Plums and Portent
We received our new box of goodies from Fresh Connect KC yesterday and have begun to contemplate what we'll create from them later this week. Among the lovelies are some beautiful plums and nectarines as well as more blackberries, tomatoes and cukes. Pictured with the plums and nectarines are a couple of gorgeous Monet peppers that we got as well. We have some ideas on how to proceed but welcome any suggestions from anyone reading this..
I relish writing this blog and am forever grateful for it. It gives me not only a greater appreciation of food and my own life but provides me an outlet as well. Many folks believe blogs should be ever-focused and the less personal information, the better. The true benefit this blog provides for me, though, is the catharsis of writing about those difficult moments as well. I vowed to share the ugly moments too and these past couple of weeks have presented a few.
The fiery and painterly skies that were a result of the bizarre mix of intense humidity and strong storms (the sky pictured above and the "rapids" rushing through our little creek bed below) seemed to be portentous of the daily madness of late. Some of it has been provided by particularly difficult customers....the past week has been represented by a veritable rogue's gallery of some of the worst customers we've had in the past several years. The infamous Crystal Guy even returned after a long absence and cornered me long enough to let me know my chi was troubled (no...really?) and proceeded to count and chant to himself in order to check my energies and then follow up with multiple conspiracy theories involving everything from politics to the Gulf oil spill. Even the villainous man who cursed me out a few months back returned but this time spit his venom out on a new victim. He was sent away disgruntled, but his visit is still enough to unnerve the lot of us. My juvenile inclination was and is, to give him a taste of his own bile, but that would cost me my job and I can't afford that. So, again, we move on, we try to treat these as isolated moments, weigh them against the blessings, and rise above it....maturity wins out but doesn't remove the sting. Maturity sucks.
Finally, last night, I received the latest report on my folks in assisted living. They are generally terrorizing the place. They are combative and disagreeable and raising all kinds of hell. In a perfect world, they would take to their new surroundings and maybe even learn to thrive to the best of their abilities. Hopefully, in time, this will happen. I think part of my stress recently is a result of first taking care of them for several months and then suddenly not so much as laying eyes on them for several more. I'll be back for a visit next month and I need to just take solace in the fact that they are at least safe for now.
It is what it is. I've done the cathartic writing so now I'm ready for the cathartic cooking.....
P.S. My new obsession...salt and pepper pistachios. The kind I tried were at work where someone had picked them up from Costco. I must find more!
OK Whew! Where do I begin. Let's start on a postive note. Thanks so much for forwarding me the KC Connection Newsletter. It is FANTASTIC and I wish I lived in an area that had a service such as this. You know I love my fruits and veggies, especially raw. You also know I don't cook much or well so I cannot give you any ideas as to how to prepare your bounty from KC Connection except to say don't ruin any of it. Eat it all raw!!! LOL. I too had some amazingly challenging customers this week. A hometown fixture that everyone calls Crazy Mary came to call and brought a $15 boom box in that her daughter had bought her. she insisted on plugging it in and playing it LOUD so everyone could here it. It does work. I could hear it so well in my office that I had to go out into the thrift store and turn it down which prompted "Crazy Mary" to confront me and tell me not to touch her machine because it was worth "a million dollars." Between Mother Nature's early "gift" to me and Crazy Mary's rantings I was in NO mood to be messed with that day. I told her that it might be worth a million dollars but that I had a business to run and I was not about to let her play this music at concert levels all the while she talked over top of it. I also told her that not only was I turning it down; I was unplugging it and if she wanted to hear her "million dollar juke box" play that loud she could take it somewhere else and plug it in. Mercifully she left. Unfortunately she showed up again today. It seems that not only did my aggressive tactics with this particular clientele NOT get me fired, it made said clientele revisit me. Go figure. She was well behaved today. Such is the life of a ragged old social worker. It has been unbearable and abnormally hot here in WV as well and the humidity has pushed the heat index well over 100 degrees. And it's not even August. We are tough here in WV but dang!!! Last winter was relentless. Its seems that this summer is too. However your picture is beautiful. When you are home we will have to get one for the blog from the river. Or maybe i can send you one of an impending storm and it will bring back fond memories for you of us as kids sitting on my front porch watching the storm and then racing through the mud puddles left in it's wake. Salt and pepper pistachios? Hmmmm. Gonna have to try those. Love you. Miss you. See you ever so soon.
ReplyDeleteTarget used to have their own brand of chili lime pistachios, but they quit making them. They were amazing, and I miss them. I will have to try the Costco ones. I just wish there was a damn Costco up north! I can't look at the plums and peppers without thinking of what happened to me on Monday. Egads, it hurt just looking at them.
ReplyDeleteThink I'm gonna grill those plums, Ronnie....might wanna avoid that post.
ReplyDeleteYou're parents will settle in and they are in the best place. Breathe and stop pacing. I too wish we had a KC Connection. Lovely produce. What do they provide during winter months for fresh produce?
ReplyDeleteIf they cannot get local, they get it from various other vendors nationally. Connie, you gotta join the followers, Sugar....I'm following you, y'know! LOL
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