The Last of the Christmas Lights

 Hullo! Bear in a hoodie here! A few days ago, I went over to Ladysmith, a nearby town, because it was the last night of their Festival of Lights display!

I had hoped to get here while Little Fox was still here but... it didn't happen...

It does look way more spectacular in real life but I think you get a sense of it...

Ladysmith is a pretty cool little town, just south of the 49th parallel. It has a quaint main street with little shops. It's been used in a few movies... like Sonic the Hedgehog (not one we've seen) and some scenes from Resident Alien (also not on our viewing list).

Ladysmith has a beary yummy bakery called... The Old Town Bakery! Cinnamon buns... soooo good!

Pretty, eh? And yes, we stood in the middle of the road at multiple points trying to get good shots. It's a pretty sleepy town...

I wonder what their electric bill is??

There's the Old Town Bakery! 

It is hard to take good pics at night I've decided... And sometimes out of focus looks better!

Apparently they have millions of light bulbs... can you imagine finding the burnt out one??

This little bear would not be good at this!

At the start of the season, they have a parade and fireworks too! Apparently parking is a nightmare... I can believe it!

Righto, that's the Ladysmith Christmas lights! 

Glad we got out here this time around. Sorry Little Fox... maybe next time!

More Fall Canning

 N.B. Yep, another lost post from the fall...

Oh hello! More canning!!!

This time... tomatillo salsa!

We had a LOT of tomatillos this year...

So roasted them and then salsa'd them...

Let me tell you... they are SUPER yummy!

And... we had a bumper crop of tomatoes as well...

But we are going to use the pressure canner for these...

It's the second time we've used it... and it still makes us a bit nervous...

But it does work better than the water bath canner!

First we blanched the tomatoes... to get the skins off...

Ewwwy mess...

And all these little ones too... waaaayyyy too many tomatoes!

Now we pack the tomatoes in the jars...

Like this... 

And then into the pressure canner they go...

And then get it up to 11 psi and wait... 

And then wait for it to cool down and the pressure to get to 0 psi... and the little safety lock to pop down...

And then we open it up and...

Excellent!!!

A Fall Canning Adventure

N.B. Yep, another fall adventure that got missed... 

Alright... we've got the water bath heating and we've got the jars and lids simmering...

Oh hello! Today we are doing some canning!! First up is apple sauce...

We are using the water bath canner for that...

Blipping away...

Cause apple sauce is always yummy and the store-bought stuff is just icky...

Not bad, eh?

It's always nice to hear the lids make their little "tink" noise as they cinch down.

But we also did this... well... this is a bit of leftover stuff.

It is salmon broth!

For which we are using the pressure canner.

Normally, we would freeze salmon broth but the freezer is full of raspberries and blackberries soooo... canning it is!

We are using the pressure canner for the first time so have to test it first... and figure out how to hold it at 11 psi...

That's 11 pounds/square inch... makes you really wonder if Canada is metric or not! We are... we're not...

Alright... now we are ready!

Ready to see the salmon broth?

There we go!! We tossed all sorts of stuff in here... the fish heads and tails from the back-alley salmon we got... onions, celery, carrots, and some sad tomatoes from the garden, just because...

Ready... it's going to move fast!

...

it was fast...

...

And we are done!!

A beary nice colour and looks beary rich in nutrients and Omega 3 and collagen... 

So, in the winter, we can make some yummy clam chowder or salmon chowder, easy peasy!