September, man. I promised a peach recipe on August 24th that still hasn’t come through, I showered once in a week’s time (not in a quest for the no-poo thing; this was unintentional), and, while on the topic, when was the last time the boys had a bath? Nevertheless, we’re creeping towards fall but having these glorious warm days that have brought us to the beach twice in the last week and I cannot complain about that. Hot September days are some of my very favorite of the summer. We’ve had a beautiful week so far.
Back to the peaches for a second. It’s not so much my fault that this recipe hasn’t been delivered. The peaches all went–once again!–from hard to rotten skipping right over the juicy, soft-not-too-soft ripeness. Last time this happened you guys suggested that either storing them near the bananas was a bad idea, or that they were picked too soon and refrigerated in a truck until they reached grocery store shelves giving them no chance of reaching their prime. Poor peaches! But this time, I picked them myself! At a farm! I brought them home and stored them on my counter far from the bananas. And it still happened. Me and peaches just weren’t meant to be this summer. (This recipe is straight from Sylvia’s kitchen in Italy and has three ingredients, one of them being lemon and its zest that brings peaches from really delicious to downright magical and I will share it maybe next summer if I ever get a good peach.)
I’m listening to Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “Come On” in a coffee shop right now and it always makes me think the most nostalgic thoughts about my Dad. By the way, he reads my blog and routinely calls me up to tell me he loved a certain picture (most recently the one of Anders smiling on the rock in the Assembly Row post), or that he really liked a certain post. So, if he’s reading now, hi Dad! You’ll forever be the greatest giver of hugs. Mary Chapin Carpenter makes me all emotional, I guess. Plus, it’s always a good time to compliment the ones you love.
You’re probably wondering what’s happening in that picture. Well, I decided palo santo was going to solve all of my problems (which are mostly a lack of time; can it actually stretch my 60 minutes per hour to 70? And then pause time for the occasional episode of something on Netflix? Questionable.) so I bought some and burnt it while Anders had something of an emotional moment on the ground post (too short) nap. So far, I’m not sure what it’s doing, but I’m hopeful that burning it in the house like some sort of hippie witch doctor is going to make the mornings go smoothly such that I’ll look over at Parker singing kumbaya in Shavasana ten minutes before school departure time.
Let’s all relax this weekend, eh?
What a shame about the peaches! Maybe next summer!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Had the same peach issue this year over here in oregon. Makes me want to ditch it next year and just stick with berries. I think my kids enjoy actually picking the berries more anyway. It’s easier and they can eat as they go.
Bummer about your peaches!! I’m a peach farmer in California, and it’s almost always not the way you ripen your peaches that causes that, but usually a fungus in the peach/peach tree itself 🙁 And it’s sad to say, but lots of farms get away with selling infected fruit if they sell the fruit while it’s still hard – before the disease shows itself. Hopefully you have some good apples on the way out there!
Hahaha! That picture! I was looking at it thinking Whaaattt!?!? A burned chip and a child that’s fainted???
Or a big fat doobie lol
The peaches were HORRIBLE this year!!! You didn’t do anything wrong. We had tried every place imaginable around me in NJ and they went from hard, unripened to mealy and gross and man what a let down.
Bizarre. I’m local and picked peaches at the same place you did (I’m pretty sure :)) and had the exact same problem. I was thinking maybe we (and the kiddos) picked them too unripe? I bought peaches from another local farm (Applecrest) pre-picked and they were amazing in just a few days. Two totally different experiences. Sorry you didn’t get any good ones this year.
I put Palo Santo in my bath tonight with some Epsom salts! It was good! Good! Good!!!
oh my goodness, my mom and i were just talking about “smudging” or whatever in our houses! haha!! any positive effects after?! 😉 and i heard similar tales of peaches gone bad!! so sorry to hear that!!! september has been a doozy for my household, too! so… solidarity?! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Bridget, not sure if you’re a reader of the site Everyday Feminism, but your willingness to use and post about using palo santo – absent any analysis of what it means to use a spiritual practice from a tradition or culture that’s not your own – leads me to recommend this essay there: https://everydayfeminism.com/2013/09/cultural-exchange-and-cultural-appropriation/
Just because you *can* do something (in this case, buy a product on Amazon and use it in your home) doesn’t mean you should or that you have to. Your blog is fun and I think of you as a loving and thoughtful mother. But this post was really jarring.
Courtney, how do you know I’m “absent any analysis” about palo santo’s history? I’ve read about palo santo (mostly the health benefits, emotional/physical, but it included info about the Incans/South American’s history with the wood too). I make light of what was a difficult day, in a string of difficult days for various reasons that I haven’t gotten into here. It’s not intended to be disrespectful to the ancient cultures that used palo santo. I’m not sure how the essay applies to me unless you’ve made a lot of assumptions. And just because you *can* assume that I’m misinformed and/or disrespectful (knowingly or unknowingly) doesn’t mean you should.