summer winding down....

 This was my house yesterday.  I know it was Sunday, and I don't usually like to take on a project on the day of rest, but I had brought these tomatoes home from my friend at work, and since we go Saturday morning, I'm figuring they were picked Friday.  Carolyn has such a green thumb!  She started tons of seeds this winter and gave me a variety of about 20 tomato plants this spring and they are doing pretty good, despite my crazy schedule and lack of watering regularity.  I'm sorry for the way I have treated them, but I think they forgive me, because I've had a lot of tomatoes to eat and share.  Carolyn had a couple of ladies who had wanted some tomatoes for cooking and canning and juicing and one is in the hospital and another has 1 or 2 family members who need more tending than to allow her to do much canning, so instead of letting any of these babies go to waste, I rolled up my sleeves Sunday afternoon and started working....Have I mentioned lately how much I love my new kitchen.  There is so much space to work! My cooktop before had maybe 12 inches of counter between it and the wall ovens and none on the other side.  Now I have space to have my jar and funnel and scooper on one side and the baskets of tomatoes on the other and the peeling and cutting over by the sink and another counter for the filled jars to sit and POP!

Final tally last night was 9 quarts and 23 pints!!  I don't usually do pints, but my mom said they come in handy when it's just her and my dad, and since I have 2 kids in apartments, I thought they may find that size more useful.  The same day, my mom stopped in at work and left my share of our first tomato workout from last week.... 36 quarts.  I hope to shout I don't run out of tomatoes this winter!  They tell me January and February are going to be snowy and I'm ready.  Bring it on!