A productive holiday: report on the homefront.

The prospector is trying to get the new goat sleeping quarters done before his Pinecrest fishing trip at the end of the month. As you can see the only help he is getting, in the photo, is advice from the goats. This man amazes me. He is 64 years old this year and we've been married for43 years ; and he still astounds me with his ability to get things done. He just makes a plan and goes to work.

I help, sometimes..., I hold things. I hold a 4x4 while he nails. I hold the level while he moves the boards up and down to make them "plumb". (I even know some of the lingo, like "plumb" and "4x4 pressure treated lumber". Wow! I'll bet you're impressed now.) I'm great at giving careful advice in the form of question, like..., "Hon, is there going to be another door on the side that has the storage room on it so we don't have to walk too far to dump the hay in the hay holder?" or " Do you think we need a step up into the the shed, kind of like a porch, for the goats?" or " Wouldn't a flower box look pretty under the ventilation window?" You know, practical things....

Then I get the "Haven't you got anything better to do" look and it's time to move on; at least until he needs another helping hand.

So....,
I went in and made some Strawberry Jam.
This was a new recipe that I found on the internet. The last one I made, even though it was more like strawberry SAUCE, tasted better.
This one doesn't use pectin but you have to cook it to death. I think the fresh flavor of strawberries is missing in this batch. By the time you cook the strawberries, sugar and lemon to 220 degrees F. , at a rolling boil, for more than an hour, it looks like cut up tomato soup and even scorched the bottom of the pan a little.
We taste tested the jam this morning and it's good..., and it's thick. I just like the other batch I did, a while back, better. That was at: tomsdomain.com/recipes/strawberryjam.
His had pectin in it and I don't know why it didn't jell. I'm no expert at jam making. I just follow the directions. But I'm determined to find a perfect recipe: Fresh like Tom's Domain but thicker like Katharine's at : allrecipes.com.

I Just love doing this. I'm getting to be the "Jam and Pesto queen" around here. It's so satisfying, so domestic...., so real. I may try tomato or apple sauce this year.
The basil is growing all over the place in the garden this year so I need to make a batch of Pesto soon. This I know how to do.

But first I will go out and see if the Prospector needs any help. He hasn't asked for any help today. I wonder why?
Maybe he's thinking about my "goat porch" idea and flowerboxes. After all, if we're going to have to look at this little house from the back porch everyday...., it should look *PRETTY*! Don't you think?