I finally broke down and ordered the canner I've been wanting for over a year now.

(Amazon Link)
This same one is almost $98.00 at Walmart. I caught it on sale at Amazon.com for $81.00 with free Super Saver Shipping (Thanks to Tricia for locating this deal for me). I even compared prices on eBay and there wasn't a better deal to be found there either. While I was ordering, I also ordered a new Water Bath Canner for the kitchen too. Aside from making life easier when canning my acidic foods, it'll also make sterilizing my jars a lot simpler than with the smaller pot I've been using.
Gift:
Also, we were gifted a freezer which we'd been searching for by my mother and her new husband, just 2 days ago. My other freezer is full of chicken and beef. The small freezer on the refrigerator is packed full of veggies. We mainly wanted this new freezer for pork. Come fall the hog will go to the slaughter house and this extra space is necessary for the predicted 180 to 200 pounds of meat we'll be bringing home.
Preserving The Harvest:
I've already frozen over 20 quarts of squash and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if I get nearly that much over again before the summer's end.
I put up 4 quarts of Dill pickles on Monday, one quart didn't take the seal. I just put that jar in the refrigerator for us to munch on in a week or so. I put fabric toppers on the jars and tied little tags I had made around them. They're cute. I'll share pictures before the season's out ;) I'll also share the recipe later on if I'm satisfied with the taste.
We also got our first tiny tomatoes (2 on the Sweet Million plant) yesterday. I expect it won't be long until I can begin canning tomatoes.
I do want to find some cherries this weekend (before they're all gone) so I can make a few jars of preserves. I'll probably visit either the farmer's market in Pinnacle, NC or go to Ayers Orchard in Cana, Va for these.
The hens have been giving me 2 dozen eggs a day. Between giving them to neighbors who help us around here and the ones Mama sold to coworkers, we're not so overrun with them as I expected we'd be by now.
Today I'll be putting up a few more quarts of squash and I'm thinking about making some bread and butter pickles with the cucumbers I saw when I went to check the garden this morning.
Gratitude:
Before I leave the blog for the day, I just want to say thank you God so much for blessing us with such a loving family. They help us with the bigger things we couldn't otherwise afford with Mike being laid off right now. I don't even want to think about where my family might be today if we didn't have Jesus Christ in our lives. Every night before I go to sleep my prayers include (begin with) a long list of "thank you Lord for . . . " because I want Him to know that I am grateful for every single thing He does for us, by His own hand and through the hands of those around us.
Have a blessed day!

















