Saturday, May 08, 2004
Do You Talk Too Much?
Friday, May 07, 2004
Happy Belated Anniversary to my cousin L & her Hubby B!!!
OMG I forgot it was their anniversary and how could I ever forget being ever so pregnant and going into Labour the day before her Wedding...so A. was born, and L was married...making that 32 years for both of them! Congratulations and forgive me for being Late. I ran out and took a million photos in the garden this morning, as the sun was brilliant and there was still dew on the blossoms...very beautiful. Of course my Gentian pic isn't so hot, but the Mayday tree in bloom, makes up for it...I'll upload a few so I can share the reason I live out in the boondocks...spring is beautiful!!!!
And to make my morning even better, Sears JUST called to say my new mattress is in! Yippee....now to coax the big man to go get it tomorrow morning.. I sure never slept three winks last night between E's coughing and snoring and the dog continually fighting for space ...not that all of that will go away with a new mattress, but maybe I'll at least be more comfortable without a killer back ache!
This is a couple of pics of the Pink Mayday tree when it is in Bloom...This is its best year ever...Thank-you to my neice C, who got it as a house warming gift for us...
Here is my poor little Gentian...It will probably send up more flowers, and in time will grow to a large clump, if I ever stop dividing it!
What would spring be without Dandylions!!!
And to make my morning even better, Sears JUST called to say my new mattress is in! Yippee....now to coax the big man to go get it tomorrow morning.. I sure never slept three winks last night between E's coughing and snoring and the dog continually fighting for space ...not that all of that will go away with a new mattress, but maybe I'll at least be more comfortable without a killer back ache!
This is a couple of pics of the Pink Mayday tree when it is in Bloom...This is its best year ever...Thank-you to my neice C, who got it as a house warming gift for us...
Here is my poor little Gentian...It will probably send up more flowers, and in time will grow to a large clump, if I ever stop dividing it!
What would spring be without Dandylions!!!
Thursday, May 06, 2004
Happy Birthday to A's Beau..S. !
Fancy that, S.'s birthday is the day after A.s, 364 days older than her, so we gave him his birthday wishes over the phone tonight and they were delighted, that the present I mailed by Express post ,yesterday at 3:00 was in their mailbox when they came home from work tonight...Pretty good for old Canada Post!
His Grandpa BBQ'd them up a steak dinner with cheesecake for desert,so that sounded like a mighty fine birthday present for the two of them...Grandpa is well into his eighties, but still going strong and loving to gab. A. has promised to help him with his garden this year, so that made his day too!
Speaking of gardens...We did get a decent downpour during the last two nights, so my garden is singing! I took a look tonight and my sweetpeas are up, and the columbines and peonies have fat buds; the Sasifragia is blooming and my little deep blue gentians were already closed up by the time I got there...I'll try to be an earlier bird tomorrow.I picked more aspargus and noticed the strawberry plants that I transplanted, had revived themselves...Yes, thank-you to the good Lord for the rain...
E arrived home, so dead dog tired, and with a cough, that he fell into bed mid afternoon and crashed for a couple of hours and is back in bed again...just been on the go too much what with everything going on. The workers out there are still mad as hell about the incompetence of the leaders, as the Kootenays are affected most by the recent closures and there wasn't anything in the contract to deal with that. I think E said that over 6000 or was it 8000 jobs have been lost already and 600 more will go. A sad situation,indeed.
Oh yes, just to mention that some where in the vicinity of a website called neatwomeninc.com. when I went to retrieve a Mother's Day card, I also recieved a Trojan Horse, as this type of virus is called...My Trend PC Cillin Antivirus alerted me to it, but was unable to clean it or quaratine it, so I wound up doing the quarantine manually and deleted the file, which was an executable file, in my Temp folder in Windows. It was intended to install a couple of other Program files that could do damage to my computer at someone else's will, whenever I was online, but of course that never happened because I deleted the nasty file. So keep your antivirus updated.I'm glad mine was.
Back to the Concert. Here is a still shot retrieved from the video of S singing..
This next shot is taken fromthe park near S's house late in the afternoon...looking at the "Gorge"
His Grandpa BBQ'd them up a steak dinner with cheesecake for desert,so that sounded like a mighty fine birthday present for the two of them...Grandpa is well into his eighties, but still going strong and loving to gab. A. has promised to help him with his garden this year, so that made his day too!
Speaking of gardens...We did get a decent downpour during the last two nights, so my garden is singing! I took a look tonight and my sweetpeas are up, and the columbines and peonies have fat buds; the Sasifragia is blooming and my little deep blue gentians were already closed up by the time I got there...I'll try to be an earlier bird tomorrow.I picked more aspargus and noticed the strawberry plants that I transplanted, had revived themselves...Yes, thank-you to the good Lord for the rain...
E arrived home, so dead dog tired, and with a cough, that he fell into bed mid afternoon and crashed for a couple of hours and is back in bed again...just been on the go too much what with everything going on. The workers out there are still mad as hell about the incompetence of the leaders, as the Kootenays are affected most by the recent closures and there wasn't anything in the contract to deal with that. I think E said that over 6000 or was it 8000 jobs have been lost already and 600 more will go. A sad situation,indeed.
Oh yes, just to mention that some where in the vicinity of a website called neatwomeninc.com. when I went to retrieve a Mother's Day card, I also recieved a Trojan Horse, as this type of virus is called...My Trend PC Cillin Antivirus alerted me to it, but was unable to clean it or quaratine it, so I wound up doing the quarantine manually and deleted the file, which was an executable file, in my Temp folder in Windows. It was intended to install a couple of other Program files that could do damage to my computer at someone else's will, whenever I was online, but of course that never happened because I deleted the nasty file. So keep your antivirus updated.I'm glad mine was.
Back to the Concert. Here is a still shot retrieved from the video of S singing..
This next shot is taken fromthe park near S's house late in the afternoon...looking at the "Gorge"
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Bean Soup
Good thing I made a pot of it yesterday because that is what I ate twice today...Pretty nourishing as far as the bean part goes, and some what close to the old recipe that my Mom made years ago, and probably every Russian from here to Castlgr still makes today.
The ideal and old fashioned way is to use those lovely dried beans ( red kidney) that you stored away last winter...rehidrate them by soaking about two cupfuls in a bowl of water overnight. The modern way is to open a large can of kidney beans, a large can of black beans, some mixed beans, or some Bean soup mix can of beans or pork and beans or a mixture of whatever you have on hand!
Being that I am still a carnivor, I use the broth leftover from Ham and the Ham bone and any remaining bits of ham that survived on the bone. I usually stick the bones, broth, and meat and about four or five cups of water ( half a pot or so)into the pressure cooker, seal it, and let it pressure cook for ten minutes, then run the cooker under cold water to cool it completely before opening it. If you don't have a pressure cooker then just throw what you have(except the beans) into a big pot and add a quart of canned tomatoes, and let it simmer away for a few hours until the aroma invites you to taste it and the meat has fallen off the bone.
Scoop out the bones and any large chunks of meat. Chuck the bones...only give small bits of the knobby part to your dog ...otherwise the dog can chew up and injest the entire bone and if it is a little dog like Silk, YOU will be the one running to the door all night long as the dog cries out to go poop over and over again until you are ready to kill the dog and yourself.
Back to the soup...
Chop up any meat and return it to the pot...You have broth with tomatoe and ham bits floating around in it at this stage, so now you can chop up some peeled spuds and add them...some should be left in larger chunks for easy retrieval and some should be chopped the way you would like to find them swimming in your bowl of soup. Add the cans of beans...enough to thicken the soup, and put it all back onto the burner to simmer some more. Once the spuds are cooked, you may lift out the chunks, put them in a little bowl and mash the heck out of them, adding a nice chunk of butter and some cream to make a thinner version of mashed potatoes. If the thought of eating a whole kidney bean repells you, then also lift out some or all of the beans and mash them as well.. Add a little hot soup to this mixture to warm the cream part and then dump it all back into the soup.Now you have a thicker lighter coloured version of broth. Taste it to see if it needs some salt ( depends on how salty the ham broth was)
Okay...It is almost bean soup now...You just have to chop up an onion or two and fry it up in a little butter and when it is nicely sauteed, add it to the soup. There you are...Bean soup! Chop a little chedder cheese into cubes and put those in your bowl before adding the soup...Yummy with a slice of bread, or not, if you are on Atkins.
In fact, one can omit the potatoes and thicken the soup with instant potatoes. This works fine...just no spuds in the soup that are recognizable. Don't have cream or don't want to use it...some milk and a can of mushroom soup will make it creamier as well. Want it more tomatoish?...then add a can of tomatoe soup to it. Like it more Latino... Add some hot sauce to it and garlic. Like it more Indian...add some Cumin... That is the good thing about Beans...they are just the base and anything you add to them gives them the flavour...Enjoy your soup and don't forget to always freeze your ham bone and the broth after you cook a ham so you can indulge in soup on a rainy day!
That was one of the many things my Mom sure knew how to cook...was a variety of soups from Chicken Rice to Fresh Fall All vegetable and Macaroni soup to Borsht to Beef Barley.. I think we lived on soups for half the year at home...so it is no wonder I still often make soups.
Oh yes, you can freeze half of it in easy to thaw Zip-lock bags. I seal the bag,squeeze out excess air, and lay it on a flat surface in my freezer till it freezes. Then you can stack em up like bricks!LOL
Today was mostly rainy and windy, so the soup was perfect...
Sounds like A. had a good birthday. I had Save-On Foods deliver her a Fruit Flan this afternoon, so her and S. indulged and enjoyed...before and After they hiked!
And I had a piece of Chocofeller chocolate with my tea after dinner.
I stopped into Figgy's today and chatted with Cath. Business is slow, but as the days grow warmer, so will the tourists begin to return. Ger said my little packets of cards were selling nicely and that I should be thinking of making more...no lack of photos. I think the pansy pics would be pretty on a card. I'll try them out.
I have beautiful vibrant blue alpine Gentians starting to bloom...My favourite colour of the season( see photo gallery at the bottom of the page link above and look at Gentiana)..that is what I have growing here, but hard to embelish on a photo as they are all alone with a sea of dirt around them . Maybe they will work out better with my digital than my old camera.I'll try to capture a few tomorrow, if the rain abates.
Time for bed said the Obeast...
The ideal and old fashioned way is to use those lovely dried beans ( red kidney) that you stored away last winter...rehidrate them by soaking about two cupfuls in a bowl of water overnight. The modern way is to open a large can of kidney beans, a large can of black beans, some mixed beans, or some Bean soup mix can of beans or pork and beans or a mixture of whatever you have on hand!
Being that I am still a carnivor, I use the broth leftover from Ham and the Ham bone and any remaining bits of ham that survived on the bone. I usually stick the bones, broth, and meat and about four or five cups of water ( half a pot or so)into the pressure cooker, seal it, and let it pressure cook for ten minutes, then run the cooker under cold water to cool it completely before opening it. If you don't have a pressure cooker then just throw what you have(except the beans) into a big pot and add a quart of canned tomatoes, and let it simmer away for a few hours until the aroma invites you to taste it and the meat has fallen off the bone.
Scoop out the bones and any large chunks of meat. Chuck the bones...only give small bits of the knobby part to your dog ...otherwise the dog can chew up and injest the entire bone and if it is a little dog like Silk, YOU will be the one running to the door all night long as the dog cries out to go poop over and over again until you are ready to kill the dog and yourself.
Back to the soup...
Chop up any meat and return it to the pot...You have broth with tomatoe and ham bits floating around in it at this stage, so now you can chop up some peeled spuds and add them...some should be left in larger chunks for easy retrieval and some should be chopped the way you would like to find them swimming in your bowl of soup. Add the cans of beans...enough to thicken the soup, and put it all back onto the burner to simmer some more. Once the spuds are cooked, you may lift out the chunks, put them in a little bowl and mash the heck out of them, adding a nice chunk of butter and some cream to make a thinner version of mashed potatoes. If the thought of eating a whole kidney bean repells you, then also lift out some or all of the beans and mash them as well.. Add a little hot soup to this mixture to warm the cream part and then dump it all back into the soup.Now you have a thicker lighter coloured version of broth. Taste it to see if it needs some salt ( depends on how salty the ham broth was)
Okay...It is almost bean soup now...You just have to chop up an onion or two and fry it up in a little butter and when it is nicely sauteed, add it to the soup. There you are...Bean soup! Chop a little chedder cheese into cubes and put those in your bowl before adding the soup...Yummy with a slice of bread, or not, if you are on Atkins.
In fact, one can omit the potatoes and thicken the soup with instant potatoes. This works fine...just no spuds in the soup that are recognizable. Don't have cream or don't want to use it...some milk and a can of mushroom soup will make it creamier as well. Want it more tomatoish?...then add a can of tomatoe soup to it. Like it more Latino... Add some hot sauce to it and garlic. Like it more Indian...add some Cumin... That is the good thing about Beans...they are just the base and anything you add to them gives them the flavour...Enjoy your soup and don't forget to always freeze your ham bone and the broth after you cook a ham so you can indulge in soup on a rainy day!
That was one of the many things my Mom sure knew how to cook...was a variety of soups from Chicken Rice to Fresh Fall All vegetable and Macaroni soup to Borsht to Beef Barley.. I think we lived on soups for half the year at home...so it is no wonder I still often make soups.
Oh yes, you can freeze half of it in easy to thaw Zip-lock bags. I seal the bag,squeeze out excess air, and lay it on a flat surface in my freezer till it freezes. Then you can stack em up like bricks!LOL
Today was mostly rainy and windy, so the soup was perfect...
Sounds like A. had a good birthday. I had Save-On Foods deliver her a Fruit Flan this afternoon, so her and S. indulged and enjoyed...before and After they hiked!
And I had a piece of Chocofeller chocolate with my tea after dinner.
I stopped into Figgy's today and chatted with Cath. Business is slow, but as the days grow warmer, so will the tourists begin to return. Ger said my little packets of cards were selling nicely and that I should be thinking of making more...no lack of photos. I think the pansy pics would be pretty on a card. I'll try them out.
I have beautiful vibrant blue alpine Gentians starting to bloom...My favourite colour of the season( see photo gallery at the bottom of the page link above and look at Gentiana)..that is what I have growing here, but hard to embelish on a photo as they are all alone with a sea of dirt around them . Maybe they will work out better with my digital than my old camera.I'll try to capture a few tomorrow, if the rain abates.
Time for bed said the Obeast...
Happy Birthday AN!
Just a quick blog to say Happy Birthday to my daughter who is hard at work today. Wish I could be there with your birthday cake! Here is a pic or two to make your day...PS The Card and Gift is in the mail:-)
And here is a cute one of the Little M with Silk
Ok gotta run...to get the gifty in the mail today! Oh yes, and I put S's Song for the Mira and concert clips onto a little video cd , so I will mail those off today also...Damn that Canon A80 works mighty fine as a Movie cam...How would I know it was Sooooo sensitive and would pick up every scritch??? Sorry about that S! You still sounded very terrific...Love Ya!
And here is a cute one of the Little M with Silk
Ok gotta run...to get the gifty in the mail today! Oh yes, and I put S's Song for the Mira and concert clips onto a little video cd , so I will mail those off today also...Damn that Canon A80 works mighty fine as a Movie cam...How would I know it was Sooooo sensitive and would pick up every scritch??? Sorry about that S! You still sounded very terrific...Love Ya!
Monday, May 03, 2004
Meanwhile , Back at the Ranch
Holy Hanna...It is clear that summer will leave me less time for blogging as I am too pooped after a day in the garden of Eatin'! That's where I spent the last few days...digging... I now have a nice little patch suitable for some of my garden,and was able to plant a few of the early things like lettuce and radishes and spinach..But digging it by hand is no easy task since most of E's lawn has seeded itself in my garden now. I covered most of it with black plastic, which has slowed the growth rate down, but it still entails a fair amount of work to try to conserve the dirt.
I have been unearthing so many potatoes that today I'll try to replant those in their own patch...but once again, it needs to weeded and dug up, first...a big job, since the quack grass has really taken root in that particular area...much worse than lawn growing everywhere. If I can do a little every day, then that will be a bonus and the garden will grow. Now we need a little rain, as E hasn't hooked up my water yet...He is back to Crnbrk today to settle down the troops..a lot of unhappy workers everywhere...can't blame them.
So here are a few photos of my trip...
This was taken from the ferry on the way over...a beautiful sunset, it was:
St. took this one of myself and my grandaughters...Haven't they grown???
M is learning how to play piano now with K doing the teaching...pretty smart of the two of them!
Look at these two cuties!
I snapped this one on our walk to the park....On the way home we saw two seals playing in the water here
I have been unearthing so many potatoes that today I'll try to replant those in their own patch...but once again, it needs to weeded and dug up, first...a big job, since the quack grass has really taken root in that particular area...much worse than lawn growing everywhere. If I can do a little every day, then that will be a bonus and the garden will grow. Now we need a little rain, as E hasn't hooked up my water yet...He is back to Crnbrk today to settle down the troops..a lot of unhappy workers everywhere...can't blame them.
So here are a few photos of my trip...
This was taken from the ferry on the way over...a beautiful sunset, it was:
St. took this one of myself and my grandaughters...Haven't they grown???
M is learning how to play piano now with K doing the teaching...pretty smart of the two of them!
Look at these two cuties!
I snapped this one on our walk to the park....On the way home we saw two seals playing in the water here
Boo-Hiss to Campbell and his Right Wing Gov.
So a settlement of sorts has been reached, but will this satisfy the members who faithfully held the picket lines in hopes of a better contract? Time will tell, and so far it seems that people are still very angry, and with good reason, too. I don't see anyone cutting back Campbell's wages ...I wonder how they compare to the rest of the provincial leaders? Did anyone take into account that the cost of living in BC is one of the highest and most of the women on the picket lines are single moms with kids to support. Will this mean more people on welfare...You bet, if the wage doesn't allow you to pay rent and to feed a family. These workers care about the people they care for, and they strive to do their jobs diligently, but this may not be the case in the future. There will be a lot of sad faces out there today. I hope this leads to a defeat of the current government come next election...They won't be happy until the rich become wealthier and the poor fade away.
Sunday, May 02, 2004
I'm Backkkkkkkkkkkkk
Hi There on this sort of Sunny Sunday morning, day before all hell breaks loose on the Labour Front...Way to go HEU for shutting the province down..It is about time someone took on this crazy government! First they want your wages and next it will be your first born! Hang in there peoples It can be done... You've heard of Revolution before?
So my visit with my dear S. in Vict. was terrific...especially to spend time with the grandkids in their day to day activities...and no lack of those! M is at gymnastics and K at Guides and both keep Mom and Dad busy what with shiftwork, cupcake sales, Guide trips, billets and course away. I personally don't know how my daughter keeps it all in order and keeps her head on straight, but I think she and St. are doing a magnificent job at raising their beautiful daughters and always making improvements to their home.
So my visit with my dear S. in Vict. was terrific...especially to spend time with the grandkids in their day to day activities...and no lack of those! M is at gymnastics and K at Guides and both keep Mom and Dad busy what with shiftwork, cupcake sales, Guide trips, billets and course away. I personally don't know how my daughter keeps it all in order and keeps her head on straight, but I think she and St. are doing a magnificent job at raising their beautiful daughters and always making improvements to their home.
