Jammin' and plantin'

I haven't done as much sewing this weekend as usual - it's spring!  Thursday morning, I thought I'd get a jump on holiday planting, so we went to a local greenhouse.  I planted a couple of tomatoes (Memorial Day is the traditional time to plant them here), impatiens, and two hanging pots.   We had to run to the hardware store for more potting soil.   I am trying a new planting bag for some tomatoes (this photo came from their website) that I got on sale at the end of last season.   The lady at the greenhouse suggested Pink Lady tomatoes - we are optimistic.

Saturday, I found a lovely set of petunias at the grocery store so filled a few more planters.  Yesterday, we took another trip to the hardware store for potting soil after I got a couple more planters for tomatoes I started indoors.  I still have a few herbs to set out and a little edging to do, but I'm almost finished with my gardening frenzy for a while.

Yesterday it was cooler, so I made jam for the first time in a few years.  We had just finished a jar marked "Strawberry 2015."  Now we have a stash of strawberry-rhubarb and spiced pear.   I'll take some to Paul's sister's today when we go for a holiday BBQ.  In case you are wondering about spiced pear jam, it is an old recipe that I got from my ex-mother-in-law.  Maybe someday I'll get to pass it along to a young person wanting to make an unusual jam.  It's simply "use the Certo recipe, but add 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. allspice, and 1/4 tsp. ground cloves."   Yum!