Jam Update, etc.

Well, it's day 3 of working on my pickles, and they are simmering on the stove now. Each time I walk into the kitchen, the smell of spiced vinegar in the air makes my nose twitch, my eyes sting, and my mouth water! Just a few more minutes, and it will be time to put them in jars and process them in the water bath. The Ball canning book says to give them 2 weeks in the jars before opening, so they have maximum flavor. I guess I'll wait, but I will mark 2 weeks from today on the calendar so I can pop one open and start enjoying them as soon as it's possible!

The blackberry jam did indeed firm up. I was a bit worried about it, since the raspberry jam was gelling on the spoon as I was putting it in the jars! But the blackberry took it's time.

So far, I've made strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry jams this year, and now Ever-Crisp Pickles. Last summer I made a tiny batch of pepper jelly, which gave me some confidence. All in all, I'm enjoying the food preservation thing. I feel like I'm doing something good for my family, putting up food with no preservatives or additives. Every ingredient is easy to pronounce and spell. I think I may try my hand at homemade salsa next, once the tomatoes are fully ripe and available.

In other news, I'm still swimming 3-4 mornings a week. There were 2 guys in the 2 lanes next to me who were just smoking me on speed (and, I suspect, form). They must be college swim athletes or something. They were doing freestyle, butterfly (ugh!) and breaststroke without hardly splashing the water. And they were covering some serious distance as they did it. They would swim a lap, flip, swim back, flip, swim, flip.... and stop maybe after 8 laps! Watching them glide through the water was like watching a dolphin. I was impressed at their stamina. But I reminded myself how far I've come in nearly 8 months, and pushed myself from 16 to 18. Then I figured what the heck, go 2 more and make it an even 20. I was extremely tired when I climbed out of the pool, but it was a good tired.

We are on major countdown for school letting out for summer. The kids have already turned in their textbooks. I'm pretty sure they are learning nothing these last few days... nothing academic, anyway. They go Monday, and half a day Tuesday, and are out until the end of August! They are excited for a break, and so am I. It will be nice to sleep late... maybe to 8:00 AM?!