It is another Friday morning and the first day off of my weekend.  I got up early and made breakfast for DH and then took a walk while the kids still slept.  Along the way I picked blackberries.  It was such a peaceful time and I was blessed by the Lords abundance.  The kids had eaten by the time I returned and now I have sent them off to pick a bucket of berries.

I am a little overwhelmed by all of the canning that needs to be done and figuring out what I need to buy and what I will get from my garden.  The blackberries will become jam this morning, but I will need about five more batches to meet all of our winter needs.  We also need blackberries for the freezer for baking.  I figure that if I require the kids to pick a bucket per week then I should get enough.

I'll pick green beans again today and I hope to get another canner load (7quarts) to add to the 10 quarts I have already.  I need at least 40 quarts but would use 60 if I get that much.  I am not planning on purchasing any beans.  I also canned 4 pints of beets and one 4 ounce jar of peppers.  I will need to purchase peppers.  We will plant beets tomorrow in the fall garden so I am not planning on canning more beets.  Peaches, tomatoes, and apples are all in my sights too to get canned.

We are excited about our camping trip to the Umpqua River south of us, which is planned for next week.  Next year I will have to plan better and make sure I don't pick a week in August when I really should be canning and not camping.  We love this trip because there is a great place to put in a small inflatable boat and you can float and fish for several hours don't to a boat dock a few miles down river.  We float and fish the river once in the morning and once in the afternoon each day that we stay in camp.  Sometimes we also drive down the beach about 1.5 to 2 hours west of the campground and clam and/or crab.  We have not decided yet whether we will do that one of the days.  While the campground is not much to speak of, it is fun for the whole family.

We use to camp more often, but I tell the kids that living on a farm is like camping all the time.  There is a lot of work on a farm that makes camping not a vacation but an event that requires lots of preparation and lots of catch up afterwards.  We usually take day trips to the coast to clam or road trips to visit family now. 

Lately we have had some discussions with the kids about how many modern conveniences we have now compared to the old days.  This discussion began around what an outhouse is and how much water it takes to flush a toilet.  I grew up with modern conveniences although we lived on a farm with an old outhouse and the old hand water pump and many other items that harkened to days long gone.  My husband however grew up with only an outhouse, no running water, and no electricity.  (For the first 7 years of our marriage DH couldn't figure out why people went camping and chose to live like that for a vacation.)  The kids have asked to live without modern conveniences for an entire week to see how it feels.  I am recommending we try it for a weekend first and see how it goes.  I doubt they will enjoy cold sponge baths to get ready for school.   

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