a good mail day

 While I was out running errands this morning, a package arrived. Not just any package, but a package of goodies from Amber! I'm absolutely the sort of person who dives right in with complete disregard for wrapping paper and other formalities, but I made myself take a picture of the cute little bundles she sent before I tore into them.

 She made me an apron. A beautiful, perfect, lovely apron, with pockets. And ties. And two layers on the bottom part. I love it. (Oh, see our hutch in the background? Full of our craft supplies (mostly P's.) And the sunflowers that blew down and I'm hoping will open. And other miscellaneous life, strewn about the house!)
She also sent me a candle that she made, a needle felted tomato that Thomas particularly loves (said to bring prosperity and good luck) and a rhubarb print that she stamped. And the round thing is a dutch disk thing to hang on the shed, representing prosperity and fertility (go, garden!). I asked Amber about it when I saw it on her shed in one of her posts. I love everything - thank you so much, Amber! I also just noticed that everything has a little bit of red. So does my house - I think you know me better than I thought, Amber!

 
And just in case you were jonesing for a couple pictures of the boys:


Thomas does this every time we say 'strong'. Usually until he turns red in the face. He loves it.

And Phillip barely made it into the house before diving into his new library books. Look what he's doing with his hand. On the way home in the car, he said (completely out of the blue) "Mama, I love you more than anything in the world." I love that kid.

dorothy and rachel

We had a really good day. Dorothy and Rachel (the lady goats), hens, a lovely visit, and popsicles. Not to mention seeing friends at the market this morning. I couldn't ask for more.

plum jam

The plum jam is delicious. Something magical happens to plums when they're cooked - they get this amazing depth of flavour and earthy, wonderful deliciousness. A spiced plum butter is my favourite thing that I preserved last year, so I made sure to try some jam this year. And some spiced pear butter (same recipe, different fruit) is going to be put up, too.

*Edited to add: there's a free download of those cute labels, in several different designs and colours, here.

I haven't gotten to the fruit leather yet - my other plums are still very, very firm, so I have a few days to get that experiment going.

I return to work next week, and I think I'm ready for it. We have the most beautiful Septembers, and I get to travel in our little neck of the woods quite a bit, which I enjoy. Speaking of which, I'm looking for some new music to listen to while driving around - any suggestions?

If you're in Irene's path, I hope that you're prepared and safe to ride out the weekend.

Take care, and have a safe weekend!

phew!

 Adam is home! I've had the boys all to myself since Friday. I will admit that there was a bit of trepidation on my part, but you know what? Things went pretty perfectly. We had calm, relaxing days together, with some beach and lots of playing thrown in. And not a single screaming, throwing-himself-on-the-floor tantrum from Phillip. There were lots of 'no's and not cooperating, but nothing major.

And look what Adam brought home for me! Some new Weck jars for me (because a girl can never have too many jars, right, Marisa?) in the 3/4 L size, and tonnes of plums that he picked up in the valley this afternoon. He bought a giant bag of seconds, which I'm going to turn into fruit leather and plum jam (anyone have a great reicpe?) post-haste. The jars are from the very nice Sydney at The Jade W in Halifax, and you can also order them online. It totally made my day that there is also a strawberry logo on the side. Sigh! What a lovely husband!

I hope that your Wednesday has been pleasant. You can expect to see some plum jam and fruit leather pictures soon. What have you been putting up?

Oh, and one more thing, if you want to buy a house - ours has a new price (jars not included).