Brilliant Idea or Not?

Do I can versus not dilemma?

I used to can most of my garden vegetables, pickles and made jellies, all the time when my children lived at home. It was the only way we made ends meet. When it was just the two of us, I decided it wasn't a  practical use of my time. However, looking at the continuing rising costs of everything these days I am rethinking my decision.

Do we use at least 12 jars of pasta sauce a year? Yes, I prepare at least two or three pasta dishes a month. So that's a given.

Do we use at least 12 jars of salsa a year? Yes, all of our friends love salsa with chips while hanging out with a cold beer or a bottle of Mike's hard lemonade.

Do we use at least 12 jars of jelly a year? Yes, I can't think of anything better on a toasted English muffin for breakfast.

Now, right now strawberries are growing abundantly in my garden. I am getting very spoiled going outside and picking them. I could use some of them for jelly especially since my rhubarb is finally coming in as well. Strawberry Rhubarb jelly is delicious so why haven't I done it already. That's okay, Your response is not needed. I am really asking myself and not getting a reasonable answer here either. Today, I am just sounding off to myself and deciding if I really want to invest in a water bath canner and the jars again or do I want to continue to bemoan the prices.


While I stood in line at the grocery store I browsed thru both summer special editions. There were so many different recipes in Better Homes and Gardens canning book and in Taste of Home's Special edition I couldn't  make a decision.  I brought both books home with me from the grocery. So technically I  began the investment into taking control of my garden produce and my wallet. What I don't have in abundance in my garden doesn't really matter since the farmer's market is 2 miles down the road, so I really don't have that excuse either.

I guess the biggest question for me is where it will fit in my day. I write in the early morning in my journal with my coffee, I venture out to the gardens while it is still cool around 9 am. Then I have on line classes that take about an hour and half., They will be ending at the end of this month so I do have that time to use. Though the thought of having to clean the kitchen twice does not appeal to me.

Next on my agenda, I spend about an hour quilting, then its lunch time. While we are enjoying lunch I plan our dinner meal for the day, then I nap. I have to nap with my headaches they increase too much if I don't put myself into darkness daily even with the meds the doctor has me on. Then when I arise, most days an hour later. I chat with my spouse while reading what's happening in the world online. Usually he and I enjoy a glass of iced tea together with our mid afternoon break. Sometimes, after that I call the kids and see what's happening in their world before I begin prep for the evening meal.

After dinner, I work on one of my projects while listening to Jeopardy. I have a quilt going by machine and one by hand. So I can sew wherever I am at. Then it's time for a cup of tea and my evening blog time before I hit the sack. My days are not exactly idle but I guess I will figure out how to juggle my time accordingly. After all I do manage to work house cleaning in there but that's not difficult because we do that together usually on the weekend. It is only the two of us and we do keep on top of daily pick up during the week. I am blessed with an amazing man. I didn't get it right the first time but I sure did the second time.

The key to anything is time management. Luckily, I am actually really good at that. Guess that is one habit I picked up all those years driving bus. I  had limited time in between bus runs and for me to maximize what I needed done each day, I allocated specific time spans for each task. What does help me immensely is that I don't have to juggle a work schedule as well like the old days.

I have wrote out all the things that do transpire in my day and without a doubt I will figure it out. I really do hate wasting money on higher priced convenience groceries that I can easily do for us at a savings. Canning would not happen everyday so I don't have to worry about juggling everyday either.

My husband thinks we will have a good time planning our projects for canning. As I sit here, I think while I eaves drop on Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune will probably work the best. Then our kitchen clean up will be done once if we let our dinner dishes wait a bit and begin our canning adventure during the early evening and then the dishwasher would run at night.

Looks like as I blogged I worked it thru in my head as well as on screen.



Does anyone else look at their day and calculate the possibilities while blogging? Or am I the only crazy that talks to herself while blogging?