SIDEBAR #49 - Arias/Alexander forum

[Bernina]

25 X 25 is a perfect size for a nice garden. Mine is about 20 X 15 and I wish it was a little larger so I built another one about the same size so I have 2 of them. I have cucumbers in one of them and in my other one, I have tomatoes and 3 varieties of peppers.

I love canning. I mainly can just the tomatoes and I kind of use a method I learned from trial and error to save time.

What I do is just wash the tomatoes good and then cut them into large chunks and throw them in a large pot. Then I just boil them down into a stew and in other pots with clean water, I just boil the lids and jars. I boil the tomatoes at least 30-45 minutes to make sure they boil into a thin suace and sterilze all the tomatoes juices.

Once the tomatoes boil into a juice, I just take out the jars, fill them and put the lids on and turn them upside down for about 3-4 minutes, then turn them rightside up and let them cool. I leave about 1/4 inch or so of air at top.
Oh... And make sure you wipe the jar edge real clean before placing that small round lid on it. You dont want any small pieces of tomatoe to interrupt the seal.

It is so easy and they always seal and pop closed that way as they cool.

I dont mind the seeds and skins but even if you dont like those, you can just strain them out when you are ready to use the tomatoe juice/sauce. I found it much easier to strain them when I am ready to use the sauce rather than when the juice is hot. Plus it makes canning quicker not to have to strain.

I use it in spaghettie sauce, make home-made salsa with it, nachos, taco sauce, and basically any time I want to add the tomatoe juice to something to give a dish a home-made kick-up.

They last 2-3 years or more in the jars so long as I store them in a cool place where no sun gets to them. When I open the jars, I just take a good whiff and look at it closely and you can usually tell it is still fine because the sauce smells so good like the day you canned it.

Good luck with your garden plans. My tomatoes are already 12 inches high, my cukes are about 6 inches, and my pepper plants about 8 inches and with all the rain, things are growing good here in midwest already. I think certain areas of the country are later growing season than here in midwest. Like the East is probably just now getting real good to plant.

I'm actually looking at cases of Mason and Ball jars, It's really crazy because I dreaded bottling/freezing/dehydrating time when I was growing up. And the word was "Go BIG or go home". My dad put in a 1/2 acre garden every year and down in Scottsdale, growing season was LONG. He had his hot boxes going in the winter, we had a pretty sizable compost pile, and the irrigation ran through the horse pens into the garden.
Some of the grape vineyards out to the south let you glean their plants after the pickers went through and they charge you by the pound, my grandpa would drag us out there to pick grapes, then he'd bottle grape juice and throw sheets on the roof and make grabs. Between my mom and grandpa, there'd be 2 huge pressure cookers going, jars and lids being boiled and tons of fruits and veggies in huge stainless bowl being cut up and cleaned. My grandpa's dehydrator was on casters and had to be 5' tall, just trays and trays of tomatoes, figs, strawberries, chilis, apples, and sometimes plums. Anything that couldn't be grown in Scottsdale, my gramps would go up to my uncle's place in Layton, Utah, and bring crates of fruit back down with him.
My grandpa used the word "cukes" too!

 

[Gin]

I'm actually looking at cases of Mason and Ball jars, It's really crazy because I dreaded bottling/freezing/dehydrating time when I was growing up. And the word was "Go BIG or go home". My dad put in a 1/2 acre garden every year and down in Scottsdale, growing season was LONG. He had his hot boxes going in the winter, we had a pretty sizable compost pile, and the irrigation ran through the horse pens into the garden.
Some of the grape vineyards out to the south let you glean their plants after the pickers went through and they charge you by the pound, my grandpa would drag us out there to pick grapes, then he'd bottle grape juice and throw sheets on the roof and make grabs. Between my mom and grandpa, there'd be 2 huge pressure cookers going, jars and lids being boiled and tons of fruits and veggies in huge stainless bowl being cut up and cleaned. My grandpa's dehydrator was on casters and had to be 5' tall, just trays and trays of tomatoes, figs, strawberries, chilis, apples, and sometimes plums. Anything that couldn't be grown in Scottsdale, my gramps would go up to my uncle's place in Layton, Utah, and bring crates of fruit back down with him.
My grandpa used the word "cukes" too!

Small world, friend! I used to live about 5 minutes from Fruit Heights in UT. So many fruit trees, very pretty, with the background of the Wasatch Mountains. I miss being able to stop by the fruit stands there.

 

[Dmacky]

Zuri, nice to see what you look like!

Oh good Lord. I had no idea...

Zuri, you are very pretty. In fact, you are as beautiful on the outside as you are on the inside. I/we always knew you were special. You are truly an inspiration to our forum.

 

[Niner]

Morning all! :wave:

Here's a few funnies for a Wednesday (from my latest Reader's Digest!!

Life:
My sister didn’t do as well on her driver’s-ed test as she’d hoped. It might have had something to do with how she completed this sentence: “when the _____ is dead, the car won’t start.”
She wrote “Driver.”

After an impromptu song, our pastor asked the church pianist, “What key did I sing that in?”
The pianist replied, “Most of them.”

A hotel minibar allows you to see into the future and find out what a can of Pepsi will cost in 2020.

During a visit with my grandmother, my husband noticed a birthday card from a local funeral parlor.
“that was nice of them,” he said.
She was unimpressed. “They only want me for my body,” she grumbled.

And one from abroad:
During a Pilates class, our thin teacher apologized to one of her larger students for blocking her view of herself in the mirror.
“Don’t worry,” the woman said. “I can see myself on either side of you.”

A Day’s Work:
The best ever legal advice spotted on a billboard came from an ad for the law office of Larry L. Archie: “Just because you did it doesn’t mean you’re guilty.”

Any time a person with a journalism degree writes a story about a celebrity getting bangs, Walter Cronkite punches an angel.

A client called my help desk saying she couldn’t send an e-mail. When I was done troubleshooting the problem, she interrupted me to ask, “Wait a minute, do I type @ in lower or uppercase?”

Laughter – The Best Medicine:
“Here,” says the nurse, handing the patient a urine specimen container. “The bathroom’s over there.” A few minutes later, the patient comes out of the bathroom.
“Thanks,” he says, returning the empty container. “But there was a toilet in there, so I didn’t need this after all.”

I prescribed an inhaler for a patient’s cat allergy. He came back a week later saying he was none the better. Turns out, he was spraying the inhaler on the cat.

Patient: Doctor, I slipped in the grocery store and really hurt myself.
Doctor: Where did you get hurt?
Patient: Aisle six.

I was working a long-term-care facility, and there was a celebration for one of the residents. It was her 100th birthday. She was quite somnolent as the party began, so I asked her, “Do you know how old your are today?”
“No, how old am I.”
“You’re 100 years old.”
“Well, no wonder I’m so tired.”

Call it… carma! A car belonging to a pregnant patient was broken into. The only thing that was stolen was a wine bottle in a brown paper bag. It turns out, that’s where she was keeping her urine sample, which she’d brought in to be tested.

I asked a young mother in our neonatal unit why she thought we had so many expectant mothers from her small town. She said, “Well, we don’t have cable.”

A doctor tells his wife, “You’re a terrible cook, you spend too much money, and you’re a lousy lover!”
Two weeks later, he comes home to find her making out with his partner.
“What’s going on here?!” he demands.
“Just getting a second opinion,” she replies.


:seeya:

 

[Spellbound]

Totally off-topic:
Just need a small corner to vent a bit. Settling a family estate is draining, exhausting, anxiety-provoking. unfortunately, due to circumstances not expected, I am beginning to understand when people say the deaths of the parents can cause a family split. When I come back here bald or with no tongue, you will know O have exhausted all my patience.

Thank you for the soapbox. I will sit down now. Enjoying reading all your posts, but replying is becoming difficult for now.

 

[Bernina]

Totally off-topic:
Just need a small corner to vent a bit. Settling a family estate is draining, exhausting, anxiety-provoking. unfortunately, due to circumstances not expected, I am beginning to understand when people say the deaths of the parents can cause a family split. When I come back here bald or with no tongue, you will know O have exhausted all my patience.

Thank you for the soapbox. I will sit down now. Enjoying reading all your posts, but replying is becoming difficult for now.

Sometimes you just have to walk away to save your sanity. I did that many times in the past, it's just wasn't worth my time, or money. Then I got slammed for not "taking a side".
My gramps asked me what I wanted when he died soon after my grandma died. Of all the things, and literally millions of dollars in cash and assets, I asked him for a pic of him and grandma on 2 horses that was in the entry way of their home.
Shortly after grandma's funeral, I received an envelope with that picture. About 12 years later, grandpa died, and there were the gobs of family and extended family members with their attorneys fighting over his estate in a Utah court. I refused to participate. Didn't have any of grandpa's "stuff" before, didn't need any of it now.
And..............a few of those idiots actually wanted me to give that picture back.:facepalm:
I feel for you, Spellbound.

 

[Niner]

A Happy 54th Birthday to George Clooney!! :loveyou:

 

[Bernina]

A Happy 54th Birthday to George Clooney!! :loveyou:

He was actually born the same year as me...........wow!

 

[Spellbound]

Sometimes you just have to walk away to save your sanity. I did that many times in the past, it's just wasn't worth my time, or money. Then I got slammed for not "taking a side".
My gramps asked me what I wanted when he died soon after my grandma died. Of all the things, and literally millions of dollars in cash and assets, I asked him for a pic of him and grandma on 2 horses that was in the entry way of their home.
Shortly after grandma's funeral, I received an envelope with that picture. About 12 years later, grandpa died, and there were the gobs of family and extended family members with their attorneys fighting over his estate in a Utah court. I refused to participate. Didn't have any of grandpa's "stuff" before, didn't need any of it now.
And..............a few of those idiots actually wanted me to give that picture back.:facepalm:
I feel for you, Spellbound.

There is only me and my disabled brother, then my daughter (and her two young ones) and son. It is tearing me up that my two cannot have a civil discussion about things. Problem is, my daughter was entrusted to be the trustee and it is like a stranger came into our lives. She tells us zilch. There is nothing I want of their possssions (a sewing machine would be nice, though) but there are a few things my son would like. The rest ..... who knows where it will end up. Son lived with my parents for a few years, then spent several years close to them and did a lot pf physical labor to help them out.

Sigh ....... what a kerfluffle.

 

[ILikeToBendPages]

25 X 25 is a perfect size for a nice garden. Mine is about 20 X 15 and I wish it was a little larger so I built another one about the same size so I have 2 of them. I have cucumbers in one of them and in my other one, I have tomatoes and 3 varieties of peppers.

I love canning. I mainly can just the tomatoes and I kind of use a method I learned from trial and error to save time.

What I do is just wash the tomatoes good and then cut them into large chunks and throw them in a large pot. Then I just boil them down into a stew and in other pots with clean water, I just boil the lids and jars. I boil the tomatoes at least 30-45 minutes to make sure they boil into a thin suace and sterilze all the tomatoes juices.

Once the tomatoes boil into a juice, I just take out the jars, fill them and put the lids on and turn them upside down for about 3-4 minutes, then turn them rightside up and let them cool. I leave about 1/4 inch or so of air at top.
Oh... And make sure you wipe the jar edge real clean before placing that small round lid on it. You dont want any small pieces of tomatoe to interrupt the seal.

It is so easy and they always seal and pop closed that way as they cool.

I dont mind the seeds and skins but even if you dont like those, you can just strain them out when you are ready to use the tomatoe juice/sauce. I found it much easier to strain them when I am ready to use the sauce rather than when the juice is hot. Plus it makes canning quicker not to have to strain.

I use it in spaghettie sauce, make home-made salsa with it, nachos, taco sauce, and basically any time I want to add the tomatoe juice to something to give a dish a home-made kick-up.

They last 2-3 years or more in the jars so long as I store them in a cool place where no sun gets to them. When I open the jars, I just take a good whiff and look at it closely and you can usually tell it is still fine because the sauce smells so good like the day you canned it.

Good luck with your garden plans. My tomatoes are already 12 inches high, my cukes are about 6 inches, and my pepper plants about 8 inches and with all the rain, things are growing good here in midwest already. I think certain areas of the country are later growing season than here in midwest. Like the East is probably just now getting real good to plant.

We have a big garden - fifty by seventy five feet - but not this year. We love fresh okra, squash, zucchini, corn and melons which take up a lot of room, and we still have more than enough left over for leaf lettuce, onions, peppers, and tomatoes - just about everything for salads - but the rain and life have got in the way this year so far so no tilling done yet. I do have plans ( and can increase the garden size to twice it's size), and seed catalogs at the ready, to grow pot when it becomes legal in Texas.

We can a lot of tomatoes like you do. We use them to make goulash, spaghetti sauces, spanish rice, chili and stews, and swiss steak. We hang some of our onions to dry , and freezer others to use through the winter.


When I was pregnant with Anna we planted out first garden and there was a tree that had a branch hanging over part of the garden. So one day dh told me to stand under a catch a small branch when he cut it, so the tomatoes would get more sun. So there I stand arms outstretched, in the middle of the garden between rows of tomatoes as he saws the branch off. It was much bigger than what he thought and it knocked me down. He jumped down and pulled it off of me telling me I was laying on the tomatoes. Over the years I have refused to do somethings that he has asked. Like put your thumb over this part of the engine so I can check the compression.

 

[Spellbound]

Putting your thumb over the carburetor ..... is that anything like "pull my finger" that some men think is hilarious?

 

[YESorNO]

25 X 25 is a perfect size for a nice garden. Mine is about 20 X 15 and I wish it was a little larger so I built another one about the same size so I have 2 of them. I have cucumbers in one of them and in my other one, I have tomatoes and 3 varieties of peppers.

I love canning. I mainly can just the tomatoes and I kind of use a method I learned from trial and error to save time.

What I do is just wash the tomatoes good and then cut them into large chunks and throw them in a large pot. Then I just boil them down into a stew and in other pots with clean water, I just boil the lids and jars. I boil the tomatoes at least 30-45 minutes to make sure they boil into a thin suace and sterilze all the tomatoes juices.

Once the tomatoes boil into a juice, I just take out the jars, fill them and put the lids on and turn them upside down for about 3-4 minutes, then turn them rightside up and let them cool. I leave about 1/4 inch or so of air at top.
Oh... And make sure you wipe the jar edge real clean before placing that small round lid on it. You dont want any small pieces of tomatoe to interrupt the seal.

It is so easy and they always seal and pop closed that way as they cool.

I dont mind the seeds and skins but even if you dont like those, you can just strain them out when you are ready to use the tomatoe juice/sauce. I found it much easier to strain them when I am ready to use the sauce rather than when the juice is hot. Plus it makes canning quicker not to have to strain.

I use it in spaghettie sauce, make home-made salsa with it, nachos, taco sauce, and basically any time I want to add the tomatoe juice to something to give a dish a home-made kick-up.

They last 2-3 years or more in the jars so long as I store them in a cool place where no sun gets to them. When I open the jars, I just take a good whiff and look at it closely and you can usually tell it is still fine because the sauce smells so good like the day you canned it.

Good luck with your garden plans. My tomatoes are already 12 inches high, my cukes are about 6 inches, and my pepper plants about 8 inches and with all the rain, things are growing good here in midwest already. I think certain areas of the country are later growing season than here in midwest. Like the East is probably just now getting real good to plant.

I just love all your stories about your life You should stop by more often when you can, so we can hear more.

No tomatoes will be planted yet (at least here in Zone 4), not until May.

 

[YESorNO]

Totally off-topic:
Just need a small corner to vent a bit. Settling a family estate is draining, exhausting, anxiety-provoking. unfortunately, due to circumstances not expected, I am beginning to understand when people say the deaths of the parents can cause a family split. When I come back here bald or with no tongue, you will know O have exhausted all my patience.

Thank you for the soapbox. I will sit down now. Enjoying reading all your posts, but replying is becoming difficult for now.

:therethere:

 

[YESorNO]

He was actually born the same year as me...........wow!

I thought you were just 50 in April. :thinking:
Have you been fibbing, you Blanche Devereaux you :hilarious:

Girl- you're catching up to me. :floorlaugh::floorlaugh:

 

[YESorNO]

Uh, Oh

 

[Niner]

coffeejunkie = question?? You probably don't have any cats, right? Otherwise, I don't see how those robins would be nesting on that railing!!

:wave: Hi everyone!

This year we only have a tomato plant - yes a tomato plant... frustrating that our ground in the back is mostly all rock...
:gaah: I would love to have a garden with veggies. Have lots of rose bushes my brother left when he moved. Just plucked 3 orange ones, 1 pink, and 2 red ones in a vase! :loveyou:

 

[Niner]

Uh, Oh

?? do you mean Bernina and Curious in Indiana??

 

[Zuri]

http://www.kpho.com/story/28973338/...izer-has-been-called-islamophobic-hate-monger



http://www.kpho.com/story/28971445/texas-shooting-who-is-pamela-geller



http://www.kpho.com/story/28972181/cartoon-contest-organizer-known-for-inflammatory-rhetoric



Muslim extremist beliefs account for less than .01% to 1% of the world wide Muslim population, depending on what reliable source you look at. Islam, in it's truest form, is a peaceful belief, not the extremest view of "Death to Infidels".
I do believe in Freedom of Speech, and if Ms. Geller wants to use it irresponsibly, by offending over 3.5 million Muslims in North America, over 23% of the worlds population and the 2nd largest religious belief in the world, that's on her.

Sharia means "pathway to follow". It is interpreted differently by many different sects of the Islamic faith. Some are extreme, some are compatible to Democracy.

Any visual image of Mohammad is blasphemy according to Islam. Mohammad is sacred.

Ms. Geller had a "Mohammed Cartoon Contest" with the winner walking away with $10,000.
Wouldn't you agree, that in itself, was disrespectful to all Muslims in general?

Freedom of Speech: one can use it wisely or recklessly.

And then there's Freedom of Religion.

So people can say anything they want, but they can't believe or belong to any religion they want unless it's yours?

Thank you, thank you, thank you for saying this. Too much hate in this world. Xo

 

[GigiG]

In my immediate family, we have people of many different religions. I love each and every one of them and respect that their religious views are different from mine. Because we love and respect each other, our thoughts and opinions on the subject are not a topic of conversation, except for certain instances that involve Universal precepts which are embraced by almost all religions.

Freedom of speech sometimes means not saying things that might be hurtful to those you love or the relationships you have with them. If you extend that same courtesy to strangers (whom I try to think of as friends I have yet to meet), the world is a nicer place. JMO

 

[Zuri]

DaisyMae, how is your arm, shoulder and the rest of your body? What did the doctor say? Hope the pain has subsided some/a lot/all gone.