One day last week, I hit the mail jackpot! I got a package from my Aunt Lennie... Thank you Auntie! (She sent pot scrubbies she had made, pictures, and a gift card.) I got two real letters, a magazine, and a catalog. Over the next few days, the mail kept coming. Birthday greetings, and more letters.
Mr C went to Ohio, intending to help his brother refinish their Mom's deck. Weather didn't co-operate. So the deck refinishing is postponed to the better weather of spring. He did have a nice visit.
The Individuals and I stayed home and attended our respective jobs. I had a birthday. Sam said he "can see why nobody comes to my parties..." as we were deep cleaning on the house for several days. (meaning the "party" was the act of cleaning house.)
The boys and I drove down to the town of Lincoln, Arkansas. They have an Apple Festival there- which had happened the weekend of the reunion, but we still found plenty of apples for sale. I bought 3/4 bushel of combined Yellow Delicious and Jonathan. We peeled apples and made applesauce as well as apple butter. I have my second batch of apple butter cooking right now, using the last of those apples.
Yesterday, a neighbor stopped by and gave me a walmart bag of green beans. Seems another neighbor grew a field of beans for Allen Canning Co. . The field of beans developed 'rust' on some of the plants, so the entire field was rejected. The farmer said anyone who wanted beans was free to pick them and spread the word. However, we are expecting a hard freeze tonight, down into the lower 20*'s. So IF I get any more beans, it has to be today. Yesterday's bag yielded four quarts.
Earlier in the week, while Mr C was gone, I made some chowchow from a recipe my Mom said sounded like what her Mom used to make.
I learned a lesson.
"7 1/2 pints" is NOT seven half pints. Gotta read more carefully! I only planned to make six or seven half pints, until I know whether we LIKE this chowchow or not. I used thirteen half pint jars (all I had!) and two or three pint jars. Aunt Lennie's gift card for jars came at such a gracious time!
(And we all know ME! I cannot simply follow a recipe. I don't really like bell peppers, and this recipe used several. I didn't use as many as it called for. It did NOT call for jalapeño peppers, but I tossed a couple in for good measure.)
I just got the notion to take a picture of this years canning so far. Bear in mind I have given away at least three or four CASES of stuff, and we have been using it to eat as well. And this doesn't count what is cooking right now.
The boxes you see... and the ones you can't see... are all FULL. All the height rises are jars full stacked upon full jars. What a bountiful blessing we have had!
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