Plum Delicious

Even though I got off the boat a couple weeks past perfect plum pickin' time, me and my pretty Peggy picked, peeled, pitted and prepared pans of plums for preserving. (Phew, my fingers got tangled up typing that. ) There weren't a lot of plums left, but we decided we'd can what little we could rescue.

The dogs were around helping as well. I managed to save these plums from the squirrels and birds.
It's pretty labor intensive peeling and pitting them, but me and Peggy make a good team. I peel them then put them in a bowl with some lemon juice to keep them fresh.

Peggy uses her sharp fingernails to remove the seeds and inner membrane.
We covered the plums with water, added a few pounds of sugar and left them in the fridge over night to macerate (who said i don't know a few big words).
We let them simmer for an hour this evening, added some sure gel and canned them up. These loquat plums are great canned; either jellied like these or in a syrup like ya would can peaches. We love them over ice cream or short cakes etc.

As I write this post I hear the occasional "tink" of the jars sealing out in the kitchen. It's music to this chubby Cajun's ears. Sorry we didn't include a recipe, but we have made jelly enough to where we just kinda 'winged' it. Fruit and lemon juice, sugar and Sure gel are all we use and we have canning down to a streamlined, almost effortless chore. Thas another post though. :-)

Stir Crazy

I have to admit that after 3 weeks of Cappy being away on the boat, and if I haven't had much human contact in all that time, I start to get a little batty. Even the dogs seem bored. Sometimes, just to get a rise out of them I'll do something silly to see their reaction. Now, SparkyBear 'started it' the first year we brought him home. He'd start this 'stalking' business, creeping slowly toward us, catlike, like this video of a bichon stalking a squirrel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cftg6udthp4 Well, he'd stalk us, so we'd stalk him right back. We called it "Showdown at the O.K. Corall". If he was sitting quietly on the couch, I'd stalk toward him and he'd watch me warily, then jump off and run after me barking and being silly. One time while Cappy was sitting on the couch with his back toward me, and SparkyBear was sitting on the other end, I wondered if this crazy dog would 'protect' his Dad if I pretended to be sneaking up behind him menacingly. As far as Cappy knew, I was in another part of the house. He was sitting there peacefully watching television when all of a sudden, for no reason at all, SparkyBear leaped onto him from the far side of the couch, growling and barking insanely...(I was nowhere to be seen). I heard him say, "Sparky! What's wrong with you? It's okay, boy...calmmm down", while I was in the other room quietly giggling. Mean huh? I actually got away with it for years. For years. But, I'd only do it occasionally. Maybe once each time Cappy was off the boat relaxing on the couch with his dog, watching television. I'd tell myself I was doing it just to check and make sure the dog would always 'protect' his Dad; ( even from his own "Mother"). It was always the same. Out of 'nowhere' SparkyBear would 'flip out' make a mad dash across the couch, up the length of his lap, into Cappy's face, snarling and frothing wildly (trying to get at me, but Cappy didn't know that ). It's a wonder that dog still loves, me, but he does. He's always got to be wherever I am, snuggled up next to me. (Maybe he just wants to keep a close eye on me.)
Well, I finally got caught when Cappy turned quickly one time and spotted me. He said, "Oh thank God, it's been you doing it all these years. I thought we had a psychotic dog on our hands, but I didn't want to let you know about it , 'cuz he's so good most of the time. I didn't want you to think anything bad about him". Now I was ashamed of myself. I don't do that anymore. But we all still 'stalk' each other...the dog versus, the human.
There's a new wrinkle tho'. Something of late that I don't understand. I'm pretty sure Cappy's not behind it. He doesn't pull stunts, like I do. He is totally against pranks. This is entirely the Brat dog's doing. All of a sudden he's decided he doesn't like spoons. Spoons. (?) Why?? The other night I forgot about it and was sitting on the couch, eating popcorn and watching The Big Bang Theory (so funny!!!) Occasionally, between laughs, out of the 'corner of my ear' I'd notice SparkyBear growling a low, deep growl. At one point, he even lunged toward the bowl in my lap, barking like crazy. It scared the heck out of me. I said, "SparkyBear! What's wrong with you???", then I spied the spoon in my hand. Please tell me I'm not the only person who eats popcorn with a spoon. Man! I hope he doesn't pull this kind of thing very often. I told Cappy about it and he didn't have much to say. He's probably thinking, "Payback is a 'bitch'", which would be true, except for the fact SparkyBear is a male.

A Wacky Springtime Poem I Wrote About 15 yrs. Ago

Petal Pushers

Skate in cinders

Run in water

Pansy's keep your eyelids up.

Backstroke far away from home on amber waves of buttercups.

e.e. cummings come and play inside my head on hardwood floors.

Dancing Daisy

My how crazy

Peace the keeper

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