Pressure Canning Ham at Home

Ever wondered what to do with leftover holiday ham? We walk you through the process of canning our home cured ham with a pressure canner.

I have lived in the same rundown apartment for more than 12 years, and Spectrum is still trying to get me to sign up for television and internet with fancy colorful advertising.

I have lived in the same rundown apartment for more than 12 years, and Spectrum is still trying to get me to sign up for television and internet with fancy colorful advertising. Give me a break! You would think after a decade plus they’d figure I’m not interested in all that technology stuff. I’m quite happy walking down the public library or park when I have a need for internet not serviced by my very basic $40 a month smartphone.

Taconics in the Distance

NPR

U.S. Job Growth Cools In December As Employers Add 145,000 Jobs : NPR

Hiring slowed somewhat in December, as U.S. employers added 145,000 jobs. According to the Labor Department, that's down slightly from the three previous months, when employers added an average of 200,000 jobs. But the unemployment rate held steady at 3.5%, matching its lowest level in 50 years.

For all of 2019, the economy added 2.1 million jobs — the slowest pace of annual job growth since 2011. Job gains for October and November were revised down by a total of 14,000.

Average wages have increased 2.9% over the last year, outpacing inflation and boosting workers' buying power. Wage gains are still relatively modest, however, given the rock-bottom jobless rate.

January 10, 2020 Morning

Good morning! Tonight is the Wolf Moon ๐ŸŒ•! Four weeks to Save the Pine Bush Turns 42 ๐Ÿฆ‹. Partly cloudy and 36 degrees at the Elm Ave Park & Ride – CDTA. โ›… Light breeze ๐Ÿƒ. A very pleasant morning that feels more like late March or early April then the coldest week of the year. Maybe colder by next weekend but still not super cold. I bet it will be a lot colder come February. Even with the warmer climate these days we still get at least one good artic blast each winter. โ„ But in the mean time my heat won’t be running much at all this weekend. I like saving energy says the boy in the big jacked up truck who is taking the bus to work. ๐Ÿš

Today will have a chance of rain, mainly after 3pm. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a high of 45 degrees at 5pm. 15 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around March 17th. South wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 32 degrees. The record high of 55 was set in 2016. 7.3 inches of snow fell back in 1984.โ„

Solar noon ๐ŸŒž is at 12:03 pm with sun having an altitude of 25.4ยฐ from the due south horizon (-45.5ยฐ vs. 6/21). The golden hour ๐Ÿ… starts at 3:57 pm with the sun in the southwest (233ยฐ). ๐Ÿ“ธ By next week the evening golden hour won’t be until after 4 pm. The sunset is in the west-southwest (240ยฐ) starting at 4:38 pm and lasts for 3 minutes and 21 seconds with dusk around 5:12 pm, which is one minute and 5 seconds later than yesterday. ๐ŸŒ‡ The best time to look at the stars is after 5:48 pm. At sunset, look out for possible rain showers ๐ŸŒง and temperatures around 44 degrees. There will be a south breeze at 10 mph. Today will have 9 hours and 16 minutes of daytime, an increase of one minute and 20 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have a chance of rain. Mostly cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a low of 40 degrees at 7pm. 26 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical night around April 22nd. South wind 8 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. In 2019, we had light snow in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 12 degrees. The record low of -25 occurred back in 1968.

Tomorrow will have a chance of rain, mainly after 2pm. Cloudy ๐ŸŒง, with a high of 60 degrees at 3pm. 30 degrees above normal, which is similar to a typical day around April 18th. Maximum dew point of 49 at 3pm. Breezy, with a south wind 16 to 21 mph decreasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. A year ago, we had mostly sunny skies in the morning with some clearing in the afternoon. The high last year was 24 degrees. The record high of 57 was set in 1975. 8 inches of snow fell back in 1922.โ„

Looking ahead to Sunday, showers, mainly before 10am. โ˜” High near 62. South wind 11 to 15 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 31 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Maximum dew point of 53 at 6am. Typical average high for the weekend is 30 degrees.

The Hudson River is really choppy ๐ŸŒŠ with some white caps heading down river. Maybe it’s just the tide going out with the full ๐ŸŒ• moon tonight. Definitely wouldn’t want to be in a kayak on the river right now, it almost looks like white water or right below a dam. Plus I bet the water is really cold.

๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒป๐ŸŒผOnly 69 days remain until the first day of calendar spring!๐ŸŒน๐ŸŒป๐ŸŒผ

I am still thinking about next weekend heading out to Madison County for Martin Luther King Day. ๐Ÿ•ย It looks like the weather might be closer to normal temperatures, and it all depends if we have precipitation or not. It will probably not have a lot of snow out there by next week, so camping at the Moscow Hill Horse Camp, which is on the asphalt road wouldn’t be a problem. Maybe do a little hiking or skiing around there, enjoy the rural scenery with all it’s earthy browns and smells. ๐Ÿฎ It’s like being in a totally different land then Albany.

Looking ahead, there are 4 weeks until Save the Pine Bush Turns 42 ๐Ÿฆ‹ when the sun will be setting at 5:16 pm with dusk at 5:45 pm. I was talking to one of the Save the Pine Bush leaders from 1978 and said I bet you wouldn’t be fighting development in the Pine Bush in 2020. ๐ŸŒฒ๐ŸŒฒOn that day in 2019, we had partly cloudy, mild, rain showers and temperatures between 47 and 36 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 33 degrees. We hit a record high of 48 back in 2005.

Towards Mount Greylock

White House Announces Trump Would Likely Veto Bill Regulating ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Drinking Water

White House Announces Trump Would Likely Veto Bill Regulating ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Drinking Water

Sponsored by Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, the act is designed to reduce involuntary human exposure to PFAS, which are chemicals used in products like non-stick cookware and flame retardant foams. PFAS are known as "forever chemicals" because they are not expelled from the human body once they are ingested. Traces of PFAS, which have been linked to the formation of certain kinds of cancer, have been found in multiple sources of drinking water across the country.