Ketchup

Have you ever felt kinda empty inside but you don't know why? It's sort of like a hollow sadness. I have been feeling that way today, like if one more little thing were to go wrong, I might just sit down and cry. The funny thing is, not too much has gone wrong today, so I don't know why I feel this way.

So the bridal fair is this week and I have been crazy trying to get my act in gear. A couple of weeks ago I ordered a vinyl sign from online and I have been waiting to get it for the past week. I had already sent them an email last week and made 3 unanswered phone calls, so today I sent them an email saying that if I didn't hear from them by tomorrow I would take legal action against them. Apparently that scared them as I got both an email and a phone call in which I was told that the store had closed and they were issuing a full refund. Yeah right. Whatever. It was only $30.

I made ketchup today. My Great Grandmother, Grandma Ellen, to whom I was very close, used to make this homemade ketchup that I grew up loving. I was 12 when she died and I had a very difficult time adjusting to eating food without that wonderful condiment. I have a special fondness for eating it with the traditional breakfast Grandma Ellen used to make when I slept over (which was nearly every weekend for 2 years). We would eat fried eggs, toast, bacon, oatmeal with raisins, and orange juice and we always had ketchup with it. When I got married I decided enough was enough and I found the recipe and started bottling it. I was amazed when it tasted exactly how I remembered it. This is the 3rd time I have made it (cause I keep running out!) and all day long the house smells like spices and it brings the sweetest memories of my childhood. Someday I will also learn how to bottle her version of dill pickles and green beans (not together), but for now this is good.