Summer Plans

I liken May to January as a month of making plans and setting intentions. Apart from gardening plans (which are slow in coming as I wait to see what surprises will be revealed in new yard), I like to make personal writing, reading, and other creative plans. I envision lazy afternoons spent in the new

A Busy Day and a Lesson

I am not as young as I once was. It doesn’t trouble me, in fact, I embrace this season of my life full on. I wouldn’t trade these years for anything, but occasionally unexpected things look me in the face and say “you’re not a young woman any more.” Yesterday, I canned one last batch of

Change in the Air

I wrote a Friday’s Fave Five post yesterday and accidentally deleted the whole thing before publishing. I considered rewriting it, but decided to move on instead. So, here we are starting fresh on what promises to be a busy Saturday morning. I canned the last of the beets from my garden yesterday. Gerry’s going to head

My Kitchen Counter

This is a photo of my kitchen counter last year on this day. To me, it’s a satisfying image that brings comfort to my anxious spirit. I’m not canning as much as I have in recent years. Rather, I’m relying more on my freezer to preserve the harvest and the bounty we get from the

Breathing Space

I’m sitting here listening to the sweet sound of rain. RAIN! At long last! The heavy weight of fire season is still with us but with many alerts and orders being rescinded and fires being brought under control, there is an easing of the burden. Skies, though not completely smoke free, are clear enough to

Seasonal Shift

I transform 25 pounds of field tomatoes into a dozen beautiful jars of tomato soup and roast two trays of Black Krims and I am exhausted. Absolutely spent. Once upon a time I could easily can 50 pounds of tomatoes in one day and, aside from a sore back and feet, still have a measure

To Everything There is a Season

Like my gardening mojo, my canning mojo is in short supply this year too. Nevertheless, there are things to do, and this weekend it’s tomato soup time. Other than jam, this will be the first canning I’ve done this summer. Crazy, when I think about previous years, but there it is. This year is different. The

Jamming With My Girls

We score a flat of raspberries. They’re a little burnt from the record-breaking heat, but fine for making jam. It’s a little dream come true, working side by side in the kitchen with Laurinda and Makiya, teaching them how easy it is to make jam. I make the first batch, offering tips while I go, then

A Day

Gerry brings home two flats of plump, sweet raspberries. I wash and crush some; cook and stir and sweeten them; fill jars with jam and set them in the water bath canner to process. It’s ridiculously cool outside for late June but in the kitchen where I work you’d never know it. While the jam