They've Got My Number

Uh, Oh...Look what came in the mail yesterday. 

It's Officially Seed Porn Season

Baker Creek has such pretty catalogs.
I swear this is the earliest I've ever gotten it.

And I'm SUPER happy to have it.  
I usually do my online ordering before Christmas anyway.  
I'll have to make a plan involving my next paycheck...:)

Speaking of seeds, I'm doing another seed save from the "Minions" that did so well.  I really do love the Pennsylvania Dutch Long Necks that Baker Creek offered a few years ago.  That nice long neck offers up some good eating.  This years harvest was actually from the squash seeds I saved from last year.

And I have 3 mason jars full of dried Zinnia flower heads.  I've never tried a Zinnia seed save.  Lynda out in California says she does it every year so I'm hopeful that I can manage it too.  

I drop around $50 in flower seeds every year.  And I'll do it again as a back up this year.  I plan on planting my "seed save" batch in a totally different bed so that way I can see if I was sucessful or not. 

What other seeds save do you all do that work for you.
Any tricks?

A First

About ten years or so ago I developed all sorts of tummy issues and like most folks, just suffered through.

Then my brother was diagnosed Celiac and (we suspect) my Dad was too before he passed.

So I gave up all things gluten about 5 years ago.  It really wasn't all that hard since I had never been a bread, cake, cookie and pie kinda girl.

Pizza was tough and I freely admit that every once in awhile a slice or two might pass my lips but I'd bounce back to my GF avoidance lifestyle.

And all my tummy issues went away.

I was making cookies for SM the other day and it occurred to me that I'd never really considered making myself some baked goods using almond flour which is the "Go-To" flour for GF folks.

I love almonds and almond flavored things, so I bought my first bag of almond flour and trolled around the Internet yesterday for some ideas.

And I made an Almond Lemon cake using this recipe.

I skipped on the cardamom that the recipe asked for and used lemon extract instead of zest, but what emerged was downright yummy.  SM liked it too. 

Instead of leaving it at room temp, I cut it up and stuck it in the fridge.  
Even better.

Now I'm on a mission.
I want to try cookies next.

These Shortbread Chocolate and Orange and Cranberry look good.

 

Oh My...It's a good thing I've embraced my curvy, middle-aged self.

Mamma's gonna get a bit more fluffy before all is said and done.

Minions

We had a bumper crop of winter squash this year and I (being the type to put off till tomorrow what I should do today) cleaned and stored the squash in our guest bedroom which is rather cool and dark.

The guest bedroom just so happens to be right next door to the main bathroom in the house so as you walk by, it's just natural to glance over into that room.

SM says it looks like a bunch of minions gathered together.  

I must say he's spot-on in his observation. 

Too bad though.  Now that the weather is cooler and I have more time off from work, the "minions" will be chopped up and roasted in the dutch oven and then mashed with butter, salt and pepper to accompany our holiday meals.

Oh Yum...Minions never tasted so good.

Tis The Season

We woke up to a hard freeze this morning.

Goodbye mosquito's.

Goodbye flies.

Goodbye spiders, fleas, no-see-ums and pretty much any other creepy-crawlies you can think of.

Hello fuzzy slippers.
Hello warm soft blankets.

Hello soups and casseroles.  
Hot tea, hot cocoa and hot cookies.

Hello to sticking my nose out the door to see if I want to take a walk at 5am and Hello to laziness and an extra 5 lbs when I decide not to.

Hello to sunny warm spots on kitchen floors with puppies sacked out sleeping.

Hello holidays.

I'm actually in the mood for you this year.
Shocking isn't it?
Go figure.

Are you?

Tail Travails

We've been sitting in a soupy, foggy, drizzly mess for the past week.  

This means that the dogs have to be pushed off the back porch to do their business. 

You'd think they'd enjoy the "red carpet" treatment I have laid out for them.

But NOOOOOO...They hang out at the top of the stairs and look at me with their sad eyes as I yell "GO POTTY" for all the neighbors to hear.  

Even this has failed as a motivator and I've had to apply the old Foot to Back End technique as a prompt to get them out in the yard.

Said yard was (of course) looking like a wheat field, the grass was so high.

I got home the other night and jogged behind the mower in the twi-dark in an effort to alleviate some of their misery.  

I suppose squatting in the tall grass makes for a ticklish experience. 

Did it help?
Not really.
And today we are forecasted to have an all day hard rain event.
Sigh. 

 

Time for raincoats and boots?