Sunday, August 19, 2007

Summer Projects

This has been a busy summer, but also an enjoyable one. One of the main projects I hoped to complete was painting my bedroom and bathroom. Julia and Daniel helped me paint the bedroom, and I'm really happy with the new sunny color. The hardest part was painting the window which is one floor above the room. We balanced our 10-rung ladder on top of our dresser and partially on the two nightstands which are the same height! Daniel did most of the high painting for me. Since these pictures were taken I also made a headboard in the fabric I used to cover the ottoman. Watching all those home design shows may have paid off. :)








We also grew a lot of tomatoes this year--mostly grape tomatoes, but also plum and your basic round variety. Knowing we couldn't eat them all, Dave encouraged me to try to can some. Our neighbor, Mike, heard from his son that I was in need of a little help, and he offered to have me bring my stuff to his house the other evening where he helped me cut and cook the tomatoes in my large kettle and grind them in his food mill to get out the skin and seeds. Then I bottled the sauce and juice (leaving one jar with him) and put the jars in my steamer/canner to boil 40 minutes. I felt very satisfied the next morning when I tested them, and they each had a tight seal--meaning I can put them on the shelf and save indefinitely. I realize that they might not get a blue-ribbon at the county fair--the way it separated is kind of weird, [but then you probably know by now that I already won a blue ribbon at the Utah State Fair in fifth grade for my peanut butter crisscross cookies. :)]

3 comments:

Tracy said...

Your rooms look great! You are so talented. Lucky you to have such good helpers!

Mendy said...

Cheri, I am dying to see your HGTV-style headboard. I love it that you did thatd, as one lover of shows like Designed to Sell to another! And I love your yellow room!

Jann said...

Wow, you have been so busy. I am very impressed by all your projects. My mother cans all the time, but that is one thing I have never done.