The Sweet and Bittersweet of Life

48 this morning, with a heavy fog just moving in. Yesterday was perfect, clear and cool with a high of 70.

I am loving this weather, clear, low humidity, just perfect.  As I write I am watching the fog roll in as the sun peeps over the ridge.  It will be another pretty day, just a few degrees warmer.

Which is good, as I have outside work again today. Yesterday I spread those 5 bags of mulch, pulled weeds (again, always!), and continued gathering the pears and apples that are falling. Our pears are the old-fashioned, hard Bartlett variety, from my tree i planted almost 50 years ago. It is difficult to get them ripe before they rot, but there are so many of them I usually end up with plenty to can if frost doesn't get the blossoms in the spring.

I put up more chicken broth yesterday. Remember those roosters we dressed out a few weeks ago? I took one out of the freezer a few days back and cooked it in my crackpot with lots of herbs, onion, salt and pepper. 

It was delicious. I saved the bones and broth and simmered them for about 24 hours, then canned it, along with the leftover meat. 

I put a few pints of black beans in the canner too, just to fill it up. It is so easy to can dried beans. Just wash the beans, put a half cup into a pint jar, fill with boiling water and add salt if you like. Then process 90 minutes at 10 pounds pressure for our elevation. 

While in the kitchen I made a double batch of banana blueberry bread, to use up a couple overripe bananas. I made one regular size loaf and 3 small loaves, which went into the freezer.

Today I will make strawberry jam from berries I took out of the freezer. 

I am following the news, and just hate the way the events in Libya and Morocco have already faded from the headlines. How quickly the world moves on, and away, from such tragedies. And yet the need and the horror continue for those people. I cannot imagine the immensity of the work ahead of them. 

The other night I watched a movie starring Bill Nighy, my favorite actor. The film, Living, follows a straight-laced businessman as he suddenly faces the grayness of his life. It makes one think how one has spent the life given to them, what mark one has made on the world, or what good done. Poignant, slow-moving, thoughtful, and well worth watching.

Larry is still in Florida, but will be home Thursday evening. I am trying hard to keep our old dog Otis comfortable until Larry returns, when we probably need to make the hard decision to put him down. Otis has been a good boy, and at 15 has had a long life for a Lab. This is the hardest, worst part of having a pet, as I am sure most of you know. I will miss this old boy deeply.

Well, onward we go. Time for breakfast--leftover pancakes from the freezer with some quickly made strawberry topping--

and get on with the day.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.