That was scary!

First of all this is NOT my kitchen........

......this isn't either. But it is the 'spare' kitchen because I don't have a 'proper' kitchen anyway, just a temporary one. Obviously this is a temporary space as well.   

Now may I draw your attention to the pot in both these photos, the first one being one I posted up on  a blog a few weeks ago after I mentioned that I had purchased an All American Canner so I can can, or rather, bottle. In the second photo you can see my actual pot.

Anyway, the pot arrived intact, unlike the Excalibur dehydrator (that black box sitting on the right of the pot) which had a crack on one side because the 'DO NOT DROP' message written on the top and sides was disregarded but somebody or other. I bought it from UK Juicers, who almost fell over themselves to sort out the problem and a new one is to arrive tout suite. 

Back to the pot. It has sat to one side while I have read, re-read, re-read, and re-read the manual, and spent ages looking at YouTube vids which have the All American in them. So today was the day, and may I say that if I had not had a pressure cooker years ago I would probably not been bold enough to have a go with this one. Apart from the fact that it is a giant of a thing, well it has to be because it is going to hold several kilner jars when I do get to do some bottling, it is heavy and intimidating to look at it. This is no pretty little ditsy bit of kitchen equipment, and this was only the middle sized canner. 

But to prove that I have had a go at using it, (cooked up some dog food) here is the lid off. Now all I have to do is calm down. Watching the gauge start rising, waiting for the weight to start bobbing and rattling, which it never actually did because I was so worried that the whole thing was going to explode that I shut the burners off so the pressure inside the canner would drop, all this watching and waiting, well, all I can say that I need some Baileys. Shame that I haven't got any. But I do have some stonkingly dark French cooking chocolate which just might be gone and got and nibbled on. 

The canner dripped, but the info said that it might for the first few times of use. The weight did not prance and jiggle like the info said it would, but it might next time, although it did do a couple of loud hisses at which point I yelled for Lester to come and help. 

Ducky is still here, in life. He seems to be 'half' calmed down. And we have nine chicks hatched. We did have ten, but one got squashed underneath it's mum's foot. Am also 'doing' DIY hay again this year. The sun and the long grass seem to have a seductive effect on me and my scythe. Can't seem not to do it. 

And my foot has decided not to work. In the middle of being busy, it froze around the ankle. Now I would not have minded if I had just taken a tumble, then I would have expected something on my person to complain, but I hadn't. And it flipping hurt as well. All I could do was hobble with a crutch, notably the spade, which is of a handy height to lean on. 

Couldn't put up with any nonsense from that foot today, so I have strapped it into my walking boots, which are supposed to be my outside boots, but which now are my indoor shoes as well, which means that mud and any other squelchy substances are littering up the tarpaulins on the floors. Ah well, makes a change from the odd bit of poo and huge lakes of pee from the girls, our rottweiller puppies. Two ladies came a-calling today, with bibles in hand, presumably to 'save' me. . Somehow the rotty girls managed to get through the gate and romped their way towards the women, one of which had a white skirt on, but which is now decorated with black paw marks. The women did not linger. I remain 'unsaved'.