Projects: tomatoes, meat, wool, etc......

Project 'Get Those Tomatoes Sorted out'

I have made a start on the surprise harvest of tomatoes we have had..... five jars of prepped green tomatoes en route to the canner.

Twenty minutes at 5lb pressure, and all done.

However, I don't seem to have made a dent on the amount of tomatoes waiting to be done,

Project 'Prepping The Spun Wool'

Now I have the facilities, (a nice big sink) I can get on with washing the skeins of spun wool that I have hanging here and there all round my home. Being aware that winter is on its way I am on the move now with getting the wool prepped for weaving, (if I get the loom ordered) or for knitting / crocheting with.

One soak in hand hot water with a splash of laundry soap added.....

One soak in hand hot water for the rinse.

...then out on the line to dry. I don't use weights on the wool to straighten the fibres, I just give the skeins a hard pull to straighten them out then let the weight of the water dripping out of them do the rest. The fibres still have a pronounced twist, but this is DIY wool and the irregularity of the twist is what gives it an 'artisan look'. 

And ongoing to the Wool Project is the need to make some DIY dye so I can give variety to the dark brown and cream colours that our wool has. 

Now I love this bread bin. I have had it for some years now and is getting quite chipped and battered. 

In the UK it was used to store bread. When we first came to France it was then used to store vegetables because it was too big to go on the gas rings of the mini cooker of the caravan. 

Then it was used for cheese making, then for making chips because the enamel has started to chip (I had graduated to a bigger stove by then and the caravans were long gone)

but we don't have pan fried chips anymore so it is not much used. 

So....... 

..... fill it with fig leaves (shredded), put water in to cover the leaves, pot on to stove,

cook contents for an hour, or until I remember to switch the pot off, which was two and a half hours later, and leave overnight. Strain. And then investigate what colour I have fetched up with. At the moments it looks a dirty brown colour! It will be interesting to see the actual dye colour I have ended up with. I think this is a good use for the bread bin.

The Meat Project:

This is ongoing from yesterday.....
this is the meat which was in the huge pot, still chilled from its stay in the freezer....

..... and now minced.
Next stage.....canning, but might take a handful of mince for lunch. 

Lester spent the day working on the Chicken Hut Project, 

and I did a little bit of clearing out of the veg garden, but not a lot because it got too hot to work.

It is starting to get chilly in the early morning, but by mid morning the sun comes out and the temperatures zoom up making uncomfortable to work outside. Living close to the mountains but parallel to the Mediterranean gives us this see saw range of temperatures. Not to worry, it is as it is, ...

But I need to get on with the day,

so bye for now.

Vera x