We Need A "Cat Whisperer"

I Googled the question...."Why does my cat bite me"?
It said basically, that the cat is either happy or angry.
It could be a feline love bite thingy or he is just mad.
But I really think we need a cat whisperer to straighten him out.
His name is Oliver and he is a really nice cat other than his biting.
If he were a dog, he would have been gone a long time ago, because we can't have dogs that bite.
So why have I let this devil cat stay so long?

Does any one want a front declawed/neutered long-haired black cat. Weighs about 10 pounds. Like to eat cheese.

Square Foot Gardening

My sister, R. did a square foot garden project last year and it turned out nicely for her.
These two sisters did a square foot garden project together in different parts of the country.
This year we thought we would give it a try.
My husband is so good to humor me whenever I get a little whim going. I hope it isn't a whim. I really want it to work.
Anyway, this Mel Bartholomew fella must be a Ga-Zillionaire.
He seems to have worked really hard on his technique.

The hardest part for us was, not building the raised boxes, but finding the ingredients for 'the mix'. Vermiculite is expensive. We compromised a bit with the vermiculite mix, but we were able to get peat moss and compost.
So our Mix, won't be exactly like The Mix.
I will be posting pictures of our little adventure.


Before I sign off for today, I want to say how proud I am of my friend Ty.
The pounds are dropping off of that gal and she has given me much needed encouragement to keep walking-getting into shape. So, Ty.....Congratulations!!!

Until Next Time.

My Compost Project

I am not a super gardener by any means, but I have started a little compost pile/area out back. Just yesterday I set it up. I used an old chicken pen placed on top of a donated wooden pallet. I had been saving the proper kitchen scraps and chicken manure and went over to the neighbor's leaf pile and scored some leafage. Put more leaves on top of what you see here and then placed a heavy board on top to keep critters out. I will add daily to my compost and turn it every couple weeks and maybe by fall it will be ready, if not, certainly by next spring. It will come in quite handy with the new way I am gardening this year. It isn't a NEW way, but it is new to me. I will post on it soon.

Year of the Pie - Pie #37 Spinach Cheese Pie

My husband called this pie Popeye Pot Pie. It is kind of like a pot pie with spinach.

It calls for a two crust pastry and a big ol' cheesy filling.
You know how to do the crusts, now here is how you do the pie.

10 ounces of frozen, chopped, thawed,drained & dried...spinach.
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
15 ounces ricotta cheese
8 ounces mozzarella cheese
1 C. grated parmesan cheese
2 C. diced cheddar cheese

Combine all of these ingredients and place it in crust lined pie plate. Then cover with the top crust. I put a few slits in the top crust (but the recipe didn't call for it-it turned out o.k.).
Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or more. I actually baked mine about 10-15 minutes more, til I smelled spinach.
We took it to church. Cut it into 12 pieces. They all found new homes in various bellies.
It was well liked and a friend suggested even putting a cup of diced ham in as well. That sounded tasty.

I don't care for spinach in real life, but in this pie, it was not bad and I actually ate a piece. (Surprised Mom???)-So was I.
Chris liked it a lot.
Maggie...said...."you made a spinach pie?" Needless to say....she did not partake. lol

Until Next Time.......

My Sister, My Hero

Over the years I have heard of folks having radiation treatment for cancer.
Sounds easy enough.
You hear, "Oh, pray for so and so, they are undergoing radiation treatment for cancer". So, I pray for them.
I pray for God's grace to cover them and give them strength and courage to get through it and that some how through the whole affair, God will become real to them.
Sounds easy enough.
Then you get the report that they are through with radiation and are doing fine. Guess my prayin' is done.
Sounds easy enough.

Well, here is the skinny on how I should be praying for people going through radiation treatment.
Certainly that God becomes real to that person. ( I pray that because one day God became real to me-another story for another day.)
That their physical strength can sustain them.
That they have the energy to cook supper or fix a sandwich.
That they have the courage to drive themselves to the treatment center daily.
That their skin doesn't get so raw that they can't even wear clothing next to it.
That their affect area will eventually 'get back to normal'. (probably won't happen though)
That they won't lose their minds before treatments and recovery are over.
That the people treating them are kind and compassionate. Some just aren't.
That the doctors know what they are doing and actually care.
That they still have the give of laughter through it all.
That in the end they survive to live another day.
That in the end, after surviving, they can still praise the Lord.

My sister, "G", had cancer, they removed it. Now she takes these terrible radiation treatments.
She still laughs.
She is my hero.

Happy Thoughts

Found a pattern for Pedicure Socks. I have never had a pedicure, but these socks look like they would be fun. They are toe-less socks. The picture shows a lady wearing them with flip-flops and rolled up jeans. I am trying Red Heart sock yarn for the first time. I was hesitant because every Red Heart yarn I have touched felt...stiff and rough. These don't feel too bad and the color was cute. I will keep you posted.
Until Next Time....Happy Thoughts.

Year of the Pie - Pie #36 American Pie

Well, if I still have any readers left after my last post, I just wanted to say that this week I was kind of wanting an apple pie.
I combined two different recipes to make this pie. It didn't have a name, so I gave it one.
(I was reading recipes for French,Dutch & German apple pies......since our country is made up of so many different peoples, I chose to name it American Pie.)
I used the regular Betty Crocker recipe for a two-crust pie. The top crust I just did in lattice. Not the pretty woven kind, just the laid on kind. I used five Granny Smith apples and one Jonagold just for fun.
Mix together:
1 C. sugar
1/4 C. flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
Peel, core and slice 6 apples and spread them over the pie crust. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the apples. Dot with about 2 T. butter.
Lay the lattice work on top. As you lay them on top attach them to the bottom crust by moistening the bottom crust with a bit of water and press to seal.
Then cut off the excess crust and make it real pretty.
Bake the pie for about 45 minutes at 425º.
I run a cake tester through the middle of the pie to check for tenderness.
When you feel that it is almost done, pour 1 C. heavy cream through the lattice work and bake 5 more minutes.






When you are finished....you will have a messy oven.
My husband and I are sitting here at the computer pre-reading this post and he is eating a cold piece of this pie as we speak. He says it is very good. You can't beat pie for breakfast....REALLY.
Hope you like it too.

Until Next Time....

Fishin'

Folks in these parts fish in the wintertime with an auger, a little house (sometimes), and a little fire (sometimes). I have never been ice fishing.
My wintertime fishin' came yesterday. It was sunny and 65º. Stopped at the bait store and bought a little container of bee moths. (sp)
Apparently, they are mighty tasty this time of year.
My daughter went along with me for the ride and general lounging in the nice weather.
My sister, G., stopped down with her fishing pole.
Now we both can say we have been fishin' in the wintertime.
Between the two of us we only caught 1 little fish. He got thrown back.
I got stung by some monstrous thing with a stinger that made its way up my pant leg to my knee.
I was doing the achy-breaky heart dance til I was able to pull my pants down and my sister removed the stinger. I never could find the culprit.
Yes, I pulled my pants down in public. The driver of the car passing by was gonna have to deal with it. lol It was necessary.
I had my good underwear on. :)
My sister said that she got stung one time and her husband chewed up some tobacco and made a poultice and applied it to her wound.
So, off she went to chewing up some tobacco from her cigarette.
It almost made her sick.
But surprisingly, after the initial burn/sting of it being applied, the stung area didn't get red and puffy.
When I got put my jammies on later, I took the band aid off and removed the tobacco and it looked really good. Cleaned it with peroxide.
Went to bed.
This morning it is a bit puffy and read and warm. But I think I will live.

Until Next Time......

Year of the Pie - Pie #35 Peppermint Pie

Well, what a week it has been. First my Divine Lime Pie was a bust and then my first Peppermint Pie was a bust. So after some study and viewing a YouTube video on whipping cream and reading the user's manual from my super duper Hamilton Beach mixer, her name is EVA, I tried to whip cream again. I had much better success this time. Previously, I had been mixing to fast and too long. I went past the point of stiff peaks and my whipped cream was like cottage cheese stuff.
View this YouTube video if you too are having trouble whipping cream.
This is my almost finished pie. It needs to sit in the fridge for at least 12 hours and then some crushed peppermint candies need to be scattered on top.

This is the stage to which EVA whipped the cream

My pie is still setting up, so I am using the picture from the cookbook to show you what the finished product looks like.

We sneaked a taste and it is a smooth mildly peppermint taste.

For fun...rent the movie Wall E. You will find EVA there, she looks like my mixture. lol

Here is the skinny on peppermint pie.
One graham cracker crust.
1½ C. crushed graham crackers
3 T. white sugar
1/3 C. melted butter
Mixed all together and press on the bottom and sides of the pie plate and baked at 350° for 10 minutes. Take it out and let it cool.


For the filling you need:
24 large marshmallows
½ C. milk
1/8 tsp. salt
6 drops of peppermint extract
6 drops of red food coloring
1 C. chilled whipping cream (I used heavy cream-yikes)
2 T. crushed peppermint candy

Heat marshmallows and milk in saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, just until marshmallows are melted. Remove from heat; stir in the vanilla, salt, peppermint extract, and food coloring. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until mixture mounds slightly when dropped from a spoon. I let mine sit in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes.

Beat whipping cream in chilled bowl until stiff. I chilled my whisk attachment too. Stir marshmallow mixture until blended; fold into whipping cream. Pour into crust. Refrigerate at least 12 hours. yes, twleve. Just before serving, sprinkle with crushed candy.

Ingredient Search

The search for the elusive Creme de Menthe has been called off. Said ingredient has been found.
If you live in the area go to the kitchen supply store.
It cost $1.45.
It is really little but it has a high concentration.
If the recipe calls for 1 tsp., you only use 1/4 tsp.
See it there on the shelf, being all shy?

Here is a close up of it.

My next quest is to find white creme de cacao.
The lady at the kitchen store said.....swallow I would find it at the liquor store. It isn't a liquor she said. It is just a flavoring they use in mixed drinks, etc.
So....onward I go with HUSBAND in hand. lol
( this pie better be good).

Until Next Time.

Years......MILLIONS of them!!!! NOT.

Imagine, if you will......that you believe the Bible is the Word of God.
{our Wednesday evening Bible study just went through quite a number of weeks doing a study on why we can believe the Bible.}
Imagine.....that you believe the Bible is the Word of God.
O.K.....here goes.
Genesis 1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said. Let there be light and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

If you know the creation account, you know that this continues on...and the evening and the morning were the 'so and so' day, etc. This continues on through the first part of Chapter 2.

Not trying to start a ruckis or anything....but where does one read......millions of years?

On more than one occasion a lady at church has mentioned that she had attended other churches in the past and found that our church was the most enjoyable and real and friendly.
That is sweet. If I were to add anything to her statement I would say that I have attended church and Bible study in Maryland, Iowa, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana and countless ones in Indiana and I can say that I have never in my life been in a church that just recently studied the veracity of the word of God and then turn right around within days and questioned it.

Hey, that is my soapbox for today.
(I'll get over it) :)

Just wanted to give a little shout out to my two sisters..G & R and my momma-G. HI.

Year of the Pie - Pie #34 Divine Lime Pie

Before we get into the pie, I wanted to talk just a bit about quilts.
I like quilts. I like to make quilts. I like to look at quilt fabric. I like to hand stitch them.
If quilts had feelings, I think they would be excited as they were being made. They would be looking forward to the day all of the stitching would be done and they could do what they were created to do. Keep some one cozy. They would be at their happiest wrapped all around someone. I think they would be at their saddest, displayed on a wall (I had one on my wall for about 7 years), or display case. Never being cuddled. Some of the prettiest quilts I have seen are certainly the saddest....on display and never used.
Such is the life of a pie, as well, I believe. If they had feelings they would they would find joy in coming together in a mixing bowl or baking in an oven or chilling in the fridge. Their final joy would be taking a ride on a fork to a gaping dark hole-destination unknown. Their saddest day would be not becoming complete or being eaten.
Such was the fate of this week's pie.
Divine Lime Pie.
A tragic ending.
The meringue pie shell seemed to work out quite nicely. Baked it for 45 minutes and then let it sit in the oven for another 45 without opening the door. It was slightly browned and stiff and easily broken off and airy inside and it seemed happy.
But the filling didn't turn out so well. I can't tell you where it all went wrong nor will I try to make an excuse for it.....I just know things didn't turn out well. At all.
So, there you have it...this week's pie took the same trail as Pie #10, Fried Apple Pie.
It didn't even make it out of the pie plate.

Until Next Time!

The Best Breakfast - EVER

My sisters and mother and even daughter, tend to not measure ingredients when they cook.
I, myself, am a measurer!
I measure the ingredient exactly.
I have watched my mom make gravy forever, but never took the time to learn to make it until the last couple of years. (probably a good thing...because I LOVE gravy)
I learned from the Betty Crocker cookbook. Betty says to measure ACCURATELY to avoid lumpy gravy. So I measure ACCURATELY. Much to my girl relatives' surprise, one Tuesday afternoon they found that I measured things out to make gravy. Oh, the horror on their faces. "you don't measure" they said...."you just judge it".
Well, I still measure and I measured this morning when I made my favorite gravy in all the world. I could founder on this stuff.
Hotdog gravy friends. If you haven't tried it...you just ain't been livin'.

Until Next Time

Pie Troubles

I asked my husband to run a few errands with me today. I was a little intimidated to look for two ingredients for an upcoming pie.
Creme de Menthe
and
White Creme de Cacao.
Well first of all...it needs to be in English. It is my first language.
While in the cooking aisle of Meijer, I had to PHONE A FRIEND. My friend couldn't help too much. The employees couldn't help much.
For some reason I felt like Grasshopper pie should taste of mint. So we just got a little bottle of Mint Extract and said it will have to do. We may check with a kitchen specialty store next week to see if they have it.
Wikipedia tells me that both of these ingredients are used in alcoholic mixed drinks.
Must be why I don't know what they are. Anyway.....more on that next week. I am still making a pie, hopefully, tomorrow....check back.

On a different note, my husband treated me to lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant. I know it was authentic because the waitress had to ask the head guy about our order to make sure she got it right. English is not her first language. She speaks Spanish really well.
So, we got a couple lunch specials....his came with guacamole and mine didn't. So I asked for some on the side. They were most happy to oblige.
When Chris got the bill we saw why they were so eager to please.
Approximately 1/2 cup of guacamole was $3.85.
We toted that guacamole around with us to complete our errands. lol

Well, wish me luck on this week's pie. I am having a bit of trouble deciding which to make.

Until Next Time.
p.s. if you have ever made Grasshopper Pie would you enlighten me about the ingredients?

My Husband's Night to Cook-THURSDAYS

We have decided that Thursday is my husband's night to cook supper.

Works for me.

A Visitor

This little gal came trotting down our road a couple days ago. She was soft and smooth and clean. She recently had a collar on.

When she looked at you, you could tell she had Sharpei in her as well as Shepherd.
We gave her a bite to eat before she left on her journey to find her home. As she headed down the road, she was intently looking for it.

I hope she found it.

Snippets

If you don't tell your kids the TRUTH, then you should expect them to believe the LIE. People sneak lies into the truth, therefore, making us think that the whole thing is the truth....99% truth and 1% lie, still makes it a lie.


IF we evolved from little goo critters that washed up out of the ocean........
What are the odds that a female goo and a male goo washed up at the same time, to reproduce more goo?
Just for the record....we didn't evolve from goo.


If you know your dog bites passersby.....don't you think you would somehow change the dog's habits and allow him NOT to bite folks? I suppose we could allow all dogs ONE accidental bite but then after that don't they become a BITER?


Do you think that 31° with a breeze feels warmer than 20° with no wind? You would think, right? Well, it doesn't. lol