Sunrise

This was in my in-box this morning.

Photo courtesy of Eric, taken somewhere over the north Atlantic.

If the dawning of a new day doesn't move you, well, I don't know what will.

Moon Rise

Clear, clear, clear skies.  A glorious sunset, a wonderful moon rise.  Venus is at 2 o'clock.

The camera doesn't do justice to the colour of the sky.

The air is crisp.  Our low tonight is 4C or 39F.   I don't need to tell you the woodstove has been lit.

Ah, September.  I love thee so.

Stormy Weather

It's hard to believe but summer is winding down.  You'd think that with 45 years behind me, this annual recurrent feature called "fall" shouldn't come as a surprise.

September is a slap in the face, always has been, always will be.  Unless I move to the southern hemisphere, I think I'm screwed.

Maybe I shouldn't be worried, but considering summer started some time in July, I feel like I just didn't get enough down-time in.  Maybe that was bad planning on my part, or maybe it was weather-related, we'll see how I feel mid-February when the battery in my brain needs a boost.

We've had some remarkable storms blow through our area recently.  Here's the front moving in:

 

Within minutes it was pouring.

I always marvel at how dark it gets when clouds roll in.

Thankfully, the skies cleared up and the sun came out again, basking everything in a golden glow.

Facing east, we even had a beautiful rainbow.  I've opened the Velux window in the bedroom to take this shot, hence the corner of the roof in the picture.

Considering we have temps going up to 32C or 90F coming up, it's not over until it's over.  We should be able to squeeze a bit more summer out of September yet.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

You might think that it's a little bit late in the season for strawberries.  Well, think again:

These gorgeous little gems come from Quebec's renowned Ile d'Orléans, an island located in the Saint Lawrence river, mere miles from Quebec City.  I spied these beauties at my local grocery store and could not resist.  The flavour is very concentrated, and they're not watered-down like some of the spring fruit we traditionally get.  It was also high-time I used that package of freezer jam pectin I've had wedged in the back of the pantry for years now.

Observe:

Meh.  Use before November 09.  Well, that's still within my comfort zone.  Remember I'm time-challenged?  I checked on Bernardin's website, and the packaging has been revamped (probably twice since then), so if you're looking for this pouch, be forewarned it now looks different:

Why make freezer jam?  Well, several reasons.  It's no fuss, no muss.  Just mash strawberries until you have 4 cups, add 1-1/2 cups of granulated sugar to the pectin, mix together until well-combined, then add crushed strawberries and stir for 3 minutes.  No need to sterilize jars and no need to cook the mixture.  Why lose all that colour, flavour and those wonderful antioxidants? I really hate to see people spend more time and energy on something that should be this simple.  It also produces a superior tasting jam, and that should be reason enough to keep the stove turned off.

Part of the reason I generally avoid jam is the high sugar-to-fruit ratio.  Using 1-1/2 cups of sugar to 4 cups of fruit doesn't seem that evil to me.  I wouldn't eat this stuff for breakfast every day, but spread on waffles or thin pancakes, it's a thing of beauty.

Cracking open a jar of this strawberry jam in the middle of winter can keep a person from going insane.  It's like a little ray of sunshine during a long, cold season.

If that's all it takes, well then, sign me up:

The recipe makes 5 - 250mL jars.  You can use any type of container to freeze this jam - you don't have to use traditional canning jars like I did.  I used them because they were in the kitchen from my mango chutney episode, but little Rubbermaid or Tupperware-style plastic containers will do the trick.

I use it straight from the freezer.  I just slice out what I need, and it melts in seconds when put on hot crepes or toast or waffles.  Because I'm an infrequent jam-user, my strawberry jam stays much fresher this way.

So if you've never tried this method of jam-making, I hope I've convinced you to try it.

Just don't keep your pouch of freezer pectin on the shelf for 5 years like I did.

September

August just flew by, didn't it?

A View from Above

The following is courtesy of Eric:

When you'd rather be in bed, instead of 35,000 feet in the air at 3AM.

When the sun is rising in your face, yet your body tells you it's the middle of the night.

It's not as glorious as you'd think.

Still, each sunrise has it's own charm.

Eric

It's August 10 Already?

I obviously don't roll on the same calendar as everyone else.  On top of being a lazy blogger, I'm also guilty of being a lazy photo down-loader.  I'm going to keep this post as picture-heavy and word-free as I can, or forgo sleep altogether.

So, hang on, boys and girls:

Our neighbour's wheat field was not lodged during the storm that hit on June 28th, where we had 20 mm of rain in minutes, if I trust Environment Canada's statistics.

The wheat in our field tried to right itself over the following weeks, and it did, partly.  Still the quality will be terrible, if not a total write-off.  You might want to stock up on flour.

A swirly cloud sunset, for your pleasure.  Our sunsets this season? Few and far between, sadly.

A twelve-spotted dragon-fly.  The first I can recall seeing.  Global warming, here we come!  We'll be feeding polar bears soon.

From dragon-fly to Firefly - the yarn, that is.  This wonderful Firefly from Classic Elite became the aptly named Firefly tunic.  I actually finished something.  In keeping with my latest (laziest?) tradition, I pushed this into my knitting BFF's hands.  Credit goes to Elaine who seamed it for me.  (I think I'm on to something here...putting the onus of finishing projects in someone else's hands?  Brilliant!)  The wonderfully sheepy project bag came from zigzagstitches on Etsy.  Now I don't look like a bag-lady anymore, toting my projects around in tattered grocery bags.  I also love this tunic so much, people around me are starting to wonder if I have anything clean in my closet these days, other than this sweater.  Actually, yes there is, and no, I don't want to wear anything else.  End of discussion.

How's this for a sunset?  July 19th.  (I procrastinate about posting, don't I?)  Better late than never.

Yet another storm rolling in.  We've been deluged this year.  This photo dates July 28th.   Another 20 mm of rain.  I think the weather's on to something of a roll, too.

When the streetlights go on at 4PM, it's because it's raining hard.  Actually, it even hailed.

It rains so much, that it's even raining when it's sunny.  We've had bizarre weather this summer.  Environment Canada posted 0 mm on August 4.  I'm here to tell you we got nailed by a rogue thunder cell.

I finished a scarf made with Blue Sky Alpacas Metalico.  All natural baby alpaca colours, blended with mulberry silk.  Oh wow.  I can't wait for it to snow just so I can wear this!  Just kidding.  I'm saying that in the hopes that we'll only see snow in December.  Like on Christmas Eve December.

I love how Tessie does her Superman flying imitation.  I call this the Supercat pose.  Both Tessie and Bobber are hefty little munchkins.  Where was Cappie?  Enjoying the great out-of-doors.  I don't need to tell you she weighs half of what the chunky-monkeys weigh.

I've knit 12 of these scarves and blogged about it not-a-once.  Katia Jordan's One Skein, A Stole.  I wear this thing All. The. Time.  It matches the Firefly tunic.  See what I did there?  I camouflage the Firefly with my Noro scarf!

Today I made mango chutney.  We have so much local produce these days, but I had to make mango chutney with mangoes from Mexico.  They were 3 for 99c at the grocery store.  I needed 4 to make 6-250 mL jars.  That's a deal too good to pass up.  Don't let the exhaustive list of ingredients dissuade you from making this.  It's quite the condiment.

...and because they're not all stinkers, here is tonight's sunset.  We've got warm, dry, sunny days in the forecast for the coming week, which is a nice departure from recent weeks.

On that note, dear readers, I bid you adieu.  Until next time!