raspberries & fall

Today started out at the lake. This productive weekend saw the installation of three new windows in the front (and the reframing, leveling and subsequent swearing at three other new ones in the back.) I mostly ignored the saskatoons out there, except to put a few in the pancakes I made on Monday morning.

Real life came pounding back when I walked through the door - someone had scheduled a skating meeting for me tomorrow evening, the one night that Dale already has another meeting. Fortunately, someone else can't make my meeting, so they're rescheduling. But, so much for summer!

I also know it is fall because it is time to put things down in the freezer. I have made a solemn pledge to rip out my bean plants before I put down too many beans. The girls and I put together an assembly line on Saturday - first, I had them watch ratatouille (not for the violence, but for the cooking influence...) Then, I equipped them both with aprons, and we put down mixed vegetables. There are now 16 bags of those downstairs too.

I received my snow peas from my mother in law on Sunday (with orders to pick more, soon, while they are camping), so I have oriental mixed to do up tomorrow. But, I think I had better do some math...I need to figure out how many meals I will actually need vegetables for before I put down all of the beans. Unfortunately, there will be no corn this year. I have eighteen stalks out there, but I would be very, very shocked if they came in with all of this cold weather. And, even if they did, eighteen plants aren't going to produce enough to put down anyway.

The raspberry patch was looking rather sad this year - I hadn't got all of the deadwood out of it this spring - just got too busy. I finally got around to it today while picking my first pail of raspberries for jam. I should have eight little jars set to go down right away - that's two batches worth...and I'd better plan on putting more down than that. My family seems to think that PB&J is a good idea (not me, them. I can't handle it) so I oblige by making the jam. And, raspberry is pretty easy. I think that I see chokecherries behind the cabin too, but if I make enough raspberry jam, maybe I won't have to process those...