Re: [gardeners] Getting ready already
Ron Hay (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Fri, 22 Nov 2002 15:31:51 -0800
Hi, George,
Thanks for corroborating what I had heard on the various tropical groups
I am associated with.
This year, our Thanksgiving will be anything but routine. My MIL sold
her home in April and is now living in a lovely retirement facility in
Chula Vista, near San Diego.
Vivian's sister and her family also live in CV, but their home is being
remodeled extensively and they no longer have the use of their kitchen
until around Christmas. TADA! Marie Calender to the rescue! It will seem
a bit odd not standing around in Martha's formerly minuscule kitchen
preparing the feast, but then, again, we have Christmas to look forward
to.
We would have had the crowd up to L.A. were it not for the fact that
Martha and Bill have a 16 y.o. son with the mental capacity of a 1 y.o.,
with cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Wow, what a load for a family to bear!
Our home is simply not childproofed, and there would be nowhere really
to secure Christopher, where he could not get into something. Just think
about childproofing a home for a nearly 17 y.o. who is nearly as tall as
I am, and much stronger. A bit of a challenge, that.
Consequently, it's the Hyatt for us for a couple of days, and then back
home to proceed with the sale of our rental condo (we hope, we hope!)
This year we will bring lots of mandarins down with us for everyone to
enjoy whenever, as well as bunches of persimmons in various guises. We
had no idea our little 8' tall tree would bear close to a hundred pounds
of huge fruits!
This week we harvested a couple of dozen macadamias. We husk them as we
get them, and if the husks are stubborn, we wait until they split open,
revealing the nuts. Now we have to wait a couple of weeks to let them
dry properly, before putting them in the dehydrator, to keep them from
turning rancid. (If they ever last that long!!!!!)
Well, back to my Senegalese chicken stew, as friends whom we have not
seen for almost 3 decades are wending their way to our home for dinner.
It will be delightful to see them all again, including their son, who
lives in this area, and whom we have not seen for about 30 years (!)
Isn't it strange and sad how good friends drift apart, and equally
strange and wonderful for them to be back in touch:) This is something
for which we will be especially thankful for this year.
Ron