Don't let the difficulties of the present moments overshadow the reality of God's promises. God's promises still stand. And God's promises are stronger than our failures.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Rain, More Rain, and Rainy Day Activities

It's been raining here since noon Sunday and, according to the weather channel, it will continue to rain through next Sunday.  Since we live on a small lake we watch that pretty closely.  Our water is up but not dangerously so.  I find it hard to get motivated to complete my chores on rainy days - I'd much rather sit and read a good book.  But some things don't wait for me to get motivated!

A local grocery store had bananas on sale so I'm dehydrating 4 trays of them.


Yes those are really bananas and yes, they are really white, aren't they?  I put them in a citric acid solution as I cut them up so that they won't turn brown but these have stayed especially white.  I'll store these in mason jars and will seal the jars with my Food Saver.  Later I'll be able to rehydrate them and use them to make banana bread, or we'll eat the "banana chips" as snacks.

I've canned peaches today too.



These were really beautiful peaches that I found at the grocery store.  The sign said $1.48 a pound but at checkout they rang at $.88 a pound....wish I'd bought more!  They were quite large and had no blemishes so 20 peaches made 8 pints.  These will make great cobblers this winter.

And I finished another patriotic pillow this week too.


I love patriotic patterns and have made several now, but I still have more I want to stitch.  I'm doing a collection I guess...I'll probably put them in a basket in my sun room when I have enough to fill it up.

And finally, school has started here in Arkansas.  Out of my 8 grandchildren I have one who is a junior in college this year, 2 who are seniors in high school, one tenth grader, one fifth grader and one second grader.  Two of my grandchildren are already out of school and working, and one of them, if I have my way, will sometime in the next year or two be starting a family.  I'm ready for a great-grandbaby.  :)  Of course, that grandson hasn't yet agreed to the whole baby thing but he's been married for three years now so I'm sure he'll be ready soon!

What do you do on rainy days?

16 comments:

Sherrill said...

I've bought some peaches two or three times this summer and none of them were good. Just blah. Hope yours are good and sweet!!

Michelle May-The Raspberry Rabbits said...

Hannah bunny is going to hop over to your house to eat all your bananas! Those are her favorite treats! hee,hee,hee.
Hugs!

Little Penpen said...

You've been busy! Your peaches look so pretty. I just love , love, love your little pillow!

Ray and Jeanne said...

You've been way too busy for a rainy day! Your bananas look great. I have never rehydrated bananas - we just eat the chips. I MUST try banana bread with them. i have peaches, tomatoes, and potatoes on the counter - the dehydrator is full of chopped tomatoes. I love your new little pillow. Praying you don't have any flooding problems. ~Jeanne

Robin in Virginia said...

Your peaches look fabulous. Love your patriotic pillow! Enjoy your day!

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Busy gal! The new little pillow is adorable.

Needled Mom said...

I'm sure you will be able to convince him of his desire to be a father soon!!! lol

The peaches makes such a great summer photo. Both the bananas and peaches will be welcomed in the winter months.

Love the little pillow.

chris said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
marly said...

All I'm canning is hot pepper rings and the pepper butter (mustard) we all love. We've gone from no rain and humidity to dark days of rain. And more humidity!

Barb said...

We have not had a rainy day in so long, I don't remember! ( yes, I do live very near Seattle) Your peaches look wonderful. I also like the little patriotic design.

Sparky said...

I do love rainy days, and I stitch and did can marinara sauce and quite a few quarts of salsa.... now banana chips and peaches look lovely.. I think you are more than ready for winter...and love your patriotic piece...

Love Bears All Things said...

We were blessed with a quarter inch on Thursday and a half inch yesterday...I said to Honey Bear yesterday that you'd had lots of rain in Arkansas and he said from the tropical thingy in the gulf that flooded Louisiana...and that is where ours came from too...cooler temperatures are supposed to follow...we really needed the rain, some of my grass was almost dead. It seems you did accomplish quite a lot on a rainy day...I'd like to do some patriotic pillows, maybe I'll do a few small cross stitch...On really dark rainy days, I like to just read but if it's just a shower, then it doesn't effect my mood too much...It is good to see people still canning, I prefer canning to freezing because with a power outage one can loose what is frozen and the canned goods last for years.
Mama Bear

FlourishingPalms said...

More "yum" in this blog post! Love seeing those bananas and peaches. I have a dehydrator that I haven't recently used, so it's good to be reminded of what I can do with it. Most often I dehydrate the pulp from our daily juice-making with veggies. When it's well-seasoned, oiled-up, and nutritious nuts and seeds have been added, it makes a nice chip for serving hummus. Beyond that, I guess I need more what-to-make-in-a-dehydrator ideas. Bananas are now on my list. Thanks!

Quiltgal said...

We have had such a drought this summer here in Southern Ontario, I love working around the house on a rainy day. Your peaches look lovely. I have never heard of drying bananas.

Val said...

Please Please Please tell me how you get it all done!

Adrienne said...

Somehow this post slipped through my blog reader and I missed it! I love that patriotic pillow. Your bananas and peaches look wonderful. I haven't done anything like that for a long time. Autumn is arriving here in Oregon so it won't be long and much of our summer produce will be a happy memory until next year.
~Adrienne~