Where in the world is Lola?

Here I am!

As it turns out, I was not abducted by Aliens, I did not join the witness protection program, nor did the zombie apocalypse begin in the Northwest United States. I've been here all along. You know, just relishing in the abundance of life! That's just one way of saying, "Oh good gravy, life is non-stop action!" 

I'll just do the highlights:

The fruit must be obeyed:

When the "Hoods" come on (Mt. Hood, Oregon Strawberry variety), you have no choice but to drop everything and scoop them up. This old fashioned variety is small in size, quite perishable, and the best tasting strawberry you will ever have! To not immediately run out and make a quadruple batch of low sugar jam, would be tantamount to blasphemy and lead to painful regret and despair. We also ate them fresh and I had enough to try out my new dehydrator making fruit leather.

I really wish this was a scratch-n-sniff picture. So good!

Then came the raspberries. These from our own small patch. It seems my worry over my pruning job this winter was unfounded. They have come on like gangbusters! Fresh handfuls of just picked raspberries are the preferred method of consumption. Still,we had enough to make a small batch of jam, freeze a few pints and they are still going strong.

And there were the cherries! Having never grown cherries and having inherited one sweet and one sour variety when we bought this house; I did some research. I was a bit surprised that the trees were already dropping fruit (a sunnier spring than normal?). So we picked the first go-round. Being a bit canned out, I dried this first batch to use later. The second picking may see some canning of chutney and possibly a cherry Brandy.

There's this kid:

She ended 3rd grade and is moving on to a bigger school next year. We had a week of celebratory classroom community fun. She had a great teacher this year,a lot of challenges, and was ever unflinchingly herself. I am so proud and madly in love with this girl!

And this:

Go on! Get a kitten, you know you want to! Pure joy. No trouble, no trouble at all.

xo