Winding up the month...

July simply slipped away on us~ blink twice and it was over.

The heat has broken for the time being, which means a pleasant weekend ahead; we’ll be celebrating Chris’ birthday (47 years old and doesn’t look a day over…48), attending another wedding (nothing for 3 years, now every third weekend we’re attending one), and hopefully spending some time with my knitting group~ work has really been getting in the way lately.

Some significant things have come up~ I’m just not ready to blog too much about them

b As of last night, the merger is off; I’m still processing the information, so I’m not certain how I feel about it yet~ could be a good thing in the long run.

b Jessica is soon to be homeless again; I know how I feel about this, so I have to let it go and turn it over to God.

b My former husband is getting married again. Surprising would be an understatement~ five years ago, he stated emphatically “Never again!”(his second marriage was horrible), but that was before his mother died. I wish him all the joy and happiness a good marriage can bring.

b We’ve begun the process of buying our own house; this is a dream too dear to my heart, and my nature too flipping superstitious, to share much here~ although prayers would be greatly appreciated.

b I quietly joined Weight Watchers this week~ very personal stuff for me, so enough said.

The garden faired pretty well through the last heat wave~ I have a steady flow of cucumbers, the occasional zucchini that makes a surprise appearance- seemingly out of nowhere- but the tomatoes, beans, and lemons are a bust this year. We are still waiting for the first Persian melon to be ready, but I’ve found 3 more in various stages of development~ I’m very excited to try my first home-grown fruit, though I’m a bit worried about the vine taking over what little backyard we possess.

I’ve taken my next steps into home canning~ we were gifted with bags of apricots and peaches, so I’ve been attempting low-sugar jam. The results have been mixed, but all tasty~ the pantry shelf and refrigerator are sporting pints of colorful goodies for the family, from soft apricot preserves to basically peach syrup (not that anyone is complaining that much). I’m looking forward to apple season and perfecting my chunky applesauce~ the last batch only made it to early January.

All this old-time domestic activity is a constant source of consternation and humor for my mother~ she cannot understand how a child raised in Berkeley in the 70’s, by progressive, liberal, and feminist-leaning parents, finds such fascination and contentment in homey activities like gardening and knitting. I think I pushed her over the edge when I voiced my interest in raising backyard chickens~ there was a significant stretch of silence, either from stifling the urge to laugh or struggling to form a polite response, before she could reply “Your grandmother would’ve been proud.”

I think that’s almost the nicest compliment I’ve ever received.