not Elinor?

And here I thought I was Elinor Dashwood.

Your result for The Jane Austen heroine Test...

Fanny Price

62% romance, 44% sauciness, 49% etiquette, 74% intelligence

Still waters run deep. You've got plenty of intelligence and more heart than you get credit for. But you never say a word when insulted, and this reticence sometimes allows others to assume you're a pushover. You're also a bit shy in mixed company, which leads those who don't know you well to accuse you of snobbery. They couldn't be more wrong! You just never seem to know what to say. Of course, the meek shall inherit the earth...eventually. But do you really want to wait that long for redemption?

Ideal matches: Edmund Bertram, Edward Ferrars, Captain Benwick, Colonel Brandon

Guaranteed heartbreak: Frank Churchill, John Thorpe

Not worthy of your affections: Henry Crawford, John Willoughby

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Peaches

I love good flavorful sweet fresh peaches. A truly good peach is probably my favorite food. August is peach season at home. Around here it is ending. My brother-in-law told me about a farmer with an orchard of Sun Crest and Elberta peaches. The Sun Crest have a short shelf life and because of that are not particularly good for the typical grocery store food chain, however the flavor is spectacular. He wanted to save the farm and continue growing the Sun Crest peaches but thought his Sun Crests might be part of an era that had passed. (He wrote a book about a year on his farm. The book reminds me of Oranges by John McPhee.) In a move of marketing genious he now adopts his trees out each season. People apply for and pay for the opportunity to travel to his farm and harvest the peaches themselves. Part of the application is an essay. I think I could write a pretty good essay. I grew up in a smallish town that has an annual peach holiday, complete with parade, pre-parade road race that finishes with the runners running up the parade route to be cheered on by the parade goers, Peach Queen contest, dutch oven cobbler contest, and car show.

One summer I worked in one of the fruit stands along the highway south of town. I had been slow getting a summer job, so Dad talked to the neighbor who hired me to sell peaches. I learned a lot from Gene, the sister from California who came in to help during the harvest. I listened and then did what she did. One of the rules what that everyone that came in got a taste. I worked hard and had a lot of fun that summer. I loved the way Lola, probably about 80 years old, supervised and held court wearing big cluster earrings and leaning against the candy cases near the cash register as people came by to visit.

I had no idea there were so many different varieties. A new variety came on every few days and lasted a week or two. Tasting all of those peaches side by side I really got to taste the differences between the varieties. Some are definitely better than others, though all are really good. One of my least favorite was the Early Elberta, though this was a definite favorite of the older peach canning crowd. It isn't as good as others fresh, but it is great for canning because of its color and texture. You can always add sugar.

My brother in law and his friends adopted not one, but two, trees. He and his family and friends went to pick and came home with 50 boxes of peaches. His share was probably half a bushel or so, 6 boxes. They made all sorts of peach drinks and talked of peach chutney, peach jam, and canned peaches. They are seriuos foodies over there and are in awe of some of the things I just grew up doing and learned from my Mom and Grandmothers. The only problem was that they had never canned peaches before. So I suddenly became the peach canning expert even though I hadn't done it since leaving home. Mom is the expert with a lot of experience. One year she canned nearly 400 quarts of peaches so that there was enough for a quart a day for the whole year. We weren't that ambitious. I brought my canning kettle and bottle lifter and we did 12 quarts and felt fine about it. It was fun and rather nostalgic.

Our summer

Jungling

We had a little problem with Buddy Boy "jungling" from places where is just wasn't a good idea, like the rod in his closet and the curtain rod in his room. So we got a chin up bar, now a jungling bar, to put in his doorway. I think it solved the problem, so far at least. Watch out Tarzan.

Trains and planes

This weekend we went up to the aviation museum where they were hosting the European Train Enthusiasts model train show. Buddy boy and Dad had a good time. So did I. I loved the detailed models of the cities and mountains. There was even a country circus complete with Ferris wheel and animals. As part of the aviation museum there was even a real Boeing 747 nose that you could go into. It had the first class cabin and the cockpit. That was pretty cool.

She's mobile

She's rocking and rolling. It is a lot of fun to watch. She isn't crawling yet, but can scoot backward quite well. She makes a great dust mop. She can get where she wants to be, which is usually tearing apart Buddy boy's trains and towers.

more finger paint fun

Once again the finger paint goes way beyond the fingers.

Writing and thinking

The author David McCullough quoted someone during an interview saying that to write well is to think clearly. I've thought about that as I have tried to write or reviewed writings. Which comes first writing well or thinking clearly? For some people writing well comes easily and just flows from their pen (or keyboard). I find that for me the process of writing helps focus my thinking and conversely that when I have thought clearly to begin with the writing is clear and concise and better because of it. I often think and revise and go back and think some more. It takes time and doesn't come easily. I do agree that good writing reflects and conveys clear thought.

Priority check

I recently got an e-mail from and NGO in Washington DC asking me if I wanted to do some writing for them as a consultant. I was excited about the project and the opportunity to work with them and keep a finger in the professional world. I jumped at the chance.
A day later I realized that I had over committed myself. I didn't want to have to go to work at 10:00 pm after a full day of kids. I only have a few hours a week to work on my own things and I didn't want to take it all up with this project. It just isn't what I need to be doing right now. It had only been a day and I could feel the stress beginning to build.
I had to go back and tell them I couldn't do it. That was tough to do. I was sure that they would never talk to me again. However, they called me back and asked me if I wanted to reconsider and take on the project. I explained why I couldn't do it as the baby was crying in the background. Fortunately she was understanding and even said that they frequently have similar projects and I might be able to work with them in the future when I have more time. It was flattering to have them say they would like me to work with them and it felt even better not to do it.

Giant Cookie part 2

I tried the fruit tart again. It was much better this time. The crust was basically a sweet buttery pastry crust. I topped it with orange chocolate followed by a mixture of marscapone cheese, heavy cream and a few flavorings. It was of course topped with wonderful fresh berries.

It was much better with a thinner crispy crust although it was a little hard. It needs more flakiness. The flavors were overall much better. I liked the orange chocolate, but the cream needs more work. It was a little bit to fluffy, needs more custardy stuff.