The Unscratchable Itch
It's past half past one in the wee hours; I have cherry-lemon bars in the oven, dill pickles steaming in the stockpot, and fresh-picked blueberries flash-frozen in the freezer. What is this summertime madness?
The importance of pickling and the necessity of bringing something to the family reunion tomorrow override weary bones.
(Overzealous cucumber plants, I love you.)
I sound laudably productive, but I'm not.
I have garden basil, mine and Titi's, still waiting to be made into pesto, unfrozen blueberries twiddling their stained thumbs in the fridge waiting to be made into jams, the sponge for Sunday's communion loaf unmade, groceries for Sunday's church meal unpurchased, and a dozen other undones with no excuse to give for their presence.
Hazy, lazy summer days lead to endless summer nights.
My laziness of the last two days allowed my chores to marry and have lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of children. Now, I'm the first to sound my yawp from the rooftop about children being the great blessing, but chores should never, ever marry each other.
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Serendipity...
Waiting for a green light on the way home today, John glanced at the vehicle next to him and locked eyes with Aaron Aubrey. He, Marzella, and Ava were on their way to his parents, but Fate gave a brief layover at our place. It was good to briefly visit, and Ava is as cute as a dark, curly-headed baby could ever be. I like those three.
The point-- Aaron and Marzella insisted that Susannah looked just like John. How can this be?!?!? I've been jubilant that at long last, God has given a baby who shares my genes, and they nearly convinced me that she's the third in a line of father-favoring daughters. So I went back and read these comments, and then I felt much, much better.
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I suppose I should post a few more of far too many, so here are some more snapshots from weeks ago.
10 comments :
When I mentioned some of your to-do's to my brothers, they commented that you sound just like me and no wonder we're friends.
I finally finished making my berries into jam yesterday late afternoon--16 pints. That's all I'm doing for blueberry jam. We have to hurry up and finish picking whatever blueberries we're going to pick, because the blackberry season is starting (wild, at a 'neighbors'). I will probably wind up making some blackberry jam this year, too. (Which would be a record for me, rhubarb, strawberry, blueberry and blackberry jam, all in one year!! And if Rundy's grapes do well, I might try to do some of that, too.)
By the way, I did see the recipe for Blueberry-Lime jam in my canning book, but it called for pectin, which I don't keep on hand, and limes (!!) which I also don't keep on hand, and I decided it was now or never as far as jam-making goes. So plain old regular blueberry was all that I ever made. My next year I'll get brave and daring.
The cucumbers and tomatoes are only just beginning to bear, but I hope they have enough time to pick up speed and really get going. I think the frost is going to be early this year; just last night (or rather early this morning) it got down to 44!! The good news is that since both the tomatoes and cucumbers are trellised this year, it should be easier to cover them (though nothing will save them from a hard freeze, if it decides to come early).
And yes, it has been a very good year for basil. I haven't been able to make this much pesto in years and years!
I like the comment about the chores marrying and having children. It does seem like that sometimes.
Abby - I'm jealous of all that you DO get done. Now with lil' Noah around, I find my time is passed with just gazing at him! I'm quite proud of myself though, typically the dishes are done up & the house is rather kept-up as well.
Aaron & Marzella... you'll have to pass a way to contact them to me. I haven't heard from him in quite some time!
If you get a quarter of what you planned to get done, done, then that's three times as much as I even planned to do, which would be about six times as much as I actually do! Your to-do list probably puts most mommies to shame (at least I hope so, otherwise, it's just me, and I'd be lonely on this side!!) :)
You know what I like about you?
Well-one of the many things I like about you?
Not only are you SUPERWOMAN-but you are always most humble about it all. That is a special kind of person.
I only wish I had HALF your energy in the wee hours-I would get SO much more accomplished if I worked while my lovelies slept. I just enjoy cuddles far too much...
(Oh-and I love your use of poetry when it came to chores marrying. -AND-the berries 'stained' thumbs twiddling.
You have such a knack for making words come to life.
I'm just excited for a sighting of Aaron and Marzella!!!!!
Hurrah for Aaron and Marzella and their chubby baby! (A fit companion for the Wren...)
AND, the whole reason why I stayed up past two that night (actually, three nights running now...) is not because I'm industrious. It's precisely the opposite. If I posted my entire to-do list, not only would you all be bored to tears, but you'd all see that its my dereliction of duties during the day that necessitates staying up late at night. Now I'm chronically tired and mad at myself for not having the energy to get things done in the daylight hours so that I can actually doze in the nightime ones.
Liana,
Enjoy your moments with him! The exclusivity of time one gives one's first baby is so special and rare. John and I still treasure the moments we had gazing at newborn Mildred for hours at a time.
Titi,
The difference between your list and mine is that the quantity of your foodstuffs has to feed fourteen instead of four going on five!
ah. It's the classic vicious cycle. Are you a night owl, Abby?
And, if it's any comfort, all your daughters have a fair share of your genes. ^_^ (It's probably what makes them so pretty.)
It was very nice to spend some sweet time of fellowship with all you!
I'm very looking forward to spending some more time with you and yours....including some time in the saddle! :)
Annie,
Night owl? Whooo knows. (Groan. So lame!) I'm an inadvertant night owl in fits and spurts, and when the girls wake me up the next morning, I pay for it. (And thanks for the condolences!)
Kelly,
It was good to meet you! It will be neat to see where the Lord leads you in the next several months. (My mom told me she's planning on putting Apache down before the cold weather hits. It's not likely he'd make it through another winter, which is quite sad. When that next horse comes, though....)
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