Retirement Dreams: What kind of jelly do I make?

Fresh purple basil from my TTCG plot 2 patch.

My dream is to retire travelling to four areas of the country where my family lives in each of my three favorite months in that area.  To do that, I have to find a way to generate income in each of those areas- either with the house and land during the months I'm not there- or to find a way to support the property in that area during the three months I am in the area.  Yesterday, I arrived at a plan.  I could make jelly! Now jelly is  not that big of a profit maker, but I know that you can make jelly, tea, and wine out of almost everything that you can grow anywhere.  So here's my plan:  April through June, I want to live in the New Haven area in a place like this.  There I would plant all kinds of flowering bushes and trees and even have a meadow full of edible flowers.  Flowers that bloom in the spring in Connecticut like roses, violets, Queen Anne's lace, Lilacs, dandelions, and apple blossoms make wonderful jelly.  When I am not making jelly, I can visit the churches and libraries in the area for clues about my genealogy, visit with my cousins, and go into New York City for the day.  What a wonderful time!  I would leave the area after my Mom's birthday on July 10th every year.

Then on to Stone Lake Wisconsin where I would love to live in a house like this one.  In July, August and September, all kinds of berries in the area are ready for harvest- including cranberries (yum!), so then I would make berry jellies and jams.  At the beginning of October, they have a Cranberry Festival that would be a great time to sell my wares.

I love New England in the fall. Apples and pumpkins, the leaves, and the holidays.  That is also my favorite time to visit the historical sites there.  Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family in New England and all kinds of butters, cakes, and cookies...

By New Years', I am ready to come back to Florida- Rob would want to have a place in Tampa because that is all he knows.  This time of the year is sometimes not so great for veggies because there are frosts from time to time (gardening is better earlier) but this is still a good time of the year to grow all kinds of herbs and spices- you can even harvest beauty berries at this time of the year.  So winter in Florida would be a good time to make herb and spice jellies.

Now making jellies for consumption is a lot of work and short on profit- but there is something that would be more profitable- writing books about making jellies, travelling the country and using those jellies and jams in recipes: Cookies, candies, savory dishes- and lots and lots of pictures and stories.

So what I am doing about this dream today?  Well in my kitchen, a tea of cranberry juice and purple basil is brewing.  What a taste and color! The purple basil tones down the color of the cranberries and adds a rich earthiness to the taste.  The color is a wonderful deep pink!  Hope to make the jelly from this brew tonight!