News from the Nest, June 19
Happy Day!
I’m starting to realize that one gauge of my accomplishments is how sore my back and bones are at the end of the day. And, according to my back still this morning, I was VERY busy this past weekend. Now, I need to figure out what exactly I did!
Not that this is the cause of my aching back, but this past week I did work on two new, very easy, and useful knit projects to share in the next week or two.
new on the blog
This Stoplight Pepper Jelly has flecks of red and orange bell peppers and green jalapeño peppers, making the most delicious appetizer and beautiful hostess gift! You can water bath can it or refrigerate/freeze it…your choice. I provide instructions for both.
Table of Contents
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from the kitchen
- If I’m on a deserted island and can only have 5 kitchen utensils (it could happen?!), my garlic rocker is on my list! So easy to clean and so efficient!
- Add these Red, White + Blue Popsicles to your Fourth of July celebration menu!
how’s your garden doing?
Here are some of our favorite recipes that use summer’s bounty:
- Roasting tomatoes takes tomatoes to a new level by reducing the liquid and concentrating the flavor. It’s a great way to use those less flavorful tomatoes.
- Tomato Mozzarella Bruschetta can be made ahead and served when needed. It’s a delightfully cool summer appetizer or light dinner.
- No joke, my mouth starts to water when I think of this tomato jam! It’s sweet, tangy, spicy, and smoky – all at once!!
- And, last but certainly not least…our Jar-By-Jar Dill Pickle recipe. This recipe has been in the top ten of this site’s most popular articles for the past four years! In fact, I need to put up a jar today! I love that I can make a jar at a time as I have enough fresh cucumbers.
from the knit + crochet studio
- Even if you don’t think you can crochet, I promise you can add the littlest bit of crochet edging to these napkins. I show you how to make miter corner napkins and add the backstitch on the edge of the napkins to which you attach the simple crochet edging.
- And if you are looking for a bit more of a crochet challenge, you’ll love making these Thermal Stitch Potholders! IMHO, the thermal stitch was designed for potholders!
from the craft studio
- Cover an old bulletin board with burlap and nailhead trim. I display all of our past Christmas cards year-round on our bulletin board…it’s a lovely timeline of our family.
- If you’ve ever wanted to try to ‘build’ a piece of furniture, this is the one you should start with! This simple console is one of our favorite projects. I walk you through, step by step.
in the garden
- PSA! I have used my vinegar weed killer exclusively for the past 3+ years and am all in. But I just realized that the fumes alone can damage foliage near it. The fumes haven’t killed any of my plants, but I notice that the leaves can get burned by the fumes. Just FYI.
- What tomatoes make good patio tomatoes? What are some tips for growing delicious patio tomatoes? Check out this article for all the info.
- Tips to fill a large planter (with stuff other than expensive potting soil)
- Do you compost? We are avid and active composters and love to preach about the many benefits. Pop on over for the sermon! 😉
keeping the home
- Ten questions to ask yourself when decluttering.
- Per the traffic to this site, it seems that many folks are spending some time decluttering their kitchens and using this checklist to prompt them for items to discard that they won’t likely ever miss.
- I regularly use this paint touch-up kit! Having everything I need to patch holes and touch up my interior walls makes this maintenance task easy to stay on top of.
Well my friends, I have so many items on my to-do list that I really want to check off this week. Wish me luck!
And my wish for you is that you do whatever you need to do, or don’t do, this week.
Until next week!
