Nothing like waiting 'til the last minute...

The exhibit hall drop off for the Bolton Fair starts in a little over 48 hours.  Last year I entered three jams and poppy seed kolache.  This year....I don't know.  I've been planning to make apricot braid kolache for the coffee cake category, and made time to make that tomorrow.  But for canning....I've only made strawberry jam so far this year, and its quality is average.  Everything else we've brought in for produce so far I've frozen (blueberries, cherries, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries, peas).  Its too early for our tomatoes and peppers.  I'm thinking I may stop at a local farm and see what they've got for produce, maybe pickling cukes, or peaches, or something else and can from that.

Work has essentially been keeping me from thinking about this.  I submitted two proposals for customers for the NIH SBIR solicitation this week, and working on my Tastefully Simple business too.  I just updated my Tastefully Simple blog page, and am booking parties for the remainder of August and September.  I have a white paper and a few articles to get done for clients this week too.

And holy crap we have kittens!  We adopted them up about three weeks ago, and they are freaking adorable.  Dexter on the left, and Deedee on the right.  Deedee was the runt of the litter, and they weren't sure she would make it, but she's doing great.  She's noticeably smaller than Dexter, but she doesn't back down to him.  We've missed having cats in our house, and so glad to have them!

Girl of Many Stripes on Examiner.com

Although I've posted links to some of my Examiner articles on this blog, I wanted to include a more detailed post on what I do at Examiner.  I have two titles there now, the Boston Scrapbooking Examiner and the Boston Canning and Preserving Examiner.  My goal is to provide great content with local connections to the Boston area.  So, I'll include recipes on the Canning and Preserving page, but I'll also include information on where to get equipment and ingredients locally.  You can subscribe to each of these titles to be notified when new content is available.

To subscribe to the Boston Scrapbooking feed, go to the Boston Scrapbooking Examiner page and click on the "Subscribe" button under my name.

To subscribe to the Boston Canning and Preserving feed, go to the Boston Canning and Preserving Examiner page and click on the "Subscribe" button under my name.

Maybe your interest in Examiner.com is piqued by reading about my articles.  You can write for Examiner.com too! There are tons of local titles available for many different topics.  It won't make you rich unless you've got a really popular title, but you can make some money and build an online profile that can give you other opportunities.  If you're interested, feel free to ask me questions, or go to the Examiner Application page.  If you use this link, apply, and are accepted, I do get a referral bonus, which of course is pretty awesome for me too.  If you don't see a relevant title, feel free to ask Examiner.com about it.  There was no Canning and Preserving Examiner positions until I asked to create it!

Review: Ball Home Canning Exploration Kit

I posted a new review of the Ball Home Canning Exploration Kit on my page at Examiner.com.  If you're interested in canning, but not sure where to start, or don't have any equipment, or interested in canning only in small batches, this is a great kit.  Check out the review through this link, and click on the image below to see the Amazon product description or to order the kit.

Many, many stripes

I certainly fit the description of a girl with many stripes, as I have so many interests, hobbies, and skills.  Over the last couple of weeks I've:

• Posted three articles on canning and preserving at Examiner.com: 
• Canning and Preserving Rhubarb
• Where to Shop for Canning Supplies in the Boston Area
• Review: Ball Pectin Calculator
• Installed Camtasia and created a video version of my Ball Pectin Calculator Review

• Posted an article on MA National Scrapbooking Day Events at Examiner.com
• Tried to work on my front brakes, but I was one tool and three rusty bolts short of being successful.
• Did some geocaching on my own and with the family
• Entertained my children through their spring break, mostly by wearing them out through geocaching, but we also spent a fun day in New Hampshire at the See Science Center in Manchester and the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord.
• Picked up a new customer who was totally blown away by my work (love when that happens!)

Saturday I'm taking Perrin to the district Pinewood Derby race, since he qualified by coming in second in our Pack.  Probably should get some housework done one of these days.  While I do have a lot of things I'm good at, housework is certainly not one of them.

New Boston Canning and Preserving Examiner

I've recently taken the position of Boston Canning and Preserving Examiner for Examiner.com, after convincing them that such an Examiner position should exist! This will be a great place for me to put all of my knowledge and ideas on canning, preserves, freezing, and other wise putting up food for later.

My inaugural article is Canning and Preserving Rhubarb; a topic that is great for spring, as my rhubarb is growing strong in our garden. Can't wait to make my annual rhubarb cream pie!