Blueberries in Our Garden

Nestled in the side garden is a blueberry bush. We had transplanted this lovely shrub almost 10 years ago. Actually, it was a pair of them but one had succumbed to mother nature. Okay, I really don’t remember what happened…it might have been competition with other plants/shrubs or lack of water or transplant shock. Our blueberry shrub is producing lots of wonderful blueberries for us.

We saved this blueberry shrub from human devastation. Here’s our story.

Many years ago, DH and I used to visit a wonderful blueberry farm in Northern Virginia. The owner gave us a bucket and told us to fill it as much as we could. We did and had fun. There were rows upon rows of blueberry shrubs with these dazzling fruits to be picked. Back then, I was considered to be a wonderful baker specializing in chocolate concoctions and had dreams of opening a bakery. Ooops…I digressed. Back then, I would make wonderful blueberry muffins and blueberry cakes with these fruits.

Several years later (10 years ago), I am working for a technology firm where the owner’s wife (my boss) mentions to me that a blueberry farm had been sold and they are clearing the land to build new homes. Oh no! She had received permission to dig as many blueberry shrubs as she could. This is where my DH (the horticulturist) comes in.

We thought we were going to dig 6-8 shrubs, giving half of them to my boss. DH and I arrived to what was left of the farm (a sad scene). We found an area that wasn’t bulldozed yet. Well, the 6-8 shrubs became only 4 shrubs. They were HUGE! DH wanted to make sure we had a good size root ball and even one shrub was quite heavy to load into the truck. Thank goodness my boss lived less than half a mile away from the farm. We gave her two (and she was extremely happy to have two large shrubs). Quality is better than quantity.

Our blueberry shrub sits proudly in our garden and we are thankful that it’s producing wonderful berries for us. Since I no longer bake (long hiatus), I add the blueberries with other fruits for juicing. We can tell that summer is officially here.

A Fun and Busy Sunday

First off, I have to show my second attempt at B5191. I traced, cut, and sewed a size 12 and tried it on...the fit is tremendously better. I did not fidget (pull & tug) with this wrap top like I did with the size 10.

Adrienne...thank you for mentioning the lack of ease in this pattern. Once I re-looked at the finished bust size on the pattern piece, I realized I should have traced a 12 to begin with.

So, Susie-Q is borrowing my top for now. I still need to finish the armholes, hem the bottom, and add some snaps (to keep the wrap in place). A very productive Sunday for me.

I also managed a quick trip to G-Street Fabrics. They are having their Spring sale with 25% off most things. I picked up some Weft and Fusi-Knit interfacings to replenish my dwindling supply. I also found some really nice remnants for future jackets. Half of what I purchased is being pre-washed. Oooops, I forgot to take a picture of my new fabric. Picture this...me hauling two large G-Street bags to my vehicle. lol! The bags weren't stuffed...they were just heavy. :)

I also saw some really nice knit jersey prints at G. I am hoping they will have another coupon weekend so I can make another trip.

After G, I headed over to Trader Joes. TJ's is my favorite grocery store and that is where I try to do my main shopping. Their prices are great! And being a vegetarian (one year and 3 months), I have no problems finding meatless/vegetarian products there.

I came home to fix my DH's computer. I had installed the wrong Kaspersky product on his machine and when I tried to add the renewal activation code...it choked. Duh! So, I installed the latest anti-virus software (correct package) and put in the code...worked like a charm. I do not miss my tech support hat.

I fired up my juicer and made a carrot, apple, and pear concoction. Then I made dinner.

You know, since I am back to juicing...I am finding I have a lot of energy. I don't feel like napping in the afternoons anymore.

Hello Champion Juicer...Goodbye Jack LaLanne Power Juicer

Warning! This is not a new sewing machine or sewing gadget! But it's a new toy for me. Yippeee!

Our new Champion 2000+ Juicer arrived late last week. Finally.

I ordered this new juicer in silver. Not white, not almond...good ole silver to match our granite-like countertop. I knew carrot juice stains would be an issue. Black would have been another good color choice, but I also wanted to see what I was cleaning.

And doesn't the juicer look like a meat grinder???

I tried the Champion out this evening. Let me tell you...I love this Juicer! The quality of the juice is amazing. DH has told me several times he likes the results. The new juicer is 100x times quieter than our old Jack LaLanne Power Juicer.

Here's our new juicer without the feeding chamber/body attached.

There are 3 reasons why I love our new juicer: (1) more intense juice flavor, (2) noticeably quieter, and (3) cleanup is sooooo easy!

This particular juicer masticates or chews up the fiber and breaks up the cells of the veggie/fruit. This provides more fiber, vitamins, and enzymes in your juice. I have to agree with Champion's logo.

It is goodbye to our old friend the Power Juicer. It was a good juicer to start with and allowed me to figure out if juicing was going to be part of our daily vegetarian diet. This juicer basically took whatever veggie or fruit I threw in.