I am wife to a magnificent man and mother to five wonderful children. Three of my children were born in the Northwest and two were born thousands of miles away in Liberia, West Africa. Birthplace is no matter, all of my children were born in my heart. This is our journey.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Busy day...

It's going to be a busy day around here. It's laundry day, we are cooking ahead for some time at the beach and we are making strawberry jam. Check back for pics of the piles of laundry and beautiful jars of freshly made jam.

Canning reminds me of my mom and grandma. I wasn't into it really when I first got married and then with five kids under 6 it was more of an annoyance, until winter would come and I would be so grateful for the fruits of our labor. It's grown on me I suppose. Now with the gas prices and economy on the fritz it has become more advantageous to do it ourselves. I love growing and canning our own food, making us less dependant and affected by the financial downturn. In years past we have grown a rather large garden at my mother-in-law's house. She has two acres and a well. It worked pretty well until the last year or two. Gas prices, things getting busier and a desire for simplification led us to reassessing last fall. This year we decided to grow our own garden at home. We have plenty of room for one. The kids and I have weeding parties in the morning, just 30 minutes or so to keep the weeds at bay. Having the garden out my back door means it will also be easier when it comes time to harvest. I don't have to get everyone up, get dressed and ready for the day before it gets too warm. Instead I can go out myself in the quiet of the morning to weed and water and collect my thoughts. I have been finding myself out there more and more checking the progress and making plans for building up the soil next year to get even more out of the property God has given us.

This year we should have from our own yard:
Tomatoes
Carrots
cucumbers
green onions
Cilantro
Chives
Green beans
Apples
Plums

Not a bad list. Next year we hope to add:
Strawberries
Potatoes
Raspberries

So off to the shower I meander. Lots to do. Check back for an update as to how it went. That is if you are interested. :>) Have a great day!

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