Last weekend I did something I’ve been wanting to do for ages, make fruit preserves the old-school kind my grandmothers used to make . With D2′s godmother and Dr. D.’s three nieces, we made over forty jars of peach bourbon, basic peach, peach basil and blackberry port jam. We spent all Saturday afternoon in the kitchen peeling, chopping, boiling and filling jars with steaming sun-ripened summer fruit. The girls were ecstatic with their new found jam-making skills and I discovered why my grandmothers and aunties loved this communal tradition so much. Let’s jam!

Happy first day of summer! Here in North Carolina our summer seems to have started early — we’ve had 90 degree plus temperatures for a couple of weeks now. These hot days always remind me of my childhood growing up in Southern California where we spent many a day at the beach and our neighborhood pool. I snapped this photo in Charleston, SC (one of my very favorite cities) at Waterfront Park where the local kids and tourists were cooling off in the fountain. Here’s to summer fun!