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?