Baking, canning, cooking, eating and teaching

     Someone asked me why I bake and "can", they told me it's too much work.  She told me that she just buy's her pies already made...   I started thinking of all that I do.
     My family helps prepare a garden and plant the seeds. My son and his wife and the older kids weed the garden.  When the seeds start to poke there little green heads out of the dark rich soil, the grand kids get excited (so do I). Soon we see the blossoms on the stems.  Anticipation grows.  Next we see the beginning of the fruit or vegetables. "Look grandma, what is this?  Can I eat this broccoli?"  Soon I show them the carrots, they learn how to thin them out and why we do that.  We leave some "un" thinned and they learn latter what a carrot looks like that has been crowded.  Tomatoes are picked, sliced and eaten in so many different ways.  One of the favorite ways the kids like them is on french bread, with garlic butter topped with Parmesan cheese and cooked under the broiler.... yummmyyyy!
     Kris and I make jam and jelly, apple sauce, peaches and stewed tomatoes, salsa, tomato sauce, spaghetti.  We pick and prepare herbs and chives, carrots, peppers and pie dough for the freezer.
     It's hard to explain the joy I get from knowing that I helped teach the next generation a craft that is starting to fade.  It is so much fun to hear the kids say how good the things from the garden taste.  I know that they are eating healthy, and learning a lot from ....
The Simple Life of Papa Bob and Grandma Mary.  That's why I do the things I do.

I sure hope this quote never comes true.....
You can say this for ready-mixes - the next generation isn't going to have any trouble making pies exactly like mother used to make.  ~Earl Wilson