What it is possible to do if one only has two children.... or "On being domestic."

Peaches were on sale and I couldn't resist. So I bought an entire box of 66 peaches. People looked at me strangely and questioned me, "What are you going to do with them?" When I replied "can them," they said, "I didn't think people did that anymore." That is what an older man said at Costco too when I told him I didn't buy my cookies I made them at home. "People don't do that anymore, you must be really different he said.

After buying the first 66 and I realized they were really cheap and I went back for another box of 66 plus the bags I had already bought. I brought them home and Sue, Melissa and I canned peaches today all day. It was fun to have the help for an otherwise lonely project in the kitchen. I turned to stove burners on about 9:45 am and they did not turn off until 4:45 pm. We fed the kids sandwiches and dined on chips, cake and a salad from the garden. We stopped to nurse, break up fights, water the garden, and waited for each pot to finish. And for all our work we canned 50 quart size jars... and I am happy because we will have peaches to eat all year. Yes, people still preserve their own food and yes people still make their own cookies. My children will eat home made cookies and bottled peaches just like their grandparents and grow up happier without Nintendo DS and cable telivision.

How do you can peaches? First start your canner boiling, they take forever so do wait to do this even one minute. It will boil faster if you put the lid on. Next get another pot of boiling water ready for the peaches. Put your clean jars in the canner with the boiling water to keep them warm. Put lids in a simmering pot of water... DO NOT BOIL! Next wash the peaches and then throw the peaches in boiling water for 60 seconds - 2 minutes to get the skin to peel off. Peel skin off or it will mostly fall off and then cut the peaches up after taking out the pit. Stuff in to quart size jars as tightly as possible. Pour syrup that is boiling over the top and wipe off the top of the jar. Put a lid on the jar and then put in the canner. Boil jars for 30 minutes with 2 minutes for each thousand feet you live over sea level. We boiled ours for 42 minutes. Sounds simple right?