Plum Jam And?

In the picture above you will see what DH and I did yesterday. This was our first journey into jam/jelly making. We added another trick to it by making it with Splenda instead of sugar. DH is a diabetic and so is our daughter. We try to use as many sugar-free or low sugar items as possible at our house. We have a plum tree that has the large plums on it in our yard. Actually there are two of them. I hated to see the plums go to waste. I love to eat green plums, but I've already had to make a dentist run because of them in the past week. UGH!! I have a bridge on the top and two of the teeth have lost their porcelain and had to have it replaced. Because of my bite, I have to be very careful or the porcelain just pops off. I won't go into detail about what I will eventually have to have done with the bridge. You would cringe. LOL Well, back to the plums, they were ripening fast and the birds like to eat on them, so DH and I decided to try our hand at making sugar-free jelly using Splenda. The first batch which is what you see here, needed a little more Splenda. It is tart as all get out, but tasty. DH loves tart, so that is good. We used Sure-Jell with this batch.

The batch we just finished today (five jars) we used Ball Pectin and Splenda. It tastes much better to me. DH hasn't tried  it, yet. I spooned a little in a bowl for him to taste before I washed the pot we cooked it in. I think it is really good. :-D DD has already asked for us to send her a jar. She loves plums, too. My MIL and FIL used to make plum jelly when they were alive. We all loved it. So, this journey brings back some fond memories. Both of us, DH and I, were trying to remember how to do different parts of the procedure from what we did or saw them do years ago. They are both gone "Home." We sure miss them especially since we live in their house.

I know I've said the last few posts that I plan on sewing, but to be honest, I have not been able to get in there to do anything. Today, that is my goal for this afternoon is to sew the binding on the Desert Mirage quilt. Then at night, I will have something I can sew on while watching TV.

I also plan to start the Beginner Quilt-a-Long I spoke about on Thursday. The button is on the sidebar that leads you to the site. It is not just for beginners. I think it will be fun. One of my BFFs from high school is doing this even though he is not a beginner. He said he was excited about me joining up. I also have another blogger, Richard Healey, who is participating. Or, at least I think his wife may be. They are both new to quilting. Of course, he has shamed me with how many quilts he has made and finished in the short time he has been having fun. I have Gene's blog button on my side bar and will see if I can add Richard's, too. That way you can check out their blogs and see their beautiful work.

I hope you are having a beautifully blessed day on this Saturday. We sure could use some rain because our garden is drying up. It is too far for our hose to reach, so we depend upon God to send the rain to water it. Hopefully this storm system in the Gulf will bring us some much needed rain. I pray so.

May God richly bless your journey as you walk through this life. May He shine His light upon you. If any of you have prayer requests, feel free to post them in the comment section. I will definitely let people know to pray for you and will do the same.

Yours truly,
Teresa