Apples!

When I was a girl, I used to help my Mom can. I loved spending time with her, and I loved the taste of the food that we canned. As an adult, I have never done any canning,.. until this week. It has been many years since those days as a kid helping my Mom. Last week, I helped a friend with her canning process. It was a lot of work, but my confidence grew. When she told me I could have the rest of the apples on her tree I figured I could give it a try.
Tuesday was my day. I had no work and I was careful to make sure that I didn't schedule anything urgent in.
Monday evening for our family activity, the kids and I picked those apples. That was a little tricky. They were all pretty high up, and directly under the tree was a lilac bush. That meant we couldn't get directly under the tree with a ladder. We picked a whole bunch of apples. My son climbed the tree and did target practice (I was shocked the apples were in one piece afterwards!), and I scaled the Little Giant Ladder. I hate ladders, but I wanted the apples. Amazing what you can do when you really want it! My daughter was my wonderful helper. We gathered a whole lot of apples.
Tuesday I processed 69 quarts of applesauce. I was working on it from 7 am to 5:30 pm. It was hot, tiring work.I was exhausted at the end of the day. My sweet husband came home from his long day at work and kicked me out of the kitchen and cleaned up himself and then took us out to dinner. I could tell he was happy with what I accomplished!
There were a few times in the process that I asked myself if this was worth my time. It would be more cost efficient to go buy applesauce. At the same time I asked that question, I immediately threw out the thought. It is not just about cost. This is organic food at it's best. I know there is nothing else but apples and water in this applesauce. It tastes so good. My family loves it.
I have fought being a canner for years. I am afraid I can fight it no more. Time to start stocking up on jars and  the supplies I need for next year. I