Saturday, July 17, 2010

Flying Saucer or Food?

The next session of Granny Camp is about to begin, and we couldn’t be more excited. Solomon is planning to make some pizza; Kathleen is going to cook a dinner with me. Caleb will try to eat and sleep at our pond with a fishing rod in his hand, while his brother Max goes along for the adventure. We’re hoping the kids will go gold panning; maybe they’ll find gold in our creek, in addition to the worms they find on its banks. Richard spent the day shopping for food and fishing gear while I got the RV guest-ready; and to avoid inviting viral interludes, password protected our a computer. It is only prudent with a visiting teenage brood.

At this time of year, we quite often have to split our labors into inside and outside duties. I’ve put up over a dozen jars of plum jam from Jack’s gift, while Richard worked on completing the step replacement project he and John had begun. This plum jam is not the color of plums; but it is a gorgeous garnet. I do love making jewel-colored jams.

Along with getting the tomato cages staked against future storms, Richard brought home a bucket of beans, more yellow squash, tomatoes, and zucchini, and a surprise of a beautiful unblemished fluted-edge white squash about which I know nothing. We planted yellow squash where this came up, so we don’t even know how it got into our garden. Richard described it as a flying saucer; I think it looks more like a decorative throw pillow for a doll’s bed. If anyone knows anything about flying saucer squash, I’d love to learn about it.

Mamie makes extra-crisp pickles, soaking her cucumbers in lime before canning. I stayed home to begin this two-day process with the two gallons of cucumbers from our refrigerator. We’ll need all the refrigerator space we can get with two new cooks coming to our kitchen.

When asked about special requests for food or fun, our niece Ginette said that her children wanted pancakes or waffles and daily trips to swim at Indian Boundary Beach. One of them requested roast beef, which will be the dinner that awaits them on their arrival. Ginette is looking forward to Mamie’s garden and all the fresh veggies she can carry. I hope she likes stringing beans because there’s always work waiting after the harvest.

It’s hard to pack all the activities into just three days of Granny Camp. We have new multi-colored flower pots for dishing up ice cream sundaes, and a bowl of blue Jello for Gummi Fish fishing. There are ghost stories to tell around a campfire, and hide and seek in the dark. We even have a pair of night-vision goggles to lend the littlest child who is “it.”

The pace is so lively while the kids are here that I feel like we’ve been riding motor bikes on the Dragon’s Tale after they leave. It takes me a while to regain my balance.