More progress

The latest progress on Garage-mahal.

Tips for living with a brick layer

If you don't want key items that belong to you house to end up on the job site here are a few tips:

1) Buy only pink Nalgene bottles. This only works if the situation is not too desparate. I discovered him coming home with a pink Nalgene bottle with a flower on it last week after I reclaimed all my other Nalgene bottles and put them back in my hiding spot.

2) Stow all the your yard hoses, shoeverls, and rakes under lock and key.

3) Keep your measuring tapes in your sewing room. He probably won't think to look there.

4) When spring comes, he will have absconded with all your hoses, rakes, and shovels, even though you locked them up. Plan on buying new ones.

Garage-mahal

Garage-mahal continues to progress. This weekend Wilbur borrow state-of-the-art scaffold from a friend in preparation to hit the job hard this week.

Floating

Yesterday, I told Wilbur to have the maid clean the house, the cook plan the menus, and the chauffeur do the shopping while I went floating. Needless to say, I came home to a messy house with no food and no organization of meals for the next week.

However, I had a great time floating. We went with a friend who has mostly boys. I was fatigued at the end of the day just watching the boys wrestle each other, have M & M fights, and jump into the 33 degree water.

We have had the great blessing of rain and everything was green and lovely. It was a fun day.

Jump Rope Rhymes

Spanish Dancer
Not last night but the night before
24 robbers came knocking at my door
As I ran out (jumper runs out) they ran in (Jumper runs back in)
Asked them what they wanted. This is what they said,
"Spanish Dancer, do the splits (jumper does a slight split while jumping)
Spanish Dancer, give a high kick (jumper does a kick)
Spanish Dancer, turn around (jumper turns around)
Spanish Dancer, touch the ground (jumper touches the ground)
Spanish Dancer, get out of town (jumper runs out).

Cinderella
Cinderella dressed in yellow
went upstairs to kiss a fellow.
Made a mistake and kissed a snake.
How many doctors will it take?
One, two ....(count until jumper misses).

Down by the Ocean
Down by the ocean, down by the sea
Johnny broke a bottle and blamed it on me.
I told ma. Ma told Pa.
Johnny got a licken. Ha ha ha.
How many lickens did he get?
One, two, three....(keep counting until jumper misses).
(From the days when we expected we would get spanked if we told a lie.)

Memorial Day Meanderings

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. We have had some great Memorial Days.

I remember taking our 1968 boat out for the first time on Memorial Day. It was rainy and COLD! We drove the boat all over Canyon Ferry Lake and stopped on Cemetery Island where the girls put wildflowers on our pioneer ancestor’s graves.

I remember a M- Day when Wilbur taking my oldest daughter, Penelope, for a motorcycle ride on Saddle Mountain. Everything seemed fine until they came home and took off their motorcycle helmets. Hundreds off wood ticks had congregated in both Wilbur’s and Penelope’s helmet.

We performed wood tick experiments as we sent them down the drain. We discovered wood ticks congregate into a big ball and float. Amazingly, no one had a tick bore into him/her.

One M-Day we hiked the Water-main trail. The trail zigged back and forth following an old water main. The children were convinced we were going in circles. To them each part of the trail looked just like the last.

One rainy M-Day Penelope and Prudence, my two oldest daughters, talked me into forgoing the gardening in favor of a hike. Wilbur was working. The girls, Orville, Buster (the dog), and I started up the trail to Hanging Valley, but it didn’t take long until everyone had enough. They seemed to be more interested in the pop I bought.

Another cloudy M-Day we hiked into Humbug Spires. A hiking book recomended the trip. And I guess it was O.K. - if you like rocks.

Sometimes on M-Day we would have Grandma and Grandpa come over for potato salad, baked beans, and grilled hamburgers.

Memorial Day – good memories! Are you making some?

Questions

Why does anything your husband would REALLY want for Father's Day cost thousands of dollars?

Why does a Labrador retriever want to spend a 75 degree day inside the house on your heels as you clean from room to room?

Why do the people who insist on doing all the phoo phoo for any undertaking involving school, church, or work always get their way?

With only 24 hours in a day, why do people want to spend their precious time doing phoo phoo?

Do men spend spare time actively thinking about this question: What toy can I spend $5000 on?

More later...

Dilly Salad

2 cups fresh cauliflower
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 sliced red or orange pepper
1 sliced green pepper
1 medium purple onion, sliced
2/3 c. dill pickles (homemade are best) chopped
1 pint tomato juice or home canned tomatoes
3/4 c. dill pickle brine

Mix everything together.

Potato Casserole

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup onion
1 16 ounce package frozen hash browns
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 soup can milk
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 small green pepper, cut in strips
2 tablespoons chopped pimento
dash pepper
1 cup cheese cracker crumbs, divided

Melt butter in a skillet. Saute onion until done. Stir in potatoes, soup and milk. Add cheese, green pepper, pimento, pepper, and 1/2 cup cheese cracker crumbs. Bake at 375 for 35 to 40 minutes.

Corn Tortillas

1 1/2 cups cold water
1 cup flour
1/2 cup corn meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg

Heat skillet over medium low heat until just hot. Grease skillet if necessary.

Beat all ingredients with a hand beater until smooth. Pout scant 1/4 cup batter into skillet; immediately rotate skillet until batter forms a very thin tortilla. Cook about 2 minutes both sides. (I use more than a 1/4 cup because of the size of my skillet. My tortillas are a little thick, but maybe I'll get better.)

Green Salad With Tarragon Dressing

Salad:
6 cups torn sald greens
2 radishes
1 cup croutons

dressing:
2 T. tarragon vinegar
2 T. oil (I use olive since I found out how deadly oils can be)
2 t. sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 t. ground mustard (I use dry mustard)
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 worcestershire sauce

Put all ingredients in a bottle and shake.

Sons-in Law

After your daughters get married, you acquire new family called "sons-in-laws". I am completely in favor of sons-in laws (SILs). For one thing, they add balance to the family. Instead of overpowering Wilbur with feminine interests, opinions, and ambience, he now has other men to watch football and basketball with. Although, the hooting and hollering during games is much louder, it seems like television sports are MUCH more fun since we got the SILs. ( A word of warning here: Any SIL who interests Wilbur in any new sports that are televised is dead meat. Already, I have to make an appointment to watch television.)

Another great thing about SILs is that the only boy, Orville, now has brothers to hang with. When 16 year old Orville showed up at his sister's weddings 2000 miles away and casually mentioned the most formal attire he packed was a grey T-shirt and cargo pants, it was the shortly-to-be SIL who came to the rescue.

SILs are also useful for babysitting when I want to shop with my girls. Just like Wilbur and Orville, they have a minimal interest, if any, in shopping. But if you can interest them in TV game, barbecuing, or starting a campfire for marsmallows, they are perfectly content to stay home and watch the kids.

Besides having a providential dislike of shopping, SILs have an outdoor streak in them that is very useful. They make terrific skiing partners, downhill or cross country, if you can keep up with them. If you are short on people to hike with, send your daughter's family plane fare. SILs are like the energizer bunny on a hike. You need someone to help you improve your target shooting? Send for your SIL. They like guns too.

One of the most important feature of an SIL is that any of his quirks are not your fault. Those, you get to blame on HIS family. Overall, SILs are a winning concept, provided your daughters have good taste. Hey girls, did you get your good taste in men from me?

Chicken Soup

1 chicken - boiled and meat removed from bones
2 quarts of the chicken broth (from the chicken you boiled)
2 bay leaves
1 T. chicken boullion
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 c, sliced carrots
1 c. sliced celery
1 c. chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup barley

spaetzle:
1 1/4 c. flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/4 c. water
1 1/4 c. milk

Boil the chicken with bay leaves. Remove meat from bones, Combine broth, boullion, thyme, vegetables, and barley. Boil until vegetables and barley are tender - about 20 minutes. Add meat.

Mix dry ingredients for spaetzle together. Lightly beat egg and add it and water and milk. Mix. Drop spaetzle by teaspoons into boiling soup. Cook for 10 minutes. Yield - 8 -10 servings

Garlic Dip - By Julie's request

1 large container cottage cheese

2 packages cream cheese (8 ounces), softened

Enough mayonnaise to make it dip consistency, about 1/4 to 1/2 a cup

4-6 cloves of minced garlic

Put everything in a mixing bowl and mix together. Eat with potato chips.

Chocolate Almond Cheesecake

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cups sugat, divided
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons baking cocoa, divided
1/4 cup butter
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract, divided
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Combine crumbs, 1/4 c. sugar, 2 tablespoons cocoa and butter; mix well. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan; chill. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, and remaining sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in 1 teaspoon extract and remaining cocoa. Pour into crust. Bake at 350 for 45 to 50 minutes or until center is completely set. Cool completely. Refrigerate at least 8 hours. In a mixing bowl, whip cream until it mounds slightly. Add powdered sugar and remaining extract and continue whipping until soft peaks form. Spread evenly over cheesecake. Sprinkle with almonds. Store in fridge. 8 servings.

Raspberry Lemon Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup light cream
1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the eggs, cream, oil , and lemon extract; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold into raspberries. Spoon into 18 greased muffin cups. Bake at 400 for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. I've cut the amount of oil in half and the recipe is still good.

Hamburger Vegetable Soup

1 pound ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
3 cups beef broth
1 can (28 oz.)tomatoes with liquid, cut up
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup slced carrots
1 cup cubed, peeled potatoes
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. salt

Brown ground beef, drain. Add onion abd cook until tender. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until vegetables are tender.

The bay leaves are also lucky in this if your name is Lisa.

Christmas Shopping

Christmas Shopping

I hate shopping. Yes, I do!
I hate shopping. How about you?
All that stuff puts me to sleep.
The prices usually make me weep.

The commercials promise love and peace,
Happy families at a feast.
Kids who are sweet, bosses who are fair
If you will only buy their wares.

Yes, the key to happiness is all those things:
Ipods, X Box, and diamond rings.
The more you spend, the more you love?
Madison Avenue, you need a shove.

If we buy their baloney, we must crazy
Or maybe we are just stupid and lazy.
Think about it, what is more sublime?
Buying a bauble or taking the time?

Taking your kids to church on Sunday
Can't be replaced with toys on Monday.
Do you think everyday family dinners
Can be exchanged for one day of fluff and glimmers?

Buying neat stuff and taking fancy trips
Those are not short cuts to family bliss.
Your selfishness your spouse and kids will see through
They know if YOU are the most important thing to you.

There are no outs, no easy way,
We create our family day by day.
We put our family first, we look at the divine
We choose what’s important, for that we make time.

Retroactively Embarrassed

At church, I work with girls 12-18. It’s a lot of fun, and I love being able to do it. Naturally, some of the girls occasionally behave like toads. They’re kids, and kids behave like toads sometimes. Although, I wish I could warn the girls about retroactive embarrassment.

Retroactive embarrassment can hit at any time. You’ll be a young mother with four children at home. While making lunch for the kids during an ordinary day, Splat!!!! You will remember the time you made panty length cut-offs out of your yellow polyester pants and then rode your bicycle all over town - bending over all the way. Nice!!

Or you let your mind wander while you are doing a little innocent dusting, and before you know it you are at 9th grade cheerleading try-outs. The memory of falling flat on your rear-end during the tryouts will play on the screen of your mind in technicolor color. Or rushing back through time, you feel the embarrassment you should have felt (but didn’t have sense enough to) when you took the sacrament at church and said in a loud stage whisper, “Oh! That’s refreshing!” Clowning around that got a laugh with a group of nine-year-olds takes on a whole new meaning at 51.

I would have made a gargantuan effort keep my stupid teenage behavior to a minimum if I had known how memories tag along at a person’s heels. And some memories do NOT seem to dim with age. Memories are accompanied by feelings. If they weren’t, they would just be pictures in the mind. Feeling the public display of you imperfections - Ouch!

I never could see what use any of my retroactive embarrassment was until I started teaching the teenagers. Now, I see it has its uses. A memory of my past embarrassing behavior helps keep perspective with a kid in the midst of bratty moment. How could I not try to be understanding? Was I perfect at age 15? For that matter, am I perfect now? I want my retroactive embarrassment to increase my tolerance. People put up with the me and my lousy behavior. Bless them!

Wisdom from Wilbur

Over the past 30 years, my spouse has shared bits of wisdom. Here are some of a long list:

Driving tips - "Don't holler 'whoa' in a bog hole."

Nutritional advice - "The reason grass fed beef is better for you than grain fed beef is that you use more calories chewing it."

Weather forecasting - "Clear as a bell, cold as Hell."

Public speaking pointers - "Don't chew your cabbage twice."