I FOUND MY THRILL ON BLUEBERRY HILL

I love blueberries. I can't get enough of them these days. I love them baked in things, added to cereal, ice cream or even just by the handful.

I was starting to get a little sad about thinking about them going away for the year. So, to keep that fresh blueberry taste even in the winter, I made jam.

I started by washing all the blueberries.

Be sure to pick out the bad ones and take the stems off the ones got missed before sent to the store. After all, no one wants stems in their jam.

Then I smashed them. It was kind of fun doing this step. I just used a potato masher. It was quick and easy but I guess you could put them in a food processor if you like. Just pulse them quickly.

Mashing them brings out all the flavor. Don't go over board though. You want to still see some of the whole berries. At least I did.

My best tip for making jam or canning anything is to do all your prep work first. You don't want to have to stop once you get going.

So, I got my fresh squeezed lemon juice measured out ahead of time. Two tablespoons is all I needed. That was 1/2 of a fresh lemon.

Then I measured out my mashed berries. I needed 4 1/2 cups. I put the measured amount in a separate bowl so I could just dump them in when ready.

I did the same with the sugar. For one batch of blueberry jam you need 7 cups of sugar. Yes, that's right 7 cups. Homemade jam uses a lot of sugar.

The recipe I used called for two pouches of pectin. I use liquid Certo. I've never tried any other brand or the dry pectin so, I have no idea how much of those you would need.

I got my seals simmering. This softens up the rubber seal so it form fits the jars. I also put the jars in my dishwasher to sterilize them.

Then I got my canning pot out and brought the water to a boil. This takes awhile as the pot is big.

I was thrilled when I found this pot and rack inside at a thrift store. I don't think it was ever used before. It sure makes canning a lot easier.

If you don't have one of these you can use a large pot and put a rack on the bottom or even a towel. You just don't want your jars to sit right on the pot as they may crack. The pot has to be big enough to cover the jars with at least an inch or two of water.

After I got everything ready it was time to make the jam. I poured the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and a teaspoon of butter into a large pot. The butter helps keep the jam from foaming up to much.

Be sure to keep stirring as you don't want the sugar to burn on the bottom of the pan.

The blueberries make such a pretty color. Here you can see the pretty color and also that even though I mashed the berries, you can still see that you can tell it's blueberries in there.

Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Then add the Certo, bring it back to a full boil for only one minute. Don't over or under cook it.

As soon as the minute is up, turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stove.

Poor the hot mixture into your clean, hot jars. If you use a funnel it makes it so much easier. You can just put the jam directly into the jar but it's really hot and if you are holding the jar you could really get burned.

My tip on using a funnel is to not just dump the jam into the funnel. This will cause the jam to plop down into the jar and it will splash up, getting on you and everything else. Yes, I know this from first hand experience.

Poor the jam onto the side of the funnel and let it run down the side into the jar. You will be much safer this way.

Use a wet cloth and wipe the rim of the jar. You don't want anything on there because if there is then the seal will not work. If this should happen, it's OK. You can still eat your jam. You will just have to put it in the refrigerator and eat it within a few weeks.

If you put it on the shelf it will spoil as the vacuum seal will not be there.



Put the jars with the lids on them into the canner and lower the rack into the boiling water. Cover the pot with the lid and boil for 10 minutes.



Don't forget to make sure the water covers your jars at least an inch or two once the rack is lowered.

Once the time is up, lift up the rack and remove the jars. You will soon hear that pop, pop, pop sound that comes when the jars form the vacuum and the lids are sealed tightly.



Place the jars in a place they won't get disturbed for 24 hours. That's it! You now have jam. How easy was that!

I will put some cute labels on these and I plan on giving them out for Christmas gifts this year.

There is nothing as good as yummy homemade jam.

Here is my last tip, if you take some jam out and heat it up so it becomes warm and runny you can pour this on ice cream for the best dessert you have had in a long time.

Enjoy!

WHICH WREATH WOULD YOU WANT?

I love seeing holiday wreaths on doors and windows. I've been searching for some ideas on one for Halloween and/or Fall.

I found a few that seemed to be pretty interesting. What do you think?

I love the idea of the pumpkins and a black ribbon. Simple, easy to make and great for both Halloween time and Fall.


This one looks super creepy to me. I'm not sure I would want to look at this on my front door every time I wanted to go inside. I may have nightmares.

However, it would be great for Halloween.

This one is cool. But I may be tempted to grab a piece of candy off every time I was near the front door.

This one is cute if the theme you are going for is Vintage Halloween. Again, simple to make. Just copy old post card images off the Internet, glue them on card stalk or thin cardboard and then glue it on a wreath.

This one is simple. Black roses. Yet, what a great effect!

I think this one would easy to make with items you could find at the dollar store.

This one would be great if you did a grave yard out your front door.

Oh another candy one to tempt your sweet tooth. This one looks like it would be better inside. I think it's made of wrapped chocolate candy. YUM!

This one is made from those long strands of die cut figures that are already attached to a wire. I like the shadows it makes.

This is cute too. But it would take awhile to cut all that material and then attach it to the wreath.

Well, I still don't know what to do. What do you have on your front door for Halloween/Fall?

A VISIT TO THE CIVIL WAR

Today I went with my sister, Maureen, to watch a Civil War reenactment. It was beautiful day out and it was all free!

There were lots and lots of men and women dressed up in Civil War attire. Many of them had authentic clothes, hats and gear.

The had items you could purchase. Like this pretty dress. It was hand made by one of the women there. Just lovely.

They had a whole town set up through out the park. It was a great way to get a real feel of what it was like in Virginia on that fateful day of the war. The day, the South surrendered and the Union won the war.

They even had their laundry hung up to dry. Like I said, it was as if you stepped back in time and was really walking through the make shift town that was set up.

The guys reminded you that it was not just a camp out, it was during war time. These people were not living through a happy time in History.

A one man tent sits waiting for one of the men who left to go to the battle. I wonder if he would have returned to his tent or if he would have lost his life and this tent would have remained empty.

As we walked through the town, I was thinking about what it was like to live in that time.

I couldn't help but think the people who are doing the reenactment must really have fun doing this.

Some of the men gathered around to play music.

The lady in mourning was a reminder of all the men lost in this War. I had an odd feeling when I was around her. It was almost like she was a ghost from the past. Very eerie. She would walk and would be as if she was gliding just over the surface.

OK, I think I've been doing to much ghost hunting. Let's move on.

Actual items from the Civil War were on display.

I loved watching this guy. He was weaving straw.

This is what it would look like when he finished. Long ropes that were like a tight braid.

All those ropes of straw would then be sewed together to make straw hats. You could purchase the hats.

They were really cute.

I loved watching the kids. They seemed to not even notice they were dressed up and living in a different time period. They were just kids playing.

Families would enjoying the day together.

This little one was just darling!

This little boy was a crack up. He and his dad were running the "Undertakers" shop. He would get in to the coffin and act like he was dead. Then he made sure everyone got a Christian Flier that was a copy of the ones the real undertakers handed out back in the Civil War time.

Why ol' Honest Abe himself was there. Talking with the crowds and handing out his portrait on a little round copper disc called a penny. The kids loved it and some really thought it was the real Abe Lincoln.

Then we gathered for the battle.

Both the North and South were ready for war. The time was April 18, 1865 and we were in Virginia.

It was very real feeling. So sad to see how the men would just line up and start shooting at each other. While the guns weren't that great then, they still managed to hit and kill way to many men.

More Americans lost their life in this War then all the other wars combined.

It was very loud and smoky. I couldn't help but think what it was like for them back then. For years going through this. Wondering if they would ever make it home again.

The cannons were super loud. We happen to be right in front of them. At times they left you with ringing in your ears.

This was how they would look ahead and see how close the enemy was. Wow! We sure have come a long way.

We watched as the Union continued to move forward. Breaking through the lines one by one of the Confederacy. Leaving a long trail of wounded and dead men behind them.

The men were very brave. They didn't run and hide behind trees or try to cover up at all. They just stood together and shot. So sad.

Didn't they know they were more likely then not to have been hit by a bullet? Of course they knew, but they believed in what they were fighting for and stood their ground.

As hard as they fought, the South kept losing ground. They were forced back further and further.

Even though I knew the men on the field were just playing a part, I kept thinking about my own ancestors who really fought in this war.

The things they would have seen. Thankfully, none of my ancestors were killed in this war. They all managed to some how live.

Perhaps it's because they were on the side of the Union they were lucky enough to live to tell their stories.

Once the Confederacy surrendered, the men still standing, stood at attention and saluted their fallen. The war was over.