When I was growing up, I remember our basement having a small room off of the main area. The room was lined with shelves. By the end of summer, those shelves held what looked like thousands of Mason jars. All of the jars held pickles.
I thought it was silly for several reasons.
1. I don’t like pickles.
2. You could buy pickles at the grocery store.
3. We didn’t have a vegetable garden. So, the cucumbers had to be bought and then pickled.
4. It looked like a lot of work, especially when you take into account #2.
And here I am many years later stocking my shelves in the basement with the very same Mason jars.
But, I have a an excuse or two.
I do have a garden.
This has been my best year ever for tomatoes. I can’t possibly eat them all. Although my intention was to freeze all the spaghetti sauce and tomato soup, my freezer is pretty full. Boy, do I regret buying the smaller size now. It seemed like a good idea 5 years ago, but 5 years ago I didn’t have a garden or a reason to stock pike my freezer with ready-made meals.
Thus, my shelves got a good wash down this past weekend. I wasn’t about to put my pretty Mason jars down on dusty shelves. And since it’s only early August, I expect my shelves to be full by the time Fall rolls in.
I suppose the apple never does fall far from the tree.
The Life, Designs & Crafts of Marie Haigh 