Happy Saturday! Welcome to our weekly ‘Three Things” post where you’ll find a peek into my week and some things that are making me happy.
I’ll start with three things, however, I don’t want to be limited by that, so don’t be surprised if there are often ‘bonuses’ at the end – just to keep you on your toes! (Note: the links I provide are often affiliate links, though not always.)
I was completely surprised to see that the Marionberries were ripe this week – and not just a few, I picked two huge bowls full! They are my favorite in the blackberry family with their complex sweet-sour flavor and I have two rows of them in addition to a couple rows of Boysenberries (smaller and not as flavorful) which I’ve been picking for a couple weeks.
On a yucky note, my daughter discovered the little white larva from the spotted wing fruit fly in some of the first Boysenberries we picked. I didn’t know what they were, since we’ve never had that before, so imagine my disgust when I went online and found this and this (and many, many more…). Arrrggg – not our organic, backyard berries! Berry sadness. BUT, I’ve since been soaking and refrigerating everything we pick now and there have been NO signs of them again. Isn’t that weird? Where did they go? I’m just glad they’re gone! Have you found these maggots in your fruit (all berries, cherries, and some stone fruits…)?
I was treated to a fun dinner out by some of the girls in my family. We started this little tradition for our birthdays a few years ago when we all realized it was hard to get everyone together for traditional family parties (precedence goes to the kids) and I have to say I love it! It’s different than our normal thing and we get some great time together. (Wanna know what I ordered? Salmon! If it’s on the menu, that’s usually my restaurant staple – I love it.)
MY LATEST VIDEOS
Two more books finished for my 2015 goal! I’m definitely going to need to upgrade the goal for next year, right? I have been meaning to ready my friend Angi’s book, Hope: Thriving While Unemployed, for months, and as it’s pretty timely for us right now (we’re having a time of underemployment…), I moved it to the top of the list. I appreciated that it’s not a long, overwhelming book and it’s full of practical things you can do right now. It’s also full of wisdom and encouragement that this is a season that we will get through. I am thankful I read this!
And I finished the other book I told you about, Dear Mr. Knightly. I’m happy to report the end is just as good as the rest of the book – I really thought this was such a fun read! Clean, full of wonderful insights and emotions, and just the lightest touch of romance. I’m going to be reading anything else Katherine Reay puts out, I’m sure. (And how fun is that to say after the dud fiction books I’ve been reading lately!)
I’m using my lemon/lime squeezer a LOT lately for guacamole, salad dressings, marinades, and to add to water or iced tea. I resisted getting one of these hand squeezers for years because they seemed expensive and I had my glass juicer (the kind that sits on the counter as you push/twist). But this is SO much easier – really. I got the bigger yellow one that they market for lemons because it’s easy to use it for smaller limes – no need to buy the smaller green one, too, in my opinion. How do you juice lemons when you only need one or two?
Bonus Follow Up: Thank you SO much to everyone who received my email asking for feedback on this Ultimate Digital Photography Bundle – I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know your thoughts! I received so many emails that I can’t respond back to each of you, but know that I read them all, and will take to heart your comments.
Based on your comments I know I need to tailor what I promote more to the topic of the blog (though AOC is full of photos, so I didn’t think it was that far off, ha!), and be sensitive to pricing. Also, many of you mentioned the timing might not be good with all the summer activities and a number of people moving. So, with that in mind, I will mention here for the last time for any of you who are thinking about the bundle that you’ve only got until Monday before the offer is gone – so the 2 or 3 of you wanting it should get on that, ha!
Oh, and I decided to throw in three great links I found this week that you might like, too:
1. Tiffany’s got a fun summer slow cooker series going on that included this frittata. I had no idea you could cook a frittata in a slow cooker – what a great way to keep the kitchen cool.
2. I loved these tips on how to plan for a remodel or refresh of a space – simple and easy!
3. 10 Vegetables it’s not too late to plant.
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links and by clicking on them you help support AOC at no extra cost to you – thanks so much! Plus you can trust I’ll only share what I love. (You can always read our entire disclosure page here.)
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Hi Jami,
With summer in full swing here, I’m really behind in reading your blog. I’m trying to keep up. Oh no, about the bugs. I had no idea the berries had bugs either. My friend just moved from her home to a small travel trailer so she stopped by and left two big pots full of old raspberries. I have no clue how to plant or grow them. Now I’m having second thoughts. I think I call our Co-Op and talk to one of the Master Gardeners – hopefully there is an organic spray of some type that we can use on berries to keep these pests away. I LOVE boysenberries, blackberries and Marionberries. If I find an organic spray for berries through the Master Gardeners program, I’ll let you know.
Praying that your underemployment situation is handled by now and things are running smoothly for you. Being fully retired and living on less than $2,000 per month is hard, so I know how difficult being short on funds can be.
Happy Day To You ~ Bobbie
I would still say to go for it, Bobbie! Only one of our plants had the worms and we enjoyed many berries for the rest of the season. And yes, Brian got a great job where he still works from home in February – and better than the $ is seeing him happy and fulfilled after so much rejection! Best to you. 🙂
I picked ten pounds of blackberries in Hood River last year. And probably ate half that many. We got home late in the evening and I dumped all the berries in my giant colander to give them a rinse before going to bed. Imagine my disgust, to find THOUSANDS of those tiny white worms wriggling in the water. I soaked and rinsed probably 20 times, and every time there were more. It was heartbreaking. But I just couldn’t stomach eating them. Every last one of them went bye bye. And it’s gonna be awhile until I can pick again. YUCK!!!!
Oh, that’s SO discouraging, Mindy! I can’t believe I’ve never seen them before now. I hope I can keep them in check, it’s really sad and picking is not nearly as fun as it used to be. 🙁
At home I have an electric juicer but I done have anything with me on the road Where can you get a hand squeeze juicer like that I so miss not being able to have homemade lemonade
I got mine at the Amazon link I provided, Mary, but I’ve also seen them at lots of stores like World Market, Target, and other stores like that. I think you’ll like it if you’ve been missing lemonade!
Every year I find worms (all different types) and a few other bugs in my blackberries, raspberries and Marion berries. I soak them in my salad spinner bowl with water & dissolved sea salt. That runs them out of the fruit. Then I pour off the salt water, give it a good spin to extract the remaining water and proceed from there with my canning plans. I’m in the San Juan Islands of Washington State just 2 blocks from the ocean and I’m just a bit behind you with the Marion berries. They also make a fabulous liquor!
Oh, what a great idea to use a salad spinner, Sheri – I’ll have to try that!