Making Jam/Visiting the Animmal Shelter/Daylilly Farm

I have been on a roll for the past few week in preparation for hosting a baby/toddler one year party-more to come. One of the things I am really guilty of is really overdoing it in the party planning business. So most of last week I spent cleaning, organizing, making a floral arrangement, and really "important" stuff. I would like to think that someone would comment "wow your baseboards are really clean" but really they just wanted a hot dog. So I got three major tasks done on Saturday 7/7/07

Goal #21- Make homemade jam- I have a huge fig tree in my yard that every year I promise to myself make something figgy. So this year I went to the big farmer market in Raleigh and picked up plums/nectarines and made jam. I gave away jars at the party as well as to friends in the neighborhood. YUM!

Goal #39- Take old towels to the Wake County Animal Shelter/make a donation- I always feel really bad when I go in the grocery and see the collection barrels that people use for trash and not animal supplies. At my old school we had a student chapter of the SPCA. Every year they would do a food drive and I would make it a compete ion between my classes for extra credit. I cannot tell you how sad this place was. They had a big sign on the door stating that if you brought puppies in they would be immediately euthanized due to a contagious virus. I picked the county animal shelter over the local SPCA (where we got our dog Vegas) as we make a annual donation to SPCA , and frankly this place is a last resort for animal care. I also went ahead and make a donation to them already. While there I also asked for the volunteer coordinator name to set up a possible pet drive with my NHS students this fall. I wish I could say that I felt better knowing I had done something good, but as Ben and I were leaving I noticed a big crate of puppies playing, how sad to think of the loved pets they would not have the chance to become. Bleeding heart liberal- you bet!

Goal 11- Visit a local daylilly farm. If you have been to my house you now I love anything that grows. It's in the genes. I used to spend every summer with my grandparents on their farm-snapping beans, canning veggies, feeding chickens. Even my dad grew tomatoes in coffee cans when he was in Vietnam on his airforce base. There is nothing better than working out some frustration in dirt-cheaper than a therapist! I visited a new daylilly farm and picked up three new varieties. Great place, friendly people, good prices, and best of all my son walked 10 steps back and forth across the field. I hope one day he too will love to "play " in the dirt.