Garlic and Berries

I could wait no longer - - and dug up some garlic from the garden. Perhaps I dug these heads up just a bit too soon...they are formed but a tad small. The garlic I dug up today was larger and they have all been delicious. Also, I went foraging for berries today. I picked a quart and used half of them for a custard pie I made with a golden oreo crust. It was quite tasty. Here you see the other half, some of which will go into the rumtopf.

Rumtopf!!!!

Hey gang! After hearing friends recount the story of Lynne Rossetto Kasper's intriguing description of a rumtopf, I have researched the magical rumtopf and have decided to make one. Here's a photo. I just added some gooseberries which caused the splashes on the side of the jar. I hope I'm doing it right, because as Dad said, "[it] will either turn out to be incredible, or you will poison yourself." I'm paraphrasing. Essentially the rumtopf is seasonal fruits juiced in sugar for an hour or so and then put in the pot and covered with rum. This continues through the year and then sits some time before wintertime consumption (again, Dad commented, "Does your fantasy of this thing include fairies?") So far, "meine Rumtopf hat" strawberries, cherries, and gooseberries.

Potato Flowers

The potato plants are flowering - see?

Phone Photo Updates

Hey Gang. Here are some photos from my phone. While visiting Huntington with my sister and her kids, Hudson and I dug up lots of worms and then raced them.

Escape

I should add that the most incredible thing to happen on this trip came from the radio. The Piña Colada song came on the radio and I mentioned how it always reminds me of my friend Heather, as she is one of the few people of my generation who knows that the artist is Rupert Holmes. And then - WOWIE - I drove into a town called Rupert. I called Heather to tell her and she pointed out that I was seeing Rupert homes while hearing Rupert Holmes. Now THAT is incredible.

And somehow, I think the whole time I was Near Kermit...

more photos

Here you see some more of New Vrindaban and then the New River Gorge Bridge and the Gristmill at Babcock State Park. This was my first time driving down into the Gorge to Fayette Station. I now have a better appreciation of the convenience of the new bridge. I haven't been to the mill since my sister and I went there in the early Aughts. Speaking of, I hope she is enjoying my more-detailed elaborations of these photographs. I certainly enjoy hers.

More Palace Photos