Why Do I Can?

Okay, 

so maybe it's not really the looming Zombie Apocalypse 

that got me canning.

But

the possibility for some other real life crisis

(natural disaster, power loss, alien invasion...)

did.

I'm not saying I'm a full on prepper

because seriously, I don't think 8 quarts and 6 pints of canned tomatoes,

6 jars of red pepper jelly and 2 quarts of roasted garlic pasta sauce

are going to see me through in the long term.

It's a start, though, and knowing it's there is a little piece of mind.

I also think canning and preserving is a smart economical decision.

Food prices have increased pretty steadily over the past few years

and with that price increase, the quantity has reduced.

So you're getting less for more.

And don't get me started on all the genetically modified food

or the antibiotics and hormones pumped into everything.

(really, and people wonder why kids today are so different than kids of the past??)

 When I can, 

I know what goes in the jar.

I know how it was grown because I grew it.

I grew it from plants or seed that I knew were organic.

And finally, I'd say I have a nostalgia for the simple ways.

I'm not sure why that is since I never grew up on a farm,

and though my mom canned at one time, I don't remember it.

Maybe it comes from my hectic life running from one thing to another

and constantly feeling like I'm spinning.

I want to spend time at home

doing homey domestic things.

I want to pull my family back into 

being a nuclear family.

Spend time together

can together 

eat together.

And survive the Zombie Apocalypse.