Putting foods by

We enjoy the process of planting, raising, and harvesting food for our dietary needs.  We actually work together (in the same room, no less!) to prepare goodies for the freezer or the canning cupboard.

Our old reliable stuffed peppers are always part of the larder.










We canned beans from our garden a couple of times and did several batches of peaches.

For the beans we use a recipe that stores the beans in a brine for use in three-bean salad. 








We purchased three bushels of red haven peaches that produced some 50 quarts of wonderful winter peach treats.












Our biennial pear trees produced on schedule, and we captured almost 30 jars for later use.

Root Cellar work

Our root cellar has been showing signs of rain leaking in for several years.  As it is a good place to store winter-used vegetables and some plant potting materials, we had the problem tackled.

This is a picture before remediation attempts.

















The porch above it was power washed, patched, and sealed.  Much of the problem seemed to be from this source, which is the ceiling to the underground space.











The old shelving was removed, some of which will be reused.  A moisture barrier was placed on the dirt floor and crushed stone was added to provide the new base.









Several coats of sealing compound are in place on the ceiling and walls.  As it dries further, we will wait for a good rain to check for any leaks.  We have our fingers crossed!

Garage work

Our garage floor was pitted and worn from 45 years of use.  Everyone we talked to did not recommend resurfacing as a long-term answer to the problem.

So a totally new floor was in order.  Some air hammer work completed step 1.











The handy little BobCat picked up the pieces and loaded them on the truck for disposal.
















The new floor was carefully beveled toward the new drain and finished by a combination of machine and a steady hand.










The new drain was checked for flow (a good idea!). 

Rebar under the cement (or is it concrete?) was followed by section demarcations to control cracking.

Quilters meeting and working

The Peeps (Art Quilt People) held their regular monthly meeting for September,  and I forgot to take pictures until the meeting was mostly over!

This is Nancy, showing us her piece that incorporates beech leaves.








We looked at some of Pat's smaller pieces.











Shirley, my friend from high school, is a beginning quilter who has been very busy making quilts for her grandchildren.


She wanted to try spray basting a king-sized quilt.  So, we waited for a good-weather day and set up lots of tables in the back yard.





We sprayed the backing and batting layers together, and then added the top layer, spraying about a quarter of it at a time.  It worked great!

Opening at FLCC - Wayne Williams

Our friend and colleague, Wayne Williams, presented an explanation of the process he used to complete a large set of bronze statues commissioned by a consortium of historical organizations.














His presentation model commemorating the treaty between the United States of America and the Seneca Indian Nation includes an Indian family.  The sculpture will be displayed in Canandaigua near to where the actual document was signed.














Former science teacher, Lee Drake, also attended the opening and is pictured with Marlene Williams, who is the wife of the artist.

Wayne talked to a large group of FLCC students who were most interested.  Many of them have an interest in sculpture and were delighted to listen to the complex process of creating life-size human figures.





After the formal presentation, Wayne answered individual questions.

The gallery display includes several photos of the development and process of Wayne's work.

The installation of the sculpture will take place in mid-November.

Family visit

 My brother and sister-in-law used the airport in Canandaigua when they flew in for a visit with us. 

We had a lovely dinner and time to catch up a bit over the next day.










Our bread machine was a present from my brother several years ago, and it still works great.  I've discovered a new favorite recipe for bread that includes oatmeal and maple syrup -- Yum!










We created a triple row of canna lilies in a new spot at the end of the garden, and they're very happy there.

They've been blooming for a long time and the humming birds are enjoying them.

Peeps meeting

The Art Quilt People missed meeting earlier in the summer, but got together in August and enjoyed seeing and discussing a lot of new work:














Anne's newly finished top



















Jeanne's three triangle pieces












Pat's sketches for a possible new composition













Mary's quilt

















And Linda's quilt

Momma Kitty

One of the  more interesting interactions takes place between the kittens and their mother, who remains feral and will not accept human touch.

This pictures was taken on our deck, so she is venturing away from her safe spot in the barn and getting very close to the house.






The kittens appear to have separate fathers (who knew?) and yet are from the same litter.  We have learned that after nursing stops, mother cats have little connection to their babies. 

Here the male kitten approaches his feral mom where she likes to lie in the flower bed and is ignored.








The female kitten appears nearby and is met with the same indifference.  As long as they don't try to eat her food, she is usually calm in their presence.









After outdoor experience, the kittens cuddle up on the studio couch for a nap.  Of course, they have their own fleece blanket for warmth and comfort.

Kitties first day outside

We have two of the feral kittens as permanent residents.  They are friendly and very used to their inside routines.














On their first venture outside, they were tentative even to the feel of grass on their feet.

It's the first weekend in August in these pictures, and the kittens are 4 months old.








They soon began to explore the territory just off the deck and still close to the house and entry doors. 

Now, of course, they love the freedom of chasing bugs, playing under the bushes, crawling under the deck and spending most of the day in charge of their own routine and georgraphy!

Toby is in this picture and Sophie is in the next picture.

Florida visitors

My nephew, Mike, his wife, Billie, and their family drove up from Boca Raton to spend the first week of August in the Adirondacks at the family camp. 

They came  to Palmyra with my brother and sister-in-law to spend a day with us.









The kids got to see the gardens and ponds (and Mike got great pictures of the frogs).














Katie is in high school and the twins, Nick and Joe, are in middle school.













Of course, everyone visited the studio and got to meet the new kittens.








And the Jeep, which hadn't been taken up to the Adirondacks for the season, was driven back with them.