# 545 - Seedling Babies

This week I have finally started to get my seeds. I still have many more to do, but at least things are getting underway for the veggie garden this season. We got a late start, but I was in the hospital a few weeks ago and didn't get to do everything I wanted as fast as I wanted.

Well, I am trying to catch up now. I have some great seeds that will soon sprout...Bell Peppers, Tomatoes, Chives, Sweet Basel, Cilantro, Jalapenos, and a lot more. I will be thrilled to have my OWN veggie garden this season, a raised box garden. As time passes, I will be adding more raised box gardens in the same area to make it our garden zone.

 

I can't wait to be able to eat home-grown veggies. There is NOTHING that can compare than a vine-ripened tomato. We love our sweet Basil and have a pesto we make with our basil and it is a special, highly requested menu item we are always requested to make. This year, I am definitely going to learn how to start canning, especially our home-grown green beans, carrots and such...we are going to try our best to avoid buying such foods at the grocery store. I am ready! 

 

 

Then, our chickens are laying about 12 eggs a day. The past couple of days, the dogs have enjoyed a pan of scrambled eggs as a nice treat. They love their eggs. So, when we get too many eggs, we supplement the dog's meals with some scramble eggs and they are some happy, healthy dogs.

 

Now, we are still working on the house. This week, we are working on running ductwork, both rigid and flex duct. We have learned a lot about the issue through extensive research. We might even run a rigid exposed run through the Great room and that would help solve a lot of ductwork problems to the rest of the house. 

 

 

We will see what our HVAC person suggests. Time is short...we don't have much longer to set our mind on how we want these things to be done. Time for more decisions to be made.

 

 

One thing I can promise is that the chickens will not be allowed to roam around the front porch or the yard of the new house. We have a grandbaby who is ready to run around NaNa and Pappy's country house...the kids get the yard and porch. That means, the chickens need a secure area so they can be happy, but not trespass. I need clean porches for the pitter-patter of little baby feet!

 

I can't wait. My grandbaby will finally be able to stay with Nana and Pappy once the house is finished. We can't wait!

 

Life is good.

 



 

 

 

# 482 - First-Time Canner Preparations

Personally, I've never canned.

I grew up with a mother who would make jars of home-made pickles. For YEARS AND YEARS I refused to call it "CANNING" because the preserves and such were in jars, so I called it "JARRING." My mother would get so frustrated, "My dear, it's not called jarring, it's called c-a-n-n-i-n-g."

Well, if canning involved actual cans, I would be happier with the term. Finally, in my late thirties, I relented and began calling it "canning."

I've never seen anyone go through the entire process of canning other than when I was about 17 years old and half-way observed my husband's grandmother slicing her peaches, getting them ready for canning. Oh how I wish I'd been wise enough to be glued to her kitchen while writing down her every step to PRESERVE HER RECIPE!

Grandma Ester with my husband on her lap.
His feet are still huge.

 

My husband's grandmother had a peach tree in her backyard, the best peaches in Texas, and she'd make a heavenly jam that the family reunion would include in their auctions, and those jars fetched premium bids.

Lord, I miss those peach preserves.

For years, I have wanted to learn how to can. I admit, the process seems daunting to me. It's foreign to me, but I yearn to give it a try.

In my thirties, before my mother passed away, she presented me with a gifts for canning --- the big pot, jars, and books.

This week, I purchased some Liquid Pectin and a set of canning tools. I could not find the metal grate that is supposed to go at the bottom of my large canning pot, so I had to buy another one. I don't know how to use any of it, but I've GOT IT ready!

Now, I must go into over-drive to make my lists of seasons for certain veggies and fruits, so I can know which foods will be at their prime for canning, depending on the month for our Southern state of Texas.

Right now, we are exiting October and heading into November, so I will have to check the local Farmer's Market to see what they are selling. Down the street from our residence, they have days of "pick your own berries" and I need to participate so we can have very fresh, grown on the vine fruit ready to be canned berries. We get enough blackberries on our own land, so I will be ready for summer 2014 to do my own blackberry preserves.

I suppose jars of strawberry or raspberry jam will be the gift I will be handing out to everyone at Christmas 2014, well, if they are edible.

Since I don't have anyone in my family alive who is experienced in canning, I have been searching on-line for instruction and found this great site:

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_home.html

No pressure-cooker for me, not yet.

This week, I'll be exploring my options. Pretty soon, I will be a pro at jarring...I mean, canning.