23 August 2016 - Early Harvest Jam

My to-do list is huge. I have categories of to-dos. House, yard, garden, shop. Cleaning, organizing, fix up. You name it. Some days the list is merely intimidating. Other days it seems like it is all hanging over my head. Then there are days when it seems so wonderful there is a list where you can actually cross things off. Total satisfaction. 

Lately though, I look at my list, make a plan to get something done and then do something else entirely. Is it the perversity of human nature?  I never liked being told what to do, even if it is me doing the telling. Today my plan was to get some more type cases cleaned out.  I started by finishing one that was half done several days ago. Did I start on the next one? No. 

I was seduced by the plums in the back yard. But first you have to understand that last weekend my brother called and said "Get down here, the plums are falling off the tree." Both of us love plum jam.  I wandered that way, checked out his current projects, then we picked plums.  I had forgotten how many plums it takes for jam and I came home with two large boxes of very ripe Santa Rosa plums. Way too many. 

In no time my kitchen looked like this.

It is a seriously satisfying to sit back and listen to the "poink" as the jars seal. 

Last Saturday and Sunday I made 43 jars of jam. I sent David off with almost half of it and I have given some to my neighbors. 

Yet, here I am, with another just finished batch of 10 jars of jam. I have an ancient Damson plum tree in my yard that seems to bare fruit every three years. I hadn't noticed the fruit until today. High up, and not a lot. Got out the ladder and picked fruit. 

Damson plums are hard to find but they are perfect for jam. They are so tart that they aren't good for eating, but that same tartness is wonderful in jam. I use about half as much sugar as most recipes call for as I prefer the taste of the fruit, instead of the flavored sugar taste of most jams and jellies. 

Guess there are no more excuses, so back to the shop! But first, (is this more procrastinating?) maybe a slice of bread with fresh jam. Yum!

Note below:
I think I have mentioned before that my life is always accompanied by a soundtrack.  Today, my time in the kitchen pitting plums, cooking and jarring up hot fruit was accompanied in my head with Michelle Shocked's Strawberry Jam. 

Part of the lyrics...

Saturday morning found me itching
To get on over to my grandma's kitchen
Where the sweetest little berries were cooking up right
And then we'd put them in a canning jar and seal them up tight
We was making jam
Strawberry jam, that's what kind
If you want the best jam
You gotta make your own
Aw, one more time
Oh, making that jam
Yeah, strawberry jam
If you want the best jam
You gotta make your own

CLS:
  My brother has discovered that rather than use the jam on toast or muffins, or even on scrambled eggs which is my favorite, he thinks it is delicious as a sauce on ice-cream. Oh, boy. 

22 August 2016 - England Odds and Ends

Walking around in Chipping Campden, Oxford and Malmesbury, as well as London, Bristol and Bath was an eye-opening experience. I can sum it up in two words: The History!  It really hits home just how new America is. 

We had an evening in Chipping Campden to explore the city and find dinner on our own. First, the town was founded around 680! The Saxon Kings used it as a meeting place to discuss the war against the Britons. By the 1400s it was the principal wool market in England. The city is still just one major street lined with connecting houses.  In the photo below, look at the stone stairs. The centers are concave from hundreds of years of feet. 

Another fun thing with these old houses is that many of them had little inserts by the door, about the size of a bread box. Closer inspection revealed they were boot/shoe scrapers. You can imagine when the roads were dirt or mud and tracking it inside was not acceptable. I have many photos of different styles of shoe scrapers. Some were quite fancy, others very plain. 

This scraper with the lovely head came in two versions. 

Another historical artifact that charmed me were the bell pulls. 

Back before electric doorbells, an actual bell was in the foyer with a pull outside the front door.  Many of these were beautifully made. You can see on the right, where the metal goes through the lintel above the door. 

Here is a typical street view, this is the main thoroughfare through Malmesbury.  The houses line the street and the front doors open onto a very narrow walkway beside the street. In the back of each house are lush gardens. 

The doors are very short. I would have to duck to get through one. Here's Amy for scale. I am probably six inches taller than she is. Even the gates were small. This tiny arched entry leads to a secret garden off the main street. It is a little public garden and was just lovely. 

Another English quirk I loved were the house names. On the street above, almost every doorway had a plaque with the name of the house. Makes me want to name my house, but I haven't a clue what it would be. My grandmother always called her home Safe Harbor. 

I also loved that most of these homes have plant holders outside their doors.  And better yet, people use them. 

I was also quite taken with the phone booths and the mail boxes. I really wanted to get in and call someone...anyone!

 

People watching, one of my favorite pastimes, was a hoot. I particularly liked these two cute alligator wannabes.  

While I was admiring these very fine tails, the Queen's Horse Guard was passing behind us.  Every day was an adventure. 

And this was one of my favorite fashion statements. A wild hat, sparkly shoes, over-sized glasses...what else do you need?

There was a time when chimney tiles from England were all the rage at U.S. antique shows. People would snap them up for their gardens. I haven't seen one in ages, and when I did find the occasional chimney tile, it was not even close to my price range. Nevertheless, I think they are wonderful.  I was drooling over all the fabulous chimneys we saw: from ornate brickwork to the fired clay versions that often made it to the U.S.

One of the things I learned is that you can tell how many rooms are in a house or castle by counting the chimneys, as every room had a fireplace for heat. 

Just look at this exquisite brickwork on Hampton Court Castle. Amazing. 

These ornate chimneys almost look Middle Eastern. 

These plainer chimneys are the type imported into the U.S. for antique shows. And I would like one. Or several. 

On our first day in London, Amy and I took off exploring. We wandered through Kensington and Hyde Parks and toured Kensington Palace.  Outside of the palace is a gorgeous and very large statue of Queen Victoria.  The surprise was finding out Princess Louise, Victoria's fourth of nine children, was an artist and sculptor. This sculpture was designed by Princess Louise. The drape and flow of the fabric was beautifully done. 

I started this post by saying we were on our own for dinner. I opted for duck. 

Amy decided she couldn't leave England without having fish and chips. When her plate arrived she exclaimed. "This isn't fish and chips, it's a whale and chips." 

It is hard to parse this experience down into cohesive elements, and even harder not to add too many photos. I'll stop here for now. 

12 August 2016 - Life, Death and the Food Chain

Last night I went outside around midnight. Thought I'd take a quick glance at the sky for the Persied Meteors.  Instead, I happened to look down and see a long-horned beetle. I haven't seen one of these for years!  It was a big one, almost three inches long. 

Of course, I ran for my camera. It's not the best photo, taken by porch light, but you get the idea. 

I was up early this morning, and went out to see if he was still there. 

Yes, he was. Kind of. All I could imagine was maybe a raccoon found him.  

In a macabre sort of way, it reminds me of game pieces for Mr. Potato head. 

4 August 2016 - Disappearing Newspaper Boxes

Have you noticed how hard it is to find newspapers anymore? There used to be newspaper boxes in front of every grocery store, drug store and on every downtown street corner.  When's the last time you saw one? 

When I was in San Francisco last year there was an article in the Chronicle talking about how the city was removing several hundred newspaper boxes. The point was they clutter the sidewalks and collect trash. 

Recently I discovered that the Salt Lake papers were pulling the majority of their boxes out of service as well. Naturally I felt the immediate need to save one. Why? Not sure, but there was this vague thought that in ten years no kids will even know what a newspaper box is. In the light of be careful what you ask for...I now have two. One for each of the local papers.  I didn't remember them being so large. What happened to the little squatty ones on four short legs? 

Do I know what to do with them? No. Do I know where they will end up living? No. But isn't it nice how they match the colors of my motel chairs?  

Have you ever noticed that as soon as you learn something new or see something for the first time you immediately run across it again?

My friend Elisa who geocaches everyday and posts about her adventures on thecachingbag.blogspot.com showed a photo of a new cache she found. I howled. 

(Elisa? I'm stealing your photo!) 

This box actually works. You put in a quarter and you get some geocaching swag.  I have to think about this. What a great job of repurposing an old box! 


I had the fleeting thought that if I got the linotype up and running I could print the odd newsletter and put it in the box, but that seems like too much work. We shall see. And we shall also see how soon I run across another mention of these boxes. 

P.S.  Several days after I posted this, Elisa told me she has seen old newspaper boxes being used for The Little Free Libraries!  What a great idea. 

2 August 2016 - Birds of England

Yes, I was on a garden tour, but I was probably the only one with a pair of binoculars around my neck. Can't help myself. Have to look for birds. It was a hoot. I'm sure everything I saw was super common in England, like seeing starlings in the U.S., but it was all new to me. The first day we had in London was a free day. Amy and I had a fabulous time doing as much as we possibly could fit in, including finding two field guides to British birds. Boy, did I need them! 

Here are some of the birds I found that actually allowed me to get fairly decent photos. 

First, I discovered the Robin in England is a tiny little bird in the wren family, not the large Robin of the U.S. who is in the thrush family. 

There is only one Jay over there. Definitely a jay, but quite different coloration from ours. This is the Eurasian Jay.

Wood Pigeon

Jackdaw. Notice the interesting blue eye.

Chaffinch

Greenfinch

Common Shelduck

Red-crested Pochard

 Ruddy Shelduck

Smew

Tufted Duck

 Barnacle Goose

Bar-headed Goose

Egyptian Goose 

Eqyptian Goose juvenile

 

Red-fronted Goose

Eurasian Coot

Great Crested Grebe 

Little Grebe

Nuthatch

Ring-necked Parakeet

Mistle Thrush

Song Thrush

Great Tit

Gray Wagtail

White Wagtail

Black-headed Gull

Grey Heron

Dunnock

Eurasian Magpie