Wow, well, it feels like we have had quite a week. Every day held new adventures, chaos, challenges and blessings.
I am glad tomorrow is Sunday so we can all breathe and rest a little. Sadly, the Happy Mortician (as we call Abby, husband and father of this large family) has to work so he does not get a day of rest, although I am sure he needs it.
Earlier this week, we purchased 220 corn cobs from a local organic farm – we picked up the corn early in the morning and by 9:30 a.m., all were gathered together, sitting on benches, shucking the corn. My mother in law came to help cut the corn off the cob, which was a great help. Lacey’s best friend had come for a visit that day so her mom (thank you, Laura) stayed to help shuck the corn. Before 11 a.m., all the corn was cut off the cob and ready for canning. Everyone proved to be fast workers and it is true, as they say – many hands truly do make light work!
{My husband blessed me with a new canner, which holds 14 jars instead of the usual 7!
It is a beauty and well worth the investment for our large family! I am very grateful!}
Soon, the jars were filled and the first batch was in the pressure canner. I ran both pressure canners all day long to finish up the corn. Many hours later, the last jar was finished. All together, we processed 40 jars and froze 12 bags of corn. My mother in law was calculating the cost – for all that corn, we only paid $60 for this organic corn. To purchase all that corn in the store over the winter months, it would certainly cost us over $400. This corn was locally grown and organic, and it supported another family who grew the corn. It is ready for adding to our family meals at any time and is very convenient. I would say it was certainly worth the morning of work, the cost of the corn and the cost of propane needed to run the canners.
[Yes, even the corn silk is useful! I saved some corn silk for medicinal purpose.
I will share about this in another post, as well!]
By the way, in case you are like me, you may wonder if corn is nutritious and worth eating. Corn often is disregarded as a nutritional benefit to one’s diet, however, we must know that God would not create the delicious well-loved vegetable without a purpose – qualities such as containing vitamins A, B, E, minerals and has a high fibre content. This humble folate-rich vegetable also is noted to control diabetes, prevent heart troubles and even prevent Alzheimer’s disease. There’s more – make sure to read about it!
The following day after our corn adventure, I sat outside in the morning – the girls were working on their morning chores and getting ready to play outside for the day. I had my tea, the laundry was hung and Lazarus was toddling about while I wiped down the canned corn jars, checking the seals before putting them into the Provision Room. Yes, it looked to be a relaxing morning after a busy day working. Perhaps, I thought, today would be a good day to scrub the tile grout in the kitchen, as it was a chore I knew needed to be done.
Suddenly, one of my girls ran outside and informed me the toilet was “flooding” our upstairs bathroom. Hmmm, I thought, “Okay, I will handle this calmly, sip my tea and tell them to just place a few towels down on the floor, I will compose myself and not be stressed and go upstairs and asses the damage.” Well, it was not long before EVERYONE came running and yelling as the flooding started to seep through the floor (oh boy!) and pour into the downstairs kitchen …
Yes, well, my forced calm nature was replaced with panic as I instructed all the bigger girls to lay down every towel we own to start sopping up the water while I attempted to turn off the running toilet. It felt like ages before it finally shut off – in the meantime, I frantically called my husband and told him we were flooded.
{I wish I could insert the photo I took of the mess but it is on a handheld device and I have no idea how to get it onto my old, aged computer from which I do my writing. Just imagine wet, stinky towels everywhere, water dripping from the ceiling and a flooded bathroom and kitchen …}
Of course, there’s nothing my husband could do while at work, but he called his parents, who live nearby to come help. In the meantime, picture four little children running through soggy puddles, giggling, screaming, going up and down the stairs to both rooms that continued to be soaked … while the big girls & I were throwing towels down in the fastest fashion trying to soak up the water. We quickly ran out of towels and I swiftly banned anyone under the age of 7 to be in the house- there was still water everywhere. Now, picture a very pregnant momma needing to carry those heavy, HEAVY towels downstairs to the washing machine. I have to say, I just could not do it. We ended up separating the towels into garbage bags and then we could carry them drag them downstairs without it being too heavy.
My mother in law (God bless her!) showed up and dragged the big braided rugs outside to the fence to wash and dry. She helped scrub down the kitchen floor while I tackled the upstairs.
Funny how God works. So grateful that I had not scrubbed the kitchen floor yet! It ended up getting cleaned but in a much more detailed process with all the furniture removed to the outside for washing, as well.
We also had to call the septic people to empty the tank. Ahem – yes, a country-home chore that is just something that needs attention and often, with so many people (and girls!) in our home.
It was an exciting, exhausting day indeed (shall I mention, this was a busy week at the funeral home for Abby, so many nights he was not home, this being one of them). BUT we got through the day! Phew!
The next day it was a catch up-cleaning day on the rest of the house, putting away all the laundry, along with canning some tomatoes for sauce. We also were able to make a meal for our new neighbours who are just in the process of moving in. Four loaves of homemade bread and some chocolate zuchinni muffins later, it felt like another productive and yet happy day.
After the previous day, sitting and slicing tomatoes – even baking bread – was much more relaxing than washing floors, dealing with gross flooding and septic issues.
At least, in my outdoor kitchen, I can sit and listen to the birds, the sounds of nature outdoors and children can come and go, play or help … it is a lovely way to do my kitchen work.
It did not take long to have 30 jars of sauce done. I am just finishing up water bathing the last few jars this morning. You can find the recipe for the sauce here. Having this sauce ready for meals is a must for my Provision Room.
Filling up the canning pot with water … the redneck way …
And now, it is the night before Sunday! The week flew by. I wanted to make some pizza sauce for canning, but I decided against it to rest this Sunday. I will start up the canning again on Monday. Plus, I really should put all the jars properly away in the Provision Room and that has not yet been done.
I do hope you have a restful Sunday, no matter where you.
by Gigi
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