Kindergarten Graduation

Today Kenzie graduated from Kindergarten and has officially become a first grader! She is so excited and proud of herself and we are very proud of her too!

Mackenzie getting a hug from her big sister. Becca was able to be dismissed from her class long enough to attend the graduation.

And of course a little cake. The school mascot is a Tiger cub so I used a sitting bear pan and turned him into a tiger cub.

Homemade sausage

Dom and I have taken up making our own italian sausage. Really good italian sausage is hard to find around here and we used to be able to get some in Gloucester but they don't make it anymore so the only thing to do was make our own.



We bought the grinder attachment and the stuffing attachement for my KitchenAid mixer and that is how we grind up the meat and stuff the links. There is a little bit of a learning curve when stuffing the links but it really isn't too hard. We started with a basic sweet italian sausage recipe and have played around with it each time and the last couple of time have come out really good.

So since the weather was rainy again yesterday we made another batch. Our next batch will even be better because we'll use our own fresh herbs. It really is satisfying making something from scratch and knowing exactly what went into it.

Getting ready for the Harvest

Okay, so I just put my wee little plants into the ground and I am already planning ahead to harvest time. I have wanted to try canning for several years now-tomato sauce, applesauce, pickles etc., but since we just kinda threw some plants into the ground last minute without much planning and usually too late for the short growing season in the northeast we didn't really have enough extra to make the effort worthwhile. This year I've planned ahead a bit and hope to have at least enough tomatoes to have some fresh sauce into the cooler months. I'd like to try making some fresh salsa too. My dad always has lots of apples so there should be plenty for applesauce and other appley things (apple butter? apple-cinnamon syrup? Preserves?) I've been bugging my dad to make a cider press. I know he started working on it but will he finish in time for this season? That is the million dollar question.
I made a batch of icebox pickels last year that were a big hit with the family so I will do those again and maybe try some different kinds.(Dill? Cucumber chips? Relish?).
After doing some research on the internet it is recommended that I purchase all my supplies, especially jars now, because at the end of the summer they will sell out quickly. This makes sense so once I decide on the recipes I want to try I'll purchase some jars.

Anyone got some tried and true recipes they want to share?

New Self Portrait

I colored my hair darker because that is what my husband likes and then decided it was time for another self portrait. This is what I came up with. Why won't Blogger let me change my profile picture? Anyone???

Waterbug

Becca is a little waterbug. If there is water nearby chances are she's in it, and she usually isn't satisfied with just sticking her feet in, she's got to go all the the way in. And it doesn't matter how cold or muddy it maybe. So this spring we were able to find her a pair of waders so she could get wet without me worrying that she was going to get hypothermia. So she splashes all around and is totally content to just sit and think.

Luckily the waders totally protect her feet because there is the little issue of water in the boots!