Jan

Have I ever blogged about Jan? If I haven't, then the world has been missing out on one fantastic lady (who is not on the internet herself in any way shape or form). I write about Jan tonight for two reasons. One, our kids love Jan and behave like angels around her no matter how they were acting at home two minutes before. Second, last night I was reminded what it means to live in a community with a true neighbor who is there when you need to borrow the proverbial cup of sugar. But first things first. The kids have been pretty "mine, mine, mine" lately. You would think that the three year old could manage to stand tall and not stoop to the level of the 20 month old, but unfortunately, most of the time she's leading the charge on that front. A lot of it has to do with her refusal to nap or rest during the middle of the day. I know I'm to blame because I could force her to take a rest, I just don't want to go through the hassle of breaking her into a new routine and until 3:30 in the afternoon she's fine. By the time I remember I was going to make her rest, I'm well into dinner making and it just doesn't happen. All this to say, at times I want to give the kids away and Jan is always ready to take them. They love her house with its special toys (mostly matchbox cars, McDonalds toys, dollar store junk, and leftover Fisher Price stuff from the 50's). They love her magic bag that she carries everywhere (Hyvee, church, the Y) because it always has some special treat. Usually it is just a bag of random cereals, crackers, raisins, two or three candies, dry marshmallows, etc. When I make snacks like that, they are frowned on, but from Jan's magical bag they are treasured for decades. On Wednesday mornings, Jan goes to "coffee" at Hyvee with a group of 8-10 other retired women and these ladies have character! We stop by from time to time so Jan can show the kids off to her friends. A few times we've shown up and Jan wasn't there, but the ladies still love to see the kids, but no one else has a magical bag so we don't stick around as long. There are always comments on how well-behaved, animated, and friendly the kids are. I'm sure the ladies are all aware that those attributes are only a facade June and Ruben put on when in public. There are rarely fights over "mine" or complaints about one snack bag having more "juicies" (fruit snacks). I suppose if they are going to behave well either at home or in public, I'd prefer it be public, but seriously, people, these kids can go at it. They're just normal kids at home.

The other reason I mention Jan is that yesterday I had the inkling to can some tomatoes (long story, but we're babysitting the garden next door for a few days and there is no way one family could ever consume that many tomatoes). I called Jan to see if she had a canner or at least a really large pot so I could process the jars. June and I walked over right before bedtime and walked away with not only a canner that she said is mine now, but also four banana muffins, canning salt, the knowledge that there are two whole flats of jars in her garage that I can use once I run out of mine, and a strategy for canning that sounded way easier than the internet's way. Oh, and if I don't want to store that huge pot she'll put it back in her basement, but I can still have it any time I want. Jan's purse may be magical to the kids, but her basement has a magical quality for me. I've dabbled in sewing  but hate to spend money on fabric when I'm such a poor seamstress. Jan's basement is literally filled with fabric and every time I come to take some, she tries to give me more. Nothing it terribly fancy or modern, but there are some really awesome vintage prints, every type of fabric ever made, thread, buttons, snaps, and more knowledge than the internet can ever give me. I've attempted a lot of projects simply because of that basement. That last bit about the basement was a sidebar, back to the story. So last night I canned six quarts of tomatoes using Jan's mother's old German strategy and they are awesome. Plus I have enough tomatoes left to attempt salsa later this week, but I'll need to ask the neighbor if I can borrow a few more jars.

Jan and June last Halloween