Homemaking Skills

Thanks to Sara, I was inspired to pull out the fabulous canning set that I convinced Clay that I had to have about 5 years ago.  I claimed to "have always wanted a canning set" when I came across one on sale at the feed and seed store.  Until this summer it sat neatly packaged collecting dust on the top shelf of my pantry, beckoning snide remarks from Clay on occasion.  With Clay in WI, I felt more at liberty to begin projects that often cause him undue stress.  Canning would be one such project.  On our trip to MS, Sara wowed me with her outstanding homemaking endeavors which include a garden that she, Anthony(her husband) and our cousin Shane are keeping, canning tomatoes, fig preserves, jelly, putting up corn and probably more that I am unaware of.  All while she is wife, mom of two, looking after Grandma Stuart, and taking college classes.  I left MS with the cargo area of my minivan loaded with tomatoes and figs from Uncle William's, the largest yet sweetest tasting zucchini squash I had ever tasted, yellow squash, 3 gallons of fresh picked blueberries and a big juicy watermelon that was just begging to be cut.  Thank goodness for the book that came with my Ball canning set and for the sage canning advise from Granny Ford.  For without the two I would have had no idea where to even begin.  In the end, I successfully canned about 14 jars of tomatoes.  And so far, the ones I have cooked have been very tasty.  Next, I plan to tackle Blueberry Lime Jam.