Pondering A Garden

While thinking about the possibility of gardening, I have thought a lot about God. I am sure this is no surprise to anyone who has a garden, but for those of us who have no idea how to garden, this is a big deal. I Corinthians 3:6: "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." I know this verse is referring to the Gospel being shared and churches being "planted", but I think it fits here, too. I may plant the seed, and Jeff may water, but God will make it grow.

My first thought is that God placed us in a garden. Adam and Eve had every kind of fruit, veggie and flower to tend. This makes me wonder if there is something built into us that makes us want to garden. Is there some desire to work to make things grow? I am fascinated by watching God give life to a little seed, and give me plants to eat. Much like watching a baby grow, I can't help but wonder at the awesome God we serve.

Second, I have realized how much I dislike heat. After the fall, God told Adam that he would eat "by the sweat of his brow". This "sweat" is minor to the burn of the sun that my skin is so quick to inflict upon me. I don't know how to keep plants alive. My mother drowned a cactus, because she didn't realize that one should only water it when it is raining in the desert. The only plants she ever managed to keep alive were the parachute fern and the bamboo.

Third, I have decided that I am late to the game. I should not try to plant now, as the season for planting is far past. My goal this year is to clear the area, and turn the soil. If I enrich it now, it will be ready for next year's planting. Gardening takes more than just putting a seed on the ground. It takes WORK (I have decided I am allergic to this "work" stuff...), and planning and determination. I have to decide what veggies to plant, and which plants can help others to grow bigger, sweeter, or more fruitful. I don't want to plant only tomatoes. I want squash, lettuce, carrots, corn, cucumbers... and I want to work on the roses I have discovered in my yard!

Fourth, and final for this note, I have to get dirty. Removing weeds is hard work, and messy. I have to turn up the dirt to allow in more air, water and sun, so that the plants I desire have plenty of those and room to grow. If I want to keep a pretty manicure, I do not need to bother to garden. If I want my table full of locally grown fresh fruits and veggies, I need to get down and dirty in the garden.

New Adventures Of The Traveling Bloggers Or The Chelf Life Of Flea Bytes

I enjoy travel. I love meeting new people. I adore getting to combine the two.

Back in July, on a Thursday, DH and I made a trip to Bricktown (downtown OKC). We met Jayme for dinner, with her immediate family, and some extended family, too. They were in town for the big annual family reunion, that was being held in a church building (less than a mile from my house). We had a really good Italian dinner at Zio's. We enjoyed walking around Bricktown and along the canal.

I had (conveniently for Jayme) left my camera in the car. Apparently, Jayme was nervous that I would chronicle our visit here. I don't like pictures of me, but I am happy to share pictures of others! No pictures this time. Good for Jayme, bad for the rest of us. Ha! I didn't want her to think that I had left her out of the journal, simply because there were no pictures. I loved visiting with them, and I wanted you all to know it!

We had a great time. Neal and DH are friends from many years ago, and it was nice for them to catch up, too. Ellie told DH he was "Ca-RAY-zy!" for not liking Strawberries. That was cute.

A month later, DH has this week off. He took a week of vacation to hang out with me, in honor of our 10th Anniversary (this Friday). We are doing much like we did when we took our honeymoon. Then, he was still in College, and I was working full time. I took one week, and we spent that week taking small trips. We spent our first two nights in a Bed and Breakfast in Guthrie, OK. We also took day trips to Wichita and Tulsa.

Monday this week we went to Tulsa. We met Flea. I don't remember precisely when I found Flea's blog, but we have been enjoying each other's blogs for around two years, I suppose. I knew when I started reading that we were kindred spirits.

She brought the "loquacious" Red Rocks with her. We met at DH's favorite place to eat that we don't have here in OKC, Fuddrucker's. We refer to it simply as Fudd's, as to not say terrible words accidentally. They make burgers to order... you can get a one pound burger that covers a plate! We ate, took pictures and visited for most of two hours!

This is Red Rocks... talking. He is quite into Classic Rock, and was a pleasure to talk to. He had to go home to make an original dessert for a Scout thing that night. Good looking, prepared, and smart. What more could you need from a kid?



Fred and Bessie also came, and enjoyed the picnic. This is Fred, making sure he got the last of the Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese sauce. (A must for the french fries.)



Here is Bessie, worrying about Fred and his balancing act to reach something.



Mr. Monkeysuit came, too. He is a ladies' man. Flea got some good pictures of him giving me a kiss.



Here is DH giving Mr. Monkeysuit the contemplative stare... and probably a warning about getting too fresh with me.



This is the Good Flea and Chelf, photo on my camera, courtesy of DH.



Thank you for coming along on the driving adventures of Chelf and DH. More entries to come, as the Anniversary Week progresses!

The Universe Has A Warped Sense Of Humor!

The car I got from Enterprise (paid for by the other guy's insurance) is a newer version of the car that hit me! Yes, I was assigned a 2009 Nissan Altima. The car that hit me was a 1995 model. This is a black car. I would never own a black car, not on purpose. Not in Oklahoma. The temperatures this week are supposed to be over 90 all week. With the 60% humidity and more, the temperatures are way too hot to have such a big dark car.

It is a smooth ride, turns soft like butter! Lots of fun cubbies to explore, way too many cup holders, and useless gauges to distract my attention while driving. I like knowing that there is a cruise control. But the first time I pushed the button to turn it on, I accidentally honked the horn. In fact, I honked three times before I realized that I was the one honking. I spent probably 10 minutes just adjusting the car to me, and making sure I could reach what I needed to reach. Can't damage the car right in front of the rental office, you know?

Zipper got stretched only, and is back home as of late last night. Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes. The next appointment in about 6 months will be the rod replacement surgery, provided she does not break them before that. She was showing Daddy the ropes this time, since he has not been there for a stretch before. Apparently, she was angelic for Daddy. He got to see the rare happy side of a girl on the edge. I have not heard how much she grew with being straightened out. Now we just need to get some more fat on her bones to cushion her.

I have been trying to trim our budget recently. Our house related expenses went up a little when we bought this house. So I am trying to cut back on brand name things. I went to Aldi. This grocery store has good prices on food that is not name brand. I decided to try their milk, since it was so much cheaper than others. Big mistake. This stuff tasted like colored water. I used to get 2% milk that tasted better. Mystic, who usually loves drinking milk after my cereal is gone, turned her nose up at it. That sealed the decision. I have decided to not skimp on milk. I am going back to Braum's. I found a store that has the 1/2 gallon for $0.20 less than the store near DH's work. For as little milk as I use, I can pay a little more for the good stuff.

I am off to clean again. Since I know your prayers work... please pray that I don't get bogged down by the work it will take to get my new home looking the way I want it. I can't imagine how to decorate anything, because I can't see past the junk I have in the way. If I can move my pride and junk out of the way, my home can be a more open place to share the hospitality I have in my heart. I know this goal is not so lofty that it can't be met. I know I can finally have a clean home, with God's help and yours. Thanks!

Be blessed today!

Personal Foul On The Offense, Five Yard Penalty, Repeat The Down!

Fall has begun dropping her leaves, and DH leaves me on Friday evenings for his Football radio show. My hopes of a Friday night date are crushed for 12 weeks every fall. This year, he got a raise for this part-time fun gig, and he even gets a week off so that we can go to a wedding. This is year number 11. Yes, he has been doing this since before we got engaged. So, I should probably not complain, as I knew this was coming.

I have a little wooden sign that says "we interrupt this marriage for Football Season!", and it is kinda true. Not only do I have to ignore the fantasy leagues, I have to find things to do on my own once a week. (Yeah, that is so hard, let me tell you. Lots of reading goes on in these 12 weeks.) I remember the guys that were doing this in the beginning announced our engagement the weekend after it happened, and our wedding the next year. The whole state knew we were attached. The on-air talent has changed, and the method of recording reports from guys who were at the games has gone computerized, but the fun is still there. I no longer go with DH (I did go with him the first 2 or 3 years), because this is his thing, and I really belive that he needs a few things that are his alone.

Tonight, I was planning to sit at home and write a post, not unlike this one. Then I got an invitation to be with friends this evening, and I jumped at the chance. I drove to meet them at a restaurant that had been recommended to them, and it was in between our homes.

I don't usually write about my dining experiences. They usually aren't terribly exciting, or excitingly terrible. Tonight, however, was a new low.

I bet my wonderful friends would have paid for me if I hadn't taken it upon myself to tell the waitress we were dutch. I didn't get an argument from them, but I didn't want to assume anything. We all ordered our drinks. When she came back, we ordered our food, and my friends ordered an appetizer to share for the table. The appetizer came. Before our drinks. That, I think, was the highlight of our evening. The appetizer was chips and queso and salsa. The salsa was a thick tomato, with cumin in it. It was hot enough to be interesting, but not painful. Jody called it a spaghetti sauce with cumin; I suppose he wasn't impressed. The cheese was good. The chips were fresh, though quite a few of them were soft and greasy.

The food, once it showed up, was all lukewarm to cold. That was good for Belle, who is two, and needed her screaming hot chicken tenders cooled, but it was kinda queasy for the rest of us. We had to ask three times to get the five extra napkins we got. (notice we had a two year old at the table) Jody sent his food back, because he rightfully expected hot brisket and ribs. I had a burger that was insulated by green chiles, two cheeses and a slightly toasted bun. It was a little more pink than I prefer, but I wasn't going to be trouble for the situation. I try to be congenial, but sometimes the patience is tested.

So the service wasn't that great. The food wasn't great. The whole experience was mediocre. Good friends, good company. All in all, it was a fun trip, and a learning experience. We won't be eating at that location (2nd Street in Edmond) of Steve's Rib again anytime soon. Next time Jody wants BBQ, I am going to insist on Swadley's. Or Earl's Rib Palace.

When I came home, I thought it was a cat that was at the end of my driveway. It was kinda silvery, and it cringed, and ran back up toward the house. Then, I saw it's tail. It was an opossum in my driveway. Poor thing must have thought I was chasing it with my car. It ran all the way up the driveway, and through one of the gates to get into our backyard (or maybe the neighbor's yard, as the gates are side by side). No wonder the dogs in the area go bonkers at random times. There are squirrels, rabbits, and now opossums in my yard, and a fence to keep the dogs out.

I have been busy this week with loafing around. In this case, it would have been better if that meant I was making bread. Nope. Just sitting here, trying not to get sick (drank too much milk this week), and doing as little real work as I can get away with. I have joined Facebook, but I like Blogger better so far. But, hey, I can keep up superficially with so many more people now. I have tracked down a few people from my high school, and I have discovered a few shorter degrees of separation among my friends.

Please pray for my mom. Her doctors are not telling her all she needs to know about her kidney issues. She is pretty irritated with them right now. She will start on dialysis at the beginning of October, and is on a list to get a machine of some sort. I don't know much about it yet, but I am going to learn as much as I can, and hopefully share information she hasn't been given yet.

I wish sometimes that I could win the lottery like Earl on TV... I would pay for Mom and Dad to move wherever she needed to be, most likely closer to me. I would make sure that Dad could retire comfortably, and they could finish traveling to all the states... Mom still has to see Florida and Alaska. And I would bring a lawsuit to end all lawsuits against the doctors who are helping her suffer by not sharing what she needs to know about her condition. I know in my head that it wouldn't help, but in my heart I know that getting them put out of business might actually save lives. I want my Mom out of the small town that doesn't know what to do with her. I want her in a place where I can be the bully she needs on her side...I just want to be close to my family. This living a long day's drive away is really bothering me right now.

Jody's wife Lisa told me she was a Nervous Nancy, and she wasn't going to sleep well tonight, worrying over her family in the path of Hurricane Ike. I have family in his path as well, and I understand her totally. She was a sweetie and walked me to my car (as any good mother/Nervous Nancy would do) after our dinner. I think we were all ready to go home after our unsatisfying meal.

Home is a nice place to be. Even if the animals are trying to take over.

The Number Of Crock-Pots Shall Be Three! (Five, Sir.)

For those who are wondering where I keep FOUR crock pots, I went and looked again. I actually have five, if you count the littlest one, that I can't cook in. To answer Flea's question, they are each in their own spot... scattered all over the 5 cabinets I have. Small ones up high, big ones down low. The 6 qt. pretty much lives on the cabinet, in the far left corner. All of them are Rival Crock-Pot brand. What have we here?

1. One 6 qt. oval removable crock. Temp adjustable with Hi, Lo and Warm. Deep green. The outside has herb leaves on it. I was hoping to win one of the new offerings from Stephanie's blog... those have a locking lid that would be helpful for travel. Oh, well. This is the one I use for the Pot Luck dinners. I couldn't find a red one, so I settled for green; but I love it.

2. One 4 qt. round removable crock. Temp adjustable with Hi and Lo. Maroon (got this as a wedding present). The outside has flowering pictures of herb plants on it. MIL wanted a removable crock, and couldn't kill her one piece. She jokingly threatened to steal mine. I offered to give it to her, but she refused. She didn't want to give up her working piece just for a flashier model. For a gift, I got her one. It was removable, an oval in blue, that matched her then new dishes. She donated her original wedding present to their church. It still works, and she had it since 1974.

3. One 2 qt. round, one piece. Knob with Off or On, but not really temp adjustable. Matches the chili pepper kitchen! I had to have this one. Don't argue with me. Seriously.

4. One 1 qt. Crock-ette, also called a Little Dipper, one piece. Plug in to turn on, no knobs at all. Deep green. Came with the 6 qt. and matches the herb pattern. This is the one I used for the Compote.

5. One Mini Potpourri Crock, one piece, plug in only. Deep green. This one could hold one cup of water, and is not designed for food. I think this one came with a set as well, but I don't really remember.

Now, I don't know exactly why I have the need to own FIVE crock pots. I have different uses for each one. There is the one that gets the cheese dip, the one that makes dinner for two, the one that makes leftovers for a week. I actually gave away a 2 qt. that matched the 4 qt. in exchange for getting to buy the one that had chili peppers on it. I have decided that I am totally wacko. I have so much kitchen stuff, and not nearly enough kitchen for half of it. Wishful thinking (there is another house in my future, I am sure) or just pack rat out of control? I can only say... "Whatever." I justified my pattern trade by letting one go out, to get one in. Seemed good to me at the time.

I love to cook, I love to make people happy with food. I have a need to have comfort food, and if I can make it fresh, it will certainly be better than the salt/fat/sugar laden canned stuff. I remember reading somewhere that there were studies done that said long, slow cooked food was better for you than seared and fast cooked food. (Don't tell Rachael Ray, her 30 minute meals are awesome, too.) I know that slow cooked meat is so much more tender than pan fried. I love a warmed and softened veggie, that still has some crunch to it. I LOVE that the term "stew" really does describe the mixing of the flavors; that the leftovers are just as good, if not better, on the next day.

I'm not so creative to make a New Year's Resolution to use the crock pot every day. (I really think Stephanie rocks!) I'm not so fanatical that I will tell you that you MUST be like me in my obsession. I like that the food can be slow cooked, and my house (and electric bill for counteracting the stove operating) doesn't have to get so hot. I adore baking, but it is a tedious and painful process in the summer. Oklahoma is not bakery friendly in the 100 degree, 80% humidity of July. I have been known to cook to keep the house warm in the winter, though.

I have learned a lot about Microwave cooking from my MIL. She is always happy to make things that don't take too long, and don't heat up the house. I had never thought of making casseroles in the microwave, and now I have a great time fixing DH's favorite. I have a few gadgets for that purpose, too. My kitchen has no shortage of interesting ways to cook dishes that I don't regularly make.

On to another subject. OH. MY. Goodness! How did it take me a whole month to read one little book? I will admit that I was reading only about one chapter a night, but... wow. I usually devour books. I don't know what is wrong with me. My friend David said that he has a sickness. We are in the same boat, seriously. See a book, buy the book. I have a whole shelf full to brimming, and that holds about 2/3 of the books I still own. I tried. I TRIED. I put enough books in the garage sale to fill a small shelf. I sold a few. But I brought back so many.

I don't know when/if I will try another garage sale. Roadrunner and I were going to do one together, but her plans have hit some unexpected bumps. I am seriously considering just dumping whole boxes of junk at Goodwill, and letting them deal with it. I figure the freedom of the clutter will help me declutter the rest of the house. I was hoping to make a little bit of money back on some of it, but that really has nothing to do with the decision. I can get a receipt for the donation of stuff. I don't really care. I just want it all out of my house.

I have always had piles of stuff, stacks of boxes in my way. I don't know why I keep some of it. There is a box of "hope chest" things, but I don't have a chest. I haven't even looked in that box in four years. I can't even tell you where it is right now. I have boxes of stuff my mom gave me from her house, that I haven't opened in almost 10 years. I haven't even been married that long! I think this year is the year to clean, DEEP CLEAN, my house. I complain that I don't know how to clean, which isn't technically true. I have never had a clean house to maintain, but that is no real excuse. "Mess equals Stress." Thank you, Mrs. Rice. Yes, I need to clean up, and maybe that will get rid of some of the depression, stress, and moodiness. I don't know. I should certainly try.

Time to jet. I have a women's class to attend, studying keeping cool and eating for less $$ and, most importantly, following God's plan for my household. Beginning, of course, with me. I need that lesson.

Have a happy day!

Inspired Cooking Experiments

Today, I got busy and cooked. I used two crock pots I have. OK, I have at least four, but that is totally beside the point. Today, I wanted to cook, but I didn't want my whole house to be heating up because of an oven, or me to be heating up because of the stove.

I got some pot roast meat the other day... a huge package for a discount. I cut the roast into six pieces, to make six meals for the two of us. I have a habit of cooking (particularly in a crock pot) for more than just the two of us. We eat leftovers for a week on the stews I usually come up with. Today, I used the 2 quart pot instead of the 6 quart oval one. {Edit: Oops! I actually used the 4 qt. crock. I didn't think about it, I just dumped stuff in it.}

Pot Roast Stew

About 1 pound of pot roast. I used thawed this time, but you can start with frozen, if you like.
3-4 medium red potatoes
2 stalks celery
1/2 medium yellow onion
2 carrots (fat ones. I LOVE carrots in stew!)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (no salt added)
Frozen corn (about 1 1/2 cups)
Frozen green beans (about 1 cup)
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup (in the last 1/2 hour, to thicken the broth slightly)
1 bay leaf
Spices that sound good
Water (or beef stock) to cover at least 2/3 of the veggies (the veggies will give off some liquid, so make sure to leave at least 1 inch of space at the top)
Cook for 6 to 8 hours on Low, 4 to 6 hours on High.

I just put the meat in the bottom, and layered each thing on top of the pile in the crock pot as I cut them into small, bite-sized chunks. I have a mortar and pestle, and I put in all the spices that sounded good, and ground them up together before putting them on top of the veggies. Then I poured the water over it all. This was great at 4 1/2 hours on High.

This one wasn't as good as others have been. The meat turned out tender, but not the fall-apart tender I love. I took it out, and cut it in small bite chunks to match the potatoes. But, it was good for as little work as I put into it. I thought of a nice little add-in today; I used Baby Goldfish Crackers to add a little crunch and cheese flavor. DH tried that, but also liked Club Crackers with the stew.

I had to clean to start the stew, and had to clean after, to have clean bowls to eat out of. I have been very tired since this weekend, when I helped with a Yard Sale. I don't do so well in the sunshine. The sun is my enemy. It saps the energy right out of me. Mom used to get cold sores if she was in the sun too long. I just get dehydrated, burned to a lobster redness, and too tired to move for a long while. It took me all day Sunday and most of today to recover. I wasn't burned this time. We were in the shade the whole day. I was rosy for several hours, but no burns. Hooray for sunscreen!

I decided that I had several kinds of fruit in the house, and I wanted something special for dessert. I found a recipe for a Peach Compote on Stephanie's site, and decided to try my own with the fruits available.

Fruit Basket Compote

1 Nectarine, cut into small pieces
1 Apple, cut into small pieces (I used a Gala)
Blueberries, about 1/3 cup
Black Cherries, pitted, about 1/3 cup
1 Tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar {Edit: Don't use this. Seriously. The next day, you taste it more.}
1/8 cup Dark Rum
1 tsp. Vanilla
Brown Sugar to taste (start small, and taste after an hour or so...), optional
Cinnamon, Nutmeg (could use pumpkin pie spices)
{Edit: Also add 1 to 2 Tbsp. Butter.}

I put all of this in a Little Dipper 1 quart crock pot, and let it steep for about 2 hours. There are no temperature options on that crock, it is either On or Off. I got DH to go to the local Freddy's and get some vanilla custard, to serve under the fruit. I missed the butter that apparently goes in a true compote recipe. I may add it later when I reheat the rest of it, for breakfast tomorrow.

I have to go now and put the leftovers in the fridge. I have been letting them cool on the counter since 9 pm (two hours). Don't want to break a crock by putting it in the fridge after being so hot... a full and then cracked crock in the fridge would cause a huge mess, and then I would have to buy a new crock pot. Since I didn't win one of the 10 at Stephanie's contest, I can't afford to lose one now.

Happy Dinners!

A Tisket, A Tasket, A Crock-Pot That's A Basket

I have just added a link to the coolest recipe site I have found yet.

I would love to introduce you to Stephanie. She is the self-proclaimed Crock-Pot Lady. She made a New Year's Resolution to cook something every day for her family in a Crock-Pot. She was featured on July 9th on the Rachael Ray show, and has given the world her blog, to follow her progress.

Most of her recipes are gluten free, because of her family's diet restrictions. She will tell you if the recipe is NOT gluten free. (She is nice that way.) For those of you who think you have no time to cook, you really do have time to cook. Healthy, warm, and without the hot house and overworked air conditioner.

Go check her site out! She is having a contest right now to give away 10 fancy new Crock-Pot brand crocks. If you don't want one, enter anyway, and you can send it to me!

So, I know that several of my readers are frugal homemakers who have limitless resources to eat healthy and homemade. What are your favorite recipe sites out there? Do you have a favorite Crock-Pot recipe? Do you have something that you do that you have not seen in a book? I am looking for ideas. I need help to make the same-old same-old food with a new twist, so that it is interesting for me, and not too daringly different for DH.

Hope your summer is going swimmingly!

I Let The Peer Pressure Get To Me

Alright. I had to. I took the "What Cake are YOU?" quiz. And I got a disappointing answer.

I can't have ice cream often, no matter how much I love it. This thing calls me High Maintenance, and Easy to overdose on. How... odd.

Here you go, Jan. I may try again, just to see what other cakes are available. I prefer Cheesecake, in a variety box from a Factory.

You Are an Ice Cream Cake

Surprising, unique, and high maintenance. You're one of a kind, and you don't want anyone to forget it. You're fun in small doses, but it's easy for people to overdose on you!

What Kind of Cake Are You?

Where Did You Find That?

This week I have been cleaning out boxes full of stuff I haven't looked at for years. I am cleaning, and pricing to get ready for the garage sale this coming weekend. Roadrunner and I are doing a sale at her house, with three families worth of junk.... er, treasures. This has cleaned up space for me to actually organize the junk... er, stuff I still have. In all of my sorting, I have found a few special things that were lost.

The one thing that I am sharing with you here, is the recipe that I have been tearing the house apart to find. A note: I make this in my 6 quart oval crock pot, and I only make half, so I don't have to worry about the lid not fitting. And it makes the whole house smell so wonderful!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~
Crock Pot Apple Butter

24 cups (approx. 30 medium) apples, peeled, cored, and sliced. (Cameo variety works great!)
4 cups granulated sugar (or less to taste, depending on the sweetness of the apples)
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Place 1/2 the prepared apples in a 6 quart crock pot. In a mixing bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt. Add half of the sugar mixture and half of the vinegar to the apples. Add remaining apples, top with remaining sugar mixture, and remaining vinegar. Cover with a lid. Lid may not fit at first, but apple will shrink down as they cook. Cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 8 to 10 hours, until thick and dark in color. Stir occasionally and mash apples with a potato masher to get a smooth consistency. Makes approximately 4 1/2 quarts of apple butter.
~~~~~~~~~~
You can substitute 4 or 5 teaspoons of pumpkin spice mix INSTEAD of the cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. (But I prefer the strength of flavor of each spice separately.) Half recipe measurement of note: I also add a 1/4 cup of dark rum; it adds color and flavor, and the alcohol cooks out. I put the apples in late one night, and do the canning the next day. I can the apple butter in 1 cup glass jars. I also take out some of the juiciest juice, to make the butter thicker. It makes a tasty snack or an interesting addition to sweet desserts, or an awesome ice cream topping.

Reserve the apple peels and cores to make a potpourri in a mini crock pot. Mix with orange peels, lemon juice or peels, cinnamon stick, whole cloves, tea bags, peppermint oil (only a drop or two, or your eyes will burn!) and whatever spices you love, and cover with water. Simmer all day long for an irresistible aroma in your home. Make sure to keep the water level up, as it evaporates in the heat.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Please tell me if you try it, I want to know what everybody thinks of it. Have an enjoyable Tuesday!

I Have Now Been 17 Twice

Today, I woke up feeling... tired.

We stayed up last night watching Hockey. The Dallas Stars vs. the San Jose Sharks. Turned out that they played into FOUR (count 'em...4! That is two whole games plus another overtime!) overtime periods, and it went into the record books as the 8th longest game in NHL history. It wasn't over until almost 1:30 am.

I awoke around 9 am, and got my first Happy Birthday phone call by 9:30 am. My mom was the first call. I got lots of emails, and many more phone calls, as well as a text or two. Brightened the day quite nicely.

Roadrunner took me to lunch at Olive Garden. Soup, Salad and Bread Sticks. Yum. DH took me to dinner at Carrabba's. I had the Mezzaluna. It is a cheese and spinach ravioli in a tomato sauce. I got my favorite dessert tonight, the Sonya Chocolate Dream. It is a Kahlua Brownie in a layered stack with creamy fluff, and topped with a Chocolate Kahlua sauce. Are you hungry yet?

I have been living my boring little life to the fullest today. I bought a few new shirts tonight. I got to watch my two favorite shows on TV (DH recorded them while we were out to dinner and shopping).

Tomorrow, I will be going with Roadrunner and her kids to the OKC Zoo. Their school takes an annual trip, and they need all the adults they can find to help supervise. We will have her older son and two of his friends, and the younger son and one of his friends. We may get one or two more kids, depending on need. I hope to take a few pictures, and I hope seriously that I do not get a sunburn.

On a more serious note, I would like to request prayers from all of you for my friend's father. Pop had a heart attack 10 years ago, and it resulted in a bypass surgery that he barely survived. He has been living well, and even though his body is 10 years older and 10 years weaker, it isn't all bad news. There have already been tests during this stay in the hospital, and there will be more discussion with the doctors on Tuesday. I guess putting a stint in is out of the question, and they don't want to try another bypass, for the fear that he won't live through it this time.

My friend is almost a sister, and these might as well have been my parents for a few years. Pop is very special to me. While he is mentally and willfully strong, his body is getting old and failing him. Please pray that Pop gets the proper treatment for his heart, and that the family can have strength.

Thank you. I will keep you updated as I get word on what is happening. I love that I can come to my Family for my heart-aches. You all do me good.

All in all, it has been a good birthday. I don't mind yet telling people that I am 34. It is funny to me how people think I will be offended when they guess that I am 26. Ha! Thank you, clueless people. I LOVE being thought to be younger.... as long as I am still in the 20's, that is. I have also been thought to be older ("But I thought you were closer to MY age...!"), and that is OK too. I am thoroughly an adult now. I like being mature enough to pull off being 37. I am not mistaken for being 16 at Youth functions anymore. That is nice, in it's own way.

For the math geek inside me (who isn't really all that great at math, but enjoys looking at the pretty numbers), I am now on my fourth turn at being 8 and a half! (You know how that half is so very important to children.)

I share my birthday with Uda (Japanese Emperor - 867... this is the reason today is a Japanese Children's Day), Tammy Wynette (Country Singer - 1942), Michael Palin (Monty Python Actor - 1943), Shawn Drover (Drummer for Megadeth - 1966), Tina Yothers (Actress - 1973), and Seji Ara (Japanese Racing Driver - 1974... I picked this one because it was the only one who actually shared my year, too.).

Wikipedia (I know) lists that four Kings have died on this day. Notably, an inventor died last year on my Birthday. Sad day for some.

Today is a Mexican holiday, though not celebrated Nationally by obligatory federal law. It is to commemorate the Battle of Puebla, where the Mexicans defeated the French. It was a significant battle leading to the Mexican Independence, which is really celebrated in November. {Edit: First Nicki Friend corrected me. November is wrong, the correct answer is September 16. Sorry. I was typing too fast, and not thinking. That is all.} Oh, I think I want to make a dress (this is a link to the permissions for this picture) for next year! These are so colorful!



A very merry UN-Birthday to you!

The Animals, They Came In By Twosies, Twosies

Saturday April 5, we decided to go to Denver, by way of sightseeing. When leaving Loveland, we passed the neatest store. It has been there for over 100 years. My grandmother, upon hearing the name, told my Mom that she didn't think Mom talked that way.

There is a Dam Tower (upper left of the picture) to look at the Dam, and the Dam Shirt, one of which I purchased. One of the sales girls was wearing Bear Feet slippers. They look comfy, don't they?

I have wonderful friends who live in Ft. Collins. I used to live there, when I was small. I don't know what it was, but I had a feeling that we would be too busy, so we would pass going to Ft. Collins, and go directly to Estes Park. My mother was not happy to know that I had not taken DH to see the friends in Ft. Collins. My friends (actually Mom's friends, who had been my babysitters when I was little) were anxious to meet DH, but we were driving West instead of North. Don't get angry with me, there is more to the story.

I really am not happy that we skipped showing DH around Ft. Collins. The joke was that when I was a child, I was riding home from church with a college student that was coming to our house for lunch on a Sunday. She was asking me (I was 3 or 4 years old) all sorts of questions. She asked me where I lived, in relation to the mountains. I apparently stared at my shoes, wiggled my toes, and thought about it for a long time. Then, I replied, “The Toe-Hills.” She was going for “foothills”. I could have seen if the nice neighbor lady still lived next door, and I wanted to show DH the school I went to for Kindergarten. Alas, we didn't have time.

The first thing I saw in Estes Park was the Estes Ark. It is a boat-shaped building on the edge of town. I convinced DH to stop, and we shopped. I bought a measuring stick that is one cubit. For the American in me, it is 18 inches. The measurement of a cubit, if I am remembering right, was the distance between a grown man's elbow and fingertips. I love the last plank on the sign.

We went on to the Visitors Center, and looked around. We used the time to plan our shopping, and call our mothers. We then walked along the Big Thompson River, sneaking into little shops along the River Walk. If you ever get the chance, this is a great way to spend a lot of a day, and you get exercise and fresh mountain air. Just be careful, because some people get Altitude Sickness. I guess if you are used to low altitudes, the thin Mountain air is sickening, especially if you are exerting yourself walking up and down the hills to shop. This is the Big Thompson River, near the Visitors Center in Estes Park. That big hunk of rock in river on the right was actually a heart-shaped stone, and I took a better picture of it for Niki. I couldn't exactly get it out of the river to bring to her... so I settled for the next best thing.

We grew to be hungry, and we started looking for options. Dairy Queen! No, they don't have the chicken fingers I was hoping for. No, I don't like hotdogs. Subway! No, I worked there for over two years, and the smell of wheat bread yeast that lingers in the air may be attractive to some, but it sickens me. That looks like a Burger joint! No, it is a bar with food. Finally, we happened upon a cute little diner at the farthest end of our walk. We settled on Penelope's. There was a sign (and it was printed on their cups!) that they had been voted the best Burger in Estes. We ordered and sat down to eat. After only a bite or two, a man walked past me, looking for a place to sit, or maybe in search of the bathrooms. I did a double take. I said to DH, “That looked like Steve.” When I looked back to the front of the store, I saw Steve's dad.

The world is small, and shrinking every day. I did see Steve, his lovely wife Kristi and their two beautiful children, as well as Steve's parents. These are the friends we had thought about visiting in Ft. Collins. If Dairy Queen had served Chicken, if Subway had not been a former job, if we had driven to Ft. Collins to show DH the “toe-hills”, we would have missed these dear friends. Although, I could have shown DH where their house was. I don't have pictures of them, because the camera was in the car, at the other end of town. It was just too heavy to carry while shopping. I didn't figure I would need to take pictures of the shops, at any rate. They might have gotten mad at me.

We wandered back to the car, refreshed by our walk, our food and our visit. We then went to Boulder, and the Pearl Street Mall to shop some more. I had my sights on only one destination: Into the Wind. This is a kite shop that my Dad found when he was in his kite building phase. I went there, and did not buy a kite. Somehow, that is just wrong. But I got dice to add to the collection, and we bought a Frisbee with their logo printed on it. The mall is at least three blocks long, and cars can go across it, but prohibited along the length of it. There were street performers every so often. I heard guitar and bagpipe music. I saw a man up on a very tall unicycle, who was juggling firey bowling pins. There was a group of men, drumming and dancing. They were very strong, and agile. There was a group that stood on a corner, and played guitars and sang. They called themselves The Curb Feelers.

We left Boulder, and drove to Denver. We went to Casa Bonita for dinner. Now, everyone who heard this had their own reaction. Suffice it to say that our main purpose was NOT food, though I believe the food is pretty good. There used to be a one in Tulsa, but it closed over two years ago. The one in Denver was better, anyway. Two stories high, with a dive show, a 500 lb. Gorilla (didn't see him, and was sorely disappointed!), and so many places to explore. When I was small, I used to scream at the puppet show. I was afraid of masks. Huge Gorillas, the dancing puppets, and the mysterious Gypsy fortune teller in a box all freaked me out. They still do, even though I am older, wiser and braver.

More to come soon!

So, I Met This Girl Online...

Word of the Post
Today's word is: resplendent
/re*splen"dent/ adjective
Bright, lustrous, shining; having great beauty or splendor.
A sunset, resplendent with hues of orange and red, creates an excellent picture.
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I had to take a few days to get the pictures fixed. I am sorry I took so long. Last week was a busy time for me. Wednesday evening, I had to give the DH a haircut. He was getting to be a Long-Haired Hippy. See?

This is my favorite view, the Freshly Shorn head. His haircuts have gotten easier over the years. I don't have to think or style the hair, just shave it short. I have never tried to do a flat-top. I imagine that it would be tough. I prefer to play in the hair after it has been mowed. Often during the summer, he will mow the yard, then I mow his head. It is a symbiotic relationship.

Thursday afternoon, I left home to journey north to visit Ferret (Maria) and her girls, and to meet Sally. Sally explained it pretty well on her post about our dinner. I can give you a little more background on two of us. I have known Ferret for something like 11 years. We met in college, when we both transferred to Oklahoma Christian. We had both been there for the spring semester, and met through other mutual friends in the fall. She was already part of the group that was called Teh Club. DH was already there, too. I also met him that fall.

We were close enough that, a few years later, she asked me to be in her wedding. I was a bridesmaid, and I sang. (The song is over there on my play list. Can you guess which song? If you know, please don't ruin it for those who don't.) She was not in mine, because we only had two attendants, and I had promised those posts away many years before. She and her hubby were our photographers. Today, she makes a business out of wedding photography. I babysat her older daughter, Zipper (Ani with the back surgery), when she was very tiny. Here is Zipper drumming on the back of Speedy's High Chair when we were at Pei Wei. DH is so proud that the girls are great percussionists.

Then she got nerve, and moved her family back to Wichita to be near her hubby's parents, and to be closer to her grandma. Since that time, she also got busy and had a second daughter, Speedy G (G for Gonzales, Ele, who never stops moving). Here is Speedy, also drumming on the chair. Those little chopsticks made excellent drumsticks. And both girls can and demand to eat with the chopsticks.

We all had dinner, and then sent Ferret's family home. The girls needed to be in bed sometime, and the Girls wanted to talk in a quieter setting. We retreated to a nearby Starbucks, and continued to talk. We had a great time, despite the scary roads on the way home. Look at Shannon (I have no bloggy name for her yet. When I get one I can edit), showing off that way-too-skinny-to-be-a-mom midriff! I hope that my rolls look that cute after I have kids! Here is us, from left to right: Me, Sally, Shannon, and Ferret. Some nice guy at Starbucks took six pictures for us, two each on three cameras. Thank you, dude, whomever you are.

I spent the night at Ferret's house, and went with her on Friday morning to a Bible study. Shannon was supposed to be there, too, but her kiddo got sick on her overnight. I met several more ladies at the study, and was amazed to find out that many of them were my age. I have never before had so many friends my age. Most of my friends have been two to five years younger, or more than five years older than me. It baffles me that so many people like me are out there, and feeling left out, just like me. We had a great little visit, and study. I was supposed to leave town by 2 or 3, actually hung out until 7 or so. Got home about 9:30.

Then I stayed up and packed until 12am. I was getting us ready for the couples retreat. I meant to get pictures, but the camera got left in the van... all the way across the parking lot. I decided the walk there was not worth it. I should have gotten pictures of the tiny rooms we stayed in. It was smaller than the small dorms at O.C., and they had two sets of bunk beds in them. Yes, a couples retreat where we had to sleep on different, twin sized beds. Build that love.

There was one baby there this year, a kiddo who is still mommy-fed. I got a lot of Auntie duty, and I loved it. When we were all "moving in", I got to hold the Stuff. The best and most important Stuff, the baby.

I stayed up Saturday night playing games with other couples. DH had gone to bed around 11:30, I stayed up until after 2. I actually got the babe to sleep when mommy was still playing Cranium. She was moving him too much, and he was jumping at every loud round of shouting. I didn't go too far, just put him in a position to sleep, and bounced him a little, nearer the fireplace and farther from the game. He was out in five minutes, and stayed that way with me for well over an hour. I only gave him up when I had to go to the bathroom so bad, I couldn't hold him or laugh anymore.

Sunday morning, we got up and had breakfast (the guys usually cook). This year, we had one guy who is a great cook, and we had bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, biscuits, fruit, juice, milk, and coffee. Then we had a short church service. We had a couple of men make some short talks, and we had communion. We had prayer that was relevant and heartfelt.

When it was over, we all went back to clean up the mess hall and kitchen, and then clean our rooms after we got all our stuff packed into the cars. As a group, we always try to leave the place cleaner than when we arrived. The fact that we clean at all actually seems to be an improvement over other groups the camp hosts.

I ended up sleeping for most of Sunday and Monday to recuperate from all the late nights in a row. I had a great weekend, and honestly have still not quite recovered. I am staying away from baby Molly for another day or two, just to make sure that I don't spread anything. I don't think I have caught anything, but you never know. Lack of sleep is a very good way to catch a cold. I have to stay away from milk for a while, too. Can't be too careful.

Would Paradise Really Serve Burgers?

Word of the Post
Today's word is: locus
/lo"cus/ noun
A place, a locality; site. Plural is "loci" pronounced /lo"sy/
The scavenger hunt took us to several varied loci.
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I have so many things on my mind today, I don't know exactly where to start. I suppose I shall just let things tumble out, and I will quit when I reach a good stopping point. Wouldn't want to overwhelm you all with everything. Might get droll.

Friday, I went with my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law to the Affair of the Heart. I have a few things that I always look for. I didn't see the guy who makes pottery for his wife to paint Beatles lyrics on. That is way too much money for me to spend, anyway, and all for DH, not me. I of course make a reservation in my time for Goodies Unlimited. Aubrey makes the best soaps, lotions and lip balms. We have grown to have a rapport that benefits us both. I love her Everything Balm, and buy a few things every time I visit. I found Roy who makes Pens. I got one for Dad last October, for his birthday. It was a .308 shell with a black walnut top. If you know guns, you can see it in your head. If you don't know guns, you only need to know that is was a cool wooden pen with a shotgun shell as the bottom of it. Dad loved it. They have one building that always seems to get the tackiest of the exhibits. I don't know why that is. I am not into the flashy stuff, but there is a whole building full of it!

Today we went to lunch with the family. DH's mom won't let us pay for meals, especially when she invites us to come. SIL and I both told the waitress that we were wanting separate checks, and SIL got the "mother glare" from across the table. She didn't catch me until we had three checks in three little books. She literally took the book from my hands with force, and said playfully, "I win!". SIL was out feeding Gum Drop, so she stood not a chance of paying for herself and Jelly Bean. "We didn't invite you to lunch to make you pay!" I answered that with, "We didn't accept expecting free food." I mean, I knew it was a restaurant. I know it costs money to eat. Both our moms do that when they are around. When they visited at the same time, they discussed it at length, and then decided that they would each pay for the dinners of their daughters. MIL paid for SIL and her family, and Mom paid for me and DH. It is funny to watch them twitch when we want to pay for ourselves. Seriously, when I lived at home, it would have been craziness for me to suggest that I pay for anything other than the gas in my car. I still offered to pay for some things. I was raised with at least a pretense of honor.

This 888 challenge is kicking me right now. Basically, it is one book a week, all year long, with a few extras thrown in somewhere. I am a month behind. I officially started reading the first book on February 1. I am reading slowly for me. This kind of book I could read in two days usually. This one has taken me more than a week. I am seriously losing my touch. It's not as if I have a clean house to show for the lack of reading. No, actually, I have a mess, and no ambition to fix it. If I had more than a husband and two cats to blame, I would probably be yelling at them right now to clean up their rooms. No such luck. I need to yell at ME.

I want to achieve a balance in our home. I have no idea where to start on that, either. Fly Lady and books on cleaning and organization... (shaking my head in total dismay) I am to the point of hiring a cleaning service, but I don't have the money. Like many others before me, I want my home to be cleaner before I let anyone else in to do the deep cleaning. I have an addiction to stuff, and it clutters and stresses my life. I don't feel comfortable letting people in my home, and that is against the hospitality I desire to show to anyone who knocks. Patterns, lists and budgets have all failed, because I don't keep up with them any better than the dishes.

Bible study fails me, too. I don't read much recently, and the Bible usually isn't it when I bother. We have been studying on Sundays about creating Spiritual Maturity. {Edit: Technically, the words were Spiritual Discipline. I am simply unDisciplined.} Prayer, Meditation, Fasting, Silence. All things to improve our personal walk with God, and help the Spiritual Growth of the church. Pretty sad, because the only thing I think I have accomplished is this new-found sense of inadequacy. Huzzah! Lent started this week, but since the church of Christ at large does not celebrate that, I have not given up anything. I have been my usual selfish self. ME ME ME ME ME ME ME! How empty and unsatisfying. Solomon knew this feeling. "Vanity, vanity, all is vanity." His knowledge of nothing new under the sun was revolutionary then, and still is. When we give up our thoughts of self, we can then fully appreciate what God really has in His plans for us. We can explore what freedom in Christ really is. But we have to still our own pride first. OUCH, that is a painful test.

Why is it that commercials are played so much louder than the movie? Why is it that movies don't get shown on TV with the subtitles available? I could really use that after DH goes to bed, and I stay up late and mindlessly type my brains out. Speaking of which, it is really late. I should get in bed. Sunday will be miserable if I do not get some rest. I have not had the terrible cough since Wednesday. The teas and potions did the trick. I am feeling so much better these days. The exhaustion of spending all day Friday on my feet was not fun today, but it didn't stop me from being lazy, either. I cherish my lazy Saturdays.

Happy reading to you all!

Cast A Vote To The Winds Of Change

Word of the Post
Today's word is: commensurate
/com*men"su*rate/ adjective
To be equal in size, degree or extent; to adjust, to proportionate; to reduce to a common measure.
Often in job searches, salary is supposed to be commensurate with experience. To get more pay, show more education and spend more time gaining experience. Or stay in your job until you have nothing else to live for. Then the exit is commensurate.
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I have had a cold, and the cough just won't go away. Don't you hate that? I would love to know that I can breathe normally again someday. I am a night owl by nature, so I feel great in the evening. Morning, however, is my enemy. Sleeping has been full of motion. I toss and turn constantly. I try each side for a moment, front and back too. I wake up often. I feel better, I do something normal. Then, I lay down at night and have a coughing fit. I have gotten to the point that I am stir crazy. I had to get out of the house and breathe different air. Being cooped up in the house is tough. Depression and restlessness (mental, not the physical kind caused by my sleeplessness) do funny things to me. I don't have a lot of patience with myself. I push to get well as soon as I can. Sometimes, I overdo it. I have been pushing my luck all week.

Being allergic to milk, I had to stay away from hot cocoa while scrounging for something hot to calm my throat. Ferret told me to "step away from the cocoa!" I did drink a lot of hot spiced tea, hot pink lemonade (I know it sounds weird, but it is better than some alternatives) and some of Grams Rose's special tea. I don't like tea, as a rule. Grams' tea is hot water, apple cider vinegar and honey. It is bitter and sweet, and it works. It tastes awful. Roadrunner put it best: "It scares the germs away, so they don't have to have more of it."

Last Friday, I went out with several women from church for a Girls' Night Out. It was an eye-opening experience. We did a lot of laughing. I realize now that I was shocked by one thing. One of the ladies didn't know me very well, and asked, "Are you even 30 yet?" I laughed out loud. It has been a long time since someone assumed I was in my 20's, and wow, it felt good. I was considered 18 from the day I turned 14 until the year I turned 24. Since then, I haven't really settled into an age. People usually assume somewhere between 24 and 28. I like hanging out with younger people, it keeps me young. I ignore my age and my weight. I figure they are just numbers, and they don't have any bearing on what I am as a person. We can only get older. Best to laugh. Ha ha ha!

DH was happy to have the evening to himself. He went to Goldie's. This particular restaurant is going to close soon, according to local rumor. He likes the burgers, and they have a pickle bar. I have never enjoyed eating there. Out of the maybe six times I have eaten there, I have NOT gotten sick only once. Puts a little damper on getting excited about going there together.

Tomorrow is Super Tuesday. Many states are deciding what candidate to push toward the final battle for President. I am having a little trepidation about voting. I will vote in the primary for my party. The problem is that the guy I really wanted to support has dropped out of the race. UGH! I am left with few choices. Who really matches what I believe? Who is the least likely to be against my major issues? I don't like voting negatively, to find a name to stop the one I like the least. But can I call my vote a positive one?

There is also the matter of voting for a new Superintendent of Schools for our fair City. I have only seen the name of one contender for the job, and I know nothing about him or what the job entails. I have tried to find out if I can vote for the Party nomination, and not vote for the Superintendent, and still have my vote included as complete. I suppose I shall find out tomorrow if I do not find any more information tonight online. {Edit: The school issue was not on my ballot, just the President. In Oklahoma, McCain won for the Republicans and Hitlery (I mean Hillary) won for the Democrats.}

God Bless America! (no matter the outcome of the voting)

Dancing Among The Spices

Word of the Post
Today's word is: hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia
/don't*bother/ noun
The literal fear of the sum of 666. People who suffer from this fear often avoid the three digits together, as well as the quantity of six hundred sixty six. Superstitions trace their origins back to the Bible; specifically Revelation 13:18, which names the quantity 666 as a mark of the "beast" (the Anti-Christ, or Satan).
In recent years, the state of New Mexico changed the number of State Highway 666 to State Highway 491. I have seen people in line at the grocery store add a $0.30 pack of gum, so that their total cost or total change won't include the digits of 666.
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I bought a new pair of jeans a few days ago. There was a sale, and I needed a new pair. My old pair was too short. Imagine that! I got the Petite length, and it was too far above my shoes. I can't win. Seriously. The new pair is now four inches too long. They are the Average length. I can't find a pair that is really built for me. But (the good news) this pair is a whole size smaller than the last pair! I have lost inches! The old short pair was falling off... which means that the goal of losing weight and eating healthy is WORKING again. Cheers! If I clean, I don't have time to sit and mindlessly munch. That is the new motto: Time to chew, time to DO.

I have been doing well in cooking so far this year. I try to make our food fresh, instead of buying canned, processed, fried, limp, over-sugared, over-salted junk. Apples and Oranges and, as Catherine said to me, Food that remembers where it came from. I am gradually changing from canned veggies (cooked and salted to mush) to frozen veggies (flash frozen, nothing added). I am not very good at keeping fresh veggies beyond the basic celery, carrots and potatoes. I buy too much, and then they go bad waiting for me to use them in a new creation.

I have played a little with variations on Rachael Ray. She says she only gives us ideas, it is not like she is going to come to our kitchen and criticize our dinners. She is my hero of late. She, like me, never really measures stuff. Spices and ingredients are just "eyeball it" and "palm full" and "more or less, whatever you like". I like how easy she makes it all look. Apparently, it isn't always that easy. I can walk into your kitchen, and look around, and come up with dinner. A little veggie from the can or freezer, a piece of whatever meat you don't know what to do with, a little pasta from the cabinet, a little soup to cream it all up... viola'.... dinner. Ferret says she can't envision dinners like that. She has to have a recipe or a box with instructions. Not to say that she isn't a good cook, just that she isn't so comfy with making experimental dishes. It is a knack that you either have, or you don't. I happen to have. I don't like to be mean to the have-nots I know.

Tonight, I give you "imagine this" of what dinner looked like tonight. Recipe a la Chelf. Tonight's creation was actually in a crock pot. I love this invention. It has made cooking convenient. I can go out and do stuff, and dinner is percolating at home.

Chicken Chunky Soup
6qt crock pot (make sure it is plugged in, and you have it set to LOW; it can warm while you are preparing the veggies)
3 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless (I start with frozen, because it keeps them moist)
Two or three handfuls baby carrots, cut or not
Six stalks celery, roughly chopped (I use a LOT of celery, love it in soups)
Four medium potatoes, roughly chopped
1 medium to large onion, roughly chopped
1 can corn (can also use frozen)
1 can green beans (can also use frozen)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can diced green chiles (M&P or Hatch brands are best, authentic NM green chiles!)
Can also use 1 can of Rotel, in place of tomatoes and chiles.
Spice to taste: I use a lot of different spices, it is my joy to "play in the spice rack".
For this one, I used about 1/2 a teaspoon of most of the spices, more for the ones I love that sounded more adventurous. Spices in this soup (in no particular order, and with no real measuring): 1 Bay Leaf, Cumin, Oregano, Dill Weed, Sweet Basil, Rosemary, Ground Thyme, Mrs. Dash (somehow, I think that is cheating, and yet it tastes so good, and adds no salt!), Cilantro, Paprika, Cinnamon, Garlic Powder, Ground Cloves, Cracked Black Pepper, Green Tabasco Sauce, and a sprinkle of Red Robin Seasoned Salt mix.

You just put the frozen chicken in the bottom of the crock pot, layer all the veggies that you love over it, sprinkle all the spices you love over the top, and pour some water over it. You have to make sure to leave 2-3 inches of space at the top of the crock pot, or the water that cooks out of the veggies will overflow your poor crock. Cover, and cook on LOW for 6+ hours, or overnight. I start counting the hours from the top of the hour closest to when I finish adding all the ingredients and put the lid on. Don't keep lifting the lid, let it be. The longer it cooks, LOW and SLOW, the better all the flavors mix. You can also cook for 4+ hours on HIGH, if you are in a hurry.

When you get to the end of your 6 hours, you can turn it off, or on WARM if your crock has that setting. I pull out the chicken thighs, and pull and cut them into bite-sized bits, and then put it back into the soup. I also added 1 can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken with Herbs Soup, to cream it all up a little. Ladle into bowls, serve with a hefty hunk of buttery Rosemary Bread, and enjoy! Also good with Club crackers or Ritz.

Anything cooking in the crock pot makes the whole house smell like a warm hug for dinner. The aroma is unique to each kind of stew, roast or soup. My house is so thin and not air tight, you can smell dinner from the front porch. YUM!

I hope you have enjoyed my recipe day, and I want to know if you want to see more. A regular segment? A rare treat? Vote today! I promise I will not try to change your country. Vote for ME!

The Holiday Grouse

Every time someone asks how our holiday went, I have to hesitate. My first inclination is to get all sad, and say, "Oh, it was fine, I guess." The truth is, it was full of things to be thankful for. I am ashamed that I can find so much to complain about first.

Not to say that it went all roses. The car did break down. I did not get to see Mom, which was the whole point of trying to go home. We did get stuck on the side of the road in a car that was supposed to be fixed. However, God still shows us compassion.

I wanted to buy a blanket to send to Niki. I was able to buy five. Spending two hours in our dead car on the side of the road made us cold enough to appreciate the needs of the homeless in Colorado in winter. I have friends who are every bit as good as family. We didn't have to walk to Clines Corners four miles away, and we didn't have to hitchhike into Albuquerque.

We got picked up by our friends. Conveniently, they were able to come an hour outside of town to get us, without much delay. They took us into town and shared their lunch leftovers with us for one of the best Thanksgiving dinners I have ever had. We were able to stay the weekend at another house, in "Mom's room" (Mom and Dad have their own room at this friend's house. She is their hotel in ABQ).

Dad made two trips down to ABQ to see us. One trip to bring us a vehicle to take us home, just in case he could not come again to get our car. I got to see Dad and my Bro on that trip, on Friday. We had a late lunch, and sent them on their way. The second trip, Dad came alone with a truck and trailer to tow my car to his mechanic. DH and I helped get the car onto the trailer. My car made the trip home on Saturday, without me.

I got to play Scrabble with our friend. I don't get to play very much with our friends here. There is only one who loves to play as much as I, and he beats me all the time. Our friend in ABQ is a librarian, and has an extensive vocabulary, so it was a GAME. I won one of them (EQUIP ending on a triple word square for 78 points doubled my score and, I think, sealed that one.), and she won the second and the third. Speaking of Scrabble, DH just handed me a page off his Classic Dave Barry page-a-day calendar. This is the page from Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 22.

The one board game that I still play is Scrabble. I like it because unlike most other games, which basically are pointless time-consumers, in Scrabble you can do something mentally stimulating and worthwhile: make naughty words. There is nothing quite like the sense of intellectual accomplishment that comes from spelling out, say, "b-o-s-o-m", knowing that it will be sitting there on the board for hours, staring up at your opponents.

I personally try to avoid the dirty words. I don't like using them, I don't want to stare at them for hours. Scrabble usually takes at least two hours. The last hour is usually spent trying to figure out where to play that I that you didn't use on the last word you played, while your opponent is trying to dispose of a Z, W and J with no vowels.

On Sunday, we had a safe drive home in Dad's 1985 Dodge Caravan (it has 212,800+ miles on it!). I don't know what I want to do. The trick is to see if it is worth it to repair the car, or just junk it for scrap metal. If it truly needs a new engine, Dad will have to tow it to me, or at least to ABQ, to get to a shop that has the tools to do the heavy lifting of an engine swap. We should know more next week, after the mechanic has a chance to look at it. It could just need a new intake manifold (a mere $900 by all accounts). A new engine will cost less than replacing the car... but at what value? A replacement engine will be a rebuilt, and it was the flaw in the engine that started this circus. I am considering buying Dad's van. He said I could borrow it as long as necessary. He was just glad that, since they replaced it this summer with a newer van, they had not let the insurance lapse on it. The tag is good until May.

Mom has many friends and church members who come over to visit her. There are two in particular who stayed with her during Dad's trips to help me. I am grateful for their kindness.

All in all, the trip was good. It was nothing like we expected, and not at all what we wanted, but that is not to say it wasn't good at all. God showed us how He cares for us, and will not let us down or abandon us. I know people who had more stressful trips than we had, even though I don't want to be complaining or comparing. We saw God on this trip, and He safely brought us home to the job that DH loves, in plenty of time to go to work as scheduled on Monday.

Mom went into the hospital on Monday, and remained there all day Tuesday as well. I can't help but feel a bit of guilt. Mom can't handle stress in the same way she used to. When I was young, stress gave her cold sores. Now, stress gives her shortness of breath, anemia and tremors. She went to the hospital after stressing over me and my "adventure". I know better than to blame myself for her failing health, but I can't help it. Would she have gone to the hospital if I had not tried to come home? Probably. Can I do anything to make it better? Or worse? No. Absolutely not. When I talked to Dad on Monday night, he sounded so very tired. He does so much for her. I think it wears him down.

So please don't ask me how my Holiday was. Don't ask me how I am. Box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.

Ask me what blessings I have received today. Ask me whom I have helped to see God today.

Ask me which new car I like (this minute).

Snips and Snails and Puppy-Dog Tails

Word of the Post
Today's word is: akimbo
/uh*kim"bo/ adjective
With a crook or bend; appendages bent outward, with the joint away from the body.
Sitting "criss-cross applesauce" (it used to be called "Indian Style", but that is racially unacceptable to the PC crowd now) can be described as sitting with legs akimbo.
Can also be an adverb, describing the person's whole stance. A person with hands on hips, and elbows facing out can be referred to as standing akimbo.
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I am not sure what part of nature failed this year, or it if it is actually natural, but we have a lot of spiders right now. Last night, DH came back from his late night Friday fun job, and walked face first into a spider web on our front stoop. I shiver for him! He found the culprit builder, and had it removed from the gene pool. I went out this morning to spray the area with spider killer deluxe spray, and remove the web; the parts that DH may have missed with his face, anyhow. I found the remains of our criminal, as well as four smaller spiders. All different, so that lends hope that there is not a brown recluse around. I guess I need to wash the house. With Bleach. UGH!!! I committed Arachnacide. I am Woman, Hear me scream!

I am not nearly so fearful of spiders as others I know. (Hi, Nicki!) I don't really scream very often. I usually do more of a startled yell. (Holla!) In my searchings, I found many egg sacks, so I will soon be removing those to a distinctly impromptu funeral on the other side of the house. The coffin of the trash barrel will be emptied on Thursday next week.

Now that we are all buggy, I will move on to a better subject. Tuesday night, DH and I went on an "UnDate". "What is an UnDate?" you say? WELL... DH wanted to see the Simpsons Movie, and I had no desire at all to join him. I wished to see Becoming Jane, to which DH returned the sentiment. We decided that we could each see our movies separately, at the same time. The Dollar Theatre was quiet as we entered. We purchased tickets and the requisite snacks, and parted ways. I think we each had a good time. I am happy that we only spent 50 cents each to see movies that would have cost $8.75 a month ago. This way, for the same money, we got two movies and snacks instead of just one movie and nothing else. Date, and yet not. UnDate.

Thursday we went to a special Birthday dinner for BIL. He is now 35. A mutual friend sang "Happy Birthday, old Geezer..." which I found refreshing. I am not the oldest in the room when we hang out with this crowd of friends. Jelly Bean was pitching a little fit (I have seen much worse out of other kids... she is tame, even if it is unacceptable to her parents) and BIL tried to distract her by asking what day it was. Jelly Bean cried a little more and said, "Not MY birthday!" BIL said, "Well, a very merry UnBirthday to YOU!" She didn't get it. She's too little, and has not seen Alice in Wonderland. She must have been tired. She was clingy, but only to certain people. She also did a lot of running around and around the table to keep herself awake and entertained.

I got to hold Gum Drop for a while, to let BIL eat his dinner. I am not so selfish as to not share. I kept getting him, and then passing him off to other friends. One friend has twins, and his son was incredibly jealous that Daddy was holding a strange baby and not his own son. He cried, and reached for me. Now, I am no stranger to this family, but I am no auntie to them either. I don't see them very often, and the kids don't really know me, so it surprised me that Son would try to get me to hold him. Daughter was a little more subtle. She just screamed. These two make the funniest faces! I know that parents get irritated at children acting up at dinner, but I just don't pay so much attention. Is it practice for me? I watched the Mommy of the twins correct, threaten, and actually follow through on the punishments. All very quiet, and personal to the child each time. I think she even had a good time, despite the screaming interruptions.



BIL got a free dessert at the end of the meal, because it was his Birthday. I think half the crowd had a bite of it. And I am pretty sure we finished it. It was a kind of Tiramisu, covered in whipped cream and chocolate drizzle. It was five inches high, and four inches square! The coolest part was that they wrote "Happy Birthday" in a chocolate sauce on the edge of the plate. Jelly Bean got more dirty eating this than she did at her own birthday party.


I have not posted many pictures of Gum Drop lately, because I haven't really gotten to see him much. We go to a different church congregation than BIL and family do. We live close enough to call, and far enough that it is rude not to call when dropping by. We are all so busy with work and school and home and other friends... we don't see each other nearly enough for my taste. I get baby withdrawals. I have to grab babies at my church to fill the void.


This is me, holding Gum Drop, and DH took the picture. That was the first real smile I saw out of the kiddo. We were wandering around a Wal-Mart in Kingfisher. That is our family meeting place for the baby swaps, or the Gramma's Baby Fix Visits. We eat at a restaurant, and go to a park, and wander at the Wally-World, looking at cute clothes for the kids.


This is a rare moment, and you need to savor it. I have run out of things to say. *GASP!!!*

Have a great weekend!