The Jam and Jelly Lady

Been so busy getting ready for fall shows that I've not had the chance to add a canning tip for quite a while!  Sorry - I'll rectify that in late October!

I hit a new canning record this week.  As our customers know, we still hand-pour each and every jar.  My single fall employee was not available for personal reasons this month, so the bulk of preparing for the shows fell on me!  Of course, the kids and husband helped label, inventory, wash pots, mop floors, load cases into vans, etc, but they have school and work, too, and aren't around much.  Three times this week I've worked 5:30 a.m. one day until 3:30 a.m. the next!  No naps, but alternating nights I got 6-7 hours of sleep.

My record canning has really taken a toll on my elbow - all that ladling into 1/2 pint and pint jars.  Today I canned 203 jars of Christmas Jam, Blackberry Jam, Apple Cider Butter, and Peach Jam.  My total for the last 7 days was 636 jars.  Ouch! 

However, no matter how much I can, I think we're just going to squeak by on inventory this weekend.  Our two biggest fall shows JUST happen to be on the same date this year!  Applefest (Lebanon, Ohio) and The Country Living Fair sponsored by Country Living Magazine (Columbus, Ohio).  Pete and I are going to man CL for 3 days, while some good friends are going to help our daughter manage Applefest. 

I'm already sad to miss Applefest - it was the very first show for our little cannery, and it was the event that proved to me 15 years ago that my crazy hobby could really be a business!  Over the years, we've made some great return customers who drive hours from KY, MI, and WV to get their winter's supply of Sonya's Salsa, Christmas Jam, Peach Preserves, Traffic Jam, and Cranberry Chutney!  So it was fun today when I got a call from a lady from FL who visits her daughter in OH every fall.  Millie usually comes to Applefest, but she had to leave early this year.  She dropped by and picked up a tidy reserve of Blackberry, Strawberry, Strazzberry, and Peach Jams.  So I got to see some Applefest customers after all!

Have a great time at YOUR local festivals, and support your local canners, bakers, farmers, etc.  Enjoy a hot apple fritter, gorge on fresh, cold cider, and think about that pie-eating contest that everyone dares you to do!  Fall is only once a year!