Starting over

I moved into my own place last weekend. It's cozy, but I hope it will only be temporary. It reminds me of my old apartment in NYC - I can hear the sounds of traffic below and the occasional siren (no jackhammers, thank gawd!). It was not a fun transition. I've had relationships that ended because I was moving for my career, or where the reciprocal attraction just wasn't there. This is the first time I could see myself with someone long-term, thinking the feeling was mutual. That person tells you they're "committed", and you live with them for several years thinking the best is yet to come. But it doesn't. When you get down to it, you find their definition of committed does not include marriage, or kids, or even relocating outside a 30 mile radius. So - time to move on! I'm optimistic my knight in shining armor still awaits me, somewhere...

Jam Session

I should have posted this last month. I've been feeling out of it lately for a very specific reason.

Anyway, in an effort to stymie the sticky bombing of our driveway, we decided to strip our plum tree of some fruit. I swear, the driveway is almost entirely purple under that tree! So, Scott picked a MASSIVE bag o' plums on the verge of being over-ripe. I proceeded to pit and chop them for two hours with the intention of making some home-made jam! Jam, it turns out, is extremely easy to make. Time consuming, but easy. Just follow the instructions on a package of gelatin and you'll be fine. I threw a stick of cinnamon into my simmering fruit mixture for kicks. Perhaps the most important thing is to boil your jars beforehand to prevent the growth of icky stuff later. You can see the results below - about a dozen jars of sweet ruby ambrosia. It tasted *wonderful* too, almost a black cherry kind of flavor. Definitely worth the effort!