of grateful praise

Last week, I was planning a gathering for a new book club I began. I wanted to give each member a jar of jam. One of the sentences in the book reads "He was abstracted and only the flavor of fresh Brierberry jam brought him back to a consciousness of his food." I love that. How a smell or a taste can bring you someplace or focus you. And I thought how lovely, to be able to write that sentence down and present our book club with some jam. Only... 8 jars of jam are costly. Especially if you want the real, good stuff. So I looked into recipes to make my own. Which significantly reduced the price. Since I had the goods to can, I only had to find that box in our storage unit and get to work. And so... we had fresh "Brierberry" {or blueberry!} jam to celebrate our book. The process of this canning was exhilarating. Not only to make fresh jam, but to CAN it, making immediate refrigeration unnecessary. I LOVE the idea and process of canning. I have done it before. Fresh persimmon and plum preserves. And I am learning the art that is involved in the canning process. But it is a lovely process. And truly, not that difficult. Doing it makes me want to do it more. I like that. Not everything is that way. If I clean, it doesn't make me want to clean more. But this, yes, this does.

It makes me want to be a better homekeeper. It makes me want to delve deeper into modern, urban homesteading. We have a wee little lemon tree in our backyard. But behind us, is a huge one. With the added bonus of a sweet little ramshackle barn. I love it. This whole homesteading thing makes me want to go rescue all of that lovely citrus and make good use of it. Currently, they are dropping to the ground, wasted. But I have dreams of rescuing them. Giving them new life. Creating with them. Deliciousness. Today, I spent the morning juicing. Fresh lemon and orange juice. Out of lemons and oranges that have been sitting around. For some time. Almost ready to rot and be tossed out. And my true self would've let that happen. But I am trying to change. Trying to be a good steward of what is given to us. Trying to become a better homekeeper. And so... I juiced them all into mason jars. And now, the sweet and sour liquid is awaiting their fates... ready to be added into recipes for our family to enjoy. There is a lot of work to be done at this homestead of ours. But we have dreams. To plant beautiful, abundant vegetable beds. And to plant the 7 fruit trees that are patiently waiting to spread their roots and bear us good fruit. I have a lot to learn. And a lot of work to complete. But I am excited. To get my modern, urban homesteading on!