A Perfect Pickin' Day

Blueberry pickin, that is.  After two days of hot, humid weather, today was much cooler and a lot less humid.  The blueberry fields opened on Monday, which makes this the earliest I have ever picked blueberries.  Hopefully I will be able to go again before we go to camp.

The bushes were full and the pickin' was easy.  I fashioned a carrier for my bucket by using a dog leash, slinging it over one shoulder and fastening it under the bucket handle.  Two hand pickin' made filling my bucket a lot easier. 

In less than an hour I picked over 4 pounds of blueberries, to the tune of $10.50.

I actually put a jelly roll pan of them in the freezer already, knowing we wouldn't eat them all before they started to go bad.  I usually wait too long before freezing them and end up throwing too many away.  This way they were frozen within a couple of hours of being picked and there are still plenty to eat.

Blueberries have to be one of the easiest fruits to freeze! AND, tomorrow I will have fresh berries on my cereal.  (A cup of blueberries only has 84 calories...yay.)

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;o)

Bad Choice

Today I chose to clean the house really well because we are having friends over tomorrow night.  It was hot and humid, too hot and waaay too humid.

The sweat was literally dripping off my nose.

Yucky!

I would never have taken this picture were it not for the iPhone.  Some things just shouldn't be photographed.

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;o)

It's Strawberry Pickin' Time

WooHoo!  Wendy and I went to pick strawberries today, which we both admitted we hadn't done in a long time.  It was sunny, cool (mid 70's) and windy as Hurricane Arthur had passed by off the coast yesterday.  Unfortunately, it rained, hard, for the past couple of days.  I suspect the picking was better before the rain but we still found plenty to fill our boxes.

half way full

It didn't take long for me to remember how hard picking is on one's back and legs.  Even worse, I worked my legs at the gym on Thursday, so I was already hurting.  

The charge for the box was $1 and the strawberries were $1.80/pound.  In the "olden days" we paid by the quart, so it was easy to know how much we were spending.  Considering how many strawberries people could pile onto a quart container, it only makes sense that they started charging by weight.  My berries totaled about 7 1/2 pounds, the charge being $14.11.  Wendy spent a little over $15.00.  We were back in our cars and headed home in less than an hour.

Knowing it was strawberry season, I have been craving homemade strawberry daiquiris.  Using our old recipe, I enjoyed my first one in a long time.  Here is the recipe for those interested.

In a blender, mix the following...
1/2 can frozen limeade (about 6 ounces)
3/8 cup confectioner sugar (add more or less depending on personal taste preference)
2 cups strawberries
Rum (as much as you like, again depending on personal preference)
fill to the top with ice

Blend till smooth.

This made approximately 4 cups.  I guestimate that each serving is only about 160 calories.  You can keep any extra mix in the fridge for the next few days.

When the kids were small, we made the mix without adding any alcohol so they could enjoy the summer beverage along with the adults.  I didn't add any alcohol to this mix either because Bill doesn't drink alcohol and I wanted him to be able to have some if he wanted and quite frankly, I don't like much alcohol in my alcoholic beverages.  Go figure.  Anyway, I used 1 cup of the mixture and added only 1 1/2 Tablespoons of rum to my glass.  It was perfect and brought back good memories.

Cheers!

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Happy Birthday USA

Celebrate Freedom!

This is the only patriotic "quilt" I have made and technically, I made it for Bill several years ago.  I'm not that happy with it and vow to make another one...some day.

AND, I didn't get it hung up till the 5th.  No worries, I celebrate the holiday, any holiday, all month long.

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;o)