Something Yummy!

 Hello My Friends,

I'm here today to share with you all a yummy thing I recently discovered!

Oh man!  So good!  Nutty Novelties is a local (Telford, PA) company and in this jar they have combined peanut butter with espresso coffee beans from Backyard Beans (another local company in Lansdale - where C&M live).  Who would have thought of this?  There is also a hint of cinnamon in this treat.

Yesterday's breakfast ended up being a toasted English muffin spread with Wild Espresso Peanut Butter.  And an apricot.

Speaking of the apricot (equally delicious), has anyone else noticed how freakin' good the stone fruits are this summer?  Might be time to make another crostata!

Have you found anything new and tasty?  Inquiring minds and all that jazz....

Have a good Thursday.  The weekend is almost here!

What's for Dinner? 5/26/22

 Good Morning,

The sun is out and that is what woke me this morning.  Then I started hearing Mabel on the roof...yup, I'm pretty sure she is mostly back to normal...and bringing deer ticks inside.  I had a bit of an issue yesterday morning.  I got dressed and went into the bathroom.  Thank God I looked in the mirror and noticed a deer tick on my shirt!  Got it off (using a tissue) and flushed it down the toilet.  Then I went back to the bedroom and started to make the bed and holy crap - there was a deer tick on the sheet.  No joke.  We treat Mabel (Frontline), but ticks still get on her.  They don't burrow though...instead they fall off in the house.  I have to be constantly vigilent and it's exhausting.

Meanwhile, back to the patio roof.  Mrs. Robin was not happy.  She has a nest in our wisteria right by the patio roof.  Poor Mabel must have given her a scare (and perhaps traumatized her young ones).  Nature can sometimes be quite cruel.

Big news:  Yesterday I graduated from Physical Therapy.  All done!  Passed with flying colors!!!

Yesterday Bonnie and Zhongren came over to harvest bamboo shoots from the back of our woods.  Fletch had looked a few weeks back but did not see any.  Yesterday they got a lot though.  They were in long pants, hiking boots and sprayed themselves with bug spray.  Hopefully they did not get any ticks.  Fletch and I stayed on the patio.  Bonnie showed me how to peel the outer layers off the shoots, then you can slice them and cook them!  They left us some of what they dug up:

You can see (click to enlarge) that the one on the right has been partially peeled and there are several empty peels in the picture.  This is so interesting to me and I can't wait to try cooking some this weekend.  Bonnie says she par-boils or blanches the shoots in water, then sautes them in oil (she said regular, but I may try sesame oil) with a little fresh garlic and ginger.  They were delicious the time she fixed them for us.

The other day I mentioned that I had made a corn and pinto bean salad last weekend.  This dish is so simple, quick and delicious, so I thought I would share the recipe with you.

Corn and Pinto Bean Salad

Ingredients

• 1 Can pinto beans drained and rinsed
• 2 Cups fresh or frozen corn (I used a can of corn)
• 1/4 Cup finely chopped red onion
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• Fresh cilantro chopped
• Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Lime Vinaigrette

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 Tablespoon Agave or Maple syrup

Combine the salad ingredients in a bowl.  Whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together and pour over the salad.  Let stand 15-30 minutes to allow the vinaigrette flavors to permeate.

It is quite tasty and keeps well.  We had some of it for lunches this week as well as last night's dinner (and there is still some left!).

Time to run my Thursday reports.  A little later this morning Fletch and I are heading out to a local nursery for some plants.  Can't wait for that!

Hope your Thursday is a good one.

Weekending

 Good Morning!

This morning finds me a little groggy.  I slept 9 hours last night and I've only just had my first sips of coffee.  Bliss!  (Cafe Du Monde coffee - LOVE!!)  How was your weekend?  Mine was most wonderful!

My one conference call on Friday was cancelled and thus my weekend really started a bit early.  And, Friday was a simply gorgeous day.  Brilliant sunshine, comfortable temps.  I (finally) ventured out for my first walk in months.  I headed to the canal path and it did not disappoint.  There were little yellow flowers (believe they are Cinquefoils) all over the place.

There were turtles basking on logs in the sun.

The canal water was so brown!  And it was up to the top edge of the canal by the path.  We have had so much rain lately.

But the best was just as I got to the bridge where the canal spills a little bit into the Schuylkill River, a Great Blue Heron flew up.  So majestic!  Of course my phone was in my jacket pocket, but he/she landed by a tree nearby and I was able to get a picture then.

I'm walking a little slower and only did about 1.5 miles which was enough - I could really feel it in my back.

Saturday was a wet day!  Dee and I met up for our Saturday morning therapy session - one where we solve the world's problems while sipping coffee and knitting.  It was lovely.  And, by the time we were ready to leave Starbucks, the rain had stopped.  I ran some errands on my way home and then had a relaxing afternoon.

Sunday came along and I decided to take another walk after breakfast.  This time I went to the River Trail.  It was in the low 40's and breezy, so it was a little bit of a chilly walk.  Again I was able to go just over 1.5 miles.  I do not remember seeing Bluebells along this trail in the past, but right now there are clumps of them everywhere - both sides of the trail.

Also some interesting and pretty (at least to me) fungi growing on fallen logs.

I did a bit of cooking when I got home and then around 4 we went over to Bonnie and Zhongren's for dinner.  Anna (and her dog Otto) came and also Nai Nai (Chinese for Grandmother).  Of course we made dumplings

The not-so-attractive ones on the pink tray are ones that I made.

As always, dinner was delicious.  And, it turns out that yesterday was Nai Nai's 86th birthday!!

It just seemed a little weird to not have Colin & Mailing there to celebrate with us.

All in all, a wonderful weekend.  I'm thankful to be getting back to walking again - even though I can feel it in my back, by the time I get home, my back is fine.  I'm hoping to get out again at some point today - either late morning (a chilly 35 degrees right now) or early afternoon.

If you've lasted all the way through this long, rambling post, here is a picture of sweet Mabel for you!

Up in the apple tree.  She didn't know where to look or where to go.  Birds kept flying in and out of the tree and she was going from branch to branch.  She is definitely getting bigger and holy moly she consumes a lot of food!!

Time to get a second cup of coffee and get rolling into what the day offers.  Hope your start to the week is a good one!

What's for Lunch? 2/10/22 - And Bonus: a Poem!

 Hello and Good Morning!

Mabel was a little kinder this a.m., not waking me till 4:45 a.m.  And, since I usually get up by 5 or 5:30, I just decided to stifle my yawns and just get up.  It's Thursday and I've my usual reports to run and distribute this morning, plus an additional monthly one.  But first, the more pleasurable blogging experience.  The coffee is hot and I'm slowly waking.

Before I get into my usual Thursday food post, I have some exciting news!  You've heard me speak of my friend Leslie before - an amazing woman and my best friend for 56 years!!  Leslie is a poet and she had one of her poems chosen for the North Carolina Poetry in Plain Sight program.  I've known about this for a little while but was not able to share with you until her poem went up on display.  That happened!  I do love her poem "Big Ears" that was chosen.  Just makes me chuckle:

Click to enlarge.  Currently seen in the window of the indy bookstore Scuppernong Books in Greensboro, NC.  Congratulations Leslie!  Well deserved.

Let's talk food (as I often do on Thursdays).  Last weekend I wanted something different for lunch.  I hard boiled some eggs (though I used the air fryer, so no water) and made some deviled eggs.  Then I decided on this dish from Amy Traverso's "The Apple Lover's Cookbook" - Quick Bread and Butter Apple Pickles

• 1 unpeeled English Cucumber
• 1 TBS kosher salt
• 2 large firm/sweet apples
• 2 medium shallots
• 1 Cup Rice Vinegar
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 1/2 Cup Honey
• 1 TBS sugar
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 1 Sprig Fresh Tarragon, cut into 4 pieces

1. Cut the ends off the cucumber and slice on a mandolin.  Place in a colander and toss with the salt.  Let sit for 20 minutes
2. Cut the apples in quarters trimming out the core and seeds.  Leave the skin on and slice on a mandolin.  Peel and slice the shallots on a mandolin.  Put all in a medium bowl.
3. In a small bowl whisk together the rice vinegar, water, honey and sugar.  Mix until the sugar dissolves.  Add in the cinnamon stick and tarragon. and pour over the apples and shallots.
4. Rinse the cucumbers and lightly blot dry (still in the colander) with a paper towel or kitchen towel.  Add the cucumber slices to the apples and shallots and stir well.  Let sit for at least 30 minutes.  Will keep in the frig up to 2 weeks.

I roughly halved the recipe.  The apple I used was a Pink Lady.  I used some ground cinnamon rather than a stick and I did not have fresh tarragon, so I skipped that.

Even though it is winter, this crisp and refreshing salad tasted really good.  Next time I might just slice the cuke, apple and shallot and make the pieces a little bigger.  I can see this becoming a summer staple.

Only making half the recipe still made plenty for the two of us.  I had some with my lunch yesterday and it was still very tasty and crisp.  And, there is still some left!

Here is another wine label for you:

Wines made from organic grapes are typically not my favorite.  Nor are Spanish wines.  But, given the label you know I HAD to buy this one.  And it turned out to be quite good!  A nice red.

OK, time to get to work.  Remember, it is Friday Eve, so in my book that means that really the weekend is starting.  LOL  Make it a good one!

What's for Dinner? 1-20-22

 Good Morning Friends!

How are you?  It is still dark here (not even 6 a.m.), but I think it's raining and then it will change to sleet and then snow.  By 11 a.m. it should all be over...hopefully.  Our forecast is for 1-3" of snow.  Colin texted that they could get a wintry mix tonight in Austin!

My day at the office was blissfully short.  I arrived a little before 8 a.m. and before 9 a.m. I had finished what I went in to do!  I hung around a little more, but was home before 10 a.m.  I saw one other person the entire time I was there.  I noticed cars in the parking lot that I recognized, but didn't see anyone else.  My afternoon was filled with chores.  The kitchen floor was finally scrubbed and both bathrooms were also cleaned.  Towels were washed as well as rugs from both bathrooms and the kitchen!  And there was still time for knitting and reading.  A good day.

Last night's dinner was stir fry.  Also known as whatever is in the frig - LOL

I started with fresh ginger and garlic (both minced) in sesame oil.  Saute that a bit and then I added some pork.  Sometimes we use chicken or shrimp or even beef, but last night it was pork.  I had thawed a couple of pork shops and cut the meat into little strips.  Once that had mostly cooked I threw in the veggies.  (If it had been shrimp, I would have pulled the shrimp out of the pan, but because it was pork, I wanted to be sure it was thoroughly cooked.)  The veggies last night were:  baby bok choy, carrots, pepper, onion, sugar snap peas and mushrooms.  Usually I throw in broccoli, but I knew we were going to have that tonight.  I also typically toss in cashews and I completely forgot them!  We had it over farro and accompanied it with the usual sriracha sauce and our favorite soy sauce - Conimex Ketjap Manis (sweet Indonesian soy sauce).  Yum!  There is even a bit of leftovers for a lunch for Fletch.

Tonight we are having Spicy Cuban Beef over brown rice with steamed broccoli.  I'll save that delicious recipe for another time.

Well, it's Thursday which means time for me to run reports.  I'll be checking out blogs a bit later.  Hope everyone is staying well and having a good week!

What's for Dinner? September 9, 2021

 Good Morning!

It's already after 9 a.m., but my weekly financial reports are all complete and have been sent out.  When the library opens at 10 I'll head over there to pick up a book that came in for me.  Yesterday was a day!  First of all, my commute was more than double the usual time (so I didn't need to over-sleep...I arrived at work later than I had planned anyway - LOL).  So many roads are still closed due to the remnants of Ida last week.  Every time I tried a route that I usually take I came to a closed road.

Then, when I got to the office and took my laptop out of my backpack it was scalding HOT!  This had happened once before and our IT guy told me I probably had something still running in the background that prevented the laptop from shutting down.  Ever since then I've been careful to shut down and wait a bit before taking it off the docking station and putting it in my backpack.  Anyway, it wouldn't come on (or off as the case may be) for almost 2 hours!  I was getting frantic.  Finally around 10 I was able to get it turned on.  Tom (from IT) is going to run a more detailed scan on my laptop - he thinks there is something else going on, so next time we are both in the office he will look at it.

Work itself was fine.  Though long...I was at the office till 4 p.m.  There were more people than usual in, but everyone was masked.  Lisa, the new Division President for the West Coast, is nice.  She indicated she is very independent so won't be calling on me for a lot of things (thank goodness!!).  Even though she is nice, it will take some time getting used to working with/for her.  And from a distance since she lives in CA.

Meanwhile, let's talk food.  I'm not making dinner tonight.  Colin texted that he has a flat tire and won't be getting it fixed today (and he cannot turn the lugnuts to put the donut on himself).  So, Fletch and I are going to head to his place for dinner and we've decided just to order out from Goombas - a favorite place of Colin & Mailing for steak sandwiches and the like.  Fletch and I have had their food before and it is YUMMY.  The hard part will be deciding what to order!  But, I thought I'd share with you the recipe I had been planning to make if we were going to have dinner here.  It's a recipe from my sister-in-law and it is easy and good.  A slow cooker meal and it satisfies the craving I've been having for winter comfort food.

Ranch Style Brisket & Beans

• 1 16 oz bag dried pinto beans (rinsed & drained)
• 2 C hot water
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1.5 C ketchup
• 3 TBS Worcestershire
• 1 TBS yellow mustard
• 1/4 C red wine vinegar
• 1/4 C packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 3 lb brisket, trimmed (this time I'm just using a pot roast)

In slow cooker, combine beans, water and onion.

Mix all other ingredients in a bowl.  Stir half the mixture into the beans.  Place meat on top and spread remaining mixture over the meat.

Cover and cook on low 9-10 hours.  Stir 1-2 times

Depending on the weather, I may make this over the weekend or sometime next week...maybe next Thursday when Colin should be over.

I'm really looking forward to the weekend!  I'm thrilled that the New Jersey Sheep and Fiber Festival is still on and Dee and I are planning to get over there Saturday morning.  It has been too long!  It will be fun to see all the animals and touch all the yarn!  

Hope your Thursday is a good one!

Weekending

 Good Morning!

My weekend was so nice and I hope yours was too.  Mine started late Friday morning when my last conference call scheduled for 11 a.m. was cancelled.  Joy!!  A good part of that afternoon was spent looking at knitting patterns and getting some ideas for future projects.

Saturday morning Dee and I met up for some quality time at a local Starbucks.  We knit and chatted and sipped and oh man did the rain come down!  In torrents!  The afternoon cleared though and Fletch and I headed over to Mailing's parents for some dumpling making and consuming.  You should see the melons growing in Zhongren's garden!

Look at the size of this!  I'm not sure what kind this is (the bamboo he uses for supports is from the stand of bamboo on our property!).

This one is known as a "loofah squash" and is related to the cucumber family.  We had some of this at dinner sauteed with a ton of garlic - very much like yellow summer squash or zucchini - not really strong flavored, but good.  One last one:

I know I've shared this previously, but it is such a work of art I need to share it again.  The "Horse Head Fiddle" that Zhongren plays occasionally.

So beautiful!  And here's a picture of the table before we sat down to eat:

We had dumplings (of course!!), some pickled veggies (cabbage, carrots and daikon radish), wings, ribs, a noodle salad with tofu and the loofah squash.  We brought a Peach Blueberry Greek Yogurt Cake and there was also Moon Cake.  Everything was delicious!  After dinner we took Otto (Anna's dog) for a walk in the neighborhood (it was good to move a bit after that meal - lol).

Sunday was a pretty quiet day.  I made pecan waffles for breakfast and Fletch and I did a small grocery shopping.  Fletch mowed a little and I knit a little in the afternoon.  Dinner was the vegetarian stuffed peppers (I just cooked a bit of brown rice, added some red onion chopped up and refried beans.  Put that in the peppers and topped with a little shredded cheese).  I mixed up some guacamole to go with it and also a sauce using the tomatillos and hot peppers that Colin had given us last week.  Yum!  We watched a little TV Sunday night and called it a wrap on the weekend.

This week shouldn't be too bad work-wise.  I think everyone is winding down to Labor Day Weekend.  I will be meeting up with Bill at the office tomorrow to go through a few things and start to clear out his office.  Nothing major though.

Wishing you all a great week!

What's for Dinner? 8/26/21 (With a Side of Lunch)

 Good Morning!

Feels like it will be another uncomfortable day.  It is already muggy (or stayed muggy overnight perhaps) and in the upper 70's.  Upper 70's sounds cool after 90, but still...it is warm and close.

Naturally I've chosen something to make for dinner that requires the oven to be on, and on at a high temp.  Oh well.  It's that time of year when I start longing for stews and chili, soup and roasts.  Come February I'll be tired of that food and longing for summer salads.  Oh well, such is life.  But tonight we will have:

Sweet Hot Mustard Chicken Thighs

Take 6-8 bone in chicken thighs and cut 2 slashes in each (to the bone).  Place in a zip lock bag.

Mix up a marinade of:

• 1/2 Cup Dijon Mustard
• 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/4 Cup red vine vinegar
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp chipotle pepper
• pince of cayenne
• 4 garlic cloves minced

Pour the marinade over the thighs and put in the frig for 4-6 hours or overnight.

Preheat your oven to 450.  Line a pan with aluminum foil and spray with Pam or some other oil.  Place sliced onions all over the pan and place the chicken thighs on top.  Bake for approx. 45 minutes.

As long as the oven is going to be on so high, I will also be making buffalo cauliflower bites to go along (we do like our spicy food!!).  Simply roast (with EVOO, S&P and a little garlic powder) cauliflower pieces.  Pull out of the oven and pour over them a bunch of melted butter with Franks Hot Sauce added in.  Put back in the oven for 10 minutes or so.  Oh yum!!

On a cooler note, this was my lunch yesterday:

A radish quartered, some cherry tomatoes, a few sugar snaps, some black olives, a little bit of cheese and some of those luscious figs!  Not pictured but consumed:  a few crackers.  It was refreshing and tasty and I may do the same thing today.

Wishing you all a wonderful day - make some fun!

Weekending

 Hey There!  Good Morning!

Later than normal for me to be posting, but I've been having issues this a.m.  First, we received notice last week that we were out of data on our phones!  Not sure how that happened as it never has previously (except when we are on vacation and not using our own internet connection).  Something to figure out.  Then I could compose emails, but if I added a picture they would not go through.  Finally, I spent too much time trying to figure out why some blogs (blogspot.com) won't show pictures when I go to them.  Mine does if I visit my own blog, but Bonny, Dee, Araignee, etc. - none of their pictures are showing on my computer.  They do show on my phone.  Frustrating and weird.

Anyway, enough already!  The eyes are doing better.  The 2nd surgery was a bit more difficult.  My eye bruised...a lot...like every time she (the doctor) touched it, I bruised.  It is still fairly red and still a bit swollen.  The real problem this time is glasses.  When the first eye was done, I could still see out of my glasses with the other eye.  Now that both eyes have had the cataracts removed and implants done, my glasses are useless!  I can see distance-wise without glasses and have found that readers work ok (not great, but ok) for reading, knitting and stitching.  But, my eyes frequently get tired...guessing eye strain from not having the correct prescription...yet.  By early September this right eye should be healed enough that she can write an accurate prescription for me.  Hopefully!!

The weird thing with the second surgery is that I was more conscious for it.  The doctor and the nurses told me that would most likely be the case, even though the drugs were exactly what I had been given previously.  I could hear everything the doctor was saying (and remembered it) whereas with the first I have no recollection of the surgery at all!  So strange...

The weekend was quiet.  We went over to Colin & Mailing's Saturday morning (I actually drove over!!) and we all went to the Farmer's Market.  Fletch and I picked up some corn, eggplants, beets, and mushrooms.  Colin & Mailing just bought two loaves of fresh bread:  a seeded rye and a whole wheat sour dough.  They had made bruschetta from farm produce that morning, so when we got back to their house, they toasted some of the bread with EVOO and we had that with the bruschetta and a crisp white wine.  A very refreshing and tasty lunch.

Have you ever had ground cherries?  I had them for the first time last year and when Colin came over last week he brought us a quart of them from the CSA they belong to.  They are tiny, but very tasty with a satisfying pop when you bite into one.

The quart basket was full when Colin brought it over...I've been munching on them (I don't think Fletch eats them).

The husks just sort of slide off, so a little work, but worth it.  Kind of like mini tomatillos, but a different flavor.

Tomorrow I head to the office.  I have a meeting at 9 with Mike who is taking over the East Coast from Bill.  That was no surprise and I've worked with Mike for years, so no biggie.  The West Coast replacement has been selected and is a huge surprise - not whom we thought would get the job.  A bunch of noses are going to be (or are) out of shape.  I believe the choice is purely political and I will be curious to see how it pans out (and I have to support this person as well).  Oy vey!  After I meet with Mike I will head home to rest my eyes a bit.  Bill's retirement dinner is tomorrow night, so I'll need to go to that (one of my least favorite restaurants - Sullivan's Steak House - noisy, overpriced and mediocre food - my opinion).

The day today is ramping up a bit, so I will be busy.  Fortunately my 10:00 conference call has been cancelled.  Hope everyone has a great start to the week!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 5/18/21

 Hello Everyone,

How are you?  I'm groggy and sluggish.  So much food yesterday - all wonderful, but oh my!  As I mentioned, we went to Mailing's parents for dinner last night.  It was Bonnie's birthday.  There was no lack of food:

There was lamb, a whole fish (in the red sauce above), soft shell crab, squid and other fish, bamboo shoots (!! from our house - just to the left of the fish in red sauce above - and they were yummy), eggplant, green beans, potatoes, rice, sticky rice dumplings, other dumplings, noodles, pickles, and on and on and on!  After dinner, but before dessert, we took a walk (well, Fletch stayed back and rested...and I felt like I should have!!).

There is a trail behind Zohngren's and Bonnie's home that takes you to the John James Audubon Center.  A very pretty place to walk.  The Center also has an enclosure where they keep injured birds.  We saw both a hawk and an owl!

There were also a jay, some chickens, another owl (which we did not see).  It was a good walk - about 2 miles is my guess.  By the time we got back, we were ready for dessert.  Mailing had made a rhubarb almond tart and WOW!  what a treat that was.

Bonnie fixed some chrysanthemum tea to have with the tart.  Fletch and I waddled home after that!

Enough food!  It's Tuesday, so let's talk stitching.  My sampler continues to progress nicely.  I managed to get quite a bit more stitched.  I could possibly be half-way through this project, I'm not sure...haven't measured completely.  but here is where it's at as of now.

Again, I'm loving the richness that the silk floss brings to this project.  The subtle shading of the thread is so nice.

I've a somewhat busy day (work-wise) ahead of me, but I'm hoping to carve out a bit of time to stitch and also knit some.  Wishing you all a wonderful Tuesday!

What's for Dinner?

 Good Morning!

It's a bit grey out there this morning and almost a little foggy/misty (or it could be that the window upstairs I was looking out of is really, really filthy!).  The temperature climbed into the mid-eighties yesterday and it felt like summer.  In between bits of work yesterday I managed to change to a lighter color pocketbook (pale pink instead of winter brown) and moved my summer shoes into an easier place to grab them and shoved my winter boots into the nether reaches of my (very small) closet.  Still to be moved are my wool sweaters...didn't want to tempt fate too much...but I may tackle that project today and get out some shorts and summer shirts.

Meanwhile, it's Thursday, so lets talk food.  Here was dinner last night:

The first corn of the season (which was really, really good!!).  I don't know what you call the other things on my plate, but here is what I do.

• Asparagus - trim and steam or boil for only 2-3 minutes, then drain.
• Slices of Italian Bread - brush with EVOO and put under the broiler for a little bit
• Pull the bread out and layer on bruschetta (in the summer I might make my own, but yesterday I just bought it at the grocery store) and top with asparagus
• Fletcher's had parmesan cheese sprinkled on top...I wanted mine plain.
• Stick it back under the broiler (in this case till the cheese on F's was nice and melty...and you could use mozarella or provolone or even cheddar...they are all good!)

A quick, easy and delicious meal!

And, a bonus recipe for a chicken dish we had the other night - delicious!!

Another dish that is so easy to make and really tastes great.  We had this with steamed green beans, some cherry tomatoes roasted with EVOO and Agave Syrup on them (just threw them in a separate pan in the oven while the chicken baked) and some rice.

The other day we noticed a hummingbird coming to our lilac bush and also to the petunias.  And now look what is beginning to bloom:

Wisteria!  It is so fragrant - really overpowering in scent.

The Towhee was back yesterday afternoon while Fletch and I were sitting on the patio.  And this guy kept us company:

A handsome fella for sure!  Have a great day!

Weekending

 Good Morning!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and, for those who celebrate, a Happy Easter.  My weekend was what I could call perfect.  A little bit of everything!  Knitting, Stitching, Reading, Archery, Napping, Cooking.  It was all wonderful and the weather was pretty nice too.

As noted, I was able to do a bit of Archery.  I think this was Saturday afternoon if I remember correctly.

Our poor target withstood the winter, but the colors are done and it is in a bit of a bad shape.  But...it works!  The above represents the best of the lot that I shot.

We were going to Colin & Mailing's for dinner on Sunday and I was making desserts.  I did finally find the unsweetened coconut at Kimberton Whole Foods, so I made the Lemon Macaroon Pie to take.

It turned out well and is one I will definitely make again - it was like a cross between lemon meringue and coconut custard pie.  So good!  I also made a batch of brownies to take.

Mailing's sister, Anna, was there with the dog she just adopted 3 weeks ago.  Marcel and Talbot were NOT happy!!  But Otto is so well behaved.  He is 2 years old.

He is some kind of a mix (with a tongue that is always hanging out - lol).  Anna just taught him to "sit" in the last week.

Dinner was delicious.  It was nice enough that we decided to eat outside.

There was a lot of food:  Falafel, Tabouli, Hummus, Baba Ghanoush, Muhammara (a red pepper dip with pomegranate seeds that I had never had - DELICIOUS!!) and pita bread.

After dinner but before dessert we decided to take Otto for a walk and move a bit ourselves.  We walked in Whites Road Park which is just down the street from where Colin & Mailing live.  There were a few others in the park, but it definitely was not crowded.  There is a bit of work being done in the park - lots of trees have been planted and they are building a new playground.  We noticed a number of "shelters" that someone had constructed.

So fun!  When we got back to the house it was beginning to cool down, so we had dessert inside.  All in all, a wonderful, relaxing day with family.

Today I'm debating whether to go to the office or not.  I have a bunch of printing to do and a conference call at 10, so I thought I would go...but...I did not sleep well last night and I'm thinking I may stay home.  Still to be fully decided!  Nice to have the option either way.

Hope your Monday is the start of a great week - enjoy!

Weekending

Good Morning!

It's March!!!  Just a few weeks till the first day of Spring (and my Mom's birthday - March 20th - she would have been 102 this year!!).

How was your weekend?  Mine was pretty full.  I was out and about Saturday morning and geeze it was foggy!  It got progressively worse as the morning wore on.  But, later in the day the sun came out.  Fletch and I headed over to Colin & Mailing's and took a nice 1/2 hour walk in their neighborhood before the sun went down.  There were plenty of folks out walking (everyone keeping their distance, of course) and we passed one house where folks were sitting around a fire in the back yard.  The wood smoke smelled wonderful.

Getting back to the kids' home, we lazed around and watched a few episodes of Whose Line Is It Anyway?  with Drew Carey - hysterical!!  I laughed so hard.  Then we had dinner which (naturally) was delicious.  The kids are vegan right now (Lent) so dinner was vegan.  We had French Lentil Soup that they made and some home made bread (regular, whole wheat and rye flour combination).

The soup was different than Lentil soup I have made - this version has turnips, onions, carrots, potatoes, rice, spinach.  Very filling and very tasty.  The bread was dense, but so good.  They even had some butter in the frig (left from pre-vegan days) that Fletch could use on the bread!

After dinner Colin got a fire started in their fire pit in the back yard.  Luckily I had brought my wellies over so I could walk through the snow.  It was a gorgeous full moon night for a fire.

Colin had started to clear snow away from the pit, but then thought better of it.  Better to have some snow than a mucky, muddy mess!

Sunday was a rainy day.  Fletch and I did some grocery shopping, some napping and just general lazing around.  A little (very little) knitting was accomplished, but not a whole lot.

I may not be back to this space till Thursday.  Tomorrow I'm taking a vacation day because my friend Carol (have not seen her in almost a year) is coming up to celebrate Christmas and her birthday.  We've tried to get together several times and each time our plans have fallen through.  I'm really looking forward to seeing her again.  And Wednesday I need to get in to the office, fairly early.  My boss, Kevin, is flying in from Atlanta today and his new VP will be on site for some orientation as well.  

I'm hoping today is quiet work-wise as I plan to bake a Blueberry Gateau and also a batch of oatmeal cookies.

Wishing everyone a great start to the week!

It's Friday!

 Good morning!

We are on the verge of the weekend which makes me happy.  I have a 10 a.m. conference call and I think that's it for the day (fingers crossed).  We ended up with about 5" of snow and then some sleet on top of that.  It could have been worse, so I'm grateful that's all we got and it ended sooner than predicted.

Still cooking and consuming food these days.  Last night's dinner was rainbow trout, Asian green beans (fresh beans done in a wok with sesame oil and soy sauce and plenty of garlic - YUM) and quinoa with sliced radishes, chopped scallions chopped grape tomatoes, pepitas and dried cranberries - all with a splash of EVOO and fresh lemon juice.  

We also had some more of that decadent dark chocolate tart for dessert.  The scale was NOT my friend this morning - LOL.  Tonight I'm making home-made pizza.

A bit more knitting on the Yule Wave sock was completed.

The heel has been turned (in red), gusset stitches picked up and now the decreases are occurring.  It should be smooth sailing going into the weekend.

Finally, this guy says Thank You for all the well wishes.  We were able to get the de-worming med on him (administered similarly to Front Line...but liquid on the neck is not a pleasant thing for cats) and I have not been seeing the segments, so health is being restored.  He will get the second doses on 3/16.

Happy Weekend from all of us.  Enjoy!!

Weekending

 Good Morning!

How was your weekend?  Ours was very nice and...as this post will show...it was ALL about the food!  LOL

Saturday around 4 p.m. we went over to Bonnie & Zhongren's (Mailing's parents) to celebrate the Lunar New Year and also Zhongren's birthday (which is today).  Of course there was dumpling making.

Here are just some of the dumplings ready to be cooked

Colin was appropriately attired in red.

And the table was loaded.  Along with the dumplings, Bonnie had made some delicious dishes:  some fish, short ribs, another beef dish, eggplant, cauliflower with mushrooms, pickled radishes and cabbage, pickled garlic, potatoes.  Everything was delicious!

Mailing had made a black sesame cake for dessert.

That is the symbol for Ox (this new year is the year of the ox).  We were sent home with leftovers which is wonderful!!

Valentine's Day dawned and I made us some blueberry & pecan pancakes for breakfast (forgot to take a picture).  It still felt pretty raw to me yesterday, so I decided to make a big pot of curried shrimp chowder for dinner.  This is such an easy (quick) and delicious meal.  I got everything chopped and ready.

And then in no time the soup was simmering on the stove.  

In between all the food consumption I did find some time to knit a little and stitch a little.  I'll save those pictures for another post.

Per Fletecher, our temps are supposed to moderate a bit this week.  There is still quite a bit of snow on the ground and icicles are hanging off the house and shrubs.  I just keep remembering that each Monday brings us that much closer to March 20th and SPRING!!

Wishing you all an enjoyable week ahead!