INDEPENDANCE DAYS CHALLENGE, WEEK 5

1. Plant something - Nothing this time.
2. Harvest something – Tomatoes, Green Peppers, last of the Watermelon
3. Preserve something – froze 10 lbs broccoli .
4. Reduce waste – Recycling cans, using cloth napkins and handkerchiefs, using homemade laundry soap, saving old jeans to reupholster a chair with. mailed off 2 books thru the paperback swap and ordered 2 books also,
5. Preparation and Storage – 10 bottles BBQ sauce, whipped up another batch of laundry soap
6. Build Community Food Systems – Went shopping at a locally owned grocery store instead of the large corporate store.
7. Eat the Food –Tomatoes diced, and sauce.
8. Learn something – Continuing to take the Preserving food at home online self study course offered thru the National Center for Home Food Preservation and the University of Georgia,
currently reading The Amber Room: The Fate of the World's Greatest Lost Treasure by Catherine Scott-Clark. This is the (true) story of two journalists who embark on a quest to find out what happened to the Amber Room. The Amber Room was a room in Catherine Palace in St Petersburg that was decorated with panels of amber mosaics. During World War 2, with the Nazis heading towards St Petersburg, the Russians packed up as many treasures as they could and sent them across the country to be safely stored. But they were unable to pack up the Amber Room, so they tried to conceal it in situ. This ruse was unsuccessful. The Nazis dismantled the room and relocated it to Konisberg Castle in Prussia. When the war ended, the Russians went to recover the room - but it had vanished. Where was it? Was it still in existence? There was evidence to suggest that it may have been moved again - but to where? The story is told from the point of view of the two authors, as they sift through archived data in both Russia and Germany, and also try to track down any surviving witnesses to that time. It's very easy to read and surprisingly gripping. Not a dry history book at ALL.
9. Simple Living – Continued making Christmas gifts.
10. To Do –* Sew DGD school clothes * Blackberry jelly