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Within the confines of this blog, you will find bits and pieces of the life and times of myself, my family and friend dear and near., far and wide, few and far between. You will find bits and pieces of my world, tho small to some, but huge to me. You will find everything from 'soup to nuts',; recipes, hobbies,crafts, gardenings,loves of my life, GrandLoves-a-Plenty, and even my pets... Sooo, if you can handle family life, enjoy the tour of my 'Stuffings'.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Early Start, Early Finish

The old adage is ' the early bird gets the worm,' but today mine reads,
' Early to start, Early to finish.'
Do you remember these palm-sized peaches and
quarter-sized blueberries from the citrus truck delivery?
Well, today, they needed tending.
The blueberries went into freezer bags for future desserts and pancakes.
Oh, and of course, a quart in the frig' for fresh eating.
The peaches needed much more care. After washing the jars and rings, rolling the peaches in boiling water for a minute, then immediately cooling in ice water to make for easy peeling, the pitting and slicing began. Lil Granhelpers are always around and eager to do anything they can, with guidance.
The jars are filled, lids and rings are hand-tightened,
before the filled jars go into the hot-water bath for just 10 minutes. Some canners like to extend that time, but I start timing once the water comes to a boil, turning it down to mid-heat.
The end result for canned peaches that taste fresh as first picked, in the dead of a very cold winter, is the full purpose of going through the long process of preparing for any canning adventure.
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The small jars are full of the best peach jam , also made early today. The whole process from beginning to end was completed by 8:30 this morning, canned peaches, peach jam and frozen blueberries.
I'm rather proud of this. All of us girls, and there are 6 of us, have learned the art of canning, freezing, jelling and jamming from our mother while we were still hanging onto her apron strings.
Now, I have the pleasure of teaching my daughter and sons, and our grandloves, that same art that is too quickly becoming a thing of the past.
If I pass anything down to my family, I hope they remember me for loving the land and learning how to live off of it, from the ground up.
I can't get apologetic about getting all sentimental about something so dear to my heart., but I do apologize for this getting ' long.'

One last thing, AFTER the work was done, little Ben and I had the best fully loaded Blueberry Pancakes, made from scratch, topped with hot Peach Jam and homemade Maple Syrup from this spring.
Go out and make some memories with your family. I don't care if it's to pick a flower, enjoy each others company over milk and cookies or a phone call, but, just do it.

Have a wonderful day.
BlessYourHeart

19 comments:

jp@A Green Ridge said...

Oh my! That blueberry pancake looked sooooo wonderful! And the peaches made me drool...:)JP

crochet lady said...

Oh yum!!! You're cooking up some good stuff!

Muffy's Marks said...

What a great tradition, and values you are passing on to the next generation. You do your mother proud.

TexWisGirl said...

oh yum!

Clint said...

Ummmm Ummmm UmmmmPH!

Canning is sooo smart---and delicious. And those peaches and blueberries look just fantastic!

Lucky you!

Friko said...

By 8.30 am?
That's when I get up.

I used to do all these things too, but there is nobody now who wants to eat my preserves.

Jill said...

Wow girl...you really rocked it today! It all looks wonderful!

Louise said...

You are a wonder! I can't believe you had that all done by 8:30 AM. It all looks so good that it makes you want Winter to come, so you can enjoy some canned Summer.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Making memories ---that is what life is all about. I don't have alot of memories (or good memories) during my first marriage ---so I'm trying to make up for it now. George and I are making as many memories as possible these days!!!
Hugs,
Betsy

Bonnie K said...

Just got caught up on your last posts. I love the peaches and blueberries. Nothing better than a row of fresh jam! Everything looks great. Thanks for sharing.

Bonnie K said...

Just got caught up on your last posts. I love the peaches and blueberries. Nothing better than a row of fresh jam! Everything looks great. Thanks for sharing.

Bonnie K said...

Just got caught up on your last posts. I love the peaches and blueberries. Nothing better than a row of fresh jam! Everything looks great. Thanks for sharing.

Suz said...

you are so right about what you want them to remember...and they will remember your love the most...
love those peaches...do they really taste like fresh ones?

Paula said...

You have a right to be proud and you are also lucky the grandloves live near by. Mine were always living in some other state or sometime country because of thier Dad's work.

JATunnell said...

Yum Yum Yum!!!!These are the best memories to build with your grandkids. I can still remember doing similar stuff with my granny. She's the one who got me started on crafts. Crocheting and embroider just to name a few.

Wonderful results for a mornings work.
Alice
http://familycampingmemories.com/

RIZALENIO said...

I always employ that adage to myself and now, I'll include yours. :) Love all the photos. It made me crave for peaches. Happy weekend! :)

Fred Alton said...

Dar, you and your sisters are all amazing! What a Mom your Mom must be. I love home-canned foods, and fresh veggies that we freeze. We broke about half a bushel of white half runners last week and froze them. Peaches are "in" here. Blackberries hanging everywhere.

jack69 said...

I shouldn't even comment. I am late, I just ate, AND IT ALL STILL LOOKS GOOD!!!!

You are a magician in the kitchen!!!!!

Love from down here!
Sherry & Jack

Anonymous said...

Peach jam .. yum! That blueberry pancake looks delicious too. I'm still enjoying blueberry smoothies, made fresh with the blueberries that we grow in our backyard.