So...whats for dinner?

Moonflwr912

Here's my daughter with her chosen flowers Belles of Ireland and violet Roses. 

Here's the jewelry I made for her- pearls and crystals. Yes the center pearls are square. 

Laurie08

Hi!

Sorry I have been MIA.  It has been a combination of a lot of things.  Both boys are playing baseball and the schedule is nuts!  I have taken on the painting projects in the house and am making great progress but have been spending a lot of time doing it.  Tomorrow I finally will put together the front living room (my room) and get rid of the mess of all the furniture in the middle of the room and do a little shopping for accessories.  (new throw pillows etc)  Also my boys have started paying a game on the computer and I can't ever seem to get on mine!  The plan tomorrow is to get the old computer up and running so I can have my lap top back.

Needless to say dinners have been on the fly most nights.  Last night and tonight we have actually had no baseball for two nights in a row.  Last night was fried chicken and tonight is spaghetti and meatballs.  My fathers asparagus beds have finally matured and we have been eating a TON of asparagus.  Good thing I LOVE it!

We might being heading to the lake tomorrow and helping our friends open their cottage despite the rain.  After all we love using it all summer so we should help with the work!  And we will have fun anyway I am sure.  

Dh seems to be handling his mothers passing pretty well.  I think it helps that she lived out of state and he did not see her every day.  Still it is hard.  My youngest has been talking about her a lot.

Next week is the last week of pre k for ds1.  We are headed camping for Memorial weekend so we have been working on the camper as well as the yard and the house.  Too much to do!  

I hope you are all well and I will go back and try to read when I can and promise to pop in more once I get this room organized and beautiful tomorrow!

Lacey12

Wow, Moon, Impressive!

I was getting PTSD just being reminded of our kitchen redo about ten years ago. Oy! Fortunately it was during late spring and summer so we could cook on the grill on the front porch and use an upstairs bathroom for the few necessary dishes we used. I relied heavily on paper plates (sorry, environment!) and a fair bit of take out! Of course in the end it was great to have it, but I regret not figuring out a way to have an island....and a baking center would have been great! You will have such fun Nance!

Also, Nance, I envy you the lettuce head...have not put a thing in my planters yet and am glad after seeing our resident hedgehog or groundhog, or just damn HOG (or a relative...this guy seems lighter and has a long scar on his/her back....I'm rooting for the feral cat who frequents our yard) eating a ton of vegetation on our yard borders. Sadly, that includes my day lilies AND my beautiful orange poppies that showed up suddenly fifteen years ago.....Mother Nature giveth and she obviously taketh away. Love those poppies! Any ideas for hedgehog deterrent are welcome.

DH has just started what should be a mini project of fixing faucet leaks in my bathroom....well, already we have a problem...I thought he knew I needed the tub faucet worked on. Nope! Busy taking the sink faucets off. In fairness, they could also use a washer upgrade....but I really need the leaky tub faucet fixed. Always get a bit nervous when he tries out his plumbing skills....once in our first house he did a powder room fix and my entire pottery library and studio in the basement was drowned by later that afternoon. Ugh! Keeping my fingers crossed tightly!

Nance, what kind of hummers do you have in St. Louis? We only get the ruby throated here. 

Lacey12

Oops, ground hog or woodchuck is the critter(s) we are dealing with who live under our shed. After some internet reading, apparently hedgehogs are valued garden inhabitors in UK. Who knew...

Lacey12

Hey Laurie, great to have a wider peek into all you are doing! Enjoy the cottage opening!

carolehalston

Lacey, I was too dumb to know you'd misnamed your varmint!  We don't have hedgehogs or woodchucks.  At least not to my knowledge.  We do have rabbits and used to have deer before the developers encroached on their woods. 

Moon, you are very talented!  Thanks for posting the pictures.  Be sure and post pics of the new necklace.

Nancy, can't wait to see the baking center.  I can't think of a person who could make better use of a baking center.

Special, after you heal and deal with the LE, will you be going back for a replacement implant? 

Laurie, it's great to have you check in and up date us on your busy life.  It sounds like everyone in the family is happy and that's great.

We're having pan-seared catfish fillets for dinner with steamed yellow squash and a salad. 

SpecialK

carole - yes, I will have to go back through an expander first though - I can have that placed in 60-90 days, expand (most likely more rapidly than the first time) and then the implant replaced.  This is like deja vu of the immediate aftermath of BMX when I lost the same side expander.  After chemo it was replaced with no incident and from then on everything went smoothly.  The area of bad skin is the same troublemaker this time.

DH is out of town in South Carolina celebrating his dad's b-day (his 89th!) so I have nobody to cook for.  I am home dog-sitting.  I took my TN friend to start her Taxol chemo this morning. I am not even sure I will have any dinner - not super hungry.

Moonflwr912

You know you will heal faster if you eat SPECIAL K. So eat! LOL (I can't wait for the chorus of voices joining in on this.... All of us Moms and Dads.....) 

SpecialK

moon - lol!  I always have trouble with this post anesthesia!  Takes about a week, so my appetite should pick up shortly!

auntienance

Hedgehogs are cute. Groundhogs are giant rats.

Lacey, we only have ruby throats too, but we have a lot of them.

auntienance

Here is the feeding frenzy.

Lacey12

Nance, I am speechless! So was DH! 

We see at most four or five hummers in NH and hardly ANY here. So the little ones to us are like precious rare creatures. Yours look larger, too. Your photos are almost Hitchcock-like! How do you keep up with making that much nectar....a nectar-making station in your kitchen?!

My sister just returned a call and we discussed her bats, which recently returned to the barn in which she lives. She is still trying to get her bat house up so they will leave the attic....I hope it works, especially before I visit! But she sure loves being in VT, about which I am very happy. 

Special, I do hope you get your appetite back on your usual schedule!

Tonight DH grilled himself a hamburger (it was burning a metaphorical hole in our freezer for him), and I finished the two leftover quarters of my  turkey club sandwich from my lunch out. Wow, it was a big and tasty sandwich! We had cuke salad and DH had some kale soup.

Laurie, your energy so impresses me! 

auntienance

Lacey, that picture was taken in the afternoon, at dusk, the number doubles as they all try to get in one last meal before bed. It sounds like a beehive.  We have a couple of   window feeders so we get to see them up close. Not that they're shy, you can stand with your face in the feeders and they don't care. I've already gone through 15 pounds of sugar and they've only been here a month. I make the solution in a 2 gallon stockpot every couple of days and refrigerate it in gallon pitchers.

If we don't take dadtout for Chinese food for lunch, we'll probably have done kind of stir fry for dinner.

auntienance

I tried to edit that previous post's typos and it wouldn't let me.  Weird.  This only happens on bco.

auntienance

Laurie, ditto on the energy thing. You are amazing!

Moonflwr912

Laurie I never did understand how Mom's with the younger kids could handle everything. Mine are all grown up and I still don't understand! LOL.  It's a constant run. Even when my DH was there to help he'd be with one or two and I'd be running with the others. All I can say is you'll miss it when they begin to drive on their own. You miss that minute of connection when they tell you things. Of course by the time they drive they don't tell you nearly as much as you'd like! LOL.  I'd say try to take it easy but that ain't going to happen, so I'll wish that they tire out easily today and go to bed early.....

Laurie08

Those hummingbirds are amazing!!!  We see one here and there around the house visiting the flowers.  I LOVE them.

The weather ended up being beautiful today.  We got a lot of yard work done and our friends post poned opening the cottage thinking it was going to rain.  My room did not get put together due to the good weather.  The plan is tomorrow morning we will bang it out when it rains.  It is supposed to push out my late morning and we will get the camper ready to head out for Thursday.

Thanks so much for the kind words on my energy level- it makes me feel better for always being tired!  This time of year I feel like there is no end to what needs to be done.  At some point I need to tackle my perennial beds and weed and mulch them.  Just looking at them makes me tired!  I need a cool day to do it.

So it is almost 6pm and I have no idea what I am making for dinner.  I have chicken breasts out...I hope they cook themselves into some form of delishiousness!

carolehalston

I was in great-aunt mode today.  I took 8-yr-old Nova to have a pedicure, her idea of the COOLEST thing to do!  She ended up having a manicure, too.  We had lunch at Sam's Club where I had a chili dog and she had pizza.  We also went shopping and bought her some summer dresses on sale and sandals.  She assured me it was a totally awesome day! 

Tonight is the Abita Opry.  Most of the time dh and I get a chili dog at the concession stand, but I've already had my chili dog.  So we'll heat up some of the leftover ground beef and zucchini dish we had a couple of nights ago.  Maybe we'll indulge in a brownie or cookie at the Opry.  The concessions are all home-made by whatever group is collecting the proceeds.

Lacey12

Carole, that little girl is VERY lucky to have you for a great-aunt! She will carry the lovely memory of your fun day for many years to come!

I am about to eat some leftover boiled shrimp...DH had a leftover hamburger from last night, while I was upstairs coloring my roots.

More creatively, I did, in honor of Nance's baking station (and our four black bananas) make two loaves of banana nut bread....and added some coconut emulsion to make them a bit more interesting.

I have a feeling we will be hankering for popcorn later....

MinusTwo

Gee Lacey - now I'll have to have popcorn.  A neighbor drove several of us to Outback at noon for steak, baked potatoes & salads (well one lady had baby back ribs). Then I went to a wonderful chamber music concert.  They sang music from the 60's - 1860's and 1960's.  This was Brahms Lieder and then the Beatles.  What fun.   Hard to believe 50 years since the first Beatles appearance on Ed Sullivan.  My 'supper' was raw veggies & ranch dip.  Popcorn for dessert sounds great.

carolehalston

Minus, I always like to eat at Outback but seldom get there.  The one in our area is always so popular.  With the high price of beef, have the menu prices gone up?

Lacey, glad the popcorn method is working for you.  I use the Orville R. brand.  Popcorn is so inexpensive using the kernals.  My microwave display stopped working years ago.  I just set the microwave for 5 min. and stand there and watch through the glass door until the popping subsides.  Then I use mitts to remove the bowl and transfer the popped corn to my designated plastic "popcorn" bowl.  I spray the butter flavored cooking spray and sprinkle a little salt.  As good as the Orville R. butter-flavored Smart Pop, which is what I used to buy in the bags.  This summer I'll go back to buying the Smart Pop since I don't have a large heavy glass bowl in the camper.

Today's noon meal at my mother's house after church -ta dah!  Hotdogs and chili.  My sister is making chili.  I'll make some coleslaw with a bag of pre-cut cabbage.   

Laurie, you must be excited about starting your camping season.  I thought about you when I was getting ready for a short trip to Gulf Shores, AL, in April.  It is too much trouble for me to pack up the camper for a few days.  If you do it often, though, you probably find it easier.  I make dozens of trip back and forth, back and forth between the house and the camper.  Here's a picture of our 5th wheel taken when dh had pulled it out of its building and up close to the house.

Hope everyone has a good Sunday!

auntienance

That's a nice sized "house" Carole. That's the only way to camp for me these days!

There must be hot dog pollen in  the air, we're having Chicago dogs for dinner. Maybe we'll have an extra one without the bun with leftover chili.

Carole, what brand of butter daisy  do you use? The one I got  is tasteless.I

auntienance

Carole, spray, not daisy. Stupid phone will not let me correct!

DH is fixing me breakfast. Cinnamon bread French toast and bacon. Yum!

auntienance

Also, I get unsubscribed every single day!

MinusTwo

Carole - I had the 6 oz filet.  Lunch portion was $17.99 with one side.  I ordered the dinner portion for $18.99 because I could get a potato and a salad for just the $1.00 difference.  So yes, pricey, but I was very disappointed in the toughness of the sirloin the time before this so I went w/the better cut.  Not as good as my steaks at home but nice not to fool w/cooking.

How about trying the paper bag method of popping when you're on the road?  I put about 2 heaping Tblspoon of kernals in the bottom of a standard school lunch bag, fold the top twice, set the microwave for 3-1/2 minutes and wait for the corn to stop popping - usually sometime after 3 minutes.  Of course once I pour it into the bowl I cover it with real melted butter & lots of salt so it's not "low fat" anymore.

laurie - it was so good to read about your adventures.  Thanks for posting for those of us who don't do facebook.

carolehalston

Minus, you buy the paper lunch bags at the supermarket?

 

Lacey12

Spent yesterday in downtown Boston, (near the Boston Common and Public Garden) touring some  historic churches with Harvard Divinity School seminarians, before attending our new minister's ordination at Arlington Street Church in Back Bay. We went with another couple and met some really interesting people in our little informal tour group.

It was a gorgeous day and the city was so alive with families taking pix of of new college graduates, brides and grooms, kiddies enjoying swan boat rides. The ordination was so moving, especially with the recognition of all the spiritual and human inspirations and supports that helped make this exceptional young woman who she is. Afterwards, I was dying to meet her parents ....and when I complimented them on what a fine daughter they raised, her mom said "....we can only take credit for trying to stay out of her way!" I'm sure we'll see more of them once she begins her ministry in September.

After our tour and before the ceremony,  we stopped at a coffee/snack shop on Beacon Hill and I had a spinach meatball soup with what seemed to be Israeli couscous. Then after the ordination, there was a light buffet. I had a puff pastry (yeah....has to be dairy in there, right?) with hummus filling, asparagus wrapped in ham, veggies, minus the sour cream dip, and some interesting meatballs in a curry sauce. For dessert I first tried a vegan brownie with rasberry sauce, but could not get past the loose grainy texture of the brownie, so had a large pink iced heart cookie. Love, but never make, rolled, cut out, iced cookies. 

Notes to self.....don't wait for another formal event to spend a pretty Sunday touring around downtown, take DH on a duckboat tour (I have had that privilege as a chaperon for two troubled kids on a field trip with my old school ,  take the grandkids on the Swanboats next time they are here in good weather.

Have a good day everyone!

MinusTwo

Lacey -  your day sounded great.

Carole - yes, just Kroger or WalMart.  I started buying 50 "brown bags" but now go for the economy 100 pack.

Lacey12

Hmmm, Minus, we may try the microwave brown bag method, too.

Today I had my annual Gyn appt. and during our chat I admitted my rogue status since I have remained off Tamox since mid March. She did say that her understanding is that you get the most benefit from it in the first two years, which I've done. Obviously she hopes I'll get back on something but "gets" the wuality of life issues. At the end, she agreed not to communicate my "rogue status" to my MO since I see her in a couple of weeks and will be fessing up then. 

Tonight I did the unusual for dinner.....picked up a pre-cooked chicken and heated it up. We usually avoid those due to saltiness, but for 5 bucks, went with it. Had ratatouille, arugula salad, and brussels sprouts to boost the health factor. Then I must have felt too healthy, so scarfed down some M+M's....the new big ones.....way too tempting!

luvmygoats

Lacey - that's so funny you mention the swan boat rides. I just saw a picture of them within the last 2 days. Probably from one the many magazines I'm attempting to clean out of here.

Cooking has once again gone by the wayside. The pot roast was the last thing I made and with 2 of us took a while to eat up. I went into town yest. for a grad. party. I thought it would be a come-and-go affair cookies etc. Nooo - a full cookout was to be had. DH had to work so just me. Today I was lucky to get a Stouffers dinner in the oven. We've had no landline phone service since Sat. I thought it might be from a phone line we never use that I just happened to answer Fri. night though DH was pretty certain there was no service coming into the house. So I was cleaning out where that line is in the bedroom - dusty behind it. Picked up the phone and voila - had a dial tone. I think something in central switching got fixed and coincidentally I was without internet for about 30 min a couple of hours just before I discovered the dial tone. Sooo - no repairman tomorrow. I think I will make chicken and dumplings. Have a pkg. of Annie's froz. dumplings. Or maybe chicken fried steak - I got some tenderized steak last week and corn on the cob - tiny ears. Also had red/orange peppers on sale so will make bean/rice stuffed peppers again.

Hmm - I don't think I've seen new big M&M's. Must investigate.