Video extravaganza

This is the other 'berry' bush we have - but we have no idea what these are or if they are even berries and not just some weed. Any ideas?

Not much progress to report on the homestead since yesterday. We didn't go over there last night. We did hit the grocery store for some necessities (man, I can't wait until we have our own chickens!) and then I watched a few educational videos. I watched a bunch of ones on spinning yard with a drop spindle. There is a nice spinning/looming store in a town down the road from our new house (less than a 15 mile bike ride!). I'm dying to have time to stop in and pick up some fiber and a drop spindle (or maybe I'll make my own). I'm trying to remind myself that I've got a half-finished knitting project awaiting me in the closet and that this time I year, I need to be OUTSIDE...but I can't help it. It looks so neat!

I also watched a bunch of videos on canning. I'm excited to get started on that, too. We don't have any strawberries planted this year, so I'm going to plan on getting some in next year. In the meantime, I'd like to buy a flat of berries and make some jam. I figure that if I make a half recipe and it sucks, I won't be wasting much. Plus, if I try to can them and fail, I think we can manage to eat a half recipe before it goes bad...or I could try freezing it. Can you freeze jam? We've already got the jars and will need to buy lids and a water bath canner (or some type of rack to use in my big pot). I also eventually want a pressure cooker so that we will be able to can veggies, too. Speaking of veggies - I just bought some swiss chard seeds that I'm anxious to plant. I'd also like to get some parsnip seeds. I'm going to put that on my 'shopping' list.

Anyway, tonight we are heading over to the house. I need to check on our tomatoes and make sure they aren't drying out in their tiny little pots. We did verify that our vermiculite will be arriving on Friday, so we'll get everything planted this weekend...finally! I'm a little worried since it's supposed to rain, but we'll figure something out. I've also reserved a 17' truck for Friday so that we can get as much as the two of us can lift, out of storage and into the house. Then next weekend, when we have the help of friends, we can finish up with the free 10' truck and the rental of another 17' truck. That'll get us out of storage and out of the garage - leaving only the apartment to vacate by the end of August. To be honest, I hope we can move in sooner. It'll be so much easier tending to the garden while living there. Plus, I want to see this stuff growing!!