White Garden Tuesday

Oh, I'm dreaming of a white....February?

This was last week, before the snow Thursday, Saturday and today.

This was 2AM Sunday, after the plow guy finished with the nearly 2 feet we gathered between Thursday and Saturday.  (I brought him a cup of soup.)

The same tree from last week is a little harder to see now.

And backing into my garage next to this snow drift is positively daunting; it doesn't help to know that if the car slips, it's slamming right into my masonry garage, and I'll be driving it right over to the body shop, where I would then have the privilege of leaving them a young fortune to fix it.

Of course, there are probably quite a few of you with yards which look like mine!  After all, there's a reason it's February.

Happy Snowy Garden Tuesday, everyone!

Happy Valentine's Day!

35 years ago, when we'd been dating less than a month, my dearly beloved bought me this ring.  It's a 1/4 carat ruby in a 6 prong, plain setting.  I was stunned.

Two of the prongs are gone.  I sent it to my jeweler to be repaired, and he refused.  The stone's scratched up, he said.  The stone's chipped, he said.  It's not worth the $180 I will charge to fix it, he said.  But to me, the sentiment was worth far more than that, especially since he was telling me this 3 days after my dearly beloved returned from the hospital, one short week after I could have lost him forever.

My beloved could tell I was unhappy, although he didn't hear this conversation.  When I told him of the conversation, he told me to show him that jewelry site I like, so he could see ruby rings in yellow gold.

And he chose this one for me.  How lucky I am that he thinks of me, even when he's suffering.  How lucky I am to have not lost him one month ago today.

I hope your special someone made your Valentine's Day just as happy as mine!

(The cake I made for my dearly beloved is coming in a day or 2, I promise.  It was as pretty as my ring!)

Wordless Wednesday

This is the archway over the opening to my driveway.

I wonder how badly that light bulb is going to be buried tomorrow.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  Stay warm, and keep your shovels at hand!

Garden Tuesday: Guess What?

You guessed it.  Snow.  In plentitude.

One of my favorite blue spruce trees in the back yard.  The house in the background is over 1000 feet away, and we can't see it in the summertime.

 Mark shoveled a crazy maze path out the front door.  This is taken through a window: No, I did not open a window after 10" of snow fell and it was 12 degrees!

 This is how deep the snow was last week, after the first snowfall.  We've had two smaller snows since then.

 And, of course, the trees in the front yard.  These are the ones right at the top of the staircase in the picture 2 up from here (Mark's Maze).

Happy snowy Garden Tuesday, everyone!  Stay warm!

A Birthday and Turkey

I've been a low salt cooker for years; actually, since I have a low tolerance for salt, I've been a low salt cooker all my life.  And it turns out that the limited amount of salt that I use is fine for my dearly beloved!  Hooray!  I Can Do This!

But meanwhile, I tried something different with my turkey breast, and the boys thought it was pretty good.

LOW SALT TURKEY BREAST

1 Turkey Breast
1 onion, cut in eighths
about 1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tbsp. Mrs. Dash Onion and Herb seasoning
2 tbsp. corn oil or olive oil

Stir together the Mrs. Dash and oil, and set aside for a few minutes to let the flavors blend.  Put the turkey on a rack in your roasting pan, remove the skin, tuck the onion pieces under and around it, and pour the vinegar over it.  Spread the top and sides with the oil/seasoning mix, add a little water to the bottom of the pan to keep it from scorching, and cook at 325F convection or 350F conventional oven until it registers 165F on a meat thermometer (juices will run clear).  Let the turkey sit for about 15 minutes.  It smells like you're roasting your salad while it's cooking, but the boys all really liked it.

Gravy:

2 cups water
1 tsp Chicken Base
2 tsp Mrs. Dash Onion and Herb seasoning
1/4 cup cold water
2 tbsp cornstarch

Heat the 2 cups water, chicken base and Mrs. Dash to a simmer; cook for a couple of minutes for the flavors to meld.  Whisk the cornstarch into the 1/4 cup cold water, and whisk into the gravy pan.  Cook until thickened, stirring occasionally.  Yes, I know chicken base has sodium in it.  But it's substantially less than the sodium in a bouillon cube.  The whole 2 cups of gravy has about 800mg of sodium in it, and, really, is anyone using 2 cups of gravy?  4 tablespoons of gravy has about 100mg of sodium, and that's quite enough for anyone, really.

One thing I've learned is that Mrs. Dash uses potassium instead of sodium, and you have to watch your levels of that, too, so it's pretty hard to use this seasoning.  Life is so complex.

And, no, there's no picture of the turkey.  I find myself so busy with the necessities of life that I forget niceties like pictures of food.  So, instead, here's a couple of pictures from Jeffrey's birthday, which was also Superbowl Sunday.  As I recall, the Broncos forgot to play that game.

My beloved was 15 days post-surgery, and looked damn good, don't you think?

Happy Monday, everyone!

Thorsday Book Review and Visitor

I did a lot of reading in the hospital.  Let's face it, even when I was able to use my recovering cardiac surgery patient's recliner for sleeping, it just isn't all that great.  But it beats the tarnation out of sleeping in a regular chair.

Anyway, this is one of the books I read, and it was a lot of fun.

THE BARKER'S DOZEN: REMINISCENCES OF AN EARLY POLICE DOG
by Robert Warr

"'The name's Snuffles, Snuffles of The Yard,' said my uncle's Spaniel with a growl in his voice.  'I will not tolerate an ill-mannered pup calling me a good  doggie.'

"I must admit that this statement shocked me and I wondered, for an instant, if I had gone mad.  My training as an engineer, however, has taught me to examine facts.  I was sitting in my uncle's study; his dog, was standing with his paws on my knees and his teeth an inch from my nose.  I had called him a good doggie."

So begins this delightful book.  Snuffles is a Springer Spaniel of the best breeding, whose master is a detective at Scotland Yard in the 1890s.  Naturally, Snuffles assists him in solving cases.  Normally, he doesn't talk to humans.  During the course of the book, he explains that all dogs can speak English, but they are warned by their mothers not to do so, because it causes great complications with their humans.  Of course, my favorite story was the one in which Henry, the mastiff, assists Snuffles in physically capturing the perp.  Clearly, the author knows mastiffs.  "The cook's lad was lying flat on his back with Henry standing on his chest barking gleefully....'Be still, lad,' Henry cautioned him clearly and in English. 'I am not going to let you up.  Lie quietly and I won't be forced to hurt you.  I am a gentle soul and not inclined to violent behaviour...'"

Of course, there is the saga of James (the nephew) trying to get his life set straight after a dynamiting accident left him lame.  And there is the matter of the cousin sent from America as punishment by her father.  All in all, a most entertaining book.  And with plenty of dogs, cats, and even a fox and a bird or 2.  5/5!

One of our best friends, who lives an hour north of here, came to visit my dearly beloved twice in the hospital - 3 hours worth of driving time for a 15 minute visit, and another 3 hours for a half hour visit.  I was touched, truly.  But then, the day after we came home, he stopped by with his dog, Dakota.

 Of course, I fed Dakota treats.

Dogs make everyone happy.

Happy Thorsday, everyone!

Garden Tuesday: The View from Up High

This is the view from two of my dearly beloved's 3 hospital rooms.  Both were on the top floor.

This first one shows Scranton beyond the roof of the parking garage.  See the line of cars going away from you on the left of the picture?  Almost to the end of the line is a little red car, with my bigger blue winter beater sticking out from behind it.  And there it stayed for 5 days.

 Some of the houses and buildings beyond the top of the parking garage, in early morning sun, while my beloved was still asleep.  I didn't sleep much.  It was better that he did.

 At night, looking out at the city, the lights were very pretty.  My car is there at the right edge of the picture.

 See?  There it was, all alone, as the snow began to fly.  It was the only car up there for like 2 days.  The maintenance staff plowed around it, but it was torture climbing through the foot deep snowbank left 18" all around it.  Still, they didn't bury it, and for that I'm grateful.

 Three days later, post-ICU, from a different room.  I had finally left, gone home and changed, and did NOT park on the roof again.  At least the car was clean after the next snowstorm.

 

Cities are always prettier after snowstorms, aren't they?

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  Things are slowly improving around here, so it truly is a Happy Tuesday!

I'm Still Here!

This has been probably the most difficult 2 weeks of my life.  From a routine test on my dearly beloved to a triple bypass in 3 days.  8 days in the hospital, and I never left him alone to become fearful or depressed.  He is recovering well, although it will be a long haul.

I suppose that the best thing I can say is I lost 5 pounds during those 8 days.

Or maybe that I never knew this stuff comes in such a rainbow of flavors.

No, the best thing I can say is that a brilliant cardiac surgeon saved my dearly beloved from an almost guaranteed fatal heart attack in the next year.  My debt of gratitude to him is infinite.  I will be back some time soon.

Garden Tuesday: Belated Christmas Cactus

The Christmas Cactus is late in giving us blooms.  Or, more precisely, bud.  As in one bud.  It's looked just like this for 6 days now.

Who knows if it will open or not.  But at least it tried.

There is a lot of stuff for me to manage this week, and next, for that matter, so I have no idea when I'll be around again.  So Happy Garden Tuesday, everyone!

Sweet Potato Bread

What to do with just a bit of leftover mashed sweet potatoes?  I couldn't just throw them out, but a sweet breakfast or dessert bread seemed to be in order.

SWEET POTATO BREAD

1/4 cup margarine or butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs or 1/2 cup egg beaters
1 cup mashed sweet potato
1-3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Cream together the brown sugar and margarine or butter until fluffy.  Beat in the eggs.  Stir together the dry ingredients, then beat them into the egg mixture; add the sweet potatoes, and beat until smooth.  Stir in the walnuts, and turn into a greased loaf pan.  Bake at 350F for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.  Cool before cutting.

This tasted a lot like pumpkin bread.  We all enjoyed it, although Dan mumbled something about "stinkin' walnuts..."

Oh, and Mark correctly predicted the winners of 3 of the 4 NFL games this weekend.  I'm waiting for his insightful prognostications into the playoffs and Superbowl.  The kid's kind of a wizard at this football thing.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Thorsday Book Recap: 2013

Instead of a Thorsday Book Review, I decided to make a listing of all of the books I read in 2013.  Some I reviewed, some I did not.  But between the Kindle and the library's used book sales, I had some excellent selections available to me.

1. A Provencal Mystery - Ann Elwood 4/5 (R)
2. Twelve Days - Teresa Hill 3/5
3. Pooh Bridge - Nigel Lampard 3/5 (R)
4. A Touch of Ice - L. J. Charles 3.5/5
5. 30 Pieces of Silver - Carolyn McCrae 4.5/5 (R)
6. Havoc - Carolyn McCrae 4.5/5
7. The Hamsa - E. S. Kraay 2/5
8. Moonlight Becomes You - Mary Higgins Clark 4/5 (R)
9. The Final Arrangement - Annie Adams 5/5 (R)
10. Treachery at Torrey Pines - John Van Vlear 5/5
11. The Disappearance of Grace - Vincent Zandri 5/5
12. Celtic Blood - James John Loftus 2.5/5
13. To Speak for the Dead - Paul Levine 5/5 (R)
14. Leaving Van Gogh - Carol Wallace 5/5 (R)
15. Out Of Time - Deborah Truscott 5/5 (R)
16. Chill Run - Russell Brooks 4/5
17. A Shot in the Bark - C. A. Newsome 4/5
18. Mary at the Farm - Edith Thomas 3/5 (R)
19. You Only Live Twice - Ian Fleming 3/5 (R)
20. The Florabama Ladies' Auxiliary and Sewing Circle - Lois Battle 5/5 (R)
21. An Innocent Client - Scott Pratt 5/5
22. Noble Cause - Jessica James 3/5
23. With No One As Witness - Elizabeth George 4/5 (R)
24. Blue Mermaid - Miranda Koerner 5/5 (R)
25. Marks of Time - Neil Jenkins 3/5
26. The Art Thief - Noah Charney 4/5 (R)
27. You Think You Know Me Pretty Well - David Kessler 4/5
28. History of the United States - Charles A. Beard 3/5
29. Red Harvest = Dashiell Hammett 5/5
30. Wanted Dead or Alive - Amber Scott 2.5/5
31. The Dain Curse - Dashiell Hammett 5/5
32. The Constantine Codex - Paul L. Maier 3.5/5
33. To Serve Them All My Days - R. F. Delderfield 4/5 (R)
34. The Maltese Falcon - Dashiell Hammett 5/5
35. In Good Faith - Scott Pratt 5/5
36. Blueblood - Matthew Iden 4/5
37. Return of the Native - Thomas Hardy 4/5 (R)
38. A Separate Peach - John Knowles 5/5
39. The 19th Element - John Betcher 5/5
40. The Adventures of Sally - P. G. Wodehouse 4/5 (R)
41. At Drake's Command - David Wesley Hill 3/5
42. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built - Alexander McCall Smith 1/5
43. The Poe Shadow - Matthew Pearl 2/5 (R)
44. Jill the Reckless - P. G. Wodehouse 4/5 (R)
45. Between Seasons - Adia Bressington 3.5/5
46. Curse of the Scarab - H. Y. Hanna 4/5
47. The Way to Dusty Death - Alistair MacLean 5/5 (R)
48. The Prefect's Uncle - P. G. Wodehouse 2.5/5
49. The Pampered Chef by Doris Christopher 3/5 (R)
50. The Dog Who Danced - Susan Wilson 5/5 (R)
51. Roanoke - Angela Elwell Hunt 3/5
52. Life, Love and a Polar Bear Tattoo - Heather Wardell 2/5
53. What Came Before He Shot Her - Elizabeth George 2/5
54. Red Badge of Courage - Stephen Crane 4/5 (R)
55. The Lady and the Unicorn - Tracy Chevalier 5/5 (R)
56. The Jefferson Key - Steve Berry 4/5
57. The Cheesecake Queen - Miranda Koerner 5/5

I had not counted before this.  Even having read nothing from the weekend before Thanksgiving through the last weekend of the year, that's a long list.  We'll see what next year brings!

Happy Thorsday, everyone!

Happy New Year!

Eldest Son's New Cat would like to remind all loving cat parents out there of one simple rule:  Never, ever let your brother buy your cat a Santa Suit, and then stuff your cat into it!

Happy New Year, everyone.  Hope you're all having a better time than poor New Cat.