A bit of this and that

 Lots of little pottering projects today, just been mindfully going about tasks in my own peace Not been in garden today as too warm at the moment but later on will go out and do a little bit when it cools down a bit.  As a result a perfick day for pottering.

I have carried on with more of the Long Keeping Mint Sauce and  now have two jars for my efforts to go onto the Pantry shelf.  I have taken a couple of stems to root as I seem to have every other variety of Mint in the garden apart from Garden Mint.  I managed to kill off the one I grew last year.

I finished off drying the trays of ordinary Mushrooms I started yesterday.  They had their time, and I left them to cool overnight, but they needed a bit more drying this morning and so that is what has happened.  I also finished off drying my Chamomile that I had picked, and also a few Strawberry tops (from pudding last night were also dried).  There will be more to add in tonight as we have Strawberries again for pudding.  They can go into homemade teas/tisanes if I gather enough of them together.

The two punnets of Chestnut Mushrooms have been sliced and popped into the Dehydrator.  I shall do more Mushrooms of different varieties in the coming days as they are very useful in this form  or whole and take up little space.  I love Oyster Mushrooms and G likes Shitake which are also very good for you on a medicinal basis.  You just have to check that the contents of the jars or bags do not deteriorate. Something that is probably more to do with whole pieces of veggies or fruit rather than powders.  This is something that I do with the Pantry in any event.  You always have to constantly keep checking any home produced preserves and dried goods as well as those that go in a clamp or in a box in a cold place like a cellar/root cellar.

Chives have also gone in.

I was hoping to get to the Lemon Slices and Apple Slices and Kiwi fruit to prepare as well. Unfortunately I did not get there.  I also have a punnet of Raspberries, Strawberries and a few Blackberries to dry as well.  Trying different items that have not tried before.

I have bottled my mint sauce and I have also added the herbs to large storage jars as well as the mushrooms.  These will go on the Dresser eventually but I have to sort that out as well.

I am sort of concentrating on the Dehydrating a bit at the moment as I am waiting for some jam jars to arrive so that I can get busy on the jam, marmalade, jellies and preserving front.  I have also ordered a Le Parfait jar opening key as I have some jars that need some assistance.  I am hoping to save them and re-use them.  If I can get them sorted out that will be a blessing as they are expensive to buy online these days.  I have also ordered four x 1 litre jars of  Bormioli Quattro Stagioni Italian Preserving jars which I quite like.  They have a solid lid for processing.  Many years ago I bought in a load of these jars for the first time I had a go at making passata at home. I then could not get the lids for the 500ml jars and ended up replacing them with the Kilner/Ball two piece jar lids which work very well even to this day.  I think the Liefheit jar lids and rings will fit these jars, failing that the wide mouthed jar lids from either Kilner or Ball.  I have the following items in the freezer lined up for making jams and jellies:

Blackberries

Mixed Forest Fruits for Jumbleberry Jam

Gooseberries

Raspberries for Raspberry jam

Cherries

Strawberries

I also have the following jellies to make:

Apple and Blackberry jelly

Rosemary Jelly

Sweet Pepper Jelly

Sweet Pepper and Chilli jelly

And also:

Chilli jam

Sweet and Sour Chilli Sauce

Chilli Oil

No doubt there will be loads more as I go along.

I watered up and am hoping to get into the garden tomorrow to start doing a bit of clearing.  It is going to take a while, but a little a day should help chip away at it.

Trying to get a bit more organised:

I also want to get back into the habit of prioritising jobs to try and do in a day to hack away at some of the jobs that occasionally get missed.

Tomorrow/Monday is going to be fridge day.  The fridge needs cleaning and sorting out so that I can find things again.  A Deep Clean for the fridge.  This usually takes a little while as it is not just a wipe over it is having shelves, and baskets out and really giving the fridge a good going over.

Washing will be going on in the background and once I have the fridge finished I will be going into the garden to do a bit there.

Tuesday is going to be  hanging basket day.  All being well I am going to go and see if they still have the hanging baskets I was hanging my nose over. I also need to nip to Sostrene Grene.  The hanging baskets etc. are for the old herb garden area opposite the grape vine outside the kitchen window.  I also would like G to put up the wall planters which are filling out really well.

I am also hoping to get some fruit for bottling.  I need more cooking apples, for apple sauce and mixed jams, as well as pie filling.  First though I want to see what is available - maybe some Strawberries or Pears.  Will see what is available when I go into Waitrose.

Wednesday is going to be Dresser Day.  This involves taking everything off the Dresser and out from the cupboard underneath and getting things sorted and organised.  The Dresser will also get a good scrub down and then a polish before popping everything back in its place.

Thursday is going to be sort the other Dresser Day.  More or less same procedure as the first Dresser, however more decorative items go on the Dresser Shelves.

Friday is going to be sort out under the window in the dining room day and hopefully get to the Corner Dresser which has not been seen for a while.  I want to get my everyday glasses on that corner unit.

Saturday is going to be sort the boxes out in the dining room and if I can get anymore upstairs the better.

Sunday/Monday/Tuesday I will then have a look at the under-stair cupboard and start stripping it out (weather permitting) so that I can get it cleaned, patched up and decorated before adding items back in again.  This will probably take a couple of days.  All the preserves will have to go outside whilst I do this.

Once the under-stair cupboard is dealt with it will be on to the Fireplace cupboard as that really does need stripping out and organising.  All elements of the dining room which need tackling.

All these jobs need doing and will be the principal job for that particular day that needs doing.  This is of course open to pivoting if the need arises and swapping with another day.  I will of course try and do other jobs on top of this, but rather than overwhelm myself I am trying a different tactic by pinpointing the jobs that need doing first to try and make things easier when it comes to certainly bottoming the dining room in particular out.  I still have to decorate in here, and want to get all the woodwork sorted before I attempt decorating.  So as usual an awful lot to do.

I think that will do for now.  There is an awful lot that needs sorting.

I am now tired -have had a busy evening after cooking a lovely roast lamb tea, mostly clearing up the washing up and watering the garden.  I did not buy a joint in, a few weeks got an offer at Morrisons buy two packs of lamb steaks for £11.50 so I bought some and put them in the freezer.  That is what we had for tea this evening with new potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and peas and lots of gravy.  Went down very nicely indeed.

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend, back to the grind for this coming week.

Take care everyone.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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