I heard it through the grapevine

I was headed home from harvesting honey on Sunday when I passed a friend on the road as I was coming off the ridge.  I skidded to a stop on the gravel road (which is always a thrill!) and we talked about bees and stuff.  Last week, my friend had offered for me to come pick grapes from his vines.  I ran out of time last week, but my friend offered again and I took him up on it!

We picked a basket full of grapes without even working at it and I have to tell you, the smell of freshly picked, perfectly ripe grapes is incredible.  I sort of hated to get out of the car, the smell was so incredible.  If they made fresh grape cologne, I would consider wearing cologne.  I would not consider it long as I do not like cologne at all, but I would consider it…it was that incredible.

Getting ready to cook them into jelly!

Do you see they eyeball thing? Freaks me out!

Imagine my surprise  Tuesday night when I walked into the house and smelled the grapes that Emily and Abigail were cooking into grape juice (and soon to be jelly!).  The house was heavenly!  Have you noticed how bad store-bought grape jelly is?  It used to taste grapey and pretty good but now it just tastes purpley.  It is awful.

Making grape juice…to turn into grape jelly!

Homemade grape jelly!

Ok, sorry…sidetracked.  Anyhow, I used to freak out when I saw my mom and grandma canning grape juice.  They always added a few grape into the jars and as they sat upon the shelves in the cellar, I swore it looked like jars of eyeballs.  No, in our grape juice, there will be no eyeballs.  Our jelly will be grapey and the sun will continue to rise in the east.  This is just how things should be.