Happy October!!

 October sure has been all over the place, if you live on the east coast.  We have been fortunate to escape the worst of Hurricane Helene.  It’s been raining, overcast, and humid for 2 to 3 weeks, but that is it.

In the grand scheme of life, not anything to fuss about.

In life, the word “Joy” keeps popping up in many different settings.  Wouldn’t have guessed that getting my resume updated, by someone else, and returned would bring joy, but it has.  

Off to download new resume and start applying for next job!!  Hope you have a joyful day.

13

Quick post about 13, as it has been over 13 months since last post.  

1. Deck of cards has 4 sets of 13 cards
2. Oldest son born on 13th
3. Same son is the 13 grandchild on my side of family
4. A search on 13 came up with Friday the 13th or Phillipians 4:13 images
5. 13th book I read this year is "My Sister's Baby" by Louise Guy.
6. 13 is an adjective, denoting a quantity consisting of one more than twelve and one less than fourteen.
7. 13th number of pi, after the decimal point is 7.  Had to look that up.
8. 13th full moon is called a blue moon.
9. 13th letter of alphabet is M.
10. There are 13 stripes on the American flag.
11. 13 players on a rugby team.
12. There are 13 knots in a Celtic knot.
13. 13 is a prime number.

Some of the above I knew, some were looked up for the post.  What do you know about 13?

People are Amazing!

 Let's talk about the good in people!  

Saturday's I work at a farmers market.  One of my regulars didn't have enough cash so I let her go, with treats, and she could pay the following week.  She was very appreciative.  The customer after her, paid her tab.  I was thankful and know 1st customer will be this coming Saturday.

My neighboring vendor had a very similar experience as well with customers who don't know each other paying a bill.

Please seek out the good in people!  🥰

Welcome Back!

Almost two years since last post!  How to loose a few faithful reader in a flash of no words.  So much has changed in those two years, so let me "some up":

• Ian has finished his associates degree from NOVA, with all A's.  He is finishing up registering for GMU and an education major.  He is still following his fun passions by interning the "theater camp" at church, leading worship for the college group, and plays with the church band.
• Simon still enjoys working at Giant and practically full time.  Free time for him is videography and being a tech guy at church.
• Kevin is still working for the Emmes Company, writing his own music, and playing with church band.  lol!!  Not much has change there.
• For me,  many changes!  Since retiring from homeschooling May of 2021, I first got employed to sell dog treats for Chase Your Tail Bakery (in April actually).  I am in my third season and still enjoy the Farmers Market experience.  For a weekday job, I began at a preschool.  While learning a lot, ultimately it wasn't the best job for me.  As of now, I work at an HOA office three days a week and it is becoming more enjoyable the more I learn.
• The blog was set up to help me remember joy, passion, growing in things that bring me joy and fill the artistic side of my brain.  These can be easily summed up in photography, painting, fixing small things (furniture, sewing, things that are rusting, etc.), reading, baking, canning, and growing flowers, herbs, and veggies.
• Given the last bullet statement, will be mulling over how to show case a joy, a book, a project, or something unique.  Suggestions welcome.
• Last but not least the photo is of some of my favorite flowers taken with my newest camera.

Thank you for taking time to read! Hope you find your own Joy!

Jennifer

Anyone Else?

 Do you throw away egg shells?  Or do you clean them out, dry them, and use them for plants/compost?

Me ~ I am somewhere in between.  I tend to use them as a natural fertilizer, pest control, and additive to compost.  Sometimes I just rinse them out and gently rub the inside to help get rid of leftover egg, rinse again and let them air dry.  Sometimes, they'll get "baked" in a low temp oven, 200 - 225 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes.  Either way is important because it will deter animals that like raw eggs and help prevent various things caused by raw eggs.   Below are the current round of shells drying off.  Ignore the major need of caulking!  

Peach Sorbet?

 Oh my goodness!  Made peach sorbet this afternoon. It tastes awesome.  Here's the short version of how it was made:

• 5 cups diced or sliced peaches with skins on
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• blended it all together in my ninja blender
• then got it going in the Cuisinart ice cream machine
• once thick, scooped into a bowl and covered it
• let it sit in freezer until it is as hard as you'd like

Here is the link to the recipe I followed, loosely: https://www.aheadofthyme.com/3-ingredient-peach-sorbet/

And here photos of my version.

Skipped June Completely!

 Yeah, June came and went!  There was a summer cold in there that dragged on forever.  There was VBS at Burke Community Church.  There was a lot of putzy little things getting done. That was June in a nut shell.

July is promising to be more jam packed.

Have decided, that while I look for a full time, paid job, I am deep diving into big jobs around the house and smaller, quicker fun jobs.  Last week brought 5 days of purging and reorganizing our file cabinets.  By Friday, the file cabinets were a little leaner and better organized.  Smaller, fun jobs have been sewing, making jam, making pickles, reading, and I am sure I have missed something. These are usually posted on instagram (@jennifermbrock).

In weekend news, I have been working at a local Farmers Market for just over three months.  The perks of this are: the vendor I work for is Chase Your Tail Bakery, so Charlotte has been getting her favorite treats for free, being able to hug a few friends since COVID restrictions have lifted, and reduced prices at some other vendors (our fridge and freezer are getting stock with good produce and dairy).

Peaches are coming into season and now I want to try this sorbet recipe:

https://www.aheadofthyme.com/3-ingredient-peach-sorbet/

There are a few other links to fruit deserts I want to try as well in the above link.  One has watermelon and another has strawberries.  

For now, that's the most current "joy".  Catch ya on another day.

Strawberries from a few weeks ago.  Made jam, tons of jam, and froze a lot too!