I apologize in advance for this rant. I'm tired and hot and frustrated.
I enjoy either crocheting, loom knitting, or doing embroidery. Many of the items I make take time and materials. Materials that are not cheap. I try to make individual gifts for people that I think might like them. I also work on hats and scarves and dish cloths for my church's knitting group that we donate to area nonprofits.
My husband took up vegetable gardening late in life. He has always loved gardening, but never thought he could grow vegetables. I suggested he start with a couple of tomato plants, then he would get onions, then bell peppers, and herbs. We don't grow our own from seeds, so most of the stuff we have to buy as plants or in the case of onion sets. The only thing we do get from year to year is garlic; a friend gave us some starts a few years ago and when we pick it, I save enough back to plant more. As many of you know, a garden is not free food. You buy the seeds or plants, you spend a lot of time working the soil, you fertilize and water and weed. You worry about too much sun, too little sun, too much rain, too little rain, too much wind, hail, and varmints eating your stuff. It's a lot of industry, but for some, it is worth it.
I started canning tomatoes a few years ago because DH got a good crop. I had to buy jars, rings, lids, as well as the canning supplies. As DH has started planting more plants, I had to buy more supplies. Granted, I haven't bought many new jars as far as quarts and pints because I have really stocked up on them, but I do have quite a bit of money invested because I can a lot of things besides tomatoes.
I am absolutely shocked when someone claims that the tomatoes I canned were free. I asked what do you mean, free? He said that they came from your garden. Yeah, the garden DH spent lots of time working on not to mention the water, fertilizer as well as tomato cages and the cost of the plants themselves. I said canning them wasn't free either, and it was hot, messy work. It means bleaching my sink before I start, bleaching it after, and washing and sterilizing jars that I have washed before, but you can't be too careful. Then this person whom I had stupidly given some jelly I made said well, you didn't spend much on the jelly. I said, have you priced what goes into jelly. He had no idea. And I had to beg this person to return my jars because he didn't think they cost that much and felt he could just pitch them!
DH planted lavender and I made some jelly. Not a ton, but I wanted to try the recipe. One gal who has culinary training and is always throwing in my face she's a chef said she'd take a jar off my hands. I wasn't offering her any. I was making conversation that I had tried a new recipe.
Last year I canned so much, I ran out of room for storing, so I emptied shelves and stacked up dishes and stuff to put the stuff away. I can't say we would have had the best and most varied diet, but when the grocery stores had empty shelves, we had plenty of applesauce, green beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and jellies.
So, I wonder why people think homemade, home grown, or home canned are free?
Homemade, home grown, home canned are not free
July 27th, 2020 at 09:26 pm
July 27th, 2020 at 09:42 pm 1595886139
My mom had a huge garden in a community plot.
She really enjoyed both the gardening and the canning and got a great deal of satisfaction from it.
I helped because I was a good daughter, but I knew in my own life I would never put in that kind of effort because I didn’t enjoy it.
The food I buy is neither as fresh or as delicious, but I know the time and effort it takes to grow and can, and I am grateful to not have to do it.
July 27th, 2020 at 09:58 pm 1595887133
July 28th, 2020 at 12:32 am 1595896376
Wink, exactly -- this same guy thinks that I got lucky to have a 403B. I said no, not lucky, just had money taken out every pay check. He claims he doesn't need any investments, but has to get loans to take vacations or do anything of any circumstance.
July 28th, 2020 at 07:32 am 1595921560
July 28th, 2020 at 09:50 pm 1595973047
August 2nd, 2020 at 07:39 pm 1596397163