Second and third solar dehydrator runs

My first try at the solar dehydrator had resulted in tasty but blackened peach slices. My second and third tries created perfectly dehydrated peaches and apples.

I scarfed down a fair amount of the dried fruit. However the point is to dehydrate fruit while it's in season (and cheap) so that I can eat it year round. I put the rest in baggies, labeled with contents and dates, into the freezer. That puts them out of sight, out of mind, and guarantees that they'll be fresh just in case the dehydration isn't enough. I need to also dehydrate a batch and leave it unfrozen to test how long it lasts, but I'm not sure how to keep myself from eating it in the meantime...

 

Reloading yarn

I bought 2 skeins of Berroco Flicker in the color "albrecht." Together that is 378 yards. I decided to use them for a pattern that calls for 350-370 yards. I knew that I was cutting it close, but forged ahead.

I ran out of yarn only 2/3rds of the way through the pattern. WHAT

I went online to purchase more and found that this yarn has been discontinued. Frantically searched and found a website that had 3 skeins in stock. Bought all of them.

There was one more potential problem - the new skeins might not match the old ones exactly, since they would probably be from a different dye lot. Luck was on my side: the dye lot was exactly the same on the 3 new ones as on the 2 I'd already used. Win!

Sexy chicken

The Gold Laced Wyandotte is enjoying sunbathing.

Duct tape dress form failure

Back in March I had a few friends over and we had a duct tape dress form making party.

Sadly, the tape I used is not holding up. At first just the neck kept popping off despite more and more reinforcements, but now the entire seam down the back has split open.

It would be hard to retape at this point and still keep the shape accurate, so I think I need to call it a loss. At least I can reuse the stuffing.

Perfecting yogurt

The key to making a thick, creamy yogurt with maximum flavor?

Minimum of 14 hours in the Instant Pot.

I make it without added flavoring or sugar, then eat it with fruit if I want dessert.

Pretty glittery bug screens

My apartment has bug screens, but it turns out there are little flies around here that crawl right through the mesh.

Yikes.

So I went to JoAnn's and purchased sheer, glittery organza that was on sale. I used thumbtacks to attach it to the window frame. No bugs so far, and it looks festive.

I didn't trim the excess fabric to maximize the chances of reusing it in a future location.

First solar dehydrator test

I wanted a solar dehydrator so that I could put fresh fruit into storage without using electricity or gas. Some months back I was able to make a trade with a dog training client - he bought the supplies and put it together for me in exchange for training lessons. I waited until a harvest of fresh organic fruit was on sale at the grocery store to test it out. Finally, peaches arrived!

And the dehydrator worked TOO well. Due to a busy schedule, I left them inside for about 36 hours, on a day that reached a high of nearly 100 degrees.

Surprisingly, the blackness is mostly cosmetic - they still taste like peaches, just a little less so than the non-burned slices.

Besides figuring out the optimal temperature and length of time for various types of fruit, there's one more thing I need to do. If you look closely at the first picture, you'll see that the lid does not sit flush with the frames that hold the screens. It used to, but the wood has warped a bit during its time in storage. I purchased silicone sealant to close off a couple of spots where the wire came away from its frame, and foam weather stripping to seal the gaps between the frames and lid. That will keep bugs away from my precious fruit!