It's a squirrel's life

It's been a good day.  I've been canning all day, stocking away, saving for the winter.  I found two websites today, for WI businesses providing WI products.  One, a co-op, just outside of Madison, offering all sorts of meat and produce.  They do have products not from WI, so I'll have to be careful when ordering, but even if I do get bananas every now and then, they're still a local business.  The second - a real coup - a mill.  Flour, cornmeal, quinoa.  It's more than 100 miles away, but it's in WI so I'm going to go with it.  Pair that with the local potatoes, and some wild rice from up north, and I've got my grains just about covered.

I'm feeling well stocked.  My basement pantry is slowly filling with little jars of goodness.  Treats for the winter.  Like a squirrel stocking away nuts.

I read a lot of food blogs myself, mostly to try to figure out how to do stuff.  Not necessarily for recipes, but to see what ideas others have, and to learn, and to check out their pictures.  On a side note, I think I need to take a photography class or something because I recognize my food pictures kind of suck. 


A lot of the people out there blogging seriously about canning are kind of freaks.

I don't think the world is going to end in 2012.  I'm fairly certain the government isn't going to collapse completely, reverting us to the 1800s.  And I don't think China is going to kill us through our food.  If they did, who would buy their crappy products?

I'm not saying I'm not kind of a freak too.  Honestly, who isn't.  And I am canning to be self sufficient, which is the overall theme of of the crazy people canning blogs...  

It's the good feeling that comes from creating something.  I was talking to the people at Sur La Table (I'm totally cheating on William Sonoma), and one of them told me that he had a friend who built a shelving unit in-between his kitchen and dining room which was full of things he canned.  He used different shapes and sizes of bottles, and displayed them as art.  That is how I feel.  Like I've created art.  Mine isn't on display, because the only storage room I have in my tiny, tiny house is in the basement, but it's art none the less.  Tasty, edible art.  It feels to create.  It feels good to know I have enough to share what I've created.

Just to be clear, I don't think the world is going to end.  But if it does, and we're all left in some sort of post apocalyptic, no grocery store land, I'm going to be ready for it.  Until then, I'm going to sit in my cozy, warm house, full of good smells and fresh produce, and pretty jars full of bright colors.  I'm going to stock up food, and feel proud.  I'm going to create, and share, and, hopefully someday I will have a bigger house and I can show off my art too. 

Also, a big house will come in handy when the zombies attack and all my friends have to hold up in my house because I'm the only one with food.