Are You "Putting Up"?

Back when I lived in Mississippi, my closest friend, Larry, was a third-generation farmer.

A bachelor, he lived in the original family farm home with his mother, Miss Anna Lou, while his brothers and their families lived down the road.

Every summer during July and August, when I called the house to talk to Larry, Miss Anna Lou answered the phone.

When I asked what she was up to, the response invariably was, "I'm canning (fill in the blank)"

Being from The Depression generation, and a lifelong farm/country dweller, canning everything in sight in the middle of hot summer weather was a way of life for Miss Anna Lou.

I was interested in canning myself; however, I worked full-time and commuted 2 hours a day, and by the time the weekend came I was just too lazy! Plus, a friend of mine said he and his wife got fired up about making homemade jam, but reported that it was a hassle and everything was so expensive that the jam wound up costing about $5 a jar. I guess you have to be committed, organized, and do a lot of canning to make it pay off.

I did go so far as to attending a class on canning and buying a water bath canner and a case of jars, but they remained unopened in my cupboard for several years. I wound up giving them to my neighbor when I moved to Nashville.

But now that I am working at home and even partly taking this summer off, I am considering doing some canning.

What to can?

Probably mostly tomatoes and tomato products, like salsa or maybe even homemade ketchup.

Maybe some green beans. Corn, I would probably freeze.

It's all just a matter of getting organized, not my strong point.

How about you? Do you "put up"? as we say in the South? Will you this year, given rising food costs?

Do you have a favorite canning memory from childhood? (no one in my family canned while I was growing up).

For some canning tips, here's a great article from Radish Magazine:

http://radishmagazine.com/stories/display.cgi?prcss=display&id=302583

Letting Nature Takes Its Course--Amazing Wind Power

Steven has been busy this week, helping to secure funding for a Colorado-based wind farm. Energy production from wind farms is up 45 percent from a year ago, and wind power is being used to power 4.5 million U.S. homes.

It's been interesting to learn more about the process of starting a wind farm. The wind farm is to be built on acres and acres of previously unusable land in Colorado. Since wind farms are becoming more popular, there is about an 18-month wait to obtain the wind machines.

And they are quite costly, with larger ones taking tens of millions to construct.

The government has been providing tax credits for wind farms, but an article in today's Tennessean (view it at http://www.tennesseegreen.com/), noted that the current program expires in December and the new the bill has stalled in Congress. The House passed the extension in May, but the bill has failed the Senate three times, probably because it's part of a larger package bill.

I don't want to get on a rant about politics, but...wind power is vitally important to our future and I hope the future of some of these farms is not jeapordized by political posturing, disagreeing, and back-scratching.

It's Just a Matter of Time...

It's just a matter of time before I begin to use my reusable shopping bags...

Monday when I went to Wal-Mart to purchase the week's worth of groceries, I grabbed three of their reusable shopping bags and added them to my cart.

At 99 cents each, they're a great bargain as well as a great way to be more green.

I felt much more peaceful about using them...I really don't like coming home from the store with zillions of plastic bags that I feel like I can't really throw out, yet...they become clutter.

I have to admit, they do come in handy as "free" liners for the small bathroom garbage cans, or for a few other household uses.

But still...they are clutter in my house and clutter in the environment.

So...I was all excited about my reusable bags.

I took one to Nashville with me on Tuesday when I stopped at Kroger to get my mother some blueberries they had on special...and forgot to use it.

I also forgot to use it Wednesday when I went to Rite-Aid, and even worse...forgot to use it yesterday when I went back to Wal-Mart to get some ice cream!

Is this old age, or what? I guess sometimes it does take time to teach an old dog new tricks, but this dog eventually intends to use her reusable bags everywhere! And when I do, I'll feel really great about it!