I can

I started with about 10 pails full, this is how far I got with scalding them before I started taking pictures.

Here's the rest. All loose & ready to be peeled.

Once they're naked, I throw 'em in the food processor.

Add a few herbs & spices...

Boil away!

Here are the jars ready to come out of their spa bath...

Mmmmm...summer's goodness, ready to be eaten another day!

Praying for Parmelee

I've mentioned a lot on here about Hannah and Mexico, but there was another member of our family who took a mission trip, one much closer to home, and in a lot of ways much more dangerous than going to Mexico.
Peter went to Parmelee. In South Dakota. On the Rosebud Indian Reservation. Really close to home. The cost was very minimal--$50--but the life impact is priceless. Parmelee is a dark place. Heavy. Palpable. Here and there a light shines, bringing hope, but for the most part the hope is rejected. For drinking. For drugs. For sleep.
I'm so torn about his trip. It was an excellent experience for him. It was humbling for me. It is "our" fault that there is so little hope on the reservation. Europeans came here and conquered. Conquered the land and the people who knew it best. Who knew the balance. Now that conquering is catching up to us.
The sins of the fathers will be visited on the children, to the 3rd and 4th generation...

School's just around the corner?

I know I wrote earlier in June about summer being over already, but that doesn't stop the fact that it has been an amazing summer and I don't really want it to end. Overall, there's been little conflict between the kids (hooray!) and even though it has been MUCH wetter than normal, resulting in an indoor pool in the basement (boo) I've enjoyed the more laid back relaxed feel to the days and I'm not ready to give them up yet.

Hannah's trip to Mexico was amazing. She would love to go back. Time will tell. She's ready to embark on the final chapter of her high school career, her Senior year. It will likely prove to be a year of a lot of ups and downs and rough decisions (college suggestions, anyone?)