an ode to summer

I love these short videos by Kinfolk. The slow, uncomplicated pace of day to day; reminders to be still and enjoy the calm. Quiet is not always present, but when it is, I love to take it in. 

seedless red raspberry jam

I turned those fresh raspberries into something even more delicious and sugary.. seedless red raspberry jam. I was so certain the jar wouldn't seal because as I was lifting the jar out of the boiling pot of water, it slipped and clattered onto the stovetop. I was just relieved that the jar didn't break!

Everything about the directions I was reading had the word "exact" in bright red and bold lettering every where there were measuring directions, or boiling times, etc. ... I think I must have gotten lucky because my sugars and pectin measuring was anything but exact.

When I looked at the jar 30 minutes from the time I finished, I was pleasantly surprised that the jar had sealed; though, sad I missed that little musical pop. Next time.. I will listen more carefully. Next time will hopefully be this week.

raspberry fields

Earlier last week we went along with some friends to a raspberry field, where we picked plenty of decadent red raspberries. Mont followed me into the rows, then ran right back out and stopped on the grass, turned around and said, "I'm getting dirty!" he's not usually like this, so I reassured him, "That's okay! It's okay to get dirty!" Kids are so whacky.

Emmy didn't love it at first either, but she got comfortable enough, picking and throwing berries (like she would see me do with the bad ones/buggy ones). After a few rows she decided to just plop her backside down and play with sticks and mud. Mont got in on the berry action too, but I soon lost his interest to a nerf gun and older kids.. that was okay, he was all giggles and sprints.

We made away with two pint-sized boxes an felt pretty good about that! Just $6 for all that fun. Now that I've done something with them, I better get back for some more! I hope to stock up on jam for the winter.

Mykonos, Greece

June 11 - 

If I thought I had seen a lot of crystal clear blue water before this island, I was wrong! The day began beautifully again. Same routine, same breakfast, same waiters, different place, different bus, and different tour guide. ooOoo! 

The panoramic bus tour took us around the small island of Mykonos, showing us fishing bays, churches with blue or red roofs, pigeon houses, houses made to resemble pigeon houses, and also cows in the street! 

When I say small island, I mean small: 33 square miles. 

Our tour guide related a conversation to us all; one he had had a few years back with someone living on the island. This woman who he was talking to had lived there all her life, rearing her children there, farming there, and will die and be laid to rest on this island. She was telling him that her son married a few years back and she has since seen him only once. He said to her, "Where is he now? Rome? New York?" Her answer to him shocked him.. he was only a couple towns over.. on the same island!! That distance is too far to travel for them, even if they have a car. Isn't that just so ... different?! I was shocked that someone wouldn't travel even 15 miles to see their family. 

This island had some of the most beautiful resorts I've ever seen. We only stopped at this one for a drink and snack, but others we passed had the most luxurious pools and landscaping. It was a beautiful place!

trying out the panoramic option on my camera 

We followed the red route he was pointing to above. Below is Tessa's 'Merry Christmas' picture.. since the tour guide was in the picture! He was pretty much eye candy for all the ladies (except me, of course :) compared to the men on the boat!

Because this island was seized so many, many times, the people would build their villages far from shore, and even then took precautionary measures. The picture just below shows where there would be a bucket of boiling oil sitting, ready to pour down onto those who wanted to take over. The tour guide told us about this church before we walked up to it so we would know what to expect. He mentioned that this is not an orthodox church, as it is open for visitors. There are two monks who run the services every weekend, and still it operates, though it's not closed as other, more orthodox churches are. He told us about the two monks. One is grumpy, one is jolly; those are the words he used in his Greek accent. The jolly monk, is the one he expected to be here this day, while the other one was at a funeral in another village. I have to say it again.. The jolly monk was orphaned as a child and taken in by the church, and he has lived a happy life devoted to God. He is friendly enough to talk with you (though, he knows no English) and he was glad to take his pictures with us. I sat down next to him on the bench, at a safe, monk-appropriate distance, or so I thought.. He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me right next to him. He was too glad though, because he gave me a kiss afterwards! I can still feel his bristly whiskers near my right eye every time I think of it. AH! I was so shocked I started laughing!

He just smiled and I went to go tell Tessa she should get her picture with him.

I had it set to the wrong aperture, so after the cheek-kiss I had to do it all over again!!
(thankfully the kiss was a one time thing)

After the church we walked around the nearby area and sat under this veranda and sampled tastes of Greece. There were some savory things on that little plate! But I still won't try the olives, so I passed those to Tessa.

a hat for dad

After the bus tour, the guide dropped us off back at the pick-up location, and while he was telling everyone which ways to explore, the bus took off with his hat and everything. Good thing everyone tipped him.. We decided to walk over to the town and get lost in the city streets, that were purposely designed to be maze-like to confuse the pirates who were hungry for take-over. I still can't get over how clear the water was.. everywhere, it was like a looking glass, clear blue and cool.

Best gyros we've ever had!! I hope I can recreate them here at home sometime really soon.

The day ended with naps, followed by dinner and a movie. We felt no guilt at spending time in our beds during the day because it's something we can't do at the drop of a hat at home. It was glorious.

Bodrum, Turkey

June 10 -
Otherwise known as the day we rode the camels!

Mark has been oh so many places throughout the world, some of which I am content to pass on, but others, such as Turkey, has been on my 'to-visit' list for a while now; ever since he was deployed shortly after Mont was born and I nearly went to visit, but didn't. Waking up and watching us slow into the port, it was exciting for me. Turkey is partly Muslim, but also, it is Christian. There was a man, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who liberated Turkey and created a Secular Republic. You can read an article about it here if you'd like. This freed women and allowed them to become educated and work along side the men. This freed men and women from having the obligations to pray when told to, and allows them to pray whenever and wherever and however they see fit. Though, there is still the call to pray several times a day, which is broadcasted over loud speakers, with song. Very, very cool to listen to; sort of haunting and intimidating, while also very exciting and interesting. Not sure what else to say about it, other than I was glad I was listening.

When we first saw the camels, it was when we were walking off the buses towards very, very old windmills. I believe the exact words that came out of my mouth were, "Look!! Tessa! CAMELS!!! Let's go see 'em!"

I led us right into trouble because as we were cautiously walking in their direction, the camel-man came up to us and said, "Come!" Grabbed my hand and put us and our bags on the camels. As we got nearer the camels, Tessa's camel let out the loudest, longest, ugliest grunt you could imagine! I was happy I had the nice one. HA! We thought it was just for a picture.. then he told the camels to get up. Tessa was freaking out by this point. "Jayci! We can't get lost! We have a group to stay with!!" "Relax, Tess! He knows! But okay.. I'll tell him." As he started to walk us around, I said, "Excuse me! This has to be really quick, we have to stay with our group!" So thankfully, he said, "Yes! Short one. Okay. We'll just go around a couple times. Okay." After we realized we were safe and just looked like idiots with sparkly hats on, we had a great time and could NOT stop laughing.

When we rejoined our group, several people asked us "What was that like??" We said, "SO different from a horse." When we looked back, someone else had climbed on for a ride as well. 20 Euros well spent.. even if it was steep. We got to ride camels!!