Great Veggie Recipes

Love veggies???  Lots of recipes here.  If you've got a garden or are part of a CSA, this has lots of ideas.

http://cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com/2009/07/cheap-healthy-leafy-greens-246-recipes.html

Beach Runners

This is another photo from Oceanside on the 4th of July weekend.  The city was on high alert for the holiday, and it seemed that every street corner had a “No” sign of some sort.  No Fireworks, No Noise, No Parking, No Dogs, No No No No No.
Everything about this image screamed “Yes!!!” to me.  I love the freedom of it. To me, this is the 4th of July.

Cartwheels

Dave and I went to Oceanside for the 4th of July, and I decided to bring my camera when I went walking on the beach.  I’m so glad I did!  This little girl cartwheeled herself right into my shot.  (I was prepping to take a picture of the seagull in the background.)

Daffodils!

I'm so thrilled that my garden is happy. Everyday I'm seeing something a little bit different. I'm not fooling myself into thinking that it's going to get under control in the next month or two...but there's progress.

And now there are daffodils! I've got a few packets of seeds that I haven't planted yet. Wildflowers and perennials. And, I can't decide what to do with them. If I plant them, I might have to let the weeds run free for a little bit until I can identify the newcomers. And, if I do that, how can I make sure that I don't lose control. On the other hand, who really cares. It's better than it has ever been. Maybe I should just embrace it and go for it.

Think I've made my decision. Bring on the newbies.

House Chickens

I think that everyone needs a house chicken.

Our neighbors have a new family member, possibly a Silver Sebright (sorry, not quite up on my chicken identification skills. ) All I know is that she's a really sweet-tempered chicklet, and she doesn't mind at all if I carry her around. I had to bring her home and introduce her to Dave. I handed her over and she promptly fell asleep while he was browsing the internet.

Salsa after Midnight

The last few years, we've been getting enough fruit off of our trees to make salsas, jellies, wines, etc. This year our harvest didn't really pay any attention to our schedules or the weather. The peaches started falling off the trees while I was in Minnesota. And when I returned home, we were in the middle of a 100+ degree heat wave. What to do?

Salsa after Midnight!!!

Dave took the the propane base from the turkey fryer and set it up outside. I set up a chair so that he'd have a place to put the jars as they came out of the canner. The only mishap was that I thought he was waving at the camera so I happily stood there taking pictures...only to find that he was actually waving for longer tongs so that he'd stop steaming his hands!

Anyway, it was fun. The house stayed cool, and the peach salsa is darn tasty. :-)

What a Lark!

I love Lark Toys in Kellogg, MN. The craftsmanship is amazing on all of their carousel animals.

Dad was chomping on a toothpick so he doesn't have a smiley face...but I LOVE this picture of Mom. :-)

Bev and Kale enjoyed themselves on the carousel. Smile for the camera.

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Eli helps out with the yardwork. Why doesn't our mower have bubbles?

Strawberries, anyone? I don't think anyone had a problem eating their fruits and vegetables this weekend.

I love the expression on the boys' faces. So cute!!!



Mom and Dad and I went exploring...and found a replica of Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House."

Flower Child.




And here we are...because Mom asked....







See, there's the smiley face.

Oh, BTW, I finally decided to join Facebook, and I'm surprised how much I've actually been posting. Wanna be my friend? :-)

Bee Advised

I don't normally look for patterns, but I realized earlier today that most of my blog entries are bee-inspired in some way. First I was enamored with the Bee Fields Shawl (still happily waiting on my to-do list), then we had a swarm that hung out in one of our trees for a few days, and then we had a swarm that decided the walls of our house were perfect for fine living.

Well, we've been bee free for a while now...but I was reminded to blog. Can you guess my inspiration?

For Mom and Dad

As promised...here's a new picture for you. Dave and I were having a good time playing pool and Farkle...a fun dice game. I'm official scorekeeper. We still have to get you a photo of the two of us...you'll have to put up with me for now.

Christmas in California

I love the Crochet Cafe in Temecula. Cute shop. Surrounded by yarn. Lots of friendly people stop in...and more than adequate opportunities to do people watching in the little courtyard that serves the little shops surrounding the Old Temecula Jail.

Which leads me to yet another observation of Christmas traditions in So Cal. I can't tell you how many families troop down to the jail to take their Christmas photos. It's usually about 80 degrees out, and Mom, Dad, and the 2 1/2 kids are decked out in holiday sweaters (red appears to win the popularity vote).

Now, there is a certain prettiness to the courtyard. Flowering vines cover the stone walls and climb over the iron bars on the doors. But, it strikes me funny that so many families choose that at their holiday photo backdrop. It's a jail cell! Maybe the cemetery wasn't available. ;-)

We're Fine

Once again, I'm watching hours and hours and hours of fire footage. And I thank God that I'm not numb to it. It's hard to believe the devestation.

But, we're OK. The fires are still quite a bit North of us...though very familiar. The "Freeway" fires hit all of the roads that we normally take going to Hollywood for shows or to Dave's dad's house. The toll roads that burned are the ones that I used to take in to our Irvine office.

More later...

Hope everyone is safe and well.

1 for you. 2 for me.

Hi! A person can eat a remarkable amount of candy by "restricting" their intake. My rules:

1) I can only eat fun-size candy. (Who cares if it takes 4 bites to eat it.)
2) I can't buy candy for myself. (Not a problem. I'll buy for the store in case trick-or-treaters come.)
3) I can only eat candy if trick-or-treaters are in sight. (Come here, little children...)
4) Oops, I shouldn't eat candy in front of people. That's rude. (Go away, little children...)
5) Nope. Rule 3 is better. Repeat.
6) I can only eat candy if I'm willing to watch my blood sugar level. (No problem, that gives me 2 hours...from the next piece of candy)
7) I can only eat Halloween candy on Halloween. (Oh, CRUEL RULE-WRITER!!! How can you be so mean....and wise.)

Well, I better go to the door. I think I see costumes. ;-)

Tortoise and the Hare

I just celebrated my 40th birthday...something I've been excited about for many years now. Not sure why I was so excited....but it was definitely a day I was looking forward to. Dave surprised me with gorgeous flowers.

A couple weeks ago Megan and I had a ton of fun creating Modge Podge birdhouses. I'm still laughing at our totally different approaches. She loves color and playing fast. In 2 seconds her project was totally transformed from its original state...and then she layered, built up, tore down, and joyfully transformed it 20 more times. Apparently, I'm a more ...hmmmm....methodical crafter. The white birdhouse stayed white for an hour as I selected papers, organized shapes, twisted trellises. I wouldn't make any changes until I was reasonably sure they'd be permanent. And it turned out exactly as I hoped it would. I love it!!! But our approaches sure make me laugh. I think that there's a psych experiment in there somewhere. :-)

I think my approach will probably help me in my next project...getting my newly diagnosed diabetes under control. After YEARS of trying to lose weight with varying degrees of intensity...but always with a high carb/low fat/low calorie plan, I had almost zero success. I'd maintain my weight within a few pounds...but the pounds were usually creeping up, and I've been significantly overweight most of my adult life. Drove me crazy because I knew what I was supposed to be eating.

When I was diagnosed, my doc told me that my diet approach simply wouldn't work because the diabetes wasn't allowing me to process the sugars properly...so up up up I'd go. He asked me to get some exercise in and try to lose about 50 pounds with a reduced carb/low fat/low calorie plan.

I've already lost 6 pounds. And my headaches are gone. And I feel more alert. And my feet aren't purple. Eureka! And, yes, I do eat carbs...but healthier ones. I can't believe that one little switch made such a difference. Bottom line is that my doctor now thinks that I'll probably be able to lose the medications within a year...if I keep it going. And I know I can. I think I've been building my house for a long time. :-)

In Context...

I had a really great chat with Debra's son, Noah. We were talking about the power of prayer...and he said that he believes that even if we're going through tough times, there's always Someone who's stronger. Then he said that Debra could have/should have died when she first became sick...but she was blessed and lived for 2 1/2 years!


Honest to God, I felt like someone grabbed my shoulders and spun me around. In my reality, Debra was "fine" until Christmas and died a few very short months later. It shocked me that her family saw it as an extra 2 1/2 years that they were able to spend together. An extra 2 1/2 years to turn dreams like the store into reality. An extra 2 1/2 years to grow family and friendships. An extra 2 1/2 years to try to reach people with the love of God that she felt.

I think my friend would have called this a "God Shot."

It's Not Easy Being Green

So, sometimes I have story idea pop into my head...almost like a daydream. This is one of them...

It's one of Oprah's "Best of" shows. This time it's the best green toys on the market. The format of the show brings the vendor/manufacturer/celebrity endorser out to demo the product. Then a gaggle of cute kids swarm the stage and get to play with the toys 'til the end of the show. The audience members ooh and aah when they realize that they'll also receive the goodies.

The first guest is a major toy manufacturer like Milton Bradley. The president comes out and explains that they've got the same great toys with 70% less packaging and all pieces made of recycled goods. Crowd goes wild. Kids are happy.

The next guest has remote control cars that are totally solar powered. No batteries required at all. Kids go wild. Drop the board games. Play with cars.

DRUM ROLL!!! Who could it be??? What's next... OMG!!! It's AL!!! Mr. Gore himeself!! Oprah congratulates him on all his awards. They show a little video again about global warming. And he talks about the little changes that a family can make that will save the world.

"Tipper, and my kids always had a favorite toy....and now I've made it earth friendly. I introduce the new and improved ....EASY BAKE OVEN. This low-watt bulb will last for years!"

Oprah - "But, Al..."

Al, "And, it's much safer for child-ren".

Oprah - "But, Al..."

Flash to the kids excited putting little tins of cake batter in the ovens. And waiting... And waiting...and waiting.

End of Show....Oprah off camera, "Somebody go and get me a cupcake."

Mutiny of the Bounty

The pomegranates are preparing to be something delicious. The peaches were prepared to be something delicious. In fact, that would be about 16 pints of peach salsa. So far, we've had it with tortillas, mixed it with baked beans, and used it as a marinade for beef. Yummy. We call it the earthquake blend. About three weeks ago, we had a shaker that forced our decision to "do something" with the peaches.

Believe it or not...we actually thinned these trees out....a LOT.

I've also made strawberry jelly and the most beautiful plum jelly from our Santa Rosa plum tree.

Can you guess what this is???





I'm now working on new knitting projects, too. This one is gorgeous and a really fun pattern called Moroccan Days/Arabian Nights. The color is much more accurate when it's displayed on the lamp...but the other shot shows the stitch definition better.

Hello! My Name is...

Wow! I didn't realize quite how long I'd been away from blogging. The last couple months have been eventful...pretty stunning actually when you think of how much has changed for bad and for good, but I'm still here.

Friends

My friend, Debra, lost her fight with cancer last month. It's actually sometimes harder now because I have over a month of stuff that I want to tell her about. :-) But, I was able to see her a couple days before she died, and that meant a lot. Her funeral was nice, and I've had one analogy that has been in my head now ever since. Someone said, "to me, I'm always surprised that people get upset about the death of their physical bodies. I think of it like losing baby teeth. Nobody cries about losing baby teeth. Instead people congratulate you and say, Wow! You're growing up. Good for you! Now you'll get your permanent teeth! I think of dying the same way. You lose your temporary self but you gain your permanent self!"

Anyway, I like the way she put it.

I still miss Debra, though.

Family

My brother-in-law just went through a scary medical thing. The fabulous thing is that he's doing much much better now. Thank God! Get well this minute, Greg! Love You!!!!

Knitting

Oh, boy, do I have some pretty yarns right now! And actual projects. I forgot to post some finish photos of Leda.

I'm also working on the Moroccan Days/Arabian Nights stole. I'm having so much fun with it, but I don't have photos quite yet. Soon, though!

Gardening

I have lots of real live fruits and vegetables in the garden now. Blackberries are going nuts and are ready now. I'll take more photos of the plums, peaches, apples, pomegranate, etc. And now I've got squash, peas, tomatoes galore, arugula, and lots of flowers. We also had this cool bee swarm that showed up for 48 hours and then disappeared as if they had never been here before...

I'm getting Edgy

I haven't been blogging lately because I've become a knitting fiend. Hee! Well, not quite a fiend, but I've been making all kinds of progress. I've officially finished one edge, removed a whole batch of lifelines, and I'm hoping to finish the last bit of edging on Leda. Hurray!!! Then I just have to block it. I did try it on, though, when I finished the first edge, and I was super excited. It really is beautiful.

Mom and Dad came out for a week, and we had a really great time. Cruised around PCH, had some wonderful meals (LOVE the Longboarder in Oceanside), checked out the Flower Fields in Carlsbad, and Dad stomped over us at pool. So much fun, and we miss them already!!!

I still need to get pictures posted....but thought it would be a good idea to let folks know that I'm still here! :-)

Knitting in Pennsylvania

Well, I'm winding down on Leda's Dream now. I have about 15 rows before I start all of the edgings. But I'm wound up about starting Moroccan Days/Arabian Nights now. I'll put in the links in my next post when I have my camera. I've got the yarn and beads now, and I'm excited to start.

I had a chance to go to a knitting night at Yarnings in Skippack, PA. What a wonderful store!!! And, a great group. I had a really nice time...and couldn't believe how quickly 3 hours went. The owner was pretty excited when I told her that I found the store on Ravelry. Isn't that neat, though! I live over a 1000 miles away and still found them. Yeah!

Take care everyone. More on my trip later...when it's not 1:00 AM. ;-)

I Am a Knitting Reader

Soon to be an official knitter. :-) Lately, I've been reading a lot about knitting. I love Ravelry. I love the discussion groups. But, very often, Leda sits by the sidelines while I go and visit with friends. Not necessarily a bad thing...just something to be aware of. I don't have a ton of things to say tonight. I can't sleep, and I'm annoyed by that, so I figured it was better to type than to stew. Same old thing where my joints just hurt. No idea why...it just seems to get worse at night.

And Mom and Dad, if you're reading this, I AM going to the Dr. on Monday about this. Who knows, may I have a case of RBS. (Restless Body Syndrome.) :-)