Squirrelly Scribblings

Shirley Harmon shared some photos with you

2012-01-30T11:31:00.001-08:00

Shirley Harmon shared a new photo slideshow with you View now

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Cuddle Buds

2012-01-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

They are just so dang cute :-}

Snowy Day Comfort

2012-01-24T17:01:00.000-08:00

For over a week now we have had lots of snow; cold, icy snow. Before the power (which means water and heat as well) left us for a week, I had taken a trip back into my childhood days and we made Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. So comforting on cold, winter days. I know many of us associate the two foods together. Can't think of the one without the other! Fond memories, and great food!

Bacon, Egg & Spinach Squares

2012-01-14T12:16:00.000-08:00

This easy recipe that we tried out this week comes from Hans, a co-worker of Darrell's. It is quick, easy to make and tastes great!

Bacon, Egg & Spinach Squares

6 eggs, beaten

1 cup cottage cheese

3/4 lb grated cheddar cheese

1 cup cooked, chopped spinach, well-drained

Mix all ingredients in a greased 8" square baking dish. Add bacon bits or cooked, crumbled bacon to mixture to desired taste.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until eggs are firm.

Birthday Tea

2011-12-30T15:28:00.000-08:00

My two Bethany's took me into Seattle this week for a surprise early Birthday Tea at the incredible Queen Mary's Tea Room! The decor was opulent and the food was a delicious treat for the palette!

Afternoon Tea

Afternoon Tea is served anytime, includes a pot of

Queen Mary Tea and each of the following:

Fruit sorbet trio

Queen Mum’s gingerbread cookie

English crumpet

Cranberry orange scone

Gingerbread

Pecan pie bar

Snickerdoodle

Cherry chocolate shortbread

White chocolate candy cane mousse

Assorted fresh fruit

Bacon, mushroom, scallion quiche

English cucumber and radish tea sandwich

Chicken almond with mustard butter tea sandwich

Q.M. smoked salmon tea sandwich

Pork sausage roll

Served with whipped cream, butter, jam and marmalade.

Thanks Ladies :-) I totally enjoyed the experience and the company!

Christmas Foods

2011-12-28T17:17:00.000-08:00

We ate like Kings and Queens while daughter Bethany was home for the Christmas Holidays!

Christmas Breakfast.....

Christmas Dinner.....

.....and Christmas Dessert!

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T14:24:00.000-08:00

Zeke in his new dapper sweater. Annabelle with a looooong bone Chewing antlers

Darrell, Bethany and I went to Seattle and saw a funny yet heart warming play and ate at Guanacos Tacos and Pupuseria. I LOVED the pupusas!

Healthy Dog Biscuits

2011-12-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

It's not too late to make Fido that last minute Christmas gift to put under the tree tonight!

Healthy Dog Biscuits

1 3/4 cup beef or chicken broth

1 package dry yeast

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup wheat germ

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup safflower oil

1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint

1 egg lightly beaten with 1 tsp water

To make the dough, heat broth in small saucepan to 105 degrees. Sprinkle yeast over water and stir to dissolve. Let mixture proof at room temperature for 5 minutes. Pour yeast mixture into bowl of a standing mixer with a paddle attachment. Add flours, wheat germ, cornmeal salt, oil and mint. Mix on medium speed until a soft dough is formed. Remove to well-floured surface. Knead 10-12 times until texture is smooth. Cover dough with a kitchen towel and let rest for 20 minutes.

Roll dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Using cookie cutters that are bone shapes, cut out the biscuits.

Place 1/2 inch apart on parchment lined baking sheets.

Brush the biscuits with the beaten egg and water mixture.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-50 minutes, depending on the size of cookie cutters you used, until lightly browned. Turn oven off and keep biscuits inside for another 30 minutes to crisp. Remove, cool and store in plastic bags.

Your dog will not only love you for these treats, but he will also have fresh, minty breath!

Birthday Breakfast and Concert

2011-12-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

Anna Lyn's birthday is actually Dec. 20, but Joy and I celebrated it a bit early with a birthday breakfast in early December.

Joy made the cutest, most delicious individual omelets, full of vegetables and meat!

On her actual birthday, Reba and I went with her to the beautiful Covington Library to hear erwilian, a Renaissance Musical group that plays a wonderful assortment of instruments!

There are 5 musicians. One man plays a variety of percussion instruments, two men play different stringed instruments such as the guitars, mandolin, viola and the mountain dulcimer, as well as the bodhran. The woman plays a recorder, the mountain dulcimer, and the larger hammer dulcimer. The young man plays the other smaller hammer dulcimer, the xylophone, the celesta (the instrument that plays the Sugar Plum Fairy dance in the Nutcracker Suite), the marimba, the melodica and the recorder. Not only ONE recorder, but TWO recorders at the same time! He was absolutely amazing! They all were! Someone played an auto harp as well. Very beautiful music!

It made for a great evening out to celebrate the birthday of a great friend :-}

Happy Birthday, Anna Lyn!

Family Christmas

2011-12-20T14:00:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday brought us all together for a time of Christmas Cheer!

Love these times together :-}

Santa: The Early Years

2011-12-06T21:36:00.001-08:00

This very short video (since the last one was sooooo long) is one that I made from http://www.animoto.com/ They offer free 30 second videos, or a cheap annual basic subscription or more expensive annual professional one, both for unlimited videos. I have the middle one.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-03T17:48:00.001-08:00

I am truly posting another SmileBox........ not a scam, though family may be the only ones interested in it :-}

This free photo slideshow created with Smilebox

Candy Cane Brownie Trifle

2011-11-29T14:07:00.001-08:00

Over Thanksgiving, my niece, Molly, whipped up this incredibly delicious dessert!

First, make up a batch of brownies, from a box or homemade, as well as this rich, decadent chocolate sauce (recipe posted at the conclusion of the blog). Crush your candy canes as well. Whip the cream.

Layering the ingredients

Pouring the yummy chocolate sauce over the layers

Peppermint whipped cream

Sprinkling on the crushed candy canes

Dig in and take a bit!!! Such a taste sensory delight!

Micah couldn't wait to try it out :-}

Molly with her amazing dessert!

Candy Cane Brownie Trifle

Serves 16

1 19-20 oz brownie mix

1 recipe chocolate sauce

2 cups whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

1-2 drops red food coloring

1 cup crushed candy canes

Chocolate Sauce

6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

3 Tbsp butter

1 1/4 cup 1/2 & 1/2

3/4 cup sugar

3 Tbsp corn syrup

1/4 tsp peppermint extract

Prepare and bake brownies according to package instructions. Cool completely. Cut into bite-sized chunks and set aside.

For whipping cream, in chilled bowl combine whipping cream, powdered sugar, peppermint extract and food coloring. Beat with chilled beaters on medium speed until soft peaks form.

For chocolate sauce, in medium sauce pan combine chocolate and butter. Cook and stir on low heat until melted. Stie in 1/2 & 1/2, sugar and corn syrup. Bring to gentle boil over medium heat. Boil gently, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes or until reduced to about 2 1/3 cups. Remove from heat. Stir in peppermint extract. Cool to room temp (will thicken as it cools).

Place 1/3 brownie chunks into a serving bowl. Drizzle with 1/4 of chocolate sauce and sprinkle with 1/4 of crushed candy canes. Top with 1/3 of whipping cream. Repeat twice. Drizzle with remaining sauce and candy canes.

Serve immediately and ENJOY!

Smilebox

2011-11-17T10:38:00.001-08:00

My niece Melissa introduced me to a fun new format to present photos! There is a free version that may be upgraded to a $40/year version if you want more options. I am trying out the free version with this Smilebox of our dogs and cats. Please turn your speakers on and feel safe to view this type of slide show from me. Also, any Animoto slide shows will be safe as well. Just remember to never open the slide show from YouTube that gives my name and says it is for natural disasters. It is spam, but pops up on my blog seemingly every other Friday. Enjoy!

This digital scrapbook made with Smilebox

Chicken Garlic Zucchini Basil Pizza

2011-11-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

Darrell made another great pizza this last weekend! You'll have to ask him, though, how it is made........

Happy Trio

2011-11-16T19:10:00.001-08:00

The COLD weather has arrived and this happy threesome are contented to huddle around the fire!

My Sunny Sunshine :-}

Sunshine

2011-11-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

Sunny. Her name is Sunny. Because she is my little sunshine :-)

He might look like a grumpy old fart, but he is a softy underneath it all !

Sunny is such a cuddly little fur ball. Hard to escape her, though! My sidekick :-)

'Nother One!

2011-10-31T05:00:00.001-07:00

Meet the newest member of our (supposedly shrinking) family

Crummy pictures, but so be it. I have always had a weak spot for orange and white kitties. Always. We were not able to keep cats alive on the busy country road that we lived on growing up, so we stuck to dogs after awhile. But I loved kittens. So not long after I was married, a 3 week old abandoned orange and white kittie found its way into my purse and snuck into our little rental house in Southern CA. Tigger was the first of many Orange and whites over the years. In the last maybe 10 years I have opted to not have male cats, as no matter when we get them neutered, they tend to spray their foul smell at the most inappropriate places. Which means any place at all, in my thoughts. I haven't had an o&w cat for a long time, so have been keeping my eye out for a female one. Every time I find one, it is a male. Unbeknownst to me until recently, almost all orange cats are male! Last Thursday I was at the pet store buying crickets for my Leo the Leopard gecko and I happened to glance at the big cage near the counter where they keep their kittens. "Oh! You have an orange and white little kittie!", I exclaimed to the cashier who was busy counting out 30 crickets for me. "Yes!", she responded, "And the neat thing about this one is that it is a female!". That had my name written all over it! But I did not want to buy her impulsively, so I ripped myself away from her and told the woman that I would go to the library, and I might be back in a bit. From the parking lot of the library, I called Darrell at work, and asked him to talk me out of something. Instead, he named half a dozen reasons why I should buy the kittie. I listed a few reasons why it was a bad idea, so after making sure I wanted talking out of this, he agreed, but said it was up to me. Sooooo........

What a cutie pie she is! Purrs, cuddles and likes to be right by me :-} As always, the big question for me is what to name a new pet? I am leaning towards Sammi or Josie. Any thoughts? Or suggestions? (I've had a couple of Pumpkins already).

Corn Triplets

2011-10-29T05:00:00.000-07:00

I rarely grow a good crop of corn anymore, but his summer, cool as it was, produced one of my best harvests of the vegetable! An odd thing, many of the stalks produced 2-3 ears with some of the separate ears having 'extra' ears attached to them! A phenomenon that I have never seen before! It was some of the tastiest corn we have ever eaten :-}

Summer Wedding

2011-10-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

I had been diligent in the past to blog each memeber of The Elite Eight when they get married. In this summer's lack of blogging, I missed posting Danny and Rachel's wedding. However, in mid August these two exchanged vows in Olympia. Danny is the first Brevick of those eight boys to be married. It was a beautiful wedding, with a delicious dinner reception in Lacey. Best wishes go out to you!

Pumpkin-Walnut Biscuits

2011-10-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

I have had a request to share the recipe for the pumpkin biscuits I served with the last blogs soup. Though the recipe calls for walnuts, I omitted them. Nuts in muffins seem appropriate, but not in biscuits. A texture thing, I suppose. The recipe comes from a Pumpkin Cookbook by DeeDee Stovel.

Pumpkin-Walnut Biscuits

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, cut into small pieces

1/3 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

1 cup unsweetened pumpkin

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Combine flours, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt together in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse a few times, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

3. Dump the mixture into a large bowl and stir in the nuts (if using). Stir in the pumpkin and mix until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Scrape the dough onto a floured surface and knead a few times, adding a little more flour if it is very sticky.

4. Pat the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick circle and cut biscuits with a 2-inch round biscuit cutter.

5. Place the biscuits 1 inch apart on a baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, until risen and lightly browned.

Chicken Poblano Soup

2011-10-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Okay. I have a new favorite soup again! This one comes from Tracy, a woman that works at the city with Darrell. They had a soup potluck one day last week, and Darrell came home raving about this Chicken Poblano Soup he had. It went quickly and was the first pot emptied. So I told him to get the recipe and send it to me, which he promptly did :-)

Chicken Poblano Soup

· 1/4 cup olive oil
· 3 large carrots, diced
· 2 large onions, diced
· 5 stalks celery, diced
· 1/8 cup minced garlic
· 2 to 3 small poblano (or jalapeno) peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
· 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, or more to taste
· 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, or more to taste
· 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
· 3 quarts chicken broth
· 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
· 3 cups diced grilled chicken
· 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, or more to taste
· 1 cup heavy cream

· Optional – you can add diced potatoes to make it more hearty. We also added corn.

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, poblano or jalapeno peppers, salt, white pepper, cumin, and thyme. Sauté for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften. Stir in the chicken bouillon. Add the chicken broth and cilantro, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Stir in the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until the chowder is thick and the chicken is heated through. Shortly before the chowder is done, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes to cook the flour. Do not allow the mixture to brown! Ladle 1 cup of the hot liquid from the stockpot into the skillet, whisking constantly.

When the first cup of liquid is incorporated, add another 2 cups of liquid, 1 at a time. Pour the mixture in the skillet into the stockpot, whisking to blend. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes longer, or until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the hot sauce, then the cream, and serve.

Apparently Tracy also had some homemade tortilla chip strips to serve on the top, so we made up a batch for our own. They really add to the texture and taste!

Just cut some corn tortillas into thin strips and deep fry. Salt if desired, and serve.

Of course, what fall soup meal is complete without a batch of pumpkin biscuits?

We had a delicious Fall Sunday dinner!

Thanks, Tracy :-}

Alas! The Evening Grosbeak

2011-10-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

Although I have neighbors not too far away that say they have evening grosbeaks at their feeders all the time, I spotted my first one at my feeders last Friday! Not a great photo, as I was far away with my point and shot camera, but proof that one was finally here!

This little fellow is a male Golden-Crowned Kinglet that I think must have fallen out of his nest. I found him on the grass up near the raspberries as I was picking today. Everything is SO late this year......... the raspberries, flowers, the baby birds hatching......... thanks to the cold summer.

"Poor indeed is the garden in which birds find no homes."
- Abram L. Urban

Zucchini-Corn Fritters

2011-10-17T18:50:00.000-07:00

Darrell came across a Corn Fritters recipe in the October bon appétit issue that he modified a bit and cooked up for us. They are really delicious!

Zucchini-Corn Fritters

2 Tbs olive oil

1 cup packed grated zucchini

3/4 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

2 tsp chopped fresh cilantro

3/4 + cup flour

1/2 cup + 2 Tbs corn meal

2 tsp baking powder

2 Tbs sugar

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1/2 cup milk

1 large egg, whisked

Heat olive oil is a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini, cor, onion, and thyme and sauté until corn is slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in cilantro and let cool.

Whisk flour, corn meal, baking powder sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk milk and egg in a small bowl to blend; whisk into dry ingredients. Add zucchini mixture; fold just to blend. Chill for 30 minutes.

Using either a deep fryer, or canola oil in a deep heavy pan, heat the oil up and spoon batter into oil by heaping spoonfuls. Fry until golden brown, turning once. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels.

We dipped ours in Darrell's homemade BBQ sauce, composed of Ketchup, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne peeper, chili powder, brown sugar and apple cider vinegar. VERY GOOD! You may use whatever dipping sauce you desire.

Apple Raisin Bars

2011-10-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

My Kindred Spirit friend, Terry, agreed to be a guest blogger and share her delightful recipe:

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup butter softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups diced apples

3/4 cup raisins

of course I added twice the cinnamon it calls for

using brown sugar only gives it a wonderful flavor

I used gala apples instead of golden delicious

calls for only one and a half cups of apple

obviously I love apples ! I'm sure I doubled the amount

getting ready to stir in the apples

and the raisins... at this point its important to taste as much of the dough as you want to.... if you're a dough hog lilke I am

spread it evenly in a greased 9x13... then lick the spoon

and the beaters.....

viola ! tasty treat with Fall apples

just one more bite for me....

and one for you........

Heat oven to 350, spray or grease 9x13 pan

Whisk together dry ingredients, then with mixer, blend the remaining ingredients except apples/raisins, gradually add flour mixture, then stir in apples and raisins, spread in pan, bake for 35 minutes... however with all the apples I added to it, I had to bake it about 50 minutes until set in middle. Cool and cut in to bars. YUM !!

Repeat Pumpkin Pizza

2011-10-12T13:17:00.000-07:00

This is for the good folks at Darrell's workplace. I blogged the pumpkin Pizza in 2009, so click on this link if you want to see it :-}

http://squirrlyscribblings.blogspot.com/2009/10/pumpkin-pizza-with-gorgonzola.html

Palm Springs Aerial Tram

2011-10-12T05:00:00.001-07:00

We rode the aerial tram up to the top of Mt. San Jacinto. A big fire from earlier in the week made the view a bit hazy, but it was spectacular none-the-less!

It was amazing to find a forested wilderness at the top of the mountain!

In 1973, 38 years ago, Darrell and I rode this same tram with a couple of college buddies. I recall very little of it, except the tram car, such as the one on the left. Now they have just two Swiss made circular tram cars that hold 80 people each. The bottom rotates so that everyone sees the views from all the angles. Pretty unique!

Palm Springs Air Museum

2011-10-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

Next to the airport is the Palm Springs Air Museum, which is home to many WWII relics........ planes, motorcycles, helicopters and other memorabilia.

We were able to go inside of this B17 Bomber/Fighter plane! Fascinating! The bottom right photo shows the gunner pop-out on the top of this massive plane, that held two gunners.

The nose of the plane had room for two gunners to operate from.

Under the belly of the plane there was a rotating ball that one gunner squeezed into to shoot from.

The ammunition in the bottom left picture loads automatically from a ammo box that housed 9 yards of bullets that fed into the guns. When the gun operator asked for more ammunition, he always received "the whole 9 yards", supposedly where this idiom came from! The B17 was one amazing shooting machine!

Plane that carried the paratroopers.

Helicopters

Motorcycles

Riveter. Misspelled, sorry :-S

We watched a movie about the WASP's, or Women Airforce Service Pilots, that was quite interesting! This was the symbol for that branch of women, though they were never recognized as true military personnel until long after the war was over. One very intriguing thing we heard was that one of their duties was to fly in a small plane with a banner trailing 30 feet behind them for the sole purpose of target practice for the infantry personnel ! Their planes were hit time and again, but since women were literally dubbed 'inconsequentail' to the war effort, no one was concerned. So much for all those Rosie the Riveters as well! Inconsequential, my foot! Mostly the job of these women was to deliver all of the different planes as they were built to wherever they were needed, oversees or on US turf. Check out this link for more interesting information on the WASP's!

Palm Desert

2011-10-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

We stayed at Marriott's Vacation Club in Palm Desert, next to Palm Springs. It was beautiful, sunny and over 100 degrees every day :-}

Notice the palm tree in the photo on the left. It is fake, used to camouflage their WiFi receivers!

This little waterfall was right outside the porch of our condo. Very soothing......

Sights from our back porch........

The Other Side

2011-10-07T19:29:00.000-07:00

The end of September saw us flying to Palms Springs to visit Darrell's family, as well as catch some intense sunrays:-} A few brothers live in the Palm Springs surrounding cities, and his mom and a couple of other brothers live in the Loma Linda area.

It was good to see everyone, as it as been four years since we have been down south!

Family Gathering

2011-10-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we drove down to Oregon the visit my brother and his wife who were at my sister's home visiting our father. They are home on furlough from Africa.

Ginny, Shirley, Dad and Ken

Ken and Julie

Steve (Ginny's husband)

Bethany drove up from her place to join in, so we celebrated her 25th birthday together!

Julie and Bethany

It was a great visit with family, as Jodi and Kari's families also joined in!

Summer V - Snapshots

2011-09-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

In summer, the song sings itself. ~William Carlos Williams

Pileated Woodpecker

2011-09-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

We had this fledgling at our suet feeder today! Although the pileated woodpecker is said to be a fairly common year-round resident in the forests of Western WA, it is the first I have seen at my feeders!

Summer IV ~ Crescent Bar

2011-09-17T05:00:00.000-07:00

On two separate occasions, once in July and once in August, I was invited to visit the sun at my friend Mary's vacation home in Eastern WA along the Columbia River. This is no small thing, as though I realize it has been an unreasonably hot summer just about everywhere else in the United States this year, the opposite is true in Western WA. This makes two summers in a row with hardly any sun to show for it. You wonder why depression is so high in the PNW? There you go.

There is such a beauty to the dryness and various assortment of grasses where it is hot!

There were 5 of us the first time I went. Mary is missing n this picture, as she is snapping it. Janet and I knew only Mary (not even each other), but we all found the 5 of us were a great mix! Dry humor, great cooks because we all love to eat, flexible........ it was a wonderful time of meeting new friends!

Incredible cliffs

We rode around in the golf cart, did a few walks, played Hand and Foot (Marvel and Janet cheat), collected fallen apricots in the area and made delicious desserts and spent time reading by the swimming pool! Heaven! And yes, here I was receiving yet another call from work....... LEAVE ME ALONE ALREADY!!!!

Thanks so much, Mary!

Summer III ~ Fort Stevens

2011-09-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

In July our family met up with my sister's family for a camping trip at Fort Stevens on the coast of Oregon.

Ian took Lela, Ryan and Ginny up for an aeriel tour in the plane they flew down in.

The campground is right by this lake.

20 years ago we camped together at Fort Stevens also, and snapped this picture of the cousins. My sister had the photo put onto mugs at the time. Good thing, because I cannot find any pictures in my albums from that trip! Hard to believe a camera addict like myself did not take pictures of a fun time! We tried to duplicate it but could not remember the order they were all in!

The Stanley Clan

Hope to do this camping trip again in the near future!

Summer II ~ Old Wooden Boats Festival

2011-09-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

A rare occurrence, the Fourth of July dawned a bright, sunny day this past summer! Darrell and I met Bethany J down at the Old Wooden Boats Festival in Seattle to browse the many incredible boats and enjoy the sunshine!

So many boats.....here are just a few of them. Notice one of them even had a hot tub on its upper deck!

Anyone could sign up for a free boat ride on Lake Union in one of a number of boats offering. We chose to ride on the Amee, a relic of a wooden sailboat from days past.

The sights were terrific, and the sun so warm and relaxing!

Early in the day private boats started staking out their position on the lake for the evening's amazing fireworks display. Before we left in the early afternoon, the lake was filled to the max!

Crowds gathered early to grab their favorite spot at Gas Works Park as well. I now understand why it is named Gas Works! In the 30 years we have lived here, I had never seen it! Sad, I know.

What an enjoyable way to spend a clear day!

Vermicelli with Fresh Herbs

2011-09-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

Wondering what to do with your plentiful harvest of Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes?

Our family loves this dish from Betty Crocker's cookbook!

Vermicelli with Fresh Herbs

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbs chopped pines nuts

1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley

1 Tbs capers, drained and chopped

2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves

2 tsp chopped fresh sage leaves

1 tsp chopped fresh basil leaves

1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut into fourths

1 16 oz pkg vermicelli

Freshly ground pepper

Serves 6

Gather the fresh-picked ingredients from your garden, as well as remaining ingredients.

You will please notice that I pay no attention to measured amounts! I use my fresh herbs liberally! I only made 2 servings of pasta to serve these amounts of herbs and tomatoes over, and it is oh so much tastier :-}

Chop the pine nuts, parsley, capers, rosemary, sage and basil. Cut tomatoes.

Mix chopped ingredients with the olive oil.

Gather your pretty Italian pasta bowls!

Cook the vermicelli (I use Angel Hair Pasta), place into the bowls and spoon the herb/tomato mixture over all. Grind the fresh pepper on the top. Serve and enjoy!

Summer I ~ Colorado

2011-09-13T18:57:00.000-07:00

I rarely blogged this summer, but I did do some fun adventures, as well as seemed to pick up plenty of hours at work. I think I will now try to blog the highlights over the next little bit.

First off, I flew to Colorado to visit my dear friend Elisabeth and see the many beautiful memorial gardens they created for their son, Carson. Colorado has stunning clouds, too! At least compared to the Pacific Northwest's solid, flat gray clouds......

Stones, bird baths, a beautiful variety of plants and even catnip for the his cat!

Games, good food and relaxing in the backyard grandeur...........

Wild animals......... the squirrel and the lion!

It was a very relaxing visit. Nice and warm as well!

Important Message!

2011-09-03T17:50:00.001-07:00

See the blog below this one? IT IS NOT PUT THERE BY ME!!!! DO NOT TRY TO OPEN ANY MESSAGE THAT APPEARS ON MY BLOG THAT LOOKS LIKE THAT ONE!!!!! Someone is hacking into my blog, even though I have changed the password a couple of times. I do not know how, but I suspect if you were to try to do what that message instructs you to do, something evil will happen to your computer. So please never try to view that slide show! If I ever put one in, it will look completely different. I try to delete them as I catch them, but am not on the blog enough to keep up with it anymore.

Thanks,
Beanball (for reals :-)

REMINDER: Shirley Harmon shared some photos with you

2011-09-02T16:39:00.001-07:00

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Murder Mystery Dinner Cruise !

2011-08-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

We had a great time Friday night on the Murder Mystery Dinner Cruise celebrating Darrell's 60th birthday!

We caught the boat at pier 56 and toured around in the Puget Sound while the dinner and murder took place.

Unbeknownst to Darrell, we had set him up to be one of the 8 suspects!

Suspect information after interviewed by the detectives (based on the form Bethany J filled out beforehand)

The buffet dinner was delicious (seafood, beef tenderloins and pasta). We were supposed to be figuring out the clues during this time.

As it turned out, both Darrell and another suspect, Joe, were arrested for the murders of Mike Steal and Captain Skippy! (the dinner/murder theme was loosely based on the old Gilligan's Island Show, so beach was the theme).

The Solution!

I believe a good time was had by all :o}

Birthday Clues, Part VI

2011-08-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Have you figured it out yet? What will we be doing for Darrell's 60th birthday?!?!?!

Scroll down to see =O}

Can't wait! Tonight is the night to celebrate!

Birthday Clues, Part V

2011-08-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

Though we have experienced many great vacations, this one is among his favorites!

Birthday Clues, Part IV

2011-08-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Becoming enthusiastic about reading later in life, he loves a great detective story!

Birthday Clues, Part III

2011-08-23T05:00:00.000-07:00

He has become an excellent cook over the years, and truly enjoys a lavish meal!

Birthday Clues, Part II

2011-08-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

He and his wife reside near a big city, their children all living nearby.

Birthday Clues, Part I

2011-08-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

Sixty years ago a rambunctious baby entered the world on August 27th.

The second son in a string of eight boys born in rapid succession, he managed to grow up into adulthood alive, though not without many a mishap along the journey.

Summer Fruit Puffs

2011-08-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

My husband picked up this beautiful water colored cookbook for a steal of a deal in the bookstore at the college where he teaches one night a week.

Mary Woodin has painted wonderful pictures of fruits, vegetables and edible flowers throughout the recipes!

From the intriguing recipes I opted to whip up these Summer Fruit Puffs tonight using fresh red currants, raspberries and strawberries plucked from my garden today.

They were incredibly easy and quick to make!

Served warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, they were delicious!

Current Creations

2011-07-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

With my good friend visiting me from CA, we are busily crafting away! Here are just a few of our eclectic creations ;-)

Brooches

Bangles

Earrings

The following earrings, all original designs, are created from my own photographs!

Charms, Earrings or ???

Pretty fun!

Healthy Eats!

2011-06-28T05:15:00.000-07:00

Lunch at Bethany's on Sunday after our perusal of the medicinal herb gardens. No words needed! It was perfectly delicious! Thanks!

One last look at Mt Rainier leaving Seattle crossing over the 520 Bridge!

Medicinal Herb Gardens

2011-06-28T05:10:00.000-07:00

On the wonderfully sunny Sunday just past, Darrell and I went to Seattle to have lunch with Bethany and take a walk through the UW's Medicinal Herb Gardens. It was supposed to be a guided tour, but apparently the budget cuts hit in this area, too, as the tours were cancelled, but the gardens could be investigated on our own.

Several large greenhouses are just to the south of the herb gardens. Those are scarlet runner beans vining up the ropes. If you have ever grown those, you can imagine what a riotous mass of scarlet blooms will adorn this massive area before too long!

The gardens sprawled around on what we hear is about 2 acres. There were hundreds of plants, some of which I recognized and even grew, others I had heard of but never seen, and then a host of plants I had neither heard of nor seen before! It would have been fascinating to hear what they were all used for!

A couple of cool ones: This cactus looked like a 4 foot tall 'hen' of Hens and Chicks, so I will give it the name of 'Rooster". The amazing pink flower was actually not a part of the herb gardens, but was some tall bush we passed on our walk back to Bethany's apartment, just a few blocks from the campus.

One of our favorites, we think stiff tickseed has a quiet character of its own, but not to be overlooked!

Big Trees and Nests!

2011-06-28T05:05:00.000-07:00

While we were meandering through the herb gardens at the UW, we came upon some mighty tall, old trees, as well as a few huge egret nests!

I didn't take the photos right to stitch them together perfectly, but they are connected where they should be!

In another tree we spied gigantic nests made with little branches and sticks! No twigs or soft downy material for these babes!

Close-up of the nest so you can see the baby poking his head out on the left side of the nest. The mama bird was busy trying to chase away a big black bird that was trying to eat her chicks. What a commotion they made!

Strolling

2011-06-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

From this beautiful old tower, the bells pealed and echoed across the UW Campus as we strolled through it looking at the scene set before us in the following photo:

Mt Rainier is in the background posing a striking picture behind the UW fountain

Looking back toward the upper campus from the other side of the fountain. Rose gardens surround the fountain.

One of the magnificent libraries opening out into Red Square, called so because of the red brick patio slanted at angles for a reason. It is here that protests and 'assemblies' took place in the 1960's (I think that was the time frame), as the administration buildings sit on the north side of the square. If the students got out of hand, it was designed so that police could shoot them with pressurized water hoses from up above, causing the bricks to become extremely slippery. This would effectively prevent the students from being able to be effective in any aggressive movements they might start. Double meaning in that name!

This campus has got to be one of the most well designed and landscaped of universities!

Breathless in Seattle!

2011-06-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

If for no other reason, this stunning view of Mt Rainier behind the huge fountain on the University of Washington Campus on a clear, sunny day is a compelling reason to seek admittance to this institute of higher education! Darrell and I were fortunate enough to be there with Bethany this Sunday. 'Bout took my breath away!

My Favorite Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie!

2011-06-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

Though not the biggest fan of rhubarb, I do enjoy the mix of rhubarb with strawberries and , of course, plenty of sugar! I tried out a new (to me) recipe from a book that has long found its home in my kitchen, Granny Stark's Search for The Perfect Fruit Pie, put out by Storey Publishing. The recipe was submitted by a Georgiann Carroll. We thoroughly enjoyed this pie which entails using orange marmalade!

Rhubarb-Strawberry Pie

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp grated orange rind

1/4 tsp salt

4 cups sliced rhubarb

2 cups slice strawberries

2 Tbl melted marmalade (any kind)

uncooked pie shells

2 Tbl butter

1/4 cup orange liqueur

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix together sugar, flour, orange rind and salt.

Combine rhubarb and strawberries into sugar mixture.

Brush bottom of pie shell with marmalade (see photo below)

Place fruit on marmalade.

Dot with butter.

Sprinkle with orange liqueur.

I didn't have this, so I took 1/2 of the orange that I zested and squeezed it over the pie. Seemed to work fine.

Top with upper crust. I sprinkled sugar on the crust before baking, also. Never can have too much sugar with rhubarb (smile) !

Bake for 1 hour.

I found the pie needed to cool in order for it to set up and not be syrupy. You can serve it with vanilla ice cream, or eat it al la carte! Either way, it is pretty dang delicious!

Feathered Nursery

2011-06-11T19:21:00.000-07:00

Darrell spotted this nest of baby robins in the pussy willow tree next to the pond today. Of course I ran to get my camera and intrude on the nestlings! The first time I poked the camera near their faces, all of their beaks opened W I D E, ready to accept what food I might have to offer! Unfortunately, the shot itself only included the beaks, and nothing else! Here is a better one. So ugly they are cute!

Italian Tuscan Soup and Artisan Bread

2011-06-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

I spent the day cooking up a batch of Deborah Mele's Creamy Tuscan Bean Soup and a loaf of Artisan Bread! These links will take you to the actual recipes, but I will briefly blog the process as well. For the bread link, it takes you to the home page of the blog. From there, select 'Recipes', 'Breads', and finally 'No Knead Artisan Bread'.

Soak the beans overnight to save time the day you want to make the soup.

Once beans have finished the first simmering, add the chopped vegetables and rind.

Toss it all in a big pot and add the chicken stock and simmer again. I added a sprig of rosemary and a bay leaf as well, for added flavor.

When beans are soft but not mushy, let soup cool, then whirl it in the blender or food processor. Return to pot and rewarm while you start the garnish.

Dice the pancetta, apple and onion and saute in oil until soft. Remove from heat and add parsley.

Ladle soup into bowls and add a spoonful of garnish to each and serve.

The bread is incredibly simple! You must check it out! No kneading required!

It was tasty and perfect to serve with this soup! We tried out my Calamondin Marmalade on it, too!

Black-headed Grosbeaks

2011-06-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite birds to see come back each spring is the black-headed grosbeak. This fellow is trying to strike up a conversation with the metal bird on top of the feeder pole!

They do not have a very pretty head shape, but their coloring is beautiful!

Squirrelly Thief

2011-06-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hibernation is over and they are back at it! Stealing the birds' food!

Citrus Marmalades

2011-06-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

Julie, my gourmet cooking friend who last fall taught me to make pepper jelly that actually sets up, makes a plethora of jams, jellies and marmalades for the fair every year. She takes mostly all first places, occasionally a second place. Generous person that she is, she brings a stash of it to work to pass out to different folks. If you are ever invited to her home, there is always a plate of crackers or breads set out along with five or so different jams, jellies or marmalades to sample. So wonderful :o} I used her method of making marmalade this past weekend so that I could use the fruit off of my Calamondin Citrus tree for something edible. Calamondins are too bitter to eat straight off of the tree!

Very simple to make, the marmalades only use citrus fruit and sugar. After washing the fruit well, juice 1/3 of them. Cut the remaining fruit into chunks that your food processor can handle, and whirl them into marmalade consistency. Add the juice to this, and then 1/2 of the sugar. The total amount of sugar is just a little less than the fruit. For example, if you have 1 kilo of fruit, you will use 900 grams of sugar. Translated into our unit of weight, that means approximately 2#3oz of fruit to just slightly under 2# of sugar. Once you stir in 1/2 of the sugar, mix and allow it to sit overnight while it 'candies'. The next day add the remaining sugar and heat on stove top until mixture is of marmalade consistency. Time will depend on how high your heat is turned up, but it will take about 30 minutes. If you are making a big batch, it needs to cook at least 30 minutes for a longer shelf life. To test if it done, put a small blob on a plate and let it cool. When you tilt the plate, it should stay in place.

Lipizzaners!

2011-05-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

As a young girl, Bethany was given this book from a neighbor for whom she did some laborious work for. She loved horses, and spent some years in riding lessons and riding. When she saw that the World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions, the White Dancing Stallions of Vienna, were coming to Everett this weekend, she was excited to be able to see them in real life, and Darrell and I were invited to accompany her!

They also had a 1500 pound Black Parisian Dancing Horse! It was amazing to see something so massive prance around as if he were walking on clouds!

One could barely hear the hooves of the big stallions as they danced and pranced across the floor to classical music. Truly an amazing sight to behold!

A Must Read

2011-05-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

This is the first novel of Kathryn Stockett, and already being made into a movie to be out in mid August! I am only half way through, but know this a a book I can highly recommend! Karen M., you will love it! Based on history, this fiction takes place in the 1960's highly racial South, basically told from the perspective of 'the Help'. In other words, the black maids working for and raising the children of the white snobs for less than minimum wage, while their own families have to raise themselves. Excellent reading!

Architecture

2011-05-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

Before we ate our gourmet cupcakes, Bethany and Peter took us for a bit of a walk-about on the UW Campus. The campus is beautiful and the older buildings intriguing. I love the artistry they boast. Bethany lives just a couple of blocks from the college.

The sun was shining, the flowers were blooming and the company was superb!

Cupcake Craze!

2011-05-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

While visiting my daughter today in Seattle, we were introduced to one of the newest food crazes, the gourmet cupcake. I believe the stores are called Sweet Indulgence, though do not quote me on that. Apparently they serve up a few staple flavors, and into that mix they add a few other varieties for the day's choices.

Our selections were composed of the above very rich and delicious delicacies!

Flowers and Pepian

2011-05-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

This has been a very cold spring, with the weather outlook promising more of the same through June. Spring may not want to come to us, but we can bring a semblance of it to us!

My daughter bustled in for Mother's Day with this beautiful, colorful tulip bouquet !

Laden with a plethora of blooms, this wonderful fuchsia was a gift from son Ryan!

Nothing shouts spring more than bright yellow flowers! Love this bouquet from Darrell :o}

Bethany also cooked up this Guatemalan dish, Pepian, for all of us. Made with chicken pieces, potatoes, carrots, squashes (like Guiskil) and cooked in some kind of Guatemalan sauce, it is served over rice. It was very good!

Roasted Asparagus with goat cheese and toasted walnuts..... YUM!!!

Bean Dip and Chips for an appetizer, and Hot Fudge Sundaes for dessert... so good!

Thanks to the family for a wonderful Mother's Day!

Little Books

2011-05-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

While browsing my bookshelves the other day, I came upon some childrens' books that have such wonderful illustrations that I thought I would pass it on to those of you who have young 'uns around yet. Our library carries them, and maybe yours does, too.

Jill Barklem has created this series of books, known as Brambly Hedge. Especially for those who enjoy miniature things, I believe the pictures will enchant you :-}

Bites and Pizzas (Bits and Pieces)

2011-05-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

Another great pizza concocted by Darrell this past weekend! Topping the pizza dough made with beer are things like spinach, yellow peppers, chicken, red onion, tomatoes, ricotta cheese, blue cheese, Parmesan cheese and Caesar Dressing. All that is sprinkled with just a bit of cheddar cheese for color. Maybe we should call this the Clean-Out-the-Refrigerator Pizza! It was pretty tasty :-}

Impressed!

2011-05-04T18:26:00.000-07:00

Scott and Bethany L gifted me early for Mother's Day with the best gardening gloves ever! They have too often been witnesses to gloves on me with the ends of the fingers worn completely away, since I dig with my fingers to both pull weeds and to plants starts. Springtime brings a permanent green index finger with brown stained fingernail. These new gloves have leather fingers and palms. Today I spent the one sunny day we will be having, working outside weeding and planting and generally giving the gloves a hard workout. By the end of the day not only were the fingers none the worse for the wear, but my hands had stayed totally warm in the moist dirt. No need to take the fingernail brush to my nails either! Needless to say, I am very impressed and pleased with them :-)

MECHANIXWEAR Leather Palm Gloves

Try them.....

Current Reads

2011-05-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

I generally do not read more than one book at a time. That works best for me in order to keep the contents straight in my mind. That said, I currently have four books in progress. I had five going, but finished The Gospel of Ruth by Carolyn Custis James last week. It was a fast and interesting read of the authors perspective of both Naomi and Ruth's roles in the societal culture of the time.

Thin Places: a memoir is author Mary DeMuth's own story of her troubled childhood and her subsequent struggle to take life lessons from it and move forward with the grace of God. Though she is an overcomer, it is a very sad reminder of the horrors that far too many children suffer in our world.

These autobiographies of George and Laura Bush are likewise interesting. Laura's writing is very detailed and paints excellent pictures in one's mind's eye, but can get a bit long at times. I am getting a better idea of the hugeness of the state of Texas, and the closeness in the smaller communities, such as Midland, where both she and George hail from. G.W. is not the best of writers, but it is fascinating to read the 'behind the scenes' of the decisions he had to make as the President.

The other book I am somewhat determined to forge my way through is Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I am not particularly enjoying the voyage, but I hear he writes from a 'God's Grace' point of view, and that one of the two brothers portrays God's grace while the other portrays legalism.

So what have YOU been reading lately?

Eclcetic Food

2011-04-29T16:09:00.000-07:00

I have stumbled upon an assortment of delightful cooking blogs lately, and tried out several palatable recipes this week.

Sauteed Vegetable Gyros came from Eclectic Recipes, a food and cooking blog. The filling is nothing more than an assortment of sauteed vegetables seasoned with thyme, salt and pepper, along with Feta Cheese. A Tzatziki Sauce enhances the flavors and adds a bit of character. The meld of mellow flavors was perfect!

I have to admit that I was less than enthusiastic about making this White Bean and Cabbage recipe to go with the Orange Ginger Flank Steak. In reality, it was quite tasty! I think the added surprise of potatoes in the mix put it over the top for me. I love potatoes. I will make it again, for sure! The steak was tender and tasty, and the cabbage dish was an excellent accompaniment for it. These two recipes come from The Steamy Kitchen blog.

Polish Craze

2011-04-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

Hand painted Polish pottery seems to be everywhere these days! I absolutely love the beautiful colors and patterns, and there are plenty of styles, shapes and color variations to choose from! Above you see the one bowl that graces my kitchen, from the pattern Blue Butterfly. If you want to wile away some time browsing patterns, check out this website!

Darrell's Chicken Enchiladas

2011-04-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Boil 2 chicken breasts in water with crushed garlic added until tender.

Sauté 3 garlic cloves and 1/2 finely chopped onion in olive oil. Add chopped sweet peppers (any color desired) and 2 diced carrots. Cook until tender. Add cooked, chopped chicken breasts.

Add one cup tomatillo sauce to skillet and stir.

Put 1/2 cup tomatillo sauce in bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.

Take a 8" flour tortilla and put about 1/4 cup filling down center. Sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese and roll. Place in baking pan, edge side down. Repeat with other tortillas until pan is full, about 8 total.

Pour the remainder tomatillo sauce over all (about 1 1/2 cups). Scatter grated cheddar cheese over all.

Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes, uncovered if you prefer crisper enchiladas; covered if you prefer them soft.

Garnish with sour cream and/or cilantro if desired.

Serve with rice and beans.

It made for one delicious dinner al la Darrell :o}

Janie's Pasta Salad

2011-04-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

Janie and I fiddled around with her Silhouette craft cutter last week, figuring out the ins and outs of it. Afterwards, she served two wonderful salads with crescent rolls for lunch. Both were delicious, but I am only going to talk about the pasta one here.

You can use a variety of salad pastas....... your choices! Prepare the pastas as per package directions.

Add whatever fresh ingredients you desire: cheese, carrots, celery, salami, artichoke hearts, chicken, etc. The options are limitless!

Add the dressing:
1:1 ratio of white vinegar to rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbs honey
1/2 tsp dill weed - or more if using fresh
1 tsp basil - or more if using fresh
garlic to taste

Stir all together and let refrigerate for 2 hours or more to let flavors meld. Eat :o}

Sweet-N-Sour Pork Chops

2011-04-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

On my niece Lela's recommendation a few years ago, I bought Robin Miller's Quick Fix Meals cookbook. It has many meals that are not only a snap and quick to fix, but they are delicious and not your every day dishes.

The ingredients for Sweet-N-Sour Pork Chops are:

1 Tbs toasted sesame oil

4 boneless pork loin chops

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup apricot preserves

2 Tbs reduced sodium soy sauce

1 tsp freshly minced ginger

1/2 cup chopped scallions

Salt and pepper both sides of the chops

Heat oil in skillet over med-high heat and cook pork chops until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.

Stir in the apricot preserves, soy sauce and ginger and simmer until cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in scallions.

Serve!

Rosemary Potato Frittata

2011-04-14T12:59:00.000-07:00

Friends 6 a.m. breakfast this Wednesday:

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large garlic clove, crushed

4 medium potatoes

1 small onion

4-5 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped

Salt to taste

Pepper, freshly ground

12 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

Heat the olive oil on medium low heat in an oven-proof skillet and add the garlic to let it infuse the oil. Remove garlic when browned.

Thinly slice potatoes and onion and add to skillet along with the salt, pepper and rosemary. Raise heat to medium and let potato mixture cook until softened and slightly browned, stirring occasionally.

Whisk eggs and milk together in a large bowl. You may use cream or half and half instead of milk for a richer (and more caloric) flavor. Pour into the skillet and lift potato mixture up a few places to let the eggs settle underneath. Transfer the skillet to a 400 degree F. oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, until set.

Sprinkle the cheese atop the cooked frittata and place back in oven for 2 minutes. Serve and enjoy :o}

MAS*H

2011-04-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

This winter my husband and I watched all 11 seasons of this popular TV series that began in 1973. Though watching it was hit and miss throughout its run, it was one of my favorite TV shows. It was a treat to see every episode during the cold, dreary months of this winter/spring. I found myself laughing out loud one minute, only to be teary-eyed the next. When the cast all packed up and went home on the grand finale, I was left with a huge hole in my heart. I will miss them. Did you realize that the final 2 hour episode, aired in 1984, had the largest audience ever tuned into a program, and held that record until one of the Superbowl games in the early 2000's? Amazing!

~Photo courtesy of Dercum Over

This Guatemalan cowboy reminds me of Colonel Potter and his beloved horse, Sophie from the series. What a cool older man, with his lovely peacock feather-bedecked horse!

Orange Braid

2011-04-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

Orange Braid with Poppy Seed Filling

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup orange juice

1 egg

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 tbsp butter

4 cups bread flour

2 tsp orange zest

1 1/4 tsp yeast

Place the above ingredients into your bread machine in the order per your manufacturer and set it on the DOUGH setting.

While the dough is being worked over, prepare the filling:

Poppy Seed Filling

3/4 cup ground poppy seeds

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp almond extract

1 egg white, slightly beaten

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped pecans

2 tsp lemon zest

In saucepan over low heat, combine poppy seeds, sugar and milk. Cook, stirring, for about 15 minutes, until thick. Cool slightly. Add almond extract and egg white.

Stir in raisins, pecans and lemon zest. Set aside and cool completely.

When dough is finished, remove to a lightly floured board or counter. Cover with a bowl and let rest 10 to 15 minutes.

Divide dough into thirds. Roll each third into an 18 x 3 inch rectangle. Spread 1/3 of the filling on each rectangle, to within 1/2 inch of edge. Pinch dough together and roll into a smooth rope.

Place the three rolls parallel to each other on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Braid the ropes loosely.

Cover and let rise in a warm place 30-45 minutes until doubled.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until braid sounds hollow when tapped. If braid is getting too brown, cover loosely with foil the last 10-15 minutes.

While the braid is baking, prepare orange glaze:

Orange Glaze

1 tbsp butter

1-2 cups powdered sugar

1 orange

zest of one orange

Put above ingredients into a small saucepan and warm over low heat until butter and sugar are melted. Amount of sugar will vary with how much juice you have in the orange. Remove from heat and whisk until smooth. As it cools it will thicken.

Brush glaze over cooled orange braid.

ENJOY!

I made this last night for a 6 am breakfast here today with two friends. After it finished baking I got called into work for today, but went in 2 hours late, after breakfast! No way was I going through all of this work to cancel this breakfast!

Kites, Colors and Crispy Critters

2011-04-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

Bethany blogged about the Sumpango Kite Festival, a day when folks commemorate their loved ones that have passed on. To read more about it and see more awesome photos that she took click (here). Here are a few more from Derc's photos:

Love all the festive colors!

Splaying and roasting an entire pig in the public squares and markets was a spectacle to witness! I was never able to photograph one while there due to safety concerns, but here is one photo, and Bethany has one on her blog of the entire pig. True delicacy :o}

Overcomers

2011-04-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

The rainy season of 2010 in Guatemala came in with a ferocious roar on June 1 with Tropical Storm/Hurricane Agatha, and proceeded to be the wettest, stormiest season on record for the country. It was extremely wet and muddy during my visit. The hardships all this caused for the weary people cannot be adequately expressed. I do not know which storm these photos represent, but it gives you an idea what the aftermath looks like, and the struggles they have to overcome.

~Photos courtesy of Dercum Over

Don't pray for rain if you are going to complain about the mud.

~Proverb

Chimaltenango Circus

2011-04-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

Making my way to Antigua on my final bus ride out of Bethany's PC site, we passed several vintage circus truck/trailers on their way to Chimaltenango. One was filled with monkeys hanging from the cage bars that engulfed the trailer, and I swear I saw one daring little guy swinging on the outside of those bars as they bumped and jostled their way along the muddy, uneven roads in the traffic. Another trailer held many majestic tigers. Bethany and Derc were able to attend one of the apparently quite fascinating shows a few days later!

~Photo courtesy of Dercum Over

Worth a Thousand Words

2011-04-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

As you recall, I was unable to take good photos when I visited my daughter in Guatemala last Fall, as I was not known and trusted. Therefore it was not wise for me to have my camera out of my pocket very often, and when I did the picture needed to be snapped quickly,so no time for much if any thought regarding the composition of the shot. Bethany had a few different fellow PC volunteers come and go from the same aldea where she lived, and one of them has a good eye and camera for great photography shots. Being known and more trusted, he has had some opportunities for some spectacular photographs, and was kind enough to pass them on to Bethany before she left. Some speak such volumes, so I would like, with his permission via Bethany, to post a few here and there. So courtesy of Dercum Over here are the first on that list. I took the liberty to add borders to them, but otherwise the credit goes to him!

A man's age is something impressive, it sums up his life: maturity reached slowly and against many obstacles, illnesses cured, griefs and despairs overcome, and unconscious risks taken; maturity formed through so many desires, hopes, regrets, forgotten things, loves. A man's age represents a fine cargo of experiences and memories. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

In Town

2011-03-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

Awake, thou wintry earth -

Fling off thy sadness!

Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth

Your ancient gladness!

~Thomas Blackburn, "An Easter Hymn"

Chick Time!

2011-03-29T05:00:00.001-07:00

I sent Darrell down to the feed store to pick out FOUR new chicks this year, just enough to assure I will get a few eggs daily throughout next winter. Chickens over a year old tend to lay only sporadically during the cold winters up here. I knew that if I went, I'd end up picking out 10-12 different varieties of chicks, like happens every year, and then I get a butt-load of eggs everyday during the first year they lay. Too many!

Which one looks more likely to eat the chick?!?!

My New Friend

2011-03-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

I made a new friend with a gentle bumble bee today......

I asked him nicely if he'd come out and play!

Then I watched as he collected pollen, cute as can be.

Now it's time for a real poem about a

Bumble Bee

While Strolling Through the meadow

One fine and sunny day

I came upon a little Bumblebee

Along the way

He was dancing and jiving

He was as happy as could be

So I asked him what he was doing

He said "Can't you see?" "See what",

I said as he bounced

There on my knee

"I'm happy as a bumble bee",

That is what he said

As he tapped his little toes

And Bounced upon my nose

I'm going to be a father bee

Happy day's oh happy days

~Darryn John Murphy

Warming Up!

2011-03-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

On my way into town I noticed that the snow level was creeping up in elevation. The nights are still quite nippy, but the days are reaching warmer temperatures. The past few days we have seen numbers in the low 50's!

Ahhhh! Spring is on the Way!

2011-03-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

First a howling blizzard woke us,

Then the rain came down to soak us,

And now, before the eye can focus,

Crocus!

~ Lilja Rogers

2011-03-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

"Pied Beauty"

GLORY be to God for dappled things—

For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;

For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;

Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;

Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;

And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;

Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)

With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;

He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:

Praise him.

~Gerald Manley Hopkins

2011-03-23T17:17:00.001-07:00

Experimenting blogging from my phone. :-)

Sun!

2011-03-23T17:08:00.001-07:00

We saw the sun today in the Pacific Northwest! I enjoyed watching birds from my sunroom.

Winter Flashback

2011-03-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

Hopefully we had our last snow for the season this past Friday night. Wishful thinking, I know. Still. I hope. Meanwhile, I came upon this old photo of my mother and her brother ice skating some winter day long ago. Perhaps the 1940's. Or maybe the '50's? Who's to know....... Wouldn't 'cha just love her sweater for a vintage sweater party?!?!

Honored

2011-02-23T12:50:00.000-08:00

Last evening we went to a dinner given by the Elks for the fire departments of Seattle, Bothell, Northshore, Renton and Kirkland. Awards were presented to exceptional firefighters mostly, but in Kirkland the Building department is a part of the fire department, so a few non-firefighters received recognition as well.

Darrell received the Employee of the Year for 2010 (non-firefighter), as well as a Group/Team Award for both he and fellow building employee Hans, who chickened out on attending the dinner!

The Seattle Bagpipe band played, also, and was quite impressive! I know Darrell can step on some toes, and his 'sense of humor' can be called into question, but he certainly does put in the time and cares about his work. Ask him any code question and he can cite the code, sub code, etc to the tee. Probably the page number, too. Out of surely what are millions of codes, with new ones always on the horizon!

Congratulations, Darrell!

Kites

2011-02-21T14:55:00.000-08:00

One day while walking in the tide on the Florida beach, a man was flying a pretty kite over our heads.....

Farkel

2011-02-20T05:00:00.001-08:00

Elisabeth taught us a new, portable, quick and enjoyable game while in Florida. A good game for all, even if you are not an avid game lover since it is primarily a game of chance, and anyone can win!

Down at the Shore

2011-02-19T05:00:00.000-08:00

maggie and millie and molly and may

maggie and millie and molly and may

went down to the beach (to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang

so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and

millie befriended a stranded star

who's rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing

which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone

as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)

it's always ourselves we find in the sea.”

~ E. E. Cummings

2011-02-18T05:00:00.000-08:00

Queens enjoying breakfast by the poolside

Karin kept us laughing...........

Friends enjoying the warm breeze on the beach

The three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, the sound of wind in a primeval wood, and the sound of outer ocean on a beach. ~Henry Beston

Eagle Lake

2011-02-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

A short walking distance from the house we stayed in, Eagle Lake has been transformed into a huge walking park for those who enjoy this form of exercise among some pretty cool nature!

Lots of turtles in the waters!

“When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the Creator” ~Mahatma Gandhi

Specialty State!

2011-02-16T05:00:00.000-08:00

Following are photos of just some of the many, many different license plates of Florida! I hear it is the state with the most specialty plates to be had! The top one is the standard plate.......

And while we are on the subject, Elisabeth spied her dream car in Clearwater....... a Jaguar! She actually hopes to own one like this in the future :o} Suhweet!

Tarpon Springs

2011-02-15T11:38:00.000-08:00

A short drive north of Clearwater lies the town of Tarpon Springs, nestled in a series of salt water bayous that open into the Gulf of Mexico. Settled in 1882, Greek immigrants began arriving in 1905 to harvest the sponges that populated the waters in that area. At one point it was recognized as the sponge capitol of the world. In the 1930's, however, red tides decimated the sponge crop until the 1980's, when new beds were discovered and the sponge trade began anew.

Amazing to me is how many different kinds of sponges there are, and the various uses each one is best suited for. Cost varies widely from one species to the next. Lest you be upset by the harvest of living organisms, there are rules and regulations regarding harvesting size, etc. The sponges embed in the rock beds, leaving a part of them behind as they are pulled away, thus insuring new growth into new living sponges.

Once the sponges are pulled out of the sea in large nets and dragged onto the boats, the membrane (the living part) is scraped away from the skeleton (the sponge itself). They are then strung on ropes with a huge needle and hung across the decks to dry. They will be scraped further and cut into various sizes back on shore.

The Greeks brought their own culture with them, and we very much enjoyed the foods, amongst others things :-)

The American flag, however, has also found its way into the heart of this Greek town :o}

As in most of Florida, the connoisseur of cigars can find the perfect one to satisfy his desires, including one from Cuba if savvy enough.

I hear the summers in Florida can be brutal, but I surely felt like I could settle in this warmer, flatter land that boasts so much coast line!

Birds of a Different Feather

2011-02-14T17:06:00.000-08:00

It was cool to see such totally different birds in Florida than in the Pacific Northwest!

One of my favorite guys, seen in the Greek town of Tarpon Springs!

Several different seagulls

In that same town we spotted a huge flock of pelicans! I think they were my most favorite :o}

Pelicans, seagulls and a snowy egret......

Not sure who all of these were, except for the sand pipers in the upper left and lower right.....

My favorite photo of a pelican!

Manatees!

2011-02-09T05:00:00.000-08:00

Just a bit down the coast from Tampa, the electric plant was built years ago. The water is warmer here, due to the plant's existence, and so the manatees have made it one of their favorite hangouts!

We saw so many of these giants........ close to a hundred or more!

Here is a tail. the last part to go under after a surfacing.

Manatees are known as gentle giants, weighing in between 800-1200 pounds! It was incredible to see so many!

Squirrelly Scribblings

Shirley Harmon shared some photos with you

Cuddle Buds

Snowy Day Comfort

Bacon, Egg & Spinach Squares

Birthday Tea

Christmas Foods

Merry Christmas 2011

Healthy Dog Biscuits

Birthday Breakfast and Concert

Family Christmas

Santa: The Early Years

Thanksgiving 2011

Candy Cane Brownie Trifle

Smilebox

Chicken Garlic Zucchini Basil Pizza

Happy Trio

Sunshine

'Nother One!

Corn Triplets

Summer Wedding

Pumpkin-Walnut Biscuits

Chicken Poblano Soup

Alas! The Evening Grosbeak

Zucchini-Corn Fritters

Apple Raisin Bars

Repeat Pumpkin Pizza

Palm Springs Aerial Tram

Palm Springs Air Museum

Palm Desert

The Other Side

Family Gathering

Summer V - Snapshots

Pileated Woodpecker

Summer IV ~ Crescent Bar

Summer III ~ Fort Stevens

Summer II ~ Old Wooden Boats Festival

Vermicelli with Fresh Herbs

Summer I ~ Colorado

Important Message!

REMINDER: Shirley Harmon shared some photos with you

Murder Mystery Dinner Cruise !

Birthday Clues, Part VI

Birthday Clues, Part V

Birthday Clues, Part IV

Birthday Clues, Part III

Birthday Clues, Part II

Birthday Clues, Part I

Summer Fruit Puffs

Current Creations

Healthy Eats!

Medicinal Herb Gardens

Big Trees and Nests!

Strolling

Breathless in Seattle!

My Favorite Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie!

Feathered Nursery

Italian Tuscan Soup and Artisan Bread

Black-headed Grosbeaks

Squirrelly Thief

Citrus Marmalades

Lipizzaners!

A Must Read

Architecture

Cupcake Craze!

Flowers and Pepian

Little Books

Bites and Pizzas (Bits and Pieces)

Impressed!

Current Reads

Eclcetic Food

Polish Craze

Darrell's Chicken Enchiladas

Janie's Pasta Salad

Sweet-N-Sour Pork Chops

Rosemary Potato Frittata

M*A*S*H

Orange Braid

Kites, Colors and Crispy Critters

Overcomers

MAS*H