FRUITS OF MY LABOR

I have always enjoyed gardening.....including freezing and canning vegetables, making jams and jellies, and pickling. As a child growing up on a farm I would love watching all the preparations that had to be done in order to have plenty of food in the winter. I remember my mother and her sisters as they spent entire days shelling peas, butterbeans, snapping greenbeans, or cutting off corn. When I became old enough to actually help I enjoyed these days. It was hard work, but the time together sitting under an oak tree with pans of peas to shell, made memories that will last a lifetime. Although I don't have my mother, aunts, or mother-in-law to share in these special times today, I still enjoy the times that I can or freeze vegetables. In fact, last week I canned these tomatoes. I am aware that it would be much easier to buy canned tomatoes at the grocery store, but the taste is definitely better and my wonderful memories can not be replaced.