I have to admit, I haven't been playing with nearly as much yarn as I usually do. In the past month, or maybe month and a half, I've only made one scarf and one shawl. I keep meaning to start more projects, but we've been rather busy lately. We took an amazing 19 day vacation to explore various parts of New England (New Hampshire is my favorite, hands down!) then swung down to DC to check out the Smithsonian. Since we got back, we've been de-cluttering our house in preparation for a yard sale.
And, in my spare time I've adopted a new hobby: Canning.
It all started with some dilly beans that I had at my friend Rachel's house while on vacation. I came home and decided that I had to make some of my own. I did, which led to canning salsa, which led to coleslaw, which led to pickled turnips, which led to blueberry jam (you can't beat 88 cents a pint for blueberries), which led to more salsa. Which I think will lead to me scouring the internet for a great deal on a pressure canner so that I can can (haha, cancan) even more food.
There is something so supremely satisfying about standing at the counter in the kitchen peeling turnips, or trimming green beans, or chopping tomatoes - all on a massive scale. There might be a little music in the background. Maybe a bit of conversation with my husband. But mostly it involves simply living in the rhythm of preparing food to put by, something that women of every generation for hundreds of years have done. Sure, canning has only been something used in more recent history, and I am definitely not expending even a scintilla of the energy my foremothers did in their efforts to ensure nutrition for their families over the winter months when the land is dormant - but I feel a connection with them nonetheless.
I'm still petting my yarn on occasion, and dreaming of new projects. For the most part, though, I'm spending my time in the kitchen for now.
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