We have homemade jam.

The first paragraph of this post is probably not for the faint-hearted or queasy-stomached.
(If that is you, please bypass the narrative and go directly to picture #1. Thank you.)

Well, I knew it wasn't rocket science, but thought that it would go more smoothly with the help of an experienced jam-maker. We love to eat toast for breakfast and earlier this summer Katie asked where jam came from. She's been asking that a lot lately--and the answers to "where does steak come from...what is Tilapia...is chicken really a dead chicken"--have been a little surprising and rather unpleasant, I guess for a 5-year-old. I have had to stop mid-bite, during those meals, and suggest that we wait until after dinner to discuss it any further. Ewwwww! Anyway, when she heard that jam was just smashed up fruit and (let me add a LOT of) sugar, she was pleased (and perhaps a little relieved,) and decided that we should try our hand at making some of our own.
We have been on the receiving end of Miss Karleen's delicious jam in past years.
So I thought that she would be a great source for our little jam-making adventure.

Messy but oh-so-much-fun!
I knew that those adorable PBK aprons would come in handy--I got them on clearance then embroidered them myself!
The final result. The strawberry is, of course, scrumdiddlyumptious. Karleen and I were very pleasantly surprised at how incredibly supercalafragilisticexbialadocious the blueberry peach turned out. YUM. (I credit those two very long but appropriate words to Willy Wonka and Mary Poppins, respectively.)

Thanks, Miss Karleen, for spending your afternoon with us!