I am now the proud owner of 6 pint jars of dilly beans and have more jars ready for the hoped-for pickled cauliflower and brussels sprouts. The applesauce didn't happen because the orchard didn't have the winesaps ready, after all. Because I know that fruit growing (or growing anything, for that matter) is an inexact science I got over my disappointment. Perhaps this week if I'm able to get up to the orchard.


So I made some more chocolate sauce instead. This time, though, I made it according to the recipe and not according to my tweak-it-as-you-go-along method. You know what? It's better. Seriously - and, blow to my ego aside, you really ought to check it out. It's delicious and simple (if a little dangerous - syrup burns really are horrifying so have your aloe plant near by - and pretty quick. If you're organized you can have several pints cooling on the counter in a matter of a half hour or so.


In addition to working today I am in the process of sorting baby clothes. I have a few piles: 1) clothes that I will wash and send to my sister (whose son is due in the next few weeks) 2) clothes that I will wash and keep here for our (drum role please) baby girl and 3) clothes that I probably wouldn't put on a baby girl (yikes! gender roles and she's not even born!) but are too sentimental to give away. My sister's son will be born near enough to my son's birthday so that she will need to spend very little outfitting her boy. My daughter will be born near enough to her daughter's birthday so that I will need to spend very little outfitting my girl. Nice how these things work out.


To wrap up for today, I am one of those sick people who find holiday preparations to be fun. I'm nearly done shopping and am wildly looking forward to wrapping and bow tying and shipping and all the rest. It is in the spirit of my madness I direct your attention to Christmas Baking with Susie J. Sue is a friend from college (we studied German together, with differing degrees of success - she actually speaks and remembers it and visits family in Germany with whom she can converse. sigh.) and is a kuchen goddess. (In a neat bit of serendipity, it turns out that she also was friendly with the man who became my husband although none of us knew that we all knew the others for a while. I also knew the man who has become her husband but, again, it took a while for us all to realize that we all knew each other.) Anyway, in addition to the benefit of Sue's wisdom, you may learn from the recipe submissions and "kitchen disasters" of others (for some reason I have three such entries of the latter). If Christmas is not celebrated in your house but you do have a relentless sweet tooth you, too, should check it out.