I have so much to do and not much time and I promised myself I wouldn’t blog. I’m such a liar.
A few of you commented yesterday that I should get some sort of Wife of the Year Award. While I appreciate the flattery, you don’t know the full story. So, without further ado, I shall share with you my day yesterday and let you see how my husband should get the Husband of the Year Award.
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I decided to can peaches yesterday. This was my first experience with the canning of a peach and it was quite the long process. If I had two kitchens, things would have been just peachy (pun quite intended). But, sadly, I only have one kitchen and the process took FOREVER.
Fun Fact: When I was a child, my grandparents lived in their own city or something and had a canning BUILDING. I must ask my father immediately as to more details to this canning building and why it wasn’t willed to me? But that is neither here nor there.
Another Fun Fact: Did you know that if you put peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds and then in ice water for a couple of minutes, the skins just slip off?!?!
Daisy Mae was in charge of the de-skinning process. Science. Check.
So. I started the process by 10am and the last jars came out of the canner at 10pm.
Look at me and my bad self!
My husband had left for work that morning sometime between 3-5:45am. He never tells me when he is going to get up, so I never really know what time he started work. He was busy being an electrician all day and came home at 8pm bearing gifts of pizza (oh be still my heart) and BREADCRUMBS!
While the pizza baked, he helped me patty up the elk burgers. Having never prepared elk meat for burger consumption, I was a bit confused, but I threw in an egg, some diced onion, garlic salt, pepper, BREADCRUMBS and that funny sauce that I never know how to spell: worcestshire? You know. Sounds like warshester. And remember, I have no time for blogging, so I will not be getting off of my bum and looking at the bottle to give you the correct spelling.
It’s the kind of awesome service you’ve come to expect from me and my blog.
We fed the kids dinner, because loving parents always feed their kids at 8:30, didn’t you know? The kids did great yesterday. The girls helped with the peaches. Daisy Mae shucked all 30 ears of corn and made several trip to the compost bin. She even stopped and rinsed her bucket out before returning to the house.
?
Without being asked.
?
Handsome Dude came up to me about 10 times and said, and I quote:
“What can I do for you, Mom? Can I take something to the Tramp Trailer?”
Handsome Dude! My Handsome Dude! He said that! And, yes, my kids call the camp trailer the tramp trailer. What of it?
Little Dude was not helpful at all. One of his sister’s dressed him in his brother’s shorts and he spent most of the day waddling around with his pants around his ankles saying:
“Mom! My pants not working!”
And I just kept saying: “Mama’s busy! Just take them off!” Because who cares? No one is coming to call. But he wouldn’t have it and he waddled around all day wondering what in the world was so hard about his own mother stopping and getting him shorts that properly fit him.
Goodness. I am droning on and on, aren’t I?
Back to last night.
We finally feed the kids dinner and then my husband goes into turbo mode.
Me: Let’s be done.
David: No. I want to get as much done as possible for you tonight.
Me: It’s really ok, I can do it tomorrow.
David: No. This is for my work and you don’t need to do it.
Me: But I really want to just watch Lost and eat popcorn.
David: You can! I don’t mind. I will just get some stuff done.
Of course, I didn’t watch Lost, but David helped me and together we:
1) Baked two batches of brownies
2) Cut watermelon and cantaloupe
3) Slice tomatoes, onions, and cheese
4) Washed grapes and lettuce
5) Patty up sausage for breakfast
6) Wash all dishes and clean kitchen
7) Put all canning stuff away
And I guarantee you that I will not be slaving over a stove cooking for everyone. He will do most of it and I will help him. It’s the least I can do.
So, there. I just wanted to make sure you all didn’t think David was dumping tons of work on me or something.
Isn’t he grand?
This is why there is a deer hanging over the peaches:
He deserves it, eh?
We need to do the COW because we never do the COW. So sad.
The COW is the Comment of the Week. Keep up!
This week is Debra:
Don’t go gettin’ all handsome over those ice cream cones. ( I can’t help it.)
Debra has properly used my sister’s “get all handsome on it” phrase from day one.
Holla, Debra!
Alright! I really need to get all handsome on my camping packing.
Happy Friday!
PS-Something is wrong with my blog and I cannot spell check OR center! And I don’t have time to look into it.
PPS-I don’t know what time David left this morning, but our coffee pot has a 2 hour shut off timer and when I went to get a cup at 5:45 it had already shut off. How does he DO this everyday?
PPPS-Is anyone else having trouble with WordPress? Or is it just me? I am getting annoyed! I am sorry that this post is so hard to read. Ok, bye!
Hello. =) So will you really be the only gal there this weekend??
Did you know that you can also just boil potatoes and the peels will come off? I was super excited when I saw the video for it, because I hate peeling potatoes. Go to You Tube and search Dawn Wells potato peeling video.
P.S. Your husband is great!
Silly David. He just blew his cover. You now know all that he is capable of and will start expecting it.
That’s why my husband rarely helps with anything ever. I think he’s incompetent and he likes it that way.
I wish he were silly like your notalumberjack.
Love all the canned peaches. I think I might be envious of your mad canning skillz. 🙂
In the upper midwest, it was common, in the old days, as my kids would call it, for people to have a stove, sink and countertops in their garage or a small shed for canning, so it wouldn’t heat up the house so much. You’d open all the doors and windows, then de-skin your peaches with cool breezes gently soothing your sweating brow and the kids could run around outside and not mess up your house. I’m sure your Lumberjack could built you a canning shed out of his Tamarack trees.
I sounds to me like he always deserves the Employee of the Year award. Good job, Lumberjack. 🙂
I think you’re both pretty swell. But it really is okay for you to go ahead and accept the praise, as I’m sure David would agree. 🙂
What is this “patty up” business? Is it related to pony up?
I canned peaches once. It was before we had kids, and my hubby and I did it together. It was actually pretty fun, but apparently not so fun that we felt driven to continue the tradition. I prefer canning easier things like peach butter and apple butter and pear butter, but I haven’t even done those for a few years.
Way to go David! Have fun camping all…and get all handsome on those peaches. Do yourself a favor and make Paula Deen’s peach cobbler with one of the cans. Then you can get all handsome on peach cobbler. with ice cream. or whipped cream. oh my stars.
btw, I personally like the left aligned 🙂
Excellent of Mr. Lumberjack! Working together is so much more fun! He really reminds me of my husband on so many levels except insert baseball/baseball where Mr. Lumberjack has hunting/woodcutting. Thank the Lord for a “few good men”!
Your spelling of Worcestershire Sauce is quite correct. However, your pronunciation is lamentable!!!
‘Warshester’?!?!?!?!
It’s pronounced ‘Wussta-sher’.
Honestly – Americans! ;op
Taylor! I am thrilled beyond imagining to be the recipient of your awesome COW award. I’m gonna go get all handsome over it now. 😉 (correct?) Holla!!! 🙂
I can’t even praise your wonderful husband I’m so excited!
TGFP (p=pizza)…How lucky you are to have such great helpers in your girls, love you have a Tramp Trailer hehe.
I gave you a little shout out on my own blog today, hope you don’t mind.
Blessings Kelsie
When we poured the slab for my house we poured a slab for a “canning house”….15 years later it is still a slab with stuff on it. Now it is scheduled to be a “Honey house”…we shall see……..
What does one do with canned peaches? Why not freeze them? Enlighten me expert canning person that you are!
it’s fun to brag on our husbands, isn’t it. We really should do it more often!
I am still around. Have you missed me?! 🙂 I have a funny story to tell you. My sister-in-law was reading your post and her daughter (age 10) was reading over her shoulder. She saw the deer hanging in the canned peaches picture and said,”Whose blog is that? Where do they live?” She then went on to say about the deer head on the wall,”That is the kind of thing people have on their walls on ‘Finding Bigfoot’.” We thought that was really funny.
I bet the Bigfoot take care of the bears in your area, so don’t worry at all!
🙂
Canned peaches! Awesome!
A helpful Lumberjack! Even awesomer!
You are becoming quite the homesteader. I am proud of you! My mother in law had an outside kitchen she used to can in too. She doesn’t use it now, but says she used to all the time way back when.
Why do they call it “canning” when they are in glass jars??? Hmmm…..Hope your enjoying your camping trip.
I feel the need to “Holla” to your grade A, top notch hubby, but I feel a little too “midwestern-mother-of-two” to give it justice. So I’ll just revert to high school and say “Word.”
Just make sure to remind him that aforementioned deer head is his prize for being a great husband and that he is not entitled to a new one each year that he is nominated. . . or let him know that if he builds you a canning kitchen, he can hang some in there. : )