Week 3: Project 365, the 2015 Edition

Ivan was sick last Monday and it was my turn this week. Not only did I not get the post up yesterday, I didn't take a photo either. It was just one of those days. Thankfully I'm feeling fine today.

Tuesday, January 13

This is what the plums looked like after sitting overnight with the sugar on top.

Nice and juicy! After stirring them well, I let them sit another four hours before cooking them for 3 hours on low. Then I put the lid on, and let them sit.

Wednesday, January 14

Had to go to Tanti for some blood work. A small town not far from Carlos Paz, Tanti has a kind of Boulder, Colorado vibe. The office is next to this small park. There were a few people there and one of them offered to take our photo.

Ivan was able to get some nice, rich black soil for free. He just had to haul it from the work site to our house. He made two trips late Wednesday and several more on Thursday. For one of the loads, our neighbor was home and came over to help.

Thursday, January 15

Today was all about the jam. After cooking for four hours on Wednesday, today I cooked it another 3 hours before it was finally the right consistency.

We were amazed how much it cooked down. If you remember, we had 3.3 kilos of fruit and added almost 2 kilos of sugar. We ended up with 5-1/2 jars. The jars I used are about equivalent to a pint and a half; so just a little over 8 pints, more or less. We're really pleased with how it turned out, although mystified as to why it tastes a lot like grape jelly. Anyone have an idea why?

Friday, January 16

We tried to unload the soil in various spots, so it would be easier to spread. I couldn't get a good picture of the whole area but just imagine mounds like this one scattered all over.

Saturday, January 17

Ivan spent the day in Totoral. Some of you know that Ivan grew up in the Grace Brethren Fellowship and we stay in touch with a lot of friends from those days. The Totoral team hosted an asado for some of the men from the GBF, and several men who attend Bible studies in Totoral also joined the group. They had a great day sharing their hearts and what God is doing; learning from, and encouraging, one another.

left to right: Reuben, Juan, Steve, Daniel, Cristian, don Chavez, Walter and Joe (Ivan's taking the photo) 

Sunday, January 18

Here's a little collage of things we're growing in a container garden. We have a bunch of 20 gallon buckets and Ivan also built a small wooden frame for the lettuce and a few herbs.

The roses are beautiful and we are harvesting tomatoes, peppers, basil, dill, swiss chard, and lettuce. We are hopeful the rhubarb and cilantro will flourish as well.

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Ivan worked on spreading the soil just about every day, (mostly) finishing it over the weekend. He was gone all day yesterday and this morning he raked and then spread some grass seed. Now if only it will keep raining as frequently as it has been, we'll be in good shape. It rained last night, and today it's cool and overcast but no rain.