I (Heart) Amy

If there are any of you on the planet who have NOT seen The Big Bang Theory (TV) then stop what you are doing and check out these links. 

I have grown to enjoy this show more and more every day.  Maybe it comforts my inner nerd.  Maybe it takes me back to those awkward geeky years of trying to figure out the opposite sex.  And while I was never into online gaming I am a BIG TIME sci-fi fan, so I can totally relate to these men (boys) who are trying to navigate the waters of adult life and male/female relationships.  And while Sheldon is the star...



...he is quickly being upstaged by his girlfriend Amy.



That's right!  Amy Farrah Fowler rocks!  Neurobiologist extraordinaire this girl epitomizes the awkward geeky teen years we all experienced while embracing her new found discovery that a guy is actually "into" her.

Check out these scene's that just crack me up.  I mean, laugh out loud funny.

First, Amy sings Everybody Hurts that leads to Amy and Sheldon cuddling. followed by the "get your women in line." from a pissed off Sheldon. 

And Amy helping Sheldon with his neck pain.  Don't forget Amy and Sheldon dancing

And lastly...the classic... You're screwed

I laugh every time this couple hits the TV screen.  Good job CBS!

Leftover Soup

Probably the nicest thing about leftovers is that when you're tired of eating them or even looking at them (and want to reclaim your refrigerator), you can toss everything all together and make a pretty amazing soup. 

First though, I had to crack the fat.  Pretty on the one hand.  Nasty on the other.

I had 2 stock pots in the spare fridge.  The first one had the leftover drippings and meat that I'd picked off the bone on T-day.  This had a thick layer of fat that I removed.  (Some of this was from the bird itself and the rest was the butter I'd roasted the bird with.)

The other pot held the carcass itself that I'd boiled to loosen up any more meat.  Not the "yummiest" way to start off your day.  (I made this soup at 7am)  Meat just isn't very pretty is it?  Makes you consider going vegetarian from time to time.

I tossed in the leftovers from the fridge.  Peas and carrots, mashed potatoes, squash.  I considered throwing in the left over sausage stuffing but that would have made it a soup I couldn't eat (gluten) so I passed on that one.  It makes me wonder what kind of texture the bread would add to the soup.  Instead I added a bit of corn and some rice and let it all meld together. 

Soup for breakfast anyone?

Never be afraid to make soup.  Recipes for the most part are just not needed.  Just toss in all the things that taste good to you and you'll be surprised at the results you'll get.

Makes me wonder how many families are eating Turkey Soup this weekend...

Selective Hearing

I don't hear so good anymore.  At least that's what I think.  SM on the other hand thinks that I tune him out...That I'm just not paying attention to him anymore. 

I think he mumbles when he talks and for some reason he's always in another room talking to me when I'm busy in a different room with some chore that happens to be making it's own noise.  "Seriously, I can't hear you when the washing machine is running and I'm sorting clothes!"

This week a funny thing happened.  

For about a week now, when I'm in our master bathroom, I've been hearing water running under the house.  Like a pipe that's burst or a toilet running.  Flowing water. 

SM came into the bathroom to chat with me Tuesday morning while I was getting ready to go to work.  He's sitting on the tub.  I'm putting my makeup on.

"Do ya hear that?"  Me

"What?"  SM

"That!  There's water running under the house."  Me

"No.  That's the neighbors swimming pool filter."  He gets up and opens the bathroom window.  We both stick our heads out the window and fall silent listening.

"No, it's under the house."  I say, visions of massive water damage dancing in my head.  "Can't you go under the house and take a look?"

"You're hearing things.  Besides I've got to get to work myself."  SM says clearly not concerned.

Two more days go by until SM finally decides to go under the house Thanksgiving morning.  Mostly because I've pestered him into it and he's tired of me nagging about it.  "I'll never hear the end of it until I go check it out.  Geez!"

Flashlight in hand, SM makes his way into the creepy spider filled underbelly of our house.  I'm at the opposite end of the house in the kitchen fixing T-day dinner when the dogs start barking and I hear SM pounding the floorboards trying to get my attention.

I go outside, dogs barking and jumping, and hear him yelling for me.  "Yeah, I'm here."  I holler inside the crawl space door. 

"Get me (such and such a clamp, nylon thingie)".  SM hollers back. 

Like I'm actually going to find this gizmo.  I leave the potatoes boiling on the stove and wander into the garage, the back of his truck, the minivan looking for this "thingie" he wants thinking to myself this would be WAY easier if he'd just crawl back out and find it himself.

"This is why women do women's work and men do everything else..."  I mutter to myself.  I finally admit defeat.  "I can't find it (the thingie)."  I holler back into the black underbelly of the house.

"Fine.  How about some duck tape."  Now that I can find!

I toss the roll of tape somewhere in the vicinity of where he's at and head back into the kitchen.  (I'm not ruining my T-day dinner!)

SM eventualy emerges from under the house.  He's dusting himself off on the back porch and comes walking into the kitchen.

"Good Year."  He says.

"What?" I respond.

"Good Year."  He says again not 5 feet from me.  In my head I'm thinking what the hell does this have to do with Good Year Tires?

"Good Year????"  I say clearly confused.  SM  busts out laughing.  He takes another step towards me and says very slowly and loudly...

"GOOD E-A-R."

"Oh."

My lightbulb comes on as SM is laughing his ass off.  I smile sheepishly.  (He's telling me that I was right.  There WAS a leak under the house.)

SM is shaking his head, laughing.  "How can you hear a tiny trickle, a drizzle of water really...squirting from underneath the house...and you can't hear me talking to you, standing 2 feet away from you..."  He wanders away snorting.

This is a true story.

You be the judge...(Personally I think I've been married too long.  SMs become background noise.)

Your Shopping Cart Is Full

Throwback at Trapper Creek has a post about how today should be considered "Green Friday instead of Black Friday".  She asks that all us gardeners start thinking about our 2012 gardens.  Already!

Hey, on second thought, that's a great idea! 

Last year was my "second" year gardening.  I ordered some of my seeds last January from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and some from Baker Creek.  SESE's production was pretty good but everything BC offered was a hit...well...would have been a hit if the (bastard) SVB's hadn't come knocking on my door.  And that certainly wasn't BC's fault at all

So that's what I've been doing this morning.

 

Going through what I've got, researching what I wanted to grow and "Yes, Ma'am!"  I hit that little purchase button.  (Hey, shopping IS fun.) 

"Oh!  It was almost too easy!"  (And I didn't have to beat my way through the "idiot horde".) 

Thanks Matron!  I'm SO glad I got that out of the way and I got everything I wanted too.  Last year there were some items that were already sold out even in January.  I'll post about my "goodies" when they come in.  I'm SO excited!!!

Whoo Hoo!  Spring is almost here @;)

Black Friday Idiocy

Over the past few weeks I've discovered the most annoying human being on the planet.



The Target Christmas Lady.  I can't explain it.  These ads annoy the crap outta me.  What's the message here?  We know that you stupid, deranged people want to shop our store so lets give you a mascot?  Somebody to look up too?

One more good reason to turn the TV off.

This morning, SM got a chuckle out of this article about Black Friday -Pepper Spray.  He wasn't laughing about the fact that people got hurt but that "the store remained open and those not affected by the pepper spray continued shopping." 

Idiots. (The shoppers and the stores who encourage this bad behavior...)

On Being Grateful vs Thankful

I was out walking this morning thinking about the differences between being "grateful" and being "thankful".  When you look the words up in the dictionary there's very little difference between the two.  But it seems to me that you have to be "grateful" for something before you can be "thankful" of it.  I agree, it's a thin line between the two.  But here's an example.

I'm grateful to be able to purchase the seeds to plant my garden.  I'm thankful when they grow and mature enough to be able to provide me with a harvest.

Do you see the difference?

I'm grateful for so many things.  But ultimately I'm thankful for the blessings that they give me.

SM and I have been together for a long time.  I'm grateful that I recognized the kind of man he was back then and so very thankful that those qualities remain.  It's no small thing to be two people growing and learning and changing together over time and, at the end of the day, still be able to laugh and hold hands and know that deep down the respect and love we have for each other has survived everything that this world has tossed at us.

I'm grateful to have employment during these tough times.  But I'm thankful that I work at a job I can enjoy with people who feel the same way I do.  I need money to live my life.  My job provides me with that.  But the details of working with a wonderful group of people for the past 11 years, day in and day out, make me appreciate the fact that many of us do not enjoy the "grind" that provides us with "our daily bread".

I'm grateful that we live in a modern age that allows us access to health care and technologies that can extend our lives.  Last year I had an emergency appendectomy.  A hundred years ago my life would probably have ended at age 49.  I'm thankful that we live in a world that can provide us with medical care that allows us to live a little bit longer.  I'm also thankful that SM and I have our health.  We know this will change as we get older, but still...it's a blessing. 

These are just a few examples I can think of.  I'm sure if I had time I could come up with many more but I have to go to work today.  I have to remind myself that I'm grateful to do it...(I'd rather be home today).  But I have tomorrow off, to give thanks and to recognize all my blessings.

So here's a "Happy Thanksgiving" to you and yours...

Interesting News Links

I came across a few interesting articles hitting the news wires yesterday.  Perhaps you've seen them?  Perhaps not.

Reuters had an article on how US small farmer's are selling and that investors are seeing farmland as the hot new commodity .  Sad that young people who WANT to get into farming are being pushed out simply due to costs.  I suppose this is why small scale homesteads are the only way to go. 

There was also an article on The Atlantic about baby boomers retiring to the commune .  I'm always interested in alternative lifestyles.  I've often teased SM's extended family that we have enough people in the family to open our own commune.  I try not to think about who's going to take care of us when we're so old we can't do it ourselves.  Creeps me out to think about being in a "home".

And for your entertainment (also from The Atlantic) an article on why people hate Twilight .  I read the books and never really got Bella at all.  (She seemed like such a "drip" to me.)  The last book was pretty good though.  I've only seen the first Twilight movie.  That was so bad I didn't want to waste my money on the others.

The Best News!

Ginny went in for sedation within an hour of arriving at the Vet's this morning.  Our Vet called me back about 9:30 and gave me the best news. 

He doesn't feel that the ACL is ruptured.  There is no positive drawer sign and at best he only hears a faint click.  He also did not find any swelling which might indicate an injury.  He took x-rays of the leg and hip and could only find a "flattened" femur bone.

They don't make a scope small enough to get in there and look around.  We both agreed that we DON'T want to put Ginny through any kind of surgical incision so he can poke around in there only to turn around and say "I can't find anything wrong."

Well...I can live with that!

As human beings we can be proactive and discuss with our Dr's our aches, pains and issues and formulate a treatment plan to correct those issues.  Animals can only give us clues into how they're feeling by their behavior.  As I told SM when I relayed the news to him, I'd been feeling guilty that Ginny's been lame for most of the year and that I'd put off a potential surgery that could've helped her.  What a weight off my shoulders!  So now the question becomes what is causing the lameness? 

I went in around lunch time to pick Ginny up and to discuss things further with the Vet.  He showed me the x-rays and we discussed each finding.  No arthritis, no swelling and the cartilage appears normal from what he could tell.  The ball of her femur that goes into each hip socket is flattened but appears normal enough that he's not concerned about dysplasia.  The team seemed almost apologetic that they couldn't come up with a reason for her lameness.  I told them this was totally worth doing. At least now we know that we're not ignoring a fixable injury.  I asked if I should curtail her activities.  He told me to let her do what she wants.  

So it's a mystery.  Like most things in life.

Ramp It Up - ACL Prep

Our Assignment:  Prep the house for Ginny's post-operative recovery.

Our Mission:  Prepare all the dogs both mentally and physically for the temporary changes in our household routine.  And if there's one thing that dogs rely on it's a routine.

I'm sure our dogs are just like your's.  They live their lives in a fairly predictable pattern.  When changes happen to the routine, the dogs can tend to get a bit anxious.  Everything I've read about Canine ACL recovery leads me to believe it's going to harder on us than it will be for Ginny.  Ginny is a smart, adaptable, mature dog.  We know she'll do just fine. 

It's the other two I've got to worry about, Casey in particular.  Ginny is Casey's go-to playmate.  They'll wrestle and run, play tug with toys and even sleep together at times. 

We're assuming that the first day or two Ginny won't feel like doing much of anything so we plan on keeping her crated pretty much 24-7.  SM has committed to working from the house on Tuesday and Wednesday since I have to put in 10 hour days at work.  Then I'll be off from Thanksgiving Day through the weekend.  We're hoping that by the time we're both back to work next Monday that the new routine will have been accepted by all the critters and it will be business as usual.

At some point next week, I know she'll want to stand, perhaps walk a bit.  Research on ACL recovery says that the only time she can walk around is for her bathroom breaks.  No free roaming of the house.  No jumping, running or climbing onto the couch.  After several weeks, PT and more walking can be introduced. 

So two things need to happen around here.  I need a larger "restricted" area in the family room that Ginny can live in that allows her social access to her "pack" but still limits her range of motion and keeps the other dogs off of her.  And I need a ramp. 

We set up this excercise pen today and put Ginny's sleeping pad in it with some extra pillows to try and support the walls. 

It's not as sturdy as I'd like it to be but that's likely because I bought the 48" height.  I went with the tallest wall they had to try and discourage any of the dogs from jumping on it.  It's also adjustable size-wise so you can fit it in whatever space you want.  We had it out in the open at first but I was afraid it might topple over if bumped, so we decided to utilize some corner walls and the sofa to create a more protected space.  I wish it had a window she could see out of since she loves to lay on the couch in the front room and bark at people as they go by, but even that might be too much for her leg.  We'll see how it goes.

I'm saving the box in case I want to take it back.  Dr T, who has a dog who went through ACL surgery a few years ago recommended this type of indoor pen for Ginny's recovery.  Dr T has 7 dogs (he's big into rescue's) so the man knows what he's talking about.  It should be large enough that she can stand up in, move around a bit, eat, drink and be merry inside it.  Hopefully it's also sturdy enough to keep Casey away. 

The ramp was SM's project for today.  We live in a single story ranch but it's on a crawl space so we're elevated up about 4-6 steps high.  And steps are supposed to be a "no-no" for the first few months.  SM hesitated about building the ramp right now.

"Are you sure they'll even DO the surgery?"  He asked.

"I'd rather be safe than sorry.  We'll need it within hours of bringing her home for potty breaks, unless you feel like carrying around a 50 pound dog?" 

SM had lots of scrap wood laying around.  I wanted it wide and SM suggested we cover it with outdoor carpeting to prevent slipping since it's winter and we can't avoid the rain, ice and snow that's soon to come.  We still have a few single steps here and there that she'll have to go up and down.  Hopefully these won't be an issue.

This picture shows the outdoor carpeting tucked in for now.  Assuming the surgery happens as planned, SM will screw it or staple it down better than the picture shows.  If surgery doesn't happen...Well...I guess I'll be returning a few things next week.

So far today all the dogs have been in the pen and have gone up and down the ramp.  We're as ready as we can be.  Wish us luck!  I'll let you know how things go over the next few days.

Eye, Ear, Nose, Leg and Whoo-ie

Over the past few months, I've been dealing with various health issues with the dogs.  You know how they say "double your pleasure, double your fun"?  With my dogs it's "triple your pleasure, triple your Vet bill".

Some things I've been able to manage with the little bit of common sense God gave me. 

Example?  Scooter has the classic droopy lower eye lids that somehow manages to collect all the random debris that floats through the air.  Lubricating eye drops to the rescue! 

Both Ginny and Scooter need periodic ear drops to keep yeast from growing in there.  Poor Ginny also manages to pick up the random bug or fluffy debris inside her big ears.  This sets her to rolling on the ground rubbing her ears and grinding her teeth.  (SM and I sit and "wince" when she does this.)  No help for it when you have big bat-like ears.



The girls keep their teeth clean with daily rawhide chews.  Scooter is the only dog on the planet that doesn't understand that bones are for chewing.  He just lays on it and growls defending it.  He had his teeth cleaned at the Vet this past spring but lately his gums were getting inflamed all over again.  Stinky breath too.  Dilute hydrogen peroxide to the rescue.  I took an old sock and cut off the tip, dip it in the solution and scrub away.  (He growls the whole time.)  Pink, healthy gums...Much better!

Ginny has had an undiagnosed leg issue this past year.  When we took her in this spring, the Vet suspected an ACL issue.  Sedation to diagnose and surgery if found.  We postponed this through the summer months hoping that restricting her movements would allow a potential tear to heal on it's own.  It seemed to get better but it's never really gone away.  She has good weeks and bad weeks and is putting most of her weight on the other leg.  Not good.  She's still young at 6 years old.  SM and I have gone back and forth over this for months.  Ginny will be going in on Monday.  We've given the OK for surgery if needed but we don't really know where we'll end up.  Stay tuned.

Casey, being the youngest, has been skating by just fine until this summer.  My "little piggy" is built like...well...a pig.



She can't bend around to...ummm...you know...do her own housekeeping back there.  So she's had multiple skin infections down there.  The worst one a few months ago and I had SM take her to the Vet to see what could be done.

SM reports back to me that the Vet says she has an...ummm...inverted "Whoo-ie" and pees all over herself.  Since she can't clean herself, she gets irritated and infected.  The Vet cautions that dogs like this start to develop UTI's.  (Dear God...not a doggie UTI.)

"Great."  I say.  "So what does he suggest?"  I ask.

"A surgical nip and tuck."  SM says, clearly not comfortable discussing this.  Of course, you can imagine my reaction.  (Why is everything a suggested surgery?)  I researched the subject and the surgery.  Pretty common thing among girl dogs.  Still..."Ouch".  In the meantime he recommended various ointments to clear things up.  Temporary solution though as this keeps repeating.

This got me to thinking about the kids I never had.  All the diapers I never changed.  What I have here is a case of doggie diaper rash.  If Casey was a little kid, I'd have to do her housekeeping for her until she could do it for herself.  Since she's built the way she is, I either take a chance on surgery, as the Vet suggested, or just keep her clean myself.  So that's what I've done and it works wonderfully.  Twice a day cleanings and I've rediscovered the miracle of a jar of Vaseline.




Ain't it fun having animals? 

So there.  (Now, you know I've read all of your "horny" goat posts, the deworming posts, the chickens with their eggs stuck up their behinds....I might not have farm animals but I've got stories to tell too @;)

Oink

This little piggy went to market.

This little piggy stayed at home.

This little piggy had roast beef,

This little piggy had none.

And this little piggy went wee wee wee all the way home.

Yesterday morning 7am sharp, our power went out.  I was reading one of your blogs.  SM had just gotten out of the shower.

"Drat!"  I paused, assuming it was a power hiccup and everything would pop back on in a second.  It didn't.

SM calls..."What happened to the power?"  We both peered out across the street in the gray dawn looking to see if our neighbors were out too.  Yep.

"Well, I'd better get in the shower too."  I said assuming things would turn on in a bit.  SM had grabbed the flashlight.  "I'm not sure I can shave with this."  I wandered into the bathroom and opened the blinds that we ALWAYS keep closed for privacy.  "How's this? Better?"  I asked.

So we got ready and still no power.  I grabbed a bag and stuffed all my "beautification" equipment into it figuring I'd use the bathroom at work to make myself presentable.  Hair dryer, squirt stuff, hairspray, brushes, clips....I put my makeup on in the dim bathroom.  (Nobody laughed at work so I must've done something right...)

I headed out, my head wet and cold, wondering if I see a downed power pole and traffic backed up for miles.  Nope.  Just our street without power.  Huh.

This got me to thinking though...I'm a pig.  Everything I have and depend on in my life came to me because of some form of energy.  Everything at work depends on energy.  Paper work, medical equipment, EMR's...even the front door to get into the building.  Oink 

My house, my food, my warmth, my entertainment,  my income, my health...even my garden depended on some form of energy to get it there.  Oink, Oink 

Now I read alot about simple living on ya'lls blogs and I too want to reduce my impact.  "Kuddos" to those of you who have lessened yours.

But I hate to say it.  There's just no way that the modern world is going to step backword in time to reduce it's appetite.  Oink Oink Oink 

Offshore drilling, natural gas fracking, clean coal...I myself live downwind of not one but two nuclear power plants.  One slip of the wrist and I'm radioactive!  The world is small and getting smaller.  It's in MY backyard and it's in yours too.  There's no where you can hide from it and you just can't be a little piggy and not pay a price.

I guess my point in this post is that, as a world community, we've got to invest in energy research.  Cleaner, safer options.  Reduced consumption.

Nobody likes it, but it's something we're all going to have to accept.  We're in this mess together.

OINK

* Side note*  The more I read that nursery rhyme the more I have to laugh.
 
"To the market" = Our huge appetite as consumers in the world.
"Stayed Home" = Homesteads and victory gardens, back to simple living.
"Some had roast beef, some had none" = The "have's" vs the "have not's".

My favorite though is the "wee pig running all the way home."  That's me for sure. 

You bet I'm running all the way home.  I need my rose colored glasses.


 

Playing With Your Food

Every once in a while I step out of my comfort zone in the kitchen.  Sometimes I get inspired by the recipes I see on ya'lls blogs.  Sometimes I just like to twist things up a bit.

The other day when I was at the market I picked up some cream cheese, (perhaps a cheesecake in my future?) and I saw this stuff further down in the case.

Chorizo.  Have you ever cooked with this stuff?  I've heard it mentioned on the Food Network but have never used it.  See it all the time here in the stores.  Lacking any inspiration in the "What to cook for dinner" department, I thought "Today is the day" for me to try chorizo.  I had visions of a red bean, rice, sausage (ie chorizo), jumbalaya type dish dancing in my head.

So I get the rice, beans, tomato's and seasonings all going and open the packet of chorizo to discover that this ain't no sliceable sausage.  The casing it comes in can't be cooked.  They package it to look like a tube of sausage.  In reality you're supposed to fry the stuff up, drain the fat and smear it on a tortilla or toss it in some eggs.  It's very, very fine ground pork with lots of spices.

So I fried it up, tossed it in the rice along with some cubed up ham and waited for SM's verdict.  I didn't think it was half bad.  Neither did SM.  Will I use it in a rice dish again?  Probably not.  I still have a package left in the fridge.  Any suggestions from the cheap seats?

Sunday morning, I took the ham bone out of the freezer, soaked (the night before) some Great Northern beans and thought I'd do a bean soup.  But instead of cooking it in my stockpot on top of the stove, I thought I'd use my Dutch Oven and put the soup in the oven for a few hours.  Slow cooking at it's finest.

I brought all the ingredients (Ham bone, water, carrots, onion, garlic, celery (or celery seed) a squirt of mustard, salt, pepper and butter = the elixir of life) to a boil on top first, then set the oven to 250, stuck it in and went outside to do some yard work.  After 3 hours I pulled it out of the oven, fished the ham bone out and put any big chunks of ham aside to cool so I could shred it and put it back in the soup. 

SM looked over my shoulder "It's not very thick, yet."  He observed.  "I'm not done yet."  I replied.

This is where I twist things up a bit.  If you want to learn to cook or even become a better cook, than in my opinion what you have to do is taste.  Period.  You've got to know what you want in order to get what you need.  A recipe in and of itself can't do that for you.  It's someone elses taste buds doing the talking.  And with soups in particular, you also need time.  Time for everything to meld together.

Most recipes for Ham and bean soup are like this one from Allrecipes.  It's a good base but nothing special, the broth is thin and there's no "zing" to it IMHO.  I'm not fond of bay leaf so I don't use it.  Yes, you could blend everything together  to achieve a thicker soup but I like seeing beans and carrots and ham in my soup.

The soup had cooled down a bit from being in the oven.  You can't really taste when something is hot either.  Lukewarm is perfect.  So I tasted.  Bland...nothing special.

First things, first then.  I wanted to thicken up the broth.  I use mashed potatoes for that.  If there's no left over mashers, I use instant from a box.  That's my secret for a thickener.  I always have some dried instant flakes in the house.

Taste.   Needs some heat.  A couple of shakes of red pepper. 

Needs a touch of smooth sweetness.  My ham wasn't "Honey Baked" and I like that flavor so I added some brown sugar.  (What?  Brown sugar?  Not a lot, maybe 3 Tspoonfuls.)

Salt.  (Be careful.)  Mine wasn't a salty ham, plus the potatoes have a tendency to remove any salty flavor.

I turned the stove top on low to simmer these new flavors together.  Taste.  (Something wasn't right.  What was I forgetting?)  I went and did other things for a bit when it hit me.  Acid.  The last time I'd made Ham and Bean soup, I'd tossed in a can of diced tomatoes.  Once it has a chance to cook down, the tomatoes add a nice zingy flavor to the soup.  So back in the house to toss that in.  By 2:00 it was ready and so was SM.

"That stuff's not just good, it's "Holy Shit" good."  SM said.  "It's Dean and Deluca good.  It's $8 a bowl good."

"Why, thank you."  I smiled at him as he went for seconds.  This is why I cook and also why I've learned to cook well.  I know SM truly appreciates food.  He was born to be a foodie.

And I guess that means that I was born to be a foodies cook. 

Childhood Memories

I was putting the box fan away for the year in the room that holds all our crap, (Yes, we have a ROOM for all that.  When you live with a pack rat you need a room...er, several rooms.) when I spotted this picture.

My Grandpa having a good time behind the bar.  Makes you wonder what the conversation was about. 

I'm mean, I knew them as Grandma and Grandpa, but they lived a life before I came along.  Just like you and me, they hung out with friends, told goofy jokes, bitched about their jobs and put one foot in front of the other.  Check out the cigar in his hand.  I remember he always had a stump of a cigar in his mouth and then he switched to chew.  That tobacco smelled SO good when it was in it's package.  "Redman" I think it was.  It had a package of an Indian on it.  I would grab it and and sniff it like it was rubber cement.  (Do they even make rubber cement anymore?)

Ooo, lookie!  Here's another!  Sounds like a fish story to me.  Grandpa used to own a marina on Lake Ontario.  I searched the Internet and found a picture of Henchens Marina.  (Did Grandpa used to own this Mom?  It looks like what I remember.  Or maybe we just hung out there alot after he sold his.)


Regardless, I would love to go in and stick my hand in the minnow tank there and feel the minnows swimming buy.  I'd always get yelled at to leave them alone too.  Tons of blue gills off the pier edge for the intrepid kid and her fishing pole with a bobber attached.

Grandma and Grandpa had a small 2 bedroom, 1 bath house that faced the lake.  I sometimes would get to spend all summer up there with them.  I loved those summers.  I'd work in the garden and take long hikes up the hill.  Grandma would let me tag along with her when she and her lady friends went golfing.  We'd go grocery shopping and she'd stop by a local chicken farm and pick up eggs.  It was a commercial place, stinky.  Every day we'd go pick up the mail in this tiny little post office with the old fashioned post office boxes.  Every Tuesday Grandma would get her hair "done" at the salon.  I never went with her for those visits.

Back at the house, Grandma and Grandpa would have "Happy Hour" every day at 4 o'clock.  They'd have a cocktail and we would sit at the kitchen table in front of the big plate glass window that looked out on the lake.  Grandpa would snack on some celery and radishes that he would dip in a bit of salt.  Grandma never sat down in the kitchen, she was always cooking.  She made her own bread which I never liked being raised on Wonder bread. 

Yep, those were good times.  I liked it best if I was up there by myself but sometimes I had to share Grandma and Grandpa with my baby brother and my sisters.

Can you imagine?  Yeah that's me...the tall one on the right.  Whats with those stripes?

Need a Good Laugh?

While SM and I were having coffee this morning, I read him this article currently posted on Yahoo.

How a Financial Pro Lost His House

If you haven't read it yet, take a few minutes if you can.  Be sure and read the comment section.  Always good for a laugh.

SM and I enjoyed discussing the rationalization behind it all.

Psst...No one to blame but yourself, Dude.  Funny how we can talk ourselves into believing ANYTHING. 

Anybody gonna buy the book?

Scooter-Boo and "The Stinky"

Do you have a sock hound in your house? 

Scooter is our resident sock hound.  Nothing he loves better than his "stinkies".

Why do we call them "stinkies"?  Because as a connoisseur of fine socks, only your true purebred sock hound can ferret out the "stinkies" from the Downey fresh.

Like a truffle pig on the hunt, Scooter will greet SM as he walks in the door from a hard days works.  Tail wagging, whining, jumping up on his back legs...it's easy to mistake this affectionate greeting as acknowledgement that "The Master of the House" has returned and all is right with the world once again.

Unfortunately, time has proven that Scooter is less interested in the Alpha Male of the house and more interested in what "Big Daddy's" feet have been up too during the day.  Specifically the aroma that emanates from them.  The nastier the better.

Once the shoes come off, SM and Scooter-Boo engage in a friendly tug of war with the victor trotting off with his prize, tail wagging victoriously.  The only problem with this love affair is the scattering of socks throughout the house.  Woe to the human (or animal) that comes within 6 feet of the "stinky" either affectionately occupied or carelessly discarded.  Scooter turns into the Tasmanian Devil, growling threats to the unsuspecting.

Ginny on the other hand is too much of a "Princess" to lower herself to "sock hound-dom". 

Casey,  being the pup (and Piglet) in the family, mimics Scooters behavior from time to time but lacks the intensity that Scooter displays.  To her it's just a game.  To Scooter, it's a religion.

To make up for it, I bought a little "piglet toy" today for Casey's enjoyment.

"Princess" might have a thing or two to say about it though...

Wordless Wednesday - November Morning

Local Food Pantry

We got a flyer last week that said that since school was out today (voting) that the High School Student Council was having a canned food drive for our local food pantry.  They asked us to place canned goods into sacks and leave it by your driveway.  The kids plan on driving through the local neighborhoods and pick up donations later this afternoon.

I think I'm like most people.  I go to church and toss some money in the collection plate.  I see a blood drive and try to donate (usually my irons too low..drat!)  I try and go through my clothes once a year and drop them off at good will.  But I forget that there is a constant need for food at the pantry so I really appreciate the reminder from our local kids.

From my pantry to yours...Thanks Kids!

Empty Garden

Who lived here
He must have been a gardener that cared a lot
Who weeded out the tears and grew a good crop
And now it all looks strange - 

Elton John / Empty Garden

(I always liked that song.)  

So here's the follow up from yesterday's post.  Yes, we did indeed "empty that garden".  

I was up and out first thing, pulling up the raised beds.  I would alternate between the beds and the weedy walkways, letting my back dictate when I should take a break.

I sat down on the back porch swing at lunch, soaking up the sunshine.  I'd started off the morning in jeans and a long sleeve shirt.  Now it was time for shorts and T-shirts.  (I just love the South!)

Yuck...The garden was wetter than I thought it'd be by now.  After lunch, SM came out and helped.  I could tell that he wasn't into it at first.  After helping me spread the cardboard onto the walkways, I told him he could quit.  He asked what else needed doing.  

"Rake the leaves and put them in the beds.  Mow the lawn."  

"Can't it wait a week?"  SM asked.  

"One good wind and all those leaves are gone.  I'd rather strike while the iron is hot.  Don't worry, I'll get it."  (I've had low motivation days myself.  I know how it feels.)

"No.  I'll help."  (Bless him)

There is something about power tools that kick start something in a man.  Did you ever notice that?  SM started off uninspired to do much, but once he turned on the leaf blower to "blow" the leaves out of the front landscaped beds, it was like a hired hand came to work.  Suddenly, SM was all sparky and having at it.

While he was blowing the front yard I thought I'd start mowing the back.  I headed out and noticed my next door neighbor (Hey, Heath!) had one of those pine needle guys laying a bed of needles around his front landscaped beds.  The guy had blown some of Heath's red maple leaves into a pile.  

"Hey Heath!  Can I steal your leaves for my garden?"  So I got off the mower and headed over to Heaths to gather his leaves. 

While I was doing that, I hear my neighbor across the street (Hey, Deb!) shout my name.  

"Tami!  Do you want some leaves?  I've got 5 sacks in the back!"  (Her daughter Katie had just raked them up the other day.)  "Sure!  I'll take them."

So with a little help from my friends, I've got lots of leaves to decompose into the garden.  I concentrated on the double dig beds for now.  I'll have more leaves yet to fall and I'll add those to the raised beds.

My plan for the "double dig" area is to toss in some manure on top of the leaves and cover it all with cardboard.  Turn it into a "no till" area.  Those beds won't be planted until next May, so that gives me plenty of time to let things decompose.  I'll use the raised beds for the Spring garden I'll plant in March. 

I'll need to hit Craigslist this week and see who's advertising free manure.  Last year lots of horse farms had ads and I think I also saw one for rabbit poo too.  

But that's a project for next weekend.  Today?  Chocolate Chip cookies.  I need to thank my hired hand @;)


 

My First Seed Save

I went out last night and picked some salad lettuce and pulled a handful of carrots for our dinner.  

I'm so pleased with the size of these carrots.  Finally I figured it out.  Yeah Me!

Technically, this is my 3rd attempt.  I tried last fall, this spring and then this summer.  A friend once told me that in gardening, she'll make the effort 3 times.  If it fails after 3 different attempts, then she moves on.  Makes sense to me.

I also pulled some of the seed pods off of the marigolds that are beside the salad bed.  I got these as a freebie from Baker Creek.  I planted a few in a pot...they did poorly, too hot.  But the marigolds I put in the raised beds did beautifully.

I've never saved seeds before but it's something I'm interested in doing when I find a winner.  Flowers are easy enough, I think.  You either like them or you don't.  

Veggies?  Well, that's a bit tougher.  There's a whole world of different varieties to try out there.  I feel this compulsion to try new things whenever I see those glossy seed catalogs.  Kinda like a kid in a candy store...."Oooo lookie!  I need to try that too!"  I expect at some point I'll start to save some of the vegetable winners in my garden but I'm afraid that might be a year or two away.  

But lets start with the marigolds.  Any tips for the new kid?  Some of the pods are VERY dry.  Most of them are still dampish though.  Should I leave them on the plant to dry?  Or pick them and let them dry inside?

Today is supposed to be sunny and in the 60's.  SM and I are hoping to get out and dedicate some time to cleaning the garden up and putting it to bed for the Winter.  It's so wonderful that SM is invested in the garden now too.  It's turning into a big part of our home life.  Really just too much for just one person when there's so much labor involved.

I'll probably post some before and after pics tomorrow.  It's looking pretty nappy out there. 

Flying Raisins

I went into the kitchen this morning and as I was making SM's coffee, I heard the low drone of a bomber aircraft.  You know.  That low, "I'm too heavy for my wings" sound. 

Something buzzed my field of vision.  Half awake, I figured we must have a bee in the house.  (*If the weather is halfway decent, I always leave our backdoor open so the dogs can go in and out, plus it gives us some nice fresh air.  Consequently, I always have flys, bees and moths in the house.)

I kept making the coffee hoping that whatever it was wouldn't end up in the pot.  I was buzzed again, this time though I was awake enough to notice what it was.

A big fly.  Not the normal tiny housefly.  We call those flying raisins around here.  Snacks for the dogs who love to chase them down.  Nope.  This one was the mother of all fly's. 

 
Big, iridescent and green.  Kinda pretty.

Now I own a fly swatter.  I rarely use it though since our open door policy means that I'd have to try and kill every fly on the planet.  I do have other things to do with my time.

"If you were a bee I'd try and save you.  As it is, your days are numbered, Dude." 

The fly sit's on the counter just begging to be smacked.  I get closer and he takes off.  3 pairs of doggie eyes watch as he drones on by, just out of reach.

"If you can wait until the door is open later on you just might die an honorable death outside where you belong."

Scooter makes a lunge, snapping.

Somehow I doubt he'll last that long.

Bring It On

November already.

Hard frosts and holidays.

Apple pies and antacids.  

While I'm no "prepper" I have been "preparing" and the house is positively STUFFED with good things.  SM was in Hendersonville NC last week and called me at work to ask if I wanted more apples as he was driving by plenty of orchards.  "Hell, Yeah!"  Straight from the farmer and packed into my storage boxes in our garage.  We added Granny Smiths and Pink Lady's to the Honey Crisps we'd already bought.

My upright freezer is stuffed with fruits and veggies from the summer.

We've been opening some of the canned salsas and tomatoes that I put up.  A pop of the lid, a quick sniff and we're in love.  This is the reward that I'd hoped for.  Homemade goodness in a jar.  I must admit that in my more fearful moments I was concerned that this canning thing wouldn't work and I'd kill both of us with my newbie efforts.  So far so good.

Very Good!