It is an amazing spring day here today. Not a hint of a breeze a brilliant blue sky with a few faint clouds at the edges. I love it!
We are in for some very warm weather too. :)
That fact does not matter to hubby as he will be working non-stop for some time. He had four more calls for bids yesterday. It is busy out there. I will be leaving in a couple days for Silver Lake. It will also be very nice while I am there and hot here when I return home.
My husband is going to get the tomatoes and cukes into the garden beds while I am gone. We are late again this year doing that but all the rain we have this past week or so it is a good thing we did not have them in the ground. So tomorrow I will pick up some Early girls and also some Celebrity tomato plants those are our favorite. We are putting in nine tomato plants so that is a lot for two folks. But as you know I make roasted tomato sauce with those we do not eat fresh.
The lawns again are up to our ankles but my husband has not had time to mow and I cannot use our mower as I cannot get it started! So that chore falls to him.
Tonight for dinner I am making pork loin cutlets. I coat them three times so they are very crispy. I will serve a side dish of fried rice. We had rice last night with our chicken dish so I made extra for the fried rice tonight. Also I will serve a simple salad of spring greens with a mustard vinaigrette dressing.
Today I am packing my little carry on suitcase. That is all I will need. A pair of shorts, a pair of jeans and crop pants. Three shirts and a hoody and sleepy clothes. That is it! So it will not take me long to load that little bag.
Tomorrow I will prepare some food ahead for my husband. I am making him a pot of mac and cheese and tomorrow night for dinner I am making a pot of chili which he can have again. I will make some biscuits and gravy for his breakfasts. They way he can just pop his breakfast in the microwave and heat.
You know I did that when we traveled or camped. As I am not a breakfast eater and sometimes do not like the big mess of making him breakfast, I made the biscuits and gravy before going, so an easy fix.
Well so far Topeka Kansas is safe from tornado's. Looks as if the area's to watch for now are farther east. My granddaughter messaged me and said, "don't worry Gramma, no one gets more scared than I do, so I am always aware of what is going on and listening for those sirens." Bless her heart she is such a lovely young woman and has always been so sweet.
I know about the sirens. I was in Thomasville North Carolina at furniture school. I was there actually for eight days. Well two of days we had tornado warnings and the sirens were loud. It really made me nervous as I was a Oregon gal there on my own in my own room. I remember I called my hubby for reassurance. But all it did was scare him and did not reassure me!
Well I am dawdling now as I do not want to clean up the kitchen or even do any house chores at all today. Sometimes I get like that and have to force myself. Just being an old lazy bones today I suppose.
Do have a nice day. I so love that it is pretty out. But I will not venture out as my eyes are still bad. But still is it lovely to have the sun trying to stream in through my dirty windows.
Off I got to housework world......sigh.
Isn't life great that you can wake up and wonder what you will create with your day.
A day of life that will not be repeated, that should be respected and honored sits like putty in your hand to be molded.
What if it were your last? How would you spend it? Something to think about isn't it?
Would you dabble it away as if were not worth thinking about. Would you squander the minutes that could be used thoughtfully? Would you gripe and complain about this or that to anyone who would listen? Would you feel sorry for yourself or your circumstances? Or would you embrace this gift of life and be thankful for the day no matter what it brings?
Well I feel sometimes we have to remember to be grateful and thankful and yes useful in our lives. We must never take a day for granted as it could be our last, who are we to say?
You can make life so much happier for those in your daily life if you are happy yourself. To put a smile on your face, to always look to the positive side of things and to give love unconditionally.
By living this way you develop a stronger relationship with all those you come in contact with. You will set an example and by doing so it will bring out the best in them.
So I will go now to experience this day that will never return again. To look with open eyes and heart to all that is available to me and to appreciate that I am alive on this Thursday the 30th of May, 3013.
As much as I try not to be concerned about my granddaughter Megan I cannot help but worry. I know it does no good whatsoever. So I tell myself to quit and I do well for a while and then it becomes a nag in my mind again.
I wrote her a little message on FB a few moments ago, advising her to be wary and careful and pay attention to every weather report. She will do these things regardless but you know it just felt like something I wanted to reinforce. They are under tornado threat in her area until Friday sometime.
We had a wind and rain last night. Quite a little flurry for a while. It is cloudy now with a few sun breaks but it is still breezy. I just went out to the mail box and kept my eyes in a squint as the wind was whipping and my eyes are so itchy today, I was so hoping for it to be over.
Today I am putting my items together food wise to take to my brothers. He is supplying most of the ingredients but there are some seasoning etc I know he does not have on hand. I will start packing, I do not need much as it is only three nights after all and we are camping. Tomorrow I will grocery shop for hubby so he can cook some easy to fix things for himself.
So here we go with the larger font again, as usual I do not have a clue why this happens but I am not going to rewrite it, so bear with.
Thinking of Kansas this morning and my granddaughter Megan I was remembering a time my family and I were driving through southern Kansas on the way to visit my aunt in Florida. We were out on a lonely stretch of highway, my parents in the front seat and granny, little brother and myself in the back seat of our yellow and wood sided Ford station wagon.It was in the afternoon and all at once the sky got so dark and ominous. Then the wind started really whipping,the tumbleweeds were covering the highway and sticking in the grill of the car and blowing up over the windshield. My Dad could hardly see so he pulled over to the side of the road and took out the map. The nearest one horse town was still about ten miles away. So we started out again very slowly and my father carefully drove us to that little town. There we found a ramshackle motel sitting along the side of the highway, the only one. So he got us their biggest room, it had two beds and bathroom and small kitchenette which did us no good as we had nothing but sandwich makings and drinks. Regardless we could not drive as we could not see for the dust and tumbleweeds.
We settled in, in a worrisome manner. I could tell my Mom and granny were concerned The wind would hit that little motel and rattle it good. A little later the light bulb hanging from the center of the room went out. I know my Dad was concerned about tornado's but the guy who rented us the room said he had not heard of one coming.(Well really what did they know in those days?) Anyhow there was nothing left to do with no electricity but go to bed and try to sleep. Mom,dad and little brother took one bed and granny and I were in the other. I do not think anyone slept much as the wind was wild and battered our little room all night.
We were happy in the morning to see the bright sun and all back to normal as we loaded up the station wagon and headed out for yet another 500 mile day of driving.
So now I will purge those thoughts of Kansas out of my mind and get on with my day.
I just saw the sun slide through the blinds. Maybe it is on it's way to getting better today.
Yes finally I am preparing for a visit with my brother at Silver Lake. This will be the third time I have attempted to make this little trip. I am leaving early this coming Sunday morning and will return home on Wednesday. My hubby will be staying home as his work load is heavy. It always seems strange to me how we miss each other even when we are apart a few days. We are so bound, two parts making a whole.
The weather is to be pleasant high sixties when I arrive then into the seventies. No rain or even showers.
My brother and I talked yesterday and he is looking so forward to my visit. I know he must get very lonesome as he lives his life alone. So we have our little outings planned and I will cook for him and we will have campfire at night and I will roast a weenie(love having hot dogs cooked in the campfire.) The frogs and crickets will be singing as they always do and I cannot wait to see the inky black sky crusted with stars.
Well I was out the door early this morning. First a couple of business errands and then to Ross to pick up a few things. Then made stops at Walmart and TJ Max. I was happy to get back home as always. I get bored so easy shopping.....a chore it seems.
It is mostly a gray day here but areas of blue break out every so often. It is not a bad day over all and quite mild.
My eyes are much better but really I think the allergy meds have kicked in as I have been on them for several days faithfully now. The pollen count is still moderate. I will say feels wonderful not be scratching at my eyes but I do feel rather lethargic which I do not like. Even when they say the pills are non-drowsy I feel they are.
Simple food tonight. A large green salad with left over rib steak slices topping it and a sturdy loaf of artisan bread hot and chewy.
Tomorrow I am making smothered chicken and rice.
It is so green out it almost makes me dizzy! Every window in our home looks out to some kind of green foliage or trees. We are encased in a lush vibrant oasis. Every spring I am just submerged in the depth of it all. I would suppose that is because I lived many years in central Oregon where brown is the primary color of spring.
Oh the chores of a house woman are never done or so it seems. The dishwasher needs unloading and the kitchen floor needs a quick mopping so best to get at it. I will have a couple of hours before my husband walks through the door to pursue my own pleasures. I am in the mood to tinkle the ivory a little this afternoon and I need to do my nails. Bought some pretty new polish. Fun.
So off I go.
My brothers name is not on this wall but it should be because he is a casualty of this war nonetheless.
He left a normal young man involved in his life, with a job, a girl friend and family and friends. He came back drug riddled, fearful, angry and changed.
I could not believe my eyes when I saw him for the first time after he returned from Vietnam. He was at least twenty pounds thinner, withdrawn, quiet, sick and so in need of family to help heal his spirit and heart.
He struggled from that point on in his life to stay away from drugs and alcohol but never quite managed to do so for any length of time.
In the end he died younger than he should have of a drug overdose.So no matter how you view it he was a casualty of this war.
After several years had passed after his death I wrote a song for him. I will share that with you now.
For James Arthur Nesbitt
10-12-49 to 10-1-2001
Where are you my little brother?
Where are you I want to know?
Did you go to God's big heaven?
Or is there somewhere else to go?
Chorus:
Let me know if you can do that
is there somehow I could see?
That you're happy in your new life
Are you free?
Though the war you fought was futile
And the road you choose was hard
As you fought you're many demons
They beat you up and left you scared.
And it hurt so bad to lose you
And on the day I got that call
my heart shattered into pieces
There was no sense to it at all.
I always loved you little brother
Did you know I felt that way?
Have you seen our dear sweet mother?
For your souls I daily pray.
Repeat Chorus.
This song is sad and the music that accompanies the words is the blues. I have played this song and sang the words for friends and family and it truly brings tears.
That was not my intention in writing the song I just wanted peace for my own heart and to honor my brother.
So on Memorial day tomorrow let us all pray for world peace. It is the only way to mend hearts and move forward and honor those we have lost.
This is my husband enjoying a lovely glass of pinot noir. High Pass winery is a fave of ours as it is unpretentious like stopping by an old friends house for a chat then sitting on their patio and sipping wine. It is very country where this winery is located and appears more to be an old farm secretly tucked into the wilds of the hills and timber.
We have not been to any wineries this year and that is a must do for us. As soon as the work load lessens a little we will go to a few of them. High Pass will be on our list for sure. This year I would like to buy a case of pinot noir to be enjoyed this summer. Maybe we can find some closeouts or discounts as pinot noir is a spendy little number.
We have a small wine cooler with double doors that holds a case on each side we have one temp set for white and one for red.So we can store two cases in the cooler plus we have two large wooden wine racks that hold forty bottles combined. So if all were full that would be sixty four bottles. There were times when we lived in Sherwood Oregon next door to wine country we would have them all full. I wish they were now. We were fortunate to get very good deals on cases at some of our favorite wineries and because there were so many close by we went frequently.
Sherwood was less than ten minutes to the first winery. We would always go during the week and avoided holiday weekends like this one. There will be numerous attractions at the various wineries this weekend but also crowds of people.
There are so many wineries in the red hills of Dundee. However some of the prettiest area's and special wineries are in McMinville country. We tossed around the idea in earlier years of moving to that little berg. We spent a couple of days there checking it out though it is a lovely area we felt we could not make a decent living there. But we have been there several times to stay at the Oregon Hotel downtown owned by the McMenamin brothers.The hotel is charming with it's own resident ghost and good food. A restored 40's movie theater across the street is a step back in time. There are many tasty eatery's in town and whimsical shops of all varieties. I would say go and spend a couple of days if you have not done so, it is a sweet little town.
This seems to be a post about wine but I love that. I adore going to the different wineries, I love the vineyards, the whole process of wine intrigues me from the grape to the bottle. And of course I enjoy drinking wine. If your idea of a good time is taking in beautiful scenery, sipping local sumptuous wine, enjoying a picnic lunch by all means take a trip through your nearest wine country.
So I raise a glass of incredible Oregon wine to you. Have a fun Memorial weekend.
My friend Jae and her guy Kirk. They live in Mexico year round. Jae and I worked together for a number of years in Eugene and Portland. We always had a grand time, she is a fun gal.
So we do not have warmth and sun like Mexico we have clouds and showers again today. I could use a change of pace though out of this pollen laden valley. My husband told me last night as I was dabbing at my eyes that we would surely be at the coast for a few days now if it were not for his work. That would be so helpful for my condition.
We got up early again 5:15 AM. I made my honey his breakfast and then his lunch and told him I was going back to bed........what? I never do that. But I still felt so sleepy so thought I would give it a try. I put the sound machine on and just drifted right off into a deep sleep. I woke with a start and looked at the clock, 9:20 wow! I woke feeling refreshed and ready for my day. I feel I have not been getting enough good sound sleep lately because of my itchy eyes so this little extra sure was appreciated.
Tonight for dinner I am making meatloaf, baked shredded potatoes with brown mushroom gravy and fresh green beans from the farm. A meal so like my Mamma served many times on our old farm. I told hubby what we were having tonight and he said, yum, yum.
I need to write a post on our business blog today about choosing the right hardwood floor for your needs. There are so many options and some woods are harder and withstand abuse than others, then there are the finishes to consider also.
I must now get laundry going as the day is sliding by at a quick pace.
Have a good one you all.
I made this last evening instead of cheesy biscuits as my hubby requested Lisa's bread. This recipe as you know came from my friend Lisa in Bend. I made it the same as always but added those green olives we love from Trader Joe's. This bread half black rye bread and half sourdough was delicious with the chicken veggie soup. I made my red pot full so it's soup again tonight with more bread.
Here is that little bread spread recipe again.
Lisa's spread.
Equal parts of real butter softened, fresh grated parmesan cheese and mayo add a dab of Worcestershire Mix well. Add sliced scallions, crushed garlic to taste and salt and pepper. Lightly toast bread then slather on the spread and sprinkle the top with paprika. Pop under broiler on high until bubbly and starting to toast around the edges. To make this more fun yet, you can add olives, artichoke hearts, radishes whatever you like to the top of the spread before broiling. You can also split open a baguette and put the spread on both sides of the inside and wrap in foil and bake in the oven till hot. We do this sometimes when we camp.You can toss it right on the campfire.
My hubby will be late this evening so a good night for leftover soup.
Today am I out of the house for a while. I have some errands. Also I need to get out and do something!
My eyes are a little better today but still itchy. I will quit whining here pretty soon, I promise.
I will go now and get my daily to-do's out of the way. I made good progress in the office yesterday. Made forms for bids, worksheets, information sheets etc. Caught up on the files, and shredded for a long time. I have one more bag to catch up on and then I will be current......yeah.
Off I go have a nice day.
Today I will spend in the office. There is much to do and a good day to take care of biz.
It is much cooler today will be 52 degree's the paper says. So it is a good day to stay indoors as we are still showery also. We are happy we did not plant our garden as those tender plants would be beat down by the hard rain we had yesterday. I had to move my little violets under the eves as their little faces were droopy and sad.
I am thinking it is a good day to make soup so that is my plan. I will look through the veggie bin and the freezer and see what I can come up with. And I believe I will make up some cheesy biscuits to go with we have not had those for some time.
My husband wedged another job into his already full schedule. He will really be pushing to get everyone taken care of on time. But this was a good job and the folks needed it started this weekend. So I have a feeling he is going to be one tired man for quite a while. But truthfully he seems to thrive on work. He never complains and loves being busy.
This is quite unusual I think but the tree pollen went from low back up to moderate. I really suffered last night I woke in the depths of the night with my eyes, forehead, cheeks, neck all so itchy I was very miserable. So today I took a allergy tablet and at the moment my eyes are still burning and itching. So I type a few sentences and then dab them with a wet cold cloth. This year has been terrilbe for tree pollen and never before has it irritated my eyes so. I would have thought the hard rains we have had would have helped the situation not made it worse.
The brownies turned out a little to the dry side I must have over baked them though I did not think so. However hubby said they were fine with the scoop of ice cream. I passed on desert last night as my tummy was content after my dinner.
Today is my fathers birthday. Though he is not with us any longer and has not been since 1984. However I always remember his birthday as we are both May birthday's. Lets see he would have been 114 years old today,well that is a mite too old huh? It certainly does not seem like 29 years since he passed. Time is so tricky and fleeing.
I need to get a few email messages out then get on with my day of paperwork.
I will leave you with this thought.
If you are doing what you love to do.
"Your work is love made visible."
Rainy day today and I for one am enjoying it.
I went to the grocery store for a few items and then to the bank and I was quite sopped. I did not wear my little rain jacket but really I did not care if I got wet it was mild out.I had the doors open earlier as I like to listen to the pounding rain.
I am still having trouble with my eyes. I was out yesterday as it did turn out sunny and hot so there must be tree pollen still lurking about.
After returning home this morning I made a batch of brownies with chocolate chips, peanuts and walnuts. I will frost them with butter cream frosting. They do look yummy.
Our flat iron steak last night looked amazing and taste so juicy and flavorful. It was a perfect medium rare. We still have almost half of the steak left so tonight I am going to make steak burrito's as we still have refried beans also from the other evening. We do not mind having mexican again as we love it.
Tomorrow I will be home. I need to do an indoor project as I believe it is still going to be showery if not rainy.
I could easily spend the day in the office copying forms, filing, shredding, catching up on the checkbook and general tidying. And really I feel this is what I will do tomorrow. I like the office prepared for anything so I can just go about my work especially when we are busy. So I will have my music on Pandora to entertain me and put on my office managers hat tomorrow.
Now I am off to make the icing for the brownies as they have cooled. It will be hard not to nip a bite but I will resist myself.
One thing to add today. My heart so goes out to those in Oklahoma who lost their lives, loved ones, friends and homes. It is so dreadfully sad. It was a bad angry huge tornado, the photo's gave me chills. I do so worry about my lovely granddaughter Megan and her little family. They are right in tornado alley in Kansas and I am full of concern for them.
Well now to frost the brownies and then into my chair to read to keep my mind off tornado's.
It will soon be this time again. I did not make any jam last year as I still had stores. But this year I will make a batch of strawberry freezer jam. I have made mixed berry in the past and am just hungry for some sweet fruity strawberry especially over waffles...nummy.
So I read in the paper this morning that Taylor Swift cleaned up at the Billboard Music Awards....enough already. I have never understand the appeal of this moderately talented young woman when so many out there have huge talent and can actually sing live and sound good!
Now I would like to know what the hey is going on with the weather. We woke to bright sunny skies but a hour later all was cloudy and still is. I can look to west and there are clouds I do not see anything bright on the horizon. It was to be full sun today and 75 degree's I just read it in the paper.
So my day was going to be one of accomplishment this morning, weeding the last of the garden area, cleaning the deck, bills out and some laundry spinning.
And this afternoon I was going to slather myself with baby lotion and lay in my comfortable sling chair and sunbathe. I have not done this yet this year except for little moments here and there. Today was to be a good day to get some sun on this pale body. I was going to read and sip iced tea. So where is the sun?
Well I am optimist am I not? So I will believe that old hot sun will burn these clouds away and my afternoon will be lovely.
We are going to grill a flat iron steak tonight and have bakers with salad over the top. I just make a chopped salad of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, onions and we open the potato and load on the salad and ladle on the blue cheese dressing and add some bacon crumbles. Very good.
Hubby is back to the grind today, however today is a small job so he will be home early afternoon. He has a lot on his agenda this week along with a full work schedule. That man of mine is a hard worker for sure.
I am going to make some apple granola muffins after tanning. I like something like that with my coffee in the morning now that the good chunky cookies are gone I am missing them.
Well I am going to follow though with my morning chores so if the weather blesses us this afternoon I will be ready for my lazy time in the sun.
I will leave you with this thought......my own.
If you cannot have a day with sun or laughter, you may as well have wine!
Good idea don't you think?
Later.
So it is taco night tonight.
That roast last night was so succulent. It will make wonderful taco's. I will shred the beef and add a little taco sauce and cumin and heat. Hubby will fry yellow corn shells so they are chewy,crispy our fave way he then sprinkles them with parmesan cheese which takes the grease way. They are wonderful this way you should try it.
Inside along with the meat we are adding mexi cheese,fresh chopped onion,tomatoes,cilantro and hot sauce and cojita cheese.
I am making a pot of refried beans this morning frying them in bacon grease, the best way.
It is cloudy here today. We are to have some sun later so if that happens I will take a nice walk as the tree pollen is low so now I can resume walking.
Tomorrow is to be grand, 74 degree's and full sun then the temps drop again and possible hail and hard showers for Tuesday. We were going to put in our garden tomorrow but now we feel we should wait as we do not want the tender plants beat down by hail.
I mentioned I was in Appalachia world and last night on the nature channel we watched the Appalachian trail. That was a odd coincidence. It was a good show we enjoyed it.
I just love Sunday's as I have mentioned. It was so nice to sleep in this morning again. I got up at eight, hubby a little earlier he let me sleep. He fixed is famous bacon hash for breakfast this morning. I passed because when I eat breakfast I am still hungry at eleven or so that is my body's nature and I find I still eat as much at that time whether I have breakfast or not. So best not to put that much food into my system so early in the day.
So I had two cups of coffee this morning and read the big Sunday paper. I love reading the paper, I am old school in that way. I read every section too plus go through all the ad's so it takes a good while.
Today hubby is putting in a new kitchen faucet for his sister. So I will go down the street with him and visit a bit with his Mother who now lives there also. But that is the only planned thing today.
Tomorrow I will clean the deck once again and hubby will start getting his boat ready for fishing. He also needs to clean up the snarl in his tackle box.I am happy he has a truck again so he can take the boat every so often out for a fishing trip.
I am missing my children today. Just woke thinking of them both. I do wish I were closer instead of a two hour plus drive. It would be so nice just to get together for coffee and share and visit and catch up and give big hugs.
Well I am off to tidy the house and shower and get out of my sleepy clothes.
Have a lovely Sunday I intend on doing the same.
I choose this photo of the Appellation Mountains because I have just read two books back to back by Lee Smith. 'Black Mountain Breakdown' was the first one I read and yesterday I closed the cover on 'Saving Grace'. Both of these books were incredibly good.
I was so swept up in the dialog that I am once again going around talking my deep south talk. Yes I do this! It comes so easy and sounds so perfect it is quite remarkable. After several days of this I am in the grove so to say and just talk it without thinking and it will be hard to let it go.
I love to say Hidy instead of Hi like they do in the Appellations.
This last book Saving Grace was so compelling, real and tragic but still there were moments in this young girls life that were so hilarious because of the way she viewed her own life and those she shared it with in the mountains. I will save these books and read them again in a few years.
So today is Saturday and we are home together all weekend it has been since our vacation that this has happened. Hubby had so many things he wanted to do today but most were to occur outdoors and it is showery and has been since we crawled out of our nest. So he has cleaned his garage and tidy'd his tools etc. I have my house chores done and it is early so the day spreads before us which is nice. We will let the weather led us and see how it unfolds.
I am thankful for the moisture as each day now my tired, raw, sore eyes are better.
I have my chuck roast in the slow cooker hanging out. However I am making it another way rather than the beef burgundy as I decided to use it tomorrow for mexican fare. So I seasoned the meat well and cut into chunks added red and green bell pepper, garlic and onions and a little ketchup water. I always save my ketchup bottles when there are few dredges left in the bottom and add a little water shake well and drizzle over my roasts etc. I will say ketchup is my secret weapon in quite a few dishes I prepare.
So tonight we will have this pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy and a salad with the all the veggies from the farm. I have some Italian dressing in the fridge but may make another type as well.
Enjoy your Saturday. I am off to enjoy mine, see ya all later.
We went to Chili's in Eugene at Valley River Center this afternoon.
Here is what I think.
The waitress was new. Did not know the draft beer on tap or had no answers for the questions my hubby asked regarding the beer but that is ok we are all new at some point in our jobs.
We had a free appetizer a queso dip and salsa and chips which was good. I had signed up online for this freebie.
They brought my wine a glass of Woodbridge chardonnay house wine....such a small glass and barely four ounces of mediocre wine it was shallow at $6.00 dollars a glass.The smallest serving I have seen anywhere in this city.
Then the entree's came. A half rack of baby back ribs for hubby which he said were just OK. For me a bacon burger with swiss cheese. Everything was fine but the burger itself was over cooked it was dry and had no flavor whatsoever. I had to dip my burger bites into the leftover queso dip to get some moisture so I could swallow it. The french fries were frozen just like we make at home but we like ours better.
So as always a so so nothing meal.
We will not go back.
So I am saying this again. Chain eateries are really not good food in most instances but acceptable if you do not know how to cook and are satisfied easily.
We know where we need to go to eat in this city a few little establishments that put out decent food. Every time we try somewhere different we are totally disappointed.
So no more Chili's for us. Oh yeah and hubbies micro beers were the most expensive in this city! Well I guess they have to compensate for the free appetizer.
Go figure.......no more, it is what it is, so they say. Next time out back to old tired and true places. At least we know the chow is good and drinks are not a rip off!
well I do have to laugh thinking about our new trailer we will hopefully buy this year. We could fit the new trailer in the kitchen of our most recent motor home. I loved this kitchen in this motor coach it was spacious with lots of counter space and cabinets.Now I will have a postage stamp countertop and I will be making panni's in the Griddler and heating soup on a small stove. But it will still be fun and besides we will eat out more often...good for me. Simple will be good.
This kitchen here that you see provided many a delish meal for many folks. No matter where we went and met up with family and friends the majority of the food came out of this coach! So good memories and fun times that will always linger in our minds but new times are coming....and new memories await.
Last night I was in the office shredding. We bought a new super-duty shredder not to long ago. I have two big bags to shred so I do a little every day. Our old shredder bit the dust a long time back so the paper has accumulated. Once I get through these bags I will keep up on it daily.
I went grocery shopping to a couple of markets yesterday as well as getting gas and a trip to the farms. It was raining quite steady and I liked it as my eyes feel better already. They are dry and sore but the itchiness is not nearly as bad. I am thinking it may all come to an end soon. Yes!!!
When I was at the farm the air was fresh with rains sweet smell. It just seemed to clear my head and nose. It was warm too and it was nice to wear a summer top,capris and sandals in the rain. For some reason I like that, maybe because it reminds me of being a little girl.
I bought fresh tomatoes, serrano and jalenpeno peppers, cilantro and limes for my hubby to make some salsa fresco. He is hungry for some of that juicy fresh salsa. So I bought a big bag of our favorite corn chips to go with.
Saturday I am tossing a chuck beef roast in the slow cooker with red wine, balsamic vinegar, garlic, onions, diced celery and carrots, mushrooms and bouguet garni(made of bay leaf, parsley stems and thyme sprigs and other seasonings. My take on Beef Burgundy. I like to serve this with mashed tator's so that rich sauce can be spooned over the potatoes. I will serve with a bread boule from Trader Joe's that will sop up extra sauce. I can hardly wait. This is so good served with a full bodied wine such as cab.
We are going to Chili's today for lunch have not been there forever it seems. They used to have really good southwest style burgers...Yum.
Well I had better make haste as the morning is running away. I have two bids to get out and the house to tidy and then get ready for my date of the handsome hubby....:)
This will be the 3rd time I have cancelled my trip with my brother to camp at Silver Lake.
I will call him later today as to let him know. I am sure he already knows I will not be coming. The weather at the lake is to be 59-60 degree's and some showers and clouds. That would mean we would be spending time inside rather than outdoors so I may as well be home. I am saddened but do not want to drive all that way when the weather will not be nice. It is not like I go all of the time so when I do go I want it to be pleasant. I so hope my brother will not be too disappointed.
I thought this photo cute. It is my foot and I am sitting in front of brothers boat as we snake our through the lily pads in Silver lake.
It is showery here today for the most part and I am hoping the pollen will be mainly gone as the next few days go by. I had to take a allergy tab today as I could not stand the irritation of my eyes any longer. The allergy tablets help some but not totally and they make me very lazy which I do not like. I felt I had no choice. Under my eyes I actually have bruises as I cannot keep my hands from them.
Tonight for dinner I making beef stroganof the old fashioned way from scratch. I have posted this recipe and photo's on a previous blog. I will serve with steamed broccoli with a butter sauce. I will have hot sliced baguette drizzled with olive oil and then rubbed with a cut garlic clove. A scoop of vanilla bean ice cream with a cookie crumble topping will be desert. My home made oatmeal, chocolate chip, cherry nut cookies of course will the cookie used.
My husband is winding up the week with the weekend off, this is a lucky change of schedule for him as he is getting mighty weary. So a little R&R for my hubby unless he decides to get the garden planted. Either way it will be a break from the grind.
I just a call from him at the job site. He had question for me. "Did I put apple juice in his ice tea jug this morning?"
Well I just may have. It was half full of ice tea I had put in fresh yesterday so I added new ice cubes and topped it off. Good Lord what will I do next in the morning? I can truthfully say my brain does not function that well until I have my coffee and let my sleepy time haze drift away. Poor honey I had no honest answer for him as I do not know. I said "anything is possible".
I am so relaxed right now I feel as if i could float away in cloud of slumber. I am going to my chair for quick doze I do believe.
Have a nice cozy day. I am fading........
Here is a photo of me. It was taken in La Pine at my parents house. Seems odd now looking at this young woman that it is me. I would say it was taken in my late 20's, early 30's.
I wish photo's could talk so you could recall all that was happening at the time they were taken. You know you could scan them with a memory scanner and it would pick up the info imposed on the picture from a memory imprint. Now that would be something!
It was cloudy this morning when we woke but quite quickly the clouds broke into pieces and blue skies and sun appeared. It is windy again however. Hardly a day goes by now that we do not have wind which is not a normal occurrence here.So once again I am not going out because of my eyes.
I noticed this morning that my eye lids are chaffed now.I need relief and the wet washcloth works but only temporarily.
Tonight we are going to grill brats and foil pouches of veggies. To the side we will have a simple salad of butter lettuce, green olives and tomatoes. So we will certainly get our veggies tonight.
My duties are done for the day except for making dinner. Hubby should be home around five. So what to do with a free afternoon? I can think of plenty of idea's if it were not windy I always find things to do outdoors.
However I will probably work on my list for the trip to my brothers. He basically is going to supply the food but I will take a couple special things for the the salsa verde chicken and I like to take my yogurt,sports drinks and a few little things I enjoy when camping.
I am keeping tabs on the weather as it is a little more elevation at the lake so it is a little cooler there. I do not really care how warm it is I just do not want showers or rain as I want to be outdoors as much as possible.
So away I go but will leave you with this thought.
"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed"
I can do that......I just laughed!
