But the "regular" stuff...eggs, sugar, you know..
And we have GREAT neighbors. Really great neighbors who would do anything for me ( thanks again Robert, for shoveling the sidewalk after Mr. B went to work that morning...did you see the "thank you Robert" I wrote on your snowy windshield??)
And our young neighbors on the other side have been doing some major remodeling...
M-A-J-O-R...
..like they have not had hot water for about 3 weeks now. So they "borrow" a shower, a quick bath for the little boys, you know, that kind of stuff....... Oh, and the occasional eggs when Chicker or Ophelia are on strike...
..and to be honest, I would feel really badly if I knew they needed or wanted something and didn't ask...
But my "need" or "want" is a little weird. Sort of.
You see, I need dandelions. And as you know from a previous post, Mr. B is adamant that no, we do not have dandelions.
Unfortunately, neither side-ways neighbors have dandelions either.
Can't run to the market and buy dandelions...
What?? I forgot to tell you what I wanted the dandelions for??
Oh, a great recipe for Dandelion Jelly!
I made the cookies right away (shoulda guessed, right?) but didn't get around to making the jelly.
I decided to send my sister Kathy the cute little book because she is always trying new recipes.
I would have sent it to my sister Geri, but the only reason she has a kitchen is because it came with the house.......
Anyway, I called Kathy & she sent me back the recipe for the jelly. Remember, this was quite a few years back...back when Mr. B and the kids and I used to go to the mountains on the week-ends for day trips.
That's where I spotted them....a whole meadow with all of the dandelions I could ever imagine! And I thought, "well at least I don't have to worry about the neighborhood dogs peeing on them!" (didn't once think about the bears, moose, deer and...heaven forbid..skunks!)
I got a bag from the car and went happily dandelion picking while Mr. B fished, Brandi rolled her eyes and tuned in her Walkman (that's how long ago it was!!) and Jeff slept..
While I was giddly-picking, a forest ranger drove up in a forest-ranger-official-truck and looked at me like I was...you know... a little ....off..
He rolled down his window and said, very slowly so I could understand....
"Hey there lady..you do know those are weeds..RIGHT?????
I just smiled and waved and tried to look not too goofy. He just shook his head and drove off...Guess I looked goofy....
So you can see my hesitation when I have only one yard in the neighborhood with a TON of dandelions...and the Mom doesn't speak English very well. And even if she did...I'm not certain I could get across that I wanted her dandelions....that I wasn't performing some sort of "lawn-care-service" or "community-beautification-project"...
Ah well. Maybe next year. Mr. B never did taste the Dandelion Jelly I made so long ago..but it was ...........Fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So here's to good neighbors, alternative food sources (how's that for "going green"? Or in this case ....yellow..) and Dandelion Jelly.
-me
7 comments:
Well, I have never tried Dandelion Jelly or Dandelion Greens, but I love Dandelions! I love to hold the flower un my chin - if my chin reflects the yellow, it means someone loves me...I love making Dandelion braided necklaces and crowns (I was a flower child). And I love blowing the Dandelion puffs into the wind - trying to blow all of them off the stem - if I do, I get my wish! All childhood games I grew up with..Thanks for the memories this post gave me!
Penny
My hubby just had to come to see what I was laughing about,,,so I read him your story..sorry, he thinks you're really strange.LOL...I mean really...dandelions!!!Jelly??!! That is so funny, oh by the way...do dried ones work, my daughter has a beautiful yard that you would love...alllllll dandelions.lol. I'll send you some...maybe you can start a new trend. Send me your address, I have something else to send you (its ok, don't be scared lol) lm.sm@comcast.net Laurie
Well, we have a few dandelions... a very few... but I could send them to you! LOL We had Mennonite neighbors once upon a time, and I remember their kids picking them and eating them right out of the ground. I guess they did it just to show my kids that they were edible. My kids LOVED those cool kids! PS... I wish you were my neighbor!
Is it the yellow flowers you use? before they turn into Ginny-joes? That's what we used to call the fluffy bits. We'd sing "Ginny-Joe, Ginny-Joe fly away...Ginny-Joe, Ginny Joe, come back some day"
(we had no toys...we had to play with weeds!)
We used to, (when we were kids) call them...well..."piss-in-the-beds" (yellow flowers) and we would not touch them for fear of disgracing ourselves that night.cheers...Pam
Oh my goodness! I giggled at your post and just guffawed at a couple of the previous comments!! Dandelions! We just don't have them out here cuz, well...no grass!! LOL! I do remember picking them when I was a child and proudly presenting them to my mother. She'd put them in water and I'd be so disappointed when I'd come back in to check on them 15 minutes later and they'd all be wilted!
I'm not sure I could eat dandelion jelly! You'd have to trick me and tell me it was something else...then tell me what it really is after I'd eaten it! I'm just funny that way! LOL!
Jan
Yes i remember ginny joes ,and the songs we would sing while blowing them all over the place,and it was buttercups that we put under our chin,[to see if we liked butter] and dock leaves to stop nettle stings,my grandmother used to boil nettles and eat them like cabbage !!!ANGIE
My children have insructions: I want a bouquet of dandelions on my casket. Or they will get haunted. I love those little tiny natures flowers. Weeds?! Don't even say the word.
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