White Peaches!

We're looking forward to August, the advent of the local peach season. A very dear neighbor who has since passed on taught me about his appreciation of white peaches. There really is no comparison.
A few years before he died, he asked me if I would can some for him. I spent an entire day canning white peach halves in a medium syrup for him. We split the batch. When winter came, it was as if we had just picked them!
Once the season is here, I'll post several recipes I have using the delicious white peaches!

Here's A Live Shot Of The Inlet!

http://www.indianriverinletcam.com/

Fresh Strawberry Pie! The Best Of The Season!

Ingredients

• 2 (8 inch) pie shells, baked
• 2 1/2 quarts fresh strawberries
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin

Directions

1. In a saucepan, mix together the sugar and corn starch; make sure to blend corn starch in completely. Add boiling water, and cook over medium heat until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Add gelatin mix, and stir until smooth. Let mixture cool to room temperature.
2. Place strawberries in baked pie shells; position berries with points facing up. Pour cooled gel mixture over strawberries.
3. Refrigerate until set. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Being Human and Having One's Butt Handed To Them :)

I believe that each day presents many, many moments in which we can actively choose what kind of person we are or want to be.
If you know me, you know that it's hard work! :)
I'm outspoken, not shy and have an opinion on every damned thing!
And I am fallible and human. Fact.
Today, I am wondering how much of a sin it is to garner a little bit of satisfaction from observing someone get what they deserve.
I've finally come to embrace the realization that evening the scales isn't my job. It's not my duty.
But if you know of a person who thrives on meanness, on mocking innocent people with horrible abandon, and by a twist of fate or a turn of God's hand, they become the recipient of a little bit of a bad time at the bidding of another, how evil is it for me to have to smile about it?
Much like great scenes in great movies, where the entire theater crowd erupts in a voluminous roar of powerful joy when the bad guy 'gets it', I was able to observe a bully being bullied.
And they didn't and don't like it much! Go figure.
They certainly have it coming. They have been a horrid tormentor of  many good people. And now, another bully is on their tail.
I have to confess. I wished for a minute that the newest bully high up on the food chain would latch onto the lower form like a bad, relentless rash. Guilty as charged.
It's wrong. I know that. And if I take the time to think about it and pray about it, I'll be able to reach inside and find the compassionate part of myself.
I've learned that bullies are to be pitied. They have large holes in their soul and that is heartbreaking.
But today, for a minute, it was secretly okay for me to see a bully get a dose of their own medicine.
I need to work on that part of my humanity. I know that.

I Need To Say....

My previous post was certainly full of I and me....

I also wanted to say thank you for this beautiful day. I've been praying about the oil spill and I am truly heartbroken for the effect on those who live at its current site of devastation, and for all of the creatures that are dead, dying and gasping for air to survive.
This catastrophe is big. Too big for us.
God is the only help we can truly rely on to get past this.
Yes, BP is responsible, but we are all responsible. We all demand more. We demand so much more. We demand bigger, better, cheaper. We demand it all.

BP never should have conducted off shore drilling without a back up plan for disaster. As my DD said, we all have shut off valves for the plumbing in our homes. Why wasn't that a requirement before we started any drilling? I am not well versed in the mechanics of the oil and gas industry so maybe it's a really stupid question. But I do know that not one step should have been taken if we are unable to deal with the accidents or catastrophes.
Dear God, I am so sorry for our misuse of the planet and its resources. I am so sorry we are gluttons.
And so full of ourselves that we just forge ahead, pillaging what you created as if it's easily replaceable.
Please help us stop the leak, save the lives of humans and creatures. Let us learn from this. Please.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Happy Saturday From The Beach!

Today I was lucky enough to enjoy a bit of the Ocean City Air Show while I was working down there...it really does take your breath away to watch those pilots defy gravity and the odds!
I love summer but this high heat and humidity is a bit too much, too soon :)
I made a pit stop, actually, it was a side road trip, to get some strawberries at Magee Farms near Williamsville.
They have the best strawberries! The lady at the farmstand warned me that they will be finished next week, so I'll call them on Monday and make sure I get some of the last of the season.
Our strawberry beds did very well for three straight years. Now, we'll replant next year. Makes it awfully easy to just step out in the backyard and pick some fresh berries. Ditto for the apples! It looks like this year will be a good one for the apple tree. I just have one tree but when it's having a good season, I get tons of apples and make loads of applesauce. Miss Becky uses the applesauce I give her to make the very best applesauce cake!
My son is taking the day off and resting a bit. He's caught the current bronchitis/pneumonia that had hit alot of us in the past few months. I told him stay in the AC and drink alot of fluids. And stay away from Mommy to be and baby too :)
My daughter and her husband are celebrating their first wedding anniversary today! They gifted each other in the sweetest ways. They are so imaginative and so good to each other!
It's been a very long, hot day. I had one employee pull a no show/no call. Done. Unless I find out that she had an accident or other legitimate reason for not showing up, we won't be speaking at length in this lifetime :)
Sometimes, you make a choice for the right reasons and end up with the wrong person.
Well, back to the stack of resumes. So many people are looking for work.
I was planning on heading out of town for a few days but that's on hold for right now. I'd prefer to make the trip when it's not quite so hot and humid. The 80s are fine but nearing 100 is a bit much.
It just might be more than nice to enjoy a few days off right here at home, with the boys, enjoying my space :)
Maybe I'll make an early venture to the beach tomorrow morning, before the tourists wake up ;)
More later, I need to cool off, get a cold drink and relax in the AC!

One Of My Favorite Spots :)

It Breaks My Heart That People Feel This Way, But They Really Do Sometimes

No one knows what it's like

To be the bad man

To be the sad man

Behind blue eyes



No one knows what it's like

To be hated

To be fated

To telling only lies



But my dreams

They aren't as empty

As my conscience seems to be



I have hours, only lonely

My love is vengeance

That's never free



No one knows what it's like

To feel these feelings

Like I do

And I blame you



No one bites back as hard

On their anger

None of my pain and woe

Can show through



But my dreams

They aren't as empty

As my conscience seems to be



I have hours, only lonely

My love is vengeance

That's never free



When my fist clenches, crack it open

Before I use it and lose my cool

When I smile, tell me some bad news

Before I laugh and act like a fool



If I swallow anything evil

Put your finger down my throat

If I shiver, please give me a blanket

Keep me warm, let me wear your coat



No one knows what it's like

To be the bad man

To be the sad man

Behind blue eyes

The Who: Behind Blue Eyes... This Reminds So Much Of Someone I Used To Know

Last Night On Public Television.... James Taylor and Carole King At The Troubadour/Forty Years Later :)