Yep there I am in the second seat far right.
The date on the placard Olive Gray is holding says May 1st so it was my birthday.
It is so strange to look at these kids and remember most of their first and last names. You see that open coat closet in the rear of the room by the door? I still remember hanging my coat there it always smelled like wet wool and fresh air. Opposite the coat closet on the inside of bookcase you see is where we stashed our lunch pails or sacks. My teachers name was Mrs. Thompson I had her for third grade also. This was a very small country elementary school, grades one through eight and scant class sizes.
I posted this photo for throwback Thursday today.
Tonight homemade chicken veggie soup happening in our kitchen. I am tempted to make biscuits to go with but you know how I love biscuits. I know I would eat more than one with dinner. I have been working so diligently to lose a few a pounds and have just now started seeing the results I would hate to sabotage myself. I will probably fix my husband some sourdough garlic toast to go with the soup and forget the biscuits.
When you are close to your ideal weight it is hard for those pounds to drop off but I am noticing the difference the past few days. I have been cutting down and being really aware of what goes into my mouth. I just want to be as healthy as I am able and to be comfortable in my clothes and OK look better in my clothes also. Most everything you read or hear states that it is better to be a little under weight than overweight it is less stress on your joints and you have more energy. But believe I do not deprive myself of something if I truly desire it. I just eat a very small portion and being a slow eater it always seems to be enough to satisfy me.
Today the sky is streaked with blue and whimsical clouds. In the parking lot at Freddie's this morning as I was stashing groceries in my SUV it was sprinkling and quite humid. It showered lightly on the drive home, just enough of course to smudge my clean car.
I want to make a nice Sunday dinner. It must be the time of year as I crave homey things cooking. Of course it is going to be ninety on Sunday,laugh and here I am thinking of a oven meal. I may put a whole chicken in the roaster we will see.
I know I am making grilled bacon burgers with pepperjack cheese for Saturday's meal. It is OREGON football night so I want to fix something easy right before the game so we can watch the kickoff with juicy burger sauce dripping through our fingers. Tonight I am making chicken soup, so I will share what I do.
Zo's Chicken soup.
Three bone in chicken thighs
Two carrots sliced
Three celery ribs sliced
1/2 onion chopped
1 clove of garlic minced( or a shallot sliced)
3 red potatoes scrubbed and diced
one cup of fresh or frozen corn(optional)
additional chicken stock if needed
a healthy squirt of ketchup
olive and butter
pepper and salt to taste
Dried basil, coriander and thyme to taste
a pinch of tarragon.(or use what you prefer)
Note.Of course you can add whatever veggies you need to use up in your vegetable bin,at the moment I have nappa cabbage so I will chop that add to the soup also.
If you are not using potatoes you can of course add noodles after the veggies are cooked or you can add brown or white long grain rice instead of potatoes or noodles. Or sometimes I just make dumplings from scratch(no Bisquick) and add when the veggies (no potatoes) are almost cooked.
Procedure.
Add about four cups or more of water to your stock pot and put in your thighs and bring to a boil with a bit of salt. Once they come to boil put the lid on and simmer until the thighs are falling apart.
Remove thighs from the stock and cool. Strain the chicken broth in the pot and reserve. Clean the pot and add a drizzle of olive oil and add a dollop of butter. Heat but do not brown the butter and add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic or shallots.
Stir and cook until semi tender.
Then add the stock back into the pot add the potatoes and the spices. Add enough additional stock to cover the ingredients. Cook on low until all the vegetables are tender, add the chicken thigh meat you have pulled from the bones. Add the generous squeeze of ketchup(secret weapon) and the fresh or frozen corn kernels if using. Simmer until all is heated through.Taste and adjust seasonings if need be. That is it.
Now of course everyone has their own version of chicken soup. I really did not need to share. My friend Judy is probably laughing at me we both have been cooking for so many years we do not need recipes for soup. But just indulge me Judy I need to share something this is a cooking blog after all.(I normally just use what is in my fridge that needs to be used, but if one needed a recipe this would suffice.)
Well I really need to slide into that chair of mine now and rest this old back that lets me down most every afternoon.
See you tomorrow.
I am looking forward Friday to making my apple pie with gravenstein apples. Our plum cobbler is no more and hubby likes a little desert in the evening, only problem is I do not need apple pie, but I want apple pie. So what to do? Well have the apple pie of course but very small portions.
Today is out to lunch so I will not make dinner tonight as we having a late lunch.
If my husband gets the munchies this evening he can make himself a little something. He enjoys that.
Well today is our first non sunny day in how many days I cannot remember. It is overcast with low clouds and we have a shower.
After today the weather improves once again to warm sun filled days.
My gal friend from Bend OR. east of the mountains is coming for a visit next week. We see each other once a year. She is always so
accommodating to make the journey here. We will more than likely go out to lunch early on and then sit on the deck and sip wine and talk for hours. I am thinking I will throw some shrimp in the grill basket and make a salad to go with for a light dinner. I always look forward to our time together we have a fun time.
Well I must go to my closet and see what I want to wear today for my date with my husband.
Later.
This type of pot is a must for anyone's kitchen. It is cast iron with porcelain enamel on the inside. It cooks on top your stove or in the oven. When I refer to my big red pot this what I have. Mine however throughout the years is getting stained on the bottom of the inside so I was thinking of purchasing another one while they are on sale. This is a good buy as they are normally $100.00. Of course you can buy more expensive designer pots made in the same manner but I would guarantee you they would not work any more efficient and some can cost three times as much.
The reason I love this pot is this. Once it is hot it holds the heat as it is cast iron. It is great for deep frying, soups, stews and sauces anything you want to simmer for a while put it in this pot.
Ah at long last I am sitting here in a clean orderly office with all of my office duties completed. Now to just keep current.
Today I am going to deep clean my living room. It is a room in our house that is rarely used except by me. My cozy chair hangs out in there as well as my piano a few antique pieces and a additional occasional chair rounds out the room. So today the furniture will get a waxing, the windows(inside) will be washed, the wood blinds dusted(hate this chore) the glass and accessories cleaned and the area rugs vacuumed and the hardwood floor cleaned. It will be a good project this afternoon.
Before I commence with the living room I going to finally make those zucchini pickles. I have already put the ingredients on the counter so I am ready to roll as soon as this post is completed.
The washer is whirring away I am on my second load so I have been quite efficient this morning.
If the pickles turn out wonderful I will share the recipe. I found this recipe in the newspaper and it sounds good as it has an array of spices that I love in it.
Another gorgeous summer into fall day. Why do the skies get so deep blue this time of year? The leaves on the trees are barely starting to fade so if the rain does not start early we will have a very colorful long fall this year. As I was grilling the sausage for the casserole late yesterday on the deck a few leaves were swirling down and landing by my feet. I so enjoyed my time out there the air was fresh and still warm from the days heat. I poured a glass of my favorite cab and took my book and hung out in a patio chair while I slowly grilled the italian sausages.
I have been keeping water out for the squirrels this summer. Well I had forgotten to refresh their dish and here one little guy came scampering across the deck running this way and that trying to get my attention and he did. I knew he wanted water. Sure enough he went to the lawn area by the spigot and waited. I filled the dish as he watched me. When I went back to my chair he dashed to the dish, put his little hands on the edge and leaned in and drank and drank and drank!
I love watching our little critters that also enjoy our deck and yards as much as we do.
So tonight it is leftovers and tomorrow hubby is taking me to PF Changs. I always order the same thing when I go. I have Changs chicken lettuce wraps for an appetizer and have the Lo Mien for my main course with steamed brown rice. Why switch it up when I love this meal.
Well my washer has stopped so it's time to let the dryer do it's thing and then get on to my pickle making.
See ya tomorrow.
This is my style. Sometimes I will come across a picture in a magazine that is who I am! I would love to have a covered patio so I could have an arrangement very similar to this though perhaps with more comfy chairs. Maybe someday. We have no room for a covered patio unless we put a roof over our deck and I am not willing to part with the sunshine that floods into the house, especially in winter. However if we were to buy another home a covered patio would be a must.
Today will be our last hot ninety something degree day perhaps until next spring, who knows? We are dropping tomorrow into the low eighties/high seventies. I would say that will be very nice indeed.
I am ready for the cooler fall weather. It will still be lovely outdoors but oh so much more comfortable.
I am thrilled today that I do not have a counter loaded with tomatoes or plums. However tomorrow I will be back at making sauce as we have many red tomatoes ready for picking. I am going to try my hand this afternoon making some zucchini pickles however. I think that will be fun I am going to make a couple of jars.
I am going to comment that the Magical plum cobbler I made was one of the best deserts I have ever hummed through. It is more like a plum cake with the gooey plums on the bottom and topped with a cakey crust. It is divine with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. After this evening it will be gone but not forgotten. I will make my gravenstein pie later in the week.
Today I work in the office. I have already started by sending out a stack of bills. I need to take care of filing, making forms, balancing the business budget, sending out some correspondence, and thoroughly cleaning the office from top to bottom. I am not looking forward to this but it must be done today!
Here's a funny little story.
When I was at my sons this summer I was sharing some of my Food Network magazines with him. He enjoyed them as it is a great magazine, large size and glossy pages of food items photographed beautifully with understandable recipes. My son likes to cook so I thought it would be fun to surprise him with a subscription to that magazine.
So I did just that some time back. The other day I happened to mention to him while chatting on the phone if he had received anything in the mail that he was not expecting. He replied, I did as a matter of fact for some reason I got a bill for Food Network magazine for twenty dollars. I said what? He read me the billing statement over the phone. It said, thank you for the gift purchase please pay the following amount.
Hmm. Well I said, I bought a subscription to that magazine for you. Why are they billing you when they should have billed me? Well he was thrilled to know he would be receiving the magazine. But we could not come to terms with the bill. So he gave me the information number off the billing statement. I went online to see what was going on. Well what they did was charge him for an added years subscription for me. It showed he had no subscription at all. So now I have magazines coming until March 2016. I called him back and gave him this news. He said, good gift Mom you buy me a subscription that I have to pay for and you get the magazines! We both started laughing.
Well today I will go online and pay the bill that was sent to him and order and pay for another subscription for him. But hey I have a magazine I love until March 2016. End of story.
Well I am wasting time now and I must get busy. You know I dread paperwork so I am procrastinating a tad.
At least I have my pickle making adventure this afternoon and I am making of my signature dishes for dinner. My very own, polenta, sausage, mixed pepper casserole with my homemade pasta sauce and topped with Italian cheeses. This is an amazing tasting casserole influenced by the peppers and rich red sauce. I make a 9x13 size as my hubby cannot get enough of it. So two nights of yummy eating for us.
I really must go.
This is a few photo's of my grandson Tyson's wedding this past Sunday. I am sorry I do not have more to share a this time but more photos will be coming.
It was such a sweet wedding, unpretentious just as they are as a couple. Tyson told me come dressed as you like we want everyone to feel comfortable that was the idea as it was hot and was held at a park so it was casual. So everyone was comfortable and relaxed in a very beautiful setting nestled beside the Willamette river right where the bride Lindsey learned to water ski when she was a very young girl. Her father told me they camped there at the park many times in Lindsey's young life so it was all very appropriate and had meaning for her and her family.
Baby girl Olivia Tyson's and Lindsey's little girl who will turn one shortly was in the arms of the maid of honor as the wedding procession came down the isle. Olivia was dressed in a long pink silk dress with red rosebuds adoring the hem. She had a crown of flowers on her head. They were the first to walk down the isle and as they did my eyes loaded with tears as did my son Mike's and when I looked at Mike and Gina my daughter looked at her brother Mike with tears streaming down his face we all totally lost it. Then my husband and my ex husband were also dealing with teary eyes. Mike, father of the groom Tyson was so overcome with emotion. It seems when we see someone we love reduced to tears it brings those tears to our own eyes. We cannot help it because there is so much love running though us all. It is family what more is there to say. It did not seem strange to me at all sitting between my my ex-husband and my now husband. Nor did it seem uncomfortable for our spouses. Nothing was about us it was about Tyson whom we all love and adore.
It was a wonderful weekend filled with love.
When we returned home it was back to reality. My hubby went to the garden to take care of business. He brought back to the kitchen a huge basket of tomatoes. We had only been gone three days and we had masses of ripe tomatoes. So the day after we returned I found myself elbow deep in tomatoes making sauce once again. The next day my husband brings home from the job site a five gallon bucket of Italian plums. So another day in the kitchen making plum preserves and plum cobbler. My house is needing attention but between office duties and being a Suzy homemaker everything else is in dire need.
Today(Wednesday) was busy also. I did what I could another batch of jam and more tomatoes. A few little house chores accomplished and then my hubby is home early afternoon and we are off to take his mother to lunch as it has been a while since we have picked her up from the memory care home to spend time with her. I even hate to think about what I need to do tomorrow. Usually I am on top of everything but tending to the produce has thrown me off kilter.I also want to make apple sauce and an apple pie and a few more loaves of zucchini bread and freeze more corn as surprisingly it is still going strong at the farm. So I will be busy for a while yet.
So here it is several days later and my life is still a whirlwind. I still have the office mess hanging over my head I am in here working each day but there is so much paperwork right now with hubby so busy. I am still making tomato sauce, I had to freeze the remainder of the plums as I had no more use for them at this time.
It was OREGON ducks football yesterday so we had a great time cheering on our team. What a fun game! Our quarterback is a star! I made pizza for the game always a fave.
The weather is still amazing and still in the nineties. Cooler at night however which makes it very nice in the mornings when the doors are opened to fill our house with crisp fresh air.
Here it is Sunday already and I am going to close this post and go finish the Sunday paper. I got waylaid by kitchen duties this morning, yep more sauce making.
With such lovely weather perhaps you should get out the door and take a walk or whatever pleases you, the rainy weather will be here before we know it!
There is nothing better than fresh roasted tomato sauce plain and simple over linguine pasta. A little crowning of fresh grated Parmesan cheese is all that's needed. This is the plate my husband dug into with gusto. We are so enjoying our tomatoes this summer. A hot growing season is yielding more tomatoes than years past. As I type another pan of red darlings is roasting for more sauce.
It is windy this afternoon, it was a chilly morning and it was still. I took advantage to tidy the deck, water the potted flowers and herbs and spiff up the gas grill.
The wind chimes at the moment are going crazy they are playing what sounds like acid rock. I may need to take down our patio umbrella if it continues.
A friend of mine lives in Mexico on the Baja. The hurricane Norbet is advancing along the shoreline there. She just posted a video it is thrilling to say the least with torrential rains and gusty wind. It will continue for twenty four hours or so. She seems quite complacent considering what is happening right outside her door. So I will not worry about a little wind here stirring things about.
Wow it is heating up into the high nineties for a couple of days, may reach a hundred degree's here on Saturday. I do not think that will be conducive for the football game OREGON and MICHIGAN STATE at three-thirty. That is so hot to play, there will be leg cramps for sure. My hubby is soooo excited for this game, as it nears he gets more and more animated, like a kid. I love watching college football especially the OREGON ducks but I do not get overly excited. Well if I am honest that is not true...laugh.
We have a very fun weekend ahead and are looking so forward to the game, spending time with family and a wedding!
My oven timer has just beeped so time to take the roasted tomatoes out, let them cool and make sauce. The doors are open to the screen doors, the breeze in keeping the house just perfect even with the oven on. I love a day like this.
On that note I will leave you now and continue on with this wonderful day.
Ciao.
This is so true.
How many times have we silently judged another?
"Not my life not my choice." That is a good thing to say to yourself when your mind starts to judge.
All people have free will as we know. We all have made a decision that has not worked out in our best interest. We are all just humans trying to make our way the best we can. So walk your walk and walk your road and live your life as no one else can and let others do the same.
The day here in Eugene is smudged with morning clouds but the sun is pushing through bringing brightness to the dull landscape. I can hear the honking of geese but can not see them, several ganders have flown over this morning. The chimes are timidly singing this morning the most gentle of breezes is stirring them. The pair of jays are quiet as are the squirrels. The air is cool as an autumn promise but the suns determination will soon erase autumn for another day.
My agenda is small for this day. Do what I must and enjoy the peace and contentment it offers.
The Labor day weekend is over for another year and most schools are starting their new year. When I was a child I was happy when school started. It meant new books, pencils, tablets, colors, scissors, glue and best of all a new pencil box and lunch box! It also meant new stiff shoes, dresses sewn by my mother's hand, pretty hair ribbons to match and walking a mile to school and back home again at three-thirty. I looked so forward to my after school treat. In the first month of school it was still warm so that glass of ice cold Kool-aid or homemade rootbeer always put a smile on my face. My mother was always baking so I knew there would be a tasty goody put out on a plate with a napkin handy to the side.
I love to remember my childhood days as you know. It is because I had a mother that I so loved and she loved me with all her heart and treated me so special.
So I am going now to enjoy another day of my life.
I hope you have a good day also.
