WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS
A friend gave me a box of lemons and I spent part of the afternoon squeezing them. I meant to squeeze them yesterday, but the day flew by too quickly. My friend lives near Sun City, a beautiful retirement community of 55+ elders. I LOVE “old people” and their citrus trees! HA! Did you ever notice how the elderly always seem to have some kind of citrus abundance thing going on? At least that is the way it appears to be out here in the Valley of the Sun. It cracks me up. I can talk because I am definitely “over the hill” and sliding down the backside of the mountain into the sunset. My elderly neighbors ~ I call them the “O.G.’s”, for original gangsters ~ all seem to have a lot of fruit trees, mostly citrus. The orange blossoms fill the air with the most heavenly fragrance this time of year. The cool thing is that everyone is eager to share their bounty. Usually I turn away the big bags and boxes, but figured that I would be a little more recession minded and see what I could come up with as far as this citrus situation goes. So, I hand squeezed the lemons and got about 5 cups worth of juice. I didn’t realize how far lemon juice can go and how little is needed to make lemonade. Tomorrow I plan on trying my hand at some lemon tarts that I figured I could give to my neighbors and family here. I’m guessing that I can make quite a big batch of them. I seriously have no idea where the lemon juice thing will take me but I am certain to enjoy the adventure. I will keep you updated. If nothing else, I had a zen moment squeezing lemons and I enjoyed that very much. The whole process was very fun, I felt like a little old grandma with my enamel ware and glass juicer. Thoughts of the women who came before me with their vintage kitchens ran through my mind. I could imagine sheets and clothes hanging on a line outside and tall sunflowers blowing in the breeze along the garden fence. I was taken to another time in a different world of my own into what I come close to calling perfect. The best thing this economic freak out has done is drive many of us to simpler ways of living. It is delicious.
Of course, the remainder of the lemons and tonight’s dinner all went into the compost, ready to do it’s thing. Life is so good when at it’s most basic levels.
