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Saturday, September 29, 2012

Oooh, Mama!

This has got to be the Mother of ALL tomatoes!  Jumpin' Jehoshaphat!!  Almost all of the tomatoes from my lone Old German plant were this size or a tad smaller.  And were they good!  This is a must-grow for next year.  (Are you listening/reading, Marianne....?)

Old German heritage tomato.

And speaking of mothers, mine gave me quite a start yesterday.  I was sitting in my office, minding my own beeswax, when the main line rang.  Since the receptionist was out to lunch, I cover the phones.  I glanced at the Caller I.D. when I picked up the handset and wondered who would be calling from Vermont.  It was my mother!!!  Some background here - my mother never, NEVER calls us.  We call her.  She will want to hear from us but, instead of picking up the phone and calling, she stares at her phone and wills us to call.  And, since we have been trained from birth, we do her bidding.  Having her call me and call me at work made my heart lurch.  Turns out, she wanted to make sure it was okay that her doctor's appointment (to which I was acting as chauffeur) was on a Monday.  This is one of the appointments that is out of town for them, so I take the day off and drive them to and from the appointment.  My father is not allowed to drive out of town under threat of bodily harm.  Once I recovered from the shock that she called me at work, I assured her that it was fine and hung up.  I am glad to know that my blood pressure, heart rate and emotional resilience are flexible and intact.

11 comments:

Tiggeriffic said...

Love your tomato.. no tomoatoes for me this year.. too dry..
Glad you recovered from your Mom calling.. your a wonderful daughter to take such good care of your parents.
ta ta for now from Iowa:)

Erin said...

That tomato is spectacular!!! I'm the same way if my mom calls after 7 pm... one time she called at like 9 pm and I just stared at the phone freaking out before I answered. Turns out she wanted to tell me my brother would be having a layover at the Naval Air Station here (he flies C-130's).... whew! After I knew all was well I kind of scolded her a bit for scaring me LOL

Sandy Livesay said...

Susan, Nice looking tomato you have there my friend.
My blood pressure and heart rate would have been up too if my Mom called for the first time at the office. I'm happy to hear it was just about an appointment and your parents are okay.

Michelle said...

That would of scared me to.

Candy C. said...

Glad everything was okay with your mom! It does give one a start when they do something out of the ordinary like that.
That is one lovely tomato!! My favorite variety the past two years has been a German heirloom too, German Johnson. It is a pink tomato with FABULOUS flavor and huge like yours!! :)

Leigh said...

50 pounds of tomatoes, good grief. Lately I've been popping all mine in the freezer for soup making later on. Never tried edamame, but yours looks pretty good.

Love the idea of the split rail fence! So nice you have the help to do it. :)

Susan said...

Tiggeriffic - I'm sorry you didn't get tomatoes! What a tough year for us gardeners it has been. BUT there is always next year! I am very lucky to have such great parents this late in life - I plan on taking very good care of them so they'll last for another 10 years.

Susan said...

Erin - Coming from you, that is praise! You of the spectacular tomatoes...I did the same with my mother - if she's not going to call, then DON'T call me at work of all places. I was going to see them the next day, for crying out loud.

Susan said...

Sandy - Thanks, and it tasted great, too! At their age, everything is a big deal. And they hate to 'put me out'. They are as cute as bugs, those two.

Susan said...

Michelle - Yes, at the office, of all places! She has NEVER in 14 years called me at the office!

Susan said...

Candy - I will have to try that next year. I like to plant two heirloom tomatoes every year. And next year I won't have to worry about canning tomatoes. I do believe I am at least two years ahead!