Warning

 Aren't four year old great.  Cassandra wanted to help dad mow the yard.  So cute.

The other day I decided to can some homemade salsa.  I did it last year and it was fun having in the pantry.  So this year I grew most of the ingredients in my garden.  I was so excited to see all the tomato's, green peppers, onions, and jalapeños growing and being so fruitful.  After getting all the ingredients together I began the process of cutting up all the ingredients and mixing them up.  My hands began to feel a little weird and I thought that was probably because I had been cutting up ingredients for a couple hours.  Then they started to sting a little.  I remember watching a show once that said always wear gloves when cutting up jalapeños.  I had never had a problem in the past but I thought I better wash my hands real good.  Well, it got worse and worse.  My hand felt like they were on fire.  I have burned a spot on my hand in the past and had to keep that spot in ice water for a while but this was worse and all over both my hands.  I googled looking for solutions to the pain between soaking my hands in ice water.  I tried several of the solutions even one that recommended running your hands under hot water to open the pours and release the toxins.  I couldn't stand the pain so that did not work for me.  All night long I had to soak my hands in ice until they were numb, wrap them in a cold rag, sleep for a bit and wake up to my hands on fire again.  I then would have to go get some new ice and start the process all over again.  It was a very long night but finally by morning I was better.  I'm sharing this in hopes that no one will make that mistake.  I highly encourage you to use gloves when cutting up jalapeños.  For most of you this is common knowledge and some may be like me and have never had a problem in the past, but my advise is wear some gloves when cutting up those spicy little things.  :)  I am happy with the salsa, although it always taste better when fresh.  So, I have some extra ingredients waiting for the right meal, and you better believe I will be wearing gloves when cutting up the jalapeños.  Lesson learned.

 One of the problems in our area right now is forest fires.  Our air quality is horrible and our sun and moon are orange because of the smoke.  I am grateful to the firefighters who are risking their lives and some have even died fighting these fires.  This morning when I woke up the sky was grey and the sun a orange/red color.  I am disappointed my camera couldn't get the true colors, but it was erie to see this morning.

I hope you are all having a blessed day enjoying the cooling weather and the leaves starting to change colors.  God is good.  Have a great day.

Alicia