Jarom's First Cooking Class

Jarom asked to learn how to make boysenberry jelly.

So one Saturday, in August, we took out all the items we needed and started crushing the boysenberries. It was quite a job, but Jarom was ready for the task.

After de-seeding all the berries they went into the pot to heat and add the pectin. Then the sugar and ready for the jars. Jarom did the entire process except for the last minute stirring process. He even filled the jars.

He took home 6 jars of jelly. He let me keep one. Good job Jarom.

22nd Anniversary Vacation

We just celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary recently (Aug. 28). After spending the night with some friends in Sacramento we headed up to Redding to Lake Shasta Caverns. Wow! What an experience. It was cool and beautiful. The ride across the lake was nice and the weather that day was wonderful. A short bus ride up the hill and through a heavy locked door to the caverns. The 100+ steps are not for the faint hearted. I do say I had to stop a few times even though I exercise 6 days a week.

We then drove toward the coast and stayed the night in Arcata and on to the ocean the next morning. We drove down the coast had a nice lunch overlooking the bay at Mendocino and headed inland. We have driven all of the California coast except the last 80 miles north from Eureka to the Oregon border. Maybe next time.

I love the coast, the smell of the sea air and hearing the waves. The Humboldt Redwoods were beautiful. If you get a chance, you've just got to go.

New Cat in the House

We adopted a new kitten by default. While visiting my father in So. California we decided to take home a cat he had been given to see how he (Jack) got along with Nimitz. It took a few days but they get along great. They have a lot of fun together and Nimitz doesn't expect us to play with him all the time. We enjoy both of them and so do the grandkids and Christi especially when they come over. We have been introducing Jack Bandit to the back yard on a leash.