I go for the gusto on these and do a ton just to have a lot on hand that I can gift out over the next 12 months. At the farmer’s market I got 40 pickling cukes and 6 large onions then sliced them all and packed them with canning salt and ice overnight. When I was ready I hauled them in and rinsed them in a clean sink.

I’m always astounded on just how much sugar goes in these suckers.

The sugar goes in with both white and apple cider vinegars along with a bunch of spices.

Then once it’s boiling in goes the cukes and onions.

Almost there….

I’ve been experimenting with spicy bread and butters, so I added some dried peppers to each jar before I filled them with pickles.

Done! Gorgeous.

First, at least in my case, after admitting that the garden is a failure, I head up the local farmer’s market and buy a bushel of tomatoes.

Then I get the pots ready. One in the canning pot, and the other to blanch and skin the tomatoes.

Then one sink with ice water (also for skinning) and the pot for mashing.

I score the bottom of the tomatoes with a crisscross then plop in boiling water for about 30-60 seconds.

Next they go in the ice water (the ice had long melted in this photo) and the skin comes right off.

Then the mashing. This part is a lot of fun unless you have any papercuts (!).

After they’re all mashed up, they need to be cooked for about 15 minutes.

Each quart gets a some salt and lemon juice. I put a teaspoon of each in each jar. I think I could have done tablespoon but I was feeling a little conservative.

Leave a 1/4 inch headspace in each jar, then make sure the rim is clean, put on the lid and screw on the cap, just finger tight.

Then process for 45 minutes.

This was full swing on the second half bushel.

Done! 1 bushel = exactly 24 quarts this time around.

1. I will be true, for many trust me
2. I will be pure for there are those who care
3. I will be strong for in strength there is wisdom
4. I will be brave for in this life there are many many many challenges
5. I will humble for I know my many many weaknesses
6. I will forgive so that I may be forgiven
7. I will be friendly, especially to the friendless
8. I will give for it is in giving I will receive
9. I will pray for god is the source of my courage and strength
10. I will laugh and love for out of life can come only what is put it.

Then the fun started.

So the flight is packed….families with screaming kids…college kids with backpacks as big as they are….I think I even heard chickens and a goat at one point.

We board….all is going well…always get on as soon as possible, and get your dang bag in the overhead ASAP.  Then sit and chuckle at everyone else as they struggle to find a place to stow the bags they stuffed their grandparents into.  They should have just bought them a ticket like everyone else.

We wait

and wait

and wait

Uh Oh….Radar/routing equipment failure in the New York area…all flights in and out are stopped.  Should be fixed in about an hour.

we wait

and wait

Yeah!….all better!  Time to go….Only an hour behind, but no problem, I have a 5 hour connection in New York.

Push out and Taxi

Dang kids playing with the flight attendant call button

cut it out kid

stop it

um oops

he broke it

“Uh folks, it looks like we have to go back to the gate to get this looked at”

“Uh folks, we’re here here at the gate, but there’s no one to park us….it’s shift change time”

“Uh folks…still trying to fiond someone to park us”

“Uh folks”

“Uh folks”

Approximately an hour passes.

“Okay folks, we’ve got someone to park us now”

“Please stay on the plane, as it should only take a few minutes to correct the problem”

“Uh folks…..we’re going to have to have you deplane so that the mechanics can remove a bulkhead panel”

Wait in line at the gate for about 45 minutes

“For those of you on flight 126 to JFK, that flight has been cancelled.  I can help the next ten people inline, but then I have to off duty.  The rest of you need to go to the rebooking center down the concourse”

Run

Run

Run

Another line…I’m about 50 people back.

10 minutes pass….1 person is taken care of.  We all get really excited and optimistic.

NOT

Bail on the line and grab a courtesy phone.  Nicolette is very nice, and tries the stby thru Atlanta thing, but I know my routes.  Please confirm thru Amsterdam.  “Will do Mr Brylowski”

So I go take a nap at the gate for the Amsterdam flight.  While I’m sleeping, the airline gods decide that I’m a suitable replacement for Odysseus, and I must travel and suffer for a year before I can return home.

So I wake up, still two hours to the Amsterdam flight.  There is also one leaving in about 30 minutes from another gate, so I wander down there to stby.  I tell them I’m from the later flight (this becomes important in a few minutes), but they say sorry, they’re very full, and most likely will have no seats.  I hang out anyway, just to see what happens, but it leaves with every seat full, and people running up at the last minute.  Hmmmm I wonder where these late people were coming from?

So I wander down to my gate for the later Amsterdam flight.  Large mob at the counter, and it’s 90 minutes to departure.  Uh Oh.

Wait in line

wait

rumors are flying…They downgraded to a smaller plane…some of us will be left behind…they’re offering flight vouchers for $200 and next day transportation….then $400….Then $600….Then $750!  I can’t accept.  I have to get there.  I get to the counter and the agent informs me that I have no seat.  They tried to get as many people on the earlier flight (!!!!!!!!), but I wasn’t around when they were doing this.  “But I was at the other gate and told them I was on the later flight!  I was already there!”  Apparently being in the right place at the right time is unexpected behavior, and what I was supposed to do was get rebooked at this gate, and then run 1 mile in less than 3 minutes to cath the earlier flight.  That obviously makes more sense than actually showing up at the earlier flight 30 minutes prior, and letting them know that you are on the later flight, and asking for a seat.  Apparently sweat and panic are required ingredients for an enjoyable flying experience.

So I’m told that unless they get enough volunteers, that I will be involuntarily denied boarding.  Not happy, but I’m also at the mercy of the sick humor of the air travel gods, and they are not to be trifled with, so it’s best to blaspheme them under your breath so they don’t hear you.

They start boarding the flight

Why not leave that pack of kids from some high school french club behind?  Couldn’t they all use a nice voucher?  I guess not.  Blowing mom and dads money on a so called “learning trip” outranks any thought of returning the favor to mom and dad by handing them a $750 travel voucher as a token of appreciation.  Dang kids these days.

So it’s over, and about 40 of us are staring down these gate agents, who proceed to placate us with offers of upgrades and cash payouts.  Being upstanding citizens of a consumer society, most of us camly accept.  They tase the others, and haul them away to reconditioning camps to instill in them the proper frame of mind for their future travels.  As they are dragged away by the Gestapo, kicking and screaming, the rest of us congratulate each other on our mixed fortunes.  After all, the past is the past, and the flight is already gone, but look at the bright side, we all get $800 cash, some meal vouchers, a hotel room, and upgrades on flights the next day.

So I grab this big wad of paper with all the vouchers, and get told to take my vouchers to the ticket counter in the morning to get my cash.  Sweet!  Cash is always nice, and it will go towards a nice vacation with the family later this year.

Hotel…..yuck…..Hotel Bar….yuck…..but it’s a place to sleep.

In 18 hours, I travelled 125 miles.

But at least I have my clothes.  NEVER CHECK YOUR BAGS!  If you can’t carry it on, it’s not worth taking.  I stand by this, and it left me much better off than all those people that checked their bags, and were told that they could not get them.  Supposedly, the bags were locked up last nite, and would be put on the flight with them the next day.

Yeah right.  Obviously these people think the air travel gods are kind and benevolent, when we all know they are more closely related to the likes of Loki or Coyote the Trickster.

So I wake up and jump on the computer in the hotel lobby, and install Skype and Notepadplusplus on my flash stick, thinking I’ll use them to get some homework done on this crappy cafe laptop at the airport.  That computer in the hotel was wide open.  I could have gone anywhere and install anything.  Heck, it even let me reboot!  Crazy.

So I grab the shuttle to the airport, and head up the ticket counter.  First class checking for me today.  I sure don’t feel first class though…hotel beds suck.

The nice lady at the counter listens to my story, as I present the two $400 vouchers, and kindly ask her to redeem it in small unmarked bills.  She gives me the look down over the tops of her glasses.  Uh Oh.  We all know that look.

“Let me go talk to my supervisor”

I can already heart he travel gods laughing hysterically.  Rolling around on the ground, hugging their godlike bellys to control their mirth, as they point at the puny insignificant mortal that is I.

The agent comes back with the supervisor, respendent in her red coat of power.

“I’m sorry Mr. Brylowski, but you were misinformed.  These are vouchers towards future travel on our wonderful airline”

Jaw drops…..hits floor.

Strange garbled noises start coming out of my mouth….I start to twitch a little bit too.  I see the gendarmes with the cattle prods heading my way.  Got to get it under control, or I’ll be biting a mouhtpiece as they apply the electrodes.

“Serenity Now!”

They stop heading my way, but stand by idly, slapping their batons into the palms of their hands.  It’s quite effective.

Okay, so it turns out that the only cash they can offer for my inconvenience is $200, or I can keep the $800 in vouchers.  I call the family CFO, and she makes the call to keep the vouchers.  I slouch away from the ticket counter in defeat.  The gods have had their way again.

So here I sit in an internet cafe at Detrot Metro, waiting for a flight to Atlanta.  This laptop is locked down so tight I can’t download anything, let alone run anything, flash stick or otherwise.  So I’m reduced to posting, but my heart just isn’t in it yet.

But at least my flight to Atlanta is first class, right?

I think I hear the gods laughing again.

Phil

Middle honey super had honey. excellent.

Lower honey super had some honey but the frames were far from full. I figure they were just lacking what they ate over the winter.

I went to see what was in the upper brood box with a lot of trepidation. When I cracked it open there were a ton of bees and they were pissed, but they still didn’t look right to me. I pulled three frames and it looked like they were trying to lay, but like they didn’t know what to do. the larvae weren’t well formed and some dried up.  The brood that was capped were drones.

Lower brood box? empty.  Just empty comb and bunches of dead bees laying on the screen.

There were a ton of bees, and the majority looked like drones to me. Liam disagreed. I think we just need to get a queen in there and they’ll be ok. We’ll see.

Also, there was that tobacco look on top of the frames of the upper brood box. I need to look in my notes and see what that means.

Ingredients
10 slices (turkey) bacon, finely chopped
2 medium onions, chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
6 garlic cloves, pressed
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups canned chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
4 (15 1/2-ounce) cans black beans, drained but not rinsed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch cilantro
juice of 1/2 lime
Thinly sliced scallions, for garnish
Sour cream, for garnish
Grated cheddar, for garnish
Directions
Put the bacon into a large heavy pot and place it over medium heat. Cook until it starts to give up its fat, about 4 minutes. Stir in the onions and cook, stirring, until they start to turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until you can smell it, about 1 minute. Add the broth, tomatoes, ketchup, Worcestershire, and chili powder. Stir in the beans, turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so the soup is bubbling gently and cook 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, pick off all the thick stems from the cilantro. Wash it and shake dry. Chop the cilantro coarsely and stir it into the soup when it has been simmering 10 minutes. cook until the soup is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lime juice. Serve with the garnishes.

Legado Munoz
Tempranillo
2007

Phil’s working on his paper and looking at regretsy.com (worth a look see) and I just finished all of my finals in my IT class. Our first classes are over tomorrow and dangit we needed some wine. I kinda love this one. It’s super oakey and dry as all get-out. Mellow and delicious.

Another bottle that we picked up at Bacchus. Much better than the wimpy Bordeaux. Think Yellow Tail, but another notch up the scale. Lots of berry and backbone, without a lot of tannin.