Potent Pickled Peppers

OK, I really don't know if they will be potent hot, but I do know they are hot because I have a few burning spots on my fingers and I wore gloves when processing!!! CRAZY So my friend gave me her leftover peppers, Sargento Pablamo and La Bamba. Both are hot peppers. I started with a brine, 4 cups white vinegar, 1 cup of water, 2 tsp pickling salt. I added a cut garlic clove to each jar. After cutting off the stems and de-seeding the peppers, I cut them up into small pieces. Once done, I packed the peppers into the sterile 1/2 pint jars, put the lids and rings on and put them into the waterbath canner. I made sure the water covered the jars by at least an inch and brought the water to a boil and boiled for 10 minutes. Once done I removed them and put them on a towel on the counter. I got 10 jars out of that bag of peppers and I will use them to add a bunch of flavor to my meals like chili, soups and casseroles. YUM!!!!!

Growing orchids under lights/my little greenhouse

I've been working hard on my she-shed turned greenhouse lately. I was sick for several months and after getting tested and treated in Seattle I am on the mend, a very slow recovery as it is a rare disorder and they still don't know what the recovery looks like, very frustrating to say the least but I am going forward as best as I can. Back to the greenhouse. Since we had to tear down my huge greenhouse, 12' x 18', I needed a place to put the plants that I still had, so I decided to get a metal shelf system and put some grow ights over the plants. Well, after a year, it seems to be working fine. I cannot slosh water around like I did in my other greenhouse as this one has a concrete floor, so I have a catch system for the water which helps increase the humidity in there. I think I am up to 36 orchids now and the rest are succulents and houseplants.

I enjoy being out in this tiny little space, it's calming for some reason!!!

Hope you enjoy the tour!!! I am just so happy that this set up is working!!! Take care, Martha

Whales on the Oregon coast

We spent 2 days in Depot Bay Oregon with friends. They have a Worldmark membership and their favorite place is in Depot Bay. We took a short drive south and saw several whales, spouting and rolling. It was sure special to see them. Such a fun weekend!!!

On the video you can see some very large sea lions. They look like giant light gray rocks. If you zoom in you can see them much better!!!

Siltcoos Lake

A very beautiful place with RV camping at Darlings, plus they have two cabins and rooms to rent.

Simple Gardening Hints:Raised Beds

Raised beds: My garden is pretty much all raised beds. We find wood to use, have been given wood to use, or end up buying wood to use as the edges of our beds. This is our raspberry bed. The wood has tar in it so I lined the wood, inside and the bottoms with plastic so it doesn't get into the soil. So far that has worked just fine. This bed is about 20 feet long. I have been sick for quite awhile and finally got tested and treated. It has been a very brutal journey but I am feeling so much better and now have the energy to get back outside. The raspberry bed had been taken over by grass, vines and blackberry briars. Our neighbors on two side have tons of blackberry briars coming over the fence and into our yard. You can see that I have managed to clean half the bed out. I am ready to tackle the other half and next year we should have raspberries again.!!! So wonderful to feel semi normal again. Happy Gardening!!! I will share our other raised beds soon!!!

1964 C 10 Chevy Pickup

Check out my son's pickup!! So cool. He bought it 4 years ago and Otter's Custom Fab has had it these past 4 years rebuilding it!!!

He is pretty excited to be driving it finally!!

Cherry Pie

I made a cherry pie last night from cherries off our cherry tree. So yummy. I followed a recipe out of my Betty Crocker cook book that was a gift for me at my wedding shower. 49 years ago. WOWZA!! I still use the pie dough recipe in there and it turns out good every time.

The perfect dessert!!! Martha