Food Storage

So the Thursday before I got home my parents had run down to the Greensboro church cannery. But the automatic canner was broken so there was only the hand crank…well anyway, so my parents just got the big bags of food and brought them home. I came home to a good 200 lbs of foods in the basement, oh closer to 400, I suppose. And my mom has a heat sealer, so we got the bags and everyday we work on the huge job a little at a time. Sunday we got through about 75 lbs of spaghetti, we put it into smaller ~6 lbs bags and sealed ’em up. Monday we did some fruit drink mix and cocoa, which made a powdery mess, like today’s project: non-fat dry milk. Dude I think I still smell like baby formula. I like doing it so much though! I suppose it does cost money, $ for the food, $ for the bags and oxygen absorbing packs etc. But it feels so good knowing that if there is some kind of emergency, I can come home (with Jacob, if he needs help too) and we will have a loving family, heat (propane and wood if need be) and food. And it is so nice to help my family prepare for such events, or such hard times as trucker strikes etc. On top of it all, I get to learn about the process of storing food in my own home, when I get one.

When I come home I feel like I am working on my young women’s progress. I sew, I bake, I cook, I store food, I clean, I help my sister. I love it, I know there is so much I don’t know about having my own household, but my mom knows, and she is such a good teacher. I think I’m just sorry that I wasn’t so good at listening and learning while I was living here full time, 8 weeks spread out through the year isn’t much time to spend with your family and learn. But I take what I can, and enjoy every minute I get with my family. Yay for food storage. (btw, my mom swears she doesn’t save these chores for me to get home, lol.)