Monday, Tuesday

            29^th Monday:  I realized that, come January 2013, my Iowa drivers license would expire while I was in Texas.   Since I didn’t know what to do about that fact, I called back to Iowa and asked.  They gave me the website address where I was able to print out a copy of the “Application for Temporary Extension of Motor Vehicle License” form.  Once I had filled out the information, I faxed the application back to the Iowa D. O. T.  Now I just will need to remember, when I return to Iowa, to get the license actually renewed.

            30^th Tuesday: At coffee this morning I asked for volunteers to help push and pull the Hitch Hiker’s slide-out out. The whole gang marched right down the hill to my trailer and, after I’d disconnected the hydraulic hoses from the slide-out pump, got the slide all the way out into the fully open position.  What a blessing!  The root problem hasn’t been solved.  However, out living space is now as it should be and everything is sealed tight against the weather.

            Last Friday night at the pot luck, we were telling one of our new neighbors about all of the tomatoes that we had ripened and ripening.  She said that she had a recipe* for raspberry jam made form tomatoes.  Today, Ella got the recipe from her and this evening I made the jam with four cups of tomatoes.  Ella also had a recipe for sticky rolls made with Bisquick that she wanted to make for the guys who got our slide-out in place.  We were running low on sugar and flour as well as needing some stick margarine for the sticky rolls.  So, we drove to Kingsland to the H.E.B. grocery store and picked up some supplies. 

            When we went to check out using our debit card, it wouldn’t go through.  This had happened a couple days ago also so we ran it through as a credit card.  Today that didn’t work either.  After paying cash for the groceries, Ella called the credit union.  Sure enough, it was as we thought, our series of out-of-state uses had triggered a safety feature with the cards.  This was unusual activity for our cards so the account had been locked.  When we explained that we would be out of state until mid April of 2013, they made a note in the file and unlocked the account.  It was a little inconvenient but still we appreciate the fact that if our cards had been stolen this would have happened to lock the account before too much damage had been done.  Indeed, it the charges had been larger, it would have locked sooner because that would have been even more suspicious.

*Tomatoe/raspberry “Surprise Jam”  (this is the recipe as it was given to us)

5c chopped, peeled tomatoes

4c sugar

1T lemon juice

2 3oz pkgs raspberry Jello

In a large saucepan or dutch oven combine the tomatoes, sugar and lemon juice.  Cook and stir over high heat until mixture comes to a boil.  Reduce heat, simmer uncovered 25 minutes.  Remove form heat.  Skim off foam, if necessary.  Stir in Jello until completely dissolved.

Pour into jars, cool to room temp (1 hour or so).  Cover.  Let stand 3 hours or until set, but no longer than 24 hours.  Refrigerate up to 3 weeks. 

Yield 5 ½ cups

(I made the following modification to the recipe:  I used 4c of tomatoes and after the mixture was cooked, I blended it to make a more consistent texture.)