just a thought.

I am caring for my mother in law and don't have a lot of craft time at the moment. Suddenly, I had a thought. Why not include her in what I want to do? That way we get two things, something for her to do, and time with her. She was an artist but has mainly lost her sight. So today we spent painting and practicing being satisfied with the PROCESS and not the end PRODUCT. It was good for both of us. Not bad for a novice and a blind person. ;)



And THIS is one of the pictures that my mother in law did before she started losing her sight...

berries and berries and berries and cherries

I have always loved the feeling of a row of freshly canned something. It feels a bit like a squirrel hiding away nuts for winter. This year, as I am tending my mother in law's house and garden, there are oh so very many berries. I picked a gallon just this morning.

In the past, I just canned it without much thought. This year, however, Not Everything Is Going Very Well.

Canning berries and cherries. I got the first batch of berries done, then a batch of cherries. Then, halfway through the second batch of berries, the stove burner died. I Muscled the canning kettle full of water and berry jars to the other burner, thanks to the weight lifting I have been doing!! The small burner would NOT get it hot enough so I had to settle for 200 degrees. So, have to do something else with the berries-- package them and freeze them. It's a shame, they are beautiful...at least I got a couple batches done before the burner died.

But before that, must get the berry cobbler done. No cornstarch. She said, "I quit buying that because of you, you can't eat it!" True, but I can't eat the berries either so why care if it's in there? oh well, I'll use flour instead. No lemon juice. Well maybe there's a lemon still out there on the tree I can use. Whew! No baking powder. oh my, off to the store. Better see what else I am missing. That's what happens when you bake in someone else's kitchen and you depend on what you have in YOUR kitchen.

Next time I am checking things out FIRST instead of running to the store in the middle of the project.

About the cobbler. After all the fuss with having to go get a lemon, I forgot to add it. And now it's baking, and even though I used the correct pan size, it is going over the sides and dripping on to the floor of the oven. Sometimes it is as if there's really a Murphy after all. She wonders why I don't do much baking? Well then. Here's the reason.

And even though I repeatedly have said I do NOT do pies, my dear mother in law is still going through her recipe file with her magnifying glass, looking for "that good pie recipe, did you know it was Fran's?"

Well she found the recipe. Macular degeneration didn't stop her. Phooey. I must be strong and resist her!

I think I'll call Fran, and tell HER to make a pie. :)

I am so EXCITED!!

For a long long time, I've wanted to scan some slides I have. We even bought a special scanner to do the job, but it took so long it was very discouraging. Today I was trying to scan some using these instructions:

http://www.abstractconcreteworks.com/essays/scanning/Backlighter.html

but for some reason my scanner would only scan black and white. Frustrating. Today, I read an idea to use a high-quality digital camera and take a picture with it backlit. I thought, how about holding it up to a white place on the computer screen? and although all I have is a Canon power shot, I tried it....

and guess what, IT WORKED!!

It took a bit of experimenting to figure out how close to hold it, and I think I will set up some kind of thing to hold it while I shoot, but this way I can do a lot more than the scanner that takes forever.... so yes I am excited!! So is my mother in law, who owns a TON of slides. We're going to have to be choosy. But this picture is so good... :)