Aunt Mae's tomatoes

The first part of June, I was storting through my seeds deciding what to plant and putting them into piles by dates, (one for first part of June, middle of June and end of June).

I happened to find this plastic bag in with the seeds, and I thought, "Mmm, what could this be.  I don't remember putting this here, and it's looks really old."

I opened it up and found 2 newspaper clipping from January 1996, and I recongnized my Aunt Mae's handwriting on them.  I sat down and read them.  They were about different type of very large producing red and yellow tomatoes, their origins, and so forth.  She and I always had gardening in our blood, and we would sit and talk about it for hours.  I learned so much about it from her and my Uncle Minter.  They grew large garden every year, and would can hundreds of quart jars of produce to fill their cellar shelves.  Many a times I would visit and come home with my little car loaded down with enough boxes of canned food to last me until the next visit.  I would returned with her empty jars, and she would have another box ready for me to take back.  I think in her heart, they knew that was what sustained Mike and I during my college years, (when my income was very limited).  I also noticed to small folded pieced of paper along with the articles.?..

One was marked "Big Red Tomatoes" and the other "Big Yellow Tomatoes".  I opened them and inside were the seeds.  I chuckled at first, and them thought, "I've planted seeds that were 5 and 6 years old, and they grew.  Let's give these a try.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained".  I looked up to the heavens, and said, "It's in your hands now Aunt Mae.  You and the good Lord".  It's late in the season, but let's give it a try.  So I planted 6 red and 6 yellow.  A dozen and it still left me a few seeds.

I put 1 seed in each pot of starting mix, watered them, covered them with plastic wrap and set them in the south kitchen window.  I watched over them like a mother hen.  After about 2 weeksm they actually sprouted!!  I removed the plastic wrap, keep watering them, kept them in the window, moving them around, (so each of a share of the sunlight).  And they kept growing.  They were my little babies.  I called them Aunt Mae's tomatoes.  I had the outside of the pots marked R or Y, so I knew which were red or yellow.

After a couple more weeks, when they had their true leaves and were really looking like true tomatoes, and the outside temps were in the very low 70's, I took them outside to start harding them off.

Dumb me.  It got a little to windy and I lost all my yellow tomatoes and only my red tomatoes survived, (they were protected my a large planter of basil that was sitting in front of it).  So for a whole week I fussed and babied my red starts, and kept looking up and saying, "help my Aunt Mae.  They got to make into the ground".

Finally in July I had enough root system and the leafs looked nice and full and green.  I planted the 6 little guys, gave them some fertilizer and a good drink of water.  I looked heavenly and said, "I've done all I know how".

Once a week, I would feed them my special "banana water', so they would get potassium.  Man did it help them bloom.  They loved the hot weather we had this year, being in the good earth, and getting regular waterings.

Unfortunately the middle of August I lost 2 plants to curly leaf, and 1 go a fungus.  But I still had 3 left.   Many gardeners in our area were losing whole gardens to the fungs and pests.  The rest of my garden suffered just a few plant losses, but nothing major, (only 1 or 2 but bed).

Finally the middle of August I had green tomatoes!!!  And they were good sized ones.  I looked to the heavens and said, "Thanks Aunt Mae".  I told Dave, "Come look at Aunt Mae's tomatoes".  We had quite a few tomatoes and loads of bloom.  Dave said, "How old were those seeds?"  I said 26 years.  He shook his head.

10 days later I took a photo to show the size.  You can see by the light change in color, it is getting ready to ripen.  I was almost afraid to touch it, for fear it would fall off the branch.  You can see that there are others hanging on the branch close by.

Finally, September 6th, I couldn't wait any longer, so I picked one of the ripe tomatoes.  You can see, it's fairly large.  I left it on the counter for a couple days to continue ripening.  Everyday, Dave would ask, "Can we cut it now?"  Finally, we cut it up, and it was delicious.  All the tomatoes from the 3 plants were large, meaty, heavy, and so sweet.  I would pick up a slice of tomato, look upwards and say, "Thank you Aunt Mae".  

I did save tomato seeds from 2 different tomatoes, (just to be on the save side), for future planting.

From seed to ripe tomato in about 3 months - from 26 years old seeds.   Moral:  Take good care of your seeds, and they will produce.

Side note:  My Aunt Mae passed away in 2015, at the age of 91, just 4 months shy of her 92nd birthday.  She was sharp as a tack until the end, quick wit, and didn't hold her tongue when she thought you needed put in your place.  And, I still miss her today.  I carry much of what she taught me through life.  She was very much my second mother.

 

June 2022

June finally brought not only summer weather, but extremely hot dry triple digit weather.  Dave and I got all of our garden produce in on our days off from Honey Baked Ham. On the days that the temps were over 95, (which was most days), (made sure to water the garden twice a day).

The first part of the month, a friend that Dave used to work with gave us 2 bicycles.  They were in excellent condition.  I have been wanted to get a bicycle so that I could get come exercise.  I named my bike, Melodie, (that's the brand).  She rides like a breeze.

A few days later, one of the most delightful days was when I went to the mailbox and found the following envelope from my great-grand daughter.  These days most people are complaining about the postage rates and the slow service, but when I look at this envelope and I see that the post office had to figure out how to get this to the correct address - I was a miracle!!  I'm sure that several workers looked at the address and smiled.  1st; they had to figure out where in Riverton, Utah to deliver, (the correct zip code area).  2nd; they had to figure out the correct address, and occupants.  In my book they did a great job.

The end of the month, Dave and I went to see Earth, Wind, & Fire along with Santana.  It was a duo concert.  Both acts were outstanding and we had excellent seats.  We didn't get home until well after midnight, but thankfully we didn't have to work the next day and were able to sleep in and recouperate.

Overall, June was a quiet month, but we felt like we kept busy - with work, our garden, and working around the house.  I guess as we've grown older that it doesn't take alot to feel like our days are full.

Here's hoping  your summer is busy and full of fun times.

May 2022

 May finally started to warm up ever so slightly, and we got our spring rains, (if wasn't much, about 1/2 of our normal rainfall).

Dave and I got the garden beds plowed, and we amended the soil.  But we still let it set for a couple more weeks, (it was still to cold to plant, and we even got a couple of small skiffs of snow), then the 3rd week, we starting planting.  This year, I had to fight off the birds.  I would plant seeds and the next day I would have to chase the birds out of the garden, (they were picking the seeds out of the ground and eating them).  I replanted 3 times. It was still rather cold, so the seeds took much longer to germinate.  I didn't put my tomato starts in the ground for another 4 weeks. 

The 20th, I had to serve on Jury duty.  I spent 5 hours on line with answering questions to attorneys and the judge, then we let go at the end of voir dire.  Afterwards I looked up on line what the case was about - it would have been pretty interesting.  A couple was sueing the company and the owners for poor installation and construction of the garage and driveway, and the special rubber like covering they ordered to make the garage easy to clean.  Dave and I are still working at Honey Bake Ham and I've surprised them that I don't use the recipe cards to make the different salads.  The customers comment on how good the salads are.  We enjoy seeing people and talking to them.  It's nice to get our of the house, but a little exhausting with our other chores.

Here's hoping all our friends and family enjoy the upcomming summer.

April 2022

April was still rainy, cold, and somewhat snowy.  But we could see some spring sunshine on the horizon.  The week before Easter, Dave and I went back to work at Honey Baked Hams.  We finished up the day before Easter, and they asked us both to stay on part time working about 12 to 20 hours a week, (doing a little of everything, i.e.: registers, back of the house catering production, and catering deliveries).  We agreed, as long as they knew that we had other obligations on our calendar.  And they agreed that we could have any time off we wanted.  So, our new life as part time employees at Honey Baked Ham began.  

On the 23rd of April, we left the cold wet temps of Utah and flew to Cabo, MEXICO for a week of wonderful warmth.  We were able to secure our usual room at Hacienda Encanda.  Nothing in front of our view but the pool and the Pacific Ocean.  We were happy to just relax and warm our bodies.

Every morning, Dave made his way down to the pool for his early morning swim, (and to check our the local beauties).

I have this friend, (he was a vendor I met when I worked at WF), and he also goes to Cabo. We have this joke that when one of us is in Cabo, we send a photo of this little taco place with the caption, "Guess where I am, and your not".  This year when I got the photo, I called him and asked, "Are you down here?"  He said, "Yes, are you?" We both laughed so hard at what the chances were that we both were in Cabo at the same time. We met up Sunday morning at Gardenia's for lunch.

It was great to met up with a friend from Utah.  And it was even better for Dave to have a guy friend to pal around with.  

First thing every morning starting Monday, Dave Argyle would call up Dave and say, "Are you up and ready for the pool?  Dave would say,  "Of course, why aren't you here yet".  Dave A would jump in his rental hurry up, and the two of them would spend the morning in the pool checking our the scenery, the girls, laughing, and so on.  Then when they were ready to go out to eat, they'd come in get dress and the three of use would hit the town.

One day, we went down to town and spent the day at the beach.  It was so busy and noisy.  But the two of them loved it.  They would run out to the water, splash around like teenagers, them come back to their shaded chairs, order food and soda, check out the people walking down the beach, then do it all over again.  At the end of the day, we drove up to Todos Santos and had dinner with a couple a women that Dave A had met.  It was a gread night and the 5 of us laughed and told lots of stories.  Saturday the 30th, came to soon, and the three of us all had to pack our bags and head north to the airport.  Dave A was on a different airlne, but I'm sure if he could have figured out a way to change airlines and get seated next to Dave he would have.

Well May is ready to start, hopefully spring and summer are not far behind.

February and March 2022

February and March were very quiet months for Dave and I.  We didn't go anywhere during February, due to the cold and snowy days.  It was nice not to have to worry about being out and about, dealing with the snow and the icy roads.

March was still cold and snowy, and again we stayed home.  The last of the month, we met up with one of Dave's former co-workers, (and his wife), to go to dinner and the four of use headed downtown to see Carol Burnett.  It was a great evening.  We have great seats.  Carol came on stage and she simply let the audience ask questions and she would answer the questions with stories about her life and time, (over 60 years in show business).  It was so funny.  She was still as sharp as a tack.  And the 90 minutes with her just flew by so fast.  Originally we had tickets to see her 18 months ago, but because of COVID, the show was postponed to this year.  And it was so worth the wait.

This month Dave and I also received our 2nd COVID booster shot, (recommended because of our ages).  We're guessing that in the future, we will receive a booster and our flu shot at the same time, (usually in October). But we feel it is so worth it to be protected.

As you can see, we had a very quiet 2 months.  We are so looking forward to Spring and warm weather. 

January 2022

 New Year's Day, we spent on the cruise ship relaxing as the ship had a day at sea.  It was so nice to have a day to just watch a movie, (No Time to Die, James Bond), play a trivia game, eat good food, and just relax.

On January 2nd, we docked in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica.  A very tropical paradise.   But lovely and very warm.  A nice change of pace from the winter weather we had back home.

We were greeted on the dock by a great raggae band.  They were a fun group to listen to.  After our day was over and we were returning to the ship, they were still performing, so we stopped and listen to them for a while and a few people were dancing and singing along.  It was a mini party on the dock.

We boarded a bus for our day-long excursion and were treated to a local street food faire.  A small pocket turnover filled with a spicy meat mixture.  The locals eat this almost every day.

We were taken to a train station, where we boarded an open-air vintage train.  During the ride, our tour guide pointed out all the banana trees and explained to us how the bananas grow.  He showed us a small banana pod and opened it up to expose little bananas that were starting to form.  He explained that as the pod grew bigger and the banans grew larger, eventually the pod would be about 5 to 6 feet long.  Then the farmers would cover the pods with protective blue netting to keep the bugs and animals from eating the bananas.  He also explained that in the wild, monkeys DO NOT eat bananas.  As we road through the countryside, we noticed that every house had banana trees, coconut trees, and a garden.  Their houses were small but very neat and tidy.  During the ride, there were lots of monkeys in the trees, they were chattering to the tourist on the train, but Dave and I just couldn't see them no matter how hard we looked.  Other people on the train would point to them and say, "I see them, right there".  And laugh about how cute they were.  After a long day, we were tired and ready to return to the ship.

On January 3rd, we docked in Colon, Panama.  A very busy and very modern county.  Our ship did not pass thru the panama canal, but...

We took an excursion that did.  We boarded a smaller boat and set sail for the canal.  Along the way, (a 2-hour tour), we learned many facts about the building of the canal and the upkeep involved in maintaining the canal.  The ships that pass thru the canal must apply for passage long before they arrive and the cost is based upon the size of the ship, how much cargo, and how many passengers are on board.  Some ships will pay up to 1 million dollars.  The smallest fee ever paid was for a small boat that had 1 person on board, and the fee was $15.

There are many shipyards along the sides of the canal to load and unload cargo ships.  Once we arrived at the canal and took our place to enter, it was a slow move thru the canal.  And even though we were in a small boat, it was a tight fit, and one could feel a little claustrophobic.  During the trip, you could see hundreds of workers on the sides, doing maintenance work, and landscaping work.  It is amazing the amount of work it takes to keep the locks in working order.  When we returned to our ship, we were definately tired and ready for dinner.

On January 4th, we were supposed to dock at Cartagena, Colombia.  However, the night before, our ship's captain received word that Colombia had changed their COVID protecal, and any tourist entering the country via ship would need to have a negative Covid test no more than 2 days before entering the country.  And since the ship did not have the notice in time to test all 1,500 passengers, we would be unable to dock in Colombia.  And instead would have an extra day at sea, and make passage to our next stop.

On January 6th, we docked at Oranjestad, Aruba.  A modern city on the outskirts, with older Hispanic influence on the inner city.  Very clean and neat.  We boarded an air-conditioned bus for our day excursion.

Our first stop was at an Aloe farm.  We learned how the aloe plant is grown, harvested, and used in medicine, cosmetics, and food.  We saw acres and acres of aloes in many different sizes, one plant was well over 6 feet tall and4 feet wide.  Our guide took one of the aloe leaves, sliced it open, and showed us the 4 different parts to the inside of the aloe, and how it can be used for different applications.

Our next stop was to a historic lighthouse that was over 500 years old.  It reminded me of the historic lighthouse in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  It was mid-day, and the heat was starting to beat down on us, so we didn't spend too much time out at the lighthouse, we quickly got back on the air-conditioned bus.   Our next stop was at the natural bridge, (a rock formation formed into a bridge by the ocean).  It very much reminded me of the formations we saw in Hawaii.

We then toured around the town and saw some of the sights and hear some of the histories.  It so reminded me of Cabo and made me want to return to Cabo soon.

When we returned back to the ship, it was good to be back in the air conditioning and it was almost dinner time.

Our ship had another day at Arub.  Most people went into town to shop and some spent their time on the beach, but Dave and I stay on board and relaxed.  I now wished we had walked into town and got a couple of t-shirts.

On January 7th and 8th, our ship sailed toward home.  Two days of relaxation again.  There was certainly never any lack of wonderful desserts or good food during the final days at sea.  We enjoyed the pool, the live entertainment, movies, and games, and every night we fell into bed exhausted.

On the morning of January 9th, we docked in Miami, Florida.  After breakfast in the dining room, we boarded a bus for one final excursion to an aligator farm.  We rode an airboat into the swamps, where they looked for some aligators.  They had an alligator wrangler that showed us 2 large gators' and explained their habits, lifestyles, mating habits, etc.  We then had a light lunch and headed to the airport to catch our plane and come home, (home sweet home).

Unfortunately, I have to end the month on a sad note.  Dave's niece, (Pam, Jeanne's daughter from her 1st marriage), passed away on January 24th from thyroid cancer.  She had been battling this disease for many years, and her body finally couldn't fight back anymore.  Her family will be having a celebration of her light for family and friends on Saturday, February 12th, in Arizona, where she lived and worked.  She died way too young,

December 2021

 December was a quiet and fairly warm month.  Dave and I continued working at Honey Baked Ham up until Christmas eve.  We worked long hours every day and saw overtime hours on our paycheck.  Dave got several customer reviews for doing a great job, (if you ever purchase a ham from Honey Baked, there is a survey at the bottom of your receipt, just go online and fill out the short survey giving your opinion of the person who helped you).  The store we worked at would post the certificates on the wall behind the counter.  I would point out to Dave all the "Atta' boys" that he got.  He would just smile, and say, 'Really?".  I have several customers who asked for me, and when the manager and assistant manager would call me upfront, the customer would thank me for doing a great job of helping them place the order, or give them clear directions to find the store.  A couple days before Christmas, a gentleman came into the store and asked for me.  When I went up front to the register, he said, "Hi, I'm ***, and you helped me on the phone.  I want you and the managers to know that you are just too nice to be working here at Christmas time".  I just laughed and thanked him.  He then said, "I also own a bakery, and I wanted to give you this loaf of Chocolate Raspberry Rum bread, freshly baked this morning.  If you want you can share it with the store or take it home.  Also here are 2 of our store's oatmeal white chocolate chip cookies.  Enjoy."  I thanked him and told him I would give the cookies to my husband and pointed out Dave to him.  He told Dave that I was a real keeper, and Dave gave him a thumbs up.  Kyra, (our assistant manager), whispered in my ear, "No customer has ever done this before".  Since that day we already had so many homemade cookies, candies, and treats, I decided to wait a couple of days to share the bread with the crew.  After setting a couple days, the bread was delicious, I wish I could find his bakery to buy more.

On December 9th, we finally got snow, and boy did we ever get snow, (8 inches).  And it snowed for 2 days.  The mountains got 2 1/2 feet.  It really helps our water situation.  Then the temps got warm and it melted, but it started to feel like winter and look like Christmas

Our grandchild, (who was living with us), had an auto accident on the night of the 19th and now was no longer with a car.  So then the grandchild decided to move back in with their mom for a while.  It was been nice and quiet around the house.  Dave and I spent days working at Honey Baked, coming home eating a quick dinner, going to bed, getting up, and going back to work again.  

After finishing up at Honey Baked, the last week of December we got ready for a Caribbean cruise. 

We took our Covid test, (with negative results) on the 28th, and we dropped Opal, (our cat), at the kennel on the 28th.  Packed and left for Miami on the evening of the 29th.  We spent the night at a motel in Miami, boarded the cruise ship at 11:30 AM on the 30th of December, and set sail at 4:00 PM, for 10 days.  The ship normally cruises with 5,000, but for safety, they only allowed 1,500 passengers, and we had to be fully vaccinated, and have a negative Covid test 2 days before sailing. 

New Year's Eve was a formal night.  The whole ship was decorated, and dinner was extravagant.  The partying went on until the wee hours of the morning, but Dave and I didn't last that long, just around midnight we crashed into bed.  We knew that we had plenty ahead of us.  We were on our way to Panama, Costa Rico, Columbia, and Aruba.

What a way to end the year, and after more than 2 years without any cruising this was a great way to start cruising again.