Moments that Matter: Raspberry Jam

I get the question a lot.  "How do you manage to work from home and organize your time with your family?"  The simple answer is that it's *really* hard.  I get to the point where I think I've got it all figured out, and then I will have a little melt down about not spending enough time with the kids - or on a certain project etc..  It's hard to find the balance.

Saturday found me facing deadlines vs. very ripe raspberries at the U-pick farm in Arlee, a short 20 minute drive away.  I gave in to the berries (aka - time with family) and went and spent the morning in the hot sun, plucking juicy red berries from their stems.  Eliza was especially hot, and we passed the time making up songs about how we weren't hot, and how we love being able to pick our own food, and gather our own eggs etc..  She's quite the little songstress, that one.  Has to sing and draw about everything..  Piano lessons starting soon.

It was a really great morning, and we enjoyed the ride home, discussing what exactly we would do with those berries.  Pies, Jam, Frozen berries for muffins throughout the year.  (One of our common Sunday morning breakfast items.)  We ended up with enough for a little bit of all options.

Jam...  yuuuummm..  For the quick recipe - I always purchase the no-sugar needed pectin.  Measure your fruit (it's usually about 5 cups for one box of pectin) and then sugar to taste.  Because the pectin doesn't actually need to the sugar to jell, you can use way less, and I've never had a failed batch of jam.  I think the no-sugar pectin is much more forgiving also, because I rarely really even measure the amount of fruit / sugar I'm throwing into the pot, and I always end up some how with the perfect consistency of jam.  I don't use thermometers either - just cook it until it looks like a jam consistency.  Hmm.. maybe I need to do a jam post.  My methods are really unorthodox, but I always seem to get really good results.  (That is not a brag.. ok, maybe a little.)

Anyhow, we made jam that afternoon, froze berries, selected out the prettiest ones for a chocolate raspberry tart.  It was a great day.  And then the evening came and I was feeling guilt.  Guilt for not getting everything done in the day that I needed to.  So I went off to my computer to get some work done, and twitter was up on my screen.  I went to close it and saw a tweet that my dear Sarah sent out.  It was a link to this video:

 

I sat there and watched it three times, bawling like a little baby. Dustin happened to walk by and thought there was something seriously wrong.  ;)  Please watch it - you will be so glad you did.  Needless to say, I'm so happy I took the time to make that trip out to the berry farm and then spend the afternoon processing those raspberries with my family.  In the end, it will be the small moments we savor and remember, and I am going to take extra care to make sure I have the time to make them.

Comments

[heather from arizona]

oh geeze sandi! I've seen it before, but you telling me it made you emotional made me watch it again, and sheesh, now my throat is all tight!

Good message, thank you for the reminder :)

[Julie]

Wow! That was just... beautiful! And I needed the reminder. :-)

[Shonda]

OMG Sandi!!! I have to say I love your way of life, slowing down and enjoying all the little and not so little things!!

I live in north Alabama and a few months ago we had a bunch of tornados come through, it was horrible. People lost everything they had in some cases and some only lost power. My family was one of the lucky ones and we only lost power for a few days. I can honestly say THAT was the rainbow in the storm for me. I LOVED it and will probably always remember it. We slowed down, very limited use on cell phones, no computer, no running here and there. My husband and I had time with the kids and we had no agenda. We grilled out one day in our backyard and invited some neighbors, that otherwise might have only waved to them on the way out. Some family and friends came over as well and our cookout/cleaning the yard up was a success, but most of all we enjoyed being together and even better we had a wonderful memory of a tragic incident in our life with a little silver lining.
I'm sorry, I know that was rather lengthy. I love reading your blog and after watching that video, I had to share that story with you.

[meikjn]

you can add a container of frozen concentrate of apple juice to each batch of jam too it is tasty. (only with sugar free pectin)

[Lisa]

Amen!

[Jessica]

Now that is a fabulous day!! Miss you!!!

[charlotte]

Thanks for the reminder to stop and smell the roses. It's a great little video.

[Replica Handbags]

We have gotten many great comments from our customers and earn a good reputation in foreign makerts, more than 90% customers are satisfied with our products and service, till now our online members are beyond 80,000. As of right now, we currently serve customers from over 18 countries, and we are still growing. We really hope to expand our business through cooperation with individuals and companies from around the world. --- Xiao Ercai

[Christian Louboutin Soldes]

I follow you VIA GFC and I love your blog!

[Amanda]

Thanks for sharing the video! I wish more people would slow down and realize that the finish line isn't what it's all about. Tomorrow isn't a guarantee.