Bunnies run rampant

This is our solution to the problem we had this summer with our bunnies. The problem can be summarized in this manner: European rabbits were never meant to be able to survive hot and humid weather. There are three total "burrows" made out of sturdy plastic tubs placed upside down on top of a hole lined with bricks and then partially covered with rocks and dirt. I credit Alex with design and execution, and with humoring his wife enough to give into her hare-brained free range rabbit idea. It is still new, probably not cat proof, and not yet rain proof, and is most definitely redneck, but hopefully the rabbits will enjoy it more than their cages. They seem to have adjusted well already.

Canning outline

I decided to can some things this year. Later on, Alex got involved helping me with my over ambitious canning  projects and he also did a couple batches of his own salsa. 

To get me back into the school season, I will outline the types of jam I did and some things I learned. This will be more or less in chronological order.

I.                   Introduction

a.      Canning - so fun!

II.                Strawberry jam

a.      Why: Aldi sold strawberries for 99 cents/# all summer long.

b.     First batch: used a potato masher to mash the strawberries. Mashing muscles got tired.

c.      Second batch: discovered blender. Mashing muscles happier.

d.     Bought real canning supplies. Magnetic lid picker upper = best canning tool invented.

III.             Peach jam

a.      Why: Beachee’s was selling peaches at firesale prices.

b.     Blender a life saver.

c.      You can do six batches per night if you do 1.5 batches per pot and two pots at a time and then do it again - one arm to stir per pot. An extra person helps when you get to the actual canning part.

IV.            Salsa

a.      Good job Alex!

V.               Grape jam

a.      Why: concord grapes in the backyard begging to be used

b.     First time trying a no pectin recipe.

c.      Result: 2 hours for 2 pints of jam. I think I cooked it too long and have a feeling it will be the consistency of a hockey puck.

VI.            Conclusion: We have enough jam for 10 years.

And now, illustrations: 

 The whole shishkabob.

 Strawberry jam pre-blender.

 Post blender. 

Salsa

In other noteworthiness, the Tanners came by to share their awesome Danish tradition of Aebleskivers with us the other night. This is David using a knitting needle to turn the little doughy balls of goodness.

Yum! Thanks guys. 

Me: Did you find a ride for tomorrow?

Alex: That is like asking "do I have two eyes?"
Me: Do you have two eyes?
Alex: No
Me: Oh... did you give me one?
Alex: I gave one to Lola. She didn't know what to do with it so she ate it. I was rather disappointed.
Me: Bummer.

Who Knew?

 This has been a week of celebration. Katie doesn't work Thursdays, so I ditched work and Katie and I spent the day together. After a morning of yard work, we had lunch at Kofusion. They have a nice lunch buffet for only $10. Everyone in the C/U area should try it at least once. We will go back. After lunch we finally saw Harry Potter 7b. We both liked it.

The sushi was the best part. This was plate #1.

Big bite!

This is about the time the server started ignoring us...

This Saturday Katie and I hosted a barbecue for my research group. We had a good turn out and everyone seemed to have a nice time. It was nice to finally have everyone over to our house. I have a great advisor and the K-group has been very supportive since day 1 of my PhD. This was my little way of saying thanks.

The dessert table. Dr K., my advisor is on the right.

It turns out that when my advisor and his wife, Benita, first moved to Urbana they rented a house in our culdesac. That's right, Drs. K lived in 3 Weaver Pl. Who knew? They said that surprisingly little had changed since they left. I guess that means we still have some renovations left to do on our house...or at least that we should re-landscape.

Drs. K in front of 3 Weaver Pl, their first Urbana home (the blue/grey house).

Finally, some random pictures:

Yummy

From the garden

Dr. A. Parent!

Alex defended his dissertation today and he did very well! I am proud of all the work he has done over the past 6 years and the progress he has made. His committee was impressed and dang it! they should be. Congratulations Alex!

Meet Johnny and Frankie

We got a couple of chickens:

Frankie (Frank Sinatra) is on the left and Johnny (Johnny Cash) is on the right. Their names seemed appropriate since one of our chickens is named Elvis, and they didn't seem to mind being named after males. These will be full sized chickens as opposed to our three remaining bantams, but even though they are larger, the bantams still push them around. 

Our garden is doing well. Not everything we planted thrived, and the extreme heat and dryness certainly doesn't help, but we have had a few winners this year. This is the first year we planted yard-long beans, and even though none of the beans actually got to be a yard long, some of them were definitely close.

Other than watching our chickens peck around the yard and eating from the garden, we have been surviving (and sometimes enjoying) the weather. I miss the mountains of Utah and all they offer in terms of recreation, but I have learned that Illinois has its own beauty as well. Sometimes you have to look harder to appreciate it but it is there.