One Charlize, Two Pickle Dishes, Salsa and a baby...

It's that time of year when my hands get twitching to can something.  Anything.  Little Mommy called me to tell me she made the most awesome Mango Salsa and that our grocery store had mangoes on sale for $1.00 each and we only needed 4-5.  Yep, I got the canning bug.  So last weekend I put up only a couple of 1/2 pints of Mango salsa and boy is it good.  Recipe here:  .  Also that is a great website to use as a resource if you have questions about canning, water bathing, or pressure canning.  This did not require pressure canning (although I can't wait to use my pressure canner again) - I did use it for the water bath.  

Then I saw blueberries on sale last weekend.  I looked up a couple of recipes for blueberry jam and decided to make some.  What I originaly was going to can was Blueberry Syrup which can be used on anything.  Well guess what.  My jam did not gel like it should have (I used less sugar like the recipe called for) but let me tell you, it is delicious.  I now have a blueberry syrup!!  Will be great on cereal, oatmeals, cheesecakes, icecream etc.  I am more than thrilled with it now.

I finished my Charlize.  It is on Ravelry for those on there.  Loved it.  Will most certainly knit this again. Madelintosh Sock in Logwood, bought at Stitches South.  OTN now is :  Autumn Flutters .  I am knitting in Malabrigo sock in Terracotta which is more like an orange.  Love the patterns by Holly and Ella.  I will knit Summer Flies again which I knit last fall.

Already in queue is Cambridge by Sunday Knits.  This is a brandnew pattern and you can purchase it through Ravelry.  I don't see it on her website yet.  This is modeled after Princess Kate's Shopping Shawl with the ruffles.  I'm not sure about my yarn choice yet.  I'm thinking gray alpaca....

In sewing news, I took the Pickle Dish class and loved it.  It is so fun but when putting it together, is quite fiddly.  It will be a work in progress but I try to do a few every week.  I also made Mini Island Boy his own softie blankie out of Minky(ie?) fabric.  When I visited him for his first birthday, I noticed he didn't have a softie blankie like Mini Orange Boy does to rub when falling asleep.  He does now and Island Girl says he loves it! Now Island Girl says she wants one...  I'll be looking for a sale on it.

 I leave you with a photo of Mini Orange Boy who was here for about 5 days during the tornados that took out power in the Rocket City.  We had so much fun!  I know Little Mommy and he were glad to get home but I have never had him for so long and was able to do fun stuff.  Train museum, fountain playing, and picnic. 

And it is with great gusto that I announce there will be a Micro Mini Orange baby!  Yep, Mini Orange Boy is going to be a big brother.  We currently believe the baby to be a boy!!  One more ultrasound and we will know for sure. Expected November 3rd...

And a photo of Mini Island Boy where I went to celebrate his first birthday the middle of May.  He is walking everywhere.