Friday, June 23, 2023

Care Packages on Thursday

Ripe Plum

The plum tree was planted in 2021 and there were two fruits on it the first year.  Last year, there were about nine plums.  This year, we have a few more fruits, but, the birds are starting to peck at them!  On Thursday, I picked most of the ripe and ripening plums, plus two green, unripe ones that fell while I was picking the other fruit.  I washed the plums and packed them in a container to send to my daughter. 

2023 Plum Harvest

There are two more plums left to ripen on the tree; hopefully, the birds will leave them alone!

My smashed toe is very colorful, today, and still a bit painful (there is more bruising on the underside than on top!).  So, I've been limping around, which seems to be triggering cramps!  I am glad I got the chutney and jam making done before I hurt my toe!

I did a load of laundry, today, and I reorganized my freezer and updated my freezer inventory.  I had organized and inventoried my freezer not that long ago, but, that was before I began to pick snow pea pods and blueberries from the garden on a daily basis.  I just bagged those up and stuck them in the freezer, wherever there was some room and the freezer soon became a mess.  So, today, I reorganized it again, and tried to put things together.  I also took out some cake and cookies I had frozen (some of what neighbor S gave me) to send to my daughter.  As a result, I now have enough room for the celery I plan to freeze.  

While I was still reorganizing the freezer, my late friend A's older daughter C arrived to collect the items I am sending to my daughter.  C and her sister are planning to go up to the Bay Area to spend C's birthday weekend with my daughter.  It's her first birthday after her mother's death and I know from personal experience that those firsts are difficult to say the least.  C and her sister will drive up on Friday morning, stay with my daughter until Sunday morning, and drive back on Sunday afternoon.  They have planned a series of fun activities including doing an escape room, visiting a science museum which has a rainforest exhibit, a hike and a picnic (weather permitting) or going to the botanical gardens, and a special dinner to celebrate C's birthday.  My daughter spent last weekend deep cleaning her apartment and she's preparing rice and curries for Friday night's dinner.  

I gave C a bag with a jar of jam and a jar of chutney for herself, her sister, and their father.  I also offered her the individual pots of overnight oats that my neighbor S gave me and she was happy to have them.  Then, I gave her the two bags of items I am sending to my daughter.  One bag is all fresh fruits and vegetables (peaches, blueberries, plums, the green beans I picked the other day, some green chilies) and the cake and cookies I had taken out from the freezer.  The other bag contained the jars of jam, canned peaches, and chutney for my daughter, along with a box of beads (my mother's bead collection) and a book on bead jewelry since my daughter has discovered the joys of making bead jewelry.  I also sent her several small containers to organize the beads.

Lunch was rice, shrimp curry (from the freezer), and garbanzo beans curry (from the freezer).  Dinner was mostly snacking (popcorn, peanuts, fruit) as lunch had been eaten quite late.  

On Thursday, I was grateful for:

- C picking up the packages I was sending to my daughter
- Cousin N sending me a surprise package 
- Phone calls and emails from friends
- Working appliances
- What I was able to accomplish

Today's joyful activity was sending a care package to my daughter through her friend.

Plans for Friday include tidying the kitchen and tending to the garden with M.

How was your Thursday?  What are your plans for Friday?


 

18 comments:

  1. Your daughter will be so pleased to receive her gifts from you and I'm sure she will have a wonderful weekend spent with her friends. I hope your sore toe gets better soon.

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    1. Yes, I think my daughter will be happy to receive the items I've sent her. I know she'll have a fun weekend with her friends. She has known these girls since she was 4 years old and refers to them as her cousins. :)

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  2. How wonderful to send a care package of things you grew or made for your daughter ... food stuffs are the best gifts (IMO) they don't have to be dusted or stored for too long! Oh your poor toe, let's hope it is nothing worse than bad bruising ... broken toes take a bit to heal.

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    1. It was a joy to get the package ready and very thankful that I had the opportunity to send it to her. My toe is a lovely shade of purple, today! But, I think it is only bruised and not broken.

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  3. What a nice care package you are sending to her daughter. And to have it delivered by two of her "cousins" makes it even more special.

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    1. Thank you, June; care packages are fun to assemble, especially when they will be personally delivered! I think the three of them will have a wonderful weekend. :)

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  4. I've spent today (Friday) with my friend, L. We had a lot to catch up on and have been laughing a lot. It's been a good day.

    I'm sure your daughter will be delighted with the care package you have sent to her. I hope she has a fun weekend with her friends and enjoy celebrating C's birthday. This year of 'first' is always difficult.

    So sorry to read that you have bruised your toe and hope it heals soon. xx

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    1. Yay! You can comment on my blog, again!
      Glad you've had a fun day spent in the company of your friend.
      I know my daughter and her friends have been planning and looking forward to this trip for a long time. I know they will have fun together.
      My toe is all purple, today! But, I think it will heal soon.

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  5. How lovely to be able to add plums to the care package. It is getting bigger and bigger! I hope the girls have a wonderful weekend and that C particularly enjoys her birthday.
    We seem to have spent most of the day away but DH's cataract surgery went well and it is now a case of endless drop administration (my job) and there are some follow up appointments during the weeks ahead.

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    1. I had been hoping I'd be able to do so, Bushlady, so I was very happy that the plums ripened just in time!
      Thank you; the girls reached there safely (they were getting late and I was concerned and told my daughter to let me know when they got there).
      I'm so glad that your DH's surgery went well. Sounds like you'll be busy giving him the drops and going to follow up appointments, etc. Hope it all works out well.

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  6. Poorly toes can be very painful - poor you! As you say, it could have been much worse if either it or the jar had broken, but is still very sore I'm sure. Hope it doesn't take too long to heal. Glad the girls are having a special weekend together. Great that daughter is able to share some fresh garden produce!
    Ella

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    1. I felt very sorry for myself when I smashed my toe, but it's getting better, now. Still quite colorful and a bit swollen, but, it's not as painful.
      The girls are enjoying themselves, by all accounts; I'm glad. I was very happy to be able to send some of the fresh garden produce. :)

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  7. Your daughter will really appreciate the care package, especially as it would have been put together with love and care.
    I hope the girl enjoy a lovely weekend together. Xx

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    1. My daughter was very pleased to receive the care package. :) I think the girls are having a lovely time. They went out to dinner last night and did an escape room. They've a full day planned for today, too! :)

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  8. Plums look yummy!! I hope your toe heals quickly, as I know how trying to compensate for one physical ailment can throw other things off. Do take care.

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    1. Thank you, Susanne. I tried one of the plums and it was very sweet! The toe is healing and I should soon be able to walk without limping. :)

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  9. It sounds like that jar really did a number on your toe. You are right, the timing at least was good having gotten all your peaches processed.
    Good job getting your freezer all sorted and organized. That's always a good job to get done.

    What a nice care package on it's way to your daughter. Actually by now she's no doubt happily received it. You put together some real treats.
    How nice that you had some beading things from her grandmother for her to enjoy with her new beading endeavor.

    I've never beaded. Well - I've thrown the odd bead onto various stitching projects here and there but never really beaded.

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    1. That jar of honey landed just so that it fell right where the toe nail starts on the 2nd left toe. The toe is quite bruised, but, it is starting to feel better, now.
      Getting that freezer organized was important because I no longer knew what I had and didn't have! I still have zucchini from the "summer of zucchini" 2021! I didn't plant any zucchini this year, so it's a good thing that I still have some in the freezer! But, I think I'd better use some of it up, soon!
      Yes, my daughter has received her care package, but, I think she's not had time to look through things at leisure. She'll do that after the weekend. But, she's made a couple of pairs of lovely earrings with a starter beading kit she bought for herself, following online tutorials, and wanted to get more beads, so I offered to send her the beads I had at home. I once made a beaded trim to attach to a sari blouse (along the neckline and the 3/4 length sleeves), but, haven't made any jewelry with beads.

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