I'm really not an angry person, but I was realizing as I punched, poked, and prodded this butter-muslin-turned-jelly-bag that if I were, jelly-making would be great therapy.

This year, I wanted to try 2 different plum jelly recipes and would need 10 cups of juice to be able to make both.

I extract plum juice the lazy way -- that is, I throw whole plums into the pot -- skin, pit, and all. I add a cup of water, turn on the burner, and commence Therapy Step 1 as I wield the potato masher and punch and mash those plums to a pulp.

Once it's all boiled a few minutes, I pour it into the butter muslin and hang it over a giant bowl. It dripped about 8-cups-worth, but as I said, I needed 10. That's when Therapy Step 2 began as I punched, mashed, squished, and poked another 2 cups out of that bag.

Tomorrow, I'm going to let you in on a little canning secret that you have to promise not to tell the other members of my canning club. It'll just be our little secret. Promise?

Thank you to those of you who noticed that I missed a couple of blogging days early this week. That makes me feel so loved!

As explanation, I offer this picture.

Amazingly, my calendar held two pretty-much clear days, so I jumped at the chance to go visit these fun folks in Texas.

I missed sharing my blog with you, but, what can I say? I never pass up an opportunity to spend time with my sis!