Those who can their own food might have encountered this little problem. When you place a opened canning jar in the fridge it tends to reseal itself. Not the end of the world of course but I’ve lost more then a few fingernails prying them open each time I want some zucchini relish or peach jam. I also store dried goods in canning jars (like those chocolate chips) and they have a tendency to seal from time to time too. It is amazing that I have fingernails in fact.
When Michael stopped at the store the other week to augment my supply of Kerr jars (my preferred canning jar) he spotted these, plastic storage caps made by Ball (sorry Kerr!) These are for regular sized jar but you can also purchase them for wide mouthed jars. I am not sure how much Michael paid for them at Fred Myer but googling them shows that they seem to cost around $4 for 8. A bit of a frivolous expense in some eyes probably but I appreciate the drop in broken nails enough to justify it. Love them!
Just wanted to share my newest little discovery.
My Grandma Mason recently sent me a couple Countryside magazines from when she was focused on homesteading. I love them, enough so that I am considering subscribing, as the magazine is still around. Even though the information in these two is older then me, I still find it relevant and am amazed by how what is old is new again. (I suppose people say vintage instead of old now don’t they?) For example I recently I read an article about how there are high levels of certain man-made toxics in some women’s breastmilk, showing how toxic we have made our own environment. One of the magazines also had a little article about that, from more then 30 years ago!
Everything that is old is new again… except the prices! A corn kernel cutter for 65ยข, seriously? Granted, wages were less back then but I noticed that the price of homesteading books hasn’t changed much, it still ranges between $8 and $20. I also noticed that most of the ads in the magazine do not have phone numbers listed and instead use P.O. Boxes and small order forms. Naturally there are no urls or email addresses! The only color photos are on front and back cover. Most of the images inside, especially in the ads, are hand drawn. I think that is neater then photos.
My grandma teased me in her letter that she was initially going to start sending me the magazines starting them from 1986 (when I was born) but realized that they were all older then me. These two are from October 1977 and May 1978. So far I am still reading the October 1977 issue which is all about storing and preserving your harvest, particularly root cellaring, and explains how to convert a portion of your basement into one. Love the headlines on the May issue’s cover “How to outwit a cow”. Hehe! Maybe cows are smarter then I give them credit for…
Anyhow just wanted to share a little bit of my vintage magazines with you. (On a side note I love that my grandma always puts Mrs before my name on envelopes and I love that she includes handwritten letters. It is so nice receiving something someone took the time to sit down and write nowadays.)
Oh! And those are some tomatoes I picked from my garden this morning in the photo. Clockwise from the top, a Black Krim, two Amish Paste and a few Cherry Romas and Stupice.
We have two of these large spiderwebs on our deck (one in each open corner, but not any where the deck attached to the house.) Each has their own respective spider owner of course. I have no clue what variety of spider they are as I’ve only seen their large orb spider-like silhouettes in their webs at night. As soon as I turn on a light to try to get a better look they vanish. The quick glimpse I have gotten is maybe some black and orange fuzzy stripes? I am fairly certain they are not the yellow garden spiders I sometimes fine in my tomato plants.
The webs are both quite large (thank goodness, not as large as the ones at my parents’ old home in Spain. As much as I like arachnids, 5 foot webs with wrapped things in them large enough to be rodents were a wee bit too creepy for me.) The web in this photo though is just about 2.5 feet across though, probably one of the larger ones I have seen in Eastern Washington. It is strong too, I brushed up against it while sweeping the deck and a broom would normally destroy a spider but all it did was strum it like a guitar. No structural damage at all (though I am sure it’s owner was wondering what was going on.)
While I am not cuddly with arachnids of any form by any stretch of the imagination (though I have a live and let live policy with the couple in the basement pantry that keep the insect invaders at bay) I am not particularly bothered by them either. That is probably why I have largely ignored the deck webs. Surprisingly enough Damian has shown very little interest in them, he ripped them down a couple times but the spiders build them back bigger and better each time. I love the webs though, I think they are so beautiful. Even if you are afraid arachnophobic, I would think it would be hard not to at least admire a spider’s weaving talent. I could never weave something so seemingly delicate and yet so very strong.
Anyhow I just wanted to share my first vaguely successful attempt at photographing one of their webs with you and maybe see if my equally vague description of them rings any bells for any of you. I’d kind of like to know what species they are, just to satisfy my curiosity.
So I received a FedEx package today which I promptly tore into. When I open the box there was a pair of blue eyeballs in a ziplock bag staring up at me and a pair of brown ones beside them.
For the record, I did not order a hit. At least I wouldn’t blog about it…
That’s not all, there also was two roundish wrapped packages in the box. They were skulls. Please cue the dramatic music.
I swear, I have not ordered any hits.
Serious, the package was from my Uncle Stan, who tricks out his yard to the fullest for Halloween and whom I have been talking to about about some of our plans for our yard. Torch baring ghouls, scarecrows, building bodies that stand up to the elements and don’t mold. The usual. I hope everyone has a uncle they can talk to about stuff like that.
Receiving eyes and heads totally makes my day.
Facing a dying nation of moving paper fantasy
Listening for the new told lies
With supreme visions of lonely tunes[...]
Let the sunshine, let the sunshine in
The sunshine in
Maybe I have simply watched Hair and Across the Universe a few too many times but I often feel that I belong in the sixties and seventies. Not just because of the hair, the music and the clothes (though admittedly images do factor into the equation) but also because of the desire to be a part of such a widespread movement of peace, love and not accepting the status quo as truth.
My parents grew up in the “hippy” generation and I wonder if they would find my thoughts on it and romanticized. I wonder if they had as jaded an outlook on their peers as I do? My generation seems so selfish at times, so disconnected from the idea of compassion and too plugged into personal drama. It is hard to have a real conversation with someone anymore without them multitasking a million other things on some electronic device or them thinking that your opinions are a direct assault on them.
Not that I think we are doomed or should ditch our cellphones and laptops and run off to some off the grid commune to live in peace and love. I’m not a luddite (though some might call me one in jest!) nor do I believe in shutting out the world (how then can you fix the injustices?) I do think it is so important to unplug, step back, and consider if we are on the right track sometimes. The world is not going to end if we cannot check facebook, take a walk, or go to the store without our cell phones. I don’t think it would hurt any of us to slow down and appreciate a slow pace in life. I personally think it would make us healthier.
I am curious about what people think of my generation, including my peers. I know we are not all drama-queens and kings where the number of thiings we own and people we use dictate our place in some imaginary popularity contest; but I admit, it feels that way some days.
(Until my new camera arrives my Aunt Ruth has graciously allowed me to use her stunning photos in my posts. Check out her blog and flickr.)
