How Tomatoes Ruined Nap Time

The Start of the Tomato Torture

My Mom said, "I'm done canning for the year, you want some tomatoes?"  I said "SURE!!"  I am a fool.  For, you see, it wasn't SOME tomatoes, it was enough to feed a third world country for a month and a half.  They were all ripe, so I had to peel and begin processing them before they went bad.  When I filled 1/2 of my deep sink with them, I knew I was in for a long day.  I just didn't know how long.

See, peeling tomatoes is very easy, and its not rocket science.  It give plenty of time for one to think, especially if that one happens to be a very good thinker.  I mean, when I'm on a roll, I can think of 92 unrelated topics in a minute!  Peeling 7952 tomatoes is akin to torture to a thinker, because the process of peeling requires no real thought.  In all honesty, I may be exaggerating a bit with the number 7952.  I did try to count them, after I reached 10, I saw something shiny and lost count.  I'm starting to think I have a bit of ADD to go with my (minor case of) OCD.

The first hour wasn't so bad.  Cassie was setting up a candy stand in the hotel lobby (my dining room) and needed help spelling the names of various candies.  (She started today watching The Suite Life of Zach and Cody).  So, spelling Musketeer instead of Mouseketeer did take up some of the first hour.  Oh, and you never want to buy candy from her.  I heard her giving prices to customers, and there is no way in hell I will buy gum for $15 a package, or 1/2 a package of Starburst for $10.  Oh, and she'll also babysit, and that is only $10 an hour... but she'll spend the whole time feeding your kids candy.

 By the time I entered the 2nd hour, though, Cassie was done and I was alone with my thoughts.  I decided answers to many of the world problems.  For instance, regardless of who's theory you go with, I believe the Chicken came first.  I've also decided I'm voting for Romney for the one and only reason that his wife was a stay at home mom.  It was the only positive I could find in either candidate.  It was also in this hour that I decided to prove to Pitman that he can get another woman with no problem, just by making a profile for him on Match.com.  I ultimately decided against that, because I do have a sweet gig here.  Then I went on to the fact I want a job, mostly for my independence, in case Pitman does find a woman who fits him better.  But I'm really struggling to find child care for Cassie within the pay I could make.  I honestly believe that $100 a week (after taxes and day care) really isn't leaving the house in the winter.

During hour 3, I found lots of other questions I tried, with no avail, to answer.  Those questions are like why DID the monkey cross the road, why do I find the joke about the monkey stapled to the chicken such a freakin' riot, why can't schools just learn to deal and teach autistic kids and keep them from being bullied, do I have arthritis in my index finger, and why the hell does my mother plant so many tomatoes?

Stewing Tomatoes from today on the left,
Spaghetti Sauce from yesterday on the right.

By the time hour 4 was almost over, so was my never-ending sink of tomatoes.  <sigh>  I was so surprised that all those tomatoes fit (barely) into my 20 qt. Stock Pot!  But they did!!  I now have them simmering and reducing on the stove top, next to a batch of sauce I made from her last gift of tomatoes.  Tomorrow I will turn some of it into more sauce, and then can the rest as "stewed tomatoes".  I do have to get some more jars, and more lids.  I now need to go clean the kitchen.  I just have one last question, will this orange crap ever come out from under my fingernails?