Red-Hot Applesauce Jello Doesn't Even Really LOOK Like Ketchup!

ca. 1977. In this photo, taken in California, I am wearing the one and only bikini I have ever owned, and I was always putting it on upside down. I just couldn't seem to figure out which end was up, although my mother must have helped me here because I am wearing the top correctly. Also in this picture are my younger brother, J, and my parents and little sister, sitting beside the pool.

A friend of mine told me a story I have not forgotten. He was a zone leader in his mission, and when he happened upon the car of some elders who had strayed far from their area, he didn't yell and scream and tell them off in a phone call. He merely slipped his card under the windshield wiper and let it speak for itself. They knew he knew, and they were left to wonder if he was following them (he wasn't) and perhaps if he was all-knowing (he might be). I found that story amusing but also extremely impressive. Sometimes a quiet reminder speaks louder than the most hysterical temper tantrum.

The reason I brought that up is because I smile about that story all the time and not because I've mastered the principal behind it. Still working on that.

Yesterday, I accomplished the following:

1. Made two batches of cinnamon red-hot applesauce jello, one for my family and one to take to the Relief Society Mother/Son activity in the evening.
2. Made four loaves of bread.
3. Wrote an article.
4. Registered most of the kids for school. I missed Sian's registration for 10th grade, due to some erroneous information I received and believed.
5. Nearly had a heart attack at the total cost in fees for the junior high schooler and the high schooler.
6. Visited the libry as per Sian's desperate request (SHE HAD NO BOOKS TO READ!!), and actually checked out a couple books about crafts that were written in the 1970s. Having lived through the '70s, I have no desire to re-create any useful household items sporting pictures of mushrooms, slices of fruits or vegetables, or that combine the colors goldenrod and avocado. My desperation in checking out these books is due to the fact that our small library doesn't have any decorating or crafting books that date later than, say, 1985 (which is a decorating era perhaps even more obnoxious than the '70s) and that a free-form macrame wall hanging caught my eye. I admit it.
Also, the libry is not hiring, so my dream of being a repressed librarian is still on hold. The very friendly librarian who checked me out did inform me that I could apply for city road construction, and I had a momentary vision of being one of those sunburnt women in an orange hat and day-glo vest standing on the side of a road with a "SLOW" sign. Hey, if it pays well...
7. I returned home to find that someone had found great pleasure in punching down my rising loaves (my money is on my three-year-old). I cooked the two in the loaf pans and remade the two loaves that I had to let rise as round loaves on a cookie sheet. Then I put the cookie sheet in a safer location to see if they would rise again without tasting exclusively of yeast.
8. A quick check on the jello molds caused concern, as they were not setting up as quickly as I'd hoped.
9. Attempted another article.
10. Some friends from our old neighborhood stopped by to drop off their daughter for a sleepover with Sophia, and then insisted on taking Husband and me out for dinner.
11. I had to insist we leave the restaurant when I was already late for the RS activity. We went back to my house, where I grabbed a still sloppy mold of jello and a spoon. I also practically threw a loaf of freshly baked bread at our friends as I ran out the door, and then wondered if the round loaves were too yeasty. A later taste check (after I got home) confirmed all was well.
11a. It wasn't until I arrived at the chapel that I realized I'd forgotten my son. I would have run back to get him, but rationalized not doing so because I had to be there to help set up and because Joseph knew nothing about it and would not miss it.
12. During dinner, I had to assure the ladies and their sons that my red-hot applesauce jello was NOT ketchup, and it actually tasted pretty good despite melting even more in the hot air.
13. Got to know some of the ladies even better (we have astounding women in this ward). One woman told me that she had had a dream about me when we first moved here. Her best friend was moving, and they were joking about how S would now need to start interviewing for a new best friend. That night S dreamed she came to my house to ask if I would be her new best friend and I said no. We all had a good laugh. I hope she knows me enough by now to know I would never do that.
14. Cleaned up and returned home. Three of my girls were having friends over for a sleepover, so Husband and I were not able to use the TV in the family room. During the course of the evening and into the night, we had to settle a physical dispute between Gabrielle and Elannah (roll eyes), tell the girls to stay downstairs and quit tramping up and down between three levels, turn off the computer in their room (or at least reduce the volume), and check the kitchen to make sure milk and other items weren't being left out. By morning, Husband and I were exhausted. No more sleepovers. Plus, the milk WAS left out after we finally fell asleep, and Sophia used a pound of frozen sausage as a cold pack for her head and then failed to return it to the freezer. If leaving a card under the defrosted and warm sausage would have sent the subtle but firm message that I am watching and not pleased, I would have done it. Sadly, such subtleties would be lost on one of that age, assuming she ever looked at it in the first place. I resorted to stern lecture mode.

Today is not so busy. I am sitting here with a bowl of dark chocolate chips placed temptingly on my desk (Little Gary likes to take care of me), and the tang of 70% cocoa on my tongue is loverly. Maybe I'll be able to get to that bench today.