the rest of the peaches

now that i can breathe again, and my hands aren't too sticky to type (or sew)... here's how it all went down...

i wasn't alone in canning the peaches. i had two friends who did more than me! one of them gets half of the 48 jars. it took about 8 hours to can all of them. the whole time i was telling myself that canning is more work than it's worth. when my kitchen started to cool down i opened one of my freshly sealed jars to feed to my baby. i had to taste as well.... and oh my goodness- suddenly canning was worth it. my husband has since eaten a jar and a half by himself when he normally doesn't like fruit. yep- canning is definitely worth it.

i also learned a lot. like if you screw the bands on too tight- the lids don't seal correctly when they are in the water bath. and the jars really do break of you put them into the hot water bath while cold. and your peaches will look prettier if you cut them before pitting them and if you don't take the band off to dry after sealing the jars, they get rusty. maybe that's why people decorate them with fabric inbetween? i think it's just cute. and the most important thing i learned: canning is easy. anyone can do it. it just requires work. plus it made me feel good to put my little plan into action finally.