back to the swing of things.

Why is that long weekends always go by the fastest? We were just starting to get comfortable and along comes Tuesday. Someone needs to invent a remote control for life already. Well, not really. It would sure be nice sometimes though.

This was the weekend of family & friends, projects and crossing things off the to-do list.

Projects.
Pm kept busy for most of Saturday refinishing a bench of ours. He dusted it off, sanded it down and varnished it. It looks pretty awesome, and photos will be posted once the entire project is complete. This may first require us learning how to upholster furniture. More to come on that.

Projects & Family.
Sunday we shot some engagement photos. We have yet to do some post-processing and waiting for the film to be developed, but I am hoping we'll get some goodies. We'll be back for a repeat visit with these two. It helps when it's family and they are up to putting in a few more rounds of good smiles.

Friends.

Meanwhile, while the above trunk project was happening, I caught up with some dear old pals. Nothing like being reunited with friends from yesteryears and being able to laugh about then, now and what's to come. My one pal has a way cute house. Makes me want one of my own. Patience, am, patience...

To Do List.

Restock the shelves... with beer. It has been a long, hot summer of not brewing. If you've been following the blog you know that it's because our apartment hasn't been the coolest place to hang out this summer. Heat and beer brewing don't really go hand in hand, so we decided to wait. Until... this weekend. We are brewing a Peach American Wheat. Should be ready to enjoy in a month or so. We just have to add the fresh (and now frozen) peaches. I'm thinking an IPA is next. Maybe in a couple of weeks?

And there we have it. A fun-filled weekend. It was just long enough to get refueled and re-energized, and not quite long enough to completely catch up on everything. That includes sleep. I shall do that now.

Canned Goodness

While I wouldn't self identify as a hippie, pm may beg to differ. Instead of hippie, I'd call myself a global-concernist. (Yes, I may have just made that term up. If it makes it big, you can contact me for all royalties).

We've only got one earth and I like to look out for it. I recycle whenever possible, whatever possible. I've done this since I was in pre-school. In fact, I remember bringing home my sandwich baggies every day to wash for reuse. My mom had to inform me multiple times that this was not necessary and that it was okay (and more sanitary) to use a new bag daily. Eventually I conformed.

I'm getting long winded before I get to the point of this post -- Canned Goodness. Canning and preserving food has always fascinated me. I've tried once before and while I wouldn't say it was unsuccessful, it did not yield the results I would have hoped for. I believe my fascination with canning stemmed from my love of the Laura Ingalls Wilder series. Read all those books cover to cover more than one back in the day. I consider canning to be a very earth-friendly activity as it reduces food waste.

Anyway, last night, despite extreme temperatures in the kitchen, we made peach preserves. We bought loads of peaches (can you guess where?!) with the desire to try our hand at canning. It is a time consuming process and I hope that it pays off. I am still waiting for the preserves to set a little better. If they don't I'll use the contents as pie filling. Always have to be resourceful.