Blackberries

Last Tuesday (July 28th) The three older kids were all at VBS, so it was just Daddy and Winnie for a few hours.

We picked blackberries. Winnie loves being the only child. She chatters away, all the thoughts that come into her little head. Every other sentence is, “Daddy, I really love you!”

She is a very entertaining small person. At one point I found some ripe strawberries and gave them to here. She shook her head and said, “Daddy! What? Are you seriously trying to make me love you?”

Not sure how to respond to that? “Umm… yes?”

After supper Evie and Ellie squeezo-ed the berries, 24 pints worth, into puree.

Cranking the squeezo is such a fun job, the kids literally fight over it.

Seppie was not allowed to help, because he had just gotten bathed and so was clean. Clean Seppi + Purple Juice seemed like a bad combination.

Ellie had to go get her shower, so Evie finished up all by herself.

5 quarts, put in the refrigerator for later.

On Friday we processed a good chunk of it. Mommy put about a quart into “mulled blackberry vinegar” for salad dressing and marinating meats (I want to try it with a lamb roast).

Evie and Ellie boiled down another 3 quarts and made 4 pints of jam.

And a little extra. We ate the extra on the last of the Braetzli Mommy made for Swiss Kids Kamp. Seppi didn’t even want to eat the braetzli. He just needed something to get the jam into his mouth, and since we would let him use a fork, because civilization, he settled for Swiss butter cookies.

He is more than half barbarian. Comes of being six and male.