Wednesday, September 24, 2008

The reason I don't can

Today I spent the day making applesauce with my sister n' law. It took us less than an hour to pick 11 huge 5 gallon? buckets of windfall apples. Then we went to her house where we proceeded to make a gigantic mess.
We both left on occasion, to pick up, drop off kids. Feed them, change them, console them, and help them. We washed, cut, boiled, mashed and poured til we dropped. I have about 44 yogurt containers of applesauce in my freezer, and Pam had just as much and her sister also helped and took 30 small ones. That's a lot of applesauce. It makes me happy to have a freezer full of the yummy stuff.
BUT.
That is all I'm really willing to do. I do not do much else. I could have picked berries and froze them...not too much fuss. But canning? No. I can't handle the stress of the mess and the constant interruptions. Shea spent a few minutes crying between my legs while I tried to finish the mashing. It is not my favorite. I don't know how "some people" have huge cellars full of canning. They must have a nanny, or maybe they do it all during the night? I personally would rather leave the canning until my kids are about 3. I'm ok with that. We will survive! I'm glad I didn't live in the olden days where you had to mill your flour and make bread and the whole lot. I tell you, I don't have the nerves for it! I enjoy it, but not when you have to keep up with being a mom at the same time?! What is the secret?

2 comments:

Anna said...

I'm with ya! I HATE the mess. I also would never ever do it alone.

Anonymous said...

Ok, call me crazy but I LOVE the canning! I'm not an overly domestic person, but when it comes to canning I get a little carried away! The salsa, relish, pickles, peaches, and jams - I love how they look all lined up on my pantry shelves!
Personally I send the kids away and trick somebody else into helping me make the mess and clean it up.
Sadly, this year I won't be getting much canning done because I just don't have the time......but next year I'll send you a few jars of stuff!