I am listening to Helen Reddy this morning.... "I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman. You can bend me but not break me, Cause it only serves to make me. More determined to achieve my final goal..."
I'm pretty sure that every girl should learn the words to this song by the time they are ten years old...
I think I'll go burn my bra now.... actually that would not be good because I might end up with a black eye. : )
Enough of that silliness....
Oh crap! Now "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" is on by Al Green. Excuse me... I have to go sing into my mouse/microphone..... use your imagination........
(singing in the background....)
...... I've always been affected by the music I listen to.... my mood can swing from WOW to psssst in seconds depending on what I'm listening to... but then music can really get me going and doing cool things.... like I tend to listen to Aerosmith when painting.... and I listen to Diana Krall when I get down because she lifts me out of the dole drums.... when I'm driving I have a whole bunch of music that I like.
When I'm p'd off I tend to listen to "These Boots Were Made For Walking" by Nancy Sinatra, or "I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane" by Peter Paul, and Mary.... or Chantal Kreviasuk's version is good too. Bon Jovi is always good for a pick up too.... love them... and Johny boy is always a heart throb.... (hottie in modern lingo).
Oh! Excuse me "Respect" just came on... where's that mouse again.....
(singing in the background....)
.... Yeah.. well... anyway, I like modern stuff too. Smash Mouth is good and Nickleback, oh and Theory Of A Dead Man, and Uncle Kracker, and more recently Adele. All good music of various types....
Anyway.... today is a day of spinning so I'm trying to keep myself occupied while doing it... I was going to watch movies but somehow music entered my soul this morning and I'm doing that now instead.... spinning is going good though... I've got a bit done on the 150 hour project and last night I finished the stupid flax sample write ups which I've been stalling on for ages. I have a few write ups left which I will do each evening in between the garden work...
Every now and again I look at the calendar and get really freaked.... it's all good right!?
Oh Petula Clarke is on with "Downtown"... mouse time and time to sing again....
(singing in the background....)
If I'm not careful I'm never going to get anything done...... awesome.... Santana is on now.... love it.....
Well I'm off to spin before the day is gone and the calendar turns another page.... Do you realize it is almost June..... (squawk)! Ah... and it's 10: 15 already.... Yup I had better go spin.
I am woman hear me roar.... I can do anything........
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
All About Food
I just read through my last post which I posted without reviewing it.... which is obvious... somehow there was a whole two sentences that were lost somewhere in the publishing... what I had been saying was that the 4 elements have been involved in deadly storms of late. Earth with the Australian and Jananese earthquakes. Air with the tornadoes. Fire with the wild fires in Texas and more recently in Alberta. And lastly Water with the floods in Manitoba and B.C. Daughter#2 seems to believe that this is significant.... especially since rapture day has just past.... are we on the last times on our wee frail planet.... I don't know!? But I'm not giving up on my level 4 homework just because Jesus might come for a visit....I'm not holding my breath.
Meanwhile that has absolutely nothing to do with food, however, after also reading about the liver and onions that I had last night for supper my mouth began to water.... it was very good. Meanwhile as I write I am eating breakfast and I am having a corn and cheese omelette. (Stupid American spelling gismo on this machine... keeps telling me that I can't spell omelet/omelette right!) It too was very good and something that I haven't made in a very long time. But the eggs are farm fresh eggs that we got from a local farmer....they were so yellow compared to the nasty eggs you get at the supermarket.
Recipe:
Frankie's Corn and Cheese Omelette/Omelet
6 eggs
1/4 c. of milk
pepper to taste
handful of corn niblets
and 1 oz of cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese grated
In a frying pan and over medium low heat (for me that's a 4 on my stove top) melt a little butter .... absolutely butter unless you have clogged arteries... then I'll let you use margarine. While the butter is melting scramble the eggs with the milk and pepper. Once the butter is melted pour the egg mixture into the frying pan. sprinkle a handful or two of corn niblets over the eggs mixture and then sprinkle the cheese over the top. While it is cooking, pop some homemade bread in the toaster and toast lightly. When the egg mixture is gelatinous on top, flip the whole omelette/omelet over in the pan carefully.... I have no trick for doing this successfully... though for some reason it always seems to work. Leave the omelette there for 30 - 40 seconds and voila the omelette is ready to be shared. I usually feed all four of us with that much. Served with toast this makes a hardy breakfast and eaten at 10 a.m. you can even skip lunch because I guarantee you'll feel full for hours. And it is simply delicious.
Lately the Teapot has been checking the bush for food.... "What!" you say? Yup, Teapot has found morels... and they are really good with pretty much anything. Lovely with liver and onions and divine on top of an omelette/omelet. We are very careful about getting the right mushrooms because around here there are also false morels which actually don't look a bit like the real ones except when they are first coming through the ground. When picking wild mushrooms make sure you have someone who knows what they are doing... because screwing up is not an option! Be careful not to pick morels if they grow in sandy areas as they like to pick up the sand as they grow and you will be eating grit for sure.
Lastly to do with food... Daughter #1 and I managed to get the carrots in the ground while Teapot carried on with moving soil over to the new raised beds for the beets. I am hoping that tonight I will be able to get the beets in the ground... then we will need a couple of days to turn the soil for the potatoes and maybe by Monday night we can get the potatoes in the ground. We'll see how it goes after that. I am hopeful that we can get the last raised bed ready for peas and beans after that. My tomatoes will go into my barrels on the deck but I never have success with tomatoes... probably because I don't have enough room for more than a plant or two. Maybe next year we can work on the hot bed on the south side of the shed and have tons of tomatoes... oh the work that needs to be done... it's all about just getting it done, one day at a time.
Well, Teapot and the Daughters are getting ready to head out the door and I should go and get back to my spinning. All's well that ends well....
Meanwhile that has absolutely nothing to do with food, however, after also reading about the liver and onions that I had last night for supper my mouth began to water.... it was very good. Meanwhile as I write I am eating breakfast and I am having a corn and cheese omelette. (Stupid American spelling gismo on this machine... keeps telling me that I can't spell omelet/omelette right!) It too was very good and something that I haven't made in a very long time. But the eggs are farm fresh eggs that we got from a local farmer....they were so yellow compared to the nasty eggs you get at the supermarket.
Recipe:
Frankie's Corn and Cheese Omelette/Omelet
6 eggs
1/4 c. of milk
pepper to taste
handful of corn niblets
and 1 oz of cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese grated
In a frying pan and over medium low heat (for me that's a 4 on my stove top) melt a little butter .... absolutely butter unless you have clogged arteries... then I'll let you use margarine. While the butter is melting scramble the eggs with the milk and pepper. Once the butter is melted pour the egg mixture into the frying pan. sprinkle a handful or two of corn niblets over the eggs mixture and then sprinkle the cheese over the top. While it is cooking, pop some homemade bread in the toaster and toast lightly. When the egg mixture is gelatinous on top, flip the whole omelette/omelet over in the pan carefully.... I have no trick for doing this successfully... though for some reason it always seems to work. Leave the omelette there for 30 - 40 seconds and voila the omelette is ready to be shared. I usually feed all four of us with that much. Served with toast this makes a hardy breakfast and eaten at 10 a.m. you can even skip lunch because I guarantee you'll feel full for hours. And it is simply delicious.
Lately the Teapot has been checking the bush for food.... "What!" you say? Yup, Teapot has found morels... and they are really good with pretty much anything. Lovely with liver and onions and divine on top of an omelette/omelet. We are very careful about getting the right mushrooms because around here there are also false morels which actually don't look a bit like the real ones except when they are first coming through the ground. When picking wild mushrooms make sure you have someone who knows what they are doing... because screwing up is not an option! Be careful not to pick morels if they grow in sandy areas as they like to pick up the sand as they grow and you will be eating grit for sure.
Lastly to do with food... Daughter #1 and I managed to get the carrots in the ground while Teapot carried on with moving soil over to the new raised beds for the beets. I am hoping that tonight I will be able to get the beets in the ground... then we will need a couple of days to turn the soil for the potatoes and maybe by Monday night we can get the potatoes in the ground. We'll see how it goes after that. I am hopeful that we can get the last raised bed ready for peas and beans after that. My tomatoes will go into my barrels on the deck but I never have success with tomatoes... probably because I don't have enough room for more than a plant or two. Maybe next year we can work on the hot bed on the south side of the shed and have tons of tomatoes... oh the work that needs to be done... it's all about just getting it done, one day at a time.
Well, Teapot and the Daughters are getting ready to head out the door and I should go and get back to my spinning. All's well that ends well....
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Oh My
Another milestone (that being the May long weekend) has passed and I'm finally starting to sweat on the level 4 homework. Today I started spinning. It is looking awesome, better than I even expected.
That was yesterday and I kept getting interrupted... so I never did get to finish what I had been trying to say. Today everyone was back to school and so I got down to the 150 hour project. I have been spinning off and on all day. My foot has been complaining some but I take a few minutes to knit another row on the most recent shawl and then I go back to spinning again.
The garden is not in yet but we are working on it each evening. Tomorrow I am hoping to get the beet and carrots in the ground. The potatoes will have to wait till next week as Teapot and Daughter #1 are away this weekend. I refuse to plant the potatoes on my own.... at least until the soil has been turned. It's too hard on me to do alone. As for the beans and peas... that will have to wait till everything else is done.
It may be mid June before they get in the ground but that does not worry me since mid June will mean the peas and beans will be ready mid to late August... perfect timing in my estimation.
Aside from gardening and the level 4 homework, like everyone else I have been watching all the news and wondering what on earth is going on. Between the floods in Manitoba and B.C. and the fires in Alberta and in particular in Slave Lake, and now the tornado in Joplin, Missouri... I am in awe of what people can survive through. Daughter #2 has been going on about how it's amazing that Earth with the earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan.... and then as I said above all the 4 elements have been coming together to form the season of horror. There are no words.... just that I hope things settle soon.
I'm off to eat some liver and onions (which I love) for supper... yum!
That was yesterday and I kept getting interrupted... so I never did get to finish what I had been trying to say. Today everyone was back to school and so I got down to the 150 hour project. I have been spinning off and on all day. My foot has been complaining some but I take a few minutes to knit another row on the most recent shawl and then I go back to spinning again.
The garden is not in yet but we are working on it each evening. Tomorrow I am hoping to get the beet and carrots in the ground. The potatoes will have to wait till next week as Teapot and Daughter #1 are away this weekend. I refuse to plant the potatoes on my own.... at least until the soil has been turned. It's too hard on me to do alone. As for the beans and peas... that will have to wait till everything else is done.
It may be mid June before they get in the ground but that does not worry me since mid June will mean the peas and beans will be ready mid to late August... perfect timing in my estimation.
Aside from gardening and the level 4 homework, like everyone else I have been watching all the news and wondering what on earth is going on. Between the floods in Manitoba and B.C. and the fires in Alberta and in particular in Slave Lake, and now the tornado in Joplin, Missouri... I am in awe of what people can survive through. Daughter #2 has been going on about how it's amazing that Earth with the earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan.... and then as I said above all the 4 elements have been coming together to form the season of horror. There are no words.... just that I hope things settle soon.
I'm off to eat some liver and onions (which I love) for supper... yum!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Still On The Green Side Of The Sod
Well, I'm still here.... alive and kickin' Jesus didn't come for a visit.... too bad.
While everyone was waiting for the second coming Teapot and I got to work... we have been digging in the sh-- and dirt. I am putting in a fairly elaborate area of raised beds for beet and carrot and lettuce and beans and peas.We have always had a big garden since we moved to this house but as Teapot and I age and our knees and things start to creek we felt the need to down size our garden area. We are taking about a third of our garden and we are going to keep it for potatoes... but we are taking soil and poo from the other 2/3 of the garden for my raised beds. It will be easier to back the truck up to the beds and water the plants than it is to water a huge garden. We will also be able to maintain the potatoes with a hose from the house, but since we have to haul water it is something that has to be well planned in order to get any yield worth mentioning. Since we've had alpacas and sheep we have had our animals in on the fenced garden area and they have fertilized it very well. There are some areas where there is three inches of old poo on top of he soil. Needless to say that since I have a bum foot and the only thing I can fit on my foot is a pair of crocs and since I don't wear socks, you can imagine my feet by the time I come in at night... suffice it to say that they are very dirty.
We have had two days of thundery weather and showers which have penetrated the ground. I am hoping this trend will continue well into the summer. Wet ground is so needed here. Teapot and I managed to find a little time for a slow (very slow) one kilometre walk down through the bush in the hot part of the day. Indeed, the Prairie Crocuses... (aka wood crocuses, or forest crocuses) are out in full regalia. There is no sign of any of the other forest flowers yet. Though there are lots of mushrooms on the forest bed. By the time I got home my foot was once again good and swollen so I got to take a break while Teapot carried on working on the raised beds. Once it cooled down tonight and my foot stopped swelling I had to have a go at digging again. And so the transfer of soil goes from the old veggie garden to the new raised beds.
Teapot just came in and it is time for a cup of tea and a few supper dishes to be washed. We are both tired and look forward to an early night as Bailey kept us up with some erratic bad behaviour. (Just as I was starting to think she was settling in!)
Here's hoping your having a nice May long too...
While everyone was waiting for the second coming Teapot and I got to work... we have been digging in the sh-- and dirt. I am putting in a fairly elaborate area of raised beds for beet and carrot and lettuce and beans and peas.We have always had a big garden since we moved to this house but as Teapot and I age and our knees and things start to creek we felt the need to down size our garden area. We are taking about a third of our garden and we are going to keep it for potatoes... but we are taking soil and poo from the other 2/3 of the garden for my raised beds. It will be easier to back the truck up to the beds and water the plants than it is to water a huge garden. We will also be able to maintain the potatoes with a hose from the house, but since we have to haul water it is something that has to be well planned in order to get any yield worth mentioning. Since we've had alpacas and sheep we have had our animals in on the fenced garden area and they have fertilized it very well. There are some areas where there is three inches of old poo on top of he soil. Needless to say that since I have a bum foot and the only thing I can fit on my foot is a pair of crocs and since I don't wear socks, you can imagine my feet by the time I come in at night... suffice it to say that they are very dirty.
We have had two days of thundery weather and showers which have penetrated the ground. I am hoping this trend will continue well into the summer. Wet ground is so needed here. Teapot and I managed to find a little time for a slow (very slow) one kilometre walk down through the bush in the hot part of the day. Indeed, the Prairie Crocuses... (aka wood crocuses, or forest crocuses) are out in full regalia. There is no sign of any of the other forest flowers yet. Though there are lots of mushrooms on the forest bed. By the time I got home my foot was once again good and swollen so I got to take a break while Teapot carried on working on the raised beds. Once it cooled down tonight and my foot stopped swelling I had to have a go at digging again. And so the transfer of soil goes from the old veggie garden to the new raised beds.
Teapot just came in and it is time for a cup of tea and a few supper dishes to be washed. We are both tired and look forward to an early night as Bailey kept us up with some erratic bad behaviour. (Just as I was starting to think she was settling in!)
Here's hoping your having a nice May long too...
Friday, May 20, 2011
Raptured!!!
It's a really good thing that I don't have TV... I really didn't know anything about it. I think I'll go dance naked in the rain since it might be the last time I get a chance.... boy, there sure are a lot of people out there who are going to be disappointed.... Oh look there's God now.....
I'd better get out there.... I think he came for me early! It's because I'm so loveable.... right?!
Don't answer that!
Drat! And to think I just payed for my level 5 course.... I could have saved myself that money if I just had waited one more day. : {
Don't answer that!
Drat! And to think I just payed for my level 5 course.... I could have saved myself that money if I just had waited one more day. : {
Newly Risen
It is so sad that this year I cannot enjoy the forest as I would normally. With my foot in a bandage, I have had to forgo the pleasures of tramping in the woods as I normally do in spring. Combined with the fact that the snow didn't completely disappear until two weeks ago, this foot has really and truly limited my life. I do miss the flowers. Teapot tells me that the Forest Crocuses are out in bloom and there are starting to be tiny Violets and Wild Strawberries in the grass. Generally speaking this is my time of the year to walk... and walking I am just not the way I usually do. Normally I walk on a trail that is a good three kilometres everyday. But with my ankle acting up I have been reduced to one kilometre a day on my own property, not entirely bad, but disappointing since the Crocuses and Orchids that grow around here only come for a short time once a year. And I'm going to miss it this year.... : (
Well, Bailey has been with us for two months and has she fit in..... I can honestly say I'm not sure about that dog... She is not a good sleeper at night and she has a tendency to cower for no apparent reason at all and is constantly trying to suck up to you all things that I hate. But on the other side of the coin she is a loving dog and loves to snuggle and is fairly obedient and comes when she is called and doesn't run away and twice when the sheep pushed open the gate and got out on the grass,she was really good and did not eat or kill any of them.... Jiggs either. So she has her good pointers and we are trying to remember that she is still very young and may lose some of those stupid traits that we don't like. she may settle down in time. We finally laid Tootsie to rest and built him a cairn last weekend.... (we had to wait till the ground was thawed totally). it was a sad day and Teapot and I worked on his grave which is beside Duff's with red eyes and very choked about losing our little guy... I still miss having a wee dog around the house that followed me everywhere... but then I have two big galloopers who love to romp around the yard with each other and make for some very funny times. I can't imagine this home without dogs and cats and sheep etc... I even miss the furtive chickens... sometimes!
I am off to work on the 150 hour project... out on the deck in this marvelous sunshine. I might not be able to enjoy the flowers of the forest but i'm not going to pass up this chartreuse green of newly growing leaves....
and this weekend I will put in my garden... I can't wait....
I'm off.... see ya.... and hope spring is full of new life for you too.
 |
| Can't find them name for these wild flowers and I'm not sure if these are out but they will be soon. |
 |
| Wild roses are just leafing out... no buds yet but soon... |
 |
| These little orchids grow in abundance around here but they are just starting to come out and only last a day or two. |
 |
| Forest or Wild Crocuses are all out in full bloom... I think the Humming birds are happy about it. |
Well, Bailey has been with us for two months and has she fit in..... I can honestly say I'm not sure about that dog... She is not a good sleeper at night and she has a tendency to cower for no apparent reason at all and is constantly trying to suck up to you all things that I hate. But on the other side of the coin she is a loving dog and loves to snuggle and is fairly obedient and comes when she is called and doesn't run away and twice when the sheep pushed open the gate and got out on the grass,she was really good and did not eat or kill any of them.... Jiggs either. So she has her good pointers and we are trying to remember that she is still very young and may lose some of those stupid traits that we don't like. she may settle down in time. We finally laid Tootsie to rest and built him a cairn last weekend.... (we had to wait till the ground was thawed totally). it was a sad day and Teapot and I worked on his grave which is beside Duff's with red eyes and very choked about losing our little guy... I still miss having a wee dog around the house that followed me everywhere... but then I have two big galloopers who love to romp around the yard with each other and make for some very funny times. I can't imagine this home without dogs and cats and sheep etc... I even miss the furtive chickens... sometimes!
I am off to work on the 150 hour project... out on the deck in this marvelous sunshine. I might not be able to enjoy the flowers of the forest but i'm not going to pass up this chartreuse green of newly growing leaves....
 |
| I love this chartreuse green of early spring and the first leafing out of trees... too bad about those Pines in the background...stupid Pine Beetle... |
and this weekend I will put in my garden... I can't wait....
I'm off.... see ya.... and hope spring is full of new life for you too.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Out Of One Swirling Vortex And Into The Next
Ok so I've managed to kick the habit of online games for the time being.... but just as I've managed to climb out of one swirling vortex I find myself slipping into another one.... I love my lace knitting... and I didn't do the dragon scarf as planned... I just happened to pick up a lace knitting book and saw a shawl that I've always thought I would do but never have found the time or the right yarn... well, looking at that pattern sucked me out of the other vortex and sent me straight down this one. I started balling up the yarn while elevating the ankle yesterday and then out came the new knitting needles I purchased at the Environmental Extravaganza (giant garage sale). I should have kept picking cashmere.... but oh it was so pretty.... I couldn't help myself... and six inches in and 162 stitches later I'm hooked. The pattern is the Fan Stitch Half Circle Shawl from Traditional Knitted Lace from Interweave Press by Martha Waterman.
This is it.....
Hey! I look pretty good with the lower part of my face covered up.... I should wear a veil all the time... (my inner mind tells me that only a Burqa would do the trick)!
By the time I get this shawl knit I will have over 20,000 stitches on.... that is if I have the stamina for that. We'll see. Anyway, I did not get a lot done once I got going on this... and that is all I want to do... not the level 4 homework at all.... I'm in big trouble aren't I?
But I'm not going to be able to work on it constantly because by the time I was finished last night my neck felt like it was going to fall off and my head was going to roll out the door like the proverbial meatball. (You know... On top of spaghetti... all covered in cheese, I lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed... yep that was my head last night.) I am allowing myself to work on it only at night...(hurry night, hurry night)!
So now I find myself really wanting to work on one thing while having to work on something else.... what is wrong with me?! Argh!
(Don't answer that...)
This is it.....
 |
| Hope You can read backwards.... |
 |
| It looks better close up... |
 |
| Of course pictures never do anything justice.... and this in particular.... especially me in the background with the hockey hair going on... |
By the time I get this shawl knit I will have over 20,000 stitches on.... that is if I have the stamina for that. We'll see. Anyway, I did not get a lot done once I got going on this... and that is all I want to do... not the level 4 homework at all.... I'm in big trouble aren't I?
But I'm not going to be able to work on it constantly because by the time I was finished last night my neck felt like it was going to fall off and my head was going to roll out the door like the proverbial meatball. (You know... On top of spaghetti... all covered in cheese, I lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed... yep that was my head last night.) I am allowing myself to work on it only at night...(hurry night, hurry night)!
So now I find myself really wanting to work on one thing while having to work on something else.... what is wrong with me?! Argh!
(Don't answer that...)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)