TGIF

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend to you all!!

I wasn't going to post but I didn't want you to think that the stash monster got me. In reality, I haven't started stash reorganization like I wanted to. Thanks for your tips in my comments section. I will be putting them to use probably next week.

We jar our own tomato sauce every year. By we, I mean me and both my sister in laws' families. This year we are doing 43 baskets of tomatoes. I don't think we ever did that many baskets and I am going back to when my dear mother in law was alive. I have been doing or helping with tomatoes since I met my husband. That is 23 years. I guess we are gluttons for punishment. It is pretty much a two day thing but I have spent the last two days preparing. I have gathered all my empty jars and washed them. I went through my lids and rings and bought extras. Right now my dining room looks like a mason jar factory. I also baked a cake and cookies for breakfast tomorrow morning.

Last night, DH and my brother in law and father in law went to New Jersey to buy the tomatoes from a farm. They unloaded them and tonight we will start the process of washing and making sure that we weed out the bad ones. Very early tomorrow morning the pots will be put on to start the cooking and we will process each and every jar. It is going to be a long day but well worth it when I open a jar in the middle of winter and smell summer. :) It is the best smell.

It is a lot of work and hard work at that but it is a day we spend as an entire family. We have lots of laughs and we play catch up even though we see each other regularly. We do this outside. We have these huge pots that remind me of witches' cauldrons. Over the years, we have perfected our technique and moved from the basement of my mother in laws house to the deck and driveway of my sister in law.

It is more about tradition than anything else. We don't have to do this. We choose to do this. It is keeping a tradition alive. I come from a Polish-Italian family where my mother bought her crushed tomatoes or puree to make homemade sauce. In the summer my mom took tomatoes from our garden and froze some for the winter. But my husband's family always did this. I fell in love with this many years ago before we were even married. I don't mind the work.

My children have been part of this since they were in diapers. Of course, they didn't have a choice back then. Over the years, my children have helped in small ways. Their favorite part is tonight with the washing of the tomatoes. They take any reason to get wet in the heat of the summer. Actually it is more my daughter who loves doing this. She is very excited about this weekend and while I told her she can sleep a little later tomorrow morning, she wants to be up with me. We don't have far to go. My sister in law lives just around the corner, so close that we could walk if we wanted to. She advised me in her 9-year old way that her Zias need her to prepare the lids. LOL Well excuse me!! But I like that she wants to be part of this. My son likes being around but he always wants to do the big stuff which makes me nervous. The pots and tomatoes are very hot and an adult needs to be around him. So more than likely he will end up playing with our nephew or getting together with his friends who live across the street. That is fine by me.

For today, I plan on doing some normal household stuff so I don't have to worry about it on Sunday. I am also hoping to sneak some stitching time in. Instead of reorganization, I have been on the web looking at new stuff and now I have this huge wish list for CATS. Not good for my wallet, let me tell ya.

Have a great weekend everyone!!