Orange and Red...

I saddened to say that I did not pick all of the fruit dangling from the citrus trees yet.  There was just far too much and far too little time to get it all picked.  Michael and I picked until we were just too tired to climb the ladder again.  I guess that is a sure sign that my age is creeping up on me!  Still we managed to harvest a couple of bushels of the Satsumas and nigh on thirty pounds of kumquats.   It is the kumquats that take forever to pick!  Those little rascals do not fill the basket very fast and the trees are covered with two inch long thorns!  (Today my hands and arms are full of scratches!) I am happy to say that although the temperature dropped well below the freezing mark, the remainder of fruit survived!  It seems that none of it is any worse for wear so we will be back on the ladders in the morning if the rains hold.  As it is, my kitchen is filled with boxes and baskets of fruit!  Marmalade-making is in the near future!  I would also like to try my hand at canning citrus juice!  I am sure it can be done but I have not found any directions as of yet.  At times, I tire of chopping all of those grapefruit, lemons, Satsumas and kumquats required to make the marmalade. I, also, tire of eating that much!  The shelves hold over three hundred jars of jams and jellies and adding another hundred or so of marmalade seems to be a bit of overkill.  Still, I hate to waste the fruit.

After tiring of the fruit-picking chore, I started "undecorating" the house.  If I do not start now to take down the Christmas decorations, it will be well into January before I accomplish that task.  I started in the entryway since it is the smallest area that was decorated.  I took down the tiny village and the garland.  Stepping back to see if I missed anything, I noticed the red bells.  Since they were hung near the ceiling, I asked Michael to remove them.  This is a string of lights in the shape of red Christmas bells.  Each bell is about five inches in length.  The string of lights is not something that I, personally, would have purchased but I do hang them each season.  Why, may you ask, do I hang them?  Well, it all boils down to the fact that they were given to me years ago by an uncle that I simply adored.  One time when I was at my Uncle Lucius and Aunt Betty's house, he handed me the lights and asked if I wanted them.  Sure! He told me that they used to hang in their entry and thought that I should hang them in mine now.  I was honored that he gave them to me so now, each year, the lights come out of storage to adorn the entryway.  Every time I hang the lights, I think of Aunt Betty and Uncle Lucius.  They are no longer with us except in our memories but what wonderful memories I have of them!  Each year, I will hang these bells and smile then at the end of the season, they will carefully be packed away to await the coming of Christmas again.  Memories!