Attentively Attentive to all Things

Yesterday, I turned 35.  Now, I'm not one of those women who get depressed over my age.  Why bother?  I can't stop time, really have no wish to.  As I sit here and ponder 35, I think about what all I've done or accomplished.  I decided to make a list, starting with my marriage, and then another list of what is left to do.  It's not impressive, but it's me.   It also starts off very materialistic, which I am not, but I decided to leave them in any way.  This was prompted mostly by a memory of a pink elephant in the corner. Married Dave, and have stayed married to him for almost 12 years now. Own my own home. Attend a nationally known liberal arts college, proudly. Wear ring from before mentioned college. Have suffered 4 miscarriages, and went through 3 doctors before the last one got it right. Have the most beautiful little girl in the world (yeah, I'm biased.  Get over it.) Have full-time, decent paying job to pay for before mentioned house. Have...

So this weekend began the summer-long process of home canning and storing summer fruits and vegetables. I always get a little nostalgic this time of year, thinking back to my grandmother and her love of grape jelly. She made jelly the old fashioned way, with a ½ inch this piece of paraffin poured over the sticky sweet purple goodness. Grandma didn’t crush whole grapes or anything so messy, she simply went to the store and bought a bottle of grape juice, and then got to work. An hour later, voila! Grape jelly! When I would ask her why she didn’t just buy grape jelly, she told me her mother always made jelly, so she never thought to purchase the commercially prepared kind, unless she had to, or didn't feel up to making her own. She, like many of her generation, simply grew what they needed. Grandma didn’t have grape vines, so she made due with grape juice from the store. Way back when…well, probably not so way back, folks froze vegetables and canned fruits out of necessity, not as a...