I Did It!!!

I made freezer jam tonight!! I can't believe I did it! It was a much longer process than I imagined and Marshall was very patient, given the circumstances.
I grew up in a home where my parents did lots of canning. Every year we did tomatoes, tomato sauce (I think), applesauce, pickles, pears, peaches, and grape juice. Those are the ones I remember. I want so badly to be able to do this with my family. I want to have a food storage. Unfortunately, I'm lacking in a few things. I don't have the equipment or the money to get the equipment to do this. I don't have the money for the extra fruit and veggies, I have 2 very demanding children, and my husband has no experience with this kind of thing and fails to see why it's so important. He said "Yeah, my Mom made salsa too. Then she put it in a bottle and labeled it 'Pace Picante Sauce'." BRIAN!!!! He did help me, even if he didn't agree that it was a great thing to do. I also want to get a garden. I know it's a lot of work but it could save us so much money. Brian doesn't want to do that either. I grew up with a garden in our backyard, a garden by a park somewhere, and I remember something about a Stake Garden. I HATED gardening when I was a kid. I HATED taking time out of my day to go pull weeds. Now that I'm an adult, I see the benefit of growing your own vegetables. Just think of the money I could save!!! Someday when we get a house of our own, I'm making sure there is space for a garden in the backyard and I will teach my boys to work in the garden. Maybe I can give them the same reward I got if I worked hard...take them to the park!

My kitchen is so messy now!! My dear, darling, hubby picked up the huge bean mess that Marshall made all over the kitchen floor. It was one of my attempts at keeping him busy. He really wanted me to play with him.


More mess. I just cleaned this whole counter off before I started! Sigh!


The finished product! I found these plastic jars but unfortunately, I didn't see the larger ones early enough. The small jars hold barely a cup of jam. The bigger ones are 2 cups. I love that the lids twist on and the cups stack nicely. It takes up less room that way!