Garden Bounty

I harvested the second planting of peas and got real nice crop. Shelling them all took quite a while, but it's worth it, they are so tasty. I don't have enough to really put any up for winter, but we'll enjoy having fresh peas for dinner for several days before we run out. :)
Between yesterday and today I made 2 batches each of jam and jelly. I used Pomona's Universal Pectin, which allows you to use much less sugar than the standard Ball pectin and still get a great set. I even did two batches sweetened with honey! From left to right: Peach Jam with Honey, Plum & Cherry Jam (regular sugar), Red & Black Berry Jelly with Honey, and Red & Black Berry Jelly (regular sugar). The house smells great and the pantry looks wonderful with all these beautifully colored jars of homemade yumminess stacked up.

Soon I need to start making pickles, my cucumbers are starting to produce more than we can eat on salads. The yellow bush beans are starting to come on, I was able to pick just enough for dinner a couple nights ago. And the zuchinni is starting to really take off, I need to keep and eye on it to make sure it doesn't get too far out in front of me. I love this time of the summer in the garden!

In baby related news, last night we did indeed move the TV, Couch, and assorted other stuff out of the baby's room. Thanks, Guzstiltzmans! We're going to rent a steam cleaner and clean the carpet, and then we'll be ready to start moving the things we already have (a dresser and a rocking chair) into the room. We have another dresser and a shelf that may also go in there, but they both need a coat of fresh paint before they go anywhere, so that's another project. I'm super excited... or have I mentioned that already? ;)