ALTER IDEM

You know, Alter Idem turns 9 today! How time flies! Between the last b'day and this one, I could manage only one post. There seems to be a lack of time for everything!! That's why, without further ado, I'll share the short story for this year.  First time visitors ---- it's a tradition on Alter Idem - to share a short story that I have read and liked, as the birthday post. Click on the label 'B'day' at the end of this post if you want to check out the earlier stories. I'd read this story in one the weekend editions of the Kannada daily, Udayavani. It's a story from the Middle East - author unknown. Once upon a time, the ruler of a certain kingdom wanted to know how best 'peace' could be portrayed in paintings. Several painters of the land submitted their works - of mountains, blue skies, forests and lakes - all serene and beautiful. One painting, however, was a total contrast - dark skies, lightning and heavy showers.... at first g

Ideally, cherry trees require at least a month of very cold weather conditions for flowering. But, they are hardy enough to settle for less - until, they get used to the weather conditions they are forced to live in, i.e. More than 10 years after the promised 2-3 years, we finally saw some fruits on our cherry tree this year. Thanks to the attractive colour of the fruits, the tree was a sight to behold! But, of course, looks can be deceptive. This cherry has a sour taste and is made up of equal amount of pulp and hard pits. That's why, the monkeys and the birds decided to leave everything to us! For a while, we thought of letting the fruits be - allow them to drop off naturally and enrich the soil. Somehow, that didn't seem okay. It was like doing injustice to our long wait. Since the fruits have a low shelf life, I decided to see if I could preserve it. I'm not a stranger to making jams and preserves. For jams, I follow a standard recipe shared by a grand aunt