Apple Blackberry Jelly Tutorial

Ok, so I have had a hard time posting on Mondays. LIFE IS BUSY right now! Ms. Sunshine has decided to sleep only in my arms and I have been really really trying to change that.

Anyway, I have been able to make jelly from the apples from our tree and blackberries that we picked while Paul has been home.

Here is a step by step tutorial:

1. Boil equal parts of blackberries and baking apples just covered with water. (I used about 5 cups of each). Keep the cores and skins on the apples--they have lots of necessary pectin for the jelly to set.

2. Once all of the fruit has cooked down to mush, line a colander with cheesecloth over a bowl and dump mix in to drain juice. Don't smoosh down--it will make the jelly cloudy.
Here is the juice. (I let it drain overnight.)
3. Use a big pot. Add the juice and sugar. Most recipes call for the same amount of juice as sugar, but I used 5 cups of juice and 3.5 cups of sugar and it turned out great.

4. Boil until the mix resembles maple syrup, about 220 degrees F, or passes the plate test (put a little of the mix on a cold plate and see if it sets up after a few seconds.)
4. Boil jars to sterilize for 10 min. Use tongs to extract from water.

5. Fill with jelly--it will be liquid-y. Tighten lids and put in a big pot of water and boil for 10 minutes to sterilize.

ENJOY!!

Texture Craft

On rainy days, we always try to find a craft that is new and different. We found this one on a website that I can't remember right now..

• Cut up pieces of felt, fabric, sandpaper, textured paper, velvet, anything with texture. It is amazing what you can find in your house once you start looking.
• Put the little pieces in bowls, give your child a glue stick and some paper, and let them create.
• For smaller children, Make buildings, and cut out squares of the textured papers and have each building's "windows" have a different texture. Have them feel each one afterwards.

Trip to the Seaside

Ok, I know it isn't Monday (and I said that would be my posting day...) but I actually had a few moments to myself :)

This weekend, we went to Weston Super-Mare. It was cold, as British beaches usually are, and Tate made the request to go to Spain. I still think he had a good time, however.

"Caution Sinking Mud"
Little Soleil bundled inside her buggy.Making Sandcastles.And you can't go to the seaside without stopping for some Fish and Chips!

Monday Monday

I love Mondays.

And for this reason, I plan on making Monday my blogging day. You see, with a newborn, blogging is not easy. If I plan on one day a week I get to post a few pics, say a few words, and read a few blogs, it will make me happy and I will actually get a few postings up.

So until further notice, I will try to post on MONDAYS :)

A few things in my world that currently make me happy:

The first apple of the year off of our tree.

A drawer full of new papercrafting supplies. (Courtesy of MOM)Trying to make my bathroom like a spa. I love fresh white towels stacked neatly. These were wedding presents from our friends, Jean and Rick. I think of them almost every time I reach for one.
Beautiful blackberries picked from the bushes near our house.Foot Scrub from LUSH.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITES RIGHT NOW??