Sunday, September 14, 2008

the ark

The remains of hurricane Ike has about finished passing over us. We have gotten over three inches of rain since 8 o'clock last night (it is now noon). Our basement has taken on some water. I took a cab to a hardware store to buy a sump pump. Happy birthday, Don! Don unfortunately slipped on the basement steps, but said his glutes absorbed most of the impact. His shoulder is stiff & sore, but he is all right otherwise. The sump pump is working.

There was a ferocious wind this morning that toppled the tomatoes in the garden. The Jerusalem artichokes are nearly horizontal between the rain and the wind. A few small dead limbs are down. Our yard is a pond, at least in the kid area. Places just north of us are getting this rain atop 3-5" in the last couple of days. Flood warnings are everywhere, as every creek and river is above flood stage. There's been too much rain to accurately predict a crest, says the weather service.

I attended a canning party yesterday. It was a lot of fun, and I feel way more comfortable trying out my pressure canner now. My friend Cecily and I are going to gather piles of seconds from the farmers market & can this week. Kaleigh and I are going over there today also. Kaleigh is going to play with Patrick, age 20 months, as she is really taken with him. Cecily & I are going to make rhubarb wine.

This week Don is working two days & has trainings on two days. We also have a food not lawns Springfield meeting on Thursday, and I'm facilitating the girls' book club on Friday. We're reading Daniel's Duck by Clyde Robert Bulla, and our craft will be sewing. It's going to be fun! Hopefully it won't be raining.

carey

2 comments:

Jederah said...

So what all did the canning party entail? Was it at a home or a center? How many canners did you have going? Sorry so many questions but its just that I would love to go to one or get one off the ground. I have the equipment but not very much know-how.

sharqi said...

Stephanie, I sure know how it is to have the equipment but not the know-how. At the canning party, everyone brought what they had. Three folks brought tomatoes, one brought peaches, and the hostess also had green beans. We chopped, cooked, and canned in two pressure canners.

Yesterday, Cecily and I canned two big boxes of seconds. We used a boiling bath canner (her pressure canner doesn't fit quarts). We canned 12 quarts of sliced peaches and 17 half-pints of low-sugar peach jam.

These were both at someone's home. If you ever find yourself in central central Illinois, and you want to can, let me know!

carey