Grape jelly

1 box of grapes from Stan & Dorothy = 3 colanders of stemmed fruit
3 colanders of washed, stemmed fruit = 3 quarts juice
3 quarts juice + 1 1/2 cups sugar + the contents of one pkg Pomona's Universal pectin = 14 jars of jelly

The jelly gelled, the jars sealed, life is good.

My first race!

 
Oh, a perfect day for a run, sunny, and not too hot! I was more nervous than I realized and was so grateful to be with Holly, a veteran runner, who showed me all the logistics and little rituals that go with the territory. The beginning, being in the midst of all those people, was a little nerve-wracking, since I am a solitary runner, but after things thinned out a little, I just pounded along, able to be very focused. My official time was 31:35, but I started pretty far back in the pack of 3,000, so maybe the real time was 30-60 seconds less, and almost exactly what I expected. The worst moment was just at the finish line, when I had a moment of awful nausea, but that passed quickly, and I was able to enjoy the feeling of finishing! My time put me about in the middle of the pack for my age group, not bad for a first outing!

Congrats to Holly, 3rd in her age group!

Many thanks to my supporters, especially Dad and Mom, who have been cheering me along so faithfully!

Love to all!

Friday 5: Fall

Well, here it is, FALL! As the nights turn cooler and the leaves begin to turn here are a few questions to ponder:

1. What are the sights, sounds, smells, feelings, tastes, that say "fall" to you?
2. What do you love about fall?
3. Is there anything you are less fond of? What?
4. What are some favorite fall memories for you?
5. And what events or activities are you looking forward to THIS fall?

Bonus question: Does the word "fall" evoke different thoughts/feelings/memories for you than "autumn"? Say a few words about why or why not.

Rain, rain, go away!

It has rained more or less straight for almost 48 hours! The few intermissions have not been long enough for the sidewalks to dry off. Our basement is seeping, the garden is drowning, and yesterday was like a sauna. Today is a bit cooler, but I would have loved to see the sun at least for a little while this weekend.

However, the newspaper and radio and internet remind me that these "reasonable complaints: are self-indulgent whining compared to what so many others experience every single day. Less than 2 miles from my house, some people are in danger of being flooded out as the North Branch of the Chicago River threatened to overflow even yesterday. Expressways and roads were closed, the CTA interrupted, the airport was inaccessible ... Farther afield, there's Hurricane Ike, a train crash in LA, fighting in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, bombings in Afghanistan, Iraq and India, a plane crash in Russia, landslide in China, execution-style murders in Mexico -- and Africa, that ravaged continent, barely gets a mention.

Besides which, Michigan's football team stinks this year.

The good news is there, just harder to find on another dark and rainy day. Cubs and White Sox are still in the race. In Zimbabwe, the feuding leaders are now sharing power. I'm going to visit Rosemary and work on Women's Perspective for a nice, long weekend beginning Wednesday. Communities working together as storms and floods arrive. Child mortality around the world has declined 27% since 1990.

Well, it's almost time to leave for church, where more Good News is to be had. The best, in fact! Let me never cease to be grateful for all good news or to keep my eyes on the Good News!

Link to Bembo's Zoo

you'll have more fun visiting this site than reading anything I would write in my current brain defunct condition

HILLS!

This morning, the weather was perfect for a long run, and Sue and Abe had advised me on routes I could take where I wouldn't get lost or face too much traffic, and I took off down 80th and ran to 240th. I must confess all the numbered streets are a bit confusing. But, as I say, it was a great morning, not too hot, and as I ran east, clouds came and covered the sun, so it wasn't in my face, and waited until I turned around to move away -- very kind.

The thing that was difficult, though, was the hills! Running in Chicago is very flat, and I am not accustomed to any kind of ascent or descent. I was great until about the halfway point, then began to fear that I'd overreached my capacity. I was pretty much trudging by the time I got back to the house, but after a good stretch and a nice, long shower, I felt great and have happily spent the day shopping and eating! Maybe I'll go again tomorrow . . .

First day of school, last day of summer?

The welcome breakfast went off with only the hitch of not getting there until 15 minutes before we were supposed to start serving, due to crossed communication wires. I'll blog all the recipes and details later this week.

After the breakfast, I unloaded the bare minimum from the car because it was so hot and I was dripping with sweat. I turned the air on in the house for perhaps the 5th time this summer but within two hours, the wind had whipped up a downpour which left behind cool, fresh air. So off went the A/C and open went the windows.

It's too soon to tell, but that mini heat wave might be the last summer weather we'll see this year - the forecast for the next 6 days calls for some pretty chilly lows (44 - brrr!) and very autumnal highs.

(Pretend you don't notice the complete lack of segue) I'm familiarizing myself with our new camera. Two impressions so far. One good: the pictures it takes are often very very sharp (the clarity of this shot of the boys decked out in the new school clothes not withstanding). One bad: it eats batteries. I think that might have more to do with the battery charger than the camera and I will read up on the charger as soon as if I find the box I put the owner's manual in.

My goal for this week is to take pictures everyday in the hopes that soon I'll just be able to pick up the camera and snap a picture without having to think about it. I've used my trusty Kodak film camera for so long that I'm taking awhile to adjust to all the knobs and settings the digital camera has. One thing I've already gotten good at, though, and that's changing the batteries.

Getting ready for the welcome breakfast

When we first moved to Baldwin, I bought up a bunch of glass 'tea sets'. These are sets of pretty glass plates with an indentation in them, just the right size for matching cups. I haven't used the sets too often, but I'm glad I have them for events such as the school welcome breakfast tomorrow. I'm planning for up to 24 guests. Here are some of the sets drying on the counter...


And here are some all washed up and ready to go in their original display box. Love the name - 'Serva-Snack'.