Thank you so, so much to everyone who bought a T-shirt. We sold 91 shirts and raised $853.87 (!), all of which I’ve just now donated to Seed Life Skills. If you’d like to make a further tax-deductible donation, I’m sure they’d love for you to click that link and pitch in a few bucks if you can.
Enjoy your shirts and have a wonderful summer of canning and preserving!
The fruits in our area are just starting to ripen—blueberries and black raspberries, mostly—and I hope to get to a farm up near Pittsburgh in the next few days to procure some. My daughter’s younger cousin is visiting from New York; when he wanted a PB&J sandwich the other day I went down to the cellar to pick out a jar and realized to my dismay that the only preserves I have left from last year are the oddballs that aren’t particularly kid friendly (plum mostarda, amba, strawberries with lots of spicy ginger, blackberry and cracked coriander jam . . . ), so I think my first order of canning business should be stocking up on the basics. What will you be canning this summer? Anything new to you?
Pie and Beer 
Just got my shirt yesterday, love it : ) Last year, my in-laws and my immediate family canned 5 extremely over-estimated bushels of tomatoes. It resulted in easily over 100 quarts of tomatoes, about 20 pints of juice, dried tomato peels, and mild disgust in tomatoes. Once that wore off, they have been a wonderful resource over this past year. This time around, however, I’d like to actually make and can some sauce and other “open-and-use” tomato products…something I have never tried. I think that’s part of the charm and enjoyment of doing this, not having to do a whole lot to a fresh home-made product except open the jar, heat and eat…having to stil “do something” with the contents makes me feel like it’s little different from a can of crushed San Marzano’s from the grocery store. My mom pre-ordered your new book for me and I can’t wait for it to arrive!
Haha! That sounds like my mom and dad’s tomato canning weekends. Glad you like the shirt—I haven’t gotten mine yet, but I’m looking forward to getting it good and blueberry stained soon.
I have really enjoyed your book that I just bought and was wondering if you would mind signing it if I pay the postage to and fro. Would that be possible?