A Canning Endeavor

I believe that today, I have become even more of a farm girl. I had been toying with the idea of entering the world of canning this summer but had not yet had the guts to give it a try. However, yesterday when my boss said that she was going to send the unsold day old strawberries to the cows I had to stop my self from gasping out loud. I could not let such beautiful berries go to waste! So home I lugged home a huge box full of eight quarts of berries!

Sitting here now I can say that for the first time since I was a small child I made preserves! I remember helping my mother with this process many years ago but have never done it on my own. So today, my newest sister-in-law and I embarked together into the adventure of making strawberry jam. It was the real thing. Not freezer jam or anything like that. Start to finish there was a lot involved and several hours passed but I think it will be worth it. Though we accidentally didn't follow the directions to a Tee and it took forever to boil, I think from the few scrapings on the side of the bowl I've snagged it will turn out well and last quite some time. Not to mention, I have several other people in mind who will receive great enjoyment from such a tasty little jar.

Throughout the process I couldn't help but be amazed that I was learning to make preserves in the same exact kitchen as my Great-Grandmother. Living in her house often brings about moments nostalgia when I reminisce about the days before my family inhabited it. Though I did not know her for long before she passed away, what I do know about her shows me that she was an incredible farm woman. Being able to can things in the same house as her is such an honor and a way that I can honor her from-scratch lifestyle which has since been forgotten by many.

Two days old and still beautiful!

Imagine this 8x. That's how many berries there were.

What a cute little miniature.

The main reason it tastes so good.

Boiling to a very long time. It looks like tomato sauce here.

Good thing we had aprons to avoid strawberry speckled clothes.

 

Now it's time to capture my Great-Grandmother's ingenuity and figure out what to do with my remaining 2.5 quarts of berries. Perhaps homemade ice cream or smoothies soon.

Wind

Flying with my brother on New Years Day 2012.

My dad flying at Jockey's Ridge, NC.

Recovering the kite from a dive.

I love wind. Most people complain when it's windy, but it is becoming one of my favorite weather forecasts. I'm not really sure when this all started. I'm pretty sure that I haven't always loved wind, but I've never hated it either. I do know that when I was a child I was pretty apathetic about wind. I never gave it much thought one way or the other.

Whenever my family would go to the beach when I was growing up, my dad would bring his bag of kites. He had a wonderful collection of kites. He had 1 string kites that were fun shapes, two string kites, and even 4 string kites. I would help him fly them each summer at the beach because it provided a wonderfully steady sea breeze but that was pretty much the only time of year that I would fly.

A few years ago I caught onto the passion that my dad has always about towards kites. I've always wanted to be able to fly (you know, the whole wishing you had wings and could soar and whatnot) and flying trick kites is the closest I can get to that without doing something ridiculous like base jumping. When I fly a kite I feel so peaceful and relaxed. I think that my growing love for flying kites has been the cause for my love of wind. The most obvious and most important requirement for flying a kite is that you have a breeze. I truly believe that this is the reason that I have come to love wind so much.

Whether it is warm or cold, when I feel wind I am reminded of God. When wind wraps all around my body it is inescapable. Its like I can tangibly feel God's love and God's presence all around me. Wind represents to me God's strength, omnipotence, and omnipresence. Every time I feel a strong breeze I am reminded of God and feel comforted to know that he is on my side.

Senior Week

Hey yall!

As you may know, this past week was something commonly know as Senior Week. It's a time when graduated high school seniors head to the beach to wash away their stress.

I went to Rehoboth Beach with 15 of my friends and we had a blast. Senior Week is typically full of partying and rowdy behavior and I will admit that there were people who were wary about me going. However, I am proud to say that we had an amazing time while staying safe and honoring God. One of the highlights of the week was sitting on the beach late at night singing worship songs with the accompaniment of a guitar. A typical day on the beach included playing volleyball and other games. It was great being able to relax with my friends and simply enjoy each other's company.

Summer has officially begun for me and I am excited to see what I have ahead of me. I plan to keep you posted on the interesting and amusing events of my life.

Hasta Luego!