Pretty Peach Jam Jars, All In A Row

Yesterday Robin mentioned "Steel Magnolias" on facebook. That's such a great movie... you just have to love the dynamic between the female characters and the oh-so-funny, very southern and extremely memorable lines. Robin included a few of them, including my favorite:

I realized that while I've watched the movie multiple times, it has been several years. So this morning while I worked on peach jam, I enjoyed it all over again. The timing was perfect. I finished the jam right when Jackson finds Shelby unconscious on the patio, at which point I was able to sit down with my box of tissues and cry through the sad part.

It shouldn't have taken a whole hour and a half to make one batch of freezer jam, but I used peaches from our tree which are buggy in the extreme...despite Ivan spraying three times over the season, as recommended by the local nursery. The other day Ivan had a long talk with our neighbor in back who also has a peach tree, and who has tried every remedy known to get rid of the bugs, to no avail.

Anyway, all the peaches had bad spots, and cutting those away was time consuming. But eventually I managed to accumulate the three cups needed for the recipe. I'd planned on making a double batch but it took so long just to get enough for one that I called it good and quit. It was getting altogether too warm in the kitchen with the bottles boiling for sterilization and me dealing with the peaches at the sink which is right next to the stove. Even with a fan 2 feet away, I was sweating. And the excessive wormage going on in the peaches was getting to me. (Blogger doesn't like "wormage" but if it isn't a word, it should be so I'm leaving it in.)

Yesterday the temperature wasn't so bad, but today the heat index is climbing again...

It's a bit overcast and I'm hoping a storm comes through at some point to cool things off.

Ivan would probably appreciate the storm (if we get one) holding off for a bit. He's gone over to the lot to start picking up debris and mowing. Besides the tools for the job, he took a lawn chair and big bottle of water so he can take periodic breaks and not overdo it in this heat. But it's the first chance he's had to get over there and get some work done in the past two weeks, and it might be his only chance for a while.

Then tonight he's meeting with a guy who does surveying. Ivan wants to know exactly where our property lines are before we start putting up fence posts. One of our friends seems to have relatives and/or contacts in almost every area of construction, and he's going to take Ivan to meet his nephew, the surveyor.

Last night we had a fun evening with my Spanish teacher and her daughters. We feasted on grilled chicken, some of Ivan's to-die-for chimichurri, mashed potatoes, steamed green beans and fresh bread from the corner market plus brownies for dessert. Marce is much more than my teacher, she's become a good friend and we always enjoy spending time with her. Her girls are so fun and interesting to talk with, too. Her oldest spent her senior year of high school on an exchange program in the U.S. and then she went to Germany for half a year as an au pair. Now she's ready to pick back up with her university program where she's studying law -- she'll make a great international lawyer, don't you think?! And daughter #2 is getting ready to head to Paris, also as an au pair. Her future plans include a degree in geology. With all the globe trotting by the older two, I wonder where the youngest (still in high school) will choose to go?

On a completely unrelated note, my daughter and her hubby celebrated their one month anniversary yesterday :) 

And I feel like I need to make a disclaimer -- or maybe it's a clarification? Anyway, I have to admit my "brilliant" idea yesterday was the result of many, MANY, MANY LESS-than-brilliant moments in the past when I'd have computer problems and call the I.T. guy (a.k.a. our son) and first thing he'd ALWAYS ask, "Have you tried turning it off and then back on again?" After a few times... okay, maybe more like forty-eleven times... I started doing that BEFORE I called him... and quite frequently it took care of the problem. So yesterday that turn-it-off-and-back-on conditioning prompted me to wonder if the same principle would work with other electronics? Why yes, yes it does!