August 29th

                                           Today is a rather sad reminder that 14 years ago,
                                           we went through the grim reality of what a major
                                                                 hurricane could do.
                                                         I choose not to dwell on that.
                                              I only pray that I never live through another.

                                  ********************************************

Hazel

Isn't she a cutie?

Lucy

She's our curious one.

Always getting in trouble.

Boy, did we name her correctly!

Although I came across a better name for her...

Hugh Jass!

(take a minute, it is kinda obscure...)*

Pepper

She always gives us 

the stink eye.

She's our follower.

They were crowding and jumping around me like

a bunch of peppy cheerleaders at a benefit

car wash!

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Another cucuzza.

They taste great.

I love that crazy shape!

Purple Bell peppers

Tomatoes

A late summer crop.

Ours didn't do well this year.

We are hoping that these turn out better.

Twins!

The 3rd life of this onion.

I mean, we initially grew it from a cutting like this.

It was from one bought at the grocery.

I used the top half and cut off the bottom with the root.

Then I put it in water and waited for it to grow.

This is the stage that's best for planting.

This one is ready to plant.

I'll get 2 onions from it.

Put it in a simple pot in good light and it'll grow!

The rainbow colors of our Bell Peppers.

Beautiful!

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This segment I'll entitle,

"Is It Just Me?"

In the last few weeks we've had an abundance of

veggies from the garden.

That's a really good thing, right?

In most cases I'd agree,

BUT

I've been eating A LOT of veggies!

A lotta gas producing veggies.

So...

Here's the scenario.....

I'm in the car driving to pick up the

kids from school.

I noticed that my stomach was "acting funny".

By funny, I mean, gassy.

OK

Well,

 I usually don't have these issues,

but today it seemed that my small and large

intestines were at war.

The sounds I was making sounded like

dogs growling!

AND,

I'm still about 30 minutes from my favorite

toilet (my own!)

That old adage kept coming to mind,

"Never trust a fart!"

Now..

All my 5 senses shut down, 

I guess to prevent any outside stimuli

from distracting my

 "lock down" mode.

Then...

I began sweating.

I'm sure I was flushed red too.

I think it was so bad that,

 if someone had pasted a white sickle and hammer 

on my forehead, 

I could have passed for the

Russian flag!

My bowels were close to rebelling

in an explosion of biblical proportions,

so....

I started to pray.

Yay!

I made it to my toilet!!

Thank you Baby Jesus!

Ahhhh!

 I exorcised those gastric demons

in surround sound,

Only to realize that the CEO hasn't fixed the 

     exhaust...….

Woe is me.

************************************

Food, my favorite subject

and,

Recipes!

I've got some great ones from my daughter.

She's a wonderful cook!

This one is for her 

"Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup"

Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef

                  1 small onion diced

                                1(29 oz) can diced tomatoes

                           1 large bell pepper diced

                                          1 (14 oz)can chicken or beef broth

                1 can tomato soup*

                 2 cups cooked rice

                1 tablespoon sugar

                             1 tablespoon garlic powder

                 salt/pepper to taste

                                             shredded cheddar cheese for topping

          Instructions: In a large pot, brown and crumble ground beef.

                        Add diced peppers and onions, then drain after cooking.

                             After draining add tomatoes, broth and tomato soup.

*(or tomato sauce can be substituted)

Then add the rice.

Stir in seasonings - sugar, garlic, salt & pepper. 

Cover and simmer for 30 min or so on low.

Serve with cheese topping.

She said that one of the restaurants on Bourbon Street

asked her for the recipe and now they use

it every once in a while as their soup of the day!

How cool is that??!!

I'll post more of her contributions....

Many thanks to her creativity....

******************************************

Musings...………

People who, after it rains,

pick up earthworms on the sidewalk

and throw them back in the grass or dirt,

are the cornerstones of society.

We should all strive to have that

level of compassion for each other

and the natural world,

just sayin'

Coming from a grateful worm...

Always Hugs!

* Huge Ass

August 20th

Who doesn't like bacon?

I mean,

Even if I were to "go vegan",

I'd probably still sneak a slice of bacon.

I know my weakness,

especially with brown sugar glazed bacon.

That's how I made it for tonight's dinner.

We had Egg Surprise.

That's my name for eggs in a hole.

The cut out piece of bread gets toasted 

and goes on top,

with a strip of bacon.

Awesome!

Breakfast for Dinner is

a frequent request around here.

Those lovely eggs, 

courtesy of our girls,

are always delicious.

We also had

Bacon and Ham Steaks

with

fresh strawberries, blackberries and

raspberries.

The CEO had a glass of tea with

juice ice cubes.

Peach, Strawberry and Orange cubes.

Don't throw away the juice from a can

of fruit (natural with no added sugar)

or just mash some fresh berries.

Then put them in an ice cube tray,

and place the frozen cubes in a Zip Lock bag 

to scoop into your tea.

It's great!

It is a nice additive to our 

summertime iced tea.

********************************

This is Spearmint.

It has pretty lavender flowers.

I try to clip the herbs before they flower.

Flowering sends too much energy to the bloom 

and not the plant.

The plants get leggy and 

don't produce as much.

Yes, you can eat these flowers.

What do they taste like?

Mint!

Thai Basil,

whit the same problem.

It's been too hot to go outside

so all of them are flowering.

These are going to seed.

Still quite tasty sprinkled on just about anything.

Patchouli

It smells like the '60's.

Seriously.

You can wrap the leaves up tightly 

and burn them as a kind of "smudge"

It kinda smells like incense.

Bell Peppers and a Cucuzza.

The Cucuzza is so long,

I couldn't get it all in the picture.

A Cucuzza standing quietly 

behind the couch.

Not sure if it was about

to scare someone,

or act as a baseball bat!

Malabar Spinach,

with a small purple berry.

This is a new addition to our backyard.

It is native to India and Asia.

It not really a spinach, but grows on a vine,

and has thick leaves that taste great

in salads or anywhere you'd use spinach.

The plant produces small berries that

are edible but slightly sour.

We don't eat them,

the hens do!

The plant does considerably well in 

extreme heat.

That's a win for us!

It just needs a lot of water.

Tip: Don't plant it in the ground.

It grows like crazy and will take over.

All our herbs are in pots.

*********************************

With all this produce,

I had to come up with a 

few dishes, but it was way too hot to 

heat up the kitchen.

Break out the crockpot!

I made Ratatouille.

Easy dish.

It's just stewed veggies.

Here's the recipe:

1 medium jar of Prego

dried oregano, basil, salt and pepper,

pre cut up in a jar - garlic

Cube these veggies...

1 large sweet onion

1 eggplant

2 zucchnini

(I used half of my cucuzza)

(you can substitute any squash)

2 bell peppers

2 tomatoes

then...

1) coat the bottom of the crockpot with olive oil,

2)layer the veggies in the pot.

3) add a few dollops of Prego and 

sprinkle with oregano/basil and a teaspoon of garlic.

4) Keep doing this till all the veggies are in the pot

and covered in Prego.

5) Cook on medium for 5 hours

6) stir it halfway through cooking.

7) for the last hour, uncover and allow sauce to thicken.

To serve, sprinkle with grated parmesan.

Yum!

***

Then I tried this one.....

I hate frying anything!

So, I looked for a recipe where the eggplant 

was baked.

Here it is...

Melt about 5 or 6 tablespoons of butter and 

a teaspoon of mayonnaise, 

 then coat each slice of eggplant.

(you can use only butter if you like)

Next dip it into Italian flavored breadcrumbs.

I used 1 cup.

The recipe calls for them to be 

covered with grated parmesan and baked 

in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Then flip them and bake for another 20.

Tip: Bake for 20 minutes,

then after you've turned them over,

sprinkle the parmesan cheese.

It'll stay on the eggplant

rounds instead of falling off.

I'm eating them with a dip of 

creamy Italian

(because that's what I had)

The recipe says Ranch.

I don't think Ranch would have 

brought out the parmesan

like the Italian did.

anyhoo….

Hope ya like these.

***************************

Chicken 101

Backyard chicken eggs are healthier

than store bought eggs.

The dark yolks tell the tale.

The darker the yolk, means the more

nutrients, Omega 3 fatty acids,

Carotinoids, beta carotene,

Lutein, and

Vitamins A, D, and E.

Homegrown eggs have thicker shells

due to a greater amount of calcium 

in the hen's diet.

Also...

Chickens are essentially

omnivores.

They'll literally eat anything,

Insects, small rodents, snakes,

fruits and veggies,

even their own eggs.

Our girls haven't eaten their eggs,

but they do eat the crushed egg shells

out of the compost heap.

They also eat a "laying feed"

that contains various seeds

and grains.

That's why their "butt nuggets"

are so good!

**************************

I was perusing the internet 

and came across this...

It's about iconic streets that

are a must see before you die.

Hope you can read the small type,

especially the last line.

I laughed and laughed.....

Bless their hearts...……

and

Remember,

be kind,

you never know

what someone is

going through.

August 11th

On August 15th it'll be 50 years since Woodstock!
It was billed as an Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music.
That's amazing to think of, 50 years!
Wow!
I'm old.....

This pic was taken at Seattle's MoPOP

or, Museum of Pop Culture

in 2016.

Reminded me of those old songs from the Woodstock era.

I wish we had Google back then to freakin'

understand the lyrics!

We listened to them on AM radio, which was not

the best with clarity of the music,

and, if we were into listening to "alternative" music,

we tuned into an FM station.

But,

still no better to hear the lyrics or understand them.

so,

I looked up some of the "misheard" lyrics.

here are a few.....

Love the chicken reference...

This might take a minute.....

annnd...

There are tons more, 

but suffice it to say,

when we didn't know the exact words,

it didn't matter...

We sang it out like we were on stage

with a hair brush as the mike!

******************************************

Nugget

Her head is healing nicely.

Hot day fun.

We freeze canned corn so they can

get a chicken "snowball"

Nugget with Pepper and Ethel in the background

waiting for the treats.

***************************************

Chicken Humor

and

these.....

Who knew???

Yes, Barbie with her backyard hens!

(I don't think she comes with poop on her shoes)

*********************************

Musings...…..

Husbands...…..

90% of marriage is shouting "What?"

from other rooms.

and 

Husbands are the best person to tell your secrets to.

They'll never share them because they weren't 

listening in the first place!

Ha!

A typical exchange at our house...…..

CEO: Where is the...

Me: Next to the....

CEO: NO, it's not.

Me: It's directly in front of the....

CEO: I looked, we must be out. We need more.

Me: Storming in to show him where it is.

CEO: Oh, I didn't see it.

Me: mumbling... "Sweet Baby Jesus, save me...."

and

We said our "I Do's" 25 years ago.

That seems to be the last time we actually agreed on something.

We can't even commit to dinner plans...

and

Spooning in bed...

Me: "This is nice."

CEO: Snoring in my ear loudly

Me: (3 seconds later) "OK! Move!

Your body heat is melting my skin off and I can't breathe!"

I was sweating like the fountain at the Bellagio.

CEO: snoring, making slight pig noises.

Me: Shoves him, he finally rolls to his back.

CEO: Now making whistling noises from his nose.

Sounds like the clarinet section at a beginner band

concert!!

Me: Pushes him again.

CEO: finally rolls over.

Me: WIDE AWAKE!

But...

Sometimes its me snoring...

***************************************

Remember.....

In the wise words of Bill from

 Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure,

"Joan of Arc is most definitely not

Noah's wife!

Augusr 2nd

Today is Dinosaur Day

It's in honor of those long extinct relics of Jurassic Park.

This particular T Rex was found in the 

Cheyenne River Reservation in Wyoming.

It's named after Sue Hendrickson a fossil collector.

Sue is currently on display at The Field Museum

in Chicago.

Several years ago, we were lucky enough

to see a full sized replica

in Phoenix. Arizona.

"Sue" surely is a jaw dropping specimen!

But...

In reality, they aren't totally extinct,

they simply evolved into other modern day creatures.

Creatures like our own lovable feathered hens.

(and now we segue to the girls)

Pepper and Nugget

Can't you see the T Rex family resemblance?

Hazel

Thank goodness they lost those T Rex teeth!

Ethel

They still lay eggs though.

Nugget's head is healing nicely.

Thankful that I didn't have to perform 

a "comb-ectomy"!

Yay for Super glue!!

******************************

Eggplant flower.

The plant is covered in them.

Cucuzzas are here!

Basically an Italian summer squash.

They have a mild taste and lend themselves

to many recipes.

See the small ones?

They look like grass snakes hanging

upside down.

********************************

A recent dryer malfunction 

resulted in my hanging clothes out to dry in my yard.

Not an activity I'd recommend in this heat!

But....

It reminded me of my Mom and Grandmother

doing the same thing,

like in this picture.

But, 

there was a slight difference.

My clothes were washed in an electric washing machine

with all kinds of bells and whistles

compared to the one my Mom had

back in the day

Yep.

We had a wringer washer like this one.

If I remember correctly,

all it did was agitate,

you hadda pull those heavy, wet clothes

out of the "tub" and push them

between the rollers of the wringers.

They 'wrung' the water from the item.

Then my Mom would put the wet clothes in a 

wicker basket to bring outside to the clothes line.

Good times?

Maybe not so much for my Mom,

but a warm fuzzy memory for me.

All this reminiscing,

got me to thinking of times gone by.

Our kitchen, the little eat in kind,

 had a small formica table with 4 chairs.

It was chrome with Naugahyde upholstery,

the same thing in the living room....

It was a vomit green Naugahyde couch 

with a deep red accent wall.

It made any time you were sick and stayed home from school,

exponentially worse looking at those colors!

What was my Mom thinking?

It's no wonder the Nauga has become extinct.

The unchecked use of their "hydes" in the '50's and '60's

was ubiquitous!

And...

no picture of any Naugas in the wild, exist!

Then,

 we had Alligator Pears,

Mosquito Hawks, 

and black or white lace veils

for Mass.

Just the simple basics.

We walked and played on a banquette (sidewalk),

went on a trip with our grips (suitcases),

our Moms Iced the Cake (frosted) for birthdays,

drank red drinks (Barq's Red Cream Soda),

and waited patiently each year for

Mr Bingle.

(Jingle Jangle Jingle,

here comes Mr. Bingle,

with another message from

Kris Kringle....)

We wore Wind Song perfume,

and gave Evening in Paris Perfume as 

Mother's Day gifts.

All Grandma's carried a Handkerchief.

We slid down a Shoot the Chute

and adhered our butt flesh to the hot metal

during a 100 degree summer!

We needed a skate key to get skates to stay on

our shoes.

Most skating was on the bumpy cement sidewalks.

No kid was exempt from a knee scar from

falling off skates or a bike.

You were like the Marines...

Adapt, Improvise and Overcome!

Young girls had to endure Sanitary belts and napkins

that were medieval torture devices.

But we managed.

Ah! those were our halcion days,

spent mostly outside, 

suntanned and

getting Grandma Beads

and scabs.

Do I miss it?

Maybe, if I tell the truth,

 I do miss it a bit.

Time was slower,

the world was smaller,

people knew each other,

We felt safe and secure.

But, now it's enough to look back

on my special memories

with my rose colored glasses,

and smile.

**************************************

This says it all.

****************************

Remember...

It was the famed poet

Meatloaf who said....

Two outta three ain't bad>