Unrelenting Truth

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T18:36:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving. Surrounding oneself with friends, family, roasting a massive turkey, covering the table and counters with all manner of desserts and side dishes, and eating until so full you resemble Garfield after a pan of lasagna!

So, I surrounded myself with my beloved - well, we spent the day together, doing things we enjoyed, together, quietly ... practiced some music, played some games, watched some football and other favorite shows.

I have to say it was a wonderfully restful Thanksgiving!

So Thanksgiving was on Thursday as always, but it didn't start there. The week before, I picked up the turkey; a frozen, 23# hunk of gamebird that was on sale at a local market for .029/lb! Therefore I got the BIGGEST bird I could find ... yup, all for 2 people ... (I want leftovers!)

Sunday I put the frozen bird in the refrigerator to thaw. How I managed to fit it in there, I haven't a clue! My fridge isn't exactly big.

Bob's Red Mill
Gluten Free
Cornbread Mix

I baked a Gluten Free Cornbread using a Bob's Red Mill Mix, on Monday as well as used my breadmaker to bake up a loaf of Gluten Free Brioche (sandwich Bread); both were used in the making of the stuffing.

Tuesday I checked the turkey, still frozen. I made the Green-Bean Casserole w/Homemade Mushroom Gravy by Guy Fieri of Food Network fame. Why homemade? Well, primarily because I LOVE Green Bean Casserole, and condensed soup has flour in it. Wheat flour. Mine was from scratch, and though it had cream in it, it did NOT have gluten or wheat - and it was oh, so lovely and mushroomy! I split it into two 8x8" aluminum pans, and froze one. Stuck the other in the fridge to await Thursday.

So the Turkey has to come out, today, despite it's still 85% frozen state. Dang! I take it out, set it in the sink, and start peeling off the plastic; I have to use the sprayer to thaw around the neck, and gizzard bag to remove them so I can roast them up, and some veggies to make some lovely stock. Into the oven they go, with a bunch of veggies - onions, carrots, celery, leeks, apples, and garlic - all at 450F for 45 minutes. Seems overkill, right? Well everything was toasted and roasted nicely, barring a couple leeks from the edges that got a little singed, tossed them. Everything into a pan, cover with water, and simmer for a while.

Back to the turkey. The Frozen Turkey. 23# of semi-solid meat. So today I planned to start it brining. It doesn't fit in my cooler, but I have a clean 5 gallon bucket ... I make the brine with salt, lemons, pepper corns, thyme, bay (fresh from my tree!), sage, rosemary, brown sugar, and some lemon-marmalade I made a couple weeks back, that has been sitting in my fridge, and dang if I just didn't have room for it. The Brine was based loosely on a few recipes I found around the internet Anne Burrell's Brined-Herb Crusted Roast turkey, and 3-Secrets to a Great Roast Turkey - Revisited. I boiled together the brine, cooled it with some tap water to luke-warm, put the turkey into the bucked tail-up, poured in the brine, and filled the remainder of the bucket until the turkey was submerged. Covered it, and set it in the laundry-room utility sink. The bucket was filled to 1/2" from the top, and I didn't have room in my fridge. I figured since the turkey was still mostly frozen it would double as it's own chill, while thawing the rest of the way AND brining while thawing!!

Wednesday I make the stuffing, using the stock I'd made the day before. A combination of recipes, Cornbread, sausage, and chestnut stuffing, A Julia and Jacques recipe (link below for the deconstructed turkey), Cornbread Dressing with Chestnuts, and Sausage, Chestnut, and Cornbread stuffing. My modifications, I added leeks with the onions; used granny smith apples; Italian sweet sausage in place of the country style listed in the recipe; added dried cranberries and cherries to the mix). I placed it all in a large casserole dish and baked it for 35 minutes at 350F, allowed it to cool on the counter, then stuck it outside in the garage where the temp is equivalent to my refrigerator right now! (40s)

I then turned to care of the turkey. Per the instructions for Anne Burrell's Brined-Herb crusted Roast Turkey, I made a herb butter. Pulled the turkey out of the brine, draining it well, then popped it onto a half-sheet pan, patting it dry with paper towels. I massaged about half the herb butter under the skin, and the rest all over the outside of the bird. Once the turkey-massage was over, I popped it into a turkey roasting bag (it was big enough!), leaving it open for air to circulate, I then popped it back into the fridge, on a clean half-sheet pan to wait until the following morning.

I also baked a sweet potato, slightly cooled it, scooped out the innards, leaving the skin intact, mixed the innards with a little salt, pepper, and brown sugar, scooped the mixture back into the skins then topped them with marshmallows. Once topped, they got popped into the fridge to wait for the turkey's exit from the oven the following day.

Thursday morning ... Happy Thanksgiving! ... I figured 4 hours for a 23# bird ... so I stuffed the body cavity with an apple, a lemon, a half a HUGE onion (probably equal to two medium onions), a carrot, and two celery stalks. Closed the bag, cut slits into it, and popped it into the oven. 450F for 30min, then dropped the temp to 350F for the remaining 3.5 hours. While it was roasting I finished stuff around the house, and prep for the meal.

Potatoes boiling in salted water, cubed, skin-on, while the turkey is cooking. When ready I smash them, add some cream cheese, butter, and a little buttermilk. I put them in a pan and waited for the oven to be open. (Serious Hubby Approval!)

At noon the turkey exited the oven, golden, steaming, and crisp. Onto the stovetop it went to rest for an hour while I finished cooking. I drained the drippings from the bag into a pan. Carefully. Then got rid of as much of the fat layer as I could; there was almost two cups! I made gravy using the drippings, a drop of gravy-maker, cornstarch and a little cream.

The stuffing, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes and smashed potatoes, all went into the oven to reheat for 20 minutes. I had forgotten to pull a couple frozen rolls from the freezer, so I microwaved them thawed, popped them into the oven and hoped for the best.

Green salad chopped and on the table. Canned Cranberry sauce (jelly, not chunks - with the can ridges still attached, LOL). Herby, roasted Turkey, falling off the bone and juicy, breast, leg, and thigh cut and plated. Sides out of the oven, and tabled.

We ate. Well. And barely made a dent in it all. But oh, the glorious leftovers!

GF Banana Bread

2011-11-13T13:02:00.001-05:00

GF Banana Bread
Originally uploaded by UnrelentingTruth

GF Banana Bread

My search for the perfect Gluten Free Lasagna Recipe

2011-09-15T22:08:00.001-04:00

Ok, so I've said in the past that I've discovered that Gluten and I are not friends. Be it because of the genetic changes made in wheat to make it stronger, disease resistant, and drought tolerant, or my body simply decided wheat, and other gluten containing grains are the enemy, I am not sure. I simply know that avoiding those grains that contain wheat equates to clear head and minimal-to-no joint pain.

No pain? That is definitely a reason to NOT eat wheat! So no wheat ... no bread ... no thick gravy's or roux ... no pies or pastries ... Right? NOT!

Besides removing the grains all together, there are substitutes. There are ways to create delicious, family-friendly, non-GF friendly foods that everyone can enjoy. The past couple weeks I've determined to eat right. I've made Fried Rice with battered Orange Chicken -- GF, Zuppa Tuscona (e.g. Creamy Potato & Sausage soup), pork chops, crepes, tortillas, even PIZZA!

I have a hundred recipes I want to make, perfect, and share, all GF that encompass the flavors I loved in wheat based foods. I don't really want to reinvent the wheel, there are tens, if not hundreds, of very talented bloggers and cooks out there that have done this job for me already. Skillfully. Now if I find something that isn't available online to try, or perhaps improve upon or tweak to my own satisfaction, I will gladly do my best to create a recipe and share it with all.

I am now on a mission to find the perfect Lasagna recipe. The doughy, chewy noodles layered with meat, sauce, cheeses, steaming from the oven. So satisfying, comforting, and something I've not had in ages.

I'm thinking homemade noodles (GF of course), and I found about a hundred GF pasta recipes online just with a google search, and believe the recipe on eHow.com is where I'll start. As for the layers? My mom always did a meat and tomato sauce layered with cottage cheese, mozzarella, parmesan cheeses. I've done veggie lasagnas with the same as mom's only adding zucchini to the layers. I think I am going to do a veggie lasagna with the GF noodles, in a cream sauce ... in individual portions so I can freeze the extras for quick meals during the weeks ahead!

Some notable Sites with recipes:

Gluten Free with Aunt Jayne - Lasagna
The Gluten Free Wife - Lasagna
Boston.com Article Collection
Elisabeth Hasselbeck's GF Lasagna
Triumph Dining - links here for numerous variations on the theme
About.com
Potato Variation (no noodles)

I'll post my discoveries and perhaps pictures as well!

Gardening in 2011- Update and more!

2011-09-09T21:18:00.000-04:00

This year's garden succumbed to neglect. Of all the cuttings the houseplant cuttings did well, and were donated to this year's family reunion Chinese auction table. Only one of the Bay Laurel cuttings survived, and is happily sending up new leaves in the care of my mother; will try again next spring for more cuttings.

New Job, New Location:
In July my DH changed positions. He went from doing splendidly in insurance, working rediculous hours and being paid squat to being fought over by three different aviation companies. He has a choice of where to go, FL, MI, or OH. The OH job was close to family and familiarity and all other things being equal (literally) he decided close was preferable to distance. He is now working again in aviation and despite only having two weeks to find housing and move, the Lord had our backs and we not only found housing to rent (very nice landlords only 11 minutes from the new job), we were also able to go on a much needed vacation to the EAA Airventure in Oshkosh, WI after having wanted to go now since we were married 8 years ago!

Our new location has 10 feet between houses, but is so quiet it is hard to believe that we're so urban. The neighborhood has a private beach (just gorgeous), and park which comes in very handy to run the dogs' energy down.

Themove took several trips, and two 'big' waves. Our main-living needs (bed, couch, basic cookware) moved with the first wave and we spent the week between moves at the new house. The 'anchor' (e.g. Gulbransen Baby Grand Piano) was moved in this first 'wave' as well. The junk came in the second wave, which took TWO trailer loads. I will never understand how quickly JUNK can accumulate.

A good friend has a dump truck and the Tuesday following our final move I returned to the previous home to get rid of the junk. It filled the dump truck! I am so thankful for that dump truck and the driver - despite the drizzly rain and the gushy, mushy, nasty dump-mud he didn't get stuck!!

Two weeks after the move I'd consolidated and thrown out about another 40 large bags of various junk, and emptied innumerable boxes. It felt really good to clear out so much.

Hubby is loving his new job, being back in a field that uses his passion for airplanes, talent for problem-solving and troublshooting, and training in avionics. How quickly our home has de-stressed with him being in a position that both pays for time worked, but is a little more scheduled. You know when you're working, and when you're not. The previous position in insurance really was a 24/7/365 job, and that gets old. Fast.

Gardening:
Our new home has a 3-seasons room in the back of the house, a side of which gets light most of the day. This is where my sensitive plants will live this winter. It is surrounded by sliding glass doors which have screens and the whole of them can be opened giving the room a screen-porch feel.

My African violets are doing splendidly, despite needing re-potting (three pots of AVs I probably have seven or eight plants!).

My garbage garden is growing happily and consists right now of two mango trees, and four pineapples. A piece of my mom's Meyer Lemon tree broke off, and she popped it into some soil; it took off and is putting up lovely new leaves now, so I traded her my happy little Bay for the lemon. She also potted up some fig-tree cuttings for me which have really taken off, and has some hibiscus cuttings for me as well that I'll be collecting before too long. In addition the coffee plant (arabica), diffenbachia, monster-momma Christmas cactus, mother's day rose (large yellow blooms with a hint of pink and a fragrance that is intensely fruity), the knock-out rose cutting (the one that I thought wasn't going to survive and has since grown a ton and has bloomed as well!), big Bay, and the white Mandevilla are doing phenomenally. They're still outside but will be brought in soon.

The new house has limited garden space, mostly filled with hostas, over-grown black-eyed susans, Echinacia, (a couple wild/hardy geraniums popped up through the mess and bloomed which I thought was pretty cool), and Chinese Iris. Along the one side though our landlord's wife planted some ever-bearing raspberries which are divine. There is also a hydrangea, three rose bushes (red, yellow, and pink), and some amazing dark red-orange daylilies. The bed behind the house, North side, and no sun is empty. Next year I'd like to put some things in there!

Pictures (or lack thereof):
I am sorry there aren't any pictures, I'm still holding out for a 7D and hesitate to spend money on anything less than what I want as I make due all too often, and I am holding out for the real deal rather than settling for a P&S that will 'get me through'. This sadly means phone-camera or nothing and many opportunities have been lost because of my stubbornness.

This isn't saying that I haven't expanded the pictures hanging on my walls. Dogs, family, friends, landscapes and so much more adorn our walls, and there is room for more! I can't wait to get that new camera so I can update and expand what covers my walls!

Cooking:
Moving, traveling, upheaval is never good for being good diet-wise. My three shouldn't-eat because my body will revolt foods; e.g. wheat/gluten, dairy, and refined sugars, seem to be the easiest and most readily available foods when you're in a crunch. My body screams at me when I've eaten the wrong things, but when pizza and soda are cheap, easy, available and you're hungry? Trust me, it's food. So a month after the move, I'm getting back on track. Haven't had wheat/gluten in a week (kudos!), can't say the same about the sugar and dairy though. The latter two are definitely on the list, but not as big a deal when I eat them (in small doses they don't seem to cause a problem unlike the wheat which I can tell very shortly after I've eaten it).

Dilemma: I haven't been able to find condensed cream of mushroom soup in the grocery store that doesn't use wheat flour to thicken it so [solution:] I made homemade mushroom soup to put into a Chicken Broccoli Rice casserole last weekend. Delightful. The casserole was all plopped into a crockpot, cooked, and let to sit overnight. The flavors only got better, and leftovers the third day were amazing. I initially wasn't sure about the flavors as they initially seemed too bland, but time cured the problem.

I made GF doughnut holes (loosely) based on the Amazing Gluten Free Buttermilk Doughnuts, a recipe I found at food.com. I say loosely because I ran out of GF AP flour mix, and had to substitute coconut flour and almond meal for almost half the flour. It worked, lovely lightly spiced cakey-donuts that really hit the spot!

I also made Cornmeal Corn Tortillas from Cooks.com. These were more pancak-ey than tortilla-textured, but they cooked up nicely, and had decent flavor (if more delicate than masa tortillas). I spread one with apple butter, which was lovely. Today's lunch used them as wraps around a mix of black beans, onions, jalapenos, bell pepper, seasoned with cumin and taco seasoning, slightly mashed. Warmed tortilla and lightly melted cheddar, a hint of ranch dressing, and lettuce. Semi-vegetarian lunch which really tasted great after a morning of cleaning, exercising, and errands!

Health:
Still on track, or so I believe. Back to eating right, and finishing up my first week back to exercising daily (using my Slim-in-6 video). Already feeling and seeing results! The first couple days I could barely move, my body revolted and I suffered, but other than having to stretch at regular intervals throughout the day, the pain has subsided.

In addition to the 40-60 minutes of exercise video daily, I've been biking with the dogs as well at least 2 miles each as often as I can and the weather allows. The dogs are much calmer after being worked even that little bit, and I am so much happier that they're not pestering me constantly!

I'd like to get a Fluidity Bar to enhance my exercise routine, and work towards that 'dancer's body' I've always wanted, the Bar is based on a ballet Barre and after using several different videos that use similar mehtods, I've become very fond of the various exercises using this, and similar methods.

Anyhow, lots going on, and I am hoping to keep this a little more up-to-date in the coming weeks, months, and beyond as I have a few extra minutes here and there to share, and post. Thanks for reading!

Gardening in 2011

2011-06-24T10:43:00.001-04:00

Oh, last year's garden was for the most part a success. Though the plants I wanted to keep alive over the winter faired poorly and I lost most of them. I learned some lessons this past winter! I guess that sometimes failure is the greatest teacher.

I am happy to say though that a few survived. My geraniums, the larger Bay Laurel, a couple of the orchids, a Diffenbachia I was given, saved from certain destruction. My Mandevilla survived the winter by the back door as did my monster Christmas Cactus - which bloomed profusely as always throughout the winter.

The Hardy Kiwi I bought, discounted, are now planted snugly at my parent's home under a trellis thriving.

My garbage garden got hit, the mangos didn't make it (sigh) - my fault, they got too cold and dry. Three of the four pineapple tops are happy, though they did suffer a bit, all have new growth on them. I set another top in soil about a month ago, and it is happy happy too!

The African Violets I started are all taken off. The one pot probably has 5 or 6 in it that need separated and repotted. The one leaf just kept growing, and growing, but didn't want to put off any new shoots until about May, when it started to add some little leaves. That was interesting!!

I found a place online that encourages cuttings to be rooted with nothing, or with honey in place of hormone. I am ALL FOR Honey!! The plants barely wilted!!

I have taken more cuttings of the purple plum, my greatest challenge for the season as it inevitably succumbs to powdery mold.
Cuttings of the black currant (that smells of cat urine) which rooted within days of cutting them.
Dipped and set some stems from my roses after trimming, and all are already budding!
Dipped and set 9 Diffenbachia stems only a couple days ago, but all are looking good.
Trimmed my Bay Laurel and set all trimmings into soil, without honey, all are looking SUPERB! A little wilty initially, but I think that was my fault as I set them outside where they got squished a little and too warm I'm sure. Brought them in and changed how they were covered and wha-la, perked right up and are looking wonderful.
Have a low-growing yew out front, and I took a couple stems and dipped them, they're not wilty, and are seeming to be ok, don't know how though they're fairing as they don't wilt, there is no molds or other funguses on them, and they do take some time to root as they're slower-growing than other plants.

I have christmas cactus cuttings that are a year old now and thriving, I'd like to sell them, but no one seems interested.

I got my mom to take cuttings of the butterfly bush, the varigated boxwood, and her hybiscus, which are all doing well - am excited to bring them home when they're rooted!

I also planted several Miracle Fruit plants, and goji berries and await their germination and breaking the soil.

Just seem to keep trying, and trying and hoping! Eventually I'll get it right and then watch out!

Snow ...

2010-12-14T18:11:00.001-05:00

Wow! I am amazed at how a little snow and a lot of wind can make driving terribly dangerous. We have a great deal to be thankful for despite the insane weather.

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Gone Droid

2010-12-13T19:46:00.001-05:00

New smart phone in hand amd having fun with the connectivity. Got a Droid2. Pretty sweet phone.

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Minnesota

2010-09-09T17:49:00.000-04:00

It has been almost impossible to sum up our visit to MN. I can say that a sense of homesickness has come over me since leaving, and I don't know exactly why. It was a vacation to top others I believe, and we made several new friends while there, as well as were able to visit with old friends.

Weds was travel. Thursday was the State fair, which has ruined all local fairs for us, forever. It was gi-normous and packed with things to do, and see, and experience. The largest fair in the country, more than 1 million people walk through the gates over the 10 days it is open. Second and occasionally trumped only by the TX state fair that has as many people but over 30 days! You can see why we were enthralled.

Hubby and our guide (friend and soon-to-be married), Matt, tried to "shoot out the star" at one of the carny booths, as well as ring a bottle. Fun for all, but no winning results. That was fine since carrying a HUGE creature around would have been quite the feat!

We ate well also. Cheese curds, sweet potato fries, bbq sandwich, french fries, a pronto-pup, 4' long sausage, mini-cinnabuns, lemonade, Tap Rootbeer (best EVER!), strawberry smoothie, and there was so much we couldn't get to! A ride on the gondola, a rodeo and a demonstration at the Colosseum, a lost watch (mine, it came off somewhere in the Colosseum I believe), and almost forgetting the bag of cotton candy, and then having that same bag almost get lost out the window of the truck which created a squished bag of cotton candy ...

Friday we arrived at the wedding location, a bit unexpectedly, to help the couple prep for their wedding. I helped in the kitchen, and we had a great time. I am so pleased to have gotten to know Annie and her soon to be mother-in-law during those hours. The guys helped where they were needed, and kept the dogs busy. After the desserts (vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting, and carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting) were made and stored, we sorted the bouquets of flowers Annie had picked up at a farmer's market on Wednesday and while she made her bouquet, the brides maids bouquets and a boutonnière for the groom I filled vases with flowers to decorate the tables. Friday evening, the couple invited the 'out of towners', in all 4 of us, to Buca di Beppo. Buca's food was outstanding, and the atmosphere was grand. We were encouraged to each choose a dish, of which a small was ordered. One of the guests ordered the "chef's choice" and after a little confusion we communicated with him that we wanted him to make his specialty (favorite dish). He didn't disappoint. None of the food at Buca disappointed, though the portions were extraordinary. A small feeds three, a large six, though with all the food ordered and tried it ended up that the small fed all six of us without a problem with lots left over.

A long day, but very productive, and very fun!

Saturday morning we arrived to get the rest of things set up and I had the pleasure of setting up the dessert table. It turned out pretty good, and had several compliments on the 'design layout' though it was Annie's request that created it. Boxes of different heights to add dimension, plants and flowers to liven up the table dressing, an antique table cloth in white to add elegance, and the dessert labels (little tin buckets with dirt, stones, and flower-labels with descriptions of each dessert!). Desserts were set out and the ceremony started shortly afterward in the garden. A lovely wedding, a made-to-order day, and delightful company!! A picnic lunch was served, and games were played afterwards.

We did make it Saturday evening to the MOA but sadly the store we were so hoping would be there has been closed. We will have to find those items online or elsewhere. We did get a couple things to remind us further of our trip, but didn't spend a lot of time there as the evening was wearing on and we were tired from such an event filled day.

Sunday was church and a fellowship dinner following. We were able to catch up with a lot of our friends, though briefly. We headed out shortly afterwards to a half-way point that had been offered to us by a new friend. His home is lovely and the fenced yard for Blitz to play in with his dog, Polly, his hospitality, and the bed were very much a welcome half-way point in the 14 hr drive. He treated us to a local pancake house for what turned out to be brunch. Everything was delicious, though the portions were again HUGE.

So much food, good company, lovely weather, friends, and fun packed into a few short days, and it really feels like it ended too soon. Or perhaps it ended perfectly since we really weren't done, and had so many more things we could have done!

Blitz joined us on the trip and was a trooper on the long drives, and made several new friends as well, and behaved phenomenally throughout. He is such a good boy, and we were glad we could take him to meet everyone and their pets!

I cannot find the right words to express how tremendous it was to be in MN again, and we have vowed to not wait so long for another trip out.

"Queen Anne's Lace" done!

2010-08-28T19:40:00.000-04:00

(Pics soon!!) I finished another shawl. It is lovely. Not huge, but big enough and going to be perfect for its intended giftee. I am very excited about finishing it ... now what to cast on next?

I have several patterns for sock monkeys using dpns. I'm tempted. They might be just the thing for the trip to MN?!

Will post pics as soon as it is blocked in a day or so!

I am a Domestic Goddess, Are You?

2010-08-19T22:36:00.000-04:00

Yup. I am a homemaker. I follow biblical principles for the role of a woman, and strive to achieve the freedoms and virtues of Proverbs 31:10-31.

These are not easy to reach. So much goes into daily challenges. It is so easy to let things go, nap instead of dishes or shop instead of vacuuming. For the Christian woman, God's spirit of determination, fortitude, and perseverance is significant in every day chores. Especially the ones we don't like (dishes!).

A little more than a week ago now, I sat down with pen and paper, and started to make a list of the things I do around the house and how often they need done. My heart yearned for a more organized way to handle the common, and not so common chores in an attempt to keep my house clean. DH has allergies which are exacerbated by shedding dogs, and the seasons. A regular schedule is becoming more imperative simply to make sure all things are done, and done often enough and in a timely fashion to keep the house both livable and presentable.

Nothing says, "ah!" more than knowing when someone stops by unexpectedly that the house is in order.

Now I have a caveat. I have two large, hairy dogs, but we have not been blessed with children yet. The dogs make their own kind of mess, but for those moms out there with toddlers, I commend you for all that you do, and encourage you TO NOT BE DISCOURAGED. Time spent caring for your little ones is precious, and those infant, toddler, and pre-school years are priceless. I have never condemned a mother of children for a messy house!! I sympathize with their want to do more, I empathize, but I also know that caring for the kids is far more important ... when they get older there will be time to clean the house! If your house needs redding up, and you have kids, I applaud you for focusing your time on them rather than the house!

The chore list has done wonders for my days. As has setting the alarm to get up at regular times, and doing the dishes as they get dirty (I do not have a dishwasher, so if I make them I clean them, and if you haven't figured it out, I really despise doing dishes .... though getting them done one meal or project at a time has really helped.

Saturday I cleaned the garage. It was on the list! Monday I did laundry, though that was on the list for Tuesday. Tuesday I did MORE laundry (playing catch up with a few things that needed done like curtains, and bedding). I dust twice a week, vacuum at least every other day, brush/comb the dogs on days I vacuum if not more often (usually outside, who needs MORE hair in the house?!), each major room has its own day now ... Bedrooms, office, living, dining/kitchen, bathrooms, and the 'Oh, My GOSH!' room that serves as storage, plant nursery, guest room, and sewing/project room. That final room, everyone has, and probably have a couple drawers with similar 'catch-all' tendencies. It is the scariest room to do anything in because of the number of purposes it serves.

Fish tank gets a water change at least once a week. The couch gets washed down a couple times a week. I still have to clean the assorted portable and floor fans we have around the house - this might be a Saturday job.

I make more work for myself as well ... I have a small container garden that needs watered unless it rains, and even then often it needs attention. I have a 'garbage garden' that needs attention. Other houseplants including a Coffee, Ornamental Banana, Orchids, an Aloe, Christmas Cactus momma and cuttings, an Easter cactus, African violets, and the list goes on.

Seems the more I have though sometimes the more I get done, the more I can stay focused. Perhaps it is from growing up on a farm? Or perhaps it is simply how I am wired.

Since I made my list, it seems I have more time. I feel calmer about getting things done. If I miss something on one day, unless it is really important it get done it can wait until the following week. I find that some of the things that are more redundant (vacuuming, dusting) these can be put aside for a day if the need arises.

I have also found that having a list, scheduling things that have to be done, it simplifies things, and while I am working I get a chance to think ahead about what to make for dinners. What to send hubby for lunch the next day. What to put on my grocery list for the coming shopping day.

A nice, and pleasant side effect is also that I am losing weight. I don't tend to be as bored during the day, though I get hungry I tend to make better snack choices, whole foods (raw fruit, veggies), proteins, cheese, etc. I am eating more often, and eating less because of it, and in turn my body is responding favorably to the changes, and I'm feeling really good!

This year I haven't put much away. Strawberry season came and went, and I froze eight pints. Apple season is fast approaching, I have applesauce and chunks in the freezer from last year yet. I have canned peaches, preserves, and jam from last year as well, I have been enjoying fresh tremendously, but I have for the most part missed that season. I showed up a day late for cherry picking, so none this year, and all my sweets from last year went bad, in the freezer! Lots of blueberries left from last year as well. Just not baking/eating the things I would most often make from them so they stay frozen in the hopes to be used at some future date ... I am tempted to can the blueberries to get them out of the freezer, it is easier to store canned foods than frozen ones!

Anyhow, I strive to continue and persevere. Perhaps starting these habits now will translate into more easily keeping them if and when the Lord ads children to the equation. For now it is nice to be able to feel caught up and accomplished!

God Bless!

Win a Massage from Pittsburgh's best spa

2010-08-18T13:18:00.000-04:00

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Met ... why?!

2010-08-03T10:11:00.000-04:00

So the pharmacy changed the distributor/manufacturer of the Metformin they sell. After almost two years on it, and after the initial 'break in' period, I have had little to no side-effects. Until now.

I have to drop my dosage back to half and that seems to be ok, will increase it in a week and see how that goes, and once more the following back to full strength. Dropped most if not all carbs, sugars, dairy (with some minor cheese exceptions), and gluten containing items.

Carbs include potatoes, which have been my friend for a very long time ... I miss potatoes.

Anyhow, I am feeling great otherwise, though tired. I can't seem to shake this fatigue that has settled into my brain. Perhaps reducing the Met., and the other changes I have made will counter the fatigue. No serious side effects this round of Chlomid (round 5) so far, each series has been different, and I pray that this will be the successful series!!

My container garden is suffering in the heat and the zucchini will be planted in BIG pots next year if I do it again, they just aren't producing like I would like them to ... one every couple weeks, rather than so many I don't know what to do with them?! Very a-typical zucchini!!

Summer is winding down. The cicadas are singing, and have been since the beginning of July. The earliest I have ever heard them here in NW PA. The evening bugs have been out in full chorus with the humidity and heat last couple days, a sound that if it could be recorded would be amazing, but it loses something, I think the ambiance and environment is needed to fully appreciate the sound of nature's chorus.

Yesterday morning I saw a hen turkey and nine chicks, about half the size of momma. They walked through the back yard, and Blitz was enchanted. This is the first hen I have seen all summer. Last summer it was just about every day for a while, but this summer, sadly, it seems that there just isn't as many of them despite the early breeding season. I'm sure the corn, which is six foot+ does nothing to aid visibility, nor does the fact that the other fields this year were planted with soy, and though soy is a great crop, and the birds like the taste of the beans, it is not a tall crop, and not good foraging cover for the turkeys like the corn is.

I didn't get a hunting license this year. Didn't see really why it would be prudent since last year I just didn't seem to really get into it, nor did I get anything (excepting that darn tree!). I really would rather hunt with a camera, and push for my hubby than go out and be a shooter. I don't have a problem shooting, just have a problem remembering THAT is what I am out there FOR! God's creation is so tremendous, and I tend to get lost in the beauty and grace of the creatures he designed than the fact they'd be really tasty in a stew the coming winter!

Breakfast, then back to work. I have another room to straighten/clean today, must make the house presentable for company this week. Yesterday's success has left me sore and stiff. Moving boxes of books and odds'n ends out of one of the rooms into another that can be closed, and out of sight. And then going out and pulling grass out of a garden that is 15' x 5', and probably have another section that large again to do still. A lot for one day, even if it needed done, it was still probably too much for all at once.

2010 Green thumb report

2010-07-20T18:25:00.000-04:00

The summer is already heading into the longest 'day' of the year, and will soon be heading into fall. Almost a week ago now I heard the first cicada, at least a month sooner than a 'typical' year. The fireflies aren't even done with their nightly christmas-light show, and the cicadas are singing as the sun goes down and the fireflies awaken.

We still are renting, and so a thorough garden (in ground and all) isn't really an option, so this year I decided that containers were going to be it. In 5-gal buckets I have tomatoes and acorn squash. In 1-gal pots I have three varieties of summer squash/zuchinni, rosemary, creeping thyme, chives, and cosmos. In various sized other pots from 4" to 8" to your typical 'gallon' nursery pot (thank you sis for the pots!!) I have an assortment of herbs (lemon grass, bay laurel, dill, cumin, coriander/cilantro, and flowers - marigolds among them). I have another larger bay laurel I found cheap, that is about three/four times as large as the one mentioned above. I have five varieties of basil, though I've discovered that I really am a fan of the Italian basil primarily.

Summer and winter savory plants are also potted on my front deck/patio where I can get to them easily. Savory is excellent in soups and stews, and I add it often in the winter months to my 'Cure All Chicken Soup'.

Discount plants at Lowes, Walmart, and local greenhouses and nurseries add to the variety of plants as well. These include Hibiscus, Mandevilla, two female and a male Arctic Kiwi (the little green fuzz-less kiwi that survive well in our 'zone', and are actually supposedly sweeter than the furry type you find in the grocery store!), a Royal geranium, that is still recovering.

I feel I've forgotten a couple and I do them a disservice by not mentioning them. I've discovered that certain plants do VERY well potted, and others, well, don't. Zucchini among them. I think that I would rather put zucchini in the ground, or put it in a much larger (muck-tub) container if I was to do it again. (Walmart sells muck-tubs for $5 ea. I think it would be a worth while investment, though I think the potting mix would have to be amended with small gravel, and/or perlite as it tends to compact and not drain as well as I would like to see. Even an addition of a bag of mulch would do good for the soil under these large, demanding plants. (acorn squash will also be put into larger tubs!)

I had several seedlings that I put into the ground, they're doing well. The cucumbers, potted and planted, are all doing very well, the potted ones are enjoying the warm roots and putting on a lot of fruit! I also have some small melons that have begun to put on fruit as well! Hurrah!

I have been doing a lot of research and have decided that I would like to try either aquaponic or hydroponic system this winter to grow some tomato and perhaps something else in the house over the winter. Some Herbs as well? Perhaps?? Youtube, and the internet are truly a vast and unending resource for inspiration.

Indoor my house is becoming more and more green. There are orchids (Phalenopsis) hanging in what were originally sold as fruit/veggie baskets (these aren't the light baskets but ones sold I believe at Target that I found for $1 at a garage sale a year or so ago and have wanted to fill it with orchids ever since. Well it is, and they're all doing well. I have another tray of 'rescued' NOID (no obvious identification) Phalenopsis, that had mealy bugs and I am nursing from certain demise (overwatered, no drainage, few of them had any roots, and those that did were in trouble). A small dendrobium is mounted on a wicker basket, and hung in my front window - more light. I hope to mount some of these rescued orchids, and have even thought about building an orchidarium, though I'm not sure if I want to fill it with NOIDs or if I want to fill it with species orchids (and other epiphytes). Most say fill it with cheap (NOID) orchids, in case the system 'crashes' then you haven't lost your important collection. Black Jungle (find them online) is a great resource for not just equipment, but diy ideas and photographs about how to accomplish the building of a 'vivarium' (housing frogs, and other small high-humidity critters). They even use expanding foam ("Great Stuff") to create the background! I think that would be SO cool!

My enormous Christmas cactus got hacked this spring, and cut back to a more manageable size, though it immediately started to put three-five new segments on EVERY end trimmed. I have 22 well-rooted babies now from those pieces I hacked and am looking forward to their growth, and finding them new homes.

I have also been doing cuttings, of several dozen various cuttings, my hydrangeas are doing well, just getting repotted today, four of the dozen cuttings have rooted and the remainder all had callous where roots should begin to form very soon. I have two rooted mock orange, and a trio of african violet leaves setting on my windowsill with high expectations. A couple currant (berry) plants from cuttings of my mother's plants have been doing well.

My mother had success rooting two butterfly bush cuttings, which are now in her garden, as well as having put about 24 cuttings from rosebushes into the ground - unsure yet though as to their success. All attempts of mine to root butterfly bushes has failed thus far, to my disappointment. I expect to get some more cuttings and perhaps some shoots this week. I love butterfly bush!

I am looking at micropropigation, which I think will be a lot of fun this winter to try some different house plants.

Well that is about it. Too much going on, and a lot accomplished this summer!! I have found my green thumb and am excited about it!!

Birding in the Back (and Front) Yard

2010-05-14T11:30:00.000-04:00

Indigo Bunting by LearnBirdSongs.com

Another Spectacular picture shared on Flickr.

Lets just say this is one of THE most gorgeous birds. I saw two, yes, two,males surrounded by females, and other species of sparrow and songbirdtoday! I don't think they're enjoying the feeders, they ARE enjoyingthe dandelion bits the rain hasn't knocked off.

The feeders are covered with our fondly termed 'welfare birds'. Goldfinches, cow birds, hummingbirds, orioles, striped sparrows, purplefinches, red-polls, the occassional red-winged black bird, Flickers ...even a cardinal has shown up to check out the buffet, though I don'thave anything out there for him ... With the activity and flurry ofbirds out back the chatter and song is tremendous.

I'm so excited to have the birds back!

Oh, and yesterday through the yard scooted the bearded hen Turkey that we saw all last year with her chicks.

Pau Choux - Cream Puffs (aka Profiteroles)

2010-04-27T19:06:00.000-04:00

I made these back in November 2009, but hadn't a chance until today (months later!) to post about them ...

A very simple recipe, even simpler to make, inspired by the Daring Kitchen/Bakers ... the base for eclairs and cream puffs, Pau Choux (pa-shoe) is a cooked dough with eggs. The steam in the dough creates a hollow center perfect for the standard cream filling (eclairs) or whipped cream or ice cream or ganache ... fillings are truly up to you!

The three on the right were beautiful and traditionally light, airy, hollow, with a gentle crispness on their exterior ... the three on the left, well lets just say that the recipe was a bust, after following the directions on my first sheet of puffs that said to "poke after baking to allow steam to escape" ... do NOT poke your dough until cooled!! Well I learned how flat they get, quick! They still taste good, but I went back to the computer and the second sheet, as you can see (left trio) turned out right. The better directions stated it is best to bake your puffs then rather than removing them from the oven, turn the oven off, stick a wooden spoon in the door so it is ajar, and leave your puffs in there to dry out a bit while the oven cools. This leaves the puffs round, light, and hollow. Perfect. A little patience and these buggers will behave and await filling.

Unfilled these are delightful treats, and a big hit with our visiting friends kids (especially the flat ones :)!). Because the sheet with the majority of the dough was the one that went flat (bad, bad instructions!), I didn't fill them, and will have to make them again. The next time I'll be making the whole batch airy, NOT just the second sheet! Creamy vanilla filling and chocolatey topping ... or maybe I'll go all out and make some homemade lavendar icecream to fill these with?!!

There are a hundred sites about these lovely, simple little creations. Don't be intimidated by them! Do a search for them and try them out ... you'll be encouraged to please your friends and impress them at the same time!!

Almost a year ...

2010-04-27T18:39:00.000-04:00

Our boydog ... Snowbelt's Steel Curtain (pending) aka "Blitz" will be a year old next month. Boy does time fly! He has always been a good dog, but age continues to refine and sweeten his already empathetic nature. Small reminders when there are little ones about, usually for the first five minutes of their arrival, and then he settles down and acts far older than he ought. He continues to amaze and delight us, and we pray he will do the same for years to come.

As we didn't do much agility with him this first year (though he is fearless, very well balanced to the extent that he walks along the back of our over-stuffed couch without difficulty - it is not against a wall btw, and above all eager to learn) we will be doing more with him this coming year hopefully, with the goal of getting him into some shows perhaps by next fall? He is such a joy to live with agility would just be icing on the cake!

Spring, Knitting & Yogurt

2010-03-29T13:08:00.001-04:00

Well, how CAN you go wrong? Both are very earthy and decadent things J. Nothing like knitting a scarf, stole, shawl, or even a pair of socks using some exotic fiber, and enjoying it slip through your fingers as it comes to life in whatever you are making.

I purchased a pima cotton by Schaefer yarns over a year ago now at a little shop, no longer open, in Mars. It's colorway is called "Catherine the Great" and it is a variegated earthy green that blends into an ethereal pink separated by shades only God can produce. The eye is such a tremendous thing, and sight such a amazing gift! I have mulled over what to do with this gorgeous yarn a hundred times. I have finally said, I will make with I a scarf … so I started one, and it was just not quite right … and I started another pattern with it, and though the pattern is lovely, and I WILL be making it again, I am still not convinced that it is THE pattern for this fine, fingering-weight cotton. Whatever I make with it, it must be perfect, and I am still just not convinced this is that pattern. So I think it will get frogged, and set aside in my stash again until I DO find that perfect pattern for one of the most stunning colorways I have ever come across.

There is still, well yesterday there was still a small, stiff-necked, stubborn patch of snow in our driveway that simply wouldn't give up … looking out the window today I see that it has finally lost the battle and is gone. Well past the time when any other patches of snow, even those in parking lots that were taller than some houses have disappeared, that little patch did not want to leave.

Spring has come once more. Red-winged black birds migrated back with the hundreds (thousands?!) of starlings, and though there is open season on starlings, I resisted the temptation to thin them out because of the red-wings in their midst. For the first time last night I heard spring peepers here in our neck of the woods. Others have heard them earlier, but last night was my first time. The Blue Herons, Killdeer, and Turkey Vultures have returned, all are better indicators of spring's arrival than robins, or red-wings, and though I hadn't heard peepers before last night, I expect they have been out as others have stated simply because the Herons won't return until their food supply has woken up.

Spring has also brought with it excitement of future things as well. We found a Dr. that didn't argue that I should try Chlomid! Yesterday was my last pill, and we'll see what this month brings. Perhaps we'll not see the intended results this month but I am looking forward to at least enjoying the feeling of hope that it gives and prayerful that we see the results we are hoping for in the coming months! Pray the Lord's blessing on us in this endeavor and His guidance in every other area of our lives!

With the advent of the Dr.'s ruling, I have also been doing a bit of knitting of various infant items. If you find a cute pattern, forward on to me the link! Ravelry is saturated with them, and I am enjoying the search for just the right ones. With so many friends pg right now, knitting little items just seems right! And every stitch holds a prayer for my own future bean, or beans!

Autumn rolled to a halt with canning and preserving the harvest, for me that included peaches, preserves, jellies and jams. Now spring brings with it once more the season of preparing for the coming winter. I am praying for a good strawberry season this year, I've missed it so many years in a row now! Strawberries, rhubarb, blueberries, bramble berries, cherries, apples, peaches, maybe even pears! I plan to can as much as I can the fruits and vegetables (well freeze a lot of veggies!) of the year. I did feel so much more prepared for this winter by doing all I did last fall! And will have so many opportunities to use what I have not just this past few months, but throughout the summer when picnics, parties, and gatherings demand desserts and other dishes to be brought and shared with family, friends, and the masses as need be!

The peaches that were canned are scrumptious. My Aunt shared with me some homemade yogurt while I was over helping her to can some last fall, and recently she gave me a good amount of what she had so I could start my own culture. A failed attempt using starter caused me to wonder if I wasn't going to mess up this batch as well. I saved back and froze enough for a couple tries, and following the directions I had from the packet, I started with RAW milk (Pot O Gold RAW) and immediately I knew something was wrong as the resulting curd and whey was more yogurt cheese than that of the thin, creamy yogurt I was aiming for. Contacting her for HER procedures, I then followed her directions and Wha-LA! After setting, covered, on the fridge for three days I had succeeded in creating YOGURT! OH, it is so GOOD!! Poured over last fall's canned peaches, I cannot say there is anything better. It would be delightful over a homemade granola as well, I just have been enjoying it with the peaches so much I haven't expanded to other 'toppings' or 'mix-ins' yet.

A second batch of yogurt is in the process on the counter right now, and I'm excited about keeping it going!!

God Bless and HUGS!

Lots going on ...

2010-03-11T17:48:00.000-05:00

So last Friday I had a Dr. appt, and after almost four years now I walked out with a scrip. for Clomid (ovulation enhancer/increaser). Can't say that it wasn't a huge relief to know that this Dr didn't just try to "make me healthier", he simply agreed and said lets try it and if it doesn't work we'll try something else. He also relieved a concern I had about an ongoing issue I had been having mid-cycle, saying it wasn't something to concern myself about and to ignore it.

Ok. *sigh*

The weather has been simply gorgeous. Our usual spring 'tells' are here. The Killdeer are everywhere. The Red-wing blackbirds have arrived as well! Robins have been back for almost two months now.

Blitz has G-R-O-W-N. He is a hefty, solid, sound 50+ pounds, with little excess anywhere on his lean body. Once the worst of the mud subsides (and the snow melts - gosh there is a LOT of it to melt! but with the lovely weather it is going fast) we'll be out and getting more exercise, and he'll become even leaner and more muscular. I am excited to introduce him to agility, and that will of course be something he'll excell at!

Our 7th anniversary came and went with celebration and to-do. It is hard to believe that my best friend in the whole world is my husband and that we've been together only 7 years - feels like an age, and yet it feels like our journey is only begun!!

My b'day came and went like a whisper. It was so nice to not have a lot made of it, a small acknowledgement of the day, the age, and then it was over.

Made awesome Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies yesterday, (with mom), and we drizzled a sweet-coffee icing onto some of them. Honestly that icing made them oh so much better than they were plain, and plain they're divine! Should take some pics and post the recipe here and on FB.

Change is in the air once more, and I'm excited to find out what that is going to mean for us!

Oh, and DH has finally consented to get a piano and bring it into our home! VERY exciting!! He has needed one since we got married, and though we won't be able to afford the one that is top-of-the-line, I think we can find one that is of a good enough quality he'll play it, practice on it, and enjoy using it. I can't wait!!

Off to make dinner ... whatever that is going to be tonight ... still haven't decided, and hoping to make something simple, and easy on the gut - after over a week of stomach issues (started as the flu? perhaps??).

Happy New Year!

2009-12-30T17:00:00.000-05:00

To one and all ... may your new year be blessed tremendously, and may you appreciate every sunrise and sunset with praises to our Heavenly Father who orchestrates it all!

Elana is giving away a copy of her cookbook, and a bag of Blanched Almond flour

2009-12-30T16:55:00.001-05:00

Oh, I had to post it here as well as, as a post on FB ... check out her site @ http://www.elanaspantry.com/cookbook/ and the rules to enter for a chance to win this awesome book.

I'm so excited ... if I don't win I am sorely tempted to buy the book and flour anyhow!

A trip, a passenger, weather, and a rant

2009-12-15T22:29:00.000-05:00

Went to Pittsburgh as a driver for a friend. Drive down was uneventful, and went by very fast - always a good time and love the ability to talk about, well, everything you can imagine. It is nice to have friends that you can talk to about stuff, and even when there is a silence it isn't uncomfortable.

She introduced me to a GREAT little Gluten-free bakery called Gluuteny. Got a couple cookies, some sandwich buns, a pumpkin bread, 3# of GF flour, and an apple strudel - everything tastes AWESOME! Helps to be GF when you know someone who is and benefits from it, too.

Stopped and had Japanese (i.e. SUSHI) for a late lunch after her appointment at a little restaurant in Cranberry (in the plaza across from the Mars Giant Eagle on 228). GOOD FOOD. Their salad dressing was spectacular, the sushi was excellent, and my friend's surf-n-turf Hibachi looked and smelled amazing. She said it was quite wonderful.

Back on the road, snow began to fall just north of Pittsburgh, but was the worst between Meadville and Edinboro (as usual), but even though dark had fallen the roads weren't impassable, and the salt trucks were out en-fource.

After I dropped off my passenger, I picked up pizza (Hungry Howies!) on 12th on the way home for hubby pulled in, paid for the pizza, walked back out and in that time (FIVE MINUTES?) someone had crashed into someone else [and a pole] IN the entrance to the HH parking lot, and a third person had parked with flashers on the other side ... no other exit ... there was about a half-inch to spare on both sides of the truck as I pulled out to head home, I hadn't seen it, and just wasn't keen on staying to find out how it had happened ...

You would think that in bad weather people would drive more carefully, would PLAN out their moves a little and be safe. THIS IS NOT MY EXPERIENCE. When the weather gets bad [rain or snow conditions], people LOSE THEIR MINDS! There were ever so many crazies behind their respective wheels tonight!

There are the crawlers, (must go 20mph below the speed limit - this means that if it is 25, they go 5 if it is 70 they go 50, somewhere in their minds 20mph slower than posted speed is adequate safe-speed).

There are the weavers, they seem to bounce off the lines even though they cannot see them. They don't necessarily slow down, they just can't seem to drive in a straight line when the lines aren't visible or are barely visible. These also seem to oversteer in bad weather and you can see them make sharp corrections toward the lane 'center' every time they think they're going off track.

There are the brakers, no matter where they are on the road, or what is ahead of them, they ride their brakes. They never seem to slow down, they still tailgait, but their brake lights are on more than they're off.

Then there are my favorites, the tailgaiters. Common, people, it is COLD, it is SNOWING, and I can honestly say that if you are THAT close to my bumper, in this weather, you have exponentially increased the chance that your insurance is GOING to be paying for it to be replaced, and for all associated damages including my medical bills. BACK OFF ... in dry weather at least a tractor-trailer should be between your front bumper and the back bumper of the guy ahead of you, a TRACTOR-TRAILOR, that is like three-four car lengths. In BAD weather, you should at least double that as your braking power is reduced substantially. GET OFF MY TAIL!

And don't get me started about the morons that decide to pull out in front of you from a side road or parking lot, as though when they hit the gas they're goin to have the traction to get moving fast enough. DUH, accident WAITING to happen, if you don't have traction to GO I don't have traction to STOP!

At 6:15 or so this evening, 12th east of 79 was white-out conditions (nice wide road :) minimal traffic, still got stuck behind a braker) but west of 79 it was barely snowing (the road though was kinda wet/slushy turning to icy and the road we live on, is just trecherous) ...

Thank God for 4 wheel drive, for a reliable vehicle (I love our Trailblazer!), for safety, good company, the ability to share with my passenger a more concise truth from God's word and why there is damaged people in the world.

All in all a lovely day, and by God's Grace am safe at home now with my DH.

Blustery Winter Days

2009-12-11T23:41:00.000-05:00

So we got about 18-20 inches of dry, fluffy, COLD snow in the past 24 hours. This causes some stir when the roads are only about 20% clear and the wind is blowing the snow into tormenting white-outs. We ventured out in the morning to care for a friend's dogs as we will do four or five more times, but thankfully DH was able to stay home and work. When the thru-way gets shut down at the exit he'd get off of for work, being able to work from home is a HUGE blessing.

The weather also created a cancellation in the office of the Doctor I've been told is wonderful. The referrer was right, she IS wonderful, and the office staff is as wonderful as she is. The weather today was perfect, as I'd not have been able to get in to see her if it had been nice! God is so good!!

So with the 'initial' visit completed, bloodwork ordered as soon as the health insurance is activated, and scrips re-ordered in the meantime there is almost a palpable relief in my mind that it is ok. NOT that I should have ever been concerned, the Lord says that as one of His children we should not worry as He is in charge and cares for us more than even the lily of the field or the sparrow. Sometimes though it is a nice reminder that all things DO work out, and are under control by the Creator and Commander of All!

... On another note, and of course it would have to be this time of year when baking and cooking is at it's peak, but I need to buckle down and start eating right once again. My lack of will power in the area of gluten/wheat in particular, and more generally refined grains and sugars has done me no good. I've gained some of the hard-lost weight back, and am not pleased about it. I need to try less, and just DO!

14 days to Christmas!!

Daring Kitchen Challenges

2009-11-04T14:26:00.000-05:00

OH! After about a year of inability to participate, though a member, I think this month will be my first month as a Daring Baker/Cook!! I won't divulge the challenges, as they are secret until end of the month, but I WILL say I'm excited and can't wait to start :)!

(Now I just need to gather the ingredients and tools I need!)

Have a great day, y'all!

Real Popcorn

2009-10-27T20:38:00.001-04:00

IF you have never popped a batch of bulk-kernel popcorn (I'm NOT talking about microwave popcorn either), you honestly are missing one of life's truest delights.

I admit I've become a slave to the 2 min 34 second bag of piping-hot popcorn, but just as you love the good stuff at the theatre, if you spend just a few more minutes (well like 11 more) popping real, loose popcorn you will NEVER look back!

My household needs to discover the delight that is the real deal (growing up we made stove-top popcorn all the time!) and get back to simplicity and the truest flavor popcorn can have!

I have added on the side a graphic and link to more information about popping and enjoying REAL popcorn!

Making Popcorn
You will need:
2 qt sauce pot
vegetable (or corn or canola) oil
popcorn (it’s usually on the bottom shelf below the nuke variety)
butter – if you’re going for full awesomeness, buy real butter not margarine or other butter substitute.
salt
big bowl
Popping Instructions
Pour just enough oil in the sauce pot to cover the bottom. Pourenough popcorn kernels to cover the bottom, they should be buddying upto each other but not overlapping. Turn the heat to medium-high, coverwith a lid and wait.
When the fast and furious popping slows to a few pops here andthere, remove from heat and pour the popcorn into the bowl. Somekernels won’t pop, you can leave these in the bottom of the pot andreturn it to the heat to encourage a few more to explode.
Allow the pot to cool a little, then drop in a slab of butter. Asmuch or as little as you like. The residual heat will melt the butter.Once this happens, pour some of it slowly and evenly over the popcorn.Shake salt across the top.
Grab the bowl and flip the popcorn around so that the unbuttered ison top. Repeat buttering and salting process. You may need to melt morebutter, if you are like me.
It may take some practice to get it just right, but for now…
…Enjoy!
Delicious Additions
Chili Powder – sprinkle on during salting for spicy corn
Garlic Powder – sprinkle during salting for a different kick to your corn
M&Ms – Pour in a small bag when ready to eat and shake cornaround. The candy coating slows the melting of the chocolate, which isfantastic paired with salty, buttery popcorn.
Parmesan/Romano Cheese – shake on while salting for a cheesyflavor. Cut back on salt if using romano, it’s kind of salty in itself.
Reese’s Pieces – Peanut butter fanatic’s variation on the M&M addition. Not my fav, but give it a go if you like PB&J

Above link from "Campaign for Real Popcorn"

Containers

2009-10-27T15:30:00.001-04:00

I am container crazy. I love jars, bottles, cups, things that lid and things that have wire-bail closures. Each container, large or small, has its own use, or has a planned use.

Garage sales are my nemesis, there inevitably is one or two each year that has lots of little jars, bottles, and containers that catch my fancy and that I must have. I fight this against this obsession as I know I tend to be a bit of a pack-rat and if the container doesn't end up with a purpose, well then should it be purchased with an intent to use? or simply with the knowledge that it will be used in the future (more than likely).

Why do I bring this up? The November issue of Coastal Living Magazine came in the mail today (why I get this magazine is a long story, and honestly dry as sand, so I won't bore you with it), and in a not-so-obvious corner of one of the pages there is one of those lovely little acrylic wire-bail containers with a spice mix in it I immediately was drawn to and at once fell in love with.

The point though of the whole thing was not the container, (darn those little acrylic wire-bail containers so perfect for bulk spices, teas, or whatever) though it was what first attracted me to this corner of the page of interest, or the spice mix (it not only looks good but when you read the ingredients you'll see how versatile it can be), but the little 'pod' inserted into the container to keep the spices dry, thus extending their shelf life. The whole point of the container, the spice mix, is the little advertisement for these little "spice pods". At $9 (includes shipping) for a set of 10 of them @ Dryspice.com. For just under a dollar a piece I will, and you if you're interested, will be able to keep spices, rubs, mixtures longer, meaning you don't have to replace the clumpy, stale spices only a month or two after you buy them! They are recommended mostly for humid kitchens (lived in FL for several years and I can tell you had I known about these then I'd already have a gross of them!), but even in our seasonal climates summer wreaks havoc on in our spice and dry-goods cabinets if there are any leaks or holes in the packaging at all!

Since I mention the spice blend I have to share that with you too, recommended for use with fish or chicken and submitted by the food editor of the magazine Julia Rutland,. You'll understand quickly why, as a foodie, I am enchanted ... a lovley gourmet version of "lemon pepper".

Crush 3 tablespoons of pink peppercorns, mix with 1/4 cup lemon zest and 2 tablespoons each kosher salt, ground coriander, and fresh or dried thyme.

I am going to stop at our local bulk foods store and get some pink peppercorns, and make up some of this spice mix to add to my pantry, and these little "keep dry" pods are one of those gems that I won't be able to passup. They will make my ever growing collection of containers that muchmore versatile!

No-Knead Bread

2009-10-26T21:14:00.001-04:00

I cannot believe that after all this time I don't see a blog entry about this method of bread baking. I tried it once while in MN, but my heavy dutch-oven was too large, and so it didn't turn out quite as exciting as it should have. The flavor, and crumb though was as artisian as I've ever been able to make, and it had a crust that would make brick-oven bakeries squirm with envy.

I have to admit, that I haven't tried to make it again since the attempt in MN. I really need to purchase a smaller round dutch oven (enamaled cast-iron). I love my large one, found at a discount store, and makes delightful roasts, but it is oval, and simply too large for this application!

Having said that, I am excited about trying this no-knead method again in the near future. Honestly I am even more excited about trying it with GF bread as the whole process is minimal handling, maximum flavor, and though time consuming it honestly produces a tremendous bread, it MUST be translatable.

Read up on this delightful bread by the New York Times, "The Minimalist" Mark Bittman, and try it for yourself.

There are so many other great recipes out there for great bread. This is one for the ages though!

Highly versatile Bread(stick) Dough Recipe

2009-10-13T13:12:00.000-04:00

So tasty, and so light and so EASY!

It is actually a Breadstick recipe, but honestly I like it as an all-purpose recipe!!

1 cup warm water
3 tablespoons brown sugar ( I used dark brown and liked the results)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cups oil (veg or olive)
3 cups bread flour
3 1/2 teaspoons yeast (or two packets)

mix half flour and all other ingredients together in a mixer. until combined. Add remaining flour until dough comes together in a soft, smooth, but not sticky ball and pulles cleanly away from sides of mixing bowl.

Turn out onto lightly flourd board/counter. For breadsticks: form immediately into breadsticks (should make about 3 dozen) freeze* for future use, or allow to rise until double then bake at 375F for approx 15 minutes (or until golden brown) top with butter, garlic salt and/or parmesan cheese.

For rolls or buns: Turn out onto floured board and knead into a ball, place in a lightly oiled bowl, turning once, cover with damp towel or plastic wrap and leave to rise until doubled. Punch down and form into desired shape (2oz dough for rolls; 3oz for hamburg buns; 4oz for hotdog rolls). Place in lightly greased pan or baking sheet and bake 20-30 min or until golden and sound hollow. Cool and enjoy.

NOTE: For pepperoni rolls I used 2oz dough with four slices of pepperoni (quartered) flatten the dough, roll the pepperoni into dough, and pinch the dough edges together thoroughly to seal in the goodness. Place onto a sheet pan 1-2" apart and allow to rise until about doubled. Bake as above.

*If you decidee to freeze the dough, do so immediately after forming. When ready to use pull out of freezer about 30-45 minutes prior to baking to thaw and rise, bake as instructed above.

This recipe was found online by my mother-in-law, passed onto my own mother, and subsequently to me. I am not sure where the original recipe was located.

Yogurt ... epic failure

2009-10-13T11:49:00.002-04:00

After turning my yogurt into curds, and discussing the process I took to get it there with my mom who asked if I followed the directions (which I did to the letter), I now realize that even if you scrub and wash the pan you used to make cheese there may still may be remnants of rennet/citric acid. Not that I believe it thoroughly since I honestly am not real sure how that happened since I am REALLY thorough about cleaning between experiments and culinary adventures.

But it happened.

And the resulting che-gurt curds weren't offensive, but they weren't yogurt. Or cheese. Though the solid 'curds' did separate from the 'whey'.

The seagulls will enjoy it at the dumb this coming weekend.

I want to try again, THIS time I'll be even MORE thorough and careful and perhaps I'll use HALF the amount of milk and a whole packet to make SURE that it all gets innoculated appropriatly.

Where do I get another packet of room-temp, counter-culture-able yogurt buggies?

Gosh if I know, my mom kindly gave me the packet SHE had ... and I am not sure where she got THAT packet!

And the Wholefoods Co-op in town doesn't carry a culture other than the 'heat until ready' kind - which if I wanted to do THAT I would just buy some plain yogurt (with live buggies) and start with that!

**sigh**

So far the yogurt venture has been my most epic-failure. I cannot let it beat me. I will conquer that which is room-temp culture yogurt (it is too good NOT to!).

Pudding

2009-10-12T20:09:00.003-04:00

Ok, so it is rare that a tv show really inspires me, but Seinfeld (not really a preferred show) was on, we weren't paying attention to it, but they were talking about homemade pudding, and the skin that often forms on the top of homemade pudding unless you cover it carefully, and of course I had to hear THAT part. (it is truly a 'show about nothing')

It was like insta-craving, so I had to make some pudding.

NOT box, instant pudding, which coats my mouth with fuzzy-crud and makes my brain explode with painful inflamation, but from-scratch.

I have made from-scratch pudding in the past. There is always a recipe on the cornstarch box, and I've tried numerous ones from cook books and sites online. Tonight though I have found a recipe that has a great, smooth mouth-feel, in a delicate, not overly-sweet chocolate pudding recipe from the JoyOfBaking.com website.

You can find the printable recipe HERE.

Because this will be eaten by both myself and my hubby I laid a 'skin' of plastic onto the pudding while it is chilling. I like the skin, but don't want to create one lest my hubby doesn't appreciate it. So far, the 'warm just off the stove' review is a resounding 'yum'.

I will serve it in cups with a dolop of whipped cream, and suffer the consequences!! Lactose intolerance coupled with a pretty serious milk allergy ... I am truly a glutton for punishment!!

Why does one crave that which ones body so thoroughly detests ... But it is going to taste soooo good!

Cheese take Two, and Homemade Yogurt

2009-10-07T21:43:00.008-04:00

The mozzarella is a little milky, a little soft, I could have probably kneaded it longer, but that is all part of the learning process. Even so it is DIVINE ... soft, creamy, and has GREAT flavor - and this all from a gallon of store-bought whole milk!

[A great site with lots of info and recipes.]

From the whey left over after making the mozzarella I made some Ricotta. Honestly I didn't think there was anything left, the whey looked really empty, but after allowing it to sit the required 24 hours, then bringing it to a boil, and allowing it to return then to tepid (comfortable to the skin, but perhaps not quite room temp), and sending it through a fine cloth and hung to drip for 2 hours there was about 1/2 cup of curds. Oh, I have never had better Ricotta either!!

The day that I went over to visit and help my Aunt can peaches, she shared with me some homemade yogurt she had made using a starter and Raw (whole, cream-on-top) milk from Pot-O-Gold dairy. It was sooo good, I knew that it was not going to be long before I had to make some myself. My Mom had a packet of the starter and let me have it.

The proceedure is pretty simple, you raise 2 quarts of milk to 180F, then allow it to return to room temp. Mix the starter into a small batch of the milk, then that into the rest of the half-gallon (2 quarts) of prepared milk. Let sit at room temperature 18-24 hours. Well I set it out and let it sit overnight, but the house was too cool at 65F, so this morning I set it into the oven (we have a gas oven with a pilot light that keeps the internal temp closer to 80F). In 6 hours it has begun to work, and firm up. By morning it will be lovely firm and the flavor is second to none!

After talking with my Aunt (on facebook!) she said the first batch took for her a lot longer than successive batches have taken. It is so worth the wait, despite my serious impatience!

I also found a site that describes how to make sour cream (and has a bunch of other recipes as well). Honestly the stuff you buy in the store is SO easy to make at HOME! 2 Cups heavy cream, 2 tablespoons cultured buttermilk (mine was past the "expiration date" but it worked fine, fresher of course is better). Put it into a container lightly covered, or a great idea I saw was to use a piece of papertowel or a coffee filter banded over it for it to breath. Set this on the counter (or in my case in the oven) until set ... it really firmed up, almost to cheese consistency ... tomorrow I'll make a potato and have sourcream on top!

The same site also tells how to make buttermilk (cultured) and so you never have to buy THAT again either, one carton or bottle and you're good indefinitely ... you just have to keep your little buggies alive and happy.

Tomorrow first thing I'm going to do is save out two baby-jars full of the yogurt. One will go into the freezer for use 'just in case' I kill my reserve starter which will be set aside in the refrigerator until I start the next batch!

I love learning, becoming more independent, and discovering how simple some of these things really are!

Say Cheese

2009-10-05T22:42:00.005-04:00

So when a day speeds by, and it feels like nothing has been accomplished, it is time to take stock and see if there was anything productive done ...

Today I unstitched almost 1/4 of the quilt that I had started to machine quilt. Not only was it incorrect, and busy, I finally decided what I was going to do with it, and honestly I'm happy to see the current 'pattern' stitches come out so I can do it RIGHT.

I visited for a short while with my mom who stopped in to drop off a couple things for me, and pick up the old boy-dog who lives with her, happily, as an only dog. It is a mutually agreeable relationship!

I did the dishes that have been piling up in the sink. Dishes are a hated chore, but I make so many of them because I like to cook and dabble, and experiment, and inevitably I have TONS of dishes, not just bowls, knives, and stirring implements, but plates and silverware that gets tossed into the mahem. I love when they're all done and drying, THAT is a good feeling, but it takes not a moment for the sink to start collecting more dirty dishes ... and it is only TWO of us living here!

I also baked two loaves of Whole-wheat bread for hubby's lunch sandwiches, they turned out yummy looking! I think the most fun thing I did today was that I made a batch of homemade mozzarella. YUMMY! It was so easy. I thought it would be WAY harder, but it wasn't. The recipe was in a box of Junket Rennet tablets, you get 8 tablets in a box and most of the recipes don't take a whole tablet! I had the other ingredients as well ... (recipe below).

AMERICAN MOZARELLA - by Dr. Frankhauser for Redco Foods 10 June 2003
Equipment:
5 quart covered stainless steel pot w/heavy bottom (can use a 5qt covered enamel pot over boiling water in a smal skillet as a double boiler)
1 Cup pyrex measuring cup
2 Cup pyrex measuring cup
Thermometer 20C to 110C (20F-220F)
Long bladed knife
Sterile handkerchief, cheese cloth, or non-terrycloth dish towel (flour sack!)
8 inch strainer
Recieving container (to catch draining whey)

Ingredients:
1 gallon whole milk (use skim milk for low-cal cheese)
1-1/4 teaspoon citric acid powder (found mine at a bulk-foods store) dissolved in 1/2 cup cool water
1/2 tablet Junket Rennet Tablet suspended in 1/4 cup cool water

1. Warm milk over gentle heat 88F (31C), take care not to scorch.
2. Dissolve citric acid powder in 1/2 cup cool water, and add to 88F (31C) milk. Stir well.
3. Dissolve rennet tablet into 1/4 cup cool water. Stir thoroughly into warmed milk mixture. Let set undisturbed for 1-2 hours, until a clean break is achieved. (*see below).
4. Cut curd into 1/2 inch cubes. (**see below).
5. Warm the curds and whey over low heat, stirring gently to warm evenly and keep the curds separated until temp reaches 108F (42C). Hold at temp for 35 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to keep curd separated and off the bottom.
6. Pour pot of curds and whey through a fine cloth (layered cheese cloth or floursack towel) held in an 8 inch sieve over a 1 gallon container, let drain for 15 minutes. Make sure the curds are above the liquid line to drain thoroughly (I pulled the corners of my cheese cloth up and hung it from a door handle over the bucket I was using to collect the whey). Save whey to make ricotta if you wish ... (another recipe, another day perhaps ... like tomorrow!)
7. Break up curd, mix in 1 teaspoon sald and thoroughly toss to mix.
8. Place 1 cup salted curd into 2 cup measure.
9. Microwave on high (1000 watt) for 45 seconds (adjust time so that you get desired elasticity with your microwaver).
10. separate hot curd from container with the back of a fork, knead with hands to distribute heat evenly. heat again for 20 seconds more. Stretch and fold to make smooth and elastic, shape into a soft ball.
11. Drop into cold, salted water (1/3 cup salt per quart), let sit in refrigerator for 12-24 hrs, store in an airtight container. Use within a week.

It turned out lovely, and I'm excited about a nice cheese/tomato salad tomorrow, and perhaps some from-scratch pizza or GF pasta goulash the next day!

Pic L-R/top-bottom: 1}Strainer, cheesecloth and waterbath for final cheese. 2} Boiling the curd to set. 3} Pouring Curd from pot into lined strainer to drain away the curd. 4} Draining the whey. 5} Balls of mozarella floating in salted water. 6} Finished ball of mozzarella!

*A clean break is when a finger inserted into the curd and the curd breaks cleanly away from the finger when removed. If the milk is liquid or semi-gelatinous allow to set for another 1-2 hours more, do not disturb the milk during this time!

**Using your long knife begin at one edge of the pot and cut straight to the bottom, cut repeatedly parallel to first cut but increasing the angle of the knife until reaching 45degrees at the other side of the pot. Rotate the pot a quarter turn, cut as before, repeating rotation twice more yielding 1/2" cubes of curd throughout.

Blitz and the recent fall weather

2009-09-29T20:15:00.008-04:00

The boy is growing so fast! He is 20 weeks old now and with a thoroughly adult attitude (older than his age 90% of the time and very intuitive to situations), Blitz is continuing to be a joyful addition to our home and lives.

This picture is simply gorgeous, and I had to share it here (it is also posted in FB).

With Fall weather blowing into the region the past couple days, he has been introduced to so many firsts.

It is torture for him to potty outside right now, between the blustery wind that pierces even the thickest coats and the leaves that blow across the yard, all he wants to do is chase and pounce, this is one of those sights that just cracks me up.

Puppy class is going well. We'll be on our fourth week, last week being missed due to my being sick. He is such a quick study! Show him once, praise + treat, encourage him a second time, praise + treat, by the third time he pretty much has got the picture and knows what is expected of him (though he still sucks up the praise, pats, and treats). Seriously he just catches on so fast that I have a hard time keeping him interested. He is good at keeping himself busy when I'm busy, and is the first puppy I've ever felt comfortable letting be out most of the time. He still gets crated for bed time and naps, but he is such a good boy!

He has become an aficionado of peaches and apples and with all the preserving and such I've been doing he has been getting pieces of both. Apples are going to be a favorite, and up until now the apples in bags on the floor have been safe, I doubt it will be long before he figures out that if he snags one whole he gets it whole!

The cooler weather and fruit preserving has brought in the flies seeking warmth and shelter, though they didn't bargain for Blitz! He diligently hunts them down whenever they buzz close enough to catch his attention. I do my part with the fly-swatter, but it is hilarious to watch him stalk, follow, and pounce on those evil buzzy black insects. He is quite talented and has dispatched several to my delight.

NOTE: We have fruit flies too, a small price to pay for having fruit stashed away for the winter months. A friend recommended a small bowl with apple-cider vinegar in the bottom, then covered with saran wrap with a couple holes poked into the saran. This is a great counter-top fruit fly trap. They enter through the holes in the saran and drown in the cider! SWEET!!

Swimming in Applesauce

2009-09-27T22:15:00.005-04:00

LOL! Ok, so a bushel and a little more than HALF is a LOT of apples. I made one batch (see previous post) into apple butter, but realized that it was going to take FOREVER. Today I made two pots of applesauce, approximately 8-cups finished sauce each batch. They were bagged (gallon-freezer bags), cooled, and are in the freezer. That was the remainder of the half-bushel I started Friday making applebutter out of. So I have at LEAST six more bags of sauce with all the apples that remain.

I snagged my sister and her boys last week and we ventured to Chupps, a local bulk 'country store' in Amish country (not acutally that far away from us), I picked up a little pound bag of citric acid while we were there. 1/8 tsp per quart of water to prevent the fruit from browning, and it sure does work! Lemon juice works well too, but the apples tend to brown while cooking. With the citric acid bath they didn't brown, the applesauce looks like store-bought! That lovely creamy color of lightly cooked apples.

And they're delightfully sweet without sugar!

So, I can make applebutter from the applesauce at a later time. Just getting these apples into the freezer feels good. Making the sauce then into applebutter I think I will can the sauce and waterbath them 10 min at a boil.

note: freezer space has increased dramatically today since my darling parents needed some more room in their garage and have allowed us to use their chest freezer (which was pretty much empty) for the winter. We may still have to buy a large one, but this will work for now! God is SO good and provides for us in so many ways!

Apples

2009-09-25T23:40:00.003-04:00

Can you go wrong? Is there ANY drawback or problem with Autumn? The season of change, of harvest, of preparation??

I joined a friend, her three girls, my mom, sister, and two nephews apple picking today, and if you're a friend you'll probably see pics of our 'outing' on FB in the next day or two. We had such a good time (well at least I did). Apples were picked, and eaten. It was the first time I've been able to taste many different apple varieties, fresh, and compare their flavor, texture, and 'bite'. I am definitely hooked on the Empires we picked and purchased today, firm, not overly sweet or tart, and a bright white flesh surrounded by a brilliant blushed-green skin.

They also had two varieties of yellow apple (not overly fond of yellow apples), Cortlands, Spartans (DH's favs!), Empire, Pricillas, and a couple others. Honestly I'm glad that my friend wanted Empires, I think they were the prettiest in the orchard as far as U-Pick went.

The U-Pick apples were "ugly" according to the farm owner, but I guess it depends on your expectations, I personally think they're lovely!

OH!

I made a batch of Microwave Apple Butter this evening. Well it only made 1.5 pints so I'll have to do something different if I want to make up all my apples before they go bad, but in the meantime ... yumm-O!

And the house smells soooooo good!

I'm feeling more and more like winter can come and we'll be prepared - or at least I feel that I've done something to prepare for winter's long, cold, white days.

The farm also had fresh-pressed Apple Cider. One of the best tastes of fall in the whole wide world! (gonna have to find a GF doughnut recipe!!)

RECIPE:

Microwave Apple Butter

8 cups peeled/sliced apples
2 cups cider or apple juice
1 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice

In Microwave safe bowl place apples and cider. Microwave for 15 minutes on High. Place results into a blender/food processor and pulse until pureed. Return to bowl and add remaining 4 ingredients. Mix. Microwave on High for 25-30 minutes. Makes 1.5 pints (or a little more).

If wanting to can, fill hot jars, top with new hot lids and rings and place in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes for up to 1,000 feet above sea level (add 5 min for every 1,000 feel above sea level). More is better.

Freezes well or refrigerates for several months before spoiling. Honestly it never lasts that long.

Use on toast, ice cream, pancakes, biscuits, or in place of applesauce with pork chops.

Enjoy!

Peaches

2009-09-22T10:23:00.004-04:00

A dear friend had a ton of peaches on her porch, a second batch that she had gotten to freeze for winter treats, and she shared some with me. That was the end. I HAD to get peaches and store some away. I am so far behind in doing all that I feel needs done to prepare for an Erie winter, but at least I can, can some peaches.

Right?

Well I stopped at the farm that she had gotten her peaches from, and of course it was raining. I pulled up to the barn where the farmers were hiding from the rain and asked where I needed to go to pick. They said, "don't worry, the season is ended and we picked these (6 baskets full) this morning in anticipation of the rain."

So though I was at the mercy of what they picked, but I was spared being soaked in the rain, I purchased four of the six baskets, thinking that would be enough to do a few cans of peaches and jams. And with my treasures bagged and in the truck I brought them home with excitement.

Well, there were a couple other errands and detours along the way before I got home, but I DID make it home, with all of them in decent condition (no more bruising than there was when I picked them up), and ambition in my heart.

My Mom stopped in for an hour and helped me in my quest to put away as many of them as I could as soon as possible.

Well we filled (packed as tightly as we could) seven quarts with peach quarters. Put the requisite extra-light syrup into each quart, lidded them, placed them in the canning pot, and boiled them for the alloted time (30 min).

They turned out pretty good I think, a little bummed about the loss of some of the syrup during boiling, and how the peaches decided to float ... the jars don't look nearly as full as they are now ... but they're peaches, they're preserved, and >I< did it!

Four baskets of peaches goes a LONG way. About two baskets filled 12 quarts, half of a basket made 7 cups [or 3 1/2 pints] of jam and two gallon bags of frozen peaches, and I've probably eaten half a basket (and shared a couple) myself. I have about one full basket left ... jam? Probably.

Anyhow ... YUM!

I feel a step closer to being prepared for winter, and a little more like I'm doing my job as homemaker and wife.

Oh, and there is a sense of urgency in the air to get these things accomplished since the leaves this morning have begun to glow gently with the colors of fall.

Preserving Fall

2009-09-20T15:31:00.003-04:00

Last night I canned 4 pints of Rhubarb-Strawberry Jam.

Using one packet of Sure-Jell, 6 rounded cups of Rhubarb pieces (1/2"-1" pieces cut on the diagonal), 2 cups crushed strawberries, and 7 cups of cane sugar (yup, 7 isn't a typo!). Place the pint jars, new lids, and bands into a pot that is tall enough to hold 4 pint jars and lids, and rims, fill the pot with water until the jars are submerged. Set on the stove and bring all to a rolling boil. In an 8 quart saucepan place strawberries, rhubarb, and pectin; bring to a boil. When the fruit boils even when stirred, add the sugar and bring back to a rolling boil, stirring constantly (over high heat). Once boiling, boil for exactly one-minute. Remove jars from water and drain, fill HOT jars with HOT jam to 1/4"-1/8" from rim, make sure the rim is clean before placing lid. Remove lid from boiling water and set lid onto jar (rubber edge down against the rim), place hot band and tighten down thoroughly. Allow jars to sit until cooled. As they seal you may or may not hear a 'popping' sound, the 'button' in the center of the lids will all flatten out - they have sealed if this is the case.

Mom and dad were visiting, and they had some of this over vanilla icecream. OH! So good!!

I have more rhubarb, and want to do some peaches before the season ends ... yum!

Pies and Preserves

2009-09-20T14:52:00.006-04:00

I feel like I'm so far behind. Growing up we always did lots of canning, tomatoes and tomato juice in particular, jams and jellies, and preserves as well. Most of our garden veggies were frozen, dried, or stored in the basement where they'd last for the winter. So much of Fall was about making the summer's produce stretch long into the winter months.

The joys of growing up on a farm.

For years now I have not been in a place where I need to store, preserve, or can. I still have done some, but this year I have this strong desire to fill shelves with preserved fruits for the winter. My freezer space is at a premium and I have pounds of fruit that I would like to move from there to cans. I would also like to have a variety of fruits for use during the cold months when fresh peaches, cherries, and other berries are a distant memory and a exciting future event.

Our landlord has an enormous Rhubarb patch and has offered on several occasions as much as I want to pick out of it. I am often hard-put to not strip the plot bare. I love Rhubarb fresh-unsweetened or sugared, in pies, in preserves, stewed, and many other ways. By itself or mixed with other fruits. It is great to make a fruit stretch, or add a little variety to a more common pie.

So last week I made three pies, simply filled they used 3T tapioca, 4C Rhubarb (chopped into 1/4"-1" pieces on the diagonal), 3C sugar, 1/4t Nutmeg, and a pinch of salt for the filling, this fits comfortably in a quart bag and all gets mixed and tossed together and allowed to sit until the crusts are rolled and placed in a pie-plate. I used 2-9" pie tins, and basic old-fashioned pie dough (wheat flour dough from scratch) for two 2-crust pies. After bottom crust is placed, filling is dropped in, leveled, the edge is dampened, top crust placed, the edges trimmed and crimped, several steam holes are poked into the crust (usually in an 'R' for Rhubarb) and placed into a 375F oven for 45 minutes or until the crust is crisp*, brown, and the filling is bubbly. Removed, cooled, and this was the BEST filling as it was firm, and the bottom crust was not soggy at all.

*If the crust begins to brown darkly and the filling is not yet bubbling through the crust use some aluminum foil over the edges to prevent burning.

I also made a GF crust, one from the dessert book by Bette Hagman, one of GF's most renowned authors and made a 10" pie using the same filling mix as above with a little more of everything to fill out the pie. I forgot to take a picture of it though - it was VERY good!

Last night I canned 4 pints of Rhubarb-Strawberry Jam. Using one packet of Sure-Jell, 6 rounded cups of Rhubarb pieces (1/2"-1" pieces cut on the diagonal), 2 cups crushed strawberries, and 7 cups of cane sugar (yup, 7 isn't a typo!). Place the pint jars, new lids, and bands into a pot that is tall enough to hold 4 pint jars and lids, and rims, fill the pot with water until the jars are submerged. Set on the stove and bring all to a rolling boil. In an 8 quart saucepan place strawberries, rhubarb, and pectin; bring to a boil. When the fruit boils even when stirred, add the sugar and bring back to a rolling boil, stirring constantly (over high heat). Once boiling, boil for exactly one-minute. Remove jars from water and drain, fill HOT jars with HOT jam to 1/4"-1/8" from rim, make sure the rim is clean before placing lid. Remove lid from boiling water and set lid onto jar (rubber edge down against the rim), place hot band and tighten down thoroughly. Allow to sit until cooled, as they seal you may or may not hear a 'popping' sound, the 'button' in the center of the lids will all flatten out - they have sealed if this is the case.

Fair Week

2009-09-08T07:28:00.003-04:00

We are, and will be at the Waterford Fair this week. All week. Look for us in the Commercial Building #1 under the "Prudential/Liberty Mutual" signage. This is a new and exciting time for us. My DH has been working with a long-time friend, filling a need now for five or so weeks, and specializing in P&C (Property & Casualty) insurance through Liberty Mutual, a subsidiary/associated company of Prudential. I am so proud of his accomplishments in such a short time! He is licensed, and appointed already in two states, and can expand that as needed. I sometimes feel so inadequate to be his wife, and so far behind where I feel I should be as such.

It has been quite a ride these past months. I have returned to GF, and with a deal of difficulty I might add, as the cravings have been unbelievable at times. Being a 'foodie' makes being GF harder than ever because I want things to TASTE right, not just be good for me.

Trouble being there is a booth set up kitty-corner to us that is selling cookies, and other sweet, flour-filled goodies. Not to mention being at the FAIR ... funnel cakes, sausages, and other fattening, wheat-filled goodies, and delightfully tasty delights. Oh, this week is going to be VERY difficult! Thank goodness for fresh-cut fries (sweet potato and regular), roasted corn-on-the-cob, and kettle corn!

I entered three photos, and my CW Shawl for consideration as well. I'm excited to see what they do. The gal taking the entries couldn't believe that the shawl was KNIT and asked all kinds of questions about it, not to mention loving the color (ditto!). So here's hoping I do well, at least with it!

So if you're in the area, meet up with us. Yesterday was 'set up' and we didn't expect there to be a large crowd, so we didn't man the booth. What a mistake :(. We should have been there, but it is done, and we have 5 more days - the rest of the week plus Saturday, and are praying the Lord bless our endeavor that it might be fruitful and productive.

Pray for us, and for me!

Oh, and I haven't posted here in a while so a quick update as well ... in July we brought home a little aussie-boy. He is a blue-merle and such a darling, sweet, smart, lively boy. At 17 weeks he is turning into quite the 'teen' but he is already very special, and only getting more-so day by day. We are blessed to have him in our care, and are excited about his soundness body and mind, and have great plans for him - first and foremost being a family member and companion. He is being watched by 'grandma' this week as we're at the fair and can't have him with us, and so I will miss him every day. He also starts puppy classes on Thursday, we're ahead of the game already, so I'm excited to find out what more we can teach his little blu-butt, :). There are pictures of him on FB and Flickr and I'll try to get a picture posted here when things settle down a little bit.

Au'reviour

Summer in PA

2009-06-02T10:48:00.007-04:00

Can you really go wrong? Well it is summer, but feels like spring won't let go, the rainy, damp, cool weather of spring seems to have become permanent. It was warmer in February this year than it has been for most of the past two weeks here in May! June is upon us and our first month back in NW PA has meandered to a close. There is simply nothing calmer than being home. And this is I think the first time we've really felt like we're home. So I sit and type. The goldfinches are mobbing the feeder in the back, the hummingbirds are visiting theirs', and the Oriole feeder. And there is a rabbit-sized red-squirrel in the front yard, lazily seeking tender shoots and enjoying his finds, as a smaller fox-squirrel does the same nearby. I hear tens if not hundreds of other birds from the raucous wild-monkey like call of the Pilliated woodpecker I see fleetingly every so often, to the soft delightful song of the numerous sparrows, finches, song birds, cardinals, and other birds that make the trees and fields we are surrounded by home. You can't but feel in this place that little can or could damage the tranquility we are surrounded by.

I have posted numerous picture on Flickr. The plants we put in thanks to a generous donation by a master-gardening friend who wanted to thin out what she had. Phlox, Beebalm, hosta, ground-covers, daylilies, irises, evening primrose, and a few others whos names escape me at the moment.

The spider-plants on the front deck that will thoroughly enjoy the sun, when it shows itself :).

My herbs and pepper plants that are not so much enjoying this cool weather, but are snugged under-cover and sprouting nicely. Our landlord has a delightful garden, and has already supplied us with several pounds of rhubarb, I have frozen some, and stewed some, and made a couple pies, and of course shared some with my mothers - both amazing cooks, and both lovers of Rhubarb.

DH is studying for his licensing exams for his new position; he'll be working with a dear, and long-time friend handling a part of that friend's business he hasn't been able to really focus on or give appropriate attention to. In the meantime we're working toward his own new business, as I turn down embroidery business and try to keep my digitizing afloat with a program that is incompatable with Vista and a new computer that acts up more than the old one!

Never a dull moment, though each exciting new adventure is simply so much easier to handle in such a tranquil environment. Saturday I went garage-saling with one of my mothers and my darling sister-in-law, and found all manner of delightful items not the least of which is the chair I currently sit and type in. A rocking/swivel chair that simply engulfs you as you sit in it. So comfortable.

Other than an unforseen and unfortunate incident, Faith has been forever comfortable here too, and is I'd say 90 or a little more percent safe off-lead. She has her 'freaked out' moments but they're really a lot less than when she was a baby, I guess reaching 7 has mellowed her out quite a bit.

My body is enjoying this calmness too. Despite the hugely massive hormonal swings, I feel as though the last month has straightened out my issues a little more. I still haven't found a local Dr. I have a few options, but still being unemployed I just can't seem to bring myself to make that appt with any of them yet. I have enough meds to last me two more refills, so I think I'll be ok. ... For now, :).

Home - we are moved!

2009-05-05T11:11:00.000-04:00

Ah, the joys of moving. Calculated out we've averaged a move once every 6 months since we got married, 6 years ago. Where we are now, I hope to stay for at least a year, hopefully we'll stay for two, :), it is such a lovely country location!

(pictures @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/probity-truth/sets/72157617726603238/)

The view out the back door is awesome. Fields , barn, trees, a house in the distance engulfed by trees so it isn't a sore-thumb, it is quaint. Lots of land to roam, though we've not done much roaming - the move has taken it out of us! Sleeping at night is amazing, the lampless neighborhood is so dark that there is little to prevent the soundest of sleep. It is like we're finally catching up from all those nights in a hotel, or on an airmattress. It is so lovely!

DH is doing odd-jobs, and filling out applications for a position with a long-time friend. The process got started yesterday, and we're really excited about the future!

I got 2/3 of the lawn mowed with the push mower. The blade needs sharpened and balanced and tightened before I can finish the remainder of the lawn. Our landlord offered the use of a riding lawnmower he has, and we'll probably get that set up in the near future, but it needs a new battery, and as of right now it isn't necessary - I don't mind walking off the lawn!

I'm in love with the propane stove. It is hot and holds a good temperature. The cookies I made at the beginning of the week turned out DIVINE! Best cookies I've made in years - it has to be simply the air, the altitude, something about the area because the ingredients haven't changed, the recipe hasn't changed, and yet they are SOOO good! So much better than the last hundred batches I've made since moving away the first time years ago.

Slightly crisp on the edges, soft and chewy in the center. They're just now a couple days later starting to become slightly stale, but 12 seconds in the microwave and they taste like they've just been taken from the oven!

I made a 'throw-together crock-pot chicken & biscuits' for the fellowship dinner on Sunday, it was a hit though I think I can do better if I do it again ;). It was made from the left-over chicken soup that started the end of the prior week as roasted chicken in the crock-pot because the gas hadn't been turned on yet.

I'm so excited about being HERE I even signed up for the Daring Bakers/Cookers Challenge! I've wanted to for a long time, but haven't had the chance because we've been on the road traveling for work or weekends. Don't get me wrong I do LOVE to travel, but I love being home where I can care for my family as a wife, as a virtuous woman, ought!

How lovely is it to be HOME.

Further explination of the importance of a healthy Pituitary Gland

2009-04-15T22:07:00.003-04:00

pituitary gland: Definition from Answers.com

Similar but perhaps slightly more concise @ WebMD

"The pituitary gland sends signals to other glands (eg, thyroid gland) to produce hormones (eg, thyroid hormone). The hormones produced by the pituitary gland and other glands have a significant impact on the body’s functions, such as growth, reproduction, blood pressure, and metabolism (the physical and chemical processes of the body). When one or more of these hormones is not produced properly, the body’s normal functions can be affected. Some of the hormones like cortisol and thyroid hormone may require prompt treatment, whereas others may not be life threatening." [more @ WebMD.com]

And if you're interested a far more in-depth and detailed overview of the endocrine system @ WebMD. For a person like me who is fascinated with how the body works, and all things biological, this is truly a treasure trove of information! for others, it may be too much, as there are some pretty detailed graphics.

In a nutshell, if your pituitary is 'off', your whole body is going to be 'off'. Whether it is genetic predisposition, tumor, injury, or accident it is THE center of health for the whole body!

Anyhow, :) I'm off to do some further research, and wanted to share. I wish that I'd been diagnosed when I was a teen so much frustration could have been avoided!!

Three Cheers for Progress!!

2009-04-13T18:18:00.000-04:00

For some time my trigycerides, and cholsterol have been of some concern. Nothing I did worked, and though going on the Metformin for insulin resistance was supposed to assist the problem it did little for me.

RECAP: I've been taking the Met now for 15 months, and was recently diagnosed not as hypothyroid, but as hypo-TSH. Your pituitary gland regulates most of your body's hormone functions. One of those functions is your thyroid gland. Well for years (literally since I was in my early teens) my thyroid tests (and yes I've been tested by request and otherwise many times) all came back as low-normal. Disagree as I might with the Dr's test results they never went the next step and tested for TSH, or thyroid stimulating hormone.

The endocrinologist in MN tested my thyroid, again, and said that they would test for TSH with the next round of bloodwork. Well, the next round came and I was under care of another Dr. and this time I insisted that TSH be tested. The results were telling, my TSH was 3 TIMES higher than it ought to have been. NO WONDER my body is in such disaray!

Ok, so back to NOW ... after being put on a very low-dose of thyroxin, a synthetic thyroid hormone supplement, my check-bloodwork results had improved more than I could have EVER imagined.

Without any significant changes except for the addition of the thyroxin, my triglycerides have dropped OVER 100pts (in two months), my regular cholesterol has dropped similarly, and my TSH levels have dropped to around 3.6.

THIS MEANS - my pituitary can work to produce the hormones the rest of my body needs NOT JUST the TSH!! One very obvious difference is that my body's cycles have dropped 12 days, and are becoming far closer to a healthy 28 days!!

Ok, so my excitement is palatable! With a little adjustment to the thyroxin in an effort to bring my TSH closer to normal levels (around 2.3 or slightly lower), I believe that we can plan for family expansion (Lord willing)!!

HOW EXCITING IS THAT!!??!!

So since getting the news, talking with the Dr., getting the new scrips, I can say I've been walking on air!

**This may also mean I dont' need the Met, but I need to talk to the Dr further about this, and in the meantime it isn't going to hurt me any to keep taking it.

Life as it happens ... (and some catching up)

2009-03-25T13:32:00.008-04:00

Ok, so maybe, just maybe, that is being a little harsh? Probably very harsh. But I have to silently scream at my stupidity, or simply out of frustration with my body. Too bad I can't trade it in on a 'new un-dented' model!! I've been feeling truly normal, well at least for me with the standard minor aches, pains, bumps and bruises. I haven't been to the Chiropractor in about 2 months now. It has been nice! Anyhow went to be fine Monday, woke up Tuesday and couldn't life my doggon head.

Today I called a local chiro and they got me in and crunched me. The worst of the pain is gone, some is still there and until the affects of the past day and a half subside I can't say it is because more needs done, or it is residual. We're in York, PA. Beautiful area just south east of Harrisburg. The hotel is lovely, and parked within walking distance of a Super Wal-Mart, a Mall, and all kinds of restaurants and other shopping. We're 30 mi from Gettysburg (you KNOW where we'll be going when the job is done ... if you don't you don't know us very well!) and 38 mi from Hershey park.

The hotel (and conference center) is lovely, DH requested a 'room with a view' and so we are on the 'inside' hall with an egress to a balcony that overlooks an indoor pool, jaccuzi and a small 'putt-putt' course. there are Philodendron, ficus, and other 'tropical' moisture loving plants and lots of skylights and a glass wall. Just beautiful!

First night we ate at Olive Garden for dinner, and lo-and-behold weren't they OUT of Zuppa. DH ate a bowl of their Chicken & Gniocci soup (under protest) but in the end the entree (soup and salad) was 'comped'.

There is a sushi restaurant less than half a mile away and so there was no way DH was going to escape taking me for sushi at least one night. Masa was nice, though I'm not sure if I just wasn't as 'into' the sushi as I thought I might be, or if it wasn't as good as other sushi I've had. DH got Haibachi Steak, and I got a 10-piece platter that had 10 pieces of Nigiri and a spicy tuna roll. Overall very tasty, and it did hit the spot. I wasn't real thrilled with the salad, or with the miso soup but it filled us up, and that is always a good thing. The restaurant was small, quaint, and did not smell as some sushi restaurants can, much to my delight.

Of course I didn't take my camera, and so couldn't take pictures of the gorgeous display. I really have to remember that darn thing!

IF we have time we'll be going to Gettysburg toward the end of the week and walking in the footsteps of ghosts. I will take pictures of that excursion and post them to Flickr in that event. Hershey will have to wait for another trip.

Seems the entries to my blog become more shallow every time. Perhaps the next time I'll have more to write about. I wish I had the eloquence in type that my sister and sister-in-law do. I once was able to weave enthralling tales, but no longer it seems. Pretty bad when even I am bored by the entries I post!

I should probably write more often and who knows, maybe they'll get better?!!

Recent Events and their Affect on my 'Crafty' Nature

2009-03-24T14:24:00.004-04:00

I travel with my projects. At least one knitting, and usually others. I just have not had much heart to work on them last couple weeks.

The one project (non-knitting) I had gotten a really good start on won't be finished in time to give as a birthday gift, so I will have to think of something else the recipient might enjoy. The other sits on needles calling to me softly and persistently, and yet I have little interest right now in crafting.

Today I know it is from the ache in my back. I just cannot concentrate for long periods of time when I can't bend my neck without pain.

Bella, then Faith. Trauma. Emotional mostly. Change. Season. Physical issues. Whatever the reason I just don't have the 'heart' or the where-with-all to be crafty right now. I hope it changes, and soon.

I have lovely alpaca roving dyed in two different colorways. So soft. I started it on the spindle, and just couldn't keep it going.

It just all feels so wrong right now.

And yet I hear the wispering call of my knitting and my other projects as though a warm spring wind in the yet-bare trees, calling to me. I know that this too will pass, and I'll be back to my old crafty self here very soon, I just hope it doesn't take too much longer, I have PLANS and projects I want to start, and finish!!

So here's hoping that whatever is causing my current 'creative funk' will pass with the season, and I'll be able again to move onto finishing projects and starting new ones!! NOT to mention getting the "Luna Shawl" pattern I ambitiously started to create onto needles and chart.

So many plans, so little energy!

**Faith's last stitch was removed by my mom on Thursday last. I didn't figure she needed to go to the vet for a follow up, she's all healed up and acting like her normal happy self so for now all is well.**

Mike'n D's

2009-03-23T14:07:00.000-04:00

OH!

I love maple syrup, and when a friend said that he was sugaring and had some for sale I was in my GLORY! I got a gallon, and my sister got three (two for another family member).

Sunday I was to gather and deliver them to my sister later that afternoon. Well she met us at church to my sheer delight, and we ended up going to a local Italian restaurant called Mike and Diangelo's for lunch. (She said her house is in such disorganization right now that no company is allowed, oh well, ;)!)

The food was SO GOOD! It is always great to spend time with my sister, her husband, and their boys, and this was no exception. Eating with good company always enhances the experience!!

They kindly brought coupons with them, and so using coupons for our meals, we got pizza, wings, and I got an antipasto salad. (few can match Mike'n D's Antipasto. Trust me.) They got wings and subs.

So the antipasto salad came out with lovely fresh Italian bread for the table. My oldest nephew promptly started to eat up all (but one, which DH took!) my pepperoni slices, and the majority of my salami chunks (which he called 'hot dogs'). I was more than happy to share with him, since I prefer the ham, veggies, and cheese anyhow, :), and his younger brother was too 'into' his spoon and a slice of bread to want any.

They both have serious appetites, and made quick work of the food put in front of them.

There was leftover pizza, minus a piece the older nephew got since it was unfair to expect him to eat his sandwich when there was PIZZA in front of him. When we got back home I heated it up in the oven and that is what we had for dinner, I think that their subs and wings are better there than their pizza.

I am still 100% a Hungry Howies' afficianado - it tastes great fresh, heated, and even cold!! Hungry Howies' pizza is THE BOMB!!

Anyhow, it was TOO much fun, and I am SO thankful that they thought of it. We will do it again in a second!!

WV in the Spring

2009-03-20T15:16:00.003-04:00

We were in WV this week. Second time in the past month, though a different area. Not that I am complaining, just stating a fact, it is gorgeous countryside!

I do enjoy traveling!

This part of WV is deep-southern-fried-WV. The countryside is simply spectacular. Mountains, rocky cliffs, ROCKS, the roads weave in and around and through the mountains as though they are weft in a fine tapestry. The bushes and trees are starting to bud, and I saw forsythia blooming along the roadside.

We passed over a bubbling creek by way of a very old, very unique covered bridge just before we reached our destination. A little historic town, one of many we passed by or through getting there, nestled onto a valley floor and surrounded by ridges and peaks.

DH came back from his job with a distinct drawl, which he promptly dropped as soon as I said he had one. I really kinda liked it, but of course I couldn't let it pass that he'd picked it up so quickly.

We spent a good deal of our afternoon, while he was waiting for a call, trying to repair (or replace) the linkage to the Impala's wiper system. It had crapped out on him in the morning. After driving all over the town we discovered first that it was a dealer part, and second that the entire system has to be replaced to repair it, and the bushing that had worn out/broken wasn't available alone.

WHY!???!

AND it would cost an arm and at least a foot to buy it, but they didn't have the part anyhow. (So it didn't matter!)

We did buy the extended warranty and doggon it we're going to USE IT!! EVEN if we have to pay the $100 deductible - it will save us at least another hundred - we just got the windshield replaced for crying out loud!!

When it rains it POURS!!

Bah. Hum. Bug.

Thankfully the Lord has been very gracious and provided for us dry, sunny/overcast weather, and so we haven't needed to use the wipers (much). Hopefully we'll get it to the dealership we bought it from for repairs soon! So difficult to get it there when we live in Pittsburgh, are on the road most of the week, the dealership is in NE Ohio, and the service dept isn't open on weekends!!! ARRGH!!!

Faith's emergency (update)

2009-03-16T14:58:00.002-04:00

Thursday was easy, Faith was still a bit sore/groggy and not so excited about getting into trouble. DH was away most of the day on a job so Faith and I just hung out at the house.

Friday DH went to the office and I 'sat' on Faith all day, she stayed with me and we had a good time of it. Keeping her off the furniture wasn't too rough, I just closed the doors.

When DH came home, he changed, and I thought he'd keep an eye on her, while I got dinner ready. He blinked, she snuck out of his sight, found that ALL the previously closed doors were now OPEN, and hopped onto our bed. About an hour later while serving dinner I looked around and couldn't see Faith. I walked down the hall, and glanced into the bedroom and she hopped off the bed. STINKER.

Thankfully no harm, no foul, and she is a very strong girl and was healing at a record pace.

Saturday, DH and I drove up to Erie as we often do, and having some errands to run we dropped Faith off at my parents for a few hours.

When we got back she'd fussed with her stitches and removed all but the very last knot and a line of suture.

I couldn't believe it, and had a really hard time forgiving myself for leaving her alone for even a short time, let alone long enough for her to mess with them as much as she had! Four days out of surgery just was TOO soon to lose her stitches!! It actually had healed for the most part, there was still a slightly raw spot toward the thicker end. We put liquid bandage onto the wound and hoped that would be enough.

Well, Sunday she joined us all day, she went to church with us in the morning and evening, and hung out with us at DH's parent's house in the afternoon.

We are in WV this week so we had to leave her with mom, who promised to 'sit' on her and keep her in site as much as possible for the following couple days. In addition to having borrowed a no-chew collar from my MIL, though Faith being as flexible and big as she is could have worked around that if she had really wanted to.

It was more for my piece of mind and a reminder to her, just in case she snuck into the bathtub and started fussing with the incision again.

Faith's emergency

2009-03-11T14:36:00.002-04:00

We were going to be 'home' for the week, and so we decided to have Faith with us for the week in Pittsburgh. DH was heading to a local job later on, and we'd be home and able to enjoy the quietness of home, with the calming of canine presence.

We stayed over Sunday, and drove home on Monday. Faith just wasn't comfortable. She was clingy and pushy, and had a distinctly 'off' odor.

See she'd been in heat only about 6-7 weeks prior, and we expected a false-pg as it isn't uncommon. But this wasn't false-pg behavior. She acted as though she was in labor off'n on. Was decidedly uncomfortable, and just un-Faith-like.

I flipped her over and checked her to discover she had a discharge. Very a-typical for her and even more alarming was the timing, smell, and how it affected Faith. I suspected Pyometria, an infection of the uterous. Thankfully it was an OPEN pyo (draining) and far less devestating, though still life-threatening.

We'd just lost her daughter, I wasn't taking any chances with her, and my last personal pyo experience was thousands of dollars and weeks of trauma to the dog, myself, and my family.

I called my mom, tried to get in to see the vet we usually go to, but he didn't respond, so we I called another clinic that I trust, in Edinboro, and they said, "bring her in."

So 2 hours north I-79, Tuesday morning, and take Faith to be checked and then spayed.

The vet semi-confirmed the diagnosis, she didn't have any discharge at the time he examined her, but concluded that barring any anomolous bloodwork results they'd have her in and out.

No complications during surgery. And thankfully so, since I wanted to take her HOME the same night. So much easier to transport them when they're a bit out of it, and we had a 2 hour drive to complete.

I got the call that she'd be ready around 5pm and I could pick her up then.

Poor girl was still VERY unsteady on her feet, and wove her way from the back room to the front where I gathered her into my arms to get her into the crate for the trip home.

Pyo was confirmed during the spay. I'm so glad DH wanted to take her with us this week, and he encouraged me to follow my gut in this matter and get her spayed asap.

When we got home, and I carried her into the house, DH had made a little cooshie nook with pillows and blankets for her to hang out in while she slept off the rest of the anesthetic and pain meds.

This morning I made her hamburger and rice, and she wouldn't eat it! Stinker. I tried hand-feeding it to her and she STILL wouldn't eat it. DH walked over, sat down with her, and didn't she take and eat from him the first few bites, and then finished her bowl off with gusto. What a stinker!

She's still a bit wobbly and woozie. All the better I say, it will give her time to heal!

Bella ...

2009-03-02T14:56:00.002-05:00

The one puppy we kept from our Tervuren litter we bred and raised in 2004, Bella, looked at me when she was about 10 days old and said, "I'm yours." She has been with us from the beginning of her life until the end.

She was a sweet, ball-obsessed, gorgeous breed-representative, delightful girl with many idiosyncrasies that made her ours. She could run after the ball for hours, at some point we usually had to put it away because she'd run until she'd stagger around trying to catch her breath. In the evening she would beg to be pulled into our laps and cuddled, she'd snug her head under our chins against our chests and sigh in contentment.

At just under seven weeks, we were outside in the backyard in FL. Being outside with six, very inquisitive and independent puppies, you have to count heads constantly. On one occasion I was counting heads and only had five puppies, and for the life of me I couldn't find the sixth. Needless to say, I was panic stricken, until I realized that the fence close to the corner of the house near where we were playing was just wide enough for a puppy to sneak through. Bella, the only puppy to ever do that, HAD in fact snuck through this little crack, and was standing just on the other side of the fence, wagging and I swear laughing at me. As soon as I saw her I called and she popped back through the crack and barreled to me, grinning the whole time. Seven week old puppies should NOT know how to play tricks like that!!

On another occassion, we were outside after dark to potty. Now Bella was always 100% trustworthy off lead, no matter where or what I could always trust her to drop or come on command. This particular night she saw a cat and shot after it into the blackness. I was panicked. Not only could I not see, I couldn't see where she'd gone to, and she had headed right for a busy street. I called and called her, and finally got DH to bring me a stronger flashlight in the hopes that I could see at least the direction she'd gone. When he shone the light into the yard, there she was, standing behind me with the BIGGEST grin on her face. I could just see her saying, "DUH! been here, where've YOU been?!!" DH had a good laugh at that one too.

Bella was a joy, and though we fondly called her "dumb-bella" (mainly because she seemed to do things that were just, well, dumb, though I think it was more out of simple joy than anything else and a total misnomer - she was smart as a whip and a very quick study) she was and always will have a very special place in my heart.

Bella moved with us three times. From our apartment in FL where she was born, one of six puppies and the smallest, and christened "the white girl" for the white string she wore around her neck. From the apartment to a house and a yard in FL around 5-6 weeks, where we renovated the bathroom with the puppies looking on without a care or concern to all the noise.

A year or so later she joined her mother and Gunner traveling in our towed car to a house in southern Pittsburgh. Most recently and finally where she'd been living for the past almost 2 years, with my parents while we traveled back and forth from PA to FL (2007), and then to MN for 6 months (2007-8), and now traveling with my DH for his work, she and her mother have been cared for most of the time by my parents.

At some point during the winter before last she started having trouble with her jaw, it started to become stiff, and have limited mobility. Expecting it to improve with time. It didn't though and in October (2008) she was unable to open her mouth enough to get the ball into it, but could still play and eat.

At this time there was some marked deterioration in her eyes and sight. We took her to the Vet Opthmalogist who diagnosed Pannus, a disease involving the cornea of the eye, though her corneas had no color or cloudiness to them.

Monday, the 23rd we were on the road and my mom called and told us that she hadn't eaten and was looking feverish and unhappy. I told her to keep us in the loop and let us know what was going on. Bella didn't eat at all Monday or Tuesday, and tried to eat on Weds but was having serious difficulties, and when looking at her it seemed that her head was "shrinking".

Thursday night she ate some softened food for me, she always was a good eater. Later in the evening she was startled and reacted aggressively when Jared, my old boy, walked past her while she was sleeping. And when I tried to move her she also took exception vocally. Both of these reactions were a-typical for her, and caused me greater concern about her ability to see.

Friday we took her to the vets. The vet took one look at her, asked a couple pointed questions, and said, "she had Eosiniphilic Myositis." An uncommon auto-immune disease that causes inflammation of the muscles in the temple and jaw creating scar tissue which causes decreased jaw function and the loss of muscle tissue. Treatment for it is done through the use of prednisone, a steroid, to reduce inflammation thus slowing the progress of the disease and/or a procedure done under anesthesia to 'force' the jaw open and break up the scar tissue that has formed. This latter procedure he said would have to be repeated at least once, and she'd be on pred until mobilility and inflamation/healing was finished - at least several months. Knowing my DH's schedule for the following week and that we'd be on the road we opted to have the scar tissue on her jaw 'cracked' then was a tense decision, but we decided that it would be best done the same day.

We had asked about complications to the procedure, and because she'd never been under anesthesia there is always a chance of a reaction. I made a note at the bottom of the surgery sheet that if complications were to arise she was not to be 'saved'. We said g'bye, I told her to behave, and left.

She must've been the first one into surgery, because we got a call only about 30-45 minutes after leaving the office. Far too soon for it to be over. When the vet was on the other end of the phone I knew we wouldn't be bringing her home, alive. During the procedure the right side scar tissue had broken down as expected, but in the left side the scar tissue had been stronger than the bone. The jaw had broken at the base of the socket. This was relayed to my DH, and we had both agreed that if something like that were to happen she wouldn't be brought out of anesthesia, but euthanized. A dreadfully hard, but humane decision.

We went to pick up her body at the vets to bury at my parents, it was rough, emotionally. I know that the vet did his best, he sounded upset on the phone as previous procedures for the same affliction had gone off without a hitch. We knew the risks, and she couldn't eat without great difficulty by that point. We had had to try. She never felt any pain. She just slipped away into the great blackness, and is no longer in any pain or discomfort.

Five years is hardly long enough, and two of those years we weren't able to spend nearly as much time with her as we wanted to, but she was hardly ignored, and was well taken care of during that time.

Her body lies in the "family" burial plot, next to Abbie's, Bobby's (the Great Grey Arab), Beethoven's (our childhood English Cocker), Dink (my cat), a couple sheep, and probably a few other critters and pets we buried as we grew up. I'm sad, but not devastated ... the circle of life goes on.

She was more than I could have ever hoped for, and it wasn't fair to her to keep her going when health was evasive. She gave everything with gusto and pleasure that she could to us. From her ears back she was healthy, but without sight and the ability to chew or play, her life was not the life a dog should have, and the loss of muscle mass in her temples and jaw had caused her eyes to fall into her head creating other difficulties. I

loved her tremendously, and knowing what was the matter with her, that it wasn't something I had done to cause it, but that I could alleviate her pain and discomfort makes losing her a little easier.

I never imagined that she'd go before her dam and sire.

I will miss her, as she was very, very special from the very beginning.

Bye, bye my darling Bella.

Probity's Arabella - 25 May 2004 to 27 Feb 2009

More pics HERE

Done,jig Done, *Celebrate** IT IS Done!! *jig**dance*

2009-02-25T15:51:00.001-05:00

Ok, yeah, I know I am just a little nuts ... but isnt' that just me? Well on the 22nd I finished the CWS. I am now referring to this shawl as "Big Red", or "The Red Monster".

Anyhow, I finished it at 12:22 AM! Kitchner stitched the edge together, and you can hardly tell where!

Today I hauled home 4 2x4 pine studs; cut them to length; and created a frame onto which I tacked a full-sized bed sheet. Once that was done, I did a gentle soaking-wash/rinse to the shawl, and spread it out onto the sheet. I tried to pin it. THAT didn't work, A) too heavy and B) too 'ripplie' around the edge. It is currently lying on the sheet at a slight angle for more air circulation to dry.

It is H U G E! And delightfully GORGEOUS.

I found ONE spot around the edge where it looked like I'd missed an edge stitch, though I have to say that I don't think I did, it just was a 'loose' spot. Needless to say I 'caught' it anyhow. Once it is dry I do have a touch more work to do weaving in some loose ends, but that is minor compared to the simple and delightful fact that it is DONE, and being blocked.

I would like to sell this piece, so if you are interested please contact me!

I have started another knitting project, a shawl called "Queen Anne's Lace" which is going to be stunning (see below) and after a visit recently to the Hobby Lobby near one of the stops my Dh makes I have also started a project that will inevitably become a gift.

Tribute to Our Dude ...

2009-02-11T08:05:00.001-05:00

What a great game - GO STEELERS!! (+travel notes and a rant)

2009-01-21T19:01:00.002-05:00

Yeah, they're a great team. I'm so glad they're the team that my DH loves - and in turn I've come to admire and cheer for on a wintry Sunday or Monday evening.

The Steelers won another AFC Championship game. They're going to Superbowl XLIII (43) in Tampa, FL. The last time they went to the Superbowl we were living in FL and the game was in Detroit, MI ... this year we're in PA and the game is in FL, :). DOH!!

This is also a prime opportunity to be the first team in history to have 6 rings ... IF they win of course. I think they have a fighting chance to be the first ...

The CWS Edging is traveling along as quickly as I can sit and work on it. I'm averaging at least 2-3 repeats a day, barring the dropped stitch, frogg, and loss of a half-repeat on Monday. I have finished 37 repeats ... 45 more to go! Almost past the 'half-way' point, which is very encouraging. You'll see in the right column I've put a tickerfactory.com ticker for more 'realtime' adventure!

We're in Bad Axe, MI this week. A little town about 2-3 hrs north of Detroit, in the middle of the 'thumb', which is tagged EVERYWHERE around here. The job, which should have been pretty easy, has become a time-consuming hair-puller. The weather, though sunny today has been cold (single digits) and windy. Poor DH has to be on the outside of the stack to do a lot of the work, too. BRR!! Glad he has layers of warmth, and is covered from head to toe! I do appreciate so much what he does ... for us (and for me).

They have a Hungry Howies Pizza right around the corner from the hotel, and so GUESS what we had the first night we were in town?? Yup! HHP is a Blast from the Past, they're prevalent in FL and the southern states, and their pizza is ever so tasty. I got a big ol' salad, which was delicious btw, and DH got Howie bread and a Md Pepperoni pizza. They delivered it and I can't explain to you how AMAZING that pizza smelled. HHP all the way - there just isn't a competitor!! There are other places that are good, great even, but there are few that could hold a candle to everything that is right about HHP!

Last night we went to a local Chinese Buffet/Sitdown restaraunt. It showed up in the 3ring binder in the hotel room, and again on Google when I searched for eateries in the area, as well as on the TomTom. Google had some reviews that were hard to ignore. And they didn't disappoint.

China King. Yum! The waitresses were delightfully cheerful, talkative, smiling, and busy. The restaraunt was clean, and smelled OH! so good. The Buffet, though small, had all the traditional favorites and a few non-traditional (more American) treats.

We decided to buy off the menu, DH got his favorite General Tso's, which came with soup, eggroll, rice, and hot tea. The Won-Ton soup was clean, crisp, and fresh. DH exchanged his eggroll to get a bowl of soup rather than just a cup.
I got Schezwan Shrimp with extra veggies. This also came with eggroll, soup, rice, and hot tea. All was superbly delicious. It ranks in the top five with our all-time-favorite chinese, Ming Tree, in Tallahassee, FL.

... back to ground-zero ... AF is late arriving. Almost a week late. I wonder if she was in the baggage hold of that United Flight that landed in the Hudson? This has been somewhat nervewracking since she has been very punctual for months now. I like punctual. DH likes punctual. Punctual takes the guesswork out of the equation. Removes the stress of wondering, "IF".

And yet she has yet to visit.

BAH! I once more grabbed a box of the inevitable tests, and recieved the typical result, that lovely BFN that is so frustrating, so depressing, and utterly devestating. I know there are others who can understand my pain, but I don't care. It just feels like I'm alone in a big dark cold room and the more sympathy I get from others the more I feel alone. Ashamed, frustrated, depressed ... stupid for being this way and yet I haven't a shred of remorse for my attitude. **sigh**.

I asked DH a question earlier in the week, while we were packing, and then I said something he construed as hopeful. His eyes lit up and danced like light reflecting off and through diamonds in the wind and sun. I'd seen that look before. The one time when that excitement and hope was legitimate. **sniff** And now I have to show him the BFN and say, "Nope, not this month." Honestly I really have tried HARD to just let it go. I know the pain of Sarah and Hannah. I just don't see how anyone who HAS kids, or has had kids can understand even an iota of what it is like to look at the hands of your life's clock sweeping away the hours ... my heart is as empty as my arms. It is getting harder and harder to care about anyone other than myself and my DH ... I just don't feel any sympathy or compassion for the parents who complain about their kids. Don't they understand they HAVE them? They are the biggest, most amazing gift God can bestow on a family, and most people who have them take them totally for granted. AND if they wanted to could have more, and often seem to do just that. I'm simply sad, bewildered, and depressed. Probably PMS. I'll get over it. With the Lord's help and the loving arms of my DH I can get past this little bump in the road and move on ... I pray.

Fiber ... yarn ... knitting ... spinning ... yay!!

2009-01-14T17:09:00.001-05:00

This week so far, I have ordered a plyed (sport/fingering weight) silk from a gal online. It is un-dyed. Enough was ordered to make something decadent. I have to see what it wants to be when I get it. I found her online via a fiber yahoo! group, her website is Hand-Dyed Fibers. She specializes in dying silk in all the lovely colors DMC offers. Seriously. Her silk is imported by the tons, in skeins, specifically for dying. I am very excited to get this shipment, and figure out what it is that this delightful silk wants to become.

I purchased two skeins of silk a couple years ago now from a gentleman on eBay. Very fine, lovely stuff. It is still in skeins. Darn hard to un-skein, let me tell you, they didn't skein it very well I don't believe, and the loose-end that you grab to un-wind and wind into a ball is hard as heck to find. Honestly I think that it wants to be bobbin-lace, but I don't KNOW bobbin lace, :). Such is the dilemma!!

I could really use a ball-winder and large, adjustable umbrella swift. (hint, hint)

When picking up my DH from the airport today I stopped by a Super-Joann store. Oh, SO unfair! Their knitting and fiber arts stuff is all tucked away in the very back of the store around a corner. I had to ASK where it was - you can tell that Scrapbooking and beadwork has become more popular. (sigh) Needless to say, I discovered a new yarn. "Country" by Caron, well by Naturally Caron. They have "Country" and "Spa". The first is 75/25% Microdenier Acrylic/Merino blend, and the second is 75/25% Microdenier Acrylic/Bamboo. This yarn is simply SCRUMPTIOUS. Soft, 12-ply, sport-weight. Perfect for something that needs to show the stitches and be warm and delicate at the same time.

I also picked up a roll of Tulle, found in the wedding-supply section. It is 6" wide and 25 yds long. I figure I'll cut it in half, and so will have 50 yds of tulle to make scrubbies with. WAY easier this way than buying it by the yard 40" wide in the fabrics section. Price is about the same too. (40"x36"= 1440"sq @ $1.99 v.s. 5400"sq @ $4.99; if my calculations are right that is about a 2.5-3 dollar savings buying it in the rolls! and a lot of scrubbies!!) I got red, something bright, and will use my "ugly ombre" cotton I have as the base - it'll look great, they're kitchen-pot-scrubbies afterall :).

I have ordered 3# of Raw wool [description by seller: Faded moorit II 104- Creamy white, 3/8 Romney X 5/8 Merino. Staple length of approx 3 to 5 inches...] through another gal I found/met on a yahoo! list. I'm really excited about this raw wool. Long staple wool and my girls (Faith and Bella) and Jared are all starting to shed their undercoat. I'm going to wash, card, and blend the wool with the soft-fuzzies we comb out of the dogs. I'm not sure yet what the mix will be, but I know that I want to spin it into a delightful fine/semi-fine yarn and make something wearable with it. Dog undercoat is tremendously warm, so soft, and the Terv's undercoat is so kinky (if a little short) the combination of the wool and undercoat should make for an easy spin - even if it is only on a drop-spindle :).

I have ambitiously saved the dog-hair every shedding season since getting my first Terv in 1996! The season passes and I lose my ambition, and end up throwing it away. D-U-M-B!

NOT this year. I AM going to spin it!!

My CWS edging is coming along nicely. I have 28 pattern repeats done, 54 to go, but it is going fast now that I have determined to finish it before my b'day. I love to sit ant knit under it now, it is so cozy! I can't WAIT to get it off the needles, blocked, and get some pictures of it for y'all to enjoy!

With DH away, I have enjoyed several days GF. Really feel so much better. I don't know if it is the wheat, or the gluten, but some part of that really messes with me. I made a batch of GF bread, and had a BLT last night on it.

YUM. NOT wheat-flour bread, but it still has a good flavor, and bread is bread you know, something to put something else between and hold it all together with :).

I was good at lunch today too. After picking up DH at the airport, we stopped for lunch at our favorite feeding trough (LOL) - Olive Garden. I had Zuppa and salad (lots of cheese, avoid the croutons, no bread-sticks, and no pasta). Neither one of us was tremendously hungry though, so our usual 2/2 we ended up with one soup each, and I had two heaping plates of salad, while DH had only one. No problem though.

It feels good to have him home, even if he was only away for about 36 hours.

I've procrastinated enough ;). Back to knitting the edging, and putting my new purchases into storage until the CWS is done and I can cast-on another (couple) projects !!!

Full day of FUN!!

2009-01-06T19:28:00.001-05:00

Ok, so on this dreary, day with my DH who didn't have to go out of town today, I dragged him OUT of the house, and to the Pittsburgh Aviary and Phipps Conservatory.

Both under construction, but both very interesting none-the-less.

Pictures can be seen at my Flickr page.

>> My bread-baking obsession has continued. After finding the pizza crust recipe from Rosa's Yummy Yums I froze the dough, but after reducing the 'stash' to one crust, I decided to make some more. It is simply so easy, and freezes so well (uncooked!). Second batch worked up as fast as the first, and is in the freezer for now, until I crave pizza ... again.

My second bread-baking enterprise was to satisfy the needs of my DH when on the road this week. Someone who loves pepperoni, and is anti-protein bar. So pepperoni balls are the 'natural compromise' (yeah, ok, so not much of a compromise). Anyhow, they're baked, cooled, and bagged, and now my DH can happily hop into the car, and have munchies on the road without the chance that they're 'really good for him'. LOL ... there is WHEAT in those pepproni balls so they're not ALL junk-food :).

Ok, I'm aweful, he is really good about eating well, which he does, and better I think now that I make sure he gets his veggies at least twice a week ... ;) (oh I AM mean!!).

>>> I've added 2 whole repeats to my Civil War Shawl's edging ... which means I'm up to 17!! (82 total - 17 = 65 to go ... can I do it before my b'day which is LESS than 60 days away?? - that's the goal anyway!).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2009-01-01T23:12:00.007-05:00

I found a project, it was two socks at once, on two circulars. I frogged it, as I had NO idea at what point it was, and I couldn't figure them out ;) ... anyhow, I found THIS PAGE and it goes through figure-eight cast-ons, and the basic procedure for toe-up socks via the 'magic loop' method.

I am STILL working on my Civil War Shawl ...

And of course, my favorite winter treat ... Clementines. I was introduced to these delightful little citrus last winter in MN, and I can't get enough of them when they're in season!

Pizza ... 8 of 10?

2008-12-31T11:17:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!!

About a week ago now I was searching for a recipe for pizza crust. Something that I can make, freeze, and have on hand for those nights when I am simply out of ideas. I usually get a Digorno pizza and quarter it (frozen) and cook one quarter at a time (follow the directions on the package for 1/4 or the whole thing). But I really prefer to have the ingredients ON HAND and make it from scratch.

Admittedly, pizza crust is one of my nemesises (right next to meatloaf!).

My search led me, once more, to the Daring Bakers club, and a blog that talks about this pizza crust and recipe they used, that they really liked. I figured since Pizza crust seems to be my down-fall that I would try the recipe linked in that blog.

That blog entry was short, and linked to another blog ... Rosa's blog (Rosa's Yummy Yum) and the Daring Baker's Challenge - Pizza (Original recipe taken from “The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread” by Peter Reinhart). I would LOVE to participate in the Daring Baker's Challenges, but with the travel schedule my Husband keeps, and my joy to be able to go with him, I simply couldn't guarantee that I would be home and able to participate accordingly. So I enjoy collecting the challenges and will do them as I'm able.

I unplugged my laptop, and took it into the kitchen, where I promptly made a recipe as it reads on her site. It is an over-night dough, so thinking ahead (not a strong suit of mine most of the time) is a must. One recipe makes 6 crusts.

Ok, so dough made, and sits overnight, and we leave for the weekend. I wrap each of the six sections in plastic and pop them into the freezer in the hopes that they'll freeze ok, and I'll be able to thaw and use them in the future.

Yesterday, 12/30, I pulled two of the 6 out of the freezer, plopped them on the counter and said, "thaw." Which they did over the day, and by dinner (17:00 est) they were making the plastic bulge. EUREKA! I did a little 'happy jig', sprayed a cookie sheet with olive-oil spray, and made each dough into a 12" round. Par-baked them for 10min @ 425F, and allowed them to cool while the home-made pizza sauce simmered on the stove the required 30 min.

The crusts puffed nicely in the oven, and looked more like foccacia than pizza crust, but I was undaunted. Honestly each dough could have been made into about a 24" thin-crust, or a 16" regular crust. My little 12" crusts were more on the side of a thick-crust, but that is what I like.

Topped each little circle with the homemade sauce, a mozzarella/provolone shredded cheese, and one got pepperoni (Hormel or bust!) and the other got topped with mushrooms (yummy, MINE!!).

Ok, I feel so much better when I am GF, but I have really lost my way in that area and have not been sticking to that decision for a while. I KNOW that wheat/gluten bothers me, I know it causes me to hold water, and distresses my intestines, but there are some things that I feel are worth the repercussions. >>sigh<<

Anyhow, baking the pizza for 12 min @ 450F made it all crispy and golden on the bottom and the top was oozy with cheese.

I am thrilled with this recipe, and the results, and my DH gave it an 8 of 10, which is the BEST pizza/pizza crust rating he's ever given me!!!

PIZZA SAUCE by K. Bates

1 28-oz. can tomato puree

4 rounded Tablespoons grated Romano

3 Tablespoons oil

1 1/2 Tablespoons oregano

1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons basil

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Let simmer for about 15-30 min. This usually pops quite a bit, so a lid tilted over the pan helps keep down the mess.

Holiday Baking - total bust

2008-12-19T13:03:00.001-05:00

sigh ... the 'crud' has me in its clutches again, and for some reason all my attempts at baking yesterday evening were BUST ...

The macaroons baked runny.

The peanut-butter blossom batter, bombed, rather than being batter it was runny, and looked like we sugar.

The pumpkin roll bites ended up being just pumpkin rolls (they actually look pretty good!).

The giant ginger cookies spread and are more giant -gingersnap cookies.

I didn't even attempt the Almond Toffee Triangles.

This morning I made a batch of snickerdoodles, which spread and are not soft like they should be. My darling mom made a double batch of Snickerdoodles and macaroons so, I guess those aren't really a total bust.

My brioche dough for the monkey bread never rose, so that will not be made.

I'm totally bummed, and don' t know if I should blame the ingredients, the damp/rainy weather, the gas oven (I hate gas ovens), or the 'crud'. Or if I have totally lost my touch when it comes to baking, cooking, or creating delightful food.

>>sigh<<

Anyhow, what I have will go with me, and I have a bunch of stuff that I am going to take back to the store. I should swear off sugar completely, every time I indulge I get the crud, or some version of a cold or flu. BAH.

I did NOT take pictures of my failure, just don't want to show everyone how miserable they looks, since first you feast with your eyes!

Holiday Baking ... (drumroll please)

2008-12-18T10:03:00.002-05:00

I have offered to make sweets - cookies, and finger-sweets for the Christmas party at my in-laws (also the Parsonage). After careful consideration I have decided on the following that will be made for this 'shin-dig'...

Snickerdoodles
Almond Toffee Triangles
Macaroons
Giant Ginger Cookies (have to have ginger cookies @ a Christmas party!)
Pumpkin-roll mini-bites
Brioche Monkey-bread
Peanut butter kiss cookies (flourless and thus GF!!)

It is all going to be DIVINE ... and as I write this I have about 18 hours to complete this task ... and woke with a scratchy throat and achey head ... NOOOOO!!!

I AM going to achieve my highly aspired goal!!

I will post recipes, links, and pictures (if I remember to take them as I go).

Dogs with inexplicably Bad teeth

2008-12-17T10:31:00.001-05:00

Have you ever met a lovely, sweet dog with what I refer as "death breath"? Breath SO bad that (ugh) if you breath close to them long you start to suffocate and seek clear air? Sometimes the breath is so bad that it permeates EVERYTHING, and you simply cannot escape it!

My oldest boy, Jared and his daughter, Bella, both have 'the breath of death', not to mention REALLY bad teeth. It HAS to have something to do with genetics, because my girl, Faith, doesn't have this problem. Bella, only 4 years old is already starting to lose her teeth, and for no good reason other than genetics. I care for them, I clean them, she eats dry food and chews bones. There is no reason under the sun I can comprehend WHY her teeth are so bad. Jared is 10, you expect some decay, but his, too, are a little overwhelmingly bad and he HAS had dental work done, which unfortunately cured the breath and the grungy teeth for only about four days.

Anyhow, a solution has been discovered from an unlikely source. A woman whom my mother has met (the woman doesn't have dogs, her FRIEND used to have dogs, this woman has skunks of all things ;), and adores them :D) ... This woman had a friend who raised collies. Collies are notorious for problem eyes, teeth, and joints. Well, her friend discovered Bio-Dent Tablets combined with CoQ-10 CURED the bad teeth, and significantly helped the bad breath.

So, for Christmas our puppin's are getting each a bed (Tractor Supply for $9.99 ea) and are going on the recommended Tooth-repair/breath-cure for the required 30-days (no less) and we'll see how it works. I am really excited. IF this thing works, I am going to SHOUT it from the rooftops!!

If this works, anyone with a toy-breed, anyone with a smaller dog, anyone with an older dog, anyone that takes their dog in for a dental more than once every couple years, needs to take note and follow this remedy to the letter!!

I'm excited, and will keep all posted on the results!!

The Night Before Christmas ... in all it's original glory

2008-12-17T10:16:00.001-05:00

The Night Before Christmas

One of the best-loved classic poems, The Night Before Christmas, was written by Clement Clarke Moore for his own six children 186 years ago this year. It was published anonymously in the Troy Sentinel (in New York) on Dec. 23, 1822.

For many years, newspapers everywhere copied it without attribution until finally Mrs. Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's Lady's Book, discovered the secret of the author. An edition of Moore's verse published in 1844 included his own name for the first time.

Moore was born in New York City on July 15, 1779, and died in Newport, R.I., on July 10, 1863. A 1798 graduate of Columbia College, he became an outstanding Hebrew scholar and professor of biblical learning at the General Theological Seminary in New York City. He gave the seminary the land on which it now stands.

Originally called A Visit From St. Nicholas, the poem has undergone a number of alterations in content. Moore's version concludes with "Happy Christmas to all ...." In most editions, "Happy" has been replaced with "Merry." Another change: "trimmed up with fur" has become "dressed up" in more modern versions.

The Night Before Christmas has been a favorite of children in the 19th, 20th and now the 21st centuries, providing "visions of sugar-plums" dancing through the heads of youngsters of all ages. It certainly remains the standard bearer for yuletide verse. Here are the words to Moore's classic poem:

'Twas The Night Before Christmas, when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap;
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

recieved in an email newsletter from "The Good Old Days" 12/16/2008

Knitting ...

2008-12-16T15:56:00.001-05:00

Ok, so I've knit, crocheted, and other crafty things for a long time. Two years ago (2006) I fell in love once more with knitting (especially), and Passionately started several projects that promptly got interrupted.

I finished my prayer shawl. Based on the "branching out" pattern found on Knitty.com I charted, figured, and started knitting this and one ball of Microspun yarn at a time finished it in about 30 days.

I fell toe-over-heel in love with sock-knitting.

Started the "Civil War Shawl" by Susan Pufpaff. Which is STILL on the needles because the edging is just kicking my butt. The center took a little time, but not NEARLY what the edging is taking. 1200+ rows to the edging, each attached at the start to the center. I have approximately 15 repeats done of a total 84 ... yup, I have quite a ways to go. It is going to be GORGEOUS when it is done. I mean the color of the yarn alone is enough to make you swoon! The wool shows the detail well, and has a lovely memory. Started in 2006, it has been in the bag now for almost 2 years. I have not completely ignored it. I think I've added one pattern-repeat about once every 2-3 months on average, but it needs to be finished! I want to see what this magnificent shawl is going to look like once it is BLOCKED!!

I have other projects on the needles as well ... I ambitiously started a baby-blanket. I planned to finish and sell it but I've had to frogg the pattern several times because there is a glitch in the online-pattern. Because of the glitch, which I finally figured out and corrected, the blanket has taken more time than anticipated. I believe though that it will be quite nice when it is finished. Of course it would have to have an EDGING ;).

I love lacework-patterns, and have several doily and shawl patterns waiting on my 'to do' list. The right yarn, the right fiber, and there are simply no limits to the amazing things that can be created!!

Oh, and SOCKS. If you have never worn a pair of well-made hand-knit socks you are missing out on one of life's finest pleasures. Honestly, store-bought socks just can't hold a candle to the feel, texture, and comfort of a pair of home-made-with-love socks. I HAVE to make more, I just need to find the right yarn, :). AND I know how to do 2-at-a-time so there is no 'second sock syndrome'!!! HURRAH!!!

Hats, mittens, gloves, scarves, shawls, blankets, wraps, sweaters, skirts, stockings, socks ... there is just not enough time in one's life to keep up with all the possibilities!!!

Seasons Greetings, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to all who toil through these meandering thoughts.

Some Days ...

2008-12-15T12:00:00.001-05:00

You know the kind. the kind where you get out of bed, are raring to get the day started, and then something happens. Usually something just STUPID. Inexplicable. And it just takes the wind out of your sails, you wonder, "WHY did I get out of bed this morning?" and everything after that 'thing' just seems fruitless.

There is a groan, and a physical slump that accompanies those who are dealing with this problem. Sometimes it is easily remedied, and sometimes not. When it is even the remedy seems less exciting because of whatever caused the problem in the first place, either a decision or an event out of our control that doesn't seem to show its effects until days, weeks sometimes MONTHS after the fact. A snowball rolling downhill that ends in an avalanche of dismay and frustration.

You know you have had days like this. I've had them far too often in my 30+ years. I really feel for the people I know when they have one of those days and I can't help or do anything to correct the thing that is causing the problem.

Inevitably the 'thing' is called out. The fur flies. Accusations and guilt are part of the process. And then it is over. Whatever the mistake is, whatever happens because of it, the cause and effect are so indelibly embedded into our minds and psychey that there is NO WAY IN THIS UNIVERSE you will repeat the cause.

Life is full of 'crap' moments. I'm glad to be one of those who have these moments and learn from them. I'm glad too, to know a lot of people that do this making them much greater people. I know a few that never learn, and thankfully these are truly rare! I have a great deal of respect for the choices and resulting experiences, and enjoy when those experiences are relayed to me so I can learn from them through their moment, so I don't have to experience similar in my own life. This in no way prevents me from experiencing plenty of my own 'crap' moments. Trust me.

So in this holiday season, as cause and effect meet you head on, the daily choices that create ripples of good and bad occur. Have a truly Merry Christmas, don't worry, Trust the Lord to guide you and yours through it all, and share the Joy of the season with those you love.

I know I plan to!!

DH's B'day Cake

2008-12-14T22:00:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I'm catching up on a lot of blogging all at once. I'm avoiding working on my CWS edging, and in the process am really getting a lot of blogging done!!

Last Saturday was DH's b'day. He turned 28 and because there are TWO families that care about his b'day I conspired to gather them all in one place to help him celebrate.

He hunted ALL day long, since the day before was crummy cold and snowy, and the 13th was the last day of Rifle season for the year. I had the opportunity to both clean, and prepare the cake that would be served at this gathering of loved-ones to celebrate the special day of my MOST loved-one.

I had asked him the week before WHAT kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, and he said, "Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate."

I took him literally.

The cake was started the night before. Two boxes of dark-chocolate cake mix (the stuff with the pudding added to the mix, I believe it is Pillsbury?). I substitute 1/3 cup of the liquid (water) called for on the box with sweetened-condensed milk, and added a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips to each batter, and baked them in four 8"cake rounds (line the rounds with parchment or waxed paper for easy removal later).

Once the cakes were cooled I cut each round through the center (horizontally) creating 8 layers. I then layered them cake-chocolate mousse-cake-chocolate mousse- ending with a layer of cake. I wasn't able to fit all the layers on, there were two left over because the cake started to slide.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE by Hershey's
1/2 cup Pure-cane sugar
1/3 cup Cocoa Powder
1 cup whipping cream
1 pinch sea or kosher salt (better flavor than table salt)
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1 T cold water
1 tsp unflavored gelatin (use whole packet if doubling recipe)
2 T boiling water

In small bowl put cold water. Sprinkle gelatin over water and allow to 'proof' (sit about 2 minutes). Add boiling water, stir, and let cool.

Using a chilled mixing bowl. Put salt, sugar, cocoa, whipping cream, and vanilla in bowl and whip, starting on low and working up to a fast speed on your hand- or stand-mixer, whip the contents of the bowl, scraping once, until the contents begin to thicken. While mixer is running add gelatin and mix together. Contents should be stiff.

Serve as mousse (distribute into individual bowls and chill), as a "Mousse" pie (double recipe required, fill a pre-made 9" graham cracker crust with mixture and chill), or use as a filling for a killer chocolate cake (fill piping bags or simply spread between layers of chocolate cake and chill until set.)

We ate those extra layers that night, :).

In the morning I covered the cake with homemade Chocolate Buttercream frosting, and decorated it with store-bought vanilla frosting (got lazy, and had the vanilla handy :)!).

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
(coming soon)

The party was a success, and as I said before, no-one could finish their sliver of this cake. Truly the potential for death through the delight that is an abundance of chocolate!!

Health and sadness

2008-10-31T09:33:00.001-04:00

So I FINALLY got into see Dr. Kalro for my follow up. She 'doesn't consult over the phone' and her hours are ridiculously short 7am - 3pm Monday thru Thursday. This makes it a little difficult to get an appointment with her on a day or at a time when we'll be local.

DH was able to finish up work this week in time for me to get there. The appointment was at 2:50pm and I left the house a little more than an hour beforehand. Thank goodness for the TomTom, too. One of the major Pittsburgh 'arteries', the Boulevard of the Allies, has been under construction now ALL summer long, and this causes some problem with the ability to get TO the Woman's clinic. Traffic was horrendous getting there. I drove around the parking garage in circles for almost 30 minutes to find a place to park. Finally then got to the appointment and it wasn't until 3:50p that the Dr entered the room! (The trip home took me THROUGH the city to avoid the severe traffic on I-376, and of course the detour around the construction; and being rush-hour it took me almost 2 hours to get back home. What a HEADACHE I had!!)

So she goes over the bloodwork results with me ... High thyroid - gave me a scrip for 25 micro grams of Synthroid to balance it. Insulin is normal - Met is doing it's job. Overall Cholesterol is ok, but Triglycerides are about 3x higher than they ought to be! DOH!!

Ok, so, with the Met doing its job, I believe that problem (insulin resistance) is under control. And with that endocrine problem (insulin resistance leading to PCOS) under control I believe that the final piece to this puzzle, the thyroid issue, perhaps will be the final puzzle piece.

Sadly, no chlomid. No ovulation inducing medication until my levels are normalized. Nothing more in that arena until my follow-up visit, in six months, IF I have not gotten pg yet.

Six months. She wants to see me back in six months. There will be bloodwork done in the meantime to check levels.

HOW do I bring my triglycerides down when the overall balance of my cholesterol is okay? I have NO idea. My BP is fine. I have gained a couple pounds in the past month or so, but it will come back off, especially once the thyroid begins to balance.

I should become a rabbit again ... vegetarianism is rough though when I was both raised on pasta, meat, potatoes, and the old 'farmers fare', and my DH is a carnivore. And veggies are expensive, but for my health and for the possibility of starting a family I need to become very adamant about it. I need to become a veggie-vore. Lord help me to be persistent, determined, and return to the health that I had once-upon a time.

So I keep trying to do what is right. I have to find the wagon, hop on, and nail myself down so I cannot fall off. Veggie-voreism HERE I COME.

Stupid, senseless, gone forever ...

2008-10-29T14:08:00.001-04:00

On the road again. Left Dubuque, IA yesterday and am heading back to Pittsburgh tomorrow. One more job for the week, and we're trying to make a Dr's appointment that I"ve had to reschedule now numerous times because I chose poorly and the Dr only has office hours M-T 10a-3p. Poor choice of Dr when you travel with your hubby 3-5 days a week, and aren't ever sure where he's going to be a month or two in advance. Stupid.

Got on the road again early this morning to head to the second job this week. And got a call shortly after the sun rose. My phone was on vibrate, and because of the book-on-CD I didn't hear it, so Dave's phone rang and he answered.

As his face paled I knew something wasn't right, and through the snippets and one-sided conversation I understand. Gunner is dead.

Sweet, stubborn, jolly, life-is-awesome so join me in it, out-going, over-the-top, beautiful, healthy, Gunner, had pushed past my mother-in-law, through the door this morning and gone on a morning constitutional. In a direction he never went. And got hit by a car on the road in front of my in-laws home, where he was being cared for while we were on the road.

No squealing tires. No horn honk. They said they called him, and they heard a crash and a yip. The neighbor saw it happen. They took his battered and broken body to the closest vet's office where he lost the battle.

I can't believe it. DH can barely grasp it. Oh, we know all the truths, but right now, none of them seem comforting. Gunner was, is, will always be, part of our family. Our history. He was OUR first dog together. We flew to PA after moving to FL eight weeks after we got married to bring him home. To bring him to join our new family. To help ease the pain of losing Brady, to cancer only days after we got married. Brady was my DH's constant companion throughout his time in college, and will always be my DH's 'heart-dog'.

Mom always said that you get one. One heart dog. One dog that you really connect with on a deeper level. That was what Brady was for my DH. His loss seared a hole in my DH's heart, one that I thought would be helped with another Aussie boy. But Gunner, as most post-heart-dog, dogs are, was uniquely similar and drastically different in most every way as one creature could be from another. Same Aussie humor, with a twist of something else that Brady just didn't have, almost something that Brady wouldn't have stooped to having. Brady was royalty, where Gunner was closer to princely-jester.

I know that I didn't probably spend enough time with Gunner as a pup. I didn't want him to become MY dog, he was a gift for my DH. And it was very apparent that my distance worked. Gunner thought of me as a pawn in his game of life, and my DH as the King. I have always expected a lot of him, and know that it was most likely unfair. I was perhaps too distant. Had too many expectations. And I know that on many occasions was very harsh and very opinionated about his lack of the manners I thought he should have had, though unwilling to work with him to give him those manners.

I keep running in my head, "If I had spent a little more time with him, would this ever have happened?" The "ifs" and "if onlys" will drive me mad. Am I mostly to blame for his behavior this morning?

Just last week he joined us on a walk through Wintergreen Gorge. The trails that connect behind the PSU campus are wide, and well-trod. The scenery is gorgeous, only to be emphasized with bright fall foliage, and we were celebrating our 6th year together. Six blissful years of comradeship, companionship, and friendship. Six year prior, almost to the day, we had walked that same path with Molly and Brady. Seen the same vistas. Puffed up the same, ultra-steep hill from the bottom to the top of the gorge. This time though it was Gunner. Alone. In almost every picture. Meandering. Running. Sniffing. Exploring. Showing off, and showing us up. Living every moment for the joy of that moment. Running ahead then looking back as if to say, "Hurry up, slow pokes there is more to explore! You're holding me back!!"

That was Gunner's motto - Carpe diem. Living everyday to the fullest, on his terms, without regrets, for the simple joy of being a dog and living.

A lot has happened in six years.

And we've lost another canine companion, tragically, unexpectedly.

The tears flow freely down my face, and the hurt in my chest is for the loss of our boy, and the stupidity of how it happened.

Sadly who do you blame? Who do you get angry at for such stupidity? Such a prime example of where the hearts of humanity lie. A total lack of compassion. A total lack of concern. I see people run off the road for anything from deer to squirrels. The person that hit Gunner didn't even hit their brake, honk, or swerve. Where they so utterly engrossed in their own little life that they didn't see him? They left after hitting him. They didn't even stop. Did they even recognize that they had HIT something?

In MN a woman in our parking lot backed into our Trailblazer doing extensive damage to the front driver-side quarter panel and bumper. She didn't even know that she had done it. Was honestly surprised that it had happened when she was called out about it by the police woman that I had talked to about it the day prior. HOW could she have NOT known. I know when I hit a knot in the road, let alone a bird, or an unfortunately crazed varmit as it streaks across the road. I slow. I even, if safe, will swerve to avoid if I can.

Was the person drunk? Late? Talking on the cell? Putting on makeup? We do know they had to have been speeding. We also know it had to be someone local, my in-laws home is on a very quiet, side street. One that is not used as a through-street very often, and never by someone who doesn't know the area, well.

I am numb. As my mom said, "He was the 'good' one!" The girls, they're difficult, sensitive, freaky, weird, easily stressed. This is probably part of the reason why Gunner was what he was, every member of the pack takes on jobs to balance out the pack. Without Gunner's outgoing, over-the-top temperament, I don't know WHAT is going to happen to our little pack.

I will, DO, miss him, miss them. Always do when we're traveling. Now I will have to miss him indeterminately. Never more to holler at him to behave, to calm down, to listen, to stop doing what he was and be attentive to me. Never more to see he and my DH playing. Never again to watch him be interested in everyone else's toys but the one we've given him, and once he steals one to horde it with a grin on his face while he lies in the shady spot he's selected.

It will be a while before we get another dog. It will be some time before this hole in our hearts starts to heal. We already told the breeder about his demise, and she already said that she'll happily put another in our lives when we're ready for it. I don't know when that will be. I don't expect it will be for quite a while. Then again I may be quite wrong.

We are so thankful for their time, and their patience with us as our in-laws have cared so well for the boy. The Dude. Our Gunner. We know they didn't do anything wrong, and even more they put themselves out for us, and for him. He very much enjoyed being there with them. And we are forever thankful. Forever grateful that they were willing to do that for us. We have, will never have, any animosity toward them for doing their very best with him. This incident was in no way their fault.

It is all in the plan. God knows when the lilies bloom and whither. When even the minutest of insect, or sparrow falls. I know that He knew this would happen the way it happened, and when it was to happen. I know that He cares so for His creation. Though I doubt dogs go to heaven, as that is a special place for His chosen people. I honestly don't know if there isn't a part of heaven, or the new earth, where the lion lay with the lamb, that there won't be our beloved pets waiting for us just outside in the 'happy hunting grounds'. Wishful thinking, perhaps, but I have to think that their lives are not just a flash in the pan, and that they too may live on in more than our hearts and memories.

It is hard to put closure on such an occurrence. Sometimes I wonder if we shouldn't go and call Brady out of DH's old apartment in Pittsburgh, just to make sure he stays with us. I know that I will call Gunner when I go to my in-laws place. Softly. Know that he'll always be with us in our hearts. We'll bury his shell next to Brady's grave, in the out-of-the-way spot. It will be rough. I'm glad in my head that my DH wasn't there to witness the end of either. Perhaps a little bit of protection. They'll always be remembered alive in his heart, in his eyes. When he thinks of them he'll think of their good times, NOT their tragic end.

Tired, so tired. So drained. So frustrated at the circles my mind keeps running in. So upset that whoever hit-and-run, RAN.

Gone but never forgotten:
Snowbelt's Action Front "Gunner" 2003-2008.

A Night in Danville, PA

2008-10-20T14:00:00.000-04:00

So we left without final confirmation of the job, because initially there was a work order for 1pm. It took us about 5 hours to arrive in town.

Danville, PA seems to be more a speck on the map than actually a town. The hotel is surrounded by a couple others, and a couple eateries.

Lunch was McDonalds. Unfortunately my order got messed up, and (arrgh!) I ate it anyhow, which was a mistake - should have taken it back and said, "Heck no, get it right!"

The afternoon was simple. In the hotel while my honey worked. Watching TV (HGTV and Food Network, the old standbys). Stupid lunch messed with my stomach and even the Pepcid I took didn't really hit it much.

Giada de Lorentis made dishes for a block party, both the dishes and the party sounded AWESOME ... one of those things I will set aside in my "when we're settled" file.

... Chili night is coming up and I really am looking forward to it. The first one was six years ago. We've only been able to attend one other since, and it is such a really special day. At least for Dave and I. This past week we celebrated our Sixth year together. The love of my life. I had 'known' him for three years, but until the week prior to Chili night, and then the day of, I never thought of him as more than a passing acquaintance ... little did I know that passing acquaintance was my soul-mate and soon to be my darling...

Living Life and Loving it!

2008-10-05T20:23:00.001-04:00

So, my computer got pulled off the table two weeks ago (Monday) and it cracked my power cord. Well without a power cord my computer is in IR (injury reserve). Kept it 'limping' along for a week, then it finished breaking this past Monday. Bah!

Ordered a new cord this past Wednesday, from BC, since nowhere sells 90watt cables compatible with an older eMachine. Grr!! meaning it will arrive Monday (tomorrow) AFTER we leave for SC!! So I am without computer, with the exception of when I can hijack my DH's laptop for a few minutes to check finances and mail. :). One of these days I'm just NOT going to be able to bring my eMachine back to life :) ... Its death is inevitable, but until the inevitable happens I am going to keep it going as long as possible :). Thankfully I have the support of DH and friends who have been tremendously supportive of this endeavor .. THANKS guys!!

We spent last week in Iowa (IA). What a gorgeous time of year to be traveling into the Mid-west. The acres upon acres of wheat, oats, soy, and corn fields covering the gently rolling hills in varying shades of golds, yellows, and fading greens. The landscape peppered with silos, grain storage, and farm houses. It was very memorable.

One of the hotels we stayed at had a line of osage oranges along the parking lot so I grabbed a few from the tree. They're NOT edible, and they're really ugly! But they have a gentle citrus smell and are GREAT for repelling spiders in the winter time :). I'll post a picture when I get them downloaded from the camera, :).

When DH and I got married we wanted to travel the country and see what it looked like. Well we've been truly blessed ... for the first several years of our marriage we didn't really travel. But patience has payed off, and our borders are expanding tremendously. Minnesota, Iowa, and most of the east coast from the Mississippi river east. What a lovely and diverse country we live in!

Anyhow ... Sunday night football is on ... Steelers vs. Jaguars tonight ... GO STEELERS!!

Update on health status will be posted in a couple days or so, thanks for being patient!!

School, education, and my messed up want to return

2008-08-12T07:10:00.001-04:00

Yup, you read right, this time of year it is very difficult for me to not want to hop onto the closest bus and enroll in school, somewhere. It has been this way for many, many years. I had a severe love/hate relationship with school when I was growing up. The later when I was homeschooled beginning of every year I heard the buses go by and felt like I should have been on it.

Nope, I LOVED being homeschooled, but for some inane reason I just felt like at the beginning of the school year I needed to be on that darn bus, shipped 1.5 hours to the school and join the throngs of insanity that is part of school.

I think I have a serious mental misfire somewhere!

A week ago we were in State College, PA. Talk about stirring up all those old, "it is that time of year must be in school" feelings! There is so much in life to learn both through experience and via a book, and life is just too darn short! Every year I grow, and feel that much more prepared to tackle that learning process head-on.

Perhaps I'm a little t'tched in the head? I feel that I would have made an excellent grade-school teacher. The fact that I adore kids, wouldn't be the only reason. I will someday, perhaps, have the opportunity to do so, but in the meantime I find myself wondering if I didn't miss a calling somewhere along my path with my obsession with biology, genetics, and animal husbandry.

Forevermore I will probably have this deep-seated pull to be part of the throngs of eager school and college bound youths. The energy that is felt, the excitement mingled with determination and a little trepidation is so invigorating. Being somewhat excessivly sensitive to these kinds of things, I believe that is also part of the reason I yearn to be back in the classroom. Perhaps not so much for the learning, but for the environment, the energy and excitement that eminates from the throngs.

I also have a love/hate relationship with people. No one in particular. Going to school is an emotionally charged experience for all concerned, and I find that being in the midst of all those people gives so many opportunities to observe, participate, and reflect on the amazingly diverse individuals God has put into this world. Some are awesome, some tolerable, and others are just annoying, :).

I am excited to know a lot more exciting and delightful people than I do the annoying and irritating ones. I'm also very thankful that the Lord has put into my path a large number of wonderful people, friends, aquaintances, and passers-by. Every one of them has touched and enhanced my life in some way to make me what I am today. I pray every day that He will continue, and help me always to keep in perspective life's experiences, and always, always focus on Him through it all.

The Resurection of the Laptop

2008-08-12T01:24:00.001-04:00

YAY! A dear friend who is phenominal with computers, revived/saved my laptop computer!! HURRAH!! I am currently sitting at it waiting for some software to install and typing this little note.

I am thrilled to have my laptop back, but it seems dreadfully slow after working on his laptop and desktop now for almost two weeks. It is like trying to do something online with dial-up when you're used to DSL or T1!! He recommends I look into a Dell Studio 15, which I really like the look of, and will look to saving up for one. Modestly 'tricked out' a S-15 is under $1000, not to mention my AAA discount of 6% ;), so that drops it a little more even!!

So, tonight I'm 'home alone'. My DH ended up in mid OH for a job today, and then headed to mid MI for another. He'll be back home tommorow evening I expect. Miss him tonight. He has had a very long day, and I know for a fact that he'll be ready to crash and recover when he gets home!!

The dogs and I went for a long, long, walk at a local park today. It is one of the larger parks in the area, and the roads and paths are extensive. I would say we made it about 3 miles, perhaps a little more. When we got home they all crashed, I haven't really seen or heard them since we did. I am so pleased!! Unfortunately now we have to determine the best course of action so that I can have them when we're home, and they be cared for when we're away. DH has made it plain that he would like me to join him on his travels. Much to my delight, I must add. I love to travel!

Unfortunately, dogs are inconvenient, since unlike kids you can't really have them in hotel rooms without a lot of extra hassle, or take them into stores, restaurants, or even on long trips in a rental. There is a fence that has to be breached, and I just don't even like to think about it. I'm torn. My heart says we have to accomodate them somehow since they are our responsibility, and my mind says we ought to find them homes where they will be appreciated and adored. Oh, no matter how hard I think and pray on this issue it seems that there is no real, honest, and true answer :(. Sometimes the complications in life really stink!

I am suffering from heartburn this evening from veg/gf chili for lunch, and sweetened strawberries with cream for dinner. Woke up with hiccups, and am going to bed with heartburn ... my body must be somewhat unbalanced!

So considering recent events, I just don't see how I could possibly own the business we were looking into purchasing, since it would take a lot of time to keep it running, and my DH would like me to join him. Besides we got the financials, and last year's income was almost 45% less than three years ago. For whatever reason either economy, or location, or novelty, the business is not as profitable as we'd been led to believe. Yeah it is still in profit, but not nearly what it was, and it is a steady, yearly decline. Concering to be sure. I have to talk this over with my DH and find out if this is still in the works, because darn it, if it isn't I have to let Kelly know ASAP - I won't keep her on the fence any longer - either we go for it, or we don't. It really IS that simple.

On the other hand I have two orders for digitizing, and could make one of those also an embroidery order. It is too bad that my machine went ka-floowie! I may have to outsource. Somethign to think about, but something I haven't thought much about since my computer went flop ... now that it is back, I can get some of those things done!

R.I.P. Laptop

2008-07-22T15:04:00.001-04:00

After five days of struggling to correct my laptop's serious failures ... I must say drastic surgery is my last resort, but as it is 'family' I have to allow my husband to do the 'procedure' since I honestly am afraid I'll damage it. It has served me very well over the past 4+ years. A gift for Christmas at that time, my true delight in it is still apparent in my disappointment that it has begun the long spiral to the parts bin.

In the meantime I'm on my DH's computer - much to his TOTAL dismay. He doesn't like me on his computer any more than I like him on mine. But he also has a killer laptop he uses for work (and other less work-related things). We have an older desktop in the back room, we were thinking of making it into a server for games ...

He said I could have THAT one, but I don't know. I feel free with a laptop. the portability is delightful. I can take it into the kitchen, or the bedroom, outside, etc. And I find that tremendously liberating. Desktops are set up and left where they are.

I just don't know.

I agree with him that I don't want to be spending a fortune on another laptop. Honestly, I feel that the money spent would be put to good use, though I truly don't want to - I want MY laptop to work. BUT if it comes down to losing my current laptop (that I bought as a refurb from Tigerdirect.com in 04, and was originally made in 02) I really, REALLY want to replace it, NOT use a stationary monster (desktop).

Ok, so I might be a bit of a snob. Perhaps he's really spoilt me. But I just really like laptops so much more than desktops!

Anyhow, we'll see if he can get things cleaned out in the end, and maybe it will begin to run. Who knows.

I mean ... he bought this monster of a desktop from the place where he worked, for a song, like $100 bucks for a GREAT machine and it is tricked out. The last computer we bought was the laptop and it was UNDER $1,000 when we did - so over 4 years we've spend an average of what $275 on computers? I don't think that is horrible, and on the recommendation of a technically minded genius I think I can get a replacement that is going to last me a few years for again, under $1000!! I just don't see the disadvantages!!

Oh, well ;) ...

Hey, y'all have a GREAT day!

Messed up Me!

2008-07-17T08:27:00.001-04:00

Ok, so I have this dyed-in-the-wool urge to can/preserve/pickle ... put up any and all fruits, veggies, and even MEATS that I can. I don't know where, or why I have this dreadful urge, but it really is quite horribly overwhelming and very frustrating as I have to fight myself to not go overboard. I only have so much space after all, and not a lot of room to process things for canning!

The persistent feeling of wiggliness, that is the best I can describe it, my whole body feels wiggly, like I need to prepare for something. Wiggly in between bouts of undeniable exhaustion at which time nothing and no body can keep me awake, and it is best when I hit these moments that I be close to home.

My cycle this month is horribly off-kilter. After three cycles that were perfect, almost to the day, I have now shot this perfect score out the window, by two weeks. POS return BFN twice now, but my temp is still high - substantially so. Well it is the first day I've taken it in quite some time because I had misplaced it, and only found it yesterday afternoon. Even so, I can't understand why I'm all outta whack again. There just doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for it.

Monday I went to pick blueberries. I have never had to fight the bees so much for each delightful, large, ripe berry! The honey bees were EVERYWHERE, and abundant!! I know WHAT they were after - the same thing I was, the juicy sweetness held inside each and every ripe berry. What I was surprised at is their ferocity, and number. Pazkorz's Berry farm (36 Starr Road, Cheswick, PA 15024 - tell them you heard of them here!).

Their red raspberries, though delightfully ripe and huge, were covered with honeybees far worse than their blueberries. They are on their way out, too, unfortunately. I'll be back this week to pick more Black Raspberries and blueberries. Then toward the end of the month for Blackberries, and later in the year for gold and red fall raspberries.

Oh, and heading to the Chiro today for a crunch as well. He did a great job the last appointment. Manual adjustment and I felt great! He is very versatile, and I'm very pleased, after two disappointing appointments, where the cost of each visit was rather more like flushing the money down the toilet, this last one was very good, and this one should be even better. It is nice to be on the mend, at least in one area!

Websites, hijackers, and lack of time to keep up with those who have too much time ...

2008-06-17T15:10:00.001-04:00

Well, today I get a call from my darling, from work, saying, "Hun, I think your website got hijacked." So I go there, and wha-la not only has it been hijacked, the hijackers are GLOATING about their prowess in hijacking a site that has little to no security and is basically a bunch of critter and kennel information.

You MUST be kidding me!!

So, after being a little preoccupied with life lately, and having little to NO time, or interest in keeping the site up and running, I'm faced with the dilemna of whether or not I should just shut it down all-together, and when I'm ready re-open a site just for the digitizing/embroidery that I do. Honestly, I am thinking that is the way to go anyhow. My interest in keeping the site up has dwindled. I have enough going on without that too. I DO enjoy sharing the pictures, vids and information that it contains, but nothing that I have there is un-reproduceable, just about anywhere else on the web.

Etsy for the design/embroidery. FB for et al about me. YouTube for vids. Flickr for pics and vids. Do I really NEED a domain? or a website??

Just irks me that someone out there has so much free-time on their hands that they have nothing better to do than to hijack MY measly little website. You HAVE to be kidding me!!

It has happened before, but not quite so 'in your face'.

Ok, serious pet-peeve... people who stick their long, bored, noses in other peoples business when they ought to be doing something productive with their time, energy, and lives!! I have a few choice words, phrases, anecdotes I would like to share with these human-rejects.

NOT to mention the political and religious views they have posted on MY website under MY domain. Lord, forgive me for the rambling jumble of phrases that are now tumbling around in my head about these rejects that I just can't seem to supress at the moment, I am so irked.

Ugh! ... anyhow ...

The missing plates have been FOUND!

2008-06-11T21:09:00.001-04:00

Ok, so they were in a smaller-than-remembered box, buried in the back room under a couple other boxes, I had no need for. Figures. But they are FOUND and I have my plates back, my cups, silverware, gadgets, gizmos, tools, and all the extras. Honestly I didn't realize I had so many THINGS for my kitchen.

And even so there are a couple other things that I could use.

Groceries were bought yesterday, and I feel very good about what I have in the fridge. It isn't over-filled, but what IS in there is good for now!

I think italian-dressing marinated chicken for dinner tonight with fries, sounds good. And of course the requisite salad ... lettuce, pepperoni, Italian dressing (or in my case a little Ken's Honey Mustard, YUM!).

Paperwork has been gone through - almost 18 months worth! - and I am proud to say it has been filed as well. Another reason to cheer!!

The case of the missing dinner plates ...

2008-06-10T10:48:00.001-04:00

Every time you move, things get packed, and shuffled, and moved, and with great anticipation they travel and arrive safely at their (and your) destination.

After unpacking innumerable boxes and bins. Unwrapping items that have been in storage for more than a year. Discovering things I haven't SEEN in perhaps longer than that. And realizing that yup, I have WAY too much stuff, even though in THIS house it seems like we just don't have enough (storage, shelving, bookcase/shelves, seating - all seems missing) ... it has served us well for since we got married, and assorted things have accumulated since then, but we keep returning to small (under 1000sqft) housing, and in THAT it seems perfect.

1,600 sqft just seems ... HUGE. Even with the dogs back, which by the way is AWESOME (feels good to have them back!).

Well after unpacking perhaps, 80% of the stuff, I can't seem to locate my dinner plates. The ones that have traveled with us since leaving PA more than 18 months ago, to MN and back. The ones that, for the life of me I remember packing up, and now they're not here. Well, I know they ARE here, I just can't seem to find them. I will, it is only a matter of time :).

Now I have 18+ months worth of paperwork I need to sort through, file, shred, etc. Not to mention the rest of the boxes to unpack, sort, re-arrange, and store away.

We were awoken to the crash of thunder this morning, and it was glorious. Such a lovely, rumbly storm. We had to leave FL, MN, and return to PA to actually GET a storm, but that is ok. I'm glad we are back, and we are here, and Lord willing we'll be here for a while :).

What is next? (Other than packing?) I don't know, playing it by ear I think!!!

Oh, on the gardening front. I bought a HUGE pot, and planted a lovely BIG tomato plant in the center with a LARGE cage around it. Here's hoping that it grows a bazillion tomatoes!! I was thinking I should put some herbage around the base, some basil, cilantro, parsley, perhaps even a pepper ... the pot is THAT big! I look forward to FRESH tomatoes picked only moments from slicing. YUM!

There is more to do!

Keep praying that our family expansion project takes off with gusto. Last month I really thought there was a chance, but AF visited despite my hopes. I do hope to see that BFP soon - I'm getting a bit impatient (oh, wait, getting? hardly - I AM impatient, that is just me, but this whole waiting thing is for the birds!!).

Research on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

2008-05-20T17:13:00.001-04:00

I am fascinated with the procedures and dedication that goes into being the soldier at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. So I did a search online today, and thought I would share with you some of the links I found. Memorial day is arriving with speed, I want to honor our soldiers and vetrans who have and are putting their lives on the line to keep my, and my family's freedoms intact.

The Snopes site is dedicated to proving, or disproving, the truths and falsehoods sent and shared around the net. Here is their page on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. http://www.snopes.com/military/unknown.asp

Arlington Cemetery's site. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/tombofun.htm

Wikipedia's site on the Tomb of the Unknowns. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_the_Unknowns

An exerpt from the wikipedia site ...

"The Tomb of the Unknowns has been guarded continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, since July 2, 1937. Inclement weather does not cause the watch to cease.

The Tomb Guards, a special platoon within the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), make personal sacrifices to have the honor of serving. They work on a team rotation of 24 hours on, 24 hours off, for five days, taking the following four days off. A guard takes an average of 6 hours to prepare his uniform (which is solid wool regardless of the time of year) for the next day's work. In addition to preparing the uniform, guards also complete physical training, Tomb Guard training, cut their hair before the next work day, and shave twice per day. Tomb Guards are required to memorize 16 pages of information about Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, including the locations of nearly 300 graves and who is buried in each one."

There are many stories about the soldiers that have served at the tomb, as well as the soldiers of whom it represents. I am honored that they have served a country to preserve freedoms we in America enjoy. I have many relatives, and more so now that I have married a man with a rich heritage of military relatives.

I am proud to be a citizen of these United States of America. Prayer, vigilance, and sacrifice has kept our freedoms intact. We're not perfect, but we are tremendously blessed!!

In preparation for moving ...

2008-05-20T08:13:00.001-04:00

So trailer is found, and bought!! YAY!! We are quite excited about the imminent move. MN utilities are already scheduled to be shut off. Preparations are in progress for our moving into the new place in PA. Boxes are being gathered. Food stores are being used up (well the frozen stuff anyhow). And best of all, DH has a week between leaving MN and starting work in PA to relax, settle in, move the stuff in storage into our house, and get a feel for the 'lay of the land'.

One more holiday in MN. Memorial Day. Which is going to be a celebration of our departure (between us) and a going-away party for the pastor of the church we've been attending, as they are moving to NJ in another week or so.

Saddly, now that the weather here in MN is getting so nice, I'm not as eager to leave it in our dust. There seems to be so much of this lovely countryside that we're not going to get a chance to really explore. I guess that is alright. Perhaps we'll have to return to visit our newly made friends, and explore it a little more in the years to come. We will miss our new friends though, there is no doubt in my heart of this fact.

The breeches sold on eBay to a gal in Canada. The chaps, though worth at least the price I put online, didn't reach my reserve, but I am pleased to have offered the high-bidder them anyway, and hope they'll take the opportunity to purchase them. If not I'll have to try again in a month or so after the move.

eBay, a great place for selling things!

2008-05-16T08:59:00.001-04:00

Ah, eBay, what a great venue!

I placed my breeches, half-chaps, and Ariat paddock boots on eBay this past Monday evening.

The boots sold last night!! The Half-chaps and breeches both have bidders and watchers.

These were my b'day presents this year, and my DH is a little bummed that I decided to sell them. I told him that I would rather have the cash to use than have these items simply sitting around the house. I think he understands. I have to say that the short time these items were used, was very memorable and very, very special. I won't soon forget the joy of free lunging the Fresian boys in the arena, or grooming them down.

I found out recently that Breezy is due within a week. So perhaps I will make a trip to the barn when she foals to meet the new baby. I think that would be a lot of fun! I do hope that it is a little filly. Zorro is the sire, and I can imagine the baby is going to be a stunner, 3/4 fresian-1/4 Clydesdale.

On another note, Narnia's tale of Prince Caspian is opening in the theaters tonight and we have plans to see the 7:35pm showing!! YAY!! Dinner with friends, movie, and fellowship - is there anything better on a Friday evening??

Saturday a trip north to perhaps pick up the trailer we're looking at. Pray that the paperwork is not a problem!

Anyhow, have to get the days started - walk to the post office to drop off the box, and pick up sushi (or fruit - still undecided about which sounds better) for lunch :).

TA!

Preparing to Move

2008-05-15T12:34:00.001-04:00

So, I think we have found a trailer. Now we just need to determine if the paperwork is going to be feasible to work out. I am thoroughly flabbergasted at all the hoopla that has to be done in PA to register a trailer. The trailer is under 3001# GVW (gross vehicle weight), which means there will be no inspection needed! A small victory!! It shouldn't be a problem though (hopefully) and perhaps we simply need to have a little faith in the Lord's provision and guidance. We'll be heading up into WI to look it over, and purchase it this Saturday if all goes well.

Other preparations are non-existent right now. Can't start packing things up just yet, though I itch to do so. The last couple weeks, even days, prior to moving always seem to drag on. I have trouble being patient, waiting for the right time so that we can start packing, and not have to unpack the things that I've already packed because I got ahead of myself. Boxes haven't started to be collected yet either, I know when the first few start filtering into our apartment things will start to feel far more certain. Imminent.

We have been approved for housing in PA, and are looking forward to getting our furnishings into our new digs. And having the dogs! It will be nice to return to the comfort of 'normal'. At least normal for us. The Lord is providing, and continues to provide the strength, patience, and persistence to accomplish that which is needed to get back to PA.

My DH has gone through a plethora of tests for his new job. The new company takes pre-employment screening very seriously. Lung-capacity test, stress test, EKG, blood test for heavy metals, drug test, complete physical, and lifting test. I am in no way concerned that he will not pass any of them. And I am glad that it was done, since he (and I actually) is not fond of doctors, and hasn't been TO the doctor's in over 7 years, except for a brief check-up in 2003 for bronchitis that has cleared up with no residual effects after antibiotics. All the doctors, nurses, and aides that helped him get through all these tests said about the same thing, that the job he's going for must be either really important or paying really well. Well I don't know about the first, but the second isn't so true, at least not yet! I do know that they're going to be putting him through a lot of training, and I'm sure they want to make sure that he's not going to keel over a couple months into it all after investing time, money, and man-hours into preparing him for his new position.

The position is in a different field, though not without its similarities to his current work in aviation. In 6-12 months he'll be working from home, on-call, traveling to jobs where I can join him as often as possible, and he'll rarely have to be at the office! I do love having him around as much possible. It feels so right to have him near enough to pester, hug-on, and SEE. To know that he is near. Close. Perhaps I am a little insecure, but I love that man so much that having him near is just so right!!!

If we get the trailer I will post pictures of it. And I'll post pictures of our new PA diggs once we get there as well. I have big plans for that place. Knowing that we'll be there at least a year, perhaps a little longer means that I can actually put some effort into decorating, furnishing, and making it feel like HOME. Spend a month just settling into the place with what we have, and then taking it to a whole new level and making things comfortable.

Perhaps I will need to get an inexpensive sewing machine. I've been thinking about it for a while, for fixing clothes as well as making curtains and other household items! I expect a $99-$110 machine will do the trick, and so once we get moved, maybe I'll do that :). With permission and blessing of my DH of course =).

Anyhow, we have to move first!

Friday Prince Caspian hits the theatres. YAY! We have already bought our tickets, and will be joined by friends from PRBC. I am very much looking forward to seeing another one of C.S. Lewis' Narnia tales come to life on the big screen. Sharing good times with friends and my DH - what could be a better end to the week?!!

Revisiting Diet and Dieting, figuring out what I'm allergic/sensitive to

2008-05-02T10:10:00.001-04:00

Ok, first I have to say that food and I have had a love affair for years. Recently on Facebook a long-time friend posted pictures from when I was younger ... pre-teen younger (i.e. 18 years ago!). I was actually pretty thin at the time, despite the round baby-face (which is genetic ;)). I can honestly tell you that is NOT how I remember myself. And yet, thinking back to those years I was active, and definitely thinner than I was a year or two later, after I hit my teens.

Was this already the PCOS showing? Were/are there other circumstances that contributed to the not-so-nice, un-fun person I remember myself being in my teen years?

I know now, after being on the Metformin (a slow-release medication to counteract the primary cause of PCOS - insulin resistance) that I am not as hungry, and am aware of certain foods that make a huge difference in how I feel v.s. how I like to feel.

Wheat - one day I will be tested for wheat allergies and/or celiac (gluten intolerance). I really believe it is the wheat itself (in the whole) that bothers me, not just the gluten-protein that it contains. Why? Well I know that standard oats (rolled, quick, groats, etc.) contain the same protein and I can eat oats without trouble. I also know that wheat causes inflammation (another sub-cause of PCOS) and other problems such as Fibromyalgia, arthritis, and other joint, muscle, and skin problems. Skin problems! I eat wheat, or something with wheat in it, and a couple days later my skin is just a mess. Especially the skin that is exposed to the sun for any length of time, and primarily on my lower arms. I spent my entire adolescent and teen years with serious skin issues ... and could it have all been wheat allergy related?

Milk/dairy/lactose - Another cause of inflammation, and notably one of the leading causes of allergies in adults in the US, perhaps the world. Milk doesn't cause me to have severe stomach cramping (thank goodness!), but it swells my sinuses, glands, and makes my body 'puffy'. Cheeses don't seem to cause this. Yogurt does modestly but not as thoroughly as milk, and the more 'processed' the milk, the worse my reaction - i.e. skim is worse than 1%, and whole is worse than heavy cream! REAL ice cream in small doses isn't too bad, but those chocolate fudge bars that have almost no milk in them, don't bother me at all :D.

Processed sugar ... for me sugar is like a drug. I am really not fond of it, but when I have some it is like I need more, and more, and when I don't have it the first two or three days are torture to stay away, to the point of withdrawal symptoms! Thank goodness for Nutella which is my only respite when such things happen - it actually takes less time to 'detox' from sugar (and wheat) when I have a spoonful of Nutella when the cravings get their worst, than when I just go 'cold turkey'.

Cest'la vie.

So our trip to PA went like this ...

Arby's Md roast beef sandwich w/curly fries for dinner on the trip out (wheat in the bun, wheat in the marinade they use on the roast, wheat on the curly fries and in the oil they were fried in!). I started to feel the effects quickly. I had a salad the next day for lunch, there was soy-sauce in the dressing and the 'real' soy sauce is from a wheat-ferment. It just went on, and on like this the whole 4.5 days we were there.

Monday for lunch we did Olive Garden soups and Salads ... I held off from the bread sticks all through lunch, had Zuppa Tuscana and salad, and behaved myself. Until we got home with two extra bread sticks ... I broke one in half to feed the girls and took a bite. Utter Bliss!! But it was just one more kick in the pants.

The final straw was the pizza we bought for everyone Monday night. Oh, HOW I love pizza ... I held off most of the night, but finally lost control. Pizza, I have found, is a trigger food for me. I can't seem to stop. I love the taste, the textures... it is a fully involved process of delight. Anyhow, I avoided it with all my might until about half way through the evening when I gave in to temptation ... and had three pieces. Oh, SO good!!! And Oh such repercussions!! Heartburn, acid reflux, indigestion, and other unspeakable things ...

The return trip wasn't too bad, but with the severity of my food-indiscretions the prior four days, a pepsi with taco-bell for lunch while driving was the last straw for my body. Today is the first day I've felt even remotely 'normal'.

If the weather weren't so iffy I would walk down to Cub and get a tray of Nigiri Sushi for lunch ... unfortunately, it has been raining off'n on all morning, and I know that if I go out and start walking, and get caught in the rain I will end up with a flu, or a cold, or something un-fun.

Sushi, sashimi, a little wasabi (mmm), Nori (japanese roasted seaweed), Konbu (dried kelp), rice, vegetables, most non-citrus fruits, lemon and limes, the list goes on ... There are so many unique and tasty things out there, I shouldn't complain about not being able to eat the things I cannot. I was a fish/egg/cheese vegetarian for three years during college, and honestly I was at my healthiest and happiest ... and normal without meds! I know I can get there again ... with the Lord's aid, prayer, and putting my stubbornness into good use!!

Anyhow, the leaf has been turned, I am acknowledging that I'm rather food-sensitive (actually have been all my life, just really been able to ignore the symptoms for the most part ... until now when they're interfering with my plans, hopes, and dreams!).

Pray that I continue to behave and stay focused!! God bless each and every one!!!

A Great way to keep the weeds down ... tip from PA Farm News

2008-05-01T09:02:00.001-04:00

Tip of the Week:
Newspaper Weeds Away -- Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.Send in your recipes & kitchen tips.

PA Farm News

Searching for housing in PA, and I came across this little tidbit, and thought I would share it with everyone. I am eager to get into a place where I might have a small container garden - herbs, a patio tomato and maybe something else. we shall see ;) ... I won't be able to plant up anything that needs a long growing season because it will start sometime mid June, but it would be very nice to have some fresh quick-growing items within easy reach!

Have a great day, and enjoy spring in all its glory!!

On the Road Again...

2008-04-24T11:32:00.001-04:00

On the road again, it has to be our theme song :), we seem to always be traveling to visit family, or back from visiting family to where we're living at the time. I really enjoy traveling so I am not complaining, but sometimes it would be nice to know where we're going to be and be close enough to those we generally travel to that we don't have to visit for extended periods of time :). Soon enough I'm sure this will happen, so I'm enjoying the travel, when we do.

The weather this week has been positively GORGEOUS. Today is rainy, and cool (54degF), and they are calling for snow by the weekend, but then it is going to warm up again, thankfully, by next week. I do enjoy driving in the rain, so our 13+ hour trip will go quickly.

I'm really excited about this trip. It will answer some questions we have. Thankfully they're not too difficult to answer :).

So snacks are bought ... teriyaki beef 'nuggets', skittles, apples, water, applesauce, oreos, pop, OJ, and pickles.

Our bags are packed, but still need to go into the car. Clothes, computer, toiletries, odds'n'ends. Have to get gas and put injector cleaner in the tank, and am going to have the air pressure checked in the truck's tires before I head out to get my DH. This is a much needed, and long-overdue trip :), so we are both quite eager to get on the road. I'll pick my DH up at work this afternoon and we'll head out promptly.

I cleaned the house yesterday. I have a couple dishes to do, and some to put away before I get going again. The apartment is in order. gosh. I can't think of anything ... but you know the rule - something always gets left behind ... gee I hope that isn't going to be so!

I even made cookies the other day to take with us, and they, too, are packed and ready to be placed within easy reach in the event we get the munchies between stops. OH! And cash, gosh, we never carry cash, but with all the tolls along the way I had to get out enough to cover what we'll need, and a little more just in case.

Soooo, I think that is it. We're excited about the possibilities this trip holds, and ask everyone to pray that the Lord will guide us in the direction He would have us follow, and for His everlasting love and protection as we journey east toward family, friends, and possibilities.

TA!

Never complain about free stuff ...

2008-04-16T14:56:00.001-04:00

The much anticipated letter arrived! Ok, so it wasn't like it was THAT much anticipated, but gosh, it was fun to send a SASE and get something returned in it ;). Carl Griffith, an ancestor of those who traveled the Oregon Trail had a batch of sourdough 'starter' from back then ... REAL Oregon Trail Sourdough Starter, OVER 150 years in the making ... and I have my own little Tablespoon of it, sent from a volunteer that is keeping Carl's generosity, and starter, going. Honest it probably doesn't have the same flavor as that which was in Oregon so long ago, simply because of contamination from the air over the years, but it is still a lot of fun to think that I have a little bit of history now, and will nurture it for as long as I can!

My other starters are flourishing. I will be tossing them into the fridge here in a day or two, just to slow down their fermentation. But they do smell SO delightful.

The weather today is reaching for 70 degrees, and I can honestly say that if the weather men are correct (a rarity) we'll have some delightful thunderstorms this evening!! YAY! Rain, storms, WEATHER alway puts me into a good mood. The windows in my apt are open wide, and spring is flowing through the rooms with impunity. Fresh air, warm breezes, bird songs, duck calls, even a crow here and there AND a raven flew by not too long ago with their raspy call.

The Lord's hand is so obvious in our lives, and so gracious to deem us worthy for His attention ... Praise Him!!

Oh, poo I forgot the chocolate chips! (sourdough starter update)

2008-04-08T16:38:00.001-04:00

Well, yes, I did, darn things, up in my cupboard out of sight. Don't want to follow the recipe and put in raisins or nuts, DH doesn't like them. And now, after the coffee cake has been in the oven for 10 of it's 30-40 minutes I remember - replace good stuff (raisins and nuts) with bad stuff (chocolate chips). Cest la vie!

My Amish friendship bread starter (AFS/Herman), gf potato starter, and poolish are all going strong.

I have another batch of sourdough bread rising, courtesy of the poolish that is souring nicely. My first batch turned out divinely. I am going to form and bake this current batch into hoagie-bun style rolls, since I ran out of buns for my DH's lunch. The grocery store that carries the ones that I like to use, and that he loves, is 4 miles away, and my poor pigs (feet) just weren't in the mood to go that far and back today! So we'll see how this batch turns out. I may have a good thing going. I figure about about 6oz of dough formed into the elongated sub/hoagie bun shape should be a good size for a sandwich roll.

My AFS which will now be ever referred to as "Herman" (the other name for this sweet fermented starter) was in need of distribution having reached its 10 day mark and consisting of about 6 cups of starter. One cup went into the freezer, for the future. Three cups went into "Herman Sourdough Coffee Cake" (one of my favorites, which I will send to work with my DH tomorrow since he will eat only so much of it, and I won't eat any [sigh]). The remaining which worked out to be about 1-1/2 cups (odd I know, and am not sure quite why the extra 1/2 cup) I fed with the prerequisite 1 cup milk, 1 cup white sugar, and 1 cup AP flour (I always use unbleached AP flour).

Click HERE for the Coffee cake recipe. And of course since my cupboard is empty of the raisins and nuts that are called for in the recipe, AND DH isn't fond of either (silly DH!), I was
going to replace with a small bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips, but as I've mentioned, I forgot. So they're just going to have to make due with a simpler coffee cake :). I'll post a picture of it when it is
done if I remember to take one :). I fed the poolish after removing more than half of what was there with 1 cup ap flour and 3/4 cup water, and the GF potato starter is growing, but I haven't figure out what yet to do with it. I am going to have to become a bit more inventive I think.

Each of the sours have their own unique, lovely aroma. The poolish is sharp, and vinegary. Herman is pungently sweet/sour. And the GF potato starter is earthy, warm, and sour smelling.

Ah, and as I write this the coffee cake is starting to smell really good! I'm excited to send this to work for my DH and his co-workers to enjoy!

Blech, blech, blech

2008-04-07T13:13:00.001-04:00

Saturday (4/5) I felt really pretty good! Sunday morning I, again, felt really pretty good, but by Sunday evening I was miserable again, and this morning is a return to last week's nastiness. I'm getting really sick of it!

So today my diet will consist of bland starchy non-wheat foods - i.e. potato chips/baked fries ... try to recover and hopefully I'll be ok in a day or two. ... STRONG HOPE!

Abbie, whoo-beast, wooba, doodle-bug ...

2008-03-31T15:16:00.002-04:00

My first Tervuren. Born on groundhog's day in 1996. I had been saving for her for six months, and got the fateful call asking if I was still interested in a puppy the night they were born.

I picked her up on April Fool's Day eight weeks later. One of two girls in the litter of six, and the smallest puppy in the litter. Abbie was created just for me, I had very high hopes for her but never expected her to teach me as much as she has.
She had perfect hips, perfect eyes, perfect gait, perfect structure, tremendous temperament, rarely barked unless she had reason to, and grand ambassador for the Tervuren breed. I appreciate all she was and will always remember her - she was my first dog, and there is something very profound and special about firsts.

Abbie finished her championship in fine style with three majors against stiff competition. I almost lost her to complications after breeding her ... pyo (uterine infection), emergency spay and loss of her 9 puppies, and any chance of her ever having another litter ... complications from the spay ended in severe hemorrhage ten days after the surgery, and a long journey to wellness.

Eight years of borrowed time, such a gift! Finally, at the ripe age of 12 her body gave in to old age.

Abbie, my darling, sweet, beautiful, little Abbie, I will miss your silly ear-to-ear smile when I walk in the door, the hugs you give so nicely at the edge of my bed, and your soft bark that you have to pronounce "W-oooO-F" in order to get it out.

Ch. Magic Storm's Leading Edge CGC, "Abbie"
Feb 2, 1996 - March 28, 2008
There will never be another one like you in my life.

My Attempt at Sourdough bread ... GF and non-GF

2008-03-31T09:24:00.001-04:00

First you start with ... the starter. Since I have to make it GF, and also want to be able to use it for regular gluten/wheat bread (my DH loves fresh bread ;)). My answer to this was the following... 1 cup plain, gf yogurt (brown cow), 1 cup warm water (filtered or bottled), 1 rounded cup instant potato flakes, pinch yeast. I mixed it on Friday.

Three rules of sourdough starter, 1) never use plastic or metal to store or stir, 2) stir regularly, 3) feed every couple (2 to 3) days. There are two 'types' of sourdough as well the slurry and the dough. Not to mention the 'savory' type that is used in most standard breads, and the 'herman' or 'amish friendship' starter which are both a slurry and sweet sourdough starter.

Sourdough starters take no less than two and often up to a week to get fully underway, and the older the starter the more flavor it imparts to its final bread. Remember though, if the starter at any point has a pink tint, starts to smell musty, or rotten toss it. It is better to start from scratch than to take a chance that you're starter is bad. Bad starter can be deadly! Remember to use clean implements to feed and stir your 'critters' and always use a clean, sterilized container to store it in as to prevent over-abundant bacterial infestation.

So stirring at least twice, if not three times a day and feeding it 1/2 cup whole milk (cream will work, or warm water and a tsp of sugar or honey) and 1/2 cup gf rice flour (white or brown) or potato flakes every second or third day (in my case yesterday). You'll know when to stir because the top will be foamy and look dry, and looking at the side of the bowl you'll see two, possibly three distinct layers the 'critters', the 'hooch', and the 'foam'. Just mix it all back together and let to sit again in a warmish place (atop the fridge is the best place in my apartment.)

This starter is like a thick slurry. I am going to use part of it to make a 'dough', initially this will be non-gf simply because I've run out of rice flour. I've read that there are two distinct types of sourdough 'starters' the 'wet' and the 'dough'. This second 'starter' will be something firmer and work with that for a while and see which is easier to use. I believe that the slurry will be easier to keep going, but we'll see. And as I've said, I first have to get more rice flour, my supply ran out yesterday with the feeding, trouble with the rice flour "dough" will be the lack of gluten to hold it together, so it may end up being more a 'paste' than even a dough, an experiment in process :), and another reason why I will be making a non-gf, and a gf version of this second 'starter'.

The first couple days the starter smelled sweet, more yogurt-ey and not quite 'yeasty' or 'sourdough-ey' enough. But today, wha-la! It is beginning to smell slightly 'sharp' and very yeasty, the smell of GOOD working sourdough starter.

After feeding it, the mix 'outgrew' it's glass bowl yesterday, so I moved it into a larger one. I will have to find a 2-4 quart jar to house it in soon. If after the first couple feedings your starter begins to be too much you can discard 1/2 to a full cup and keep going. You can also refrigerate the starter to slow it down, just remember to bring it out to room-temp a day or two before you need to use it, give it a good stir and feed it. Oh, and remember to stir it while it is in the fridge, too, the 'hooch' can suffocate your critters if they sit under it for too long.
---->
Today, I will bake a loaf of lovely, simple, (non-sourdough) Italian bread. I still haven't mastered the texture that is offered in the stores, my IT bread tends to be a bit denser, but the flavor is out of this world, and there simply is no comparison. It actually does have some 'sourdough' likeness since the first rise is in the refrigerator for as long as 24 hours! This really creates a lovely texture and flavor, unparalleled in other 'simple' breads I have baked.

Oh, and word of recommendation ... if you use AP wheat flour, use unbleached AP flour. I discovered out of frustration that many of the 'bleached' flours tend to be more difficult to use, and cheap bleached AP flour can actually hinder your ability to make bread!

Today is a good day...

2008-03-28T14:36:00.001-04:00

Got out of bed, and didn't feel like crashing back into it.
Was a little hungry and the persistent nausea, though there, didn't become uncontrollable.
Exercised!! (am very excited about this!!)

I heard back from the Dr's office. They said that I should reduce the amount of Met until it doesn't bother my stomach any more. So I'll take it back to three for a while, that seemed to be ok. Whatever I have to do ;) right now, being home-bound is ridiculous!

Yesterday I started a loaf of "no -knead bread" ala the article in the NY Times by Mark Bittman (go to thenewyorktimes.com and search for no knead bread or Mark Bittman, he also has a podcast through the times!). Flour, a little yeast, salt, and water. Seems simple doesn't it?

Our apartment is borderline cold, how I like it (I'd rather get a blanket than be too hot!), and so to 'aid' this dough I warmed the oven and tossed in the covered bowl of dough for it's long 12-18 hour rise. Yup, this dough is NOT a 'quick' dough, but if the results shown are any indication as to the result, I will be patient. So I forgot to turn OFF the oven (sigh) and so the oven promptly dried out the poor dough, and I ended up with something that looks like a deflated curling puck.

Take 2: Flour, yeast, salt, water, mix together, cover with plastic wrap, let sit ... 8am this morning so around 8pm I'll be able to get it into the oven ... right? It is working lovely. Fine delicate bubblies on the top and seen at the side of the bowl. Definitely a better result than yesterday. Sometimes help is just NOT really help ;), you know what I mean??

I figure that this bread (I don't know if it is going to get its full 12hr rise) will be enjoyed with dinner (well, at least my DH can enjoy it with dinner ;)), despite my cutting it's 12hr rise short. I may start another batch to see what the difference is. Besides, DH never complained about good homemade bread!! ... which is already in the oven at around 250degF ... carrots, onion soup mix, potatoes, and about 1lb chuck roast, slow cooked at low temp makes for such a delightfully tender roast ... mmmmmmmm. Will take dinner out of the oven around 4p, and get the loaf of bread INTO the oven :). Should be good if I start it's second rise here in a half-hour or so. Only half the time it is supposed to have, but (sigh) what is an impatient girl to do??!

I made fried sweet potatoes for lunch, they sat ok. But when I found my last sweet potato it had sprouted - so I cut the most sprouts off with about 2" of sweet potato and have put it into its own little greenhouse ... maybe I'll have a plant soon ;)!

In addition I'm back on my 'sourdough' kick. Have to find some heavy 'crock' style containers and keep my dough growing. I want to start a GF starter, so I grabbed the last container of brown cow yogurt from the bowls of my fridge. The yogurt was semi-frozen, but heck, the culture will still be useful! I took a tiny pinch of yeast, a cup of warm filtered water, and a cup of potato flakes. We shall see if this will work. There is some honey in the yogurt, so added sweetness shouldn't be needed, at least not yet. To feed my starter I expect I'll use white rice or brown rice flour or potato starch, or maybe more potato flakes :), and a mixture of milk, honey, and/or filtered water depending on how it seems to come along. It is a process of experimentation that on sunny spring days I just can't help but give into!

GF Everyday Pancakes

2008-03-27T16:03:00.002-04:00

Oh! I am enthralled with "The Minimalist" aka Mark Bittman's commentary via the New York Times. This recipe
Recipe: Everyday Pancakes - New York Times (permalink) has inspired me. Thank goodness for high-speed!! He has a video podcast, in addition to his article in the Dining & Wine section of the New York Times online site, and is aired on Fine Living Network (I believe that is right) a couple times a week. You may have to sign up to access a lot of the NYT site, but access is free, and well worth it!

Being GF means that pancakes are often forbidden territory. But today I crawled out of my box, and inspired by the wheat-filled version above and the intense cravings of fluffy, crispy-edged, warm pancakes drowned in pure maple syrup and butter ... I had to create a GF version, with the ingredients I had on-hand.

Gluten-Free Pancakes that'll knock your socks off!! Ingredients:
Dry:
1/2 cup Potato Starch
1/2 cup Almond meal
3/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
Wet:
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg

Directions:

Mix to combine dry ingredients, then add wet ingredients. Using wisk mix all together until combined; batter should be loose, but not runny. Allow to sit for 3 minutes.

On hot griddle or pre-heated castiron pan rub butter across surface to ensure non-stick. Butter should foam on contact. Pour batter onto hot surface in quantity you desire - about 1/4 cup for small stacks, and 1cup or more for flapjacks.

Cook until the bubbles form, break, and don't refill immediately, then flip to cook other side.

Second side will take only a fraction of the time the first side did to cook. Serve immediately with a pat of real butter, and warmed maple syrup or a fruit topping.

This recipe will feed one VERY hungry person, or three regular people ;).

You can add GF oatmeal, chocolate chips, banana slices, frozen blueberries, or any number of things to this base recipe to create your own 'unique' pancakes. OR add a tablespoon of sugar to the batter, and top with strawberries and whipped cream for dessert - they are that good!!

Truly a delightful result ... bon appetite!

Flourless (GFWF) Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

2008-03-26T17:12:00.001-04:00

Ah, when the cookie-urge strikes, and you're recipe box is chock full of standard cookie recipes, what is a GF girl to do?!! GO TO THE WEB!!

I found a lot of recipes to try, but today I settled on Flourless Peanutbutter Banana Cookies, and I was NOT disappointed. The original recipe is from HERE but I have included it here as well for your enjoyment (with a couple adjustments since I did NOT make mine 'ultra vegan' as the original recipe is ). I have to say that mine came out a little flatter, but I was not using the 'best' ingredients - only what I had on hand, and my bananas were unusually moist. Needless to say they did NOT disappoint.

Flourless Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is by far one of the easiest cookie recipes ever!

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter (chunky or creamy)
3/4-1 cup white sugar (adjust to your sweetness preference)
1 small-medium very ripe banana, mashed or pureed (should have black spots)
1 teaspoon GF baking soda
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or if you have it vanilla paste! I'm still looking for a good supplier.)
3/4 cup mini, semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Besides being easy, this is SOOO good. Peanut Butter, Banana, Chocolate...how can you go wrong?

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix everything except the chocolate chips in a food processor until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

2. Using moistened hands, form generous 1 tablespoon (use more if you want bigger cookies) dough for each cookie into ball. Arrange on 2 parchment paper lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.

3. Bake cookies until puffed, golden on bottom and still soft to touch in center, about 12 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to racks; cool completely.

And ta-da! There you have it. Delicious, flourless, easy cookies! Also, they are very good if you do half chocolate chips half raisins. Hope you enjoy!!

Serves: Makes about 24 cookies (if you like "normal sized" cookies ).

Preparation time: 15 minutes

For a bazillion pictures of my results ... go to my Flickr page. New camera + repressed shutterbug = LOTS of pictures when I remember ;).

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Vanilla Oolong Tea ... vanilla? how can you go wrong?

2008-03-25T15:53:00.001-04:00

Vanilla Oolong Tea ...Yes, I've officially become a tea officianado. One glass a week ago at a local coffee shop, and I was amazed at how delightful it tasted. Today, I received my box of treasures from Adagio teas. An assortment of samples (10 cups per sample! well that is if you only steep the leaves once ;)), as well as a box of tea-bags of WuYi oolong (you can search the net for 'wuyi tea' and come up with some sites with fantastic claims about this tea, and they try to charge a phenomenal price for it ;) Adagio's price is very reasonable, and it is still WuYi oolong!!). Each sample comes in its own little tin, with the name, temp of water (boiling for darker teas, no more than 180 for lighter and herbal), and steep times.

I opened the little box to find the tins carefully contained in boxes, one holding four tins, one holding six tins, and of course the box of wuyi teabags. They even included an extra green-tea sample tin!! Ten MORE cups!! Yeah!!! (Well, that is if the tea is GOOD tea ;))

It was like opening a box of treasures. One at a time I gently removed each sample tin from their little box, and opened them to sniff. I am delighted with my choices. Vanilla Rooibos and Oolong, Peach Oolong, Dragonwell (a delightful oolong and similar to the one I found at the coffee shop), Chamomile, Lemon grass, Raspberry patch (wow, I can't WAIT to try this one as opening the tin engulfed my senses in dark woods on warm summer days picking the plump, soft berries) a dessert tea blend, I think even my DH is going to LOVE, and a spiced green tea. The 'bonus' tea called Kukicha is described as a nutty, sweet green from Japan and a blend of leaves and twigs. I am excited about trying this tea, not one I probably would have chosen on my own, but exciting non-the-less.

If this first cup of oolong is any indication as to how much I am going to enjoy these teas, then I am going to simply become infatuated with the tremendous adventures good tea can be. I chose vanilla, since the aroma was intoxicating, and the description makes it sound delightful. What seems like a lifetime ago I bought a 1ounce tea-ball, I've used it for herbs in sauces and soups, but never for teas! Until today. Approximately 1 teaspoon of loosely packed tea gently placed into the ball, and 8oz of boiling water poured over it and allowed to steep for five minutes ... wow, there was nothing disappointing about THAT cup of tea!

My typical tea experience is the expectation of having to sweeten it with honey, or brighten it with a drop of lemon juice. Not this tea. It stood delightfully on its own, the first time, and then I poured a second 6oz of boiling water over the same leaves for a second cup, and though the second cup wasn't as intense, it still was delightful! I don't think though that I'll get a third cup out of it as with the second I can taste a hint of bitterness.

I like the teaball. First because I am notorious for over-steeping my tea, and second for bruising it by 'pressing' the bag on removal so it doesn't drip all over from residual tea. I have to remember to not press my teabags anymore!

I am glad that the box came today. I have been 'blah' since Sunday. Last week I was a beast to be around, moody (swings that even an orangutan on speed couldn't have kept up with!), emotionally unbalanced (cry, growl, and again, all day long for over a week! SERIOUS PMS!!), and simply frustrated with it all. Monday proved the reason, and though I cannot complain, as this is the first serious visit from 'Aunt Flow' I've had without the use of progesterone cream or other encourager in over 4 years, I am really on the fence about the whole deal. BAH!! My body's reaction is cramps and exhaustion. So I've slept far too much in the last three days, and had to seriously force myself to do anything constructive.

I ended up pretty much sedate and blah! all Sunday. (Hope EVERYONE had a GREAT Easter). I decided that it was time to up the metformin to the full 2000mg dose Saturday, and it did a little dance on my stomach, but without the influence of the phetermine, it wasn't as bad as increases had been previously. More than the addition of the remaining 500mg of Met were the PMS symptoms, 'Aunt Flow' (AF) called and said to make ready her space because she was landing and was going to stay for a while ... yeah I'm a dork, but it has to be what it is ;).

Well, the Dr. said that one of the side effects of taking the Metformin might be pregnancy, and this IS the first step in that direction, so I am not complaining. Please forgive me if I sound like I am. That single possibility has been so far out of the range of possible for so long that I am overwhelmed by feelings of excitement, hope, and bone-chilling fear - perhaps too much time to think about it?? ;). Though it is all part of being female, well a healthy female. Oh, and not to be forgotten the deep, overwhelming desire to expand our family!

I got laundry done yesterday (yay!), dishes, dusted a little ... copied some GF recipes from Bette Hagman's books Glutenfree Gourmet Bakes Bread and Glutenfree Gourmet Cooks Dinner.

My DH is in the air on a test flight this afternoon. I hope the ride isn't too bumpy! The sun has been overwhelmed by clouds, and we have 'winter storm warnings' for this evening. The temp, though reached around 45 today, is steadily declining with the cloud cover and my windows, which I opened to enjoy the spring warmth, sounds of birds, and fresh air, are now allowing a chill wind breeze in. I love the smell of impending storms, but the windows must close soon, or I'm going to start to shiver!!

I will post pictures of my 'treasures' soon, and more experiences with these teas as I try each one. If you love teas, send me an email and I'll send you a $5 gift certificate good toward your next purchase from Adagio Teas!!

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Tea, good for so many things!

2008-03-21T13:02:00.001-04:00

I enjoy a good cup of tea, hot or cold. There are so many choices out there sometimes it is hard to sort through it all. I have found a site where the customer service is as sweet as their prices and selection, Adagio Teas is my choice, and I highly recommend them.

Send me a note, or comment with a contact email, and I will send you a $5 gift certificate good off your first purchase from Adagio Teas.

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The BEST GF Buscuit recipe I've ever tasted

2008-03-16T15:21:00.001-04:00

For years, baking-powder biscuits have been a part of my life. Accompaniment to stews. As cut or drop biscuits. Golden, flaky, and light, just the way my mother, and grandmother made them. Under fresh gently sweetened strawberries creating strawberry shortcake. Topping berries for a cobbler. Warmed with honey and sweet-cream butter.

Being GF I have found I miss biscuits far more than even bread, and so finding a recipe that meets the flavor and texture of the wheat-based biscuits has been a challenge, and a mission.

Today, I found a recipe & the GF Baking School - Drop Biscuit Recipe 2. This recipe is the closest GF recipe I have found so far. I don't think I will have to look any further!

Check out the site for the recipe, and ENJOY!!

Stable experience may be coming to a close ...

2008-03-11T14:52:00.001-04:00

Sigh. ... Last week's nausea/vomitting/blech that lasted all week long made me unable to go to the barn to groom. I will be going this week, but I don't know how long it will continue. The gal I was grooming for has found someone who is able to do FT, meaning feed-groom/tack 6 days a week. I am feeling a little disappointed, and a little relieved. Don't get me wrong - that is what she is looking for, a FT groom, but a little part of me wishes it could have been me.

Talk about MIXED feelings! I know though the relief comes in knowing that though I adore the horses, and would like to continue pursuing that endeavor, with the uncertainty of location in our future, as well as the possibility of getting PG at some point in the next few months, a bigger part of me knows that it is best if it ends sooner than if I have to end it after I become relied upon. It has been a great boost to know that I am still capable.

In another life perhaps it would have worked out.

Spring is here! Today the temp is freezing+ and JOY, I hear about five or six different bird songs, SUMMER bird songs outside singing to the clear blue sky.

After watching a Discovery Channel show the other night, I had a "doh!" moment. Melatonin, the hormone that the brain produces to quiet and shut down our systems so we can sleep can, especially in times of stress, become less effective. I've used melatonin to calm frightened dogs with superb results, and doggon it - I should have had it on hand most of this winter and been giving it to my DH throughout these difficult times! Last night he slept. And so did I, simply because HE did ;).

We continue to search for housing here in MN, but are also looking at other options in the meantime. By April 25 or so, if we have no other direction, we will for sure be staying here in MN, which means a more permanent situation? Considering this past winter's events, I'm a little apprehensive about that possibility.

God knows, and will guide us where He wills!

Today I feel pale. That is the only word that I can think of to explain it ... Pale, transparent, washed out. I know it is hormones, meds combined with a return to homone-normalcy, which is what I want, but with all the changes in my body recently I have to say that a large part of me just feels off-balance and out of phaze with the world.

Yesterday I made a 'throw it together' Lentil Chili. I've posted about other Lentil Chilis in the past, this one seems to be more a 'stew' than even a chili. I roughly chopped and simmered in a large pot, a small zuchinni, two large carrots, a medium onion, three cloves garlic, two stalks celery, in 1/2 tablespoon butter until the onions were clear. In a separate pan boil the lentils for 30 minutes, and drain, adding these into the pan of vegetables, with a can of chopped tomatoes with green chilis, tablespoon chili powder, tablespoon cumin, teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, couple pinches pepper flakes, black pepper, teaspoon salt, two tablespoons GF beef bullion, cup brown rice, rest (about three tablespoons) of the Quinoa I had in the cupboard, and a can of black beans, a bit of konbu (Japanese dried seaweed - adds nutrition, flavor, and minerals looks ugly going in, but is quite tasty), and finally 2 quarts of water. I allowed this melange to mellow at a rolling simmer for about an hour. It was divine. There is enough chili to last me the week 1/2 cup at a time. The longer it sits the thicker it gets, but the flavor is lovely and the 'meatyness' of the lentils make it taste like there is ground-chuck in the mix.

The only thing it is missing is a flavorful chunk of crusty bread. But I have none to use, though from the Library I recently discovered a series of books by Bette Hagman (I've placed a couple of her books in an Amazon list on the right side of the page), she specializes in GF baking, and LOADS of bread recipes! Pizza crust! SANDWICHES!! The best thing about her recipes is that they do not have much, if any, taste or texture difference from regular wheat bread! HURRAH!!

Also a new browser that combines the best of IE, Firefox, and Netscape is now available, and I have been using it with some pleasing results. It is called "Flock". I hope you try it out sometime :).

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Elliot's Story... one of God's true miracles!

2008-03-11T08:28:00.001-04:00

This email came through one of the lists that I am on. It is well worth watching, God's Grace is so magnificent!

99 Ballons {http://www.ignitermedia.com/products/iv/singles/570/99-Balloons}

Be prepared to be touched, and probably even cry.

... Nona

Unrelenting Truth

Thanksgiving 2011

GF Banana Bread

My search for the perfect Gluten Free Lasagna Recipe

Gardening in 2011- Update and more!

Gardening in 2011

Snow ...

Gone Droid

Minnesota

"Queen Anne's Lace" done!

I am a Domestic Goddess, Are You?

Win a Massage from Pittsburgh's best spa

Met ... why?!

2010 Green thumb report

Birding in the Back (and Front) Yard

Pau Choux - Cream Puffs (aka Profiteroles)

Almost a year ...

Spring, Knitting & Yogurt

Lots going on ...

Happy New Year!

Elana is giving away a copy of her cookbook, and a bag of Blanched Almond flour

A trip, a passenger, weather, and a rant

Blustery Winter Days

Daring Kitchen Challenges

Real Popcorn

Containers

No-Knead Bread

Highly versatile Bread(stick) Dough Recipe

Yogurt ... epic failure

Pudding

Cheese take Two, and Homemade Yogurt

Say Cheese

Blitz and the recent fall weather

Swimming in Applesauce

Apples

Peaches

Preserving Fall

Pies and Preserves

Fair Week

Summer in PA

Home - we are moved!

Further explination of the importance of a healthy Pituitary Gland

Three Cheers for Progress!!

Life as it happens ... (and some catching up)

Recent Events and their Affect on my 'Crafty' Nature

Mike'n D's

WV in the Spring

Faith's emergency (update)

Faith's emergency

Bella ...

Done,*jig* Done, *Celebrate** IT IS Done!! *jig**dance*

Tribute to Our Dude ...

What a great game - GO STEELERS!! (+travel notes and a rant)

Fiber ... yarn ... knitting ... spinning ... yay!!

Full day of FUN!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Pizza ... 8 of 10?

Holiday Baking - total bust

Holiday Baking ... (drumroll please)

Dogs with inexplicably Bad teeth

The Night Before Christmas ... in all it's original glory

Knitting ...

Some Days ...

DH's B'day Cake

Health and sadness

Stupid, senseless, gone forever ...

A Night in Danville, PA

Living Life and Loving it!

School, education, and my messed up want to return

The Resurection of the Laptop

R.I.P. Laptop

Messed up Me!

Websites, hijackers, and lack of time to keep up with those who have too much time ...

The missing plates have been FOUND!

The case of the missing dinner plates ...

Research on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

In preparation for moving ...

eBay, a great place for selling things!

Preparing to Move

Revisiting Diet and Dieting, figuring out what I'm allergic/sensitive to

Done,jig Done, *Celebrate** IT IS Done!! *jig**dance*