Monday, September 30, 2013

Boys vs. Girls--The Pig

 Before I had kids, I thought that each child was an individual, and didn't believe much in gender stereotypes in children. Little boys ran and jumped a lot because that's the kind of games they were taught. Little girls played with dolls because that was the kind of toys they were given. I thought that if all kids, regardless of gender, were exposed to the same things, they would have the same tendencies. Then I spent some time in the real world of kids and figured out that I was wrong. Possibly there were some differences between boys and girls. From time to time, I'm going to share some of my experiences that led me to this conclusion. However, so as to not bias you, I'm going to let you guess, who are the boys in the stories and who are the girls.
 
Today's Story

I was at a pig roast where the pig was roasted with head and all. As it was laying on the table waiting to be carved, one child about five years old came over to investigate. Another child about the same age was swinging and appeared to have no interest in the pig. I saw the one, who was curious about the pig, poking at its face. Then heard them exclaim, "Mom, look! I picked the pig's nose."

One child was a boy and one was a girl. You decide: Who was the nose picker and who was the swinger?

________________________________________________________________________________

The boy was picking the pig's nose and the girl was swinging.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Thankful Sunday--September 29, 2013

I am thankful that Annie has learned to sit behind the monitor and not in front of it.


I moved my computer into a new spot and all of the cats have come to investigate. After a look around, they seem to want to sleep in front of the monitor. I am thankful that Annie has decided that she likes hanging out behind the monitor. That makes everything a lot easier.



Friday, September 27, 2013

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions--Sept. 27, 2013

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money. Also, I am using this public forum to encourage us to eat out less which includes better meal planning. You can follow how we are doing in this endeavor by reading True Food Confessions.

This Week's Food Waste

None!  
Hip, Hip Hooray!

After last week's unfortunate steak incident, I am happy to report that we had no food waste this week. However I have been shopping, and the fridge is bulging with fruits and vegetables. It's gonna take a lot of work to have the same report next week. 


This Week's True Food Confessions

Some of the things we had to eat at home this week.
  
We had a very busy weekend, so except for one thing, it was a blur. The exception was the buffet that Wally took us to. It had over 100 items that ranged from prime rib to frog legs, cantaloupe to bean curd, and green beans to turnips. A good time and good food was had by all. 

During the week we did do some cooking. We fixed pasta with spinach, tomato, and meat sauce one night. Another night in the slow cooker, we cooked pork with sauerkraut, apples, and potatoes. We also had pasta salad with fresh greens, and pizza another time. The great thing was that we didn't have to cook much more than that because leftovers serviced us well the rest of the time. I had my book club over last night and my family is looking forward to munching on the leftovers from it.  I think the brownies will be the first to go.

I didn't try a new recipe this week, but I did treat myself to something new from Aldi's. I tried their chicken salad with cranberries and almonds and it was quite good. I will be buying this again in the future when I want a treat.

Until next time...


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

A Second Look--September 24, 2013

Monday fall was officially here and I went looking for signs of it this week during a Second Look. Here's what I found.

A few of the leaves have started to change, but the trees are still largely green. Notice that these sweet gum leaves first start changing with little dots across them. A new observation for me.



Squirrels build a nest every year in this oak tree. They will be using it during the winter to keep warm.


The poke berries are starting to ripen. They will be enjoyed by a variety of birds and critters this fall and winter.



The walnuts are falling and the squirrels are starting to bury them. A squirrel ran by the other day with one in its mouth and gave the cats a show.


The abelia blossoms are small but they continue to bloom through the fall.


The dogwood berries have ripened and the leaves are starting to change. These berries will also be a treat for many birds and mammals.



And a reminder from this Gerber daisy that summer still wants to linger even though fall is officially here.




Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Flying



I love to watch birds fly as they soar into the heights or gently land on a limb. I love to watch them ride air currents and fly in formation.  It's beautiful sight.

I would like to say that I would love to fly also. But despite the beauty and romance of it,  I'm afraid of the whole process. Somehow, the gravity thing just keeps popping into my head. I use airplanes for transportation whenever needed and even though I understand the physics of the process, it just doesn't seem right that the big, heavy plane can stay up. It's the gravity thing again. (I know, I'm picking and choosing which physics principles I want to accept.)

Theo however has liked flying since he was little. I remember when he was four, one day he came into the house limping. When I asked what was wrong, he replied, "If only I had had a few more bags, I think I would have made it." He had tied several plastic grocery bags together to use as a parachute and jumped off the top of his tree house. As you can guess, the experiment didn't work as well as he had hoped. I think maybe Theo took after his grandfather who played tree tag in his youth. He and his brothers would go into the woods and play tag by leaping from tree to tree. If you touched the ground, you were out. Maybe the whole leaping from high places skips a generation. I certainly have had no desire to leap from any high place.

I think the most telling thing about my aversion to flying is that I have never had a dream about it. Flying dreams are one of the most common, and they are one of the dreams that people like the best. Apparently, dreamers enjoy looking at things from above and like the free sensation that flying gives them. Sounds good in theory, but the whole gravity thing even invades my sleep.

So I guess flying is just one of those areas where I will stay grounded in both my imagination and dreams. And that's okay with me. It's the whole gravity thing again. :)

Do you ever dream about flying?

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Thankful Sunday--Sept. 22, 2013

I am thankful for fresh mulch.


It is recommended that mulching be done in both spring and fall, and that's what we try to do. Our front bed got mulched last spring and this bed got mulched this fall. That's how we keep up with mulching two times a year. : )



Friday, September 20, 2013

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions--Sept. 20, 2013

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money. Also, I am using this public forum to encourage us to eat out less which includes better meal planning. You can follow how we are doing in this endeavor by reading True Food Confessions.

This Week's Food Waste
 
STEAKS

Oh, no. The horrors. We accidentally left a box of five steaks in a grocery bag overnight.  The only saving grace was that we paid Aldi's prices for them and not regular grocery store prices. The ruined steaks made the two little tomatoes that also went bad not such a big deal.


This Week's True Food Confessions

Can you guess that I only managed to get pictures of one thing we ate this week?


The week went something like this.

Saturday: Pork roast, mashed potatoes, steamed cauliflower
Sunday : Spinach lasagna, watermelon
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Pizza
Wednesday: Subway
Thursday: Omelets and cantaloupe

When I list it out like that, the week was better than I thought. Most of the menu was motivated by things in the refrigerator or freezer that needed to be used up. Maybe soon, I will have a menu before the next week begins. Maybe.

Until next time...


Thursday, September 19, 2013

Today...

Today I am going to count my chickens after they hatch.


Actually, I'm not sure how many chickens I'm going to count today, but I am going to smile every time I think about this picture of my aunt.



Tuesday, September 17, 2013

A Second Look--September 18, 2013

Tonight there's a nip in the air and a full moon shining. A perfect evening to sit with Ward and talk. This afternoon the air was warm and the sun was shining.  A perfect day to do a Second Look.


Here are some things I saw this week during a Second Look.


The Gerber Daisy is going to bloom one last time.



This is one of two Blackeyed Susans still in bloom.



The sedum is turning a darker pink.



The milkweed pods are opening.



Coreopsis--Yet another flower that only has a couple left blooming.



This spider is snacking on the grasshopper that it caught in its web.



I added some pansies to my front flower beds.




By the light of the silvery moon...



Monday, September 16, 2013

Over or Under

or How do you hang your toilet paper?

Does it matter to you how your toilet paper is hung? Does it matter whether it unrolls from the top or from the bottom? Apparently it does to many people. Advice columnist, Ann Landers, said the toilet paper debate was one her biggest topics over the years. I, on the other hand, never paid much attention to the way toilet paper was hung until I met Ward. After a couple of years of me and my willy-nilly ways of hanging, he asked if I could hang it so it would unroll from the top. That seemed like a small enough request, so I tried to comply. Eventually, I got the hang of it (pun attended) and over the top became my preferred way also. He gave several reasons of why over the top was the superior method--none of which I can remember now. However, I have learned that always having it hung the same way makes it easier to unroll it in the dark. No guessing if its over or under. We have passed this method onto Wally and Theo also.

So all was right with the world until this weekend when someone else was in the house and just happened to install a new roll in our guest bathroom. And guess what? They put it on so the tissue unrolled from the bottom! Oh no. What to do? I decided to sit back and watch what was going to happen next. Would we be able to use up this roll without changing it? Or would one of us not be able to help ourselves and fix it? Well, it took about eight hours until I noticed that it had been changed. I'm not sure who did it, but my bets are on the person who taught me the over the top method in the first place. And if the truth be told, I also felt a lot better when it was "fixed".

Do you have a preferred way of hanging your toilet paper?


Sunday, September 15, 2013

Thankful Sunday--September 15, 2013


I am thankful that Ward and Wally fixed our fence.


We have a 30 year old split rail fence around our yard that has seen better days. What hasn't fallen down from rotten wood is being knocked down by the deer. However, Ward and Wally have been working on repairs. Not easy work, but one I am thankful they are doing.


Saturday, September 14, 2013

Magic Show

or Kids will be kids--no matter how old they are.

Recently at a festival we attended, we watched a magic show. The magician was Rodney The Younger (not to be confused with Rodney the Elder.) and even though he did only simple tricks, he was still a crowd  pleaser.  He was really more like a stand up comedian with his humorous patter while he was pulling things out of his sleeves.

The first member of the audience he pulled up on stage was a little curly haired boy who was totally awed by the "magic" Rodney was doing. He was adorable to watch with his big eyes and gasps as tricks were preformed around him. He truly believed in the magic.

Next Rodney asked who was there with their parents. Wally promptly raised his hand high. I scolded him and said that he wasn't eight years old and to put his hand down. And then Theo raised his hand which was totally out of character. He usually doesn't want to do anything to draw attention to himself. However,  I guess the possibility of getting his parents on stage overrode his shyness. And you know where this is going. In no time, Ward and I were both on stage for the next 10 minutes of the act.

While Rodney did some good-natured teasing and jokes, Ward and I and the audience watched as he did many tricks with Chinese Linking Rings. And, yes, it was both embarrassing and fun. But mostly it was fun for Wally and Theo. I guess it doesn't matter how old you get, it is still fun to see your parents look silly.


Friday, September 13, 2013

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions, Sept. 13, 2013

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money. Also, I am using this public forum to encourage us to eat out less which includes better meal planning. You can follow how we are doing in this endeavor by reading True Food Confessions.

Wally had a yummy milkshake from this booth while on vacation
This Week's Food Waste

None

This was fairly easy to achieve since we were on vacation part of the time and we hadn't been to the grocery store in a couple of weeks except to get a gallon milk.   


This Week's True Food Confessions
(I didn't get any food pictures this week, so I've included these food-themed pictures from a historical festival we visited while on vacation. )
Can you find: A chicken plucker, colonial cooking, a cider press, a barrel maker, an electric potato cutter, a threshing machine?

Let's see. When didn't we eat out this week? A bad cold, late hours at the office, and a few days of vacation conspired to make this a week of catch as catch can. Some of our eating highlights:

--One morning at the hotel, they had biscuits and sausage gravy. They were not as good as my mother makes, but pretty darn good. An unexpected pleasure from childhood.

--And speaking of things from childhood, I had canned spinach for supper tonight. I loved this stuff as a kid, but haven't had it in years. We were recently gifted several cans, so I tried it again. And I still loved it. I thought maybe my tastes had become more sophisticated and I would prefer spinach the way I usually have it these days-- in a salad or freshly cooked. Apparently not. I still like the well cooked (some would call slimy) version.

--Wally had the best nachos he has ever had (his words) while we were on vacation. Instead of the chips piled high with the ingredients piled on top of that, the chips were in the middle of the bowl and the toppings were around the edges. Not only were they much easier to eat, they were delicious too.

--Theo discovered peanut and butter jelly again. We had PB&J sandwiches for lunch while we were on vacation, and he liked them.  For the last few years he hasn't. As the boys said when they were little, "He had a taste change."  

--Ward also tried a favorite from years ago. Pizza, Pizza. Or Little Caesar's Pizza. There was a Little Caesar's Pizza near where we used to live and it was our favorite pizza. We've been seeing commercials for it on TV and discovered recently that they opened a store near where Ward works. Well, to make a long story short, it did not live up to our memories. We decided that if we were going to do carry out, he'd stop by Aldi's which is also close to his work and buy a much cheaper pizza to bake when he gets home.

--We actually did eat at home a little thanks to the abundance of Leo's and Uncle Billy's gardens. We had roasted butternut squash again and two salads with fresh lettuce, tomato, and cucumbers among other things. 

 --The new recipe of the week was Graham Cracker Fudge. I modified a recipe that popped up on Yahoo that caught my attention because we had some stale graham crackers to use up. It also didn't hurt that we had all of the ingredients. It was super easy and pretty good. However, I still prefer conventional fudge, but would be happy to eat this any time.

 Graham Cracker Chocolate Fudge

14 oz sweetened condensed milk (1 can)

6 oz (1/2 bag) chocolate chips

7 oz. (1 1/2 sleeves) of graham crackers

Pour milk and chips into a microwave bowl. Heat for 30 seconds and then stir. Repeat this until all of the chips are melted.

While the chips and milk are heating, crush graham crackers into fine crumbs. 

Mix crumbs into melted chocolate mixture and then pour into greased 8"x8" pan. Let cool and set.

Enjoy.


Until next time....


Wednesday, September 11, 2013

A Second Look--September 11, 2013

Fall is the air--sort of. Some leaves are falling from the trees but most of them are green and hanging on. Many flowers are fading while others are just starting to bloom. (As evidenced by all of the allergy sufferers.) Last week we had a nip in the morning air, but it was 90° F and humid today. And except for the allergy part, I'm enjoying it all.

 Here's what I saw this week during my Second Look.


The sedum is in full bloom now. There were a lot yellow ants on it.




Every September in this bed of brown day lilies and tiger lilies, these Sternbergia lutea pop up to add a bit of brightness.



The hydrangea blossoms are starting to fade.




The butterflies are enjoying the second blooming of the sage. (Okay, Ward thinks this is a moth. I think it looks like a skipper butterfly, but I'm too tired to figure it out right now.)



These two late bloomers stand out among the other faded celosia.



We still have a few balloon flowers.




The volunteer marigolds continue to please.



I don't have any baby birds to show you this week, so I'll show you a bluebird feather I found.




Monday, September 9, 2013

Frank Lloyd Wright Houses

Falling Water--this gives you a feel of how much the house was a part of the landscape
or Vacation, Day 2

Unlike the first day of my family's recent vacation, the second day had a definite agenda. We visited two houses designed by famed architect, Frank Lloyd Wright--Falling Water and Kentuck Knob, both of which are located in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania. Falling Water is perhaps Wright's most famous home because of its cascading and cantilevering design over a waterfall.  Kentuck Knob was a more modest home built into a hillside. Wright liked to be one with nature in both design and materials and these two homes were prime examples of this.

Kentuck Knob was built for the Hagan Family in 1956 and they lived in it the next thirty years. It was one of Wright's Usonian homes and was similar in many ways to the Pope-Leighy house we had seen earlier. It was one of last houses Wright built at age 86 and he said it was so easy for him that "he could shake it out of his sleeve." (If half of the stories are true, Wright did not lack in self confidence.)  As was typical with Wright's designs, there were repeating geometrical themes throughout along with cantilevering. Also, there was a blending of the indoors and out-of-doors by incorporating large windows and in situ boulders into the construction.  The house is now owned by an Lord Palumbo of England and was opened up for tours in 1996. Palumbo added a sculpture meadow to the grounds.

Falling Water was built for the Kaufman family and was the house the Hagans had seen when they asked Wright to design a house for them. The Kaufmans used it as summer home until the mid-1960's when it was given to a trust. Falling Water was amazing with multiple levels, many terraces, and various bodies of water incorporated into the design. The design was complex and was truly an architectural feat.

Besides Wright's affinity for creations in harmony with nature, there were some other interesting aspects to his designs. If an area was not used for living, say just for passing through such as a hallway, he devoted very little space to it. Even in the large Falling Water house, some hallways were only 19" wide. Also, Wright did not believe in garages, attics, or basements. He said they just encouraged clutter. He said that if someone has a space, they will fill it. Now that gave me some food for thought.

We had a great day touring Frank Lloyd Wright's houses. The weather was perfect and spending time in his mountain retreats was very calming. I would recommend a visit if you are ever in the area.

 Below are a few of the several pictures we took. Unfortunately, many of parts of the houses were in dappled shade which was not great for making out details. And of course, no pictures were allowed inside.

Kentuck Knob--The house was built from the local Pottstville sandstone. Wright was fond of these repeating and reverse patterned windows.




Kentuck Knob--Windows over one of the terraces. An example of the repeating hexagonal pattern that was throughout the house.













Kentuck Knob--One of the minimalist carports instead of an enclosed garage.



Kentuck Knob--One of the sculptures that Lord Palumbo added to the grounds. All of the sculptures were modern art and this is one of the few we understood.



Falling Water--You can see parts of the house cantilevering over the waterfall.



Falling Water--On the far right of the picture you can see a plunge pool. At the time, it was in fashion to take a plunge into the cold mountain water to invigorate yourself.




Sunday, September 8, 2013

Thankful Sunday--September 8, 2013

or Vacation, Day One

I am thankful I got away for a few days with my family.
With our various work and school schedules, it is hard to coordinate time off together. Recently we were able to take advantage of the rare situation of coinciding schedules and take a vacation for a few days.

We had nothing specific planned for the first day except reaching our hotel by nightfall. So we went where the spirit moved us. Sometimes that was off the beaten path.









We explored little towns.



We did a family favorite and watched trains go by as we ate lunch.




We hiked along the C & O Canal.


We visited antique stores looking for old tools and clocks.


We visited a museum and historical site chronicling life in the Laural Highlands for the last 300 years.


And then we found our hotel and a very good Mexican Restaurant.  We had a fun-filled, lazy day which was a great change of pace for all of us.



Friday, September 6, 2013

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions

It's time for Food Waste Friday, when the Frugalgirl encourages us to post pictures from the previous week of wasted food from our household. This accountability hopefully will help us to be more careful with our food and maybe save some money. Also, I am using this public forum to encourage us to eat out less which includes better meal planning. You can follow how we are doing in this endeavor by reading True Food Confessions.

This Week's Food Waste

Lettuce Salad

We are off our game recently. We can't seem to finish the last bit of salad before it gets slimy. I guess I get hopeful that the carnivores will have more than one serving so I make a lot. Silly me. The Carnivores are not going to go back for seconds of a green salad. Maybe next week we will get it all right.


This Week's True Food Confessions

 
Roasted Butternut Squash and Peppers

We did pretty well this week and didn't eat out at all. We avoided our usual weekend restaurant foray by cooking three racks of ribs over the weekend. Those served us with leftovers for a few more days.

The new dish we tried was Roasted Squash and Red Pepper Casserole. The dish was not exactly new to us, but it was the first time we made it. My sister-in-law usually brings it to family dinners where we have enjoyed it many times. So when my father-in-law gave us a butternut squash last week, it seemed like the perfect thing to do with it. The dish is simple and is basically roasted squash and peppers seasoned with rosemary and Parmesan cheese. It was delicious as always. I have reprinted the recipe below. Enjoy.
Until next time...


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Yield: Serves 6 as a side dish

ingredients

  • 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash
  • 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 2 ounces)

preparation

Preheat oven to 400°F.
With a sharp knife cut squash crosswise into 2-inch-thick slices. Working with 1 slice at a time, cut side down, cut away peel and seeds and cut squash into 1-inch cubes (about 9 cups).
In a large bowl stir together squash, bell pepper, oil, garlic, herbs, black pepper, and salt to taste. Transfer mixture to a 2- to 2 1/2-quart gratin dish or other shallow baking dish and sprinkle evenly with Parmesan.
Bake casserole in middle of oven until squash is tender and top is golden, about 1 hour.