Being a grown up

Do you ever do something that you don't want to do because you have to be a grown up? It's the kind of thing you don't really like doing, but if you're going to be responsible, you should do. Well, I did that last night. I went to an estate planning seminar.

The seminar had been on the calendar for over a month so I really couldn't ignore it even though I wanted to. I scheduled another appointment before it secretly hoping that it might run over and Ward would have to attend by himself. No such luck. And even as much as I thought about dawdling on the way home from my other appointment, I couldn't do that in good conscious. So I went.

We spent 2 ½ hours learning about tax laws, wills, trusts and probate among other things. It was an informative presentation, however there were no breaks much to my disappointment. And the even bigger disappointment was the fact that there were no cookies for us—only water. :(

I'm proud of myself for doing the first thing on the grown-up list that we have made. There are too many things on it for me to look ahead much to see what else I have to do. One thing at a time. In the meantime, I am going to make sure that I have my own supply of cookies as a reward for the next thing I do.

Do you have a list of things that you've been meaning to get to? 

 

Our Trip and a Poem

Since April is National Poetry Month, I have been posting poems then and again. Today I am posting a poem about our trip to Boston this past weekend. We were visiting my sister-in-law and her family. She has been ill and we were hoping that this visit might buoy her spirits. I hope that it did that for her. I know it did for us.

 Our Trip

Trip: From Baltimore to Boston to Belmont

Belmont: Home to little sister, big nephew, and bigger dad

Dad: Showed movies, gave directions, and told stories

Stories: About big brother and little sister

Sister: Modeled black, green, and blue hats

Hats: Protected from sunshine at sheep festival

Festival: Amazing dogs, Morris dancing, and beautiful day

Day: Day turned to evening and grill cooked steaks

Steaks: Carnivores were happy

Happy: Everyone was happy with trip

Trip: From Belmont to Boston to Baltimore

Scenes from the Sheep Sheering Festival

Thankful Sunday, April 28, 2013

I am thankful for my living room rug.

Not only am I thankful that it is of good quality and the colors work well with the rest of the furnishings, I am thankful that it hides cat hair.

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions--Apr. 26, 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 Found 

This Week's True Food Confessions

A sampling of a few things we had this week.

 

We had a pretty good week. We ate mostly at home except for the night that I went out with friends and Wally and Ward had Chinese. Also, we didn't get a chance to try a new recipe this week, but we did try a couple of new products that you will see below. Both were a hit and will be on the menu again. 

 

Now, I'm leaving on a jet plane tomorrow and my bags aren't packed and I'm not ready to go. (Does anyone get the Peter, Paul, and Mary reference?) Better get busy.

Until next time... 

But wait, there's more: 

How many misspelled words and omitted words can you find in this post? The first person to find more than I just found when I read it, will get a special shout out.

 

Today...

Today, I am not going to be distracted by OFF-putting things. I am going to find the positive and move ON.

Okay, I admit it. The message is good, but the delivery is a little corny with the off and on references. I saw these switches at the Cabin Fever Expo I went to with Theo and Ward and wanted to buy them. However, I was discouraged by Ward because I have absolutely no use for them. But wouldn't it be fun to have some "On-On" switches?

A Second Look--April 24, 2013

We have been having some beautiful spring days with lows in the 30's and highs in the 50's. However, there has been a lot of wind which I find makes it cold but Ward finds it invigorating. There are more things in bloom everyday as evidenced by the general state of itchy eyes and runny noses of most people. Also, we now have nests in both boxes, but no eggs yet. We are carefully watching for the next development there.

Here's what I found this week on my Second Look.

The dogwood trees have started to bloom. The simplicity of this bloom makes it my favorite among all of the blooming trees.

Critters have eaten most of our tulips until this is the only one that returns year to year.

New growth on pieris japonica

There seem to be fewer squirrels this year than last year.

Yet another kind of daffodil has started to bloom. This one has two blooms from the top of one stem.

Two nests waiting for eggs.

It seemed as if one day the bleeding hearts were just emerging from the ground and then I turned around another day and they were in full bloom.

This spindly little tree is a red bud in bloom.

We found another skull when cutting the grass for the first time. This is the third one of these we have found in the last few months. I'm not sure what that means.

Grape hyacinth among the lilies that are starting to grow.

The cattle have been enjoying the nice spring weather.

Out and About

The last couple of weekends we have visited some places that have provided unexpected fun. We went to a model steam engine exhibit, a little church bake and rummage sale, and a small town chili tasting festival. We went to each place with a specific task in mind such as to buy a certain thing or talk to a certain person but we found extra entertainment along the way. I guess that is what happens when you take time to enjoy the moment and aren't thinking ahead to the next thing. If I do say so myself, I'm proud that I was able to do this. Being in the moment is not always my strong suit, but I'm learning.

Here are a few of the places we visited.

Last weekend Ward and I went to Cabin Fever with Theo. Theo was looking for tools for his clock making.

We found tools galore. Old and new. Small and large. Hand and power. Theo bought several things until his money ran out. One shopkeeper took a special liking to him, so he got some really good deals.

Unexpectedly, the expo was filled with fascinating engine models. Ward and I enjoyed looking at them and appreciated the ingenuity that went into making them.

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Saturday morning, Miss Landers, Aunt Martha and I went to a bake and rummage sale to support a little local church.

I didn't plan to buy anything at the sale except a brownie. However, I found all of this fabric for only two dollars. I'm going to give it a friend who is into making bags right now. Aunt Martha saw an old friend that she hadn't seen for a while, and Miss Landers found a book that she had been looking for. A good time was had by all.

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Later that day, Ward and I went to a Chili Cookoff in a nearby town. My plan was to be in and out and only talk one of the vendors there. However, we found ourselves enjoying a beautiful sunny day and sampling every kind of chili imaginable. We both found it a lot of fun and hope to go back next year.

This little dog was waiting for dropped samples. Unfortunately for him, not much came his way.

I voted for the chili that this man made as my favorite. His chili was mildly sweet with just a bit of kick.

Do you ever spend most of your time thinking about what you have to do next instead of focusing on where you are?

Thankful Sunday--April 21, 2013

I am thankful for Johnny Jump-Ups.

Let me rephrase that. I am thankful for Johny Jump-Ups and the friend that gave them to me after my father passed away. She chose this flower because it is a symbol of remembrance. I don't think she knew that they are also a favorite of mine and they would make me smile every time I saw them.

Spinach Pie

 I make spinach pie fairly often because it's a vegetable based dish that the carnivores in the family like. It is very easy to make and is basically spinach and cheese between two pie crusts. The recipe for it came from someone that I used to work with and I think that she got the recipe from someone she used to work with. Some of you have been asking for it, so here it goes. First I'll show you the recipe that I use. I copied this down quickly over the phone. Next, I'll show you a pictorial of how to make it, and lastly I'll include a "proper" recipe with comments that will be printer friendly.

My original recipe

Pictorial of the basic steps

Spinach Pie

Ingredients:

--Two 9" pie crusts (store bought or make your own. The store bought ones or ones made with lard or vegetable shortening are usually flakier than the ones made with oil. The store bought ones usually are saltier than the ones I make at home, so if I'm making my own, I add a little salt to the spinach.)

--One bag fresh spinach (6 oz. to 9 oz. bags will work. The bigger the bag, the thicker the pie. I like the bigger bag. I also use either baby or regular spinach.)

--2 Tablespoons olive oil (or oil of your choice)

--1 teaspoon of garlic powder (or two cloves garlic minced or as much or as little as you like to taste)

--1 teaspoon nutmeg (I usually leave this out since I don't like nutmeg)

--Fresh Parmesan cheese, shredded ~ 4 oz. or one cup (I use however much fresh I have. If I don't have enough, I used dried at about half the amount.)

Actions:

--Preheat oven to 375 ° F

--Line 9" pie plate with one pie crust.

--In a large bowl mix spinach, oil, cheese, garlic, and nutmeg.

--Put spinach mixture into pie pan on top of pie crust.

--Top with second pie crust and seal edges.

--Bake for half hour or until the crust is golden brown.

--Let cool 10-15 minutes, then enjoy.

Print this Recipe

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions--Apr. 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

n o t h i n g

This Week's True Food Confessions

I'm pleased because it was another week of when no one felt like cooking for various reasons, but we ate mostly at home.  Among other things, we had breakfast burritos, mushroom lasagna, hamburger stew (otherwise know as fridge clean out), pizza, tuna mac, and take out from California Tortilla. Ward wants to make Thursday nights Cal-Tort night and maybe we will. (BTW, they have a new teriyaki bowl that is quite good.) We'll see if we can keep this up, but a lot of other things seem more important than cooking these days.

I also managed to try a new recipe this week. I made Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna from Slow Cooker Revolution, by the editors of Cook's Illustrated (America's Test Kitchen). The lasagna was quite good and got a big thumbs up from everyone. I considered it a bit rich, so just a little piece was satisfying for me. The others just thought the richness was one of the things that made it really good.

Because America's Test Kitchen does extensive experimenting with their recipes, the textures of this dish came out well. The recipe had you precook the noodles and use jar Alfredo sauce because they found no-boil noodles came out mushy and home made Alfredo sauce separated while cooking in the slow cooker. 

This recipe was very hearty and tasty, however I won't be making it often because there were a lot of steps to prepare it. When I think of slow cooker cooking, I think of dump it and forget it like I did with the stew this week. I think I need to spend a little more time with this book to see if I can find some simpler recipes that are more my style. (and I just renewed it the library, so I have some time.)

Until next time...

Ponderings of Theodore--the Early Years

In honor of National Poetry Month this month, I am posting a poem then and again. Today's poem is one Theo wrote in elementary school about our cat, Lucy.

Lucy came to us as a kitten with her brother, Lucky. They were fairly typical kittens that liked to jump, pounce, and leap at anything that moved. However, Lucy had an her own special extra talent-chewing. She chewed paper and she chewed metal grates. She chewed strings. Actually, she cut strings. One bite and they were in two pieces. It was like she had a pair of scissors in her mouth. And shoe strings were her favorite. Many times we would start to lace up our shoes and realize that one or both of our strings were in two pieces. Eventually, we learned to hide our shoes because Lucy didn't grow out of this chewing/cutting phase for a while. Here's Theodore's comment about this situation.

It wasn't long after this that Lucy developed her scissor skills.

Strings

Lucy ate my shoe strings.

Now my shoes I can't string.

Because there's too little string,

To string up my shoe strings.

A Second Look--April 17, 2013

This week's Second Look is the week of the daffodils. Some are fading as others are beginning to bloom. However if I found them all, I have seven different daffodil varieties in bloom right now. A few other things are blooming and a nest has been started in our new nesting box. Soon the grass will need it's first cut. Spring is truly here.

Here's what I found this week during a Second Look.

Life

 
Sometimes life is hard. Bad things happen, and whether they be far away or up close, they are difficult. Yesterday, bombs went off at the Boston Marathon. Two weeks ago my father died. Three weeks ago, a family member was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

But you know what? Life goes on and good things happen too. Yesterday, I was surprised with a card from a friend across the pond. Two weeks ago, we heard the Baltimore Symphony perform Fantasia. Three weeks ago, I had a lovely Easter dinner with family.

Such is life with its ups and downs. Through the ups and downs, I want to live the best I can. To do this, I will ask for strength to climb the mountain when there is one in my path, and I will take time to notice the flowers on that climb. If I can do those two things, I will be happy.

Thankful Sunday, April 14, 2013

I am thankful for a garage door opener.

I have lived without a car. I have also lived with a car that was parked on the street, and another place where the car was parked in the driveway, and yet another where it was parked in a garage with a door that opened manually.

However, the best of all is what I have now--a car that can be parked in a garage that is opened remotely. That is something I am truly thankful for especially during bad weather.

Simple Poetry

In honor of National Poetry Month, I will be posting a favorite poem then and again during April. As you might guess, most of them will be works from Theo's early years. However, today I'm going to share a poem by someone else that impressed and surprised me when I first heard it as it still does today.
____________________________________________________________________________________

I was in sixth grade in Mrs. Greathouse's English class and we were writing poems. I dutifully wrote my totally unmemorable poem that I then read for the class.  I was pleased with what I had written until Jon stood up and read his. Jon was one of those boys who was smart enough, but was always horsing around instead of doing his work. He tried to get away with the least amount of school work that he could. So not surprisingly, he only wrote a few lines. His poem went like this.

The thunder roared,

The lightning flashed,

A tree fell down, 

And a frog got smashed.

Even though the poem was very simple, I was impressed. With only a few words, he told a story that brought very clear images to mind. And it had a surprise ending. I was also impressed because he had spent most of the period goofing off while I slaved away at the assignment. That that was the day, I developed a crush on Jon. The crush didn't last long, but the memory of his poem did.

Food Waste Friday and True Food Confessions--Apr. 12, 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

I threw away the remainder of these dishes.

This has been an unusual couple of weeks as far as food is concerned. My father passed away and I was gone for a week to be with my mother and other family. I left food in the fridge that I didn't feel comfortable eating when I came back because I thought it was too old. So out went some potatoes and green beans. Luckily, just by chance, we froze extra ham we had the day before we left. I don't think there is any more new waste, but I haven't given it a good look.

This Week's True Food Confessions

We are still trying to get into the swing of things food-wise after our return from the trip. Hopefully, next week we will be able to focus more in this area. In the meantime, here's a bit about the food we had while visiting my mother.
 

The comfort food started to arrive at my mother's house just a few hours after my father passed away. First came ham, deviled eggs, yams, and green beans with apologies that they didn't know how to cook any way but country. No need for apologies here. Next to arrive were freshly baked raisin bread, a bean salad, potato salad and a vegetable tray. Somewhere in there fresh fruit arrived, and the next knock on the door brought more freshly baked bread and a rice salad. This was followed by chicken soup, another ham, and chocolate cake. The next morning a crock pot full of chicken and dumplings was added and that afternoon an apricot salad* was delivered. (Still to come were the sandwiches offered by the church ladies after the services.) Soon the refrigerator was full. But not to worry. Fourteen of us had made it into town by this time and despite our sadness, we were hungry.

When something painful happens to another, it's human nature to want to make them feel better. But often there's not really anything tangible that can be done except to feed them. That was what was done for my family and for that I am truly thankful because it really did make us feel better.

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*Interestingly, the neighbor who brought this salad had to spend the day with a friend who was in the hospital and didn't have time to make it. She took her special recipe to the local deli and had them make it. Something I would never would have thought of doing.

Taxes

Oh Happy Day! 

The taxes are done!

A Second Look--April 10, 2013

We've had unusually warm weather recently and new things are sprouting and blooming every day. Some of the crocus are still flowering, and we have had three different varieties of daffodils bloom so far. The deer are enjoying the tender shoots of the growing day lilies (darn). The bluebird has come back and sits on top of the bluebird box from time to time. One time it actually went inside check it out. However, still no nest.

Here's what I found this week during a Second Look.

Purple crocus with insect in pollen.

Day lilies eaten by deer.

Some of the deer that have been eating the day lilies and other things.

Daffodils

Blue jay in maple blossoms

Squirrel on dogwood tree.

Daffodils

Male cardinal

Bluebird examining box

Daffodils

Leo and Annie taking a second look at me doing a Second Look.