Poor Little Grape Tree

Remember this photo from early April?


On that day, I also chose this Scripture:

Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.  Jeremiah 33:2-3

"...I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."  Indeed.  I certainly didn't know this could happen:


Of course, it's not a grape tree.  It's a pitiable plum tree, so heavily laden with fruits that it even shed one branch in a recent storm.  Tell me these don't put you in mind of grape bunches, though:



I've never seen so many plums on a tree in my life, and I'll be hunting recipes incorporating them, because these will be ripe in a couple of weeks.  This is a plum crazy year!

My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.  O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.  Psalm 34:3, 4

I'm Plum Thankful, Jeannie

She had me with, "...never...fuss with them at all other than to wash them."

A couple of posts ago, in the comments section, Jeannie talked about making plum jelly.  Now you're going to think it was all about her causing turning plums into jelly to sound like a simple feat, and I'll grant that part was huge.  But Jeannie said fuss.  She doesn't fuss with them.  Gotta love the phrase.

So I wanted to not fuss much with plums.  With Jeannie's encouragement, I did.

[Confession:  I fussed at my plums, when I was glistening and dripping over a hot stove.  And I fussed at them when they boiled over and warped my new cabinet paint job (in an inconspicuous place \o/).  I fussed when the juice climbing the neck of my homemade jelly bag was scalding my fingers...since I was too impatient to wait for the pulp to cool.  But I didn't fuss much with the plums.  Jeannie was right.]

Thanks for the plum jelly, Jeannie.  ºÜº

Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.  Proverbs 30:8, 9

Heads or Tails...mostly tails

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.  He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.  Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.  Psalm 2:2-5

Mirabelle Plums

I'm not very observant, especially outdoors.  The tree in the foreground below is actually two trees growing together.  There's a lot of that going on around here, and since we were late arriving on the scene, we don't know why.


I can't tell you whether or not this tree bore fruit in previous years.  I know it produced the red things, and they're not edible.  Here's what grows on one half:


This year, the other half looks like this:


And this...bigtime:


I was in the pool Sunday, when Charles began lobbing the fruits at to me.


I had a little fruit feast.

We decided they're plums, so I hunted online until I found a match: Mirabelle plums.  Tasty.  Very tasty.  Sour skin and sour near the pit, but most of the flesh is juicy and sugar-sweet.  Now I have to decide whether or not to harvest and put them up...as something.  Can you imagine peeling 1,837 bitsy plums?  Me neither!  And just how much jam can a family eat?  Plum pie?  Wikipedia says they're used in pies, too.  I've never heard of plum pie.  Allrecipes.com, I'm on my way.  Maybe.

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.  I Peter 5:6, 7

The Tomato from You-Know-Where

Last evening, Charles brought in another sackful of tomatoes.  (*moan*)  This time he told Son4 to get the camera and everyone to gather 'round, because he had something to show us.  We all stood poised to be wowed...and were not disappointed.  It was the tomato from you-know-where, and the reveal elicited the desired gasps and exclamations.


Devilish little thing, isn't it.  Intriguing as it is, rather than leaving us all with that image emblazoned upon our minds, I've fixed it.  It's a Purrley Tomato: 

And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man [Jesus], after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.  For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.  Hebrews 10:11-14

A Thousand Years In a Day

Flood Geology — Another View of the Earth

Mt. St. Helens erupted May 18, 1980 — one day after Charles and I were married — so it's always held particular interest for us.  We moved from Tennessee to Battle Ground, Washington, in November, 1996, and it was six weeks before we were to experience sunny skies in this new-to-us land.  Washington, after all, is known for being a little sprinkly in the sky.  Imagine the start we had, when we drove down the hill into town on this clear-skies day and saw a mountain looming behind the Safeway store.  What's that!?  We literally had to ask someone.  It was Mt. St. Helens.  Mt. St. Helens was sitting behind the grocery store.  Who woulda thunk?

We were able to visit the mountain numerous times while we lived in Washington, and this film online — A Thousand Years In a Day — highlights the eruption and resulting geological changes: evidences of the time frame in which the earth received its face.

I ♥ this film.
In fact, I may buy the DVD. 
So if you'd rather watch it in my living room, be bold: ask me for an invitation...and bring a bag of popcorn.

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.  II Peter 3:3-7

I Didn't Mean to Do It

It just happens.
I knew it would.



But here's a feathery flower I pretty-much can't ruin:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Matthew 7:21

Harvey Imitates Purrle

At least when he's sleeping, he's not shredding paper towels or napkins.  Where is he getting those anyway?

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.  Jeremiah 17:7-8

Watch Me Dance

Heh!  Gotcha.

Walking is a pesky task, so the dancin' I'll be doing is a concentrated posting effort to cycle Brannon off the front page, so I (and everyone else) can stop jumping when the blog loads.  He can go talk in the archives.  It's too bad his video codes are written with automatic play, because I probably would have liked to post some more.  In the future, if I watch don't-miss-this films he's created, I'll just post a link. 

Prepare for an onslaught of blather.  ºÜº

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.  Galatians 5:14

Hen Fruit

Partly because I'm endeavoring to cycle Brannon off the main page, yet equally because this is just good stuff to pass along, this one is to provide a link to a good article Willow sent my way:  The Incredible, Edible Egg Yolk.

"Egg yolks are indeed full of cholesterol. Like most cholesterol-rich foods, they are jam-packed full of important nutrients, especially the fat-soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids.

In fact, the slew of nutrients in an egg yolk is so comprehensive that a few a day would offer better insurance than a multi-vitamin. Most importantly, the yolk contains most of the nutrients in an egg."

Eggs are good.
Get a chicken or 27.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.  Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.  Isaiah 26:3-4

A Day at Melvern Lake

Harvey's ears turn inside-out on the lake.
Barney should sing a song about that.


Son4's ears get wet in the lake.
No songs needed.


We stopped for lunch.
Sorta left Son4 low and wet.


Charles did his maiden grilling on his Father's Day gift.


Harvey stood below, with wind blowing bratwurst grease on his head,
while he cleaned the floor.  You don't wanna see that.

But here's Son4, languishing in the water...


...while I just sat there with my hair being a mess and not seeming to mind.


Son4 made his way on board.


I was still just sitting there looking messy, but that's what I do.
My hair was a long mess.  Now it's a shorter mess.
Mrs. Piecrust, ↓ there's this year's swimwear.


Harvey was on the floor trying to be cute.
He sorta pulled that off, but I know he has a greasy head.


Then he leapt up to watch Son4 do some more tubin'.
I think you have to say it that way.
Don't pronounce the "g", or people will know you're a novice.


I called to Harvey, so I could see if he was having a good time.
He was having a good time.


"Hey, I think Harvey's smiling in that photo."
"Ohhh, no, he is not."
*zoom-zoom-zoom*
"Yes he is.  Look!"


But Harvey's just a baby, so he needed a nap.


We woke him up to go home.


It was a great day at the lake.

By the way, if I knew how to make Brannon not talk until we told him to talk, I'd make him stop talking.  Since I don't know how to do that, I better think-up a slug o' posts right away, to get him cycled off the page.  I like him just fine, of course.  I just don't think he should talk until we poke him.  Sorry.

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.  John 4:4