...Into The Wild Blue Yonder....

And it really was rather wild.  Saturday we took the day off and went to Sidney for the air show.  It was quite warm and windy, but the planes were all able to fly.  Sunday the winds were terrible and I heard that the wing walker lady didn't go up (thank goodness!) and I'm not sure if the F18 and Snowbirds flew or not.  It had been a few years since we had gone to an air show, and this one was well done. Warren took pictures with our Canon 40D on auto, and so many turned out great.  With the wind blowing, the smoke trails were blowing away faster than I'm sure they like, but it was still impressive.  Here is a sampling:

 

 

 

See the lady wing walker?  She has been doing this for 22 years.

upside down, no less.  crazy, crazy...

There were a lot more stunt plane acts - 2 hours worth.  But to me, the main event was the Canadian precision flight team, the Snowbirds!   Love watching them.  enjoy.

 

I'm sure this would have looked even more impressive without the wind blowing their smoke around, but still pretty cool.

 

 

 

who needs fireworks?

 

I'm sure Warren could add much better commentary on these pictures, but you're stuck with me.  :)

Condo

Warren's parents bought a condo in Glasgow recently, and will be moving to town soon.  This weekend there will be an open house showing theirs and the one next to it.  They were built as a duplex, and the other side isn't sold yet.  It has a different floor plan than theirs.  The builder plans on building another duplex like it soon, so wants to show  theirs also, even though it is already sold.  Warren's sisters have been busy helping them stage it for the open house, and it looks wonderful.  We thought you might like to take a peek.

 

guest room

 

master bedroom

master bathroom

guest bathroom

den

den

 

 

laundry room

patio

Pampered Chef party

Last night I hosted a Pampered Chef party.  I am one of PC's biggest fans.  I have had parties for years and years, and as a result, have tons of their products.   They have a great hostess benefits program, lucky me!  I wish I would have thought to take a picture of the refreshments we had them all ready, but here are some of the process.  Shelley made a yummy chocolate macaroon brownie pizza, I made some caramel nut brownies and had a fruit tray, along with chips and homemade salsa.  Who needed supper with all those goodies? 

 

 

Jamie and Pam both got to try out the new pineapple wedger.  It worked like a charm!  Sure a time saver over cutting and trimming it by hand.  Here Shelley is giving instructions for use.

  Even with short notice, we had a really good turnout for the party, about 16 or 18 ladies came.  Thanks, ladies.  I had a great time and loved having you all over.

Its Official!

Harvest is officially over for 2009.  The guys finished up after dark last night.  Today they cleaned up the machinery and got it ready to put away for the year.

The weather has been very hot here recently, with daily highs in the 90s.  It cools off nicely at night, so at least the house has a chance to cool off, as we don't have air conditioning.

As I came home from getting the mail this morning, the trees in the shelter belt caught my eye.  This picture doesn't do much to show how the sun was glowing through the yellow leaves.  I noticed that the burning bush in the yard is getting red too.

Yesterday I got the pears canned.  I ended up with 17 pints and 10 quarts.  My pantry is getting full!

salsa

It all started last night when I picked boxes of ripe tomatoes from the garden.  Since I had the peppers and onions on hand, I thought I'd better pick them too and make salsa today.  It was an all day project!  I found a new recipe on Allrecipes that I tried first.  It turned out a little too mild for me, so marked those jars "mild" with the name of the recipe, and on to the next batch.  This one a tried and true recipe from years back.  I chopped and chopped the afternoon away, and finally poured the last jar this evening.  It does cook down some from when you start, but I like to strain off some of the juice, and seal that in jars.  This makes the salsa thicker, plus I really like the flavor  the juice gives chili.  I just add a jar of juice to my browned hamburger, a can of tomato sauce for some color, open some cans of beans, and mix it all together.  Nice flavor, and super easy.

Since the first batch of salsa was too tame, I tasted and tasted the big second batch.  Twice I went back out to the garden for more jalapenos, and hope the final tasting was right, and it now has a medium "kick" to it.  

The salsa is now done for the year.  I have a few tomatoes still in the box that weren't quite as red as I'd like, so will can them in a few days for soups and such.  Tomorrow I will once again be canning, pears this time.  I have 2 boxes that are ready to go.  yum!

The end is in sight for harvest!  woohoo!  They moved over north of Nashua this evening to get the patches that were too green a few weeks ago.  Once they finish there and move back home, hopefully the last of the green stuff will be ready to go here.  It has been a loooonngg harvest - since the middle of July.  Everyone is more than ready for a break, but thankful for the crop God has blessed us with.

update

I can hardly believe that September is almost half over already.  Saturday Amy & I picked corn, getting about 6 grocery bags.  I kept two of them, and gave the rest away.  Amy was a sweetheart and helped me get it put up.  I blanched and cooled it, she cut it off and bagged it.  I think I got the better part of that deal.  We got 19 bags, which is plenty for Warren and I.  My pears are turning rapidly, so I'll be canning those this week sometime, along with some tomatoes.

We had quite a thunderstorm display last night, with lightning all around us.  We didn't get very much rain, so Tony was able to start cutting our durum again this morning.  Looks like it will be a hot, dry week ahead, good cutting weather.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Amy's family, as her Grandpa Hohlen, passed away Thursday.  His funeral is today.  What a wonderful man! We enjoyed getting to know him a little bit.  He and Colleen were such a fun-loving, inspirational couple.  Elmer, we will miss you.

What was I thinking?

Yesterday I decided to use some larger cucumbers for relish, and then thought I would make some zucchini relish while I was at it too.  Turned out I didn't have all the spices I needed, but Gladys, my MIL, was in town and would get them.  So instead of getting the 2 relishes made yesterday, I made them today, along with the final day of the 8 Day Pickles, and picking corn.  Busy day!  Here are the results.

The 8 Day Pickles are a favorite of Warren's, and I grew up with them too.  They are sweet and crunchy and yummy with a "Sunday Dinner" kind of meal.  I haven't made them in probably 20 years, so thought I'd give them a try.    The first 4 days you pour boiling water over the whole cucumbers.  Day 5 you slice the cucumbers and make a syrup, then pour the syrup over the slices.  Day 6 & 7 you drain the syrup, boil it, and pour it over the slices again.  Day 8 you boil the syrup, add the slices and bring to a boil, then put in jars and seal.  Viola!  You're done!

 

 

The guys are moving home from Tony & Amy's farm.  Here are a few pictures of their harvest.  Part of the land is very hilly.  Who needs an amusement park ride when you have this?

OK, I know its hard to tell just how hilly it is on pictures, but trust me!  You have to hang on!  

Amy was able to come up and drive grain cart one day.  BTW, have we mentioned how THRILLED we are to be grandparents in just a few weeks?  :D