Ups and Downs

I have an inspirational post in the works, but until that comes together I just thought I'd make you feel a little better about how your day may be going.

(This spider is harmless, but it's a better site than the bite on my girl's leg)

Two days ago my girl was bitten by a spider or other bug in the garden.  She has some kinda sensitive reaction to all bites, but this summer they keep getting worse and worse until I've given all the benadryl and ibuprofen that I can, and the reaction keeps spreading down her leg.  So we landed in the doc.'s office and she has a prescription for an antibiotic, which really seems to be helping.  That's a complete relief because it means she doesn't have mersa or cellulitis, but rather staph or strep or a simple infection. Poor girl.


Then last night we invited a friend over for dinner.  I turned the oven on and it quickly went crazy hot and the element turned white, like burning and began to drip. THE METAL DRIPPED!


I could see that it was starting a fire, so I asked my good friend what you're supposed to throw on it (not water, baking soda?  Dang training about electrical fires!  Of course we couldn't remember)  So I called the non-emergency police number to ask them.

(this lady had an electrical fire too)

They sent the fire dept.  In a fire truck.  At least the siren wasn't going.  For future notice: in an electrical fire, FLIP THE BREAKER! Or unplug the oven.  That's what you do.  

The charged up element quit drawing power and settled right down.  I was so embarrassed.  Sheesh.  I have had way to much experience with the fire trucks pulling up.  More on that later. I told the firemen that we love them but we don't want to see them again.  They probably get that alot.

Those two surprises come on the tail end of 2 major (and expensive) car repairs.  I can't even count those as bad luck, though because everyone deals with that, and we'd all be a sorry sight if car repairs could knock all the happiness out of us.

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On the good side, my in-laws have fruit from a burgeoning apricot tree which we have canned like mad (I know, you're wondering who still cans.  We do.) but I'm so thankful for hundreds of quarts of fruit in our storage to shave down the bills when we want healthy food.

And my friend (the one in the oven meltdown story) made gooseberry jam and gave it to us.  Crazy, right?  It looks like this:

A total treat.

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And another friend (my visiting teacher - a lady in my church group who is voluntarily assigned to look over me and my fam in case we need any help/support) brought me a bushel of plums.  I didn't know what to do with them all except to make jam.  So I learned how, and I made it.  It didn't ever get thick like it should, but it tastes SO GOOD!  I have four kids.  All that jam will be gone in a matter of weeks.

That's all the news I can handle.  Here's to no more fire trucks and delicious jams.