As soon as Attila harvested this basil, and brought it into the house, we got busy making three batches of pesto!
A muffin pan with paper liners was filled, and the dozen servings were popped into the freezer.
Today was sunny and warm, some would call it cool. The thermometer on the porch read 20C all day. The temperature in the house was 22.5C, which today seemed rather cool. The thermostat was set to cool, so it was raised to 23C, which has been more comfortable.
The radon readings were low when I arose this morning, and remained low all day. At times the readings skyrocket, but we have been unable to determine just what causes the sudden severe fluctuation. I think not a lot is known about the life and times of radon distribution.
This morning Attila took our vehicle in for its scheduled warranty maintenance. So I set off on the morning walk by myself. For me, the cooler weather makes a brisk walk so much more enjoyable. I returned before Attila had to head out to the car dealership. After he was on his way, I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast.
Attila has had little time to work on jigsaw puzzles this summer, the garden and the house skirting project take up so much of his time. The puzzle on the table is a difficult one. The colours are dark and difficult to differentiate. I’ve been working away at it for weeks now, managing to place only a few pieces every day, as I quickly lose interest in the visual dullness. It is about 70% finished, and I am hoping it will be complete before my cataract surgery, which is starting next month.
The garden is abundant this year. The Hollyhocks are blooming in two locations, pink and dark purple. They are our favourite flowers. The Zinnias are blooming, the Marigolds are blooming, the Clematis is blooming, Granny’s Heliopsis is blooming, the Day Lilies are blooming, the Scarlet Runner Beans are blooming, the Chrysanthemums are blooming, the Morning Glories are blooming. There is a floral riot going on outside the kitchen window.
The vegetables are very happy. My Mom sent me some seeds for Lemon Cucumbers a few years ago, Attila plants them every season. This year the cucumber plants are a leafy splendor, sending shoots everywhere, climbing up the netting, hanging down to the ground. Another is a leafy mound expanding rapidly into the yard, preparing to overtake and conquer the lawn chair by the fire pit. The first cucumbers are coming in, lovely, crisp, and tasty.
Every day we enjoy garden cucumbers, carrots, beets, green beans, and zucchini.
There were four litre baskets of Ontario pickling cucumbers in the grocery store on the last visit. They were very high priced. Hopefully the garden will produce enough in the next few weeks for dill pickles. If not, the Ontario grown pickling cucumbers at the store will have to do, and hopefully they will be available this year, and reasonably priced. We could find no Ontario grown strawberries at our grocery store this spring. There usually are Ontario strawberries for sale in season, but not this year.
There are lots of US strawberries at the grocery store, but we limit purchases of US items now. I had always considered purchasing US items as buying local, I hope that perspective can return.
A few years ago, at an appointment at the bank, I was chatting with the banker, and mentioned how many jars of food I had canned, it was over 500.
Their response was to ask, “Are you going to sell them?”
This took me completely by surprise!
“Why no”, I answered, “we are going to eat them.”
This took them completely by surprise!
I don’t think I have an entrepreneurial bone in my body.
Worldly
Weather
20°C
Date: 5:00 PM EDT Wednesday 22 July 2026
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 101.1 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: 20.2°C
Dew point: 10.3°C
Humidity: 53%
Wind: WNW 21 gusts 32 km/h
Humidex: 22
Visibility: 24 km
Quote
“Remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.”
Roy M. Goodman
1930 – 2014
It’s not easy for an individual or small group to sell items. Whether it’s packing the items and selling them at a stand or packing them to ship, it’s a lot of work. And with something as heavy as jars of veggies, that wouldn’t be a lot of fun.
When I was in my 40s I sold books of designs. They were relatively light but it took a lot to prep large numbers of them for pick up by UPS. That business shut down when I was in my 50s. A year or so later I opened a business that sold downloadable graphics instead of physical products. So much easier than handling physical items. I was able to handle the job alone until I was in my 60s.
Teri, I can’t imagine trying to ship canned food!
Since there is a real danger of botulism with canned foods, I feel it best to leave that process to the specialized equipment of commercial canneries.
I will not eat anything canned by other people, with the exception of my Mom and my sisters. As far as I know there are food safety regulations around canning food for sale, and I have no interest whatsoever in exploring the possibilities. I do see locally canned items for sale at one of the local stores, and you see them at “farmer’s” markets, but I would not buy or eat them.
Botulism is no joke, and can lead to permanent disability, or even death.
I read online what some people consider safe canning, and I’ll do my own according to the latest science.