoses in the yard.
I know that most of it’s no big deal. The only thing that really bothers me is the toilet mechanics I installed myself. But it just seems petty. And technically, it’s illegal. If it wasn’t in the contract, it is supposed to stay.
It really frustrates me because we love this house, but it feels more and more like this seller (or someone else) is sabotaging it. I changed the locks, so we’ll see if that is the end of it. It’s just a shame that something we’re so excited about is getting numerous kinks because of such a dishonest someone.
Not letting that stop us, I have spent this last week scrubbing and disinfecting and mopping and more disinfecting. No one told me that they added bleach down the well (I still can’t figure out why if the tests came back in good standing), so I am also sporting fingernails broken clear down to the quick. They hurt. I’ve never been the type to bite my nails, so I have rarely had to deal with the pain of them that short. Not fun.
But it works out, because since this house has been vacant for a while, anyway, I’ve got to let the water run. Mostly because this is not appealing:
While I was letting the water run, I got to play Rosie again. I have much more free-time than Ranger, with his work schedule, and it was kind of fun feeling all handy.
In the process of cleaning, we decided to add some contact-paper to the shelves. It was the only way to cover all of the previous owners’ stains. Seriously. Some things are just not going to be clean enough. We wanted a fresh layer.
The drawer with the new contact paper was the dirtiest, and the drawer below (which now has contact paper) was the cleanest. I like the look.
I fixed this cracked joint under the kitchen sink,
And pretty much every sink in this entire house. The guy must not have understood the concept of plumber’s tape (or putty). Every fixture leaked. I had to go buy myself a basin wrench. Among a million other purchases, lately. Lets just say Lowe’s knows me by name, now…
I re-fixed the toilet. But I didn’t have anything sharp to cut the new hose. It’s a good thing we just signed on a house and the letter-opener from the title company was still in my purse!
I put a light/lamp back in our bathroom…
To discover that there is no power…. none at all in the master bath. So the fan was a waste. I used a little multi-tester and we’ve discovered that there is power coming from the breaker (which is actually a huge bummer, because if there wasn’t it would have been an easy fix), but there is no power going to any of the bathroom fixtures. My dad (Mr. Handyman himself) says it’s probably just one outlet causing all of the others to short out, but it’s beyond Ranger and I. Time to call in a pro. Dang it.
The joys of being homeowners.
Tomorrow we get windows, though, and that will be exciting! Just a little bit longer. While they’re putting in windows, I get to paint.
Starting with the floors! Nothing like an old house, eh? The contractors we talked to recommended it for old houses. Especially houses in run-down conditions like ours is.
I heard this parable in a support group, once. I can’t find any sources, so this is just how I remember it.
Life can be be compared to a swimming pool. Emotions are equal to water and being able to process emotions is the equivalent of swimming. Some people are natural swimmers, born to families of natural swimmers, but some don’t ever learn how to swim. We start out clinging to the wall. It’s safe. Sturdy. But we get bored of that (about the time we turn into teenagers.) and want to learn to swim. There’s obviously more fun going on in the middle of the pool. So we dive in. The natural swimmers just take off and make it to the middle, treading water and having fun. Some people teach themselves to swim. Some get lessons. And some panic and cling onto whomever is nearest. The only problem is, the other person can’t swim when we cling on! At first, they’re excited to have you in the pool. they may even think it’s fun to have you clinging onto them. But once they start drowning, they don’t think it’s so cool anymore. So they push. Gently at first. But when that doesn’t work, they shove. And they shove hard. They will do whatever it takes to get you off of them. And you’ll do whatever it takes to keep hold of them. Because otherwise you drown.
When it’s finally sunken in (ignore the pun) that this person isn’t going to let you cling anymore, you have 2 choices. Cling to someone else, or face your fears and learn to swim. If you cling to someone else, you’re gonna end up drowning again.You need to learn to swim on your own. And that’s when the pool really is fun – when there are others, also swimming on their own. But they all have to know how to swim.
I think I love this recipe. Mostly because I can’t handle commercial pectin that tends to be full of corn. It was my first batch of pectin (I mostly borrowed the recipe from pick-your-own but I love the information provided by Forager’s Harvest (The site has had a major overhaul since I first found it, so it’s not as useful, now, but still good for a read). I highly recommend reading both links before trying out your pectin. I didn’t cook my pectin long enough, so it’s kind of soupy still. Next year I’ll boil it longer. I also want to make citrus pectin, but I keep procrastinating. Some day.
Apple Pectin
Recipe Type: Canning
Cuisine: Whole
Author: Keira @ Searchforseven.com
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Ingredients
3 lb unripe apples
4 cups water
2 T lemon juice
Instructions
Cut any yucky spots out of your apples. Cores and stems are fine. Bruises are okay, but from what I understand, they are not going to help the pectin set up, as they don’t have any. They are good for applesauce, though, so I keep them in. Cut the apples into chunks (quarters for bigger apples. It doesn’t really matter on shape, just try to get them fairly uniform.
Place apples into a large pot. Pour in water and lemon juice. Simmer until the apples are completely tender, but not a big pile of mush (about 30 minutes).
Strain the results through a jelly bag to extract only the liquid. I don’t have a jelly bag, because I’m not sure I want one until I’m in the middle of doing something like this, then I always debate about getting one. I just line a bucket with a few layers of cheese cloth with enough hanging over the sides that I can squeeze the big gooey apple blob when it doesn’t drip fast enough for my standards. Many people don’t like squeezing out extra liquid because it makes the jams/jellies cloudy. I say get as much out of it as you can.
Set the apple mass aside (I use it for applesauce later in the season. It’s a little bit tart, but I just mix it with a little sweeter variety of apple). Return liquid to the pot. Boil the strained liquid until reduced by half. Stir occasionally. You want to avoid getting a film. Test the pectin periodically to see if it will set up. You will need to cool the pectin. Some sources say put a bowl in the freezer, others place a spoon on top of an ice cube. either way, cool a bit of the pectin and then add a swish of rubbing alcohol. If it stays set up, it’s good. If it still spreads out, keep reducing.
Let cool.
Some people process the pectin in a jar, but I can’t find processing time. I just freeze mine. I think it saves a step. Plus, then I can get exactly how much I need instead of having to open a whole bottle.
My last trial of strawberry jam, I actually followed someone else’s recipe. Katharine from Allrecipes had her version of strawberry jam, and it followed a few others, so I tried it. I like that it doesn’t have pectin. However, it was WAY too sweet. Next year, when I make it, I will use less sugar. It means more processing time in order to get it set up, but I might just add some homemade pectin, too. I’ll see what the year brings.
In all of my trying new recipes, I came across a recipe that called for lemon rind in the strawberry jam. I found it intriguing, so I added lime to my strawberry jam. I used apple pectin, because I was in a hurry to get them done, but next year I’m going to use citrus pectin. It makes much more sense to keep citrus with citrus.
Strawberry Lime Jam
Recipe Type: Canning
Cuisine: Whole
Author: Keira @ Searchforseven.com
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8 half-pints
Ingredients
5 cups crushed strawberries (about 5 lbs)
1/4 cup lime juice
3 cups sugar (more, to taste. I don’t like super-sweet jam)
zest from 1 lime
apple pectin (amount varies by product)
Instructions
Combine strawberries and lime juice in saucepan. Bring mixture to a simmer.
Add a cube at a time of frozen apple pectin. Test the pectin level by placing 1 tablespoon of rubbing alcohol in a small bowl and adding a few drops of your simmered fruit. A low-pectin mixture creates little strings of pectin while a high pectin mixture will form a single little blob. since we haven’t added the sugar yet, we don’t quite need the blob, but we definitely want it to hold its shape pretty well.
Add sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 3 minutes, stirring constantly (I have to turn my stove down slightly). Remove from heat.
Pour hot jam into jars. Jams usually need 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim. place heated lid onto jar, and spin on a ring.
Water-bath process for 15 minutes (10 for sea-level).
I’ve been experimenting with different preservation techniques over the past few years. I’m not really a jam/jelly fan, and I think it is because of all of the corn included in commercial pectin. I know there are other sources for pectin, and I have heard good reviews, but I haven’t purchased any yet. For now, I’m trying recipes that don’t call for pectin or using homemade pectin. The nice thing about preserves is that they are cooked down, so that they don’t require additional pectin to set up. And preserves just sound fancy. The drawbacks to preserves are that it 1) takes WAY more time (1-2 days!) and 2) the longer you cook a fruit, the more you break down the nutritional benefits within the fruit. I guess it’s a toss-up. less sugar and corny ingredients. More nutritional breakdown.
That’s why you make some of each, right?
I haven’t opened the jars yet, but they sure look purdy.
Strawberry Preserves
Author: Keira @ Searchforseven.com
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4 half-pints
Ingredients
3 lbs rinsed and hulled strawberries
2-5 cups sugar (to taste. I like mine less sweet. It does make it a softer set, though)
1/3 c strained fresh lemon juice [bottled has more consistent Ph, but I can’t have the sulfur preservatives]
Instructions
Layer the strawberries and sugar in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or at least 3 hrs.
Transfer strawberries and sugar in 6-8 qt saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, being careful to not break up the fruit. Cook until sugar dissolves.
Add lemon juice [I had to add the lemon juice before the sugar dissolved because it was just caramelizing the sugar. I think my strawberries were too fresh]. Bring to boil and cook to jelly stage220°, approximately 30 minutes
Pour into cake pan. Let stand uncovered in cool place for 12-24 hrs.
Return to saucepan and bring fruit and syrup to a boil.
Remove from heat, skim foam. Immediately fill hot sterile ½ pt jars leaving ¼” head-space. Carefully remove trapped air bubbles with non-metallic tool (I use the end of a plastic spoon. You can also use a chopstick or canning knife
Wipe jars clean, add lids and rings, and process in water-bath for 10 minutes [5 minutes at sea-level].
Notes
If you like more solid strawberries, you can boil for 10 minutes, strain juice, and then cook down the juice for another 15 minutes. I didn’t do this, but I might, after I try how these came out.[br]I double the recipe when I make it. It works just fine doubled.
I didn’t get nearly as many strawberries as I wanted to, this year. By the time I realized I wouldn’t be moving “any day,” most of the strawberries were already gone. and there was that time I waited too long when I HAD purchased some strawberries and I had to throw most of them away. We won’t get into how happy THAT made me. Especially because my brother saw the boxes of strawberries and said I must really love him to have bought that many, and if I weren’t his sister he’d think I was intending some romantic gesture. For my not-so-affectionate little bro, that’s huge.
I did get some strawberries in the freezer, and I dehydrated a TON (That somehow only filled 1/2 a gallon bag. Seriously, if my little miss didn’t like them so much, I wouldn’t do them. But she won’t each much fruit, so the fact that she loves dehydrated strawberries makes them totally worth the work).
The rest of the strawberries turned into strawberry preserves and strawberry jam. I am experimenting this year, so I tried a few different recipes.
Not mine. I still have about perfect vision. I was a little far-sighted, he said, but not enough to bother putting glasses on. Basically, if my eyes get tired, I should exercise them by looking at something far away for a few minutes (like out a window).
But the other members of my family? Yup, they’re all glasses-wearing super-stars. Ranger has had glasses since he was in elementary school… but he NEVER wears them. And never isn’t an exaggeration. His best friends had no idea he even wore glasses. And he’s known them since before high school. He also got contacts this time. And he’s worn them about as long as it takes to leave the doctor’s office, go grocery shopping, and come home. Then he took them out. He’s supposed to ease into them and go back to see the eye doc. He hasn’t made it that far.
He looks like a sophisticated stud in his glasses. Too bad no one will ever know.
The girly got glasses, too. But they’re the same prescription as last year. She will only wear them if NO ONE comments on them. And since she never wears them, when she does people ALWAYS comment on them. So they get left at home quite often, too. They’re just supposed to be for reading, so it’s not really a big deal, but they definitely make a difference.
So… I’m stumped. I’m trying to remember 2 childhood books and I just can’t remember them for the life of me! They were old favorites. One my family owned (but no one but me seems to remember) and one that I always checked out from the library. They were both picture books. If I had any readers I’d create a prize for knowing the titles of the books. Maybe I will anyway. I’ll make up a bookmark or something.
Book #1: It was basically the same concept of Love You Forever, but it was a girl as the main characther. And it didn’t have a mother sneaking into a room. It was a mommy feel-good book about a girl growing up. I remember a few of the pictures. One had the daughter riding through on a skateboard with her friends (yes, a girl skateboarder), and another illustration of the girl hanging (sitting? is it sitting if your feet are on the wall and your head is hanging off where your knees should be?) upside down on the couch talking to her friends via corded phone and eating pizza. Does this ring a bell to anyone? *** update 8/17/2020: I found it! It reminds me of Love you Forever because it’s the same artist! So, I looked up the artist (Sheila McGraw), and then looked for her other works. The name of the book I’m thinking about is called My Mother’s Hands.***
Book #2: This book was about a little girl who did not clean up her house. It never showed her parents at all in the book, and to me it seemed as though the only human in existence was the little girl. I specifically remember that she left the cap off the toothpaste and water in the soap dish. The house suddenly becomes human-like and gets mad at her and kicks/locks her out. Somehow, they are able to converse, and eventually she convinces the house she’ll be a cleaner little girl and is able to come back in the house.
I have Googled and Googled these books and I still get nothing. First of all, they are probably not still being printed. Secondly, without a name of any sorts, Google searching really has limitations. Even for this Google-junkie.
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I’ve been experimenting with different preservation techniques over the past few years. I’m not really a jam/jelly fan, and I think it is because of all of the corn included in commercial pectin. I know there are other sources for pectin, and I have heard good reviews, but I haven’t purchased any yet. For now, I’m trying recipes that don’t call for pectin or using homemade pectin. The nice thing about preserves is that they are cooked down, so that they don’t require additional pectin to set up. And preserves just sound fancy. The drawbacks to preserves are that it 1) takes WAY more time (1-2 days!) and 2) the longer you cook a fruit, the more you break down the nutritional benefits within the fruit. I guess it’s a toss-up. less sugar and corny ingredients. More nutritional breakdown.
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