Bramasole....to yearn for the sun...

01/01/2026

09/11/2025

Good morning everyone. I just need to do a quick check-in and a whole lotta thank yous. Last week was quite something. And I need to give a few shout outs. As some of you know, I have been quite ill for quite some time. But apparently it wasn’t what we thought it was. Last week I was rushed to the emergency room because of a phone call. I got from my pacemaker monitoring team. Turns out my heart, unbeknownst to me, has been gradually bailing on me. My poor son and husband really stepped up, even though they were freaking out and got me there asap. They ended up shocking my heart back into rhythm and I was there all week. I had to ask them to please not speak in front of Perry using words like “these numbers are not compatible with life” or they were going to have to find another bed. 🤣 as of now I am finally home, all is well and I will be on medication going forward and weekly infusions for the foreseeable future. I got excellent care. I need to shout out to my cousin Jo and my sons who called daily, Tim, who kept things running at home, Sara, who helped him via FaceTime from New York – we love you to death – my brother who kept my mom as calm as you can possibly keep my mom, and of course, Perry, who did everything possible including coming to the hospital at 4 AM before work to bring me extra clothes when needed. Recovery will take quite a little bit and they told me that strengthening my heart is priority one so that’s what I will be doing. Again thanks to all. I can’t tell you how much I love you.
💕😘❤️

19/08/2025

So Perry is the first to admit that he did not want a dog. And I’m the first to admit that I pushed hard. It’s very lonely being home all day and especially being sick and stuck in bed. Needless to say two years and nine months ago, I prevailed. Allie and Perry happen to see this little pup on our local shelter website who had just come in that very day. The next morning, I plan to be there at opening just to take a look. Love at first sight, and I literally had to fight away other potential adopters. A gentleman followed me out to the parking lot offering to buy her and wanting to speak to my husband because he saw I was on the phone with Perry
I don’t know who rescued who because this little girl has become part of the heart of our home. Perry now refers to her as his daughter. She is the sweetest, most loving and gentlest, girl. She has sat with me so many hours and listen to me vent or cry. She gives unconditional love and makes us laugh every day. She’s afraid of absolutely everything which can be pretty funny at times. When Tim came home with mocha, they became instantaneous sissies. Mocha is a third of her size and a year older and definitely in charge. Nova adores her and Tim and Sara are her favorite people besides mom and dad. And today she’s three. Happiest happy birthday to our Nova. We love you so much. 💖💖💖

10/08/2025

Blueberry jam is a personal favorite. And I love to put either the blueberry or strawberry jams that I make on top of homemade cheesecake. I got 7 1/2 jars today. The half jar is in the fridge for ME 🫐🫐🫐

07/08/2025

05/08/2025

Peach barbecue sauce. I used the skins and scraps to make a pint of peach simple syrup. Can be used for cocktails, making desserts, or peach tea. Time to reorganize the garage… Cowboy candy (aka candied jalapeños) and sweet zucchini relish. Done for today….

25/07/2025

Eggplant cutlets for the freezer. One of my favorite sandwiches in the whole world is eggplant, cutlet, roasted tomatoes, and buratta with a balsamic glaze. Yum!
I put three packages of plain basil in the freezer two days ago. This is pesto. This will go in the freezer and once they’re solid I pop them out and store in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. I can pop one or two right into any sauce and it taste like summer all year. I already have a large container in there. These will just be added. Compound butter made with fresh herbs. When frozen I’ll pop them out and individually wrap. Love keeping those in a Ziploc in the freezer. Now I need coffee…

24/07/2025

21/07/2025

My legs feel like jelly right now.
Eight jars of grape jelly, 7 pints of peach salsa, pepperoncini pickled, green beans, blanched and frozen, a jar of refrigerator pickles, and started picking some tomatoes. Tomorrow I have to deal with about half a dozen large egg plants.  I’m crashing- Tonight is leftovers.

17/07/2025

First batch of my homegrown jalapeños pickled. I should have enough for a second batch within a week or two. I have been canning for 50 years and I have never seen what happened today. I lifted the lid of the canning pot and the first thing I see is peppers and garlic floating around and I almost had a heart attack. I’m thinking one of the lids came off but no. I found this jar. The bottom literally looks like the glass split apart. It is perfectly smooth. It just literally came apart. I’ve never seen this happen thank God it was only one jar.
 Eggplants will be ready within a few days for caponata, rollatini and parm, and I already made a batch of basil salt and will be making a bunch of pesto.

06/07/2025

Trying to be productive. Started the day refilling my garlic jar in the fridge. Then went out before the rain started and picked my first eggplants and some basil to make caponata. Made a double batch and got 5 containers for the freezer. While I was working on that I made a pot of vegetable stock and got 5 1/2 quarts for the freezer. The pups had a yummy dinner tonight with lots of the boiled veggies.
On to start dinner….