Today we’ll say good-bye to a hot August and hope we have a normal fall. With Labor Day coming this weekend, I wonder if it will be a day to work or play. I think sometimes I work too much, or is it too little, or an idleness I just can’t help. However, I don’t want my nose so firmly applied to the grindstone that I never get a chance to smell the flowers. In this world that we live in today, there should be a way to strike a good balance between work and play. In days past, there were many people, including farmers who spent every day in back-breaking work. They were lucky if they could have one Sunday to rest.

Next Monday we will celebrate Labor Day, originated to honor those who labor or work. However, in the midst of this electronic age and all the hype about new programs, phones and tablets I’m beginning to wonder if in the year 2012, if we might have a celebration to honor machines instead of human beings. And isn’t it nice that God is the super computer of us all and he has the program for the colors of hair, eyes, skin and personality qualities that make each of us. We are created with very individual care.

When one of those individuals is taken away it is a great loss. I have lost some very special friends this last summer. I know life can sometimes be very difficult. Death and disaster, separation and sorrow seems so much larger than they really are. Losing one we love is possible if we recognize it and we let it be. What was beautiful and precious is always there for us to keep and remember. The past few weeks I’ve been on the ailing list, something I will over-come in time. While I was in the hospital I realized how wonderful it is that people take up the medical profession.

They are the unsung heroes.

A few days before I went to the hospital, I had a request for Clamato. So many people don’t want to make plain tomato juice. I found out you can buy a can of clam juice and add it to your tomato juice recipe.

V-8 CLAMATO JUICE

12 pounds of tomatoes

(24 large)

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped onions

4 teaspoons salt

4 Tablespoons lemon

juice

2 teaspoons

Worcestershire sauce

1 can of clam juice (2 to

3 cups)

dash of hot pepper

seasoning

Bring to a boil and lower heat. Cook 25 minutes. Press through a strainer. Laddle into quart jars, juice should be hot.

Process 5 minutes per quart in hot water.

“Without labor nothing prospers”-Sophocles