Nancy Merry

Have you ever watched The Woodwright's Shop? It's an old PBS program that still lives online that I bet you would enjoy. Roy Underhill makes old-fashioned hand tools for specific purposes. If you get some internet, see if you can find it!

Last year was when I discovered how big a difference insulated, thick curtains could make in keeping our unheated family/dining room space warm! We have a sliding door which doesn't leak but which does provide a big space for cold air to migrate through the glass. What you've done with your rings is basically create a roman shade. Well done!

What I've learned about making applesauce is that the skins and core/seeds add a lot of pectin and color. I know it's a pain in the neck, but I just wash and quarter my apples (the only thing I remove is the stem), cook them in hot water until they're almost soft, then I run them through my old fashioned Foley Food Mill. That strains out everything except for apple. It thickens a bit as it cools. The only thing I ever add to it is a tiny bit of cinnamon.

Heard about the power outage on the news and thought of you! I had no doubt you'd ride it out with all the usual comforts!

To make rhubarb jam look more rhubarby, a lot of people add a couple drops of red food coloring! I processed the first harvest of our rhubarb yesterday, and it's in the freezer waiting for a night when we want rhubarb cobbler.

To make rhubarb jam look more rhubarby, a lot of people add a couple drops of red food coloring! I processed the first harvest of our rhubarb yesterday, and it's in the freezer waiting for a night when we want rhubarb cobbler.

I love that you're getting all the AV set up for your workshop! Hope you're warm enough at night - miss you! (We had snow here! And some really cold weather for a few days!) Nancy

That's a really pretty fence!

Rachel Lindsay wrote:I mean "really strong"  as in, "I need something to get me going" as some people use coffee for. (Or to keep going just for the last few hours after the day has almost wiped you out.) The tea equivalent of a "stiff drink", if there is one. I ask because lately I have realized I need something like that. I've been doing vitamin C and zinc berry tisanes but there has to be something stronger, right?

The only tea that's an adequate substitute for coffee for me is Yorkshire Tea. By "adequate substitute" I mean that it hits the spot in the back of my head that makes me fully awake and able to converse intelligently. :) (I prefer Yorkshire Gold because it's a little less tannic, but plain old Yorkshire Tea is good, too!).