I Think I Can

When I had my 50th birthday this past May, I made a decision to try something NEW every month  for my whole 50th year.  So right out of the shoot in May I proceeded to totally forget that decision and did nothing new.  Or if I did, I plum forgot what it was and can not report anything.  How sad is that?!  (but see how I tried to redeem myself with a "plum" photo and pun??? More about the plums later .....)

In June, I went all out and I blackened a fingernail by slamming a door on it.  Never done that before, does that count ???  Nope, don’t think so ….. ok, yes, by June I still had forgotten about this deal I had made with myself.   So far, this is not going well AT ALL!

So for the month of July and August, I made up for my delinquency, by doing something I've wanted to do for a long time …. I canned real live jam AND real live dill pickles - the kind of jam and pickles that require lots of hot steaming pots, unending cutting and slicing, precise measuring and timing.  I think it is also necessary to choose the hottest days of the summer to do this particular activity.

 But with the help of an able bodied plum tree climber ….

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and willing back bending cucumber pickers ….

And a neighbor / brother who has enough experience to encourage the process along (and just so happens to be the plum tree owner)…..

We have success (this is just a sampling of the gazillions of jam and pickle jars in the pantry) ….. and an itch to do more in the years to come.

Don't let the milestone birthdays hold you back and hopefully you will hear from me again as long as I don't fall victim to botulism.

Go US!