Not Just Produce

I realize that I have not posted about all the things we have been doing. I am hoping that next year will be a little better. But the fact of the matter is that I have spent most of the spring summer and fall growing something. Not produce, it’s a baby! A baby boy to be precise. If you are friends with me in real life you already know this. But I just wanted to make sure it was documented in my blog as well.

It turns out growing a baby takes a lot out of a person. Looking back on the summer and fall I have realized just how much it did affect me. I was actually kind of depressed for at least part of the summer. And I was almost always tired. I didn’t have the drive or motivation that I normally do. I lot of the things we got done would not have happened if Tyler had not initiated them. Which is always true in some areas, but normally I get a more excited about the preserving side of things. This year I just didn’t.

So, I apologize for not being more active this year. But I have a feeling that as the years go by I will get better and better at documenting all that we are doing.

I won’t go into the details here about the birth and all that. I’ll just summarize and say that it went well. The baby is here and growing quickly, as babies do. Now that it’s the middle of winter we are stuck inside. I am hoping that by the time spring comes around he will let me get a few things done. But for now, I pretty much am happy if I get all the kids fed and wearing clothing most of the day. Sometimes I make dinner, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I clean the house, sometimes I don’t. It’s all about having realistic expectations.

The other great thing that happened this year is that we bought a freeze dryer. I’m not sure why I haven’t really posted about it yet. I guess part of me felt like it wasn’t something that a lot of people have, so I wanted to focus on the types of preserving methods that everyone can use. However, we are really enjoying it. And it is becoming more realistic and more useful for people who are really into gardening and canning. The freeze dried food is more shelf stable, healthier and more versatile than canned or dehydrated foods.

So, from now on I will be posting more about the freeze dryer and everything we are doing with it.

If there is anything you would like to know more about, as far as fruit and vegetable production, please let me know.

Thanks for reading!