My grandson wrote and sent a couple of photo's. He said this is Olivia Marie Jarvi
6 lbs 14 oz 2014 inches of cute.
He is enchanted. Also he said he and Lindsey are going to try and come here ASAP so we can meet Olivia. How sweet is that? We are all elated it has been a long time since the Jarvi clan had a new baby in the family.
Well busy day so far. Went to get the work van from the shop several hundred dollars later it is back in our garage. We still need a new front bumper for it and after that I hope we are done with the van. It has been expensive this past month with repairs.
Then hubby I and stopped at Bi-Mart and shopped. Bought a oil filled radiator heater. We have put is behind the sofa in the nook. We hate to run the furnace all the time. This is quiet and will take the chill off. Our cute little electric stove does not heat any longer. The element will click on but then stops. So rather than buy another electric fireplace we use if for ambiance. We also filled the cart with assorted items. Going shopping with my husband is expensive He throws this and that in the cart I have to keep a handle on it...laugh. So later with pickles, peppers, assorted bottles of wine, chips,dips etc we headed home.
As hubby is home today and it is rainy we are going to play gin rummy this afternoon. My favorite game so I am a happy woman. My husband is making his Hungarian special tonight so no cooking for me. Yahoo. So a fun afternoon and tonight we have TV shows to catch up on.
Well as I am hyper and my fingers are flying like rockets I am going to sign off before I write a novel.
Later.
Sunday is usually my favorite day. I laid in bed this morning after waking thinking about getting up turning the coffee on and grabbing the Sunday paper out of the box by the front door. It sounded good. So I slid off our high bed, slipped on my sweat bottoms and stuck my feet into my cozy fluffy slippers and plodded off to the bathroom then headed to the kitchen. Turned the switch on the Meleta and opened the front door and reached in the paper box. WHAT??? No paper? I am not liking this one bit. I asked my hubby, did you get the paper? No, he answered. So no paper it is seven-thirty and it gets here no later than six. I am not happy as this little ritual of reading the paper(especially the Sunday paper) and having my coffee is my daily routine. It makes me happy and content, it starts my day off right.
So I begrudgingly poured my coffee splashed it with some fat free half and half and went sadly to my chair. Hubby was making his breakfast so the smell of fried red potatoes and toast was making the house smell like we were open for breakfast but it did not entice me as usual. I was almost grumpy at this point. But as I sat my coffee down on the table by my chair I noticed the "The Eugene Weekly" I had picked it up yesterday at the pizza parlor. YES! I now had something to read. Though the weekly is a very liberal(hippy) publication I sometimes cannot resist pouring through it. So I made my morning work. Hot rich creamy coffee and reading the local rag.
We did get our paper about an hour ago. There was an apology online. The main printer at the Register Guard had crashed so the paper had to be sent out and printed at other facilities. So now I have just finished the big Sunday paper with a hot buttered rum. Oh now that was a treat! So it all worked out for me.
Now about that game last night. Hey I stayed awake until the last five minutes or so. I was so sleepy and head kept dropping and I would jerk and open my eyes and continue watching. I was a trouper more than I can say for my husband who was snoring like the "Little engine that could" by the third quarter.
So our waterlogged ducks made a big splash and drowned the bears in all their misery. What a game to attend at Autzen. I know folks who were there sitting in puddles in their wet clothes and wishing to heck they were home in their warm houses. So on now to our next win. We surely hope that the DAT is going to recover in time for next weeks game. Of course they will keep you in the dark about his injury as always.
Well I am ready to join my husband as he is watching the game again. It is about the third quarter where last night he drifted off into a micro brew slumber.
Have a nice Sunday enjoying the rain, will the sun shine again for us? I am so hoping.
OREGON/CAL game tonight at 7:30 in the rain, guaranteed. So far it has been a mild day with a shower or two. It is lightly raining at the moment. It is really to be whipping rain later. I would not be sitting at that game in the stadium for anything. Even when I was younger I did not care to sit out in the wet and watch football or any ball game for that matter.
We have had a nice day so far. We did go on the bid up the McKenzie highway. It was not raining just cloudy. I took my current book and read while my husband went in the house and did his thing. We got the job. We then went to Round Table pizza. It was so good. Perfect crust and good crispy toppings, tasty sauce, cannot fault it in anyway. We ordered a large so we have better than half left. So I will not make dinner tonight. We will just reheat and nibble a piece or two during our OREGON game.
We then stopped to see hubbies Mom at the Memory Care home. I took her three pieces of the gingerbread I made yesterday and Friday and Saturday newspapers and a few magazines. We did stop at Dairy Queen beforehand to get her a milkshake as she enjoys having one. But it was Saturday and the drive through was a zillion cars long and the waiting line inside was no better. So no shake, next time. We spent about an hour and half with her and then we stopped at a Growler Station. You take your 1/2 gallon jug in and they fill it with your choice of dozens of microbrews. So hubby made his decision after sampling a few then they filled his jug and we headed for home.
We then did some last minute things on the back deck. I have two plants now indoors. They seem happy in their new space.
I then took my book to my chair and read a bit and then proceeded to fall asleep for about a half hour. My husband has been watching one college football game after another.
We are happy that LSU lost to Georgia. Yes! It is a long wait until our game starts and I still feel tired. I will have to have a glass of wine when I finish this to perk me up or I may sleep through the entire game.
I was not even going to post today and maybe I should not have as this post is boring as dirt.
So I will end your agony and leave you now.
Have a nice rainy, windy evening, enjoy being in and cuddling by a fire with your special person.
Tomorrow.
My heart is broken. Yes I went out this morning and picked every single tomato we had left. There was no recourse. We are to have a cold rainy storm come in starting this evening and lasting throughout the weekend. They expect about three inches of rain to fall and there could be some flooding in areas.
So what to do? The tomato vines look bad at this point some are starting to get mold as it has been to cool and the showers have added to the problem.
The one good thing is I will put these tomatoes in several brown bags in the pantry and they will ripen like magic one or two a day. Seems they would ripen all at once doesn't it? But maybe the one or two that are the closest to getting ripe take the energy from the others. Not quite sure how it works(do they communicate with one another? You know like...why don't you ripen now and I will wait till tomorrow.
So off into the bags they will go.I will save a few out for a batch of fried green tomatoes.
Tonight for dinner I making baked chicken breasts and grilled tomatoes with cheese. Looks yummy. You slice the (red) tomatoes lengthwise and drizzle Italian dressing over them and top with parmesan cheese and pop under the broiler take out and add chopped fresh parsley. A few baby red potatoes in their skins tucked to side with butter, salt and pepper will complete our meal.
I felt bad for my husband last night. He left for the job site at six-thirty yesterday morning. He got home at six-thirty, he then went to the garage to get a coat of finish on some base shoe he is installing today. Then he came in about forty-minutes later took a shower and we ate late. He got a couple of calls and had to anttend to those. Then took out some blue prints from a client as he had to measure up for stair nosing and the different moldings he had to order for another job. When he finally put his things away for the evening it was nine PM. He was up early this morning to put another coat of finish on the base shoe. Then he jumped in his van and I followed in my SUV and we went across town and dropped the van off to have a new alternator put in. We have been trying to do this for two weeks but with him working everyday he has needed his van. So anyhow we came back home after dropping the van and he loaded up his pickup and took off the job site.
I can thankfully say he is through with work after today for a few days and he sure needs that break. Me too.
Today I am making the gingerbread loaves. I love gingerbread and seems to go with fall. I will make a thin lemon icing for drizzling over it.
I think our plans are still on for tomorrow unless the storm is to bad in the mountains. If so we just may run to pizza and he can go on that bid up the McKenzie on Monday.
Well you know what? I have been busy ever since I got up at six. So I am going to take a break and have cup of Campbell's chicken noodle soup and oyster crackers. That sounds really good right now. I got a little chilled picking the tomatoes. I do have the furnace on the first time since last winter but it is set very low. I do not like a hot house I prefer to put a hoodie on.
I may not post tomorrow as I will be out having fun. You know the OREGON/CAL game tomorrow evening here is going to be a soaker. The paper said, even if you prepare and wear your rain jackets, rain boots and rain hats you may still get wet! Yikes. Glad I will be cozy in my house with my blankie watching the game. I hate it is such a late game. I hope we can stay awake.
As you see in the pan above there are tomatoes and peppers, onions and garlic. I cannot eat the sauce if it is to spicy so I keep it the mild to medium side.
So I put a combo of jalapeno pepper and green pepper to roast with the tomatoes. I drizzled over olive oil added salt and pepper, cumin and coriander.
After roasting in a 445 degree oven for fifty minutes I let cool and then pulled the skins off the tomatoes and put them into a food processor with the peppers, garlic and onions and about a 1/4 cup of chicken broth.After processed I added the rest of the tomatoes, their juice and a small can of whole green chilis. Pulse in processor till all blended well and put into the jar. Then into the freezer it goes awaiting company and brunch.
The way we do the huveous ranchero's is like this. I make a pot of refried beans the day before. Before serving I thin them with a little chicken broth and heat. Soften corn tortillas in a skillet with a little cooking spray. Lay a corn tortilla on a good size plate, add a layer of refried beans and mex cheese, add another tortilla one or two soft to runny fried eggs, load with a good ladle of ranchero sauce and top with a mexican blend of grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Put out several different hot sauces and salsa so each person can add what heat level they like. This makes for a very good brunch or breakfast, with bloody Mary's or mimosa's if so inclined. Or non-alcoholic with tomato or orange juice.
We love doing this for overnight guests. Makes for a event about mid-morning.
I have been so busy all week so today is kind of a reprieve I say that as I have not planned my day as yet. I am contemplating however a little redo and good cleaning for my living room. At the end of the day yesterday I changed a few things around, mostly accessories. I noticed I need to wax the furniture and clean the floors and clean the wood blinds. That will be a fun project for me this afternoon while listening to music. Then after I can sit in my chair and feel happy and content looking at my clean room.
I bought the ingredients for gingerbread with lemon icing. So I will either make that today or tomorrow. I want to take a couple of slices to my mother in law as we will stop in to see her again on Saturday. I also have some magazines I have finished to drop off to her.
Saturday will be a nice day for us as I mentioned the bid up the McKinzie river and then stopping for pizza. The weather however is not going to be typical for this time of year. Still cool in low seventies or high sixties but no rain Saturday.
We are waiting and watching the weather we want to pick all the tomatoes at the right time. It would be a shame to pick them and then have some nice warm weather and sun that would have ripened them.
Sunday my hubby is getting up on the roof and power washing where the moss is. A client of his lent him a commercial power washer. So he is going to do the roof, the house and driveway approach. All will look so much nicer.
Well that is all folks! Nothing else to share. See you later.
From baby to grownup. Bruin is a big dog now. After writing about him yesterday I just thought it would be fun to put a couple photo's on again.
I was with him a lot when he was a puppy and and youngster. He always remembers me and loves me so. But he is so big and exuberant that he makes me nervous when I first go to my sons as he is so so excited he overwhelms me as he is so large. He probably out weighs me by sixty pounds.He does not love everyone so I am happy to be one of his chosen ones, actually I am Gramma that is what he knows me by. I will be spending time with him when I go to my sons while he is recuperating from his knee replacement surgery. Bru loves to have me brush him and he always needs it as he has a lot of furry hair. It is quite hard though for him stand still for a brushing as he wants to put his arms and legs around me and kiss me....can you imagine with those jowls? Anyhow I have always had a soft spot for this doggy, don't ask me why but I am thinking it's because that when he was a baby he just liked me so much. When I first met him he just followed me everywhere. Mike had brought him here the first time I saw him. He was so excited when I got up in the morning, that was when he was a tiny fur ball. Mike said to me with a sad face, I think he likes you better than me Momma. Well I do not know about better but he did want to be with me every minute and he still adores me. So I guess we have certainly bonded.
I will tell you this little tale. When they were here and Bruin was the size he is in the first photo, Mike, Tyson, hubby and myself wanted to go out and have burgers and beers. Well someone needed to stay with the puppy as we could not leave him. Well I said I would as I knew Bru and I would have a great time playing.
Well I put him outdoors in the back yard and went to join him. I was sitting on the deck reading as it was a nice late fall day. Bru wandered down the deck steps falling on his nose and went into the garden space. Well I was not concerned as everything had been picked and there was nothing but weeds and clover in the beds. It was very quiet for a long time and I was wondering what the little guy was doing. So I walked over to garden area and there he was trying to get something off his nose. He was in the weeds in the raised bed. I walked over and saw it was a scab off a pile of cat crap. OMG that is the nastiest smelling stuff on the planet. So I grabbed him up trying to keep his head away from my clothing and brought him in the house and hung him over the deep laundry sink. He was squirming and trying to kiss me, good grief! I was gagging and trying to hold him over the sink. I grabbed a fist full of paper towels wet them and started to clean his face and chest and nose, he had cat poop everywhere. I felt I did the best I could as it was out of his hair and off his nose. So I let him down and of course he wanted to go back out to the garden for some more of good stuff....not! I kept him in but every time he got close to me that nasty smell just oozed off of him, so I really did not care to play with him. He would not leave me alone and I felt bad as he wanted to play. So I leaned down to pet him and rub his tummy and he jumped up and nailed me right on the mouth with a juicy big kiss. His breath was so foul I about threw up! At that point the men walked through the door and Mike scooped his little puppy to give him some loving and then he hollers Good God what in the hell have you been into? Poor Bru had nobody to play with the rest of the day. Every time he came near once of us we would bolt.
Now when we get together we always talk about Bru and his cat patty breath.
Well much to do off for groceries and banking so I need to get myself around.
Bye.
Yep a game here this weekend with Cal. Do not know how entertaining the game will be. The paper reported this morning the game is a mismatch. Oregon ranked number 2 and the Bears not even ranked. So we will see. We missed not having a game last Saturday. Did not seem fair. We do not like the BYE weekends.
I am moving a bit slow this morning. Another night of not sleeping well......I get very tired of that fast! But there is much for me to accomplish today so I cannot be a slow poke.
Early morning when I was having my coffee trying to wake up my son called. So we had a half hour chat. I did feel more alive after the call.
My son's huge dog Bru heard my voice on speaker phone and went banana's. That dog loves me to death. He hears my voice and starts whining and then barking and running around the yard and then crying when he cannot find me. It is hard for him to understand my voice is coming from the phone. He is a dog after all. Anyhow it woke me up and made us both laugh. What a character that big old bear dog is.
Today is a day of laundry, more office, and making out my menu and grocery list for tomorrow shopping. I am going tomorrow instead of my usual Thursday as I need items for hubby's lunch and need some important staples.
Tonight for dinner I am making a slow cooker meal of pork verde. I will make red beans and rice. Hubby can have his choice of a burrito or a rice pork verde bowl. I am going for the bowl myself. I love bowls. I put some beans and rice in a deep bowl and ladle on the pork verde with sauce, then some fresh chopped sweet onion on top with shredded cheese. This time I am tossing on some diced tomatoes as well. YUMO as RR says.This is quite an easy meal but truly is so good.
Well I must get another load of laundry in the washer and then it's into the shower for me. Then sequestered in the office to complete my secretarial work.
Later.
The weather the past few days is really a late fall mode. Lots of hard downpours. Clouds scudding fast through the sky changing from bright to dark in a moment. However there is relief in sight and perhaps just perhaps we can hope for a few more weeks of lovely weather. Starting Thursday it is to warm up with sun and clouds and by the weekend it is looking good.
Hubby asked me this morning if I would like to ride with him up the McKenzie river as he has a bid. Need he ask twice? So we are going to do that Saturday morning as it will be nice in the mountains. We will stop on the way home for pizza at a place we have not been to in years. Hope it is still good, it is in east Springfield and we do not get over there that often. We used to live in Thurston when we first moved to the valley that was in 93' and that is east Springfield. So a nice drive through mountains following the blue green waters of McKenzie river then a pizza stop. It can't get much better than that.
Today is more office work for me. Does it never end? Yesterday was basically a day from any drudgery.
The visit with hubby's mother was good. She is very hard to understand as she talks so low and kind of mumbles so it is a strain trying to hear what she is talking about. Other than that she is cozy and cared for and seems to be settling in. The dividing screen will be useful as she does need her privacy from the other person in the room.
We came home from our visit and fixed turkey burgers with the works. I did not feel like making a big meal and neither of us were really that hungry. So it worked out.
Tonight I am making a chicken veggie soup just sounds good to me on a showery, blustery day. I am starting with chicken thighs, I prefer them when making soup as they have so much flavor. I simmer them until tender then remove from the pot and take the bones out. I will put lots of vegetables in the pot but no tomatoes! I am going to make herb biscuits to go with.
As much as I do not want to I must make another pan of roasted tomatoes today for sauce. I have a bowl full that needs to be used. We have tried but we can only eat so many fresh.
I will run to the farm later this week for bell peppers as hubby wants to make his Hungarian dish with sliced kielbasa, green peppers, onions, garlic and yes lots of fresh tomatoes. He cooks the sausage and veggies in a little olive oil in a covered pot until the veggies have cooked down and have made their own sauce. He then makes a pot of boiled potatoes(sometimes we make mashed). To serve you put some potatoes on your plate and then spoon over the rich red sauce with the kielbasa onto your potatoes. Add a splash of hot sauce to the top if you like and dig in. You can also use rice or noodles in place of potatoes if you prefer. It is a good meal for fall and winter, definitely comfort food.
Sorry I have not been posting photo's but hopefully any day now I may have a photo of my new great grand baby for your viewing pleasure. We are getting anxious where are those babies?
Maybe tomorrow.
Here we go again.
Thoughts. You think it, you say it, you do it. That is the way it is. That works very well with positive thoughts , you know things you want to achieve, happiness, saying nice things to others. But we must be very careful of the negative. If a thought starts to form that is not of a good nature let it go right then. Because if you say it to yourself you will go on to say it to someone else and the deed will be done whether good or bad. This is true. So many times I have had to stop a thought because I say to myself I cannot let this build or I will say it and it will not help the situation or the problem or whatever the scenario.
So as I was preparing dinner this evening I was thinking about the thoughts I have that go no where as I keep them from developing. And sometimes it is a good thing.
Where does a thought begin?
The conscious mind? Our super conscious mind? Our soul? Where does that first thought originate? Well of course from our mind but where does the mind get the input? Interesting huh? Questions, questions and no answers.
So this is my post for the day. Enjoy it or not.
See you tomorrow.
This photo was taken down by La Pine in central Oregon. It was taken by grandson Seth on a camping trip. Seems like their should be some Native Americans along the banks in tepee's and smoking fish etc. I love it. I have it set for my desk top, nice.
Well today is the due date for baby Jarvi. My new little great, great grand baby will be here any day now. Boy or girl? One day I think boy and the next girl. Both would work for me!
At four AM this morning I was awakened by torrents of rain pounding the roof and deck. It lasted about twenty minutes or so. I will say it was quite cozy in my very comfy bed all warm and snugly. I cannot believe my hubby slept right through the whole event. He never stirred though it does not surprise me. He is worn out from his work load right now. Installing hardwood floors is no picnic believe me. So he snoozed while the rain roared. Today is cloudy with a variety of clouds, bright big ones and gray low hanging ones. So there will be more rain at some point.
I am making a tomato pie for dinner tonight and to accompany it I am preparing 'Pioneer Womans' fried pork chops. Looks like a good little simple recipe. Tomatoes are overwhelming our counter tops right now but I hesitate to make any more sauce at this point. I have twenty jars and want to eat as many tomatoes fresh as possible. I made a batch of salsa the other day and of course we eat them sliced on sandwiches and served at dinner. I have a huge bowl of tomatoes perfectly ripe for eating, another big basket of almost ripe and another bowl full that needs to ripen. They are the ones I picked yesterday. They are mostly orange but a few green ones had fallen off during the night so I brought those in also. They will ripen eventually or I may decide to make some green fried tomatoes with them this week.
Our cod fish and chips last night was amazing. We ate the whole basket full of fish. Very crispy outside and tender juicy on the inside. My fave skillet to fry in is my Revere ware large skillet I inherited from my Mother. It works wonderfully holds the heat so well and nothing sticks. I had a small set of Revere Ware from my earlier marriage then added Mother's to that so I have a nice large set now and I love them all. Good pots and pans! They last forever my Mother had them for at least forty years and now she has been gone for 16 years and they are still doing the job.
Well I have been on the phone to my son this morning and it was a lengthy call as they always are and I am running behind on what needs done today.
Tomorrow is Sunday my favorite day of the week. Maybe my great grand baby will be born. We are all waiting for that new sweet soul to join on our families.
Later.
It was a serene early morning with a white moon hanging in the pink fringed sky. I grabbed my camera asap. When I walked out onto the deck the air felt soft and fresh. Lovely.
That will all change this afternoon. Already we have blustery wind and the sky looks threatening at times.
I hurried out this morning to pick every tomato that was orange. I picked all the red ones yesterday afternoon. We have many good size green ones still hanging on the vines. I am so hoping that we will have more sun and some warm autumn days after this series of rain storms.
My hubby was home early yesterday and that made me so happy. We have not had much time to spend together lately with his work load. We sat on the deck sipping gin and tonic's after doing a little yard work. The day was perfect, grand actually but you can tell it was the last of summer. The air was different you know that promise of fall in it and the sky so dense and deep blue. There is nothing more alluring than an autumn sky.
My husband has started another job today. He is installing and finishing a Brazilian cherry floor. That will keep him busy for a few days. The job is site in our very own neighborhood. So that is handy!
I have been in the office all morning and basically on the computer.
My mother-in-law has been moved to a Memory care nursing facility. It is very nice with pretty grounds and hopefully she will do well there. She will get the care she needs and it is near her family which is a plus. So I am in the process of looking online for a dividing screen of good size for her room. She shares a room with one other lady. Though the room is spacious it is nice to have your own privacy. I think I have found the perfect one, I will have hubby give it a glance and get it ordered. So I have been screening screens the past couple of days......laugh.
Also I was locked out of our online banking. Oh I love dealing with these issues. I finally got that squared away this morning. I have so much office work to do I do not know where to start first. I have stacks of contracts and billing statements that need to be sorted and filed. Bills need paying and general organization and cleaning are in order. I suppose I have let things slip a bit now it is time to pay for my negligence.
What is happening in Zo's Kitchen tonight? Well we are going to be dining on cod fish and homemade fries. Of course there will also be a plate of sliced tomatoes and cucumbers and mild peppers. I will make my tarter sauce and secret sauce for the fries this afternoon.
We finished the chili last night. It was so good made with the roasted tomatoes with roasted garlic. Yum!
Sunday I will make cookies and make some extra for my mother-in-law as we are going to stop by late Monday afternoon after hubby gets home from the job site.
Well my day is disappearing fast today so I will leave you now and start to sort,stack and file. Have a good one!
This is a review for Buffalo Wild Wings in Springfield OR.
We more than likely we will not return to this wing place. Burger King has better wings. They were small, dry and the sauces my husband tried were nothing special and he tried three. I had the sliders, nothing special there either. The meat was grilled but dry on doughy buns and no dill pickles? I love dills on my sliders. A slider to me is good juicy burger, a tasty bun and mustard and pickles. The one item they do have that is amazing is their french fries. Very much like McDonald's but better, small very crispy with a tad of peel here and there. I ate the whole basket full! The server was nice and helpful. But forget the wings at a wing place......go figure?
Yes I am in fall mode. It has finally soaked in that summer in it's true form is not here any longer. I always takes me a while to recognize this fact. So I am now ready. Which means I will be taking away the summer decor on the back deck and readying it for rain also setting up my front entry area with my autumn look. Not Halloween items just yet but fall decor.
Today I must go to Walmart for some paper staples and a few other items, then on to Ross for a little fun shopping. I need a few things for the house and hope I can find them. I need to make a wine stop too. This is the first time in a long time my wine cooler is empty. I usually try to keep it stocked, guess I was not paying attention or else we are drinking much......laugh. Perhaps.
We had a summer dinner last night mostly veggies from the farm. I have no clue for tonight's meal however I still have big bowl of tomatoes sitting on the counter that I need to use. I could make a pot of chili with fresh roasted sauce and make some cheesy cornbread muffins or cheesy biscuits. Hmm now that sounds good. I think I will go with chili.
There see how that all worked out.
I have much to do this morning before heading out so I will leave you now.
We have clouds here and the paper says showers but it is not chilly I have the doors open and the air is fresh and moist. I like that.
Ciao.
Here is my pie. Oh it is so so good. Hubby just hummed while having a piece last night(he actually had two pieces). I served it with whipped cream. I put a pint of heavy whipping cream and a little vanilla and a 1/4 cup of powered sugar in my stand mixer with the whip attachment and let it go till all is perfectly whipped. The powered sugar gives it a little more body and a bit of sweetness.
The chicken wings were huge! I should have taken a photo but we were anxious to eat. We had recorded the game and started watching it about three-thirty so we did not eat until halftime and we were famished. I salt and peppered whole wings with the tips clipped. Then dredged into flour and then dunked into beaten egg with a healthy dose of cholula then patted them with lot of panko mixed with a little italian bread crumbs. Fried them until golden and then put them in a 375 degree oven on a baking pan lined with parchment paper for a half hour to finish. They were so crispy and juicy on the inside, perfectly cooked. Hubby dunked his into Franks hot wing sauce and I drizzled more cholula over mine. That is as hot as I can have them. I served our salads on the same plate with extra blue cheese dressing so we both dunked into the dressing as well. It was a perfect meal to eat while finishing the game.
Well lets talk about the OREGON/TENNESSEE game shall we? I must say I was worried when the game first started and we looked like rookies. No one was doing anything that appeared like DUCK play to me. I thought what the hey? About the time Tennessee made a touchdown I was ready to have a stroke but then the Ducks settled in and turned into who they truly are a fine tuned machine of lightning fast players. After I could breathe again I surely enjoyed the rest of the game.
My husband and I are happy the DUCKS are not rated #1 as that is a hard spot to hold. A nice comfortable #2 is what we like. We would like to see the Ducks play Alabama for the BCS championship but everyone has a long way to go at this point. Next week we do not play it is a bye so a breather for the DUCKS(and me).
My honey is gone all day today. I like it when he is home on Sundays and we just hang out together and cook and watch a movie or this time of year football. I will miss his company today but he is so loaded with work and the jobs just keep coming. He is getting quite tired. So I do what I can to be supportive and make everything nice for him at home so he can relax and enjoy at the end of his day. For dinner tonight we are having left over stuffed green peppers. By the way they were delsih!
I really have no agenda today obviously as here it is almost ten AM and I have done nothing since making hubbies breakfast and lunch but read the paper and be here on the computer. But I will take a walk today in the gray(again)and of course tidy the house.
I am going to do a little something special today. The big end table I have in the living room by my chair has a round glass top.
I have a off white round table skirt that fits the table under the glass going to the floor. But I am going to fashion and new large square to go over that first table cloth. I have a tote of fabrics that I acquired while working in the design field. If I recall there is a piece of dusky green with an off white stripe. It is a quality piece, a moire and I think it will add something to the living room. I really am trying to initiate more green into my color scheme. I am also going to have my husband paint(when time allows) above the cabinets on the high vaulted side of our kitchen a green wall called guacamole. Then a couple new green kitchen rugs and that should tie that room together. Basically my color scheme for my entire house is one of rusty reds, golds, browns and blues. So they are primary colors but not clear true primaries. When we finally get new leather sofas I will purchase them in a rusty brown which will go nicely with the gold,sandy colored walls and the hardwood floors. So as I always say, plans and more plans. Well it certainly does keep my little brain busy.
I'm surprised as I am getting hungry now. I usually do not until about eleven or so. But I listen to my body so I think I will go to the kitchen and fix myself some scrambled eggs with diced tomatoes and fresh grated parmesan cheese. That sounds tasty right now with a large glass of OJ.
So off I go, you all have a nice Sunday.
This daisy is so lovely in person. There are two more small flowers on the back side for a total of six flowers on this one plant.
I was looking online to see if I could bring this plant indoors for the winter and it seems I can as long as it gets enough light. Well that could be a problem on some of of our long grim winter days. But I will put it on a stand in front of the south dining room window and hope for the best. Then when it warms in the spring back out it will go to the deck. I believe next year I will get another as they seem to do well in pots.
The sun now is just starting to evaporate the gray low cloud cover we have this morning. That is fine with me as it will keep that ninety degree heat from coming on too soon and because it has not had time to build it may stay cooler today. I went to two farms early this morning by the time I grocery shopped yesterday and browsed for books and banked I wanted to get home. I was starving as I had not one bite of anything. If I go past noon it is hard on me as I get protein deficient.
I have been busy in my kitchen today also well that is nothing new it is kind of a constant this time of year.
Our Oregon Ducks are playing Tennessee tomorrow here. We are suppose to win by at least four touchdowns so we will see, won't we? Even when you know the ducks are better skilled than the opposing team it is still nerve wracking when you are climbing that ladder to the BCS championships. We have to win every game.
My husband will not be home until about four tomorrow afternoon so he will DVR the game and we will watch when he gets home. He is looking forward to those crispy chicken wings I am fixing. Hubby and his wings, it's crazy!!!
I have decided to make my favorite pumpkin pie recipe and top with whipped cream as I have all the ingredients including the cream. I believe it would be really tasty now so why wait till Thanksgiving. Strange as it may seem my family is not big on pumpkin pie so I normally do not make it on the holidays. I do like this recipe though. It is different as it has two kinds of sugar in it and whole milk and a few other twists. I think it taste better and the texture is really creamy. So no cookies today pie instead. I need to start the stuffed green pepper prep about four as they take at least a couple of hours of simmering time.
I must call my brother today I called the other day and we talked a bit but we needed a longer chat. So today after I get the stuffed green peppers simmering I will pour a glass of Chardonnay and visit with my brother. I call it phone sessions with wine.
Well with all these things to do I had better get on with it.
A little more sun is peeking through the wood blinds in the office now so the afternoon will nice indeed. Go enjoy!
Don't you just love these late summer days? I know I do. Not fall but really not summer it is a between time. The temps are perfect, the air is fresh with what is to come, summer is trying to hold on, the trees are hanging onto mostly green leaves and the grass is thankful for the reprieve of wildly hot days.
It occurs to my husband and I both that there is much to do before autumn truly takes hold. Two trees need to be cut back to their stumps, the roof needs a de-mossing treatment, the work yard on the side of the house needs cleaning and will require a run to the dump. I want to clean the windows really well outside before the cold weather comes in. So I have my list made and it is getting longer by the day.
We had a small but tasty tuna casserole last night, made from scratch, no soup. I served it with cold veggies and garlic toast. So tonight we will finish the casserole and I am making cucumber salad and will fry up some zucchini patties. Then tomorrow night one of my honey's favorites. Stuffed green peppers in our own tomato sauce. Yumo!
I went to two grocery stores today and had shopped at two others on Monday. So now we are well stocked. The pantry, freezer and fridge are full. I have just put a roaster pan of tomatoes in the oven so that will yield four more cups. Tomorrow I run to the farms for a few veggies we do not grow. And tomorrow I will make cookies. I was going to do that this afternoon but I need to make the cuke salad and have still have some laundry to attend to, so the cookies can wait a day.
I also picked up four 'new to me' books today. They all look outstanding. I am just about through with my current book about the roundup of Jews in occupied France in July 42. A heartbreaking story and certainly should be remembered and never forgotten. Such a heinous crime against humanity it is so hard to take it in as there is no understanding it. The next book I start will be a more uplifting topic as ones heart can only absorb so much hurt.
A new but "old" eatery has opened up in Eugene. It is the 'Wild Duck' and it is not the same as it once was when it was on 6th st years back, but it may be a good and fun place to go. We always enjoyed the old Wild Duck and went frequently. Our next trip out to eat before the rains come is North Bank McMinimans. It is right on the Willamette river and there is a large deck with outdoor seating. A very pretty serene scene. Then the next lunch out we will try the Wild Duck. My hubby is excited he called today on his way to the job site to tell me it has opened. Funny. We do love our little outings.
Well the obnoxious dryer buzzer is blasting in my ears so best go fold clothes. I should have done all my laundry on Tuesday but I procrastinated.
I am outta here.
I call this summer. Tomatoes and cukes from our garden. Cubano, radishes and scallions from the farm down the way. We also had fresh spinach from the farm and salmon patties with aoli sauce. So a very healthy dinner last night and I was filled to the brim.
I slept well last night also so I can get on with the day and it is shaping up to be a busy one.
I will walk this morning before it gets hot. It is to be 91 degrees today. Then onto office work there is much to do in here. It is laundry day for me. I surely wish I had that clothes line up and ready to use in my back yard. Hubby will build that for me in the spring. I also need to make two more pans of roasted tomato sauce today. I picked tomatoes last night and once again came away with two large baskets full of red ripe tomatoes. So that is my list of to- do's for this Tuesday.
Tomorrow I am making cookies. My husband always like a little treat later after dinner. I think I will make hermits I have not made them for awhile. We like their earthy spices and coffee hit with the crunch of nuts. They are about my favorite to have with my cup of joe in the morning.
What to have for dinner tonight? Don't you sometimes just run out of ideas? I sure do.
Hubby has already asked for chicken wings for Saturdays game fare. He likes crispy whole wings with just the tips clipped. So I flour them with lots of seasonings, dip into egg and then into a combo of panko and bread crumbs and fry until golden and crispy. Then he makes himself a hot wing sauce and I dip into blue cheese dressing with a little Cholula as that is as hot as I like them. I will serve them with a nice summer salad with the blue cheese dressing and that will be our meal Saturday. I will make a large quantity so hubby can munch to his hearts content while watching OREGON win the day!
I just had the idea that maybe I will make panini's this evening with red potato jo-jo's. I have salami, sharp cheddar cheese and tomatoes so we are set for panini's. I love them all crispy and ridged with grill marks. Even though my husband gets very tired of sandwiches as he eats them daily when working, he does enjoy a panini.
I am getting very excited about my little great grandchild's entrance into this world. It is fun not knowing the sex of the baby. One day I am thinking a girl, the next it seems I believe it will be a boy. It would be nice if it were a boy to keep that Jarvi name going along, but a little girl would be nice now considering that my grandson Tyson's sisters just both had boy's. So a little girl would be a sweet addition to her boy cousins. I will keep you posted it could be happening at anytime now.
Well I need a piece of toast to sustain me, another cup of coffee to ratchet me up and off for my walk and then my list of chores.
See you tomorrow.
I posted this photo today as I stroll by three of these trees everyday I walk. I love them. I have taken lots of pictures of them. They smell so woodsy and always have crunchy needles underneath them. Oh if I were a child I surely could have fun playing house or fort or just hanging out under them all day. That is what I did when I lived on the farm and we had a lot of huge fir trees. I liked the coziness and feeling protected under the big trees.
I am off today to Trader Joe's and Walmart. I am going to wait till nine-thirty to leave as the traffic is way less at that time.
The sun is out big this morning but you certainly can feel fall in the air even though it is to be in the high eighties today. But you know how the sky is just a shade deeper and clearer and air smells of fall flavor. Everything just seems a little sharper and brighter. I love this time of year.
Yesterday I made two more pans of roasted pasta sauce. This time I went heavy on herbs from my barrel I added quite a hardy handful of chopped rosemary and thyme and a good size sprinkling of fresh oregano. Six whole cloves of garlic were tossed on with a good splash of oil. Oh it is going to be soooo good served in a lasagna this winter.
I am going to make this short today as I must take a shower now and be on my way.
My husband will be home earlier today than normal so we can perhaps have an eariler dinner if we like. I am making salmon patties this evening with rice and our fresh cukes and tomatoes and spinach. A quite healthy meal I feel.
Enjoy Monday as it has rolled again so fast it makes my head spin.
This was yesterday though today the counters looks the same. I already took the first batch of sauce out and it is cooling. I will do another batch today. Last count 14 jars snugged into the freezer. Good! Last year I used freezer quart zip lock bags for the sauce and that works well. If you freeze them flat you can just stack them up on the freezer shelves hardly taking any room at all. But I am old fashioned in the sense of saving my jars and reusing them, I like labeling them too. So they do take more room but I reorganized my fridge freezer and all will work out.
I just came in from fertilizing ....guess what? yep, the tomatoes. We still have many green ones that are good size. As soon as they are red I pick them off as that saves energy for the green ones. It is rather hard to fertilize as I use a full two gallon pail and I need to lift it up over the wire fence we have around the tomatoes. Each plant takes a full jug and you must pour it slowly so it takes a while.
I have clothes sloshing around and doing their thing in the washer. Two more loads to go. So the day is going along fine even though I did not sleep well last night. Crazy dreams and a tad of heart burn I really think so many tomatoes are chewing at my tummy a tad. Tomatoes have a lot of acid. Anyhow I was in a stupor this morning making my hubbies breakfast and lunch. I hope his lunch does not have weird things in it! I woke up somewhat after a couple of cups of coffee but still feel in a fog. I think I need a little protein.
One crazy dream I had was so real....I dislike those as they hang with you all day.
My dream.
I was riding a bike and trying to find my way to La Pine where I had lived for years in central OR. I was lost and it started raining really hard just as I came into a beautiful town. Everything was perfect green wooden street signs, all the building had wood siding in different colors with lots of black rod iron, shutters on windows etc. It was a new town but done up in an old way. I was confused as I had never seen this town before and knew it was not Bend or Sunriver. I saw a woman and asked her if she knew the way to La Pine and she pointed to the south, she said it is quite a ways. I said, where I am now, she answered this is "Bendix". I said I never heard of that, she said well it is a new town settlement south of Bend like a annex of sorts. How weird is that? It was all so realistic. I would have loved to have lived there is was so quaint and charming.
Well truly I must go eat something. I am thinking a bowl of cheerio's with some soy milk sounds just about perfect.
We are to have thunder storms here today so far nothing.... though there are dark clouds approaching so maybe.
See you tomorrow.
I have mentioned to some of my friends and family that we are saving for a travel trailer. The coast will be one of our first trips. We are so looking forward to this event. In the past we have camped in tents, truck canopies(olden days) fifth wheel, 19 ft cabin cruiser 24 ft cabin cruiser, 24 ft. C class motorhome, 29 ft. C class motorhome, 26 ft. A class motor coach. So as you can see we have had quite an assortment in our 31 years together, but not a travel trailer. So we are looking forward to this new to us RV. It will not be a long one, we need something short to fit in our side yard with the little boat. It is nice that even the little ones have slides and that will surely help when we are nested in at the coast waiting out a storm. We will be starting our trailer search after all the hunting seasons are over and the prices go down on rv's.
I must leave the house early this morning for my weekly grocery shopping and buzz back home quickly as I need to get tomatoes roasted once more. I now have eight assorted size jars in the freezer of plain sauce and pasta sauce. Two more batches today will yield another two jars. We will wind up with more jars than I first calculated we would.
My husband will be home at a decent time as he just has a finish coat to apply to a floor. So it will be nice to have an unhurried evening.
Our seventies dinner last night was a hit. Hubby loved it! Even though I made a mid size amount we have plenty left for this evenings meal so I will add some corn on the cob for a side.
I am always amazed at what Thistledown Farm has to offer as they are not a huge farm. They grow everything themselves and this time of year the selections are many. They grow the crispiest and biggest peppers. They offer many varieties I bought a mixed bag full of cubano, yellow chili pepper(hotter than heck) hungarian yellow peppers, jalapeno's and huge green bell peppers. So I will be making some stuffed green peppers in a few days with my fresh tomato sauce. The corn was 20 ears for $2.00 so .10cents each. I only bought four as I will go again next week. We each can eat one cob at most with a meal. The corn is so sweet and juicy. I bought a bag full of their just dug red potatoes and yukon golds. Anyhow a grand time at the farm yesterday and much good eating.
Well I need to be on my way to the shower and out the door.
Have a nice hump day!
No hump here as we never have a schedule!
