FIRST, I wanted to remind you about a few Close To My Heart things:
1. August Get Organized Special
2. Retiring Products (they'll be gone on August 31, or while supplies last, whichever comes first)
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1. August Get Organized Special: During the month of August, get your hands on the latest and greatest in organization products from Close To My Heart—with a few perks thrown in! To take advantage of either of both of these deals, click here. Read on for details...
- Simply place an order for the new marker roll-up and receive the new D-size stamp set My Acrylix® Balloon Wishes FREE! The marker roll-up will be your new best friend, providing storage space for up to 25 ShinHan™ Touch Twin™ markers.
This organizer is GREAT for so many things, not just markers. How about other papercrafting tools like these??
- Or place an order for the new accessory roll-up at full retail price and receive two new Base & Bling style sheets, Affirmations and Lovely Blooms, FREE! The My Acrylix® Balloon Wishes stamp set is perfect for coloring, making them a practical pairing. The accessory roll-up is ideal for sorting and storing accessories, Base & Bling items, and embellishments, while the new Base & Bling style sheets are full of gorgeous floral designs and hip icons and sentiments perfectly suited for creating stunning jewelry pieces. I plan to get several and fill one with my papercrafting embellishments and one I'll save as my jewelry travel organizer. Nice!
All of the items offered as part of this campaign are featured in the Annual Inspirations 2015–2016 idea book which debuts September 1, but are available for early purchase during August only as part of this campaign. Place your order for one—or both—deals and get an exciting sneak peek at just a few of the many new products found within Annual Inspirations’ pages!
Bonus: There is no limit to how many of either you can purchase (and you'll get the freebie with each purchase), but this offer is only good while supplies last. So hurry and get yours today!
2. Retiring Products:
The brand, spankin' new Close To My Heart Annual Expressions Idea Book and Seasonal Holiday Expressions debut on September 1. To make room for all of the exciting new products, we are retiring some old favorites. You have until August 31 at 11:59 pm (MT), or while supplies last (whichever comes first) to order these products. You can see all of the products, and order them on my website here.
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Now, on to salsa and birthdays....
My father-in-law grows the MOST AMAZING garden and keeps me supplies in tomatoes, sweet peppers, green peppers, onions, garlic and jalapenos each year for my salsa. Our family is a HUGE consumer of said salsa and it is a huge job to can 100 quarts each year. In fact, it takes me about 5 full days. I have spent 2 days this week, 2 days last week (and have another day to do more next week) canning salsa. Luckily, Kori and Daysha came to help. It made it so much more fun and the job got done in half the time it would have taken me alone.
For those of you who may be interested in my recipe, here you go:
Karen Pedersen's Salsa
single recipe makes 5-6 pints or about 3 quarts
24 large tomatoes
Wash and scald tomatoes. Peel. My family likes smooth salsa so at this point I gently puree the tomatoes in my blender, but this step is not necessary. Cut in quarters if you are not pureeing. Cook for at least 1 hour in a large heavy pot. Skim off juice while cooking.
single recipe makes 5-6 pints or about 3 quarts
24 large tomatoes
Wash and scald tomatoes. Peel. My family likes smooth salsa so at this point I gently puree the tomatoes in my blender, but this step is not necessary. Cut in quarters if you are not pureeing. Cook for at least 1 hour in a large heavy pot. Skim off juice while cooking.
Chop the following by hand or food processor. I
puree these too, not until it is totally liquid but until it is a nice
thick and smooth paste. Be sure to wear gloves while doing your
jalapeno peppers. If they are good, hot ones they will blister your
bare hands.
2 large white onions
1 sweet red pepper
2 large green peppers
1/2 medium sized garlic clove, minced
2-4 jalapeno peppers (I love my salsa HOT so I use at least 4 of the hottest peppers I can find. If you leave your seeds in it will be even hotter. I leave the seeds in.)
Mix this in the tomato mixture in the pot and cook down another 45-minutes - 1 hour. The longer you cook it the thicker it will be, but it will also make less salsa.
Then add:
1 Tbs. white sugar
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
6 tea. salt
Cook again for another 30 minutes. Fill bottles and process* for 10 minutes to seal.
Note from Karen:
*I have never processed my jars in the 20 years I have canned salsa. If you turn them over right after putting your lids on, they will seal from the heat. I just lay out several layers of towels on my kitchen table and turn my jars upside down there and leave them over night. I have never not had a jar seal.
2 large white onions
1 sweet red pepper
2 large green peppers
1/2 medium sized garlic clove, minced
2-4 jalapeno peppers (I love my salsa HOT so I use at least 4 of the hottest peppers I can find. If you leave your seeds in it will be even hotter. I leave the seeds in.)
Mix this in the tomato mixture in the pot and cook down another 45-minutes - 1 hour. The longer you cook it the thicker it will be, but it will also make less salsa.
Then add:
1 Tbs. white sugar
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
6 tea. salt
Cook again for another 30 minutes. Fill bottles and process* for 10 minutes to seal.
Note from Karen:
*I have never processed my jars in the 20 years I have canned salsa. If you turn them over right after putting your lids on, they will seal from the heat. I just lay out several layers of towels on my kitchen table and turn my jars upside down there and leave them over night. I have never not had a jar seal.
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Lastly, yesterday was my birthday. Although I'm not a big fan of continuing to get older (at least not physically), I am a fan of where my life is. I love being in this stage of life. I love watching my children become productive members of society, good spouses, loving parents. I love being a grandma. I love that my husband and I have shared all of this together and continue to get old and grey together. If I could just figure out a way to halt the physical aging and enjoy everything else that comes with getting older, I would be perfectly happy. Because ripe tomatoes wait for no woman, I spent my birthday canning salsa. Kori and Daysha came to help and arrived with grandkids carrying cookies and balloons. They were so excited to give them to me! Dan came home for lunch and brought my favorite chocolate cake. He wanted to take me on a birthday date but I was so exhausted (and smelled like a great big jar of salsa) from all the canning, I decided to postpone our date until tonight. I was in my jammies by 6 pm yesterday and that was awesome! My dear friend, Jody was visiting from Arizona and she and her daughter and granddaughter came by to visit too. All of my children, sisters and parents, near and far, sent me the most beautiful birthday messages. I am one blessed girl!
