Re: [gardeners] Getting ready already
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Fri, 22 Nov 2002 19:27:02 -0600
We get plenty of satsumas (aka mandarins) at this time of year. Friend
gifted me with about 20 lbs worth Tuesday night. Seems everyone had a
bumper crop this year. My sweet kumquats finally produced a good sized
crop and we're enjoying those. The loquat tree has set fruit for the
first time, won't be much but I'm looking forward to them anyway. I
intend to make a nice fruit salad for our Turkey day meal, satusumas,
Rio Red grapefruit, Pink Lady and Granny Smith apples, seedless grapes,
walnuts and a honey dressing with a little shredded coconut tossed in.
George
Ron Hay wrote:
>
> 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