Rainy Day and eAddresses

A Rose by any other name is still Cute & Pretty

Rainy Day thinks electronic addresses should reflect the name of the person, rather than something 'cute.' She has nothing against cute addresses, really, however if people are going to send emails out telling her to change their address from CutenPretty@ISP.com to  CutenessCounts@ISP.net, they at least ought to put their real name someplace in the email.

After all, ALL of Rainy Day's friends are cute and pretty (or cute and handsome), and how is she supposed to remember which one is that one. She tried finding CutenPretty in her address book, but, alas, she couldn't find it. Does she know this person? Should she really bother to update her address book? Should she write back and ask who this person is? And possibly annoy her oldest and bestest friend? Should she just delete the whole email and go have another glass of red?

She has received emails with only a single punctuation mark in the name section, !@isp.com, or two or three symbols, *&$@isp.com. And when these people send emails out, they don't bother to sign them with their real names, so poor Rainy Day hasn't a clue who wrote the email. And her automatic address book is filled with such addresses, with no name attached. Can you see Rainy Day rolling her eyes? Don't you feel sorry for Rainy Day? Well, at least a little bit?

Needless to say, Rainy Day deleted CutenPretty's email, and is now enjoying another glass of red, so if you are a friend of Rainy Day, and wonder why you haven't heard from her in a while, perhaps that's the reason. Drop her a note, sign it with your name, so she knows who you are.

What do you think about email addresses? Do you think they should contain at least a hint of the person's name, or do you think something cute and original and different is fine? Perhaps Rainy Day is just getting old?

Rainy Day and the Adoption

Many years ago, when Rainy Day was a very small girl, she and her Mommy and Daddy lived in an apartment complex in Klamath Falls, Oregon. It was here that Rainy Day played with Granddaddy Longlegs as pets. Rainy Day is happy to announce she no longer plays with spiders. But, that's another story.  It was while she lived in this complex that Rainy Day's Mommy had Rainy Day take a bath in the middle of the day, when she wasn't even dirty, and get all dressed up in her best party dress.

"Where are we going, Mommy?" Rainy Day asked, excited at the prospect of ice cream or other worthwhile adventures.

"We're going next door to see Mrs. Smith. We're going to give her a present."

"Why? Is it her birthday? Will there be a party? With ice cream and cake?" (Can you tell, Rainy Day has a thing for ice cream and cake?)

"No, Rainy Day, we're going next door to welcome her new baby boy."

"But, Mommy, she was never fat in her tummy. How can she have a baby?" Rainy Day, also known as the Question Kid, knew that babies grew in Mommy tummies, and that Mrs. Smith was skinny and always had been. At least since Rainy Day knew her.

"They adopted a little boy. Hurry now. And take this present to give her."

Mommy and Adopted Girl

Whoa. Not so fast, Mommy. "What's doption?" That must have been a good question because Rainy Day's Mother stopped walking, turned, and looked at Rainy Day. Rainy Day could tell her mother was thinking because her face was all scrunched into her thinking face.

"Sweetie," uh-oh, it was going to be one of those conversations. Even at age three, Rainy Day could tell about those conversation, they always began with 'Sweetie.' "Sometimes Mommies can't grow a baby in their tummies, so they go to a, uh, special place, and choose a special baby to be theirs."

"You mean, like a Baby Store?"

Rainy Day's Mommy relaxed, "Yes. That's it. Like a baby store."

African Peach Faced Love Birds at the Baby Store?

Now, Rainy Day thought that sounded great. Some babies went to the Baby Store, and parents who really wanted them came in, looked around, and said, "Oh, we'll take this one! She's perfect."

"Am I dopted?" Of course, what Rainy Day wanted to know was, well, was she really special. Did her parents really want her, or were they just stuck with her because she grew in her Mommy's tummy and they had to keep what they got.

"Oh, no, Rainy Day. Mommy grew you in her tummy."

It was years before Rainy Day recovered from that shock. As she went through school, and met kids who were adopted, she was always secretly jealous. Now, of course, she has a bit more understanding of what adopted children go through, but when she was young, she had no such understanding. And every time some kid in her class said he or she was adopted, Rainy Day turned bright green with envy.

As Rainy Day went through two pregnancies, she often thought of that mythical Baby Store, and wondered if perhaps that wasn't a better way. She wondered that most especially at the end of the pregnancies when it was impossible to get comfortable whether she reclined in bed, or sat on the sofa. She wondered that most especially when her labor pains began.

Rainy Day now has two grown children, and one grown grandchild, and she wouldn't trade any of them.  Not after all she went through to have them and raise them. She wants to enjoy the fruits of her labors;-)

Eric and the Orcas

Rainy Day was just thinking she ought to at least consider taking a vacation from her blog when her good friend Eric, sent the following story. I thought it was great, and he gave permission for me to post it. Unfortunately, because neither Eric nor I had cameras, there are no photos for this blog; however, there are many images online. 

•••

On Saturday my buddy and I were searching for pink salmon ("humpies") along the west side of San Juan Island.  We found schools of them moving up the shoreline, jumping and nosing above the surface.  It was a simple matter to motor a hundred yards out in front of a school, shut off the engine, and wait for them to come to us.  Casting a buzz-bomb lure anywhere near the group resulted in it being chased by a dozen fish all the way back to the boat -- I have never seen anything like it! 

Yesterday we went out again, and this time the ladies joined us.  At around noon, humpies began to appear on the surface and we went to work.  Shortly after we stopped, one of the local resident populations of orcas moved in to feed on the same schools of salmon.  It was a large area, and eight or nine killer whales moved around the fishing fleet (including a couple of lone fishermen in kayaks) without any cause for concern.  It's a common occurrence in the San Juan Islands so we just watched and kept fishing, ready to pull our lines out of the water if they got close. 

Paul hooked a salmon and played it most of the way to the boat.  Vanessa stood by with the net, but the fish wasn't yet tired enough to be taken in.  Then two orcas, a mother and calf, headed in our direction.  There was no cause for real alarm -- until they came straight at us.  From our bird's-eye view up on the bow, Christie and I shouted a warning to the others, and they made a last lunge with the net.  Vanessa hauled the salmon out of the water a fraction of a second before mother orca emerged from directly under the boat, angled up at hunting speed with mouth open. 

Losing the salmon to her would not have been an issue by itself.  We would gladly have forfeited it except for the risk of fouling her on our tackle or net, so we literally snatched lunch from the orca's jaws.  On that note, there was no worry about mom going hungry -- plenty of humpies around for everyone!  The only regret is that there were no cameras at the ready; but this picture is forever imprinted in my memory.

                        --Eric

•••

Rainy Day is very glad that her friends got the fish, and the Orca Mommy didn't, for just the reasons listed above. Rainy Day also considers herself very fortunate that as a young girl sailing with her Uncle Carl, she got to see a pod of orcas as they swam next to the boat. That was the same day she saw a herring ball! And, like Eric and his friends, there wasn't a camera in sight, so her memories must remain just that – Kodak Moments of the Mind. Rainy Day thinks orcas are some of the most beautiful animals in the world and she is just a wee bit jealous of Eric and his story. Especially since he only shared the story, and none of the salmon.

For those of you not familiar with the San Juan Islands they are, according to Wikipedia, "an archipelago in the northwest corner of the contiguous United States between the US mainland and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada." The San Juan Islands are part of the Washington State. There is a nice map on the site and some very interesting information. Rainy Day suggests you check it out.

 

Have you ever had an up close and personal moment with a wild orca? Another wild critter? Rainy Day would love to hear about it. Please click on the underlined word, comments, below and a comment box should magically appear for your use.

Rainy Day and the Fifth Annual Jam Session

Last year's photo of 3 Jamsters by Judith W.

Rainy Day, as most of you know, has a large Family of Choice (FOC). This FOC includes Brothers of Choice (BOC), Sisters of Choice (SOC), and various Nieces, Nephews and Children of Choice (NOC). There will be a test, at some time in the future, so be sure to remember all those acronyms! (For those of you who have forgotten the difference between an acronym and an abbreviation – you can pronounce an acronym as a word – SOC, laser, etc. – and you cannot pronounce an abbreviation – MRM, TTFN, etc. There, you learned something almost useful this day. Wasn't that fun? And there will be a pop quiz on the difference betwixt acronyms and abbreviations, too!)

Freezer at beginning

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, er, kitchen....  Lee and Nancy, two of Rainy Day's SOCs came to visit her last Thursday night. They had a short visit, a short glass of red, and got everything unpacked from the car, and went to bed for a short night's sleep. On Friday morning, they were in the kitchen heating the bath water for the jars, cooking the ginger for the final time (Rainy Day always gets the ginger ready to go because it takes four separate cookings over as many days). Canton Ginger is the 'official start' of the Jam Session. They then spend the next three days in the kitchen, with now and then breaks for eats (when they have time and remember) and sleep (when they can no longer function safely.)

This year, they spent about 17 hours in the kitchen on Friday, slightly less on Saturday, and somewhat more on Sunday. They used 40 different recipes and put up 415 jars of jam.  One jar broke in the bath, which was a minor set back (and a pain in the sit-down-upon!) as they had to empty the pot, refill it, and bring it back to boiling. In the five years Rainy Day has been doing this, it's the first time a jar has broken. Nancy, the Kitchen Boss, has been canning since she was knee high to a grasshopper, and says it was her first, too.

Actually, the breakage was a good thing. 414 can be divided equally by 3, so there was no fighting <snicker, snort> over the odd jar.

Island full of jars and ready for jamming (note coffee)

They made a lot of chutneys, one recipe of yellow squash relish that is a lot like some of the zucchini relishes they've had, only prettier. They figured out how to process the Damson Plums left from last year and made gobs of Damson Jams – 4 different kinds! They made their world famous Plum Ketchup, Asian Pear Marmalade, Cherry jams, and I don't remember what all. And four recipes of Caramelized Onion Jam. See way down below for a complete list, and where to find the recipes.

Kitchen table holding stuff

Fresh fruit and jars, more jars

They found a recipe online, at the Tigress in a Jam blog site that looked really, really yummy. Peaches and Lemon Basil; forever more to be known as 'Raccoon Delight.' Alas, the refrigerators were full, and it had to set overnight to macerate in a cool place, so it was covered and left in the garage. Uh, NOT! Seems the combination of the cat's food that had been temporarily relocated to the garage for the duration, and the smell of the fresh fruit was just too much temptation for the local raccoons. So, you'll have to wait until next year for a report on that jam. (The cat food is kept in a tall plastic container with drawers. Those pesky varmints had not only turned the little 3-drawer gizmo upside down, they had shoved it across the garage, and were trying to get it out the cat door. Raccoons are pretty smart, and spatially oriented when it comes to what they can and cannot fit their fat little bodies through and into, but when it comes to plastic stuff, uh, not so much.

Do you see why it didn't all get to the jam pot?

The surprising thing, to the 3 Jamsters, is that the freezer was full when they started, and it's still full now! Of course, they did have three cases of fresh fruit to stop and prep – peaches and plums, and, oh, yum, was that ever nice! And tasty. (Need Rainy Day explain that there were several slices of each that did not make the entire transition from sink to cooking pot? ;-) The nice thing is, they now have fruit prepped and ready for next year, the not quite so nice thing is, the empty and turned off freezer is where Rainy Day stores her jam!

414 jars of Yummmm!

Now Rainy Day is trying to catch up on her sleep, and to continue to do her part in this annual gig, she is also taking extra naps for her two SOCs who had to return to the Big City and their respective jobs! This being retired is a tough job, but Rainy Day is up to it! Or, is that 'down' to it?

Freezer at end of Jam Session

And, just in case you want to see exactly what we did...and perhaps try some of the jams...

Recipe	How much sugar?	Source
Canton ginger	Conventional	Rombauer’s Joy of Cooking
Caramelized Onion Jam	Conventional	http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Caramelized-Onion-Jam
Damson Plum Jam	Conventional	http://www.food.com/recipe/damson-plum-jam-66582
Damson Plum-Orange Jam	Conventional	see: Damson Plum Jam
Ginger Cardamom Peach Jam/Butter	Conventional	Tart and Sweet, p. 95
Gingered Damson Plum Jam	Conventional	see: Damson Plum Jam
Gingered Pear Marmalade	Conventional	The Home Canning and Preserving Book, p. 164
Jalapeno Jelly	Conventional
Jalapeno-Habanero Jelly	Conventional
Mango Chutney (w/ almonds)	Conventional	The Home Canning and Preserving Book, p. __
Mango-Apple Indian Chutney (no nuts)	Conventional	Putting Food By, p. 316
Peach Chutney (no nuts)	Conventional	The Home Canning and Preserving Book, p. __
Peach with Brown Sugar and Rum Jam	Conventional	Fancy Pantry, p. 121
Peach with Cardamom Chutney (w/ almonds)	Conventional	Art of Preserving, p. 54
Plum and Raisin Chutney	Conventional	Art of Preserving, p. 57
Plum Ketchup	Conventional
Plum Ketchup “concentrate”	Conventional
Raspberry-Rose Jam	Conventional	http://tigressinajam.blogspot.com/2011/07/raspberry-rose-jam.html
Red Bell Pepper Jelly	Conventional	Art of Preserving, p. __
Spiced Damson Plum Jam	Conventional	see: Damson Plum Jam
Yellow Summer Squash Relish	Conventional	Lenora's Cousin
Blackberry-Strawberry-Peach Jam	Low-sugar	Pomona http://www.pomonapectin.com/
Blueberry Marmalade	Low-sugar	Pomona
Blueberry-Rhubarb Jam	Low-sugar	Pomona
Cherry Jam	Low-sugar	Pomona
Cherry Marmalade	Low-sugar	Pomona
Cherry-Blackberry Jam	Low-sugar	Pomona
Cherry-Raspberry Jam	Low-sugar	Pomona
Gingered Cherry Jam	Low-sugar	Pomona
Peach Marmalade	Low-sugar	Pomona
Peach-Blueberry Jam	Low-sugar	Pomona
Peach-Blueberry-Raspberry Jam	Low-sugar	Pomona
Peach-Raspberry Jam	Low-sugar	Pomona
Raspberry-Blueberry Jam	Low-sugar	Pomona
Raspberry-Orange Jam	Low-sugar	Pomona
Raspberry-Rose Jam (low-sugar version)	Low-sugar	Pomona
Strawberry Jam	Low-sugar	Pomona
Strawberry-Raspberry Jam	Low-sugar	Pomona
Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam	Low-sugar	Pomona

So, have we inspired you to go forth and jam? Are you hoping one of us will invite you over for toast and jam? Doncha wish you were on our Winter Gift List? What do you think about our weekend's work?