The lowdown

Roses
I am pleased to report that the roses are doing great. Six of seven have bloomed repeatedly, and continue to do so. The seventh is growing but is still quite small. Abraham Darby is my favorite. He full, lush, quartered and fragrant. Livy and Gunnar decided that he smells like raspberry lemonade. Charlotte is coy. Heritage is delicate. Glamis Castle is white and fluffy with a small pink center - it reminds me of a baby nipple. (weird but true). L.D. Braithwaite is a bit disappointing... but I'll wait and see if he grows on me.
It is delightful to have cut roses around the house. I share them with the neighbors too - that's fun.

Herman the Cat
Friday evening we took Herman in to be put to sleep. Very sad. Pete and I adopted Herman 13 years ago. We weren't yet married, the cat was really Pete's. I thought we should name him Sir Edmund Shakelton - we'd been watching a documentary on PBS. Pete decide to name him after me (my maiden name is Herrmann). Herman was a lovely cat, charcoal grey with yellow eyes. He was gentle with us, never scratching or biting. When we got married Herman had to share us with Asha - the cat I brought into the mix. They never did love each other much. Hermie liked to chase her down and rip out a hunk of fur. Bad kitty! Both of those cats loved to tip over containers of water whenever they could. Just forget about setting out a vase of flowers! But Herman in particular loved water. You had to watch him closely or he would sneak into the shower with you. Most of his life Herman was fat. But that past couple of years he got scary-skinny. Then he began to pull out his own fur (maybe he missed Asha). He hasn't been well. Friday morning I discovered that he'd peed in Talia's closet... and there went the camel's back. Time to say goodbye.
For the first time since 1992 I am without a cat. To tell the truth, I couldn't be happier. With two kids, a baby, a dog, a hamster and a fish, one less being to care for seems like a blessing. No more spilled milk, spilled water, tipped-over flowers. No more stepping into the laundry room and finding cat litter stuck to the bottom of my feet. No more cat puke in the hallway, bathroom, foyer, etc. No more chunks of fur on the steps right after I've vaccuumed. No more meowing at 5 am. No more stinky cat food. No more litter boxes to empty. Yes.


Cherries
We picked a pail of sour cherries off of mom and dad's tree before they moved. That pail has been sitting in the downstairs fridge for a couple of weeks. I decided I needed to take action before it all turned to compost fodder. As I washed and sorted the cherries I decided that pitting them all seemed like too much work. Sour cherries are quite a bit smaller than sweet cherries and pitting is a messy, long job. (But I was tempted because I so adore sour cherry pie!) So I put the cherries in a big pot and chopped at them with our industrial strength pastry blender. Then I cooked them on low for a bit to loosen the juice. I let them drain through a couple layers of cheese cloth for a few hours and then I collected the juice. This morning I boiled the juice, added sugar and boiled it all again for 5 minutes. I was aiming for sour cherry syrup. I think it will actually be closer to jelly. But it tastes like intense sour cherry candy - luscious!

Other than that life here is filled with the mundane activities that keep a family of 5 fed, clothed, clean, and loved. (Gunnar just came down from bath time with a dry head - I sent him back.) I hope you are well fed, clothed, clean and loved too.