Lynnsey
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starrsitter.bsky.social
Lynnsey
@starrsitter.bsky.social
630 followers 670 following 1K posts
SAHM/kitchen table pundit/cat herder/tree hugging hippie/part-time jam maker/cast iron restorer/nerd for hire
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starrsitter.bsky.social
Hey!

I finally finished #knitting this sweater!
A knit colorwork sweater in shades of gray on a young man.
October 27, 2025 at 8:15 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
I have too many veggies, guys.

#food
Vegetables are arranged in color order on a granite counter. A red Anaheim pepper, a tomato, an orange bell pepper, a yellow summer squash, a Hungarian wax pepper, a handful of green beans, and a zucchini.
September 25, 2025 at 4:14 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
It's tomato sorting day!

We have to pick as they blush to keep the racoons off and I sort them every other day or so as they ripen.
Dozens and dozens of paste tomatoes are arranged on a granite counter starting with the reddest and ripest closest to the viewer and the greenest farthest away.
September 21, 2025 at 4:07 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
If you see this, quote post with a sunset.
A weathered wooden barn is flanked by trees silhouetted against a dramatic sky. Bright blue is visible between banks of pink and orange clouds illuminated by the setting winter sun. The moon is just visible in the top left in a swirl of vibrant pink-orange cloud. The ground between the viewer and the barn is dusted with snow.
September 18, 2025 at 2:01 AM
starrsitter.bsky.social
We grew those beans and potatoes, guys!

It's very exciting.

#food
A baked breaded pork chop, sautéed green beans, and mashed potatoes on a white plate.
September 15, 2025 at 11:44 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
I finally used my pressure canner that we bought 2 years ago to can beans (that we grew). They all seem to have sealed and I didn't blow anything up!
A paper grocery bag is more than half full of green beans. An aluminum pressure canner is in the middle of a 6 burner gas range. A tea kettle is on the left and a copper sauce pan is on the right. Pint jars of green beans are cooling on a wooden cutting board.
September 11, 2025 at 1:24 AM
starrsitter.bsky.social
I've been busy today.

I also "made" myself a big pasta rolling pin for a quarter of the price by buying a walnut dowel, some sandpaper, and some cutting board oil!
A 1 1/4 inch wide 3 foot long walnut dowel is laying on a granite counter.
September 10, 2025 at 5:59 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
We have beans! In jars! Whoo!
16 pint jars of green beans are cooling on wooden cutting boards. They seem to have all sealed. Hooray.
September 10, 2025 at 5:55 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
It sounds silly, probably, but I cannot stress how much just running a batch of jars full of water lowered the stakes if you are not exactly confident about using a pressure canner.

I wasn't worried about losing all the beans we grew. I was just figuring stuff out...which was plenty.
Sealed pint jars of water cool on a wooden cutting board in front of an open pressure canner.
September 8, 2025 at 3:32 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
Well, everyone survived and I learned some things.

And I have questions. A lot of questions.
September 8, 2025 at 2:04 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
Doing more new stuff tomorrow...

😬
A large cast aluminum pressure canner is on a gas stovetop. 4 pint canning jars sit alongside on the granite counter. A tea kettle is visible on the far back burner.
September 8, 2025 at 12:39 AM
starrsitter.bsky.social
We have a TON of common milkweed at our house and an increasing crop of swamp milkweed in the back pasture. On three small clumps of plants we saw at least 10 monarch caterpillars.

I cannot begin to adequately express my delight!
A yellow, black, and white striped monarch caterpillar is on a swamp milkweed plant. A different yellow, black, and white striped monarch caterpillar is on a swamp milkweed plant. Yet another yellow, black, and white striped monarch caterpillar is on a swamp milkweed plant. One more yellow, black, and white striped monarch caterpillar is on a swamp milkweed plant. There were seriously half a dozen more. It was amazeballs.
September 1, 2025 at 3:46 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
First round of tomato sauce is done!

#food
7 quart jars full of homegrown and homemade tomato sauce are cooling on a wood cutting board. A black enameled water bath canner is just visible to the left.
August 30, 2025 at 8:51 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
Those are our tomatoes, basil, and garlic. I guess I could have made my own butter? Vodka?

#food
A white plate on a granite counter has a serving of penne alla vodka with chicken topped with fresh basil and grated parmesan cheese alongside two slices of garlic bread with chopped parsley.
August 29, 2025 at 3:16 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
I fried some zucchini blossoms and had them with homemade garlic basil pasta sauce (from the garden) on homemade tagliatelle.

#food
Battered, cheese-stuffed zucchini blossoms are being fried in oil in a cast iron Dutch oven. A thermometer is visible at the top of the image. Fried zucchini blossoms cool on a wire rack over paper towels. A large bee is inside one of a handful of yellow zucchini blossoms.
August 21, 2025 at 12:03 AM
starrsitter.bsky.social
Doing more new stuff.

See you around the holidays!
A tall clear bottle with a black lid has whole vanilla beans and rum inside. It has a black Dymo label with white letters that says "VANILLA" on the front. An off white tiled kitchen backsplash is behind the bottle.
August 16, 2025 at 8:54 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
Hey, guys! What kind of tomato is that cute, fuzzy one?
A Calico cat rests under towering tomato plants supported by wire cages.
August 15, 2025 at 3:42 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
The tomatoes are here! I've been freezing them, but we made Marcella's tomato sauce with onion (also out of the garden) and butter (that I didn't make myself 🤣).

#food
Ripe red tomatoes on a granite counter. Halved tomatoes roasted on a half sheet pan cool on the stove top. A stainless steel food mill has the remains of the roasted tomatoes inside from making sauce.
August 15, 2025 at 1:12 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
It's less effective than it used to be, but this still gets a rise out of people...
A large cast iron skillet in a sink has a bit of soapy water and a yellow scubby in it. A red scraper is alongside on the bottom right.
August 14, 2025 at 8:19 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
Very hungry!

#gardening
A white, yellow, and black striped monarch caterpillar is curled around the edge of an emerging pink swamp milkweed flower f amer by the plant's long green leaves.
July 22, 2025 at 5:29 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
Pork wontons!

#food 🍜
Eight pork wontons are in a golden miso chicken broth with sliced green onions in a white bowl.
July 17, 2025 at 1:48 AM
starrsitter.bsky.social
Lulu is the #garden supervisor.
An extremely adorable long haired calico cat sprawled between raised garden beds made from corrugated metal in wooden frames yawns as her human underlings do actual work in the garden.
July 15, 2025 at 12:12 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
Ours got a head start inside, but they also won't be ready for a bit yet. Everything here is pretty far behind as far as I know. Even real farms.
A group of unripe oval shaped paste type tomatoes hang from the plant, supported by a bamboo stake and a metal cage.
July 14, 2025 at 3:44 PM
starrsitter.bsky.social
We've got two huge patches of common milkweed on our property and one little spot of swamp milkweed (that my husband mows around 😁). There must be triple what there was when we first got here. There's no sign of monarch decline in our yard! They're everywhere!
A small monarch caterpillar sits on the lead of a swamp milkweed plant. It appears that our friend has already enjoyed some of said leaf. A monarch caterpillar egg is attached to the underside of a common milkweed leaf.
July 14, 2025 at 11:20 AM
starrsitter.bsky.social
Our garage smells like garlic for some reason...

🧄🧄🧄🧄🧄🧄🧄🧄🧄🙃
Many recently harvested garlic bulbs hang through wire mesh on a large wooden frame so they can dry.
July 13, 2025 at 10:50 PM