Saturday, June 13, 2020

Everybody Over...The Beginnings of Strawberry Wine...and The Weekend


Friday was Amazing!

Nicole (and Emma) over for a late birthday Wine and Cupcake Brunch!

35 looks great on you, hon.

And even before their arrival...James and Kaylee and Brenden and Aiden showed up to say "hi" and show off their haircuts and new shoes.

Then just before Nicole and Emma left...Chris and Tina came over before their
Drive-in Movie and Fried Chicken Batman Adventure.

(Date Night in the Time of Covid)

Such a wonderful surprise...seeing everyone!

Started the Strawberry Wine yesterday...




 Just a micro-batch.

All natural.

Water

Sugar

Strawberries

A drop or two of Lemon Juice

And Wild Yeast (...clean the strawberries...leave them at room  temperature in
a ceramic bowl all day...voila...wild yeast)

Put it all together in a mason jar with cheesecloth over the top.

This morning it is bubbling and working nicely (fermenting) and smells sweetly of strawberries...the alcohol will come as the yeast beasts do their job.

(...basically they eat sugar and poop alcohol...try not to think about it...)

By late next week it will be tastable.

In a couple weeks it will be ready to clarify...

By the end of this month it will be Strawberry Wine.

These small batches are quick and easy to make...and we can try a lot of different fruits like this!

When we buried Shelby-Cat,  John and I planted a rose over her grave.

Shelby's Rose has now bloomed! It is huge...and beautiful.

Kind of like she was...



The Patio Garden Week Three

Everything is thriving. My catnip now bushy and the Zinnias and Morning Glories are up (...from seed...) about 5 inches. I've already pinched back  my herbs and have been cooking with them and made the best potato soup with FRESH bay leaves the other day.

This is the first time I have used fresh before...so different from dried. Very robust flavor. 

Oh...and the lavender in the trough...still plastic...but fooling everyone!

(...it is fake...but a good fake...)

Preparing for a hot sunny rain-free week.

Well...until Saturday.

Watering today and Wednesday.

Planning a LOT of North Patio Beach time!

And spreading mulch in the borders on Friday.

And looking forward to Our (John and I) June Adventure :)

Soon!

A lot of this week spent on the house.

Things that needed fixed.

Scrubbed.

Replaced.

Kind of a Cinderella Week.

Learned that peeling up tiles and replacing the few that were damaged was a lot like stripping wallpaper...not for the faint of heart.

But 1 putty knife and 6 million tiny sticky pieces later...the new ones are down and you would never know they had been replaced.

Reglued the chairs...which is an annual event.
Eventually I am just going to replace them.
They are 18 years old.

Shampooed the carpet.

(...okay...actually Amber shampooed the carpet...I just pre-treated any stains...) 

Continued my de-cluttering...and have been scrubbing the walls now...forever...
and they are STILL not finished.

It's a PROCESS.

Hoping to get them finished by Tuesday so I can paint all the chips and such from my learning to use the manual wheelchair.

(...which wasn't a pretty sight at first...)

Who knew you had to steer...right??

But it has been a long week...so today I am pretty much basking and blogging...painting a bit more on my Guam Beach...a bubble bath and nap...and The FAST, of course.

The 4:3 is going pretty well. Lost another pound this week.

"YAY!"

Only 8 more to adjust.

Then I can get back to once a week.

Not bad. 

I've divided the 600 calories into 200 calorie meals on Fast Days. When they are done...then I am done with food for the day.

Finally some new movies coming out soon...and the library is now offering curbside service.

And there is this online shopping...

You know you've been doing too much Amazon Prime and eBay when a package arrives and, like Christmas, you have forgotten what may or may not be in it.

~laughing~

Two more Hostas arriving and another red rosebush next week!

Also a black slit-to-there dress.

Hey...I'm in a wheelchair...I'm not DEAD!

Time to throw together a salad...water the plants...then work on the Beach Painting a bit!





Have a Wonderful Weekend!