Okay…it’s midnight. I’m wondering who all is up doing what I’ve been doing. I know many people who read this blog also home can a great deal of food. Do you do it at night? I do! I wait until I’m dog tired and drag out a mess…here’s the pressure canner, the stew pot, and there’s sugar water for the bees and a dreaded summer squash all lying there on the counter. That squash has me terrified because I know that it has so…so…so many friends.
Doris Shuman gave me her soup stock recipe. It’s really good…however, I did not fill up the jars far enough. It won’t hurt anything, but they would have been much prettier. I’m going to do this again in the next day or two and make it all perfect. These are terrible pictures. When I get ready to eat these, I can add some potatoes and a quart of my home-canned tomatoes and have a great veggie soup. Feeling smart.
Each time there is discord in the world, I want to organize my pantry and look at the food that’s in it. What is this? I need help. My recent Pinterest fascination is “Sixty Days of Non-Perishable Food For Two People.” I really want to know if there are many others out there like me? I comb FEMA sites, LDS sites, or homesteading sites and mentally plan. I don’t really do that much..it’s all in the planning stage. Like I plan to clean my house. The planning and the happening are pretty opposite!
However, I believe there is a cannery in Castlewood, Virginia. I want to go.
And this obsession…it makes a heck of a mess. As I wait for my cooktop to cool down, I took this picture. I’ll be scrubbing and shining it in just a few minutes. Another bad picture.
What a stinkin’ mess I’ve made. The floor is sticky. Well..not now…because even though it’s the wee hours, I had to mop the kitchen. Mike is snoring away while all this is going on. I’m actually on the computer waiting for the floor to dry. It’s akin to watching paint dry without the new paint smell. I smell vinegar. Yuck.
Mike has no patience for my mess, and in fact, he’s assigned me the garage to clean. That is my reward for trying to ensure we have 60 days of food if there is a disaster???? I do not understand!! I’m just so glad he’s in a home cleaning and organizing mood! We need to get some things done!
Here’s what the garage looked like the last time it was clean. It doesn’t look quite that good tonight.
Good night. Thank you for reading RiverCliff Cottage.
I can’t do the late night canning anymore–I make too many mistakes when I’m tired. And I have to admit that sometimes the cleaning has to wait until the next day. But yes, sometimes I have to just stand and look at the pantry–it does give me a feeling of security ( and connects me with all the women in my family who have provided for their families just the same). Don’t fear the squash, just embrace them and think squash pickles, ratatouille, stewed squash, etc.
Judy…you are so positive. I’m embracing them. We’re in love.