Generosity lives

About three years ago, my husband and I decided to plant two kumquat trees, a navel orange tree, and a Morrow (blood orange) tree. So far, all of them have been producing copious amounts of fruit, except for the navel. I have been sharing my blood oranges, and kumquats with neighbors, friends, and family. It occurred to me that since kumquats are a citrus fruit, why not try to make marmalade from them. I began my internet search for a good recipe, and once I found that, my husband and I began preparing to make some. It took us nearly three days, since you have to thinly slice and seed the kumquats. We actually became quite proficient with that part. We ended up with a total of 18 pints of the most delicious marmalade I have ever had!! The recipe calls for one orange as well, so I used one of our blood oranges. What a beautiful amber color it gave the jam, and an awesome flavor! It was so wonderful spending time together with my husband in the kitchen, and to have felt like we accomplished something so tasty.

 

Yesterday evening, as we were about to sit down to dinner, there was a knock at the front door. It was my neighbor from next door, surprising me with a lovely gift she made for me. I am so in love with my new hand tied blanket!!! I had no idea she was a crafty sort of person. After I thanked and hugged her, she left and I opened the card she included with my gift. This past summer, she had a car accident, where someone rear ended her. Oops! Not a good day for the other person, since she works for the California Highway Patrol. Anyway, she sustained back and neck injuries, and living alone, it was difficult for her to bring her trash cans to the curb for pickup and then put them back in her yard. My husband and I have been happily helping her out with them. Then, on March 4th, her mother passed away, and I let her know that whatever she needed, just let me know! Her beautifully handwritten note meant as much to me as the blanket she so thoughtfully crafted for me!! Oh, did I mention she went home with a pint of kumquat marmalade? (In case you start counting the jars in the picture, some of them were already boxed up for a trip to kids in Denver)

I have been trying to get some spinning in every day, and even ended up ordering some more fiber yesterday. I started spinning some more of this pink superwash 100% merino combed top, and will do a two ply yarn. I wanted a more solid, or even a tonal dyed braid of Blue Face Leicester, and or, a blend of BFL. I want to spin and ply it with another braid of BFL/Seacell blend that I've already spun up. I can't hardly wait to see what the results will be!

It's rare that my daughter asks me to knit anything for her, so I'm thinking I might knit her up a little cardigan for spring/summer. I think the 'Peggy Sue' would be adorable on her! Now, to choose a yarn to go with her gorgeous strawberry hair and crystal blue eyes...