Jimmy Jamin'

It's the time of the season for loving.

Which means it's also time for making jimmy jam! Which is really just regular, delicious jam with the word jimmy put in front of it .
We made jam, my mother and I. In her happy home with the prettiest peaches and most perfectly sweet strawberries. YUB! *hey grab, do you have any gub?

I was at work last monday (the day before our jimmy jam party) and telling a patient about our plans. She asked where we'd gotten our fruit and when i told her, she made a funny little old lady comment. I told her I'd picked the peaches from a tree at my new in-law's home and the strawberries were grown in my parent's garden (I'm so independent). She responded with, "Well isn't that lovely! You're uniting two very different families into one, better, sweeter, and newer family. Peaches from the him, and strawberries from the her. So symbolic!!!" It just reminded me of the dad on My Big Fat Greek Wedding with his apples and oranges speech.

But there is truth and beauty in it to some degree as well.

So back to our jam!

We started with this giant, {red bucket-0-peaches.}

Then we got 'em all hot and bothered in a bubbling pot of water so they'd peel with ease. 2 women are better than one when it comes to making jam, and while my mother was popping {peaches} out of their skins, i was smashing {strawberries.}

It's a pretty slimy business, all that fructose and water keeping your finger slippery (intelegent sentence), but great fun! and what better to listen to that my wedding playlist on the kitchen stereo while we worked?! Once the fruit was smashed, we mixed it together (new, happy family) and added oodles of sugar. if anyone out there thinks they're making a particularly healthy choice by eating jam, they're wrong.

"Well i've got these two slabs of white bread covered with peanut butter, but i think i'll make the healthy choice and add jam to the mix.
hah. don't be foolish. pb&j exists because it's easy and delicious. not because it's nutritious.
Anyway tangent what's up. We took these cute little {bell jars} *read the book. sad.
and filled them all clear to the brim with the most lovely jam i've ever made! When we were all finished mom says, "look how pretty our {jam} is!"

She said her mother had said the same thing to her before, and she hadn't understood. It's just jam. jam isn't pretty. but really and truly it is! I believe part of the beauty of it is knowing what you started with, and seeing that the end result is delicious and will bring happiness to toast and folks who eat the toast (or pancakes or scones or whatever). Creation is a beautiful thing. Whatever you create for whoever and whatever you please.. it is fulfilling. no question.


{last little thought.}

Fall is the best season. You knew that right? I didn't until this year, but it's totally true!

Crisp morning air and wakes up my lungs.

Incredible bursts of color crawling across the mountainside.

Cooling nights that cause cuddling up under a homemade quilt.

Sunsets that bring a peace and calm with their stillness just as we all sit down to dinner.

Scrump-didilly-umptious pumpkin treats (preferably with chocolate or cream cheese included).

The best season is ironically the seemingly shortest of them all, so every breath and leaf and sunset better be put to good use!

I for one have made myself quite proud with my unwasted fall season so far. Follow suit before it's gone my dears!

Big love and another post soon to follow.