It's more that the usual thought that time goes faster as we get older. This year we could easily blame it on all the preparation for our family reunion, especially the last month as I furiously tried to get that family history book ready for printing. Or maybe I can blame it on this train wreck of a presidential campaign. There went July!
Lots of town events, lots of B&B guests, and now more coming up with the big Labor Day weekend in Port Wing. The Baseball Club Fish Boil on Saturday brings 2000 people to town, and the Lions Fall Festival on Sunday features a 5&10K race, a classic car show, flower show, vendors and craft tents, kiddie and Grand parades, entertainment by the Lords of Baltimore, all surrounded by the aromas of brats, hamburgers, sweet corn, beer, and pie from the Lutheran church ladies. And that brings on the end of summer with a BANG!
But today we could slow down time a little by doing some of the usual late summer garden chores. Our tomato vines look awful this year, but they're good enough to give us some decent tomatoes already. Some say it's because of the overabundance of rain earlier in the summer, but the vines are just falling apart! The cucumbers are so overgrown that we can hardly see the cucumbers. Never satisfied!
So we canned one batch of tomatoes in pints. One more batch tomorrow and then maybe some marinara sauce. We also made tomato chutney today, which is kind of a thick marmalade texture but the savory combination of tomatoes, garlic, ginger, and red vinegar. Good with crackers and a little cream cheese.
And Leann finished off the day with a batch of black raspberry jelly from berries we got from a friend. Some will be sold at the Saturday Market church table, and some will be served to B&B guests. I love that smell of berries being prepared for jelly or jam. So maybe it's the good smells - tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, berries - that help us slow down enough to enjoy where--and when--we are.
