Monday, May 18, 2009

GARDEN TIME!!!

Canning
12" x 12"
acrylic on canvas


It is a long weekend in Canada, and here in Calgary it is the traditional weekend for my garden to go in. I do quite a bit of canning of fruit and veggies in the late summer/early fall... salsa, jams, frozen blueberries and strawberries for my winter smoothies, and of course, pickles - bread and butter and dills. My husband suffers from migraine headaches, and many of his "triggers" are from food sources, so I pretty much make everything from scratch. That includes salad dressings, chutneys, and much much more. I don't grow all of the things that I need for my late summer canning spree, but I do grow a lot of veggies that we eat throughout the summer, and some that we are able to enjoy all through the winter. I am just about at the end of our potatoes, and the winter squash was finished a few months ago.

So... my whole weekend is tied up with getting the garden in, and with setting up the new greenhouse. It is going to be a bit more difficult than I anticipated, as I injured my left hand - both tendon and muscle, so I will be looking to that strong man that lives with me for a lot of assistance. It is a good thing that I am right handed - I can still paint. Yeah! 

To all my Canadian friends - have a wonderful holiday Monday. To the rest of my friends and visitors - have a fabulous week.


7 comments:

Lee Ann said...

I love this painting! I, too, grow tons of veggies and do some canning in late summer (and have a husband who suffers migraines!) One of my favorite paintings is one I bought at a local art fair of green, yellow and red bell peppers. Makes me happy to look at it when the snow is 4 feet deep!

Unknown said...

Hi LeeAnn,
We have a lot in common! I love the colors of so many vegetables - like those bell peppers you spoke of! When I stir fry red, yellow, orange peppers along with broccoli, garlic and carrots, my company always exclaims about the colors! I LOVE your latest piece! You are one talented lady. :-)

Christine Mercer-Vernon said...

Lovely painting and post. i completely understand, i have celiac and cannot have gluten and my daughter reacts badly to food colorings and preservatives, so i make a lot of our own foods too. it tastes better anyway! :) thank you for weighing in on my poll. so much great feedback was gathered i can't wait to post about it!

Unknown said...

Hi Christine,
It was a pleasure to participate in your poll. I will be interested to see the outcome once you have it all organized. :-) Sorry to hear about your celiac disease - like you say, not only is homemade much better for you, but it always tastes better too. Take care - and talk to you again soon.

Anonymous said...

This is a wonderful painting. I love the colors. I think it's great that you get a lot of your veggies from your own garden. Great!

Paz

Unknown said...

Hi Paz,
The garden is all in except for the potatoes! Yeah! My garden is 25' x 50'., so there is a LOT of digging and rototilling and planting has to be done each year. We were planning on planting on Monday, but woke up to SNOW if you can believe it... so I only got to plant today (Friday). I am anticipating lots of yummy veggies which we share with my son and his family. I love being able to give the fruit of my labour away - it feels so good to be able to share and meet the needs of others! Have a wonderful and relaxing Memorial Day weekend my friend!

Anonymous said...

I can't believe you're still having snow. Wow!

I'm sure that everyone enjoys the fruits of your garden labors. It's great you're able to share with others.

Paz