The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

It's a mixed bag around here these days.  A veritable roller coaster of ups and downs.  I am attempting to ride with grace, but fear I may not be so successful in my goal.

The Good...nay, The Great:  I had the very immense honor of being doula to the beautiful goddess I call friend, last week. 

I do believe that the sheer joy with which this lovely boy has been welcomed into the world will get me through The Bad, and The Ugly.

He's absolutely perfect.

I feel a little guilty following that marvelous-ness with The Bad, but here we are.  We're mired in a bog of waiting, right now.  The house that we made an offer on two months ago, have spent countless hours dreaming about, and planning for, is an exercise in patience.  Unfortunately for me, patience is not a virtue I possess in abundance.  We did have fair warning that buying a bank-owned property is at best, a frustrating endeavor; at worst, a soul-destroying act of futility.  Perhaps I am a little heavy on the drama, but it is proving tricky to keep up good spirits while waiting on faceless (useless) bankers to get the freaking job done.  At the end of the day, I know we'll be grateful for having stuck it out, for this place is well worth it (I keep telling myself).  In the meantime, I'll continue impotently shaking my fist and cursing at those incompetents who seem to hold our lives in their greedy, dawdling hands.

And I'll take another gander at that wee boy up there.  Ah.  That's better.

The Ugly:  While our home-buying limps painfully along, I too limp my way through the day, rocking one of these beasts:

My innate clumsiness is a bit of an ongoing joke with those who know me.  In my defense, I had a good run - a couple of years! - with no major injuries.  One little stumble off a deck, and there we have it.  Damned inconvenient.  Lucky for me the 90+ degree days have spent themselves.  Always a silver lining, isn't there?

Let's hit The Good again, shall we?  Recall those blueberries we hoarded a wee while ago?  

They have turned into some delicious treats.  One of them being this blueberry jam:

The recipe is from, once again, Food in Jars.  And once again, it absolutely rocks.  Bright, a tiny bit tart, with a hint of cinnamon...it is something else, I tell you.  And scrumptious spread on bread with a little bit of sharp cheddar.  Stop by Food in Jars, and make some, recipe here.

Last, and with impeccable timing, I've got this to look forward to:

That there is my blueberry vodka.  It's been infusing for about a week and a half.  It's meant to hang out for about 2 weeks, but I'm thinking, with this crazy roller coaster ride, I may just have to sample some.  ASAP.  Don't you think?

I'll let you know how it goes.  And I'll share the recipe soon.

May your day be filled with nothing but Good.