Yoo-Hooooo, Are You Still Out There?

A couple months ago, there was a fire across the street. We were all standing out on the sidewalk in horror watching it burn.  Greg ran back into the house to get my camera, and accidently dropped it on our brick floor.  Ouch.  She broke!  We only sent it back to Nikon last week for repair, and I received it back less than a week later.

I was SO excited to get it back!  I have been lost without my camera.  I feel like I have missed so many photo opportunities, and although I am using my iphone, it is not the same for me.
My post tonight is just a bit of random this and that. A whole lot of nothing really.  Starting with the garden.  Very much in the last days of production.  The heat has taken a toll.  I continue to harvest tomatoes and cucumbers, green onions, and peppers, along with lots of herbs.  But most has now been harvested.

I have been able to make up several batches of homemade sauce to store in the freezer for the winters use.

When I first starting making my own sauce, I was doing it on the stovetop.  But then I saw the way my friend
Priscilla made hers, by roasting it in the oven, and I have been making it this way ever since.  Thanks Priscilla!!!  I add lots of basil, an onion, a few cloves of garlic, a chopped jalapeno or two, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, and then roast in oven at 375 for about 45 minutes.  When cool, use slotted spoon to transfer to food processor and blend.  I either use it right away, or freeze it in gallon freezer bags.  I can usually make enough in the summer, to not have to buy any all year.  It is delicious!
Our grandkids have all gone back to school.  I am finding myself with a little time on my hands.  Yesterday I popped into one of my favorite haunts to do a little thrifting.   What a lucky find too, because I am planning to make freezer jam this weekend, and needed some small canning jars.

20 jars for 10.00.  This wicker basket caught my eye with the pretty fabric insert.  The fabric is also covered by a protective plastic.  The fabric is so pretty and looks like my nasturtiums in my own yard.

See....

I also got these two rolls of shelf liner paper.  How perfect for me.  It is roosters, chickens and eggs, and sunflowers.  In red.

I couldn't pass up this little ceramic eye glass holder.

I had not been in so long, and it was fun to be on the hunt.
The other day a friend of mine dropped by with a big box of Zinfandel grapes for me, that were from her daughter's vineyards in Temecula.

Aren't they beautiful?  And oh so sweet too.

I put them in the fridge out in the garage, with the intention of making jam this weekend.  So the jars were a terrific find!
Today my girlfriend Jae and I went to lunch and had a great mushroom burger, and a caught up on what has been going on.  She watches her one year old grandson, and I watch Noah, so we don't get to "play" as much as we used to.  She had today off, and had heard of a new quilt shop in town for us to check out too.

Jae and her husband Tom, just returned from a month long trip across the States on their Harley.  They are so adventurous!!!  I could never do that!
After lunch, we went in search of the new quilt shop.  Turns out, they had only been open for a few weeks.

 If you are local to my area, they are in Norco, on Hamner, right next to the Western facade shopping center.  Just before In & Out. They are small, but have a good variety and lots of things to choose from.  They will be having classes too.  Go check them out.  While we were browsing the shop, I happened upon a Sampler quilt on display on the classroom wall that looked very familiar to me.  I was invited to participate in a friendship quilt block exchange several years ago, and each person was assigned a block to make, one for herself, and one for the rest of the group.  There were about 20 or so of us I think.  I made the pumpkins, which was of course one of the less difficult blocks to make.  But I so enjoyed doing this!  I never put the quilt together....shame on me.  I will now!!  At first, I thought the quilt was made by someone else and like the one we did.  But I turned the quilt over to the back, and there it was, the label that each one of us signed.  My name, next to Pumpkins....dated 2003.  I did not take a photo!  But I will go back and get one soon.
Last night we had all of our grandkiddos, as it was back to school night for the parents.  It was fun to hear
 of their experiences their first week back to school.  Hannah and Noah are in second grade, and little Clairey is in Kindergarten.  Here is Geeps with all of them.

And here they all are with Gramma.

Oh how we love these kiddos!!!
I know I said I would not do a food post for awhile, but I have to share this easy and delicious layered dish. My Mom told me about it, after I was telling her about making my sauerkraut.  She knew someone who made this, maybe my Aunt?  I can't remember.  But it was GOOD!!!

 I bought a small boneless sliced ham.  Layered the dish with ham, then kraut, then sliced apples, sliced into round, flat pieces, then I layered a couple slices of good Swiss Cheese, and repeated the layers two times.  Finishing with ham slices.
I baked it at 350 for about 45 minutes.  I covered the pan loosely with foil.  It isn't a pretty dish.  But oh my, it is good!  A salty bite of ham, with the subtle sweetness of the apples, and then that tart kraut...and a wee bit of a gooey melted cheese bite.  Oh wow!!

See....it isn't a pretty dish.  But one of those comfort foods that I think we will be craving again come Fall.  I hope you try it.  It is easy, and yummy!  Don't forget to cover the dish with foil or the ham will dry out.
I will end this today with some yarny stuff.  I have been trying to get my stock built up for the holiday orders. I love to give dishcloths as hostess gifts.  So I like to always have some on hand.  I usually knit them.  Like this one.  I made a dish scrubbie with tulle in a matching color.

The hand made dishcloths are all I use.  I must have 20 of them!
I wanted to learn how to do this textured basket stitch in crochet.  So I You tubed it, and watched a few videos.  All of which made NO sense to me.  So I just put the ipad down and started to do my own thing.

It could very well be quite incorrect.  But it is just a series of front post and back post stitches, to form this weaved look.  I love it.

I couldn't stop!  I used up all of my soft cotton/acrylic blend that I bought up in Big Bear at the yarn shop there.  It is so soft and it washes up great, holds it's shape, and dries fast when hanging over the sink to dry. I LOVE this yarn!

The stack keeps growing.  These are fun and quick to make, and make nice gifts.  I like to make face cloths for the shower in a natural cotton and give them with some nice bars of soap.  And the ones for the kitchen, I  like to give with some nice pump soap like a Meyer's Basil or some of the seasonal soaps from Bath & Body Works.
I told you it was going to be a whole lot of nothing randomness!!  I hope all of you are enjoying the waning summer.  We are still in for a good 8 weeks of hot, hot hot!  Lots of triple digits!
I will be back soon, now that I have my camera back!
Thanks for coming by.  I always love to hear what you have to say!  Some of my readers don't have blogs of their own, but I want you to know how much I appreciate you taking the time to comment too!!!
Have a great weekend.  Not sure if we will go the lake, Maybe even just Greg to fish for the day.  Lots to do for me.  Like jam making!
See you soon.
XO  Kris