I completed my canning last Friday. Good thing I had the day off, since it took most of the day. I had done the necessary shopping the day before, so that isn't counted. Also, I started the mustard on Wednesday evening because the mustard seeds need to absorb some of the liquid. I started around 11 in the morning and I finished a bit before 7 in the evening. Now, it wasn't continuous work. I had lots of downtime to read or watch television. But I wasn't lolly-gagging about either.

Over the course of the day, I canned the following:

• 3 quarts of gardineria — 2 hot and 1 mild
• 7 pints of dilly beans
• 5 pints of dill pickle spears
• 4 pints of bread and butter pickles
• 6 pints of bourbon peaches
• 5 1/2 pints of chili corn relish
• 4 half pints of Guinness whole grain mustard

That's 35 jars canned. You can see them here:

I learned a few very important things:

• Canning (and other cooking) is not good for your manicure. I destroyed 3 nails. Not pretty.
• If you want to can peaches, buy freestone peaches. The other kind are so difficult to manage.
• Also, with canning peaches, bag all the advice to dip them in boiling water to make the peals fall off easily. It doesn't work. Instead, run the peach under some water and then use your y-peeler. It will work like a charm.
• You will use more dish towels than you can imagine. Have plenty available.
• If you need to repeat a process for several kinds of pickles, do it once and hold them until you need them. So peel all 20 cloves of garlic and put them in a ramekin or chop all of the cucmbers and separate them into separate bowls for each kind of pickle.
• You will need a ton of space to can. Clear counters and tables. Use a card table if you need it. The more space you have, the easier it will be.

Have you ever canned? If so, what tips can you add?