Short Story Long

While perusing my canning cookbooks, I came across some pear recipes.  In the end, the one I used was online, here .  My boys were skeptical of the star anise but we made it once as-written and it is pretty great.  And we wondered, are there other kinds of anise?  I went and got more pears for another batch (and pictures, of course!) I made more peach preserves.  It's the easiest thing to come by in large quantity, a box of good peaches, and a crowd pleaser, definitely.    I used my favorite recipe as previously posted . And lovely strawberry... preserve.  Jam?  I'm not sure.  Poor strawberry stuff, no spices; just lemon and sugar - and I used all the lemons.  I ate that strawberry after the pictures, and it was delicious. I'm thinking that these would all be perfect for a tea party, and perhaps I should make some lemon curd.  Have you made lemon curd?  I'll have to look for a recipe unless you can sugge...

As you can see, the garden is doing its job.  I'm not sure I've done mine , but considering I only planted two thirds of the garden, and we had two hail storms early in the season, we're going alright.   We had a couple of rounds of snap peas - one of my favorite things.  I intended to plant more but I'm thankful for what we had, as they are so much better fresh than store-bought.    Currently, we have a daily allowance of tomatoes - perfect for throwing in salad or fajitas.  There is nothing like a fresh-picked tomato.  Soon, we'll have some big ones ready for salsa and marinara.  The tomatillos are taking over - how did I not know this would happen?  Their lovely little lanterns are fun, though. I wish I had planted corn, potatoes, onions.  They seem like no-brainers but since they don't come in pots, I did not get them done.  What should we plant next year??

We decided to track down a hot air balloon festival this summer, and spent the weekend in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  This beautiful little town has good food, beautiful hikes, friendly locals, and a yarn shop!  What more could you ask for??   We watched balloons from sunrise to sundown, seriously.  I am going to mostly let the pictures do the talking but wanted to point out two things.  The "rodeo" portion of this festival is when the balloon pilots attempt to touch down on the surface of the lake.  I think most of them managed it without any problems.  You can see the yellow balloon with the flowers is still dripping as it rises.  Also, out of twelve hand-painted balloons in the world, there are two in this crowd!  They are the circus balloon and the cowboys.   To see more, including a time-lapse video (my first attempt at that,) you can check out the whole set here .  

Like many crafters, I have lots of projects in the works.  One of my current projects is a personal little photo essay, if you will, on artists and craftsmen.  This involves finding such people, and then convincing them they should be photographed.  (This has proven a little more challenging than I had expected.  I think many artists have a difficult time sharing or explaining their process.)  The idea for this project came simply from my appreciation of all the people I've encountered over the last five or ten years who, like me, enjoy making things with their hands.  I've met everyone from dyers and spinners to car fabricators, wood workers, painters, and more. Of course, I am not the first person to think of this.  Check out the Craftsman's Legacy  for a fascinating video series on everything from handmade clocks to long bows. I'm working a little closer to home, though, with Jessica, a quilter.  Jessica heard about my ...