Home-making

I was bitten by the domestic bug pretty early on (and no, not the bed bug variety of domestic bug).  I've always wanted to be homemaker.  Dream job. I love it. And I take it pretty seriously too. (I'm really gunning for that promotion..oh wait) To me, being a homemaker is about so much more than cooking and cleaning and taking care of the kids. There is so much more to a home than just errands and chores and schedules. Homes are living, breathing organisms. How do I want our home to feel to the people who live here, not to mention every person who walks through the door? What values do we have?  If I don't want bitterness to eat away at my family, I'd better watch my attitude. If I want a joyful house full of laughter, I'd better be willing to do what I can to create that atmosphere. (Though there are certainly things out of our control that can change the way we "homemake"...I'm not saying that its as simple as just smiling all the time if we want a happy family life.) Anyway, I digress. 

These days, my homemaking is consisting of putting away food for winter so we can eat home-grown food long after earth freezes over. Yay!  I've never really canned anything before. I tried pickles last year and they were sorely disappointing. But!  I am not beyond trying again!  This year I have expanded my horizons and so far I have canned strawberry and raspberry jams, pickles (gotta get this one right!), apple sauce and juice, and apple pie filling!  It feels so so good to see all those empty jars downstairs slowly being filled with colourful and tasty treats for winter! 

I've also developed a love for gardening this summer that was never there to this degree before. As a kid, I hated gardening because it was always a chore. Pull that acre of wild mustard, please. Weed the rows of peas, please.  Time to plant/hill/dig potatoes!  Here are some peas that need shelling. (Ok, I always enjoyed that one because my sister and I discovered that we could do it in front of the tv) Anyway, my mom always said that we would enjoy it when the gardens were our own and I never believed her. But it is so true!  I've been loving my gardens. Though interestingly, the weeds are no more fun to pull, whether or not the garden belongs to you...

Random sidenote on oils: we started drinking lemon oil in our water today. AMAZING!  I don't know about any benefits other than taste at this point but wow. It is so fresh and clean tasting. And because its oil, it kinda coats the inside I your mouth and leaves your mouth feeling wonderfully fresh (mouth-coating is not as gross as it sounds...unless you're drinking something like Thieves, then it's grosser than it sounds).