The Fruits of my Labour

If you would have told me back in the days of our travels to the Okanagan Valley every summer when we had the dubious task of helping mom prepare fruit for canning that I would actually one day plan to spend a whole week of my summer vacations do just that and more, I would have told you that you were crazy. 

My mother actually possesses a picture somewhere of my sister and I looking so unimpressed surrounded by boxes of fruit (peaches if I remember correctly) while we had to blanch and peel them one by one for her to make Brandied Peaches and can them.  I loved the end results but really truly hated the time it took and being forced to participate in an activity that I really didn't want to. Didn't she realize that I would much rather have spent the time in my best friend's back yard swimming pool in the summer time? Really, mothers just don't get it.

Now here I am finishing up my summer vacation time and this week I have canned cherries, made and canned cherry pie filling, canned peaches, made dill pickles and pickled carrots and a batch of salsa.  I have also made ravioli from scratch (which is an entry for another day).

I love my job and the people I work with but I am so not ready to go back to work. There is so much that I could still be doing at home.  My favorite thing in the whole world to do is to take care of my family. Especially the cooking part - cleaning, not so much fun. I often wish I could have been a homemaker for all of the past 17 years. 

I was blessed to be able to stay at home for 4 years right after my son was born.  I enjoyed that time so much, but alas, it is extremely difficult to live on one income anymore so I went back to work full-time.  At least I have vacation time to fully enjoy taking care of my family.