Peaches Update

Post by Elizabeth, Picture by free-extras.com

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry it's been so long since you've heard from me; I planned on having our own internet up and running by now, but one thing we failed to realize is that, in rural areas, internet comes a LONG way, if it even makes it out there at all. Luckily, we can get internet, we just have to schedule it WAY in advance. On the bright side, though, we now have contacts from Cedar City, St. George, on down to Las Vegas. So, if you know of anyone interested in food storage, or great quality, fresh produce in bulk, let me know and we'll forward the information on.

I've been getting lots of emails inquiring about peaches this year, and I want to assure everyone that, yes, we do have peaches coming! Both varieties (O'Henrys and Elbertas) are expected to be fully ripened by around late August. I'll keep everybody updated as far as that goes. Please let me know if you do not check your email often and would like to be sent a text or phone call. I will try to arrange that for the tech challenged (please, though - I prefer email).

Also, I had quite a few people interested in finding some good deals on canning jars - the best prices I could find were through www.azurestandard.com. I do love this co-op, as they have so many great things - organic, gluten-free, and self-reliant. Their prices are cheaper because they do not mark up for profit, only to cover costs to stay running. But, it is only a dollar or so cheaper; that might be worth it for you, and it might not. Best prices still continue to be garage sales, and thrift stores, generally marked for $.25 or $.50 each. A screamin' deal if you ask me. Just make sure -if you are buying second-hand- that you check for any chips, scratches, etc. as these cannot be used for canning.

Raw Honey - I'm contacting the raw honey man from Wyoming to set up an order somewhere in August-October. Don't know when it'll happen as he sets the time, not me. But, I'll keep you informed for sure! :)

And lastly, we got our apples last year from Washington, and they were great, but this year, we have found a farm to work with us from our neighbors in Utah! We are so excited to have found someone closer to our locale, and supposedly, Utah apples are the best!! Again, I will keep you posted for this order.

My husband met some friends at work that are trying to further their knowledge and skills in the sense of preparedness and self-reliance. They presented each other with challenges to work on, in the hopes that friends might be able to motivate each other. Our challenge was to be able to make our own bread (and share it). Their challenge was to learn and practice 4 ways of preservation. I am beginning a blog (as soon as I get the internet) to share these ideas, tips, and orders that I send over email, and would like to challenge everyone on this list the same challenge we gave to our friends. Study and practice 4 ways to preserve something, send your experience back to me, and I'll post it on my blog!! I hope that this will be a fun way to share our knowledge with each other and create a nice backbone to our self-reliant community! :)

I have so many new things to share and hope to have the internet soon! I'll keep you posted!!

Elizabeth
poohnda(at)hotmail(dot)com

Note by Lisa: When Elizabeth sets up her blog, I will post it and add it to the side bar labeled "Helpful Websites"