Wednesday was honey/strawberry jam day on Pentoga Road

June 29, 2017 - Thursday

63 degrees/cloudy-rain/calm winds

Pentoga Road

For it being so rainy and breezy on Wednesday, I managed to keep busy. In fact, the day flew by.

The morning started by resuming my three mile regimen of walking. The heels are hurting a bit, but not horribly. I guess I'll have to break down and visit the podiatrist, see if she can give me a shot of cortisone in each heel so I can resume life as I know it.

I'm always amazed at how much I miss when I don't walk, the animals, flowers, and roadside happenings that are too subtle to be seen from a car.

The wild flowers are beginning to bloom in abundance. These small yellow ones are beautiful and give a yellowish cast to the surrounding area.

Once home, I began the process of making honeyberry/strawberry jam.

I wanted to include rhubarb in the mix, but I'd already picked enough berries to fill exactly twenty-four jelly jars.

The jars are heated in boiling water to ensure that when the mixture cools, the lids will seal tightly.

Quite the mess was made before I was finished, but what can one expect from any recipe that calls for twelve cups of mashed fruit, four bags of pectin and twenty-two cups of sugar.

In the end, all the jars sealed and the exteriors washed and carried to the basement to be stored until needed. It took the rest of the morning to clean the kitchen and wash the dishes.

I moved my attentions to washing three loads of laundry. All were washed, dried, and folded or hung by day's end.

My favorite part of the day was working on the decorative dish that's mounted on the lathe.

Made from birch, it's by far the largest piece I've tried turning and I'm having fun designing the small serving platter as I go.

Stay tuned. I have no idea what it will be like in the end. 

I'm sure looking forward to adding on to the shop (next month, I hope) then eventually purchasing a larger lathe. The one I have is a wonderful learning tool and is perfect for smaller projects. A larger one will allow me to do much more.

Sargie has shown a great deal of interest in the shop, possibly helping on projects that utilize the power tools. (I think she's secretly fearful I'm going to cut off a finger.) Seems I have the imagination, but Sargie's the artist, the one who adds some real personality to any work.

 In fact, we're beginning to make some initial plans to offer custom made block names, snowmen (or soldiers or nutcrackers) turned on the lathe, and a few other goodies for sale. My oldest son, Josh, is giving us suggestions about how to market them online and I'm excited about the prospect of Sargie and I working together. There is one problem. I'll have to change my sign to read:

No gurlz allowed except Sargie and Mom

I need to be wary. Before I know it, both will be wanting to sit in my recliner. Is there no God?

I ran through the shower late Wednesday afternoon and drove to Iron Mountain so I could ride home with Sargie. With all the long hours she's been working, I wanted to take advantage of the drive to have some quality time together. As usual, the trip back home seemed to end before it even began.

I'll be riding to Iron Mountain this morning. Sargie opens today, but has the next four days off due to the upcoming 4th of July holiday. 

Isabella will be with us tomorrow. Since she and Grady are buddies, Sargie will be bringing ol' Hambone home tonight. We're praying for a nice day so they can ride trikes up and down the drive, play in the sandbox, and keep each other entertained. Regardless, we're looking forward to having them both. 

Isabella stayed with Auntie Jenna yesterday and I'd say they visited Uncle Jerad at the town garage. She looks a lot cuter on that mower than her uncle! Grandpa Yooper Brother Mark forwarded this picture from New York where he is visiting one of their three facilities this week.

Meanwhile, it's time to shake a leg and get this rainy day started. Both cars will be taken to Jiffy Lube for oil changes this morning and there are a few other errands to run while in Iron Mountain.

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

The garden woes continue. A gust of wind picked up a giant pumpkin plant Wednesday, flipped it over, and broke the stem. This is turning out to be one of those years that I should have just planted a cover crop and called it good 'nuff.