Hodgepodge Days

I recently spent a little over a week down at our provincial house in Hankinson, ND.  It was so good to get away!
 
Since returning to Grand Forks early Sunday afternoon, though, my life has been quite a hodgepodge of events and undertakings.

Monday morning, we got a pickup-full of corn in, donated by a local family in keeping with their annual tradition.  After Mass, we started husking and cleaning.  After lunch and the “freedom ceremony” for Sister Elaine’s newly-emerged Monarch, Charlie, we continued. We (residents and I) had to quit around 3 p.m. since I was due at the front desk soon.  The rest of the corn, we put out for our staff and apartment residents to take.
 
When all we had done was counted, we had 71 bags of corn to freeze, equaling about 850 ears to be enjoyed in the coming months.  I was quite spent by the end of the ordeal. 
 
Normally, I have a spring in my step and walk at decent speed, but, as I neared the convent to take care of something before my shift at the desk, there was no “spring” to be found. 
 
The next day, being Tuesday, was to include leading Bible Study or hymn-sing.  I hadn’t known if we would do more corn that morning so I hadn’t prepared anything.  I just grabbed my music binder and sat down at the piano, gathering residents to enjoy some hymns together.
 
In the afternoon, my thoughts turned toward making jam.  We’re planning a little outdoor sale a week from Saturday, and I need to get some of the frozen plum puree and chokecherries made up into jam.  I have to squeeze it in when I have windows of time free. 
 
I realized, though, that I was running short on lids.  I was waiting to hear back from our staff who had gone out shopping that morning to see if they were able to find more.  When I learned that they had not found any, I spent quite some time calling around to local stores and even looking online.  In frustration, I realized that I could have had a batch of jam made in the time it took to do this investigation!  As I type this, I am waiting on a few people who either have lids or are going to check.
 
We have care conferences this afternoon, but I hope to do some batches of plum jam after that. 
 
Oops; I think I got ahead of myself – back to yesterday’s hodgepodge…
 
After sorting out my jars and collecting my ingredients, realizing there was nothing more I could do, I went out to tend to my garden. 
 
I’ve been a little concerned about my squash since they hadn’t yet flowered.  The afternoon’s outing to “Mary’s Garden,” however, brought some uplifting discoveries!  One or two of my tomato plants that I’d started from seed now were bearing, and the squash had now had some flowers! 
 
Late last evening, at the desk, I printed the recipe for plum jam, and was doing various other work, when an urgent call came in and someone needed help.  What a day!! 
 
Today, while working here, I’ve continued various tasks and research on how to use the steam-canner we received recently. 
And, the hodgepodge of events continues…
 
I stepped into the little break room behind the office to get coffee grounds out, and naughty the pot spit at me.  Thankfully, we just brought Aloe Vera plants back from Hanksinson, and I could use a piece to treat the burn, which is starting to smart.
 

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