T Stands for This and That

  Hi everyone. Happy  new week to you. And Happy T day those of you who stop by Bleubeard's and Elizabeth's blog.

   Last week I had a post written and scheduled, but then I realized I had forgotten it was T Day's 13th birthday. I wanted to do something special for T Day's 13th  so I decided to trash some of last week's post, but also save a part of it for today's post.

   Here's the part of the post that I saved and that I had originally scheduled for last week.

   One fun thing I did was meet up with a fellow blogger and her husband. Some of you may already know Dorothy and her husband Patrick. Their blog is The Frog and PeguINN. Dorothy blogs about many things, including their travels. This time they traveled from their home in Southern New Hampshire up to Lake Winnipesaukee which is in my part of the state. I had met them once before several years ago, but it was fun to meet up again for a lovely and long lunch.

  We met in Gilford, New Hampshire at another one of those old fashioned seasonal places called Sawyers.  It has been around since 1945, but this year it is under new ownership. However, out front they have these 2 cow statues so when you drive by if the cows are out you know their opening season has begun.

   Patrick is a funny guy, and he wanted to know who was going to sit on the cows. I wouldn't have climbed up on them, but luckily the restaurant had put out this sign. 😉  Ha ha.

    Thanks for a fun afternoon and some great conversation Dorothy and Patrick.   ❤

   Here's my drink for T day this week (and it was originally also going to be for last week). You can also see lots of drinks in the background, as well as the inside of Sawyers. 

    It's always a pleasure to meet up with people  you get to know through blogging.

   Since it was almost 2 weeks ago I met up with Dorothy and Patrick, lots of other things have happened.  For one I finally went to see an orthopedic because by right shoulder has been bothering me. Stupid me tried to pull a heavy box off a shelf over my head, and when I did I could feel something pull. I'd been icing and using heat on my shoulder  plus taking something to keep down  the swelling, but sadly that didn't take care of it. Now I'm waiting to schedule some physical therapy. And trying to use my left hand more. 

  Also this past weekend we spent a day visiting with my daughter and another  day finishing up a few chores at my Mother-in-law's home. This upcoming Saturday there is going to be a family reunion there. More about that event some other time. 

   Mid-July also means blueberry season here in New Hampshire. I don't mean cultivated ones, but the tiny little native ones. They are the best. ❤ ❤❤ One of my friends and her husband have acres of land covered in these low bush blueberries. Sometimes they hired out people to come in with their big equipment to get them, but they haven't done that for a few years. This year they decided just to invite anyone over who wanted some berries. When I got the invite to go berry picking, I replied that I would be over.

   Here's a tiny snapshot of the blueberry crop in the fields. Imagine this multiplied by 100 acres. 

   You could stoop, squat or sit and spend a lot of time picking these berries. Or you could use some old fashioned equipment.  My friends have the equipment so I learned all about the traditional way to get berries, which was actually quite easy and faster than picking by hand.

   First you have these blueberry rakes which you run through the bushes kind of  like combing your hair. Only instead of hair, the tines make the berries fall off and then you tip the rake back so the berries roll down into it.

Then you just empty the berries into the berry box. Each box holds 6 quarts of berries.

It wasn't hard and in less than an hour I just about filled all 6 of my quarts.

   

   My technique isn't that great yet so I got some green berries, but definitely far more blue ones. 

    

 When we got back to my friend's house (we took their truck up into  the fields), my friend's husband pulled out this old winnower. It doesn't clean out the green berries, but the winnower cleans out the leaves and stems that gets put in the mix. 

   I even got a lesson in running the winnower.

    The berries fall down over the left edges (where my friend's husband is checking that the berries are actually going into the bin and not all over the floor) and into the boxes.   Here's my berries pre-winnower

and here they are ready to go home with me.

   As I mentioned, my raking technique isn't well practiced so I had a few green ones to clean when I got home. 😏  These berries not only freeze great, but it  means there will be some delicious baking in my future. 👍

   That's all for me. Happy T day for those who stop by and have a great week ahead.