I posted more photos to flickr recently–they are of wildlife from when I went with my students to Northwest Trek. I tried to link there but my site got switched to a different server and well, it didn’t work. Anyway, check those out!

Right now I’m just enjoying summer (or what’s left of it). We’re cleaning the house today, or at least doing all those de-cluttering and purging things that people do when it’s summer. We’re getting rid of lots of tech stuff we’ve been keeping for no real reason and I’ve started some new filing systems. All in all, I’m feeling more organized, even if it feels like we’re moving and a million boxes are still in the hall.

On a more fun note, I’ll probably work on one or more books this evening and possibly lesson plan a little for this week. I recently started Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s book Love in the Time of Cholera, and I’m almost finished with Eat, Pray, Love. I’m reading so much more this summer than I usually do, and I hope to be finished with 10 books by the end of summer (I’m only at almost-4 right now).

Other plans for this week include:
Wii game night (and chicken curry dinner) Monday
Bela Fleck concert at the Zoo Wednesday
New Soccer Season starts Thursday
Film night Friday at Daniel’s

I want to start knitting again, as this stopped for me in April. I have plans for a baby kimono for Joanna’s little girl, but I think I need yarn for it. This will be a perfect project for our road trip.

I also want to start running again, which is not perfect for a road trip…I haven’t really run since last fall. I’ve been relying on indoor bikes, 10 lb weights, exercise videos, and soccer to serve as my workouts, but there’s nothing like a good run. We’ll see how that goes.

Well…until my next post…adieu!

Here’s what I’ve learned from my weekend in Arkansas. Enjoy!

How to can tomatoes:
wash tomatoes
boil at a rolling boil until the skins begin to burst (not too long)
cool in ice cold water
take off skins and where the stem attaches
dice tomatoes and cook again until it boils
while all of this is going on, boil glass jars to disinfect
boil metal lids and seals separately to disinfect; dry
fill quart or pint jars with tomatoes and juice
add 1 tsp. salt to pints and stir; seal tightly
add 1 tbsp. salt to quarts and stir; seal tightly
listen for the jars to pop which indicates a seal has been made
write date on jar lid

How to put up ears of corn:
boil a huge pot of water with the lid on
shuck and cut off ends
use a corn brush (a hand and nail brush) to remove silks
wash corn
when the water reaches a rolling boil, put corn in it and let boil for 15 minutes
while corn is boiling, set up the sink or large container with ice water
remove corn with tongs and place in ice bath to cool and stop the cooking process
lay out a large towel and place corn on towel
let corn dry and cool on towel until the cobs are cool and no moisture is on corn
place corn in large freezer bags and remove as much air as possible

How to put up green beans:
Wash green beans while waiting for water in pot to come to a rolling boil
Blanch green beans. Cook just until beans reach a bright green color
Remove from water and place in an ice bath to cool
Place on towel to dry and cool
Place in freezer bag and squeeze out all the air
Freeze

The preferred method of keeping green beans is to can them, but I don’t have a pressure cooker. My granny just likes to eat and cook them fresh.

I will never take my produce for granted. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you about butter beans because the storms came through the last few days and the garden is mud right now, so that will have to wait for another summer.

This will have to be brief, disjointed, and unedited as I have to catch a bus in a while, but I just got back from Upward Bound camp in Sequim, WA. What an adventure we had on the way home…more on that later. I walked from the ferries to lower Queen Anne when we got back, luggage in tow. It was 2 miles of awesome walking, so I got an iced mocha when I got to Queen Anne/Uptown.

I’m heading to my cousin’s wedding and I’ll get to spend lots of time with my little sister. Yay!

Gotta catch my bus…it’s going to be fun in the 90+ heat. Sheesh.

This is because I can cook on a whim (biscuits and gravy at 9 p.m., anyone?), go to free museum nights without the guilt of not grading papers, sit outside in the SUN, read books for long stretches of time, nap at the drop of a hat, tend my verdant garden, and…did I mention the sun yet?

I am obviously enjoying my summer off. By off, I mean not full-time teaching. My part-time job still requires work, but it’s SO much fun to teach these students. I’m also finished by 11 each day, which means I take the bus home and can take my time if I want to. Or stop at the Bubble Tea place nearby. Or get my nails done at the South Seattle Community College training salon. Or….do anything I want :).

Upcoming Events: Film night Saturday, Camping for 2 nights with students of Upward Bound, travel to Arkansas for my cousin’s wedding, host book club, and more.

Recent Activities: Free night at Seattle Art Museum. More on this to come when I feel inspired. Walked to movie (Ratatouille) and dinner (Tutta Bella) with Justin in Columbia City for birthday (movie was a grand total of $7 for both of us!). Uneventful, yet productive, 4th of July. Recovered from food poisoning Monday. Watched Volver.

That is all. More summer deliciousness to come.

Food poisoning on my birthday….that pretty much ruins one’s day, despite all my well-wishers and the beautiful weather. Let’s just hope it’s no more than a 24-hour bug. Vomiting, a headache, and frequent bathroom trips can interfere with my summer job (teaching in the a.m.), and I can’t miss my first day of teaching.

Blech.

On any given day, I will go to boingboing.net, Netflix a movie, twitter, blog, text, and Google. I might friend someone on Myspace or visit YouTube to watch a video. I might play our Wii and check my e-mail on my Blackberry Pearl. When I drive, I should be using my BlueTooth ear piece, but I don’t. I might buy songs from iTunes and listen to it on my iPod. When you think about how these words for products, software, or services are becoming commonplace and becoming verbs and nouns, it’s somewhat amusing.

I love all of these technological wonders, but after today, I wonder if I should take a break from some of it. Everything I ever wanted to know is at my fingertips. I can access media from anywhere using a variety of methods. I can feel like I am keeping up relationships by using gadgets and instantaneous updates, but in reality, I wonder how true this really is.

Nothing can replace a good book, a quiet breeze, a conversation with a friend face to face, a long walk, and a library. I might try being unplugged for a day (or at least most of it) in the near future. My few hours of working in the garden with no input or media but my mind was refreshing. I also watched no TV or movies today, which I don’t regret.

Now to sleep. I must decompress and reload for tomorrow.