Too much canning/foot injury from canning/"Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life..."

 Rose putting our spaghetti sauce on her noodles the tomatoes were growing in the garden just that morning!  That is fresh and wonderful and her kids eat a huge box of spaghetti with each meal.

 Oldest Simon is now 15 and has always loved his spaghetti and pasta!  He has in the last few years started to add sauce... before that he only ate it plain.

No wonder Ruth and I have made spaghetti sauce #1 priority this year.  We made 40 quarts yesterday and that makes our grand total to about 275 quarts this canning season.  She uses at least a quart a week and then we have 6 other families that love their sauce, too!

 Rose putting on the fresh sauce as we took a lunch break on Ruth's beautiful porch!

We have canned on Saturday the last two weeks and went from 8 pails to 2 1/2 pails yesterday.  We start after David's football game and the kids help out.

 Pat picking the tomatoes - they are starting to wind down for the year after some huge days of canning each week for the last month or more.

 Ruth's beautiful zinneas attract some butterflies in the sun.

 Glamor shot!

 Joy back from the football game in a corduroy jacket I found second hand.  Always a smile for grandma!

Filled it up again!  We took a quart out for lunch and still filled our 40 quarts - a much more manageable day of canning for our family crew.  This would have been 3 canners and not the 6 we had the week before.

 Lots of mess and cleanup for the work we do like a well oiled machine!

Why we do the work!  The bulls are in the pasture by the end of the driveway and they are so picturesque on a glorious fall day!

 One of my favorite views from Ruth's stunning deck and those bulls there on the hill make it special indeed!

The cows on one side now as they are in the cover crop that they planted around the farm, and the bulls calling out to them from the other side.  Electric fences keep them apart from each other.

It has been a crazy different Sunday.  I had an injury yesterday as we cleaning up our mess after canning and processing.  I had a large tray and didn't see a box of jars at my feet... I hit the box and in preventing a fall I felt coming on I injured my left foot to the point that it was hard to walk since.  I barely felt I could make it to mass, but with my cane, and being dropped by the door and using the elevator to the back of church... I did it!  At the same time John had called with one of his headaches, and was not able to make it to mass, so lots of thoughts in his direction.  He has recovered to get to mass tonight!

 The panorama of LIFE all around us on the farm!

After mass Pat took me to urgent care for an Xray of my foot, and thankfully it is not broken, now wrapped with orders to stay off of it as much a possible is making the week ahead turn into a question mark as to how it will all turn out.  It makes me smile to think that this record breaking canning year has led to an injury, which I pray will resolve with some ice, time and as much rest as possible!  Canning injury was a new one for the nurse and doctor today, but when you can about 500 quarts it is almost to be expected!

 There is a path around the outside of the field and the cows hesitate to go in crops over their heads so they blazed the trail around the outside for now.

The Gospel is the amazing story of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar man covered with sores!  So powerful in how we are called to be aware of those around us that have needs!  The reading from I Tim 6 really tumbled around in my mind
"But you, man of God, pursue righteousness,
devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.
Compete well for the faith.
Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called..."
I Tim 6 - the second reading for today speaks of how we are to act and be inside and outside in our dealings with other most especially those the closest to us, whom we treat the worst!  How can it be that the ones we love the most we so quickly treat with anger and impatience and hold against them all those grudges and angers?  Lord, help us to die so self so that you may live in us!  May we love and serve as you have done to us - with unconditional LOVE and Forgiveness!  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barb

13 year old Granddaughter, Mary, used to be my go to for posing in my pictures.  She gave me a lot of joy yesterday by posing by our wonderful spaghetti sauce.  She helped some, too!

Now with the corn they picked to check the fields - we still have a long way to go til harvest.  Prayers for the farmers and the crops!  Jesus, we trust in you to feed the world!