So...whats for dinner?

The good, the bad and the ugly

I am so sorry that so many of you are having hard times.  Deb and Debbie, I feel for you and am thinking of you.a lot. Susan, I'm sorry things haven't evened out yet, they will. maybe summer is not helping with the heat. Eric, that is so sad, I am so sorry for your losses, I can't even begin to imagine. Michelle, you are A- Maayyyyy-zing!  (Must be said like Oprah) I haven't kept up because I sleep alot but only 16 more weeks. Now; It's working and in 16 weeks I will be free and superwoman!!! Still don't want to talk about it. On the BC front, things are stable. Mammo in Aug

The GOOD!! DD came over and said "What is going on around here???" and bought me 4 kids meals, the kind you put in their lunch, promised to come back with BF and shampoo the rug. Then she stated, and then we're getting a maid for the kitchen and the bathroom. Boy that was a shocker! I hope the meals don't speak to my cooking skills when she was little. Actually they do, as I was vegetarian and she wasn't. But the kids meals were cute and she bought the ones without meat.

The BAD DC#1 (Darling Cat #1) Is doing what he did when I was diagnosed with BC. Peeing on the rug a few times. Thank you very much.  That fixes everything. Hence the rug shampooing

THE UGLY I alternate between an 11 year old Tom Petty Teeshirt and a grey one. I am growing my hair long.

There is an amazing amount of organizing to do.  It's shocking that anyone gets anything done when they're working.

For dinner I had THE most delicious cantalope ever, all cut up with a nectarine. It was Heaven. The garden is coming in. With all the rain, I rarely need to water it.

Bobo, I'll critical theory you, you.... Marxist.... (or not) You and my bff the chair of the math dept can run circles around me mentally. When I finish all this cleaning and organizing I'm going to work on my vibrato. never really perfected finger/wrist vibrato, just arm, which stinks.

Goats.  I still want goats. I picture them in my dreams. I want screaming goats, fainting goats, pregnant goats, goat milk, goat cheese, goat soap. I want to look at thier crazy pupils

Sorry for everyone I didn't mention, I still think of you.

Love to all

Bobo, I could eat watermelon exclusively, too....especially really sweet ones. Well, maybe I'd alternate with some fresh cherries for variety.

Spent a rainy nothing day here at the lake. So for excitement we are heading out to a local restaurant to have their lobster special. DH decided that we look like a "lobster eating team" since we are both in black shirts and jeans. Wish I had another top to wear!



Last night we planned to have grilled lamb burgers...got real excited about the lamb patties mixed with rosemary powder and garlic, topped with red onion, lettuce, tomato and feta.....then headed to the store only to find out they had no ground lamb!!! So we switched gears and subbed with grass fed Australian grnd beef and treated that the same as we would have the lamb, except for omitting the rosemary powder. They were really good! We usually never have beef burgers....maybe this grass fed option might be a menu addition when we can't get the lamb. Baaaaaa.....

Goat soap? Really?

I was really stupid and fell down the steps on our boat...the ones to the upper deck area.  I was swabbing the deck and had wet and soapy bare feet.  My legs have some pretty bad bruising in various random places. Left leg is purple from knee to ankle.  i should really know better, but i am always in such a hurry. But it is all good and no broken bones, which is a miracle since I figure my bones are lacking calcium, with this menopause thingy.

What is chicken forestiere? want the details...I will use as many dishes as necessary.

Lacey  Never had a lamb burger.  what is the texture like?

Eric, that is so sad, I'm so sorry.

I'm interested in the Chicken Forestiere as well.  

Camping this weekend was interesting in the cooking department.  Tableware, plates, bowls, cups, a paring knife, a round griddle, an 8 inch skillet, a small propane stove and a very limited pantry.  It sort of reminded me of when I started cooking.

We made some decent food...much of it was "use that much because that's all there is" measurements. 

The outpouring of support for the families of the firefighters is amazing.  Prescott, where the Granite Mtn Hotshots were from, is about 90 minutes drive from where I live.  It is a smallish town that had less than 100 firefighters. 

Nationwide, the emergency response community has quite a feeling of "connectedness"...and losing that many all at once is like a Star Wars type "disturbance in the force". 

For those of us in Arizona, it is even more of a "disturbance in the force".

Even though the response stuff is different at the front lines, the organizational stuff behind the front lines is, by design, as identical as possible.  So when an exercise, class or seminar is offered anywhere in the state, it often involves the behind the lines stuff and that's where we all end up seeing and working with each other...and as you work together, you get to know each other.

I knew a couple of the guys well enough that I could call their homes without having to look up phone numbers....I'm sad, but I know they were doing (up until the very last moment) EXACTLY what they loved and were trying to make a difference, which is an amazing feeling. 

What I don't even want to think about is what the Prescott Fire Chief is going through.  He is an older man with fewer than 100 fire fighters and I'm sure they were "his kids".

There is a little known organization called the "100 Club".  Unfortunately they are very busy at the moment.  I hope they never show up at my front door. 

Eric

Susan, if they convince you on the chicken, will you consider the tartar sauce recipe? Pretty please?

Eric, could you do something about the weak Verizon signal in Pine Hollow Resort, Park Rapids, MN?  Please...  Dh spent a couple of hundred dollars on a booster but it doesn't seem to be doing much.  I may be writing this for naught. 

Carrie, be careful washing the boat!  Hope your bruises heal faster than mine. 

Tonight is our campground cookout for July 4th.  I'm cooking jambalaya with brown rice, andouille sausage, chicken, and shrimp.  Also diced celery, bell pepper, green onions and seasonings.  I'll make the dish a little spicy with some cayenne and cumin but not burn-your-mouth hot like Eric would like!

The best fisherman here at Pine Hollow is taking us fishing tonight after the pot luck.  He helped dh pick out the fishing rods and we bought our fishing licenses.  I can't imagine that I will catch a fish but a night boat ride will be nice.  The preferred fish to catch is walleye.  I'm so hoping we will have some fried walleye tonight at the cookout. 

Here goes trying to post this.

Luv, my powdered rosemary gets used in sauces that call for rosemary, especially in the winter months when I don't access a fresh rosemary plant that I would then cut up into very tiny pieces. I never use dried rosemary since I think they are like little lethal spears, and I just know DH would swallow one the wrong way and get stabbed. Thus the need for rosemary powder in our house.



Carole, your jambalaya looks delish, except I have this annoying allergy to celery...so I can only eat my personally made version, leaving that ingredient out. Hope your fishing trip tonight is fun and productive!



Today was a lovely warm, sunny beach day (finally!), and I did get to the beach after driving a distance to track down a prescription for my eye allergy. Fingers crossed that it works....at least partially. So far they are still itching.....



Tonight we ate leftover pizza augmented with a greek salad and a small spinach pie that was yummy.



Have a Happy 4th, US sisters! The neighborhood kids have already started with the cherry bombs tonight. Makes me happy that Lacey is happily tucked in pup paradise. She was terrified of these noises.

Carol, that's not my area, but I'll figure out who does take care of that and forward it along to them.  I can't guarantee anything though...For what it's worth, the coverage in my neighborhood is poor.  We have been trying, for 3 years, to get permission to build a cell site nearby, but the city keeps denying the building permits.

The antenna placement for the booster is kind of critical.....So, don't skimp on how far apart the antennas are placed and try to get the outside antenna up as high as possible.  Also, since all cell sites all use the same channel, it's possible that several cells are equal strength and causing interference to each other...so maybe experiment with using the trailer to block the signal from one direction.

For whatever reason, I don't particularly like any of the mellons.  I love just about every other kind of fruit though.. It's not genetic as my parents loved every type of mellon.

My mom has little tags or stickers on stuff to indicate who should get it after she dies.  At least we won't be trying to figure out "what would mom want", which is a help.

The cast iron fairy just dropped off some more stuff.  I mentioned to someone that I was going to put a bigger skillet in the tent trailer.....they brought a 10 inch skillet into work, along with a dutch oven, and gave them to me.  I bought them lunch....

Eric, you are the cast iron king!



Yesterday we went to the butterfly house. What an absolutely magical place! Hundreds of the most beautiful butterflies in every size and color right in front of your nose (literally.) You had to step carefully so as not to step on any. I highly recommend it as a guaranteed blues chaser.



Going to be warm today, so I need to get my pie in the oven soon and head out to the garden to dig potatoes, pick beans and see if I can find enough red, white and blue flowers to make a table bouquet.



To all my U.S. peeps, have a glorious 4th!

Thank you Susan!

Yes, thank you Susan for that recipe....and for respecting copyright laws. I was always shocked to see how educators I worked with had very little respect for intellectual property. Somehow copy machines cancelled out the copyright laws.



Sitting on our porch listening to a potpourri of NH firework sounds blended with distant thunder. Feeling badly for all the animals who are hiding in closets....poor fur babies.


Anticipating a nice sunny day again tomorrow so I can get a bit of flower planting done before heading to the beach.

Finally got a prescription for my eye allergies which is definitely reducing the itching, but leaving my vision a bit blurred. I think I'll give the last dose tonight and hopefully re-claim clear vision tomorrow.

Chabba....hahahahaha....guess we all have our unique sensory systems!

Thanks Nance....I'm envying your garden pickins!



We are going to the Winni Playhouse tonight and will stop to get a bite to eat on the way.

It is really hot here today and I walked several miles this morning before doing my container planting on the deck this afternoon. This may result in my falling asleep during the play.

Nancy, how wonderful to go out into your garden and pick veggies for dinner.  We'll be driving into town for the farmers' market tomorrow morning.

Tonight's dinner was fresh corn cut off the cob sauteed in melted butter with diced yellow and orange bell pepper and a little hot green pepper out of the freezer.  Also sauteed sliced chicken breast stir fried with yellow and orange bell pepper and sliced onions.  Very tasty.

Yesterday's 4th of July was fun but tiring.  We bicyled 12 miles, had a great lunch at Good Time Cafe in Park Rapids, watched the parade at 3 pm, enjoyed a street concert from 5 to 7 pm, enjoyed patriotic music from a brass band, then waited for what seemed a long-g-g-g-g time until it got dark enough for the fireworks display, which was fabulous.  But it doesn't get dark here until after 10:00 pm! 

Today we both weren't a ball of energy.