Day 2 Day radishes

May 26/ Sorbet

Ever on the look out for ways to eat fruit and also have dessert, I have come across sorbet.  I have a KRUPS ice cream maker, the kind you put bowl in the freezer for eight hours, then you attach it to the machine, and pour in the mix, and turn on the machine.  Here is the deal. If you have one of those type machines, cook two pounds pitted cherries with one cup water, and 3/4 cup sugar for about ten minutes when the cherries are cooked.  Cool mixture, then process in food processor with 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (or not), chill then put in machine and start.  Twenty minutes later Voila.If you like soft ice cream, you can eat it then, otherwise put it in the freezer, and let it "cure".

Should you want to do strawberries, heat the water with the sugar to melt he sugar, and eliminate he strawberry cooking. 

May 25, to one's self

Two daughters and their two friends are back from American Idol finals. They had a great time. I guess they laughed from the time they left the house until the time that the last person was dropped off at their home. One daughter said that the best part of the trip was being with her sister as an adult, no kids, no husbands. There is something so precious about having a relative that you like, all to your self. I appreciate having a lunch with my daughter sometimes with out my husband. It is a good tune-up. And I try to be very generous when my husband has lunch by himself with a daughter.

May 24 grandparents

It is very hard to please both your parents and your inlaws, but I have a daughter, NoName, by golly who has done it. I have to call her NoName because her husband, Mr. Understanding, does not want their names on the Internet. They live out of the country, the change of names is so the “24” can’t find them. But this makes it difficult for me to remember “NoName”, because I always use her real name off the Internet. One of the problems of living out of the country is visiting family. Visiting family is problematic for most couples. The grandparents are used to order and quiet, but at the same time need to see their children and grandchildren. The grandchildren are, after all, only children, and they love noise, chaos, and the middle of the living room floor. So NoName has a house right next door to me, which solves a lot of that problem. Sometimes the grandchildren actually prefer to sleep at my house. NoNames famly stays here about five weeks in he summer, and more if we are lucky. So things are cool for me, and I feel blessed. To switch subjects, and this is the smoking gun, the winters and springs in Seattle are long, wet, and gray. I go crazy for light and color. This is why after this spring, I have orange gelato spoons. Back to grandparents and visiting. I have to say that I was feeling a little guilty for the in-laws. I like to have my grandchildren have two sets of grandparents, long may we live. So NoName and Mr. Understanding have purchased an additional little house very near to Mr. Understandings parents. What a way to kill four old birds with one stone! Now I am going to Florida for the winters. Yes

May 23 tune ups

I have been thinking lately about tune-ups. Tune-ups for every thing, your spiritual life, your marriage, your wardrobe, a hair cut, meal planning, left behind hobbies, the garden, your garage, your old friends. I happened to think about it when talking with the treasurer of an organization who had become confused about some figures. I said that she needed to talk with an accountant, I said for a “little tune-up”, nothing more. I said that I had to see a shrink every once in a while for a little help with attitude.

I have been thinking about this. We get so complacent sometimes, that we forget that we need help. But it is such a shot in the arm, to cook with a person you like, or somehow get help in my garden, like my friend Ellen gave me. When I was knitting, I would watch the master knitters. You could learn something just by seeing how their hands held the needles. Sometimes it only showed you to relax, or move your fingers less. Sometimes I feel like I need a spiritual director. But in fact, that is as expensive as a shrink. Sometimes a class can help. Sometimes I need to just get in there and iron. Napping can be helpful, but primarily for sickies and mothers with young children.

I have been feeling down lately about my photography. And of course, I do have a very nice camera now. I have been hating nearly all of my photos. Somehow I can not put it altogether. Today I stumbled on a photo blog site, and there right in front of me were some answers to questions I did not even know were questions. Such serendipity. Look for the serendipity, and look around to somehow find some tune-ups.

May 22/American Idol and travel

For the second time ever, I will be watching American Idol. The only other time I watched this was the first day of the season and my grandchildren wanted me to watch.  I was overcome with disgust.  Apparently, it was judged pretty bad by many.  Tonight I am watching because 2 crazy daughters of mine, plus two friends were given tickets, and have flown to L.A. (pronounced "la")to witness the final competition.  I expect the seats to be good as the same source has tickets sometimes to the Mariners and they are so close to the Mariner dugout that you can put your beer cup on the dugout roof.

I was asked to take care of grandchildren but I begged off saying we, my husband and I,  were leaving town on a road trip.We like road trips, but do not know where to go.  This is a situation we have never before encountered.  Whenever we ask anyone about a road trip here in Washington, the only place any one suggests is the wine country.  We are not good at tasting wine; we drink wine, and that is hard to do all day long for three days.  We though the country side might be beautiful, but no one confirms this.  So we have switched our thoughts to Canada.  But my passport has expired.  I called up the Passport office, but I had to listen to ten minutes of how they were over-worked and behind in their work, but had hired more workers to help meet the need, and if you were not leaving for a month, do not bother them.  Or check it out on line.   There are a lot of people wanting to travel this year.   And the upshot is that you probably will not be talking with them.

Have fun girls. 

May 21/prayer list

I have closed the prayer list down for the time being.  However, I will tell you how the people faired. 

1.  Jeananne who contacted a viral infection, which led to a heart attack, is doing well, and has almost totally recovered. 

2.  Marty with prostrate cancer, has had his prostrate removed, is taking radiation and has returned to work.  It is a positive forecast. 

3. Red the young man of three who had his brain operated on, has recently had seizures again.  This is a downer.  However, his mother is pregnant and I will also pray for her. 

4. Elizabeth who has a son that contacted a virus affecting his nerves that created a huge depression.  He is doing much better, and life for the family is much improved. 

5.  Jen, who has had many miscarriages, is now in her fifth month of pregnancy.  So far so good. 

May 21,

Ex-President Jimmy Carter over the weekend called Bush the worst President in history. This is a downward spiral. We did quite well, when ex president’s left the current president alone. He is free to think as he likes. I can certainly understand not liking a President, I did not like Carter. But what the press, in particular, is creating is a situation where no one will be able to be president. No one will be able to stand the heat. And we do need a president.

Civility is good.  It is good for parents, children, political enemies, in church politics and matters of money.  Politeness and courtesy help make everyone know the rules. When you know the rules, you can play by the rules and everyone is on the same playing field.  The only place that I can think of non civility, as appropriate, is war, when you want all the advantage you can get.  And certainly Carter with his strong held religious beliefs, should know to pray for his enemies and should have opted for prayer for President Bush.  Otherwise, when the tables are turned, the downward spiral continues.

May 17/Ellen's and my advice

Short note.  Ellen's and my advice for the 25- 90 crowd, is to go on more dates, preferable with your spouse, or a friend.  If you have children under 13, for God's sake, find a baby sitter and get out.  If you are married and have children, give your spouse a little priority.  If you have teenagers, you might have to go out to dinner around the corner so you can get home fast to check out the little boppers.    It is also possible to go on a date with yourself, but then you might have to go to a good restaurant or the theater.  At the very least, a movie.   A date should be once a week.  You owe it to yourselves.  Don't let money be a problem.

May 15/ Ellen

My friend Ellen is coming. Remember her, my favorite Christian? I think she is going to help me with some gardening glitches, ie replacing soaker hoses that I have accidentally cut open while weeding. And she might help me dig some holes for roses. Then we will collapse, drink tea, thumb through magazines, and relax until Manhattan time, all the while talking.

We will talk gardening. Friends. How we are aging and how important exercise is, and we will both feel guilty that we have not made it to the gym more..

We will talk about how to feed the masses that arrive in the summer. We will get a game plan together. When her family comes she has 18 people. Yikes no wonder she is coming to visit me. We might forget it all, and sip iced tea on the veranda, and just gather strength . She will plan who is going to do what, like . . .kitchen clean up. And she will think of activities for children with one adult in charge so they can have a peaceful evening. She is good at delegating and I am not. I mean, I can make a chore list, but my family will only do what they will do, . . . and some do not do toilets.

May 14/ Mother's Day

Four headdresses and a baldy. 

And a grand Mother’s Day it was. We started on Saturday night with 2 daughters making me dinner. It was quite a party with BBQ-ed chicken, grilled zucchini, Italian bread salad and strawberry short cake. I cooked Mother’s Day lunch the following day after church. Big fat beef hamburgers with black bean & corn salsa, and avocado.

I usually end up crying on Mother’s Day at church. So there was a period of time I did not go that day. But this year it was such an opportunity with daughters and families together. I never cry about my Mother except on Mother’s Day. But this year her sister has had a heart attack on top of her heart failure, she has played the role of substitute Mother, at least in my mind. When my aunt dies, I will be the oldest person in my family. That does make me cry. There is no way I can make this humorous.

But I leave you with this, a repeat of last year. “The most important thing she’d learned over the years was that there was no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one.”

Jill Churchill