Our biking adventures

Rich has been off on holidays this week and we have taken advantage of that to take some long bike rides. 

We went on Monday, and boy did we pick a hard trail! There were a lot of sharp inclines, the trail was up and down so much we had to ride our brakes a lot, and we totaled an incline of over 220 feet! Add to that the fact that due to other obligations and such, we hadn't been out in a couple of weeks... let's just say we were plenty worn out when we finally dragged our sorry behinds back to the car (we often drive to a park so we can start at a certain point in a bike trail and explore from there). 

Today we went in the morning and we were feeling in much better shape than the other day! lol

We went along the south Platte River and tried out some new pathways there- it is a whole labyrinth of trails. It was sunny but cooler than it has been, a perfect day for riding. We had a glorious time!

The first photo shows the kind of stunning scenery that we ride alongside on this trail. The second photo shows the deck of the place we stopped for lunch; there is actually a little trail built from the bike trail to the Platte Canyon Grill- and they have excellent hamburgers! There were many bikers from the trail there for lunch, it was very cool.

The Baby of the Family is 11!

Today is Chloe's 11th birthday. Pity it is a school day; it's rough to have to stand on your chair at school so your classmates can sing Happy Birthday to you, it's a horrible thing to have to withstand a whole bunch of teachers smiling at you and giving you candies...

We actually let Chloe open her gifts on Monday so that she could have the holiday to enjoy her gifts. Heidi gave her a stuffed Squirt (from Finding Nemo) and a Wall*E journal, both of which she just loved.

We will have cards and cake tonight, we don't have a lot of time considering it is a school night.

This weekend we are heading to Elitch Gardens, the amusement park. Rich's company has booked the park for their family day. It should be lots of fun!

The following weekend, Chloe will have a sleepover party for her birthday. We haven't finalized any plans, just the date... lol

So far...

After three solid days of canning, I am off to a good start!

 

I have made plum jam (13), plum butter (5), plum conserve (5), peach jam (17), peach salsa (6), zucchini pickles (10), zucchini marmalade (not shown-5), and dill pickles (5). Later today, I am going to finish my cinnamon watermelon pickles, made with watermelon rind- they are soaking in the fridge right now.

With the rest of the case of peaches I got last weekend, I am making a peach pie for dessert. And with the rest of the zucchini, I will make a nice side dish to go with dinner.

That's the thing about preserving, you just have to get to it when you have the stuff!

Heidi is trying out the bus system today. We live too close for her to take the school bus, but with a heavy backpack plus band stuff, the walk can be long for her. We got tickets last night and she walked to the bus stop this morning. As I didn't get a panicky call from her and classes are now well under way, I am assuming she made out alright.

We got a new composter this week, and once I finish putting the rest of the bricks under it, I can start using it, thank goodness! Strangely enough, composting supplies are not to be found locally, we had to order it from the internet. We would like a vegetable garden next year, and the compost will be very useful.

I must get to mopping and such, you can't imagine what a mess I have been making all week! lol

More of the bounty!

I said I was going to become a canning fool, and so I am. I just need to hunt down more jars... for some reason, they aren't very easy to find around here. Weird, because there are so many farmer's markets and such, I can't be the only one interested in preserving things.

At the Farmer's Market on Saturday, we bought a case of peaches which I will turn into jam either tonight or tomorrow. I have picked more plums, but just cleaned them and took the stones out- they are in the freezer in bags right now. I have already made 13 jars of plum jam, 5 jars of plum butter, and 5 jars of plum compote out of the 15+ pounds of plums I picked over the weekend.

My very generous neighbors have been supplying me with copious amounts of zucchini; there are no less than 35 cups shredded in bags in the freezer right now. And there is still more- but I found a recipe for zucchini bread & butter pickles, and for zucchini marmalade. So as soon as I get my hot little hands on more jars, I am back to the canning.  Right now I am calling around to see where to buy them while my chocolate-chocolate chip zucchini bread bakes.

I love making jams and preserves; there is something very satisfying about the wonderful smells in the kitchen while I cook and the look of the sparkling jars down on my basement shelves!

My very own orchard!

It's been a fun-filled couple of days!

Yesterday we all went up to Boulder to see where Zach will be living for the next few months. The campus at CU is gorgeous and Boulder seems like a pretty nice place. The place was a zoo! After we dropped him off, 

we went to the Pedestrian Mall on Pearl Street. It has lots of cool little shops and we had a nice afternoon.

Last night when we were letting Feather out for her last time before be

d, she came back in- and she had been skunked! YUCK!! She spent the night in the Garden Room, which as of yet, really has nothing in it. This morning Rich and I gave her a bath in the backyard with peroxide, baking soda, and detergent. She still smells a little bit, but nothing compared to last night.

Rich was off today and so we went out for brunch. Afterward we ran a few errands. I wanted to get a canning pot and supplies as I am planning to use the crabapples on my tree back here to make apple butter and crabapple jelly.

Imagine my thrilled surprise when I discovered that the tree was not a crabapple tree, but a plum tree!!! WOW!!! So we have a cherry tree, a plum tree, two apple trees, and a crabapple tree. It sounds weird, I know, to not have known that before I went out to pick- but I hadn't looked too closely yet. I can see the tree from my kitchen window, but it isn't in the area of the backyard we are in too much.

I am going to need more jars! I am planning on becoming a canning fool- I have my very own orchard in my backyard!!! WOOO-HOOOO!!!!