Last fall we helped my inlaws make spaghetti sauce with meat.  The meat was browned, drained and added to all the rest of the ingredients for the sauce.  They put the Mason jars in the oven to get them hot and then they proceeded to fill the jars and put the lids on.  That's it. 

Right from the start I felt like something wasn't right.  I was thinking that the jars should have been boiled afterwards or something.  They don't own a pressure cooker, so that wasn't an option.  I mentioned the boiling and they said that it wasn't needed. They are in their 70's and have been making their own sauce for years.  But they have only been adding ground beef for the last 2 years.  They don't own any cookbooks, so I know for a fact that they just thought that adding meat would be a good idea and they didn't alter the recipe besides that. 

We ate some today and it tasted funny.  Bad funny.  Now we are paranoid and are thinking of throwing the rest of the jars out.  What do you think?  Is their method wrong?  I don't want my family to get sick.

P.S. - Last summer they gave me some packages of frozen green beans and they were just tossed into a freezer bag, not even blanched first!  That's why I am doubting their freezing/canning skills!

We got the call from the Church today and we are moving forward with the baptism!  Finally!  Now I'm so excited and can't wait to plan everything.  I have a question for anyone who might have an opinion....the baptism is a Catholic one and we are confused on what the baby should wear.  Back in the day of my husband and my baptism, the proper attire was a baptismal gown.  Is that still the case these days?  I am thinking that a cute little suit might be more appropriate for a boy and my husband is set on a white gown.  What do you think?

These are a new addition to my garden.  I started them from seeds the year before last.  Last year they were put into the garden, but didn't flower.   This year there are tons of beautiful flowers.  The seed pack gave me a nice mix...I have red/yellow (pictured), all yellow, and one that is a mix of yellow and light pink.

It's been 3 1/2 months since my son was born and I am finally getting a grip on this whole "Motherhood" thing!  I am still dead tired and there are never enough hours in the day, but I have missed this site and decided to start up my blog again.

Other than spending time with my son and my puppy, I have started up a bit of a hobby for myself.  I have been potting and selling Rose of Sharon saplings.  My Rose of Sharon bush dropped thousands of seeds in my garden last year and I let the little things grow until this spring.  I dug up about 200 of them and potted them.  I'll bet we ended up throwing out another 100 or so.  They were an eyesore in my front garden, so they had to go.  If I had known that they would be so popular, I would have taken the time to save them all.  Oh well, maybe next time.  I notice that I already have maybe 75 or 100 new ones sprouting up anyway.  So just for fun I advertised them for $2 each or 3 for $5 and I have made quite a bit of money that I have put into my son's piggy bank for him.  Just the other day I was at the local garden centre and noticed that they have Rose of Sharon bushes for sale for $89 + tax, or if you want a 1 year guarantee, they were $129 + tax.  Craziness!  I should maybe be asking more, but I don't want to get greedy!

Here is a photo of my beautiful Rose of Sharon bush.

Sorry the pic is so huge, I'll have to figure out the sizing.

I have also been collecting seeds from my Columbine plants.  I have yellow ones and yellow/red ones.  I am contemplating whether or not to start growing those and selling them. 

I have several plants in my garden that were given to me by a friend.  I cannot for the life of me find out what they are!  Please help me someone!  Here are 2 pictures of it.  The flowers seem to be blueish/purple and they seem to come out by the hundreds in the evening and then they kinda go away again by mid-morning.  The plant just grows like crazy and we have separated and separated them and now we have so many of them.