The Opposite of Idle Hands

Thursday found Evie and I picking 20 gallons of hot peppers at one of the Madison Area Food Pantry Gardens. We try to volunteer a few times each year, either planting or picking. It is an amazing program and made for such a peaceful morning. Thursday afternoon we went swimming. Evie decided she wants to learn the different strokes. We both practiced rhythmic breathing with the front crawl--I will never be a competitive swimmer!

Friday, Evie and my mom went to the first meeting of their science club. Evie said they had fun but that the time wasn't long enough so we will be doing more experiments with acids and bases this week at home.

Saturday was a whirlwind at the Food For Thought Festival. Our volunteers were WONDERFUL (they were all friends from our homeschooling group). The activities were well-liked by the kiddos and the weather was beautiful. The families who brought their chickens garnered much media attention. I loved watching some of the kids who came to participate, one little girl, maybe 9 or 10 ground corn with the hand-crank mill for nearly 45 minutes. I was grateful her mom let her! The look of concentration and effort was amazing.

As if that wasn't all enough, we came home at about 2:00, Evie found friends to play with and I starting laundry and processing tomatoes. The whole kitchen is sticky. We celebrated Evie's half-birthday and the equinox (a bit early but we always make in coincide with Evie's b-day markers).

Whew, fall cleaning needs to start, harvest, food preservation. I put my apron on in the morning and it doesn't come off until bedtime!