It's been overcast and a little bit rainy here (YAY!) and the fig tree is going bonkers so I made 9 more pints of balsamic fig jam. This round is much jellier and really amazingly good. Way more balsamic, but not in taste (boiling vingear for 45 minutes produces some odor). Unlike the original Thomas Keller recipe, I added pectin and processed it a little less. Still delicious.

Over a gallon of balsamic fig jam. My mind reels.

The smoke alarm won't stop beeping. I've changed the battery, pressed the test button, removed and replaced the battery, tested the battery, turned the circuit breaker off and on again, and done it all again. It's still beeping. The last time I had this problem, I had to replace the smoke alarm itself, but this one is less than five years old; they're supposed to last ten years. Anyone have any ideas?

Timelies all!

Went to Fort McHenry with my folks. Neither I nor my parents had been there, and Gary had been there a long time ago. My mom wasn't up to much walking, so we found a bench in a shaded area where she could sit while the rest of us walked around the fort.

Later we're meeting Gary's dad and stepmom for dinner.

I slept in basically til 1 today (thanks, headache!) and then went for Indian takeout. I can now cross goat off the list of things I have eaten.

Also, off the list of things I want to eat again.

Zenkitty, I had a smoke alarm do that - at one in the morning the night before I had to leave early on a trip. I ended up just taking the battery out and letting the dratted thing sit for the length of the trip. When I finally replaced the battery, it worked correctly.

Zen that sounds awful and obnoxious. Dang.

I went to a "chi running" clinic this morning--turned out there was only one other person signed up, so it was practically a private lesson (interestingly the other person was someone who is from here but is a high school teacher in Istanbul! I thought of Fay). It's supposed to make running easier/more efficient, but now there's so many things I'm supposed to be thinking about that it feels harder! Supposedly it will eventually help, though.

I have a book on that. The little bit I've tried to apply, yeah, it seems harder, but it also seems to make sense that if I can stick with it and get used to it I will be better off than of I keep doing what I'm doing. That is more or less on hold until after my triathlon, though, as I am all focused on getting through that swimming leg okay.

I feel the same about stroke training that I have seen. I know it would be helpful to fix my stroke, but it seems like so much work.

zen, sorry about the annoying smoke detector.

late to the conversation - but fruit water! put pineapple and basil in water or cucumber and mint ...or any other combo you can think of . tasty and I have decided I am getting some of the good ness

Hope you are resting Consuela

edit: sigh