Blackberry Jam was successful!

*269*

They jelled all nice for Mama. I was worried with the new pectin that it might stay running and all the picking would have been for nothing. They are beautiful! Next up is the strawberry jam.
No gym today. I had a cyst that popped and I do not think exercising is going to be good for my healing process. I will clean house instead and take long soaks in the bathtub.
My appointment with my GP is on Thursday and I have a appointment with gyno next Wednesday (cyst). We shall see if any of these things that are plaguing me are related, not related, and maybe just some fluke shit and I am fine and dandy. Still have cough, still tired as hell, but the lymph node is acting weird. Yesterday I could not feel it at all, today it is front and center. My luck..it will disappear on the day I go for my physical and he will say that it good! And I will be like, Umm, why was it there? Will he care about the other symptoms then?
I need to stop cause I can get myself worked up over shit. I have had so many health issues in my later years that have come up to actually be something and me not being a hypo. I just do not like when I get all wrapped up in it.
Ugh. Okay. I need to eat something for breakfast/lunch. Maybe a big old omelet with bacon!

Fish soup and ouchy abdominals

Ocean Beach NL, CT

*269*

I just got back from the gym and grocery store. My abs are going to be screaming tonight. That is for sure. We went to the beach yesterday to go swimming. Me being Natalie, Raymond and I. If you did not know all ready, Raymond is Natalie`s bestie..not her boyfriend. We had a good couple hours until the saw a jellyfish. I came in with the tide. None of the three of  us were stung. Then we went home and changed, picked up Chelsea, and had a nice late lunch at Ocean Pizza. We do a family style thing. Big Caesar salad, steak fries, and Pizza. We all share like it is home dinner. We have done it that way forever. I got a tiny bit of sunburn on my arms but I can now say that my farmer`s tan is history!
    Today, I am going to make fish soup for dinner. It needs a catchier name cause Fish Soup just sounds so wrong. Like something that was served to the orphans in Oliver Twist. Natalie loves it and requested it for dinner. I picked up some Italian bread to go with.
It is a really easy soup to make. You get either some veggie/seafood stock or use bouillon and water to make it. I do a half and half combo. I put diced potatoes, minced onions and garlic, frozen baby spinach, spices like garlic powder, a pinch of cayenne and maybe some basil. Then I throw in 4-6 intact Tilapia fillets. I let them cook in the soup like that. After about an hour, I break up the fish. I add in some macaroni and it is done. Simple and hearty throw together soup when I only had 3 fish left in the freezer. I was going to do the Jam today but it is too fucking humid. I turned on the air conditioner down here and it has not been on for like 2 weeks. So you know my ass is hot. I will clean the kitchen, make the soup, and prepare the jars for tomorrow. I will also take out the blackberries to defrost. I think I can get two batches of jam out of that bag. Plenty of Jam to go around.
We give Jam to my Mil and Fil. We give it to Fred`s godmother. My friend Ana. The groomer. The mailman gets one. Ummm. I have enough to pass out and still have plenty to last me the winter.
 So tomorrow will be Jam day. Today is fish soup, coloring the blonde mistake in the back of my head to chocolate brown, and resting my tired ass.

Jam IS the plan Man!

Pretty!

*269*

I think it is time to start making some jam. See that jar in the picture? They sell those at Walmart. I have two of them in my possession but I need to go back and pick up like 4 packages of 4. I want to put my blackberry jam in those. Blackberry jam is special. Blackberries cost a lot of money in the store and they are a pain in the ass to harvest. Special! So they deserve to be in half pint jars so people can get a taste. I put strawberry jam in pint jars because I consider it more utilitarian in breakfast life.
 Just because I think it though, does not make it so. Since my energy is in the crapper, I need to plan out what I am going to do. So I think I will go to Walmart today to get the jars and tomorrow I might have psyched myself up enough to make the jam.
 After I do the blackberry, then I will make the strawberry. I have tons of strawberries, 4 bags of sugar, and oodles of pectin waiting in the wings. I love this time of year. I love making jam.

Strawberry Sunday

*27??* <---I need to buy a new scale.

I have been blackberry picking for the past two weeks. I have access to two places where you can pick blackberries. Both are legal to me to pick at and both a being neglected..meaning nobody is picking the freaking berries! They are blackberries people! They are one of the most expensive berries in the store!
Oh well. I do not give a fuck. I have got almost a whole large ziploc bag full of frozen blackberries. I am going to make jam with them. I was thinking I would make Strawberry jam today though. I have enough to do it and I picked up my pectin and lemons yesterday. It is a bit hot and humid but I want to do it. It is rewarding really. You have all those beautiful jars of strawberry red laid out in front of you. It is wonderful.

I still have more blackberries to pick before I am ready to can those into jam. I have never done blackberry but it is probably not as much different then strawberry. I will find a proper recipe for it so I do not ruin all the hard work so far of picking each and ever fully ripe berry! LOL You see those red ones? You have to wait until they are black like the center one.
I went out yesterday to pick so I will not go out until maybe Tuesday or Wednesday. Give them some time to ripen. It is a pain in the ass. I wish it was just easy. All ripen at once so I could pick to my heart`s content. I am catching skin cancer out there so I can make lovely jam for my family and friends. I am being nuzzled by Milo as I am typing this. He is such a sweet Ginger boy. He loves to lovingly harrass you while you are on the computer. Does not matter who it is. He was the best choice out of the whole litter.
I need to make an appointment for Lu to get her last summer cut. Nice and short. I also have to fork over some more cash for the flea treatment. It worked sooo well on all of them.  I have seen some itching going on so I know it is time.
Boy this blog is fucking boring. All I talk about is what I am gonna do, what I have done, What I am thinking of doing and the lives of the living things in my house. Boring! Nothing spicy is going on here except the heat outside. LOL
Speaking of spicy..I am going to make tomatillo salsa today. I do not know if I am going to can it though. I will have to see. I will post recipes like I usually do if any of you are interested.
Happy Sunday!