Jam and Other Sweet Things

Today I learned a valuable lesson. I thought that the worst thing that can (typically) happen to a person while eating a tuna sandwich is to put too much mayo in the tuna so that it's oozing out the sides of the bread. I was wrong. I'm pretty sure it's finding bits of fish bone in the canned tuna.

I picked out the first two pieces, but when I felt something sharp poke my gum for the third time, I decided it would be healthier to not keep eating the tuna.

So, that happened. But there have been a lot of good things, too. For the first thing, I MADE JAM!!!!

 

It's spiced peach jam, made from peaches from the farmer's market and about half the spice drawer. This was my first time making jam all by myself, canning it properly to keep nasty things from growing in it. I've made jam before, but I didn't can it, and that's kind of like half-doing it, as (I think) the canning is the harder part.

The recipe I used came from Marisa McClellan's Food in Jars. It was originally meant to be a small-batch (I don't have much storage space) recipe for brown sugar salted peach jam, but I decided I'd rather have spiced jam instead of salted, and that I liked the yield of this recipe, so I altered it. I'm sure the brown sugar salted peach would have been good, but fall is approaching and I wanted spiced, so instead of salt I used cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and a little ginger.

I may have been a bit inspired by the spiced peaches in Holes.

It's delicious stuff. Five stars, will can again. But I want to try some other recipes first.

Another good thing that happened this week? I got A LOT done with my writing, and I went on Goodreads and found three reviews for Under Locker and Key, at least two of which were written by people I don't know!

This, along with everything else I accomplished as a writer, calls for celebration.

Celebration is important for a writer. The job involves so much criticism and rejection that it's important to recognize the big moments and the exciting things. In the correct balance, of course. You don't buy yourself an ice cream cone for a book release, and you don't go out to dinner when someone likes your book on Goodreads.

I'm getting creative in ways to celebrate good things happening. Here's some of my options:

- Ice cream. (A classic)

- New book.

- New clothes.

- Cool yarn (I knit)

- Bake or cook something fun.

- Go for a long walk when the weather is nice and I really don't a reason.

- Procrastinate something.

- Chocolate. Just, chocolate.

- Buy myself a flower, just because.

- Visit the library and look for where my book will be on shelves.

- See above, but with Barnes & Noble.

- Borrow/rent a movie I like a lot but rarely have time to see, and watch it.

- Take myself to the dollar theater.

- Stuff-crust pizza.

- Spend an hour pretending to plan a trip to Disney World. (It's fun!)

- Go out to dinner (I like Zupas).

- Play Just Dance.

- Know you owe yourself a treat and HOARD that one-time allowance for the perfect thing.

I'm currently doing the last one, but I might end up landing on ice cream or chocolate. Or a book. Who knows?

Well, this coming week I'll be making plans for Under Locker and Key stuff and looking way too much at cupcake menus. Because reasons.

May your week be good and free of tuna bones!

 

(This wasn't my can or my tuna bone; but it gets the feeling across!)