Wind Like the Wind!

It's been a beautiful week at the farm.  This was the early morning view from my kitchen last Tuesday.  Around every corner is another amazing view of autumn, something I hope I never get tired of.  

  Inside the kitchen, it was fairly beautiful, as well.   The lovely stuff to the left is strawberry consomme, one of the key ingredients in Pickled Beets and Strawberries.  I made a trial batch this past week to see  how many jars can be made from one 25-pound bag of beets.  The answer is 35 16 ounce jars, in case you were also wondering.  That means I need to buy 197 bags of beets to fill the order we have.  And there are 25 pounds of strawberries draining into the container, yielding enough for two batches.  There are 25 pounds of strawberries--give or take a little--in 3 flats of strawberries.  That's 821 flats, though that doesn't sound right.  Math is not always my strong suit.

 These jars to the right are filled with beets, strawberry chunks and brine.  The steam in the background is the gigantic skillet I use for a water bath, ready to seal the jars.  This is, hands down, the most beautiful pickle I make.  It's delicious, too, but I think they are simply gorgeous.  Below is an aerial view.

All of this is to explain why I still have not wound enough warps for the guild meeting this weekend!  Here you see what I've gotten done so far.  Yes, it isn't much!  And I should be in there right now winding!  But I just got some luscious library books about gardening and DIY and interior design, and I have a hot cup of Chai, and there's that welcoming couch, and it IS my day off...  I'll do it later, when the jazz program is on and I can rock it out!
I hope I'll see you all Saturday at LouAnn's!  I'm just DYEING to go!
Maggie