Food Preservation...

 Jordan's beautiful basket of herbs.  She's been picking and drying from her garden when they are ready.

 Here we are at 2 a.m. finishing cutting corn off the huge load we got last week.  It was great to have some corn after a few years of not having it.

 We did up some cherries last night and today.  I love how they look.

My friend Jan gave me some good sour apples.  We made them all into juice for jelly.  I then discovered I could use the pulp from the apples into applesauce.  We then took some of that and made oatmeal applesauce bread for the market tomorrow. 

This was my supper the other night.  It's so colorful.  It's been about a month that I've cut out all grains and sugar and eat mostly veggies, avocados, bananas and some meat and eggs.  I feel great as long as I have time to prepare the food.  I also lost about 18 pounds.  I'd rather keep the 18 pounds and eat the foods I like!!!!  I like pasta, toast for breakfast and stir fry with rice.  I like a bun with my hamburger and potatoes cooked about any way!  I miss ice cream!  It's just for a time and I do like vegetables.

Moriah was helping pit the cherries with a cherry pitter we borrowed.  It was great!

Lena had a great time turning the crank and making applesauce today!  She has so much fun in everything she does.

Supper tonight was Ratatouille.  Jordan had fun going around to the gardens collecting the ingredients.  Mmmmm!  Love it.  She sautes onions, peppers, and fresh minced garlic in butter or oil until soft.  She peels, chops and adds the zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes with fresh basil and simmers it 15 minutes to 30.  It is really good. Most of the family eats it on rice.  I eat it plain and it is so good we had it two nights in a row. 

Isaac plays with his food!!!  This is his hamburger topped with avocado topped with a tomato topped with mustard decorating the top surrounded by the tomato peel.  He often does this kind of thing. 

Got Veggies?

 These aren't veggies but Saturday was a really good weeding day.  You can't even see the strawberries in here but when we were done there they were! :)  We neglected them since they weren't producing any more and we had more important places to take care of.

 Jordan has been making veggie soup each week for us.  Here she added about anything she could find outside; leeks, green beans, onions, zucchini, garlic, eggplant and golden beets.  The only things that wasn't from the garden were the carrots. 

 The goats get a good meal too when we are done.  I think the leftovers look so appetizing!

 Tomato hornworms like my veggies, more correctly my fruit, tomatoes!  Yikes these things are huge!  I didn't realize what was eating on my tomatoes.  I thought grasshoppers were eating them but I found these yesterday.  They do a lot of damage.

 My squash is exploding.  I've kept it watered in this heat and it's doing so well.

Supper tonight!  Oh, this was good!  I took it all from the garden.  It was peppers, onions, tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant with olive oil, garlic powder and coarse salt put on it.  I grilled it outside on low and it was good smelling and tasting.

Life lately...

 Love these kitties.  One mama had all orange and the other mama had orange with one black.

 Gideon's not so sure he wants to be up this high!

 Making bread for two markets now keeps the oven busy!

 Emily and Jordan had a sewing project last week; an apron Em had found online and she bought the material for it and Jordan guided her in the making of it.

 I love the material she picked out for it.

 Cinnamon swirl bread is becoming one of my best sellers!

 Caleb's been busy with dad to build his hoop coop for his laying hens.  The boys' egg business is going well.  They sold 15 dozen in one week!

 Kitty in the watering can was taking a nap when I came along!

 Strawberries in our high tunnel keep Lena busy outside looking for them!

Making kombucha!  I finish off the kombucha with grape juice to give it some flavor.  I have about 10 mothers (SCOBY) (starter culture) now so if anyone would like a lesson, bring a gallon jar and come over and I'll show you how we do it!  I use whatever jars I have handy to finish the ferment in the fridge. 

 The first official start of the summer market was this last Thursday!  It was a great day! 

 Isaac sold eggs.  Caleb and Isaac are in the egg business.  They are doing a great job keeping care of the chickens and learning how to wash and candle the eggs for market! 

 All the cucumbers sold except for about 4-5 large ones! 

 Jordan got some fresh herbs ready to sell.  About the last 10 minutes of market we made the first and only sale.  Sometimes you never know how something will sell.

 I didn't have tomatoes at market but I had some ready the next day.  I hope to have tomatoes at the next market.  There are quite a few about to turn.  Last night Kevin and I got some mesh to put on the sides of the tunnel to keep out the birds from eating the strawberries and now that the cats have discovered the ripe tomatoes I hope to keep them out too! 

 Jordan made this cute basket for picking her fresh herbs.

 Here she is cutting some herbs for market.  She dried the ones that didn't sell.

I didn't have eggplant ready but bought some at the market and last night Jordan made eggplant parmesan for the kids.  We had the leftovers for lunch.  I really like it but Gideon doesn't care for the texture.

The most amazing wedding...

 It is not a speck on your computer.  It is the groom who jumped from an airplane.

 He is currently a Navy Seal and had to do a little work to find a plane to let him jump out of it.

 Pretty exciting for the boys in the crowd.  How many boys dislike going to weddings, not this one?!

 The bride with her father waiting for the groom.  It was quite warm but such a perfect day!!

 TJ and Alicia.  We've known Alicia's family about 12 years now.

 Jordan looking so beautiful for the wedding.  A friend did her hair and it looks really nice on her.

 Live music.  They were so good!

 It was a perfect outdoor wedding.  They had ice cream and all kinds of toppings as an appetizer and then cheesecake and chocolate covered strawberries for the main course (a dessert bar for an evening wedding). 

 What a beautiful couple!  They went off somewhere across an ocean (didn't tell anyone where).

 Everything looked so perfect.  The large cake was pretty much decoration and they cut this cake for a picture.  The family had a big cake to eat the next day!

 The bride dancing with her dad.  They had a dance floor in the outdoor tent.  Very neat!

 The evening was complete with a fireworks show!

 There were mostly waltzes, a Scottish polka, and some swing dancing.  Daddy dancing with little Riah!

Gideon and Riah having some action on the dance floor.