Word of the Day

Remound - The past tense of the verb 'to remind'.

DD Daughter wrote to me that a boy from GI Joe's unit lost his life in Iraq this week. GI Joe called her last night to tell her about it. It's always so hard when there's just nothing you can do or say that will make it all better. No band-aid fixes. Another prayer asking for strength and healing for those who remain.

My Dad came over this morning. He brought over my Grandmother's old Singer sewing machine. No electricity needed for this beauty. I'll have to figure out how to run it. I've never operated one of these old-fangled treadle machines. Dad and #1 son hauled that heavy beauty down to the basement. I'll figure out how to use it later. Actually, come to think of it, maybe it'll help me with my sewing machine phobia. I'll have to let you know.

Dad also brought over the bat house that he designed and made for me. Woohoo! Hopefully this will keep the bats out of my planter box on the deck. Actually, that's why Dad made it for me. I'm afraid the fear of me getting rabies from some bat that I rescued from my planter box may have figured into the equation a bit. Plus, bats can eat a heck of a lot of mosquitoes and bugs. Anyway, Dad and #1 son dragged out the heavy 10-foot ladder, leaned it against the house and with all sorts of measuring and consultation, attached my brand-new bat house to the front of my planter box. It's beautiful. It matches the siding on the house. Now...all we have to do is hope that the bats decide that this new home will be a lot better than the old one...my planter box.

We got another inch of rain in the bucket last night. Unfortunately, the rain came a bit too late to save the wild raspberry crop. I did get out to pick a couple more cupfuls but regretfully, I will only be able to make one batch of wild raspberry jam this year. I does look like I may get enough blackberries for jam-making. I'm planning on experimenting with a couple of new recipes this year. Normally, I'm not fond of just plain old blackberry jam. Too bland. Actually, I'm not fond of plain old strawberry jam either but HTP loves it so I can't mess with that recipe.

Now...updating on the liqueur taste-testing. My sister allowed her company to taste-test the various varieties of liqueurs that we made this spring. The all-round favorite was the Viola liqueur followed by the rhubarb. Their least favorite was the strawberry liqueur. Interesting. I still prefer the strawberry but I must say that the Sweet Dandy turned out a lot better once it had a chance to sit a couple of months. Anyway, the results of the taste-test were surprising. I guess I'd better start collecting more Viola blossoms. However, I still plan to make MY favorite. Actually, my favorite is the Pomegranate Liqueur. I'm not sure what will come of the Limoncello. That may knock the favorite off its position in first place.

Murphyism of the Day

Gioia's Theory

The person with the least expertise has the most opinions.