Rose petal jam and other matters

It is Memorial Day morning and the coffee shop is absolutely empty, which proves that the coffee buyers of this town are all Conventional Schedule workers. They are still tucked in bed looking forward to barbecue this afternoon.
The girl who is working couldn't dredge up a smile. She said she had been up until the early hours because the house next door to her's had been vandalized. The police caught the perps. All girls, the eldest nine the youngest six. They did a lot of damage, including pouring a can of paint all over a hundred year old piano.

The inconsequentiality that I really wanted to share this morning is my discovery of the utility of rose petals. I have millions of roses so I dried a lot and distributed tasteful bowls of them all over the house, but there were still tons left. From somewhere in the recesses of my mind a little voice whispered 'rose petal jam' so I tried it. They make good jam, with lots of their own pectin, and they make really good strawberry jam with just a few strawberries and a lot of rose petals. Red roses make flaming red jam. I used a mix of red and yellow.
We had a day of beautiful gentle rain falling from a flat gray sky! It had been months. The thunderheads are beginning their daily gatherings over the mountains, but they rarely venture over the desert which dissipates them in a heart beat.

All that glitters.....................

A rose is a rose is a rose even if all that glitters is not gold, but in this case what glittered was gold. I was driving out of a strip mall when I saw something glittering on the road. Because I am well trained in my habit of looking at absolutely everything as a potential treasure, I parked the car and picked up the glittering object. It was a heavy gold bangle with a really good fastener that was hard to see, thus not compromising its absolute simplicity. It was the bangle I have wanted for decades. I took it into Walgreens, and asked if anyone had lost a bracelet. No. I asked if I could leave my phone number in case someone came in looking for it. The counterperson said no. I had to leave the bracelet. I said no, remembering how the ring I found had discreetly disappeared in the hands of its caregivers in a similar situation. I put an ad in the paper, but no-one called. I now have the bracelet I always wanted, but I am not happy about it because I know it is not mine. I know, I know, it is all inconsequential. It certainly puts a bias on my Found Objects Index.

Call of the garden

I am having grave reservations about my decision to stay in the heat and take an intensive Spanish course and tend my garden this summer. But last night I had a home grown artichoke for dinner. Here is a picture of said artichoke as a youth. It was far and away the best artichoke I ever ate. It needed no condiment, not even salt. Best thing I've eaten all year. I have snap peas, swiss chard and spinach as well. If I stick around and keep watering heaven knows what delights await.

But it's hot! Might be 100F tomorrow.