Time Off, Fireweed Jelly

Fireweed Blossom Picking
Sunshine Coast BC

My job is a pleasure. But I do enjoy some time off. All year long, I make a point of going for a walk or hike during the day, just an hour or so, which is refreshing, especially in the winter rains! But really I am waiting for summer, with blue skies, warm ocean. My holiday time is a couple of hours each nice afternoon, walking or biking down to one of my favourite beaches, sprawling out with a good book in the shade, taking dips. Lovely.

Some good, long hikes are also always a preferred summer time-out. Lately we made several trips up to a large fireweed patch we had our eyes on. The first couple of trips, the flowers were not quite open. The last time was perfect for picking, and we got our ten cups for fireweed jelly (see below).

I first stumbled across fireweed jelly somewhere on the internet-- perhaps Instagram or Pinterest, and it immediately caught my eye. This was several years ago, and it has been on the to-do list ever since. I am so pleased to have finally accomplished the making of this treat, as it is absolutely gorgeous. The color is so intense, it almost looks artificial. However, nothing could be more natural.

While trying to steel a couple of hours a day for my 'break,' I feel the pressure of attempting to keep my stock of wind chimes and suncatchers up, and, indeed, increasing stock for the fast approaching Sunshine Coast Art Crawl. That's all going okay, but I need to keep working really hard to get to where I wish to be. It will happen. Even with my daily mini-vacations.

Fireweed Jelly

Kaleidoscope Wind Chime
at Coast Chimes