NOT AS GOOD AS MOM!

I can't believe how long it's been since I wrote a post for my blog.  Not intentional, I assure you.  It's been a extremely busy time around here for the past few weeks.

The garden is nearing the end - meaning I am almost finished washing, freezing, canning the abundance of produce my big garden has produced this year.  All that is left is the potatoes to dig up and the carrots to pull up, and that most likely will be done this week sometime.

I do know one thing - the garden I had this year won't be planted again next year!  First of all two people do not need so much food.  Secondly, although I did enjoy the garden, this last experience (harvesting) was a bit much for me.

I can't tell you how many times in the hours I stood at the sink scrubbing and slicing and blanching and bagging, that I thought of my Mother.  How did she do it all?

She had five kids of her own, as well as an additional two or three foster children at any given time; she was a seamstress in her leisure hours... her garden was three times the size of mine, and she put it all down for winter plus canned peaches and pears, apples, made and canned sauces, pickles jams and jellies of many kinds... every year - and never broke into a sweat!

Here I come, no kids underfoot - nothing but time, and I was exhausted after the second day!  My Mother was a miracle worker - seriously she really was.  Wish I could have recognized that sooner, I wish a lot of things when it comes to Mom - mostly that I still had her here with me today.

She worked herself into an early grave, and I would have gladly sacrificed any and all of her wonderful dishes for more time with her!

I am not my Mother, although so many people tell me I am just like her - it's not true.   Where she would have persevered with my garden - I am cutting it in half and making it a much more suitable past time than full time employment!  I'm a wimp, I admit it - but this wimp has better things to do than spend weeks in the kitchen making food!

So as soon as the rest of the vegetables are out of the garden we are heading to the lumber store and buying supplies to build a few raised beds.  That will limit how much I can plant, and it will be much easier to maintain, and I will enjoy it much much more.

So with that out of the way - what's next?

Getting healthier for one!