Easy Freezer Jam

When strawberries come into season, I make freezer jam. It is easy and the kids LOVE it on their pancakes/waffles instead of syrup.

I made 10 small jars. I used the "newish" plastic jam jars from Ball that have screw on lids and nest together in your freezer. It gelled really nicely overnight.

Of course, it could be that for some reason, I got it in my head that each recipe needed twice the amount of strawberries but I never changed everything else so it was more like soup than jam.
I love freezer jam because the strawberries keep that wonderful red color and the taste is amazing. In case you are wondering, I just use the Sure Jell recipe inside the box and it works like a charm.

It is NOT that warm in Arizona....

We got home from dinner and the kids saw friends in the pool...and thought they needed to go too.

You see the ginger tip toes on the steps....yeah, it is cold. I had a sweater on while I supervised.
Eventually, they jumped in, swam around for 5 minutes or less and came in the house shivering.

Let's hope they wait until the water really warms up!

P.S. This is being posted from my laptop!!! Uninstalled YAHOO parts and now, no crashing! Yea.

Dragon Boat Races

Hannah, Simon & I went down to Tempe Town Lake to watch a work team compete in the "corporate" division of the Dragon Boat Races. I put our bikes in the back of the van so we could ride down by the lake. They came in really handy since the parking area near the lake was full and we had to park quite a ways away so we rode them to the lake.
The rowing team before the race.
On the lake......
Showing the victory sign. They won their first heat and so it is on to the next round later in the day.
A great morning outside in sunny, warm Arizona.

Girl's Weekend

Before Easter, I got some nice lilies that opened and looked gorgeous as they opened. They also smelled amazing as they opened.
Last weekend, I had a girls weekend with some college girlfriends, Tamra (l) and Laurie (r).
We haven't all been together for 6 years so this was a nice way to spend a long weekend celebrating friendship & Laurie's upcoming wedding in October.
We stayed at a nice hotel, got massages, shopped and danced. A great girls weekend!!

Advice...

First I love my laptop...so much I rarely use the desktop PC.

• The only problem, whenever I close Internet Explorer 7, it crashes....which means I can't upload photos to blogger, buy things online, etc. I have Norton Anti-Virus and I suspect there is something not working between the two programs. Anyone got any ideas? The new laptop has Windows Vista.
• The lace fingerless mitts are not going well. Do any of you readers know of patterns for fingerless gloves that call for lace weight yarn? The mitts are to match a shawl I made for my Mom but they only had the purple colored yarn in lace weight. So...I am stuck.

I saw a movie over the weekend called The Bank Job. It was good although a little more violent in the middle than I expected. The lead characters are good and I have seen them both in other movies.

Any advice on my two problems above, leave me a comment or email me.

Moving into the Wireless Age

I finally broke down and got a laptop. However, to make the laptop work....you must install this....

for the wireless printing. The adapter was almost as much as a new printer but I have a really nice all in one (printer, fax, scanner, copier) so I did not need to purchase another printer. It does only work for HP's but that is what I have!
Of course, to get them all to work, you must install the router. See where that red sticker is??? Yeah, hides all the Cat5 cable connections and it only took me 4 rounds of trying to get things working to FINALLY figure it out...must take the sticker off.
Oh, and figuring out the cables and what goes to what. You know what I figured out?? I have cables plugged in that go to nothing. Much cleaner now.
Off to get the network working on the laptop.

SUCCESS...being posted from the laptop! Off to get the printer to work.

Saturday Morning Hike

So, since my winkies are on spring break and spending it with Dad, I decided to take a hike this morning from Dreamy Draw Dam. It was BEAUTIFUL. I started about 7:15 am....not too early but the weather was still nice and cool.
I took trail 100 thinking it was going to go in a circle....um, not so much. Turns out it is a 10 mile hike so after about 40 minutes I turned around and headed back.
The desert was beautiful although I clearly missed the wildflowers by a week.
This is the way most of the trail looked so you had to concentrate to not slip.
This is looking back towards where my car is across the road. Next time I will try another trail that goes off in the other direction.
I can say that I am pretty sure climbing stairs tomorrow will not be very fun but I felt good and it was a very peaceful way to start my morning.

Renaissance Festival

We went to the Renaissance Festival today and had a great time.

All the kids really wanted to do was the bungee jumping. Simon was all full of it until the actual moment and then...decided to take the more quiet approach. I have to say the man working his trampoline was really nice and understanding about a little winkie who has a great vision.

Hannah, well, you can see she was bouncing all over but said she couldn't get the guts to do a flip or two...next year!
They also tried their luck at bouncing frogs with a catapult. Simon won a bug!
Me...see, I was really there with them!!!
So were Grandpa & Grandma....funny, Grandpa has a pointy head but we didn't know it until this photo!! Sorry DAD!!
There was a petting zoo...YES, my children remember that wool yarn comes from sheep. Hannah gave me the "yes, I know sheep produce wool Mom". ;)
Simon loved the babies.
A ride on Da Vinci's Flying Ride.
I told you I would see wildflowers!
And, we did a quick trip to Fresh & Easy by Dad & Linda's place. Apparently, there is one in a strange intersection near us too. It is somewhere between a convenience store & grocery store.
It is owned by Tesco's in the UK...but they did not have any PG Tips tea. Sigh. We did pick up a few quick things like milk and such in a much shorter time than it would have taken at a normal grocery store. In our neck of the woods, it is a lot like Trader Joe's but with a much better store lay out and stuff is easy to find. Although, I did not see the great cheese selection that TJ's has at their stores.

A great Saturday all around!!

Arizona Wildflowers

I love this time of year. The flowers are blooming and sometimes I see a front yard with these colors and I wish I had sowed some seeds of my own in the yard.

I did not take this photo but swiped it from here.
I am hoping we will see some on our way out to the Rennaissance Festival this weekend. Or maybe, we will just keep driving further out in the desert just for fun looking for flowers.

Charity Dinner

I attended the Mardi Gras fundraiser last night for Esperanca with my friend Lizette (I have a photo but it does not do her justice). It was decorated really nicely in the Cajun Mardis Gras theme but this photo does not do it justice.
I saw Miss Kelli there along with her Mom. That was a nice surprise!!
I am not used to staying up so late but we had a great time.

New Dishes..

I have been on the look out for dishes that could go with the Lusterware I got when my Grandma died. I love it but there are quite a few parts missing (cereal bowls, bread plates, etc.) so.....
I finally saw these that could go on the table together if I had a lot of people plus, they were inexpensive enough that if my children break them (Yes, already planning for the clumsiness of children), I am not upset.

They came yesterday and I like them as much in person as I do in the photo!

Sunday

Look at these cute bags that were in the Joann's ad this weekend. I have been using fabric bags for a few years for my groceries. They are canvas bags that have been collected over the years. However, after the move, it appears I only have about 6-7 left. Don't know where the rest of them went but, hey, I am sure there is fabric in my stash to make a few of these.
I also bought a vacuum to do my stairs. I have an upright but I don't think it works all that well on the stairs and it is bulky. I got this on Friday and I can tell you after using it, the stairs look so much better. Hmmm...doesn't that hand held size look like something a 9 yo could do?? New chore in her future.
I have started these fingerless gloves TWICE! They are Lucky 8 from Mag Knits. The pattern is not bad but since I am knitting them in the round instead of flat (as the pattern is written), I keep forgetting the "knit" row in between increases, etc. Let's hope the 3rd time is the charm since they are for my Mom for her birthday.
I have to thank Kate for the Harmony needles since this pattern calls for a size that is not normally sold in the US.

Another update...

I finished a second pair of the baby booties. The ones on the right are left over Lorna's Laces. They are smaller since the yarn is smaller and contains elastic.

I got a surprise right before Valentine's Day with this nice gift. I am pen pal's with a lady in Alaska that I have never actually met in person. We met through an online cooking group I participate in online.
She is in her late 70's with failing eye sight which makes her gift even more special. She made me a cross stitched bookmark with the nicest note:

You are one of life's special blessings. As you use this bookmark I made, I hope you will be reminded of the mark you make on the lives of many. Happy Valentine's Day.

So sweet and so special. Thanks Lynn!

SHE'S BACK

The kids and I spent a good amount of time looking for Leah yesterday and we also posted signs around the neighborhood and on the doors of our neighbors within a few blocks of the house.

I got a call or two telling me that they had seen her so that was promising that she had not come to any harm.

This morning, I went out to get the paper and called for her but nothing.

Then, as I was standing in the kitchen putting the coffee on, I hear meowing from outside.

Lo and behold, she was standing on the doorstep looking none the worse for the wear. She has however, had a lot of water and food since coming back. Oh, and she spent a lot of time sitting very near me for the first hour.

Thanks for the kind emails about Leah!

Have you seen me???

It appears Leah was able to outsmart us and get out of the front door when it was ajar last night.

I didn't realize she was gone (she has free reign of the house and often is stuck in hidey holes around the house) until 4:30 am this morning when I did not recall her jumping on the bed and pouncing my feet in the night.

I went out looking for her this morning and we are going to hang signs in our neighborhood and some of the ones close to us this morning and then ask around to our neighbors.

Let's hope someone took her in last night.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH

Hannah's birthday is on Valentine's Day so, there is no way to avoid the day...

Early morning present opening....she got to open a few.
Birthday cake with Grandpa & Grandma.
Showing off her new Skip It out front.
Opening a new, much bigger, mp3 player that is PINK.
After dinner with the Tiki.
Happy 9th Birthday Hannah! There is a sleep over planned for tonight.

There is Knitting....

I have big things on the needles but saw something I could finish in a evening or two on Amanda's blog. Magic Slippers using your left over sock yarn.

I finished this one last night watching 1/2 of Four Weddings and a Funeral on BBC America.
Here is the second one before I ripped it back to match the stripes. The yarn is Lion Brand Magic Stripes.
The second one should be finished later this evening. Kate, did you notice the Harmony dpn's??? Do the slippers count as socks??? ;)