I am a Domestic Diva

We were fortunate to move into a neighborhood that is really into preparedness, gardening, etc. and over the last couple of weeks I have acquired some fun new skills. To begin with, we planted our first ever garden. OK, garden is a bit of an exaggeration but I did plant strawberries, tomatoes, egg plant, red bell peppers, and watermelon. Not everything was a success, but we have enjoyed garden tomatoes all summer and we wound up with several delicious watermelons. Our biggest and most tasty is pictured here with Saylor. It weighed 24 pounds and I am very proud of it! A friend in my ward also taught me to can. I started out with peaches. They look so pretty on my shelf that I haven't had the heart to open a bottle so I can't really guarantee that they are botulism-free, but I will keep you posted. I started getting confidant so I decided to make and can some salsa. Sadly, it did not turn out as tasty as I had hoped. Apparently you have to stir it a lot, which I neglected to do. The result was that it stuck to the bottom of the pan and it now has an unintentional smoky flavor. I got my hands on some more tomatoes so I think I am going to try another batch. They say if you fall off a horse you should get back on--otherwise you become to scared. I think it is the same way with homemaking skills. If I don't try salsa again soon, I may never be brave enough! Finally--I have learned that motherhood is hard on your jeans. I got a hole in the knee of my favorite and most expensive pair of jeans after playing lion one too many times with Saylor. I tried my hand at repairing the damage myself.

Maybe it is just me, but I don't think my repair is too noticeable. I am very excited about my newly acquired skills. It is really fun to feel a little more self-sufficient. And I guess if we have an emergency that requires that we live off our newly acquired one-year-supply of food--that smoky tasting salsa could be a pretty hot commodity!