Wristers done

Update: The wristers are done. When we stayed in Wisconsin, we came in most nights once darkness fell. We read, played cards, and knitted until bedtime. In this photo, "I" of GAIN reads while wearing her jammies and wristers. "A" of GAIN also made a pair of wristers in a rib pattern, a nice stretchy feature. She made them long, which is a very nice feature, and they are dark blue, another nice feature. For some reason, we have no photos, even though she wore them. I was happy that she didn't need any help making them.

Veni, vidi, vici. My sister invited us to pick from her one cherry tree. We came home with a minimum of three gallons of cherries last Thursday.

I came, I saw, I conquered. The kids and I left the tree empty on the bottom half. Of course, my siblings had already picked a lot in the days beforehand.

After pitting for hours (thank you to my business partner for lending the cherry pitter), I have since made cherry-rhubarb crisp, crumb-topped cherry pie, and cherry jam. I was most interested in jam, as I am not real hip on cherry desserts. I think I had too many doses of slimy, overly-thick cherry pie fillings as a child. The homemade cherry desserts have been OK.

In addition to being very interested in cherry jam, I was very nervous about it. I had no experience canning, and it seemed intimidating. I remember having paraffin-topped jars of jam, but the extension offices scream about health hazards with paraffin. So I knew I needed something else, since my family didn't have advice for me. An internet homeschool friend sent a recipe, which I also found at this site, that seemed do-able for a newbie like me.

I scoured my house for canning jars. I have always saved jars because I like the way they look. I had window sills full of glassware when we lived in Ames. I found more bands than lids, and more lids than jars. I now have two jars of rockin' cherry jam, made by myself. I have since bought more lids (seals) and boosted my canning confidence infinitely. I am learning all the time, loving it, and wanting to continue my learning.