Pickle's on the side...

I don't know about you, but it seems like we're all getting back to the basics of life lately, which I happen to love! Everything from putting together a puzzle instead of watching tv to spending more time with friends instead of going out on the town seems to be the real push these days. And expensive evenings and elaborate outings have gone back to being more of a novelty instead of the norm. Along these same lines, it seems like planting fruit and vegetable gardens have become more popular, too. Have you noticed it?

Well, one of my best friends, Tina, has jumped on the band wagon and become quite the expert at it! She's set up a "four season" garden, so there's harvesting throughout the year. The other day she told me that she enjoys it because it's a project that she can do with the Lord - she plants and then watches His handywork in sunning and growing! How cool is that?? Well, because of her gardening, she and another friend of ours, Linda, have taken up canning and I've been blessed to help them out a couple of times. Just before Christmas we made 18 pumpkin pies, 24 pints of pumpkin butter, 12 jars of relish and a few jars of black apricot jam - and that was in just one day! I'm telling you, she's no slouch! :) Well, this past Sunday they had more canning to do and we made the most amazing yellow squash relish and butter pickles. It's quite a process, but the rewards are delicious and it's been such a blessing to learn this "new" craft!

I'd love to hear what lifestyle changes you've made recently to "get back to basics," too.