January 31st

Yes! 

It's Hot Chocolate weather.

What a great idea to celebrate!

So, 

in honor of that,

I made a cup for myself.

And, 

I deserve it today!

I've been sipping on it

for a bit so it's almost gone.

It's also 

National Scotch Tape Day.

Why, you ask?

Well so did I.

So, I looked it up...….

Seems that this guy, Richard Drew,

working at 3M, needed something 

to glue newspapers onto cars 

when auto workers were painting them.

They needed them to keep the 

colors from running together.

They had tried all kinds of sticky residue

stuff but when they removed the newspapers,

the sticky stuff remained and pulled 

the paint off as well.

In comes Mr. Drew with his invention.

It was an early masking tape that

was just crepe paper treated with cabinet 

makers glue and glycerin.

But,

it worked!

So, 3M marketed it under the name

"Scotch Tape" in 1925.

(Scotch tape is really an ethnic stereotype.

It is based on the presumption that all 

Scottish people are stingy,

and they'd "adhere" to things longer.)

Wow!

Who knew?

Anyhoo,

 in 1929, Mr. Drew had another idea

to use DuPont's new invention of

Cellophane to make the tape clear,

and the rest is history.

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

The bell pepper plants, tomatoes and

eggplants all have buds.

The problem is that some of the

buds wither and die.

We are hoping that some will still

produce fruit.

Fingers crossed.

Broccoli

We've got 3 colors,

green, yellow and white.

You can even eat the leaves in a salad.

(If the hens don't get to them first!)

Mother Aloe

These are a bunch of babies.

I'll need to split them apart

so they'll grow better.

Just waiting till spring.

One little chrysanthemum.

The bush is covered in buds!

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

Pepper

She's standing guard because the cat is near.

The chicken girls barely

tolerate this curious

calico friend.

The girls will chase him and peck

him on the head,

but he keeps coming back.

He's harmless but a little "henpecked"

He's talking to me.

I go "Meow"

and he repeats it.

Our conversations aren't as 

stimulating as the ones the 

hen and I have, but 

it's communication nontheless.

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

Recently,

I had to come up with a last minute

dinner option.

So, here's the 

Pizza Roll Bundt.

Start with a bag of Pizza Rolls baked as

per package directions.

They need to be pre-baked because

they'll stay soggy if you don't.

Then keep the oven on 450 and begin layering

the pizza rolls like a lasagna, with cheese or whatever

else is "pizza" compatible in the fridge.

I mean to say that this dish is essentially

one composed of leftovers.

In this particular case, I used a layer

of pizza rolls, then a layer of shredded

cheese - (I had cheddar), then a layer of

leftover artichoke hearts casserole.

 I kept layering till I got to

the top and finished off with another 

layer of cheese.

Bake for about 20-25 min till the cheese is bubbly.

Remove from the oven, cool a bit,

then invert onto a plate.

Simple!

Previously I made it using leftover

meat loaf with the pizza rolls.

It's quick and easy!

The kids can make it and 

everybody loves it.

I usually serve a salad with it.

The grandkids always ask "What's for dessert?"

So, having nothing that qualified,

I came up with this.

It's an apple turnover.

Start with packaged puff pastry,

and cut into rectangles.

Lightly sprinkle both sides with cinnamon sugar. 

Then fill with pie filling, jam, Nutella, 

or make it savory if you want. 

You can fill with pepperoni or small meatballs too.

They are delicious filled with those Philly flavored 

cream cheese concoctions too.

I used the strawberry one with a few sliced strawberries.

They were so tasty!

Make little "purses" and place into

a greased muffin tin.

Brush with an egg wash and

bake as per package directions.

Remove from the muffin tin

and serve with a scoop of ice cream.

Yum!

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

It's all about family.....

And in the words of 

The Eagles....

"On a dark desert highway,

Cool Whip in my hair!"

Ha!

January 22nd

This is a memoriam

to some of the pets that passed this week.

 A good friend had her dog Marco pass.

He was cute as a button,

but his little body was worn out.

Then,

 my daughter's longtime companion,

Gunner passed away peacefully at her side.

He was a sweetie.

Then,

 my granddaughter's bunny,

Butters, had some serious health

issues that he couldn't rally from.

Whatever the species,

the grief is still the same.

Animals accept us for who we are,

flaws and all.

That is the very definition of 

unconditional love.

It's ok to deeply feel that loss,

that companionship,

and while their lives are short,

they still matter.

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

On a lighter note...

the chicken girls were doing their 

chicken girl thing.

Pepper was in the coop trying to lay an egg.

But,

as you can see,

I hadda keep aggravating her

by taking a picture

She's docile but doesn't wanna be disturbed.

This is Nugget.

She's having a dirt bath/nap.

No she's not dead.

They sometimes just lay in the dust,

quietly, not moving.

So, when I see that I make sure that

are still in the land of the living!

Typical of all birds, they fluff

their feathers in dust to keep pests away.

We examine the girls frequently for

any pests and we can proudly say

that they are pest free.

It's like a Day Spa

for chickens!

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

In the past few weeks the CEO

has been preparing the

veggie beds.

Tilling compost into the soil

and pulling dead plants out.

Yesterday he planted brussels sprouts,

broccoli and white and purple cauliflower.

It's mid January and the plants 

think its spring.

The weather has been unseasonably

warm and they are sprouting.

This is the maple in the back yard.

The buds are rusty-red in color.

This is the Mother of all Aloes'.

(that's one of her offspring in the background)

She's budding again!

This pic was taken this morning.

Her flowers are pale orange-yellow.

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

The CEO's stepping stones

that he crafted with a mold, paint and

cement.

Beautiful!

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

DIY

A few homemade recipes....

My skin can be super sensitive at times

to soap or lotions, so

sometimes I make my own.

I was having an itching issue with

 laundry fabric softener,

(I bought a cheap one)

so,

 I went online and saw the recipe to

make my own.

It works great!

Super simple too!

Homemade Fabric Softener

6 cups of tap water

3 cups of white distilled vinegar

(I buy vinegar in gallon containers

because I use it in all kinds of

preparations, from canning to cleaning,

and it is really cheap)

2 cups of hair conditioner

(I use Suave in whatever scent I like)

pour into a gallon container

and shake well. 

I usually double the recipe

to have refills on hand.

  

and...

if you prefer dryer sheets, you can

do this...

1) get a few clean old washcloths...

2) pour the fabric softener mix into

a spray container,

using this ratio:1 part softener mix to 1 part water.

3) Shake well

4) Spray onto a wash cloth and toss into dryer.

(I spray liberally, not enough to drip though)

Works as well as pouring it in the washing machine tub!

I find this method works best with

sheets, pillowcases and towels. 

It may take a few minutes to make

but its much easier on the skin

and cheaper too!

Here's another....

All Purpose Cleaner

1) 2 cups vinegar

2) 2 cups water

3) 1/4 cup Dawn

I always double the amount

for refills.

(I also sometimes add orange peels for the scent)

all gets poured into a spray bottle.

Can be used on pretty much anything.

It's ok around food, dishes,

animals and people.

I disinfect the sink and bathroom with this stuff!

It never makes my hands itch

and it keeps my sponges clean smelling

between dishwasher cleanups.

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

Aging....

The biggest lie I tell myself

is

"I don't need to write that down,

I'll remember it..." 

Sure.....

and

when I hear my grandkids

singing songs that were popular in my teens

and are now sung badly by 

some singer/rapper that is

clearly a flash in the pan,

and they simply can't believe it because 

no music "that old"

was "that cool"

Ha!

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

My angel

Always hugs!

January 10th 2020

Wow!

2020!

We are 10 days into this brand new shiny year and

I'm still wrapping my head around the fact

that this is the beginning of another decade.

As years come and go, (way too soon for me),

and life takes wonderful and sometimes horrible turns,

I've learned to not sweat the small stuff

and try to bend with the change.

I never make resolutions.

I always try to live by the Golden Rule.

and...

I always say "I love you"

because you never know if you'll get 

another chance...

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

Our typical morning,

rain or shine is,

let the hens out of the coop.

They are usually awake and calling

in their scratchy little voices

to tell us they want out.

NOW!

They are always milling around the

door to the coop, waiting.

The HHIC (head hen in charge),

is always first outta the door.

That would be Pepper.

Then they file out, in pecking order,

with Ethel bringing up the rear.

We used to think that Ethel 

was picked on, and sometimes she is, but

she does get her pecks in!

She is a consummate thief.

She'll grab a morsel of something

and run like a Katrina evacuee

in a Best Buy store!

Nothing gets past her!

After they are out of the coop,

we make sure they have clean 

water and feed for the day and add

wood shavings to their coop boxes if needed.

We don't look for eggs yet, because the girls

never lay first thing in the morning.

They'll go back into the coop after they've 

patrolled the yard and munched on their

feed for a bit.

Kinda like us having to use the toilet

after our morning cup of coffee!

This is their production for 3 days.

Lucy's eggs are the dark brown and 

Hazel's are the blue ones.

The mottled dark tan one is from Ethel.

After they lay an egg,

they perform their "egg song".

That means they cluck in a sing-song

way to announce (with pride) the egg has landed!

They typically don't lay as often in the winter

because the days are shorter.

They lay more in the spring and summer.

Most of these eggs will become potato salad.

Thanks girls!

Hazel.

This was taken yesterday when I was

harvesting veggies.

They follow like puppies waiting 

to get attention.

Nugget

She still has the scar on her comb from

that unfortunate encounter with

getting her head stuck in the

chicken wire.

Lesson learned.

Bell Peppers.

All of these are sweet peppers not the chili

or hot peppers.

Beautiful!

I'll cut them up and put in small bags 

to freeze for later use.

Cauliflower

Broccolini

The CEO is preparing the veggie beds for 

spring planting.

He's just pulling weeds and dead plants.

Our compost, that's been "cooking"

over the end of the summer till now,

is almost ready to use.

The herbs need "haircuts" to keep

them from getting too leggy,

but that needs to wait till the

potential for a freeze is gone.

That's my job.

I also leave all the fallen leaves in the herb

pots to protect the roots from freezing.

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

I was searching Pinterest

and saw these cool pics from 

Pontchartrain Beach.

The top one is circa 1950

This one is of a limited poster edition.

(Looks like the clown has turned Zombie

and is eating humans!)

Here's my question....

Is it me or is that clown beyond creepy??

I always thought so.

It would have been an awesome set for 

a horror movie in the vein of "It".

I can remember looking away when we drove

up, so I wouldn't see it.

I also didn't like "Laff in the Dark"

or the "Wild Maus".

I wasn't a fan of the "Zephyr" or the "Ferris 

Wheel" either.

So, I can safely assume, I didn't really like

going there.

But.....

That's not totally true.

I did like it, just not those kinds of rides.

Oddly, there was a ride called "Tilt-A-Whirl"

that I really liked.

Centrifugal force pushed you into the

hapless person who happened to get

in last near the door of the car.

You spent approximately 1 minute

hanging onto the opposite side as the 

car gained momentum in a circle.

It reminded me of the footage I

had seen of the astronauts training

in a centrifuge.

It was exhilarating!

Amazing that it was a favorite of mine....

When getting off, there was a 

moment of seasickness

that quickly passed and then I yelled,

"Let's do that again!"

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

Today is my son's birthday.

37!

Yes time surely has flown.