HOME CANNING TOMATOES

Last night was nostalgia time.

I had dinner at the bar at Tavern ‘n Town with Buffalo’s Tom and Fran. They return home wednesday.

Tom mentioned they had received a telephone call from their daughter earlier in the day. She lives somewhere else in the U.S. She told her parents they were needed a week from this weekend. It was tomato canning time.

That opened the door. Fran is of Italian extraction. Italian cooking obviously part of her life.

I mentioned that as far back as 3 and 4, I could remember helping my parents can tomatoes. Four or five bushels each time. My job was to skin the tomatoes after they had been boiled.

Tom and Fran are a generation behind me. She uses a machine to squish the tomatoes. I have no recollection of a machine. Everything was done by hand.

The tomatoes led to other canning experiences. We got into wine making, canning pears, canning peaches, canning peppers, and making sausage in oil.

A pleasant trip back in time.

We also chatted about Syracuse football. A great start! 2-0. Can freshman quarterback Dungey lead the team to a glorious season?

Robert and Elena Spottswood stopped by to say hello. Two of the nicest people in Key West. I see Robert about once a year. I had not seen Elena in probably five. Her beauty has not changed one iota in the 15 years I have known the couple.

My yesterday began with the anti-gravity treadmill. It was Body Owners proprietor’s first day back from her honeymoon. The Grand Canyon and Las Vegas.

Then to Tammy for a manicure. Love the lady! We talk about everything.

Lunched at home. Must grocery shop. I am down to next to nothing. Even the freezer is empty.

Today is James Fenimore Cooper’s birthday (1789-1851).

Fenimore spent most of his life in Cooperstown. Cooperstown is a 45 minute drive from my old home town Utica. Visited Cooperstown often for business and pleasure. Cooperstown primarily known as home to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Fenimore was a novelist. One of his most famous works Last of the Mohicans.

His home is a tourist attraction. It sits grandly overlooking Otsego Lake. I have been in the home many times. As a tourist/visitor, with my twin grandsons, and at social events.

It is not Fenimore’s original home. That burned down sometime around 1850. The present one was built nearby by Fenimore’s daughter who used bricks and materials salvaged from the burned down home as part of the building materials..

Most visits to the Fenimore house included of course a stop at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Not a place to be missed.

Kim Davis is a religious fanatic. Sorry if I step on some toes. What she is doing is wrong. She is in effect imposing her religious beliefs on those she was elected to represent. She is also making a mockery out of the law.

I refer specifically to her changing the face of the marriage certificate. Crossed out is County Clerk and written over is by order of a federal court decision. The name of the County has been omitted also. In its place is the community where issued. Medford.

The marriage  certificate form and substance is probably by State law. Kim has no right to unilaterally change such. She is neither the Kentucky State Legislature nor Governor.

My blog talk radio show tonight at 9. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Join me. www.blogtalkradio.com/key-west-lou.

Topics include a bit more re Kim Davis, Afghanistan’s opium and heroin business doing well in spite of war, the European migration situation, where and when the Middle East problem got its start, a Russian bank that was discovered to be using fake gold as reserve capital, Merkel pushing for a European military, and more.

Enjoy your day!

11 comments on “HOME CANNING TOMATOES

  1. “Kim Davis is a religious fanatic. Sorry if I step on some toes. What she is doing is wrong. She is in effect imposing her religious beliefs on those she was elected to represent. She is also making a mockery out of the law.”

    Anyone who respects the Rule of Law (as opposed to anarchy) must agree. A great counter-example of her behavior would infuriate the NRA gun nuts. We have many peace-loving Quakers here, if one became the County’s clerk I can legitimately see them saying I will issue no concealed weapons permits as they violate my religious beliefs. Our Founding Fathers knew separation of Church and State was crucial, otherwise we will become Iran.

  2. I am no fan of Kim Davis. She makes me cringe as she wails on tv. I would respect her if she resigned her post and stopped grandstanding. It’s just a matter of time before a Muslim in Dearbornistan pulls the same crap and proclaims they won’t do their job because of Mohammed or because they believe in sharia law. If Kim Davis were to prevail, the precedent would be terrible. Nevertheless, tossing her in prison was dumb — it underscores how F’d up this country is when we have illegals committing crimes out on bail, Hillary not even charged, etc. I mean, a federal just wouldn’t grant her bail?! Dumb. Took the bait for those who believe there is a war on Christianity. There is, but this is not the issue to fight it on.

    • I agree that this nation is cracking on so many fronts. I also would respect Davis if she resigned her post and stated she did so as her beliefs did not permit her to follow the law as currently enacted. All her theatrics are doing is showing the masses how insane the opposition to homosexual marriage is when there are legitimate religious beliefs that may not allow such a union. However, those beliefs are private and nobody, not even the feds (yet) can command a place of worship to marry gays contrary to the church’s principles. A marriage license is a governmental piece of paper and quite realistically a revenue source at that, it is NOT the place to protest as Ms. Davis is as she is in the wrong constitutionally.

  3. The ‘machine’ is called a food mill and has been around for about 2 centuries. The most common today is made by Foley, still use one every year, and it has other uses.

  4. Isn’t Kim Davis an elected official? As such, she could be impeached.

    And, the Constitution of the State of Kentucky doesn’t recognize gay marriage.

    Also, the principle of Nullification comes to bear (i.e., the Feds can’t command local resources).

    So, it’s a mess.

    The answer is secession. Make the political state smaller so that everyone can be free-er.

  5. Hillary did nothing illegal!!! You two right wing nuts who respond daily need to get a grip!!!
    And watch out for insane bumper stickers in key west, you may get keyed.

    • Hey anonymous. Sounds like a threat. A typical liberal response to anyone with an opinion different from yours. You only believe in free speech when people agree with you. Now grow up and put your keys away.

  6. Anonymous on September 15, 2015 at 4:06 pm said:
    Hillary did nothing illegal!!! You two right wing nuts who respond daily need to get a grip!!!
    And watch out for insane bumper stickers in key west, you may get keyed.
    end quote

    Why hide behind such an imaginative name, its probably all the imagination you can muster.
    Oh, I will be in Key West as usual. Thanks for the warning and hope we meet.

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