The Storm Before the Calm...

Gourmet Group is at our home tomorrow...

Well...

Tomorrow, it'll be perfection in the kitchen!

~~~

xoabb

expect confusion at times, 'k?

Sundog, Baby, Sundog!

While I've seen sundogs over the years and have recently read about them on Georgia Storm Chaser's blog, I've never caught one in a photo. Finally I got lucky! Both of these were taken around 6:10pm daylight standard time in Columbia, Missouri. I was so very excited! Mom and I had just come outside to get in the car, I looked up and this is what we both saw. Beautiful!

What a perfect post for Sky Watch Friday!

~~~

xoabb

Serendipity photo moments really wanted...and expected!

Sky Watch Friday.

Do join us!

Trumpet!

Meyer lemon blossom...

Juicyness anticipated

Right in my iced tea.

~~~

xoabb

thirstiness...it's anticipated!

Feelin' It!

As in Feelin' the Fever....of the Spring variety...

The inside garden has Fabulous

Forced tulips.

And they just makes my Spring Fever worse! 

But then....

In the outside garden I Find 

Firm evidence of Spring 

Furtively creepin' on in!

Yup, Feelin' the Fever, here, 

I'm really Feelin' the Fever of our coming Spring!

~~~

xoabb

expect feverish longings for Spring!

ABC Wednesday - we're up to F!

Do join us!

My World

There's one huge aspect of my world that I really don't write much about here, which is really quite odd, considering how important it is to me. It is something near and dear to my heart, whatever the aspect of it is. Matter of fact, it's quite near and dear to the hearts of my family and friends as well. We have shared many wonderful times over it, and, I suspect, will continue to do so ad infinitum. 

So what, you ask, does the above photo have to do with anything at all, let alone the mystery aspect of my world I'm blabbering on about? Nothing and absolutely everything, that's what! It's a pretty enough photo that I enjoy looking at, and hope you do to, but what it really stands for is...food. Food. It's such an important part of my world and I really don't talk or write about it as much as I should. How often have we gathered together, be it two, ten or many folks, to celebrate, commiserate, grieve, just be with each other, laugh, love, play, where food is the centerpiece of the gathering? How irritated do the children of this wonderful collective family of ours get when we miss Sunday Family Dinner two weeks in a row? (Right now they're really mad - we're going on our 3rd week of missed SFD with no end in sight. It's not a good thing.) How wonderful is it to gather together and share good times over good food? It is a pleasure to be forever treasured. And I know we're sending these children of ours forth into this world with the conviction that our Sunday Family Dinner gathering is a tradition whose celebration is sacred, should always be nurtured and never ever forgotten. Food is good. Life is good. For the most part. 

~

Those Oven Fries

potatoes, chunked, quartered, cut in wedges, whatever

extra virgin olive oil, enough to coat everything

garlic and/or onions, chopped

fresh rosemary leaves, stripped off tough stem

fresh ground pepper and salt

cayenne

(lemon juice is a most excellent addition)

oregano or other herbs if you think necessary - I don't

Now you know why I can't bake - I don't measure anything...ever. Preheat oven to 425º. Wash potatoes, cut into whatever shape you want. Using whatever amounts you want, place all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pour on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Bake for about 10 - 15 minutes. Turn potatoes over and bake for another 10 - 15 minutes. Serve immediately. 

Delicious with just about everything, but especially good with roast chicken, lamb and salmon. It goes without saying (so why am I saying it?) they're delicious with hamburgers and steak. Heck, they'd be good with liver!

Photo: Rosemary blossoms, February 2009

~~~

xoabb

expect anything!

That's My World

Do join us!

Because I've Been Void of Blog Fodder....

I decided to follow Mama P's lead and do that goofy "~insert first name~ + the word ~needs~" thingy. In other words: "You put your name followed by the word "needs" in a google search and post the first ten things that come up." Here goes:

1.  Annie needs to release a live album - have you heard my voice?? I don't think so!

2.  Annie needs prayers - well...well...hmph!

3.  Annie needs a spanking - actually this is referring to Ann Coulter, and I wholeheartedly agree, the woman needs a spanking, among other interventions. And this is coming from a blogger that actually likes her and agrees with most of what she spews forth. Ewwwww.

4.  Annie needs miracle! - don't we all!

5.  Annie needs a home - not yet.

6.  Annie needs advice - don't we all!

7.  Annie needs more students like Jack H. - I'm sure he is just a lovely fellow.

8.  Annie needs Jesus - umm...ok.

9.  Annie needs the basics - people really love to name pets Annie - this is the fourth dog/cat post with the pet having that (MY!) name.

And the very best one of all - 

10.  Annie Needs To Take DRASTIC ACTIONS NOW By Marrying Adam Chandler Sr.  OK, I must admit I used to be a HUGE viewer and fan of AMC, but not for years now. Who the heck is Annie and why should she marry that scoundrel Adam? (I do remember that Adam is  a very bad boy.)

There, all done. That was fun! Amazing how the internet (and google) can entertain us! And for hours on end!

Till tomorrow, my friends, when I fully hope to return to the land of the thinking sane folks...

xoabb

expect idiocracy at times!

O Bother!

Pooh!

xoabb

expect nuthin' ...at times!

Home is Where the Heart is...

These Missourahhh days are done...

...but just till next time.

~

A short week has flown by and now 

I'm off to my other much loved home. 

One here, one there,

Both where my heart resides.

And both wholeheartedly adored. 

~~~

xoabb

I am so very blessed!

Photo: 2/21/09 5:43 pm

Columbia, MO

PONDering...

Textured Pond Ice

Because I wanted to ~pack right, pack light~ (whoever came up with that idiotic phrase??) instead of overpacking as I usually do, I studied the extended forecast for MO before I traveled out here. And the temps weren't supposed to get below 30º during the night, let alone the daytime, for the entire week. It was 17º when I got up yesterday. 17º! That's a whole lot below freezing. The coat I brought isn't nearly warm enough. Pooh!

xoabb

expects to never study extended forecasts before traveling ever again!

O What a Sky it Always is!

Missouri Countryside: Land of the Big Sky 

photographed on Interstate 70 East

~

Disclaimer: I love Connecticut where I've lived for 30+ years. However, there is no ~sky~, let alone any big sky in Connecticut. It's just bits of blue here and there after the tree-tops end. 

I was so very fortunate to grow up in (my beloved) Missourah. (Yeah, I know that's not the way it's actually spelled, and to the purists, not how it's actually pronounced, but to me...it's my actuality, and always will be, ok??) Though I've not lived in MO for many years, I still pine for the sky that's always found there. It seems to go on and on and on. Wish I could convey what it feels like to see this huge sky stretching out in front of you. It is simply awesome, wonderful, breathtaking, gorgeous...and something one never sees on the East Coast. 

All the world is beautiful. Who you are and where you are determines the strength of the beauty you see.

xoabb

expect big beautiful beloved skies!

Sky Watch Friday

Do join us!

Frustrations, Indoor Plants & Good Eatin'

Year round, I sleep with the window cracked open no matter what the weather. Usually this poses no outside ~noise~ issues in the least. Yesterday morning was the exception. I was all snuggled in my bed, sound asleep, when I gradually became aware of loud screeching and honking noises. When I came to enough, it was immediately clear Canada geese were coming in for a landing on my parent's pond. I figured there were at least 100 of the suckers, the honking was so loud. Never one to miss a photo opportunity, I quickly dressed and went outside to see the squadron of geese that was causing all the ruckus.

There were precisely two pairs of geese on the pond - that's only four geese, not the 100 I was sure had landed (ok, so I misheard the honks a little)! One pair on either side of the pond and both pairs trying to outdo the other with their carrying on. Mom came out on the deck at that point and told Cody to "go get those geese"!! Cody perked up, looked around and immediately headed off into the woods. Good dog. Mom said they've been working - to no avail, obviously - on Cody's goose-chasing skills.

I was able to video a great (to me at least) sequence of the winning (we think) pair taking off and chasing the other pair out of the pond. It was great - it really was - and you would have enjoyed it - 10 seconds long, you wouldn't even have gotten bored. However....blogger...grrr!! Blogger decided last night was the perfect time to be persnickety about video uploads. So no go on the geese. Dammit.

Instead, I bring you greenery even in the midst of winter. The above photo is the window seat in mom and dad's kitchen, though no one's ever sat in it in all the years they've lived here. As you can see, there's colors galore from at least five different flowering plants (and one white coffee mug I forgot to remove).

Now for the pièce de résistance:

The world's longest and largest nasturtium. Dad has it gerry-rigged all over the greenhouse, and I'm sure he'll have to add more as it grows and grows. No blooms yet but the foliage is just beautiful.

Those parent's of mine have two green thumbs each.

And those thumbs are very very deeply green!

Later today dear friend Bobbi & I are off to Booche's for a slider lunch.

It's my must-go-to lunch destination any time I'm in town!

(I've already emailed that show "Diner's Drive-In's & Dives" that they must-go-to Booche's.)

~~~

xoabb

expect frustrations...and then good eats!

Excellence Enjoyed!

A most excellent fresh green salad was served tonight here at the old Missouri homestead. Lush tender greens of all kinds, rinsed and put in the salad bowl. Gently dressed with a home-made vinegar and oil dressing, and then enjoyed by all of us.

"So??", you say, "What's the big deal?? We have salads like that all the time!"

Not so fast...

When I said fresh, I meant fresh! Here is the box of lettuce Dad carried out from their greenroom to the kitchen for mom to make the salad from. In the dead of winter, we had seconds-old picked fresh greens - there had to be at least four or five different kinds of lettuces! Oh, did I mention how very much we enjoyed that salad?

Such Excellence in Eating!

Looks like this will be the last extremely fresh greens salad we'll have this trip. If I could upload photos faster than one an hour, I'd show you the after photos of the above lettuce box. Quite depleted, that box was, but in a week or so....yum once again!

xoabb

expect the excellent unexpected!

ABC Wednesday - It's an E!

Do join us!

O What a Difference....

Yesterday's photo was taken this last August ('08). Today's photo was taken yesterday ('09). It's a very brown world here in MO (that grass looks deceptively green). Still beautiful in it's own way, tho. Mom and dad both say they don't remember a browner winter season, but even so, there are hints of the spring to come. Buds getting plump, Little green shoots beginning to appear, birds doing their seasonal birdly things for this time of year...

It's all good.

xoabb

expect anything!

On My Way!

If you're an early morning visitor, as you read this I'm on my way to Missouri to visit my mom & dad. It's been a while and I can hardly wait to get back there! 

This is what my parents' pond looked like the last time I was there, last August. I'll take a photo when I get there and let you see what it looks like now, in the dregs of February. Not as lovely, for sure, but maybe I'll find signs of the Spring to come around the pond edges. 

Don't you just know I'll love every minute I'm there??? 

Yes I will!

Bobbert, call me! 

Hey there, Kacey - are you in town?? 

~~~

xoabb

expect a homecoming!

Sunday Serenity

Wherever you travel, 

Wherever you roam, 

When you come right down to it, 

There's no place like home.

~~~

xoabb

expect no place like home!

Long Ago Words of Wisdom & an Amarylis

"Nothing incites to money-crimes 

like great poverty or great wealth."

~Mark Twain

Hmmm....

Bernie Madeoff comes to mind.

I think Madeoff needs to be 

on Scargosun's Island*.

Her island idea is simply the best - 

go forth and read about it!

~~~

xoabb

expect anything!

This year's amarylis is blooming - and 

just in time for Valentine's Day! Yippee!

Sky Watch Friday - Trees and Blues

Looking to the sky,

Through the bare brown tree branches.

Just beautiful, yes?

~~~

xoabb

expect anything!

Sky Watch Friday

Do join us!

The Dearth Continues...

And until it passes, I leave you with this photo of my niece having the time of her life in Galway:

~~~

xoabb

expect dearthliness at times!

It's the 200th anniversary 

of the birthdays of both

Abraham Lincoln &

Charles Darwin!

Happy birthday!

A Dearth, Darts & A Disaster

I've been struck lately with a personal dearth of blog fodder. Actually I've been struck lately with a personal dearth of life fodder. It's like I'm not all here, though I'm no where else, so I must be all here. Oh well, that's a story for another day...or maybe I'll just ignore the entire dearthy thing. That ignoring thing usually works for me quite well - I've practiced it too often. Now on to happier things!

Yesterday I showed you a picture of a cake my daughter created - her second cake. The first cake Remy created was a dart board replica she made for her boyfriend who was participating in a darts tournament. I was certainly impressed!

Here's her finished product - again the cake was covered with fondant - which this time Remy painted instead of decorating with other fondant pieces. The cake was a success, unfortunately the dart tournament, not so much. But there's always a next time!  

~

Lastly, this is a photo from the horribly devastating disaster, that occured in the Victoria area of Australia these last days. I don't know what it is about this photo, but it touches me deeply. A fire fighter stopping to share his water with an injured koala bear. Look how the bear's eyes are closed and how they are holding hands. Such a show of utter relief...and compassion. 

"Local CFA firefighter David Tree shares his water with an injured Australian Koala at Mirboo North after wildfires swept through the region on Monday, Feb. 9, 2009. Suspicions that the worst wildfires ever to strike Australia were deliberately set led police to declare crime scenes Monday in towns incinerated by blazes, while investigators moving into the charred landscape discovered more bodies. The death toll stood at 181." Photo courtesy of the AP/Mark Pardew.

~~~

xoabb

expect anything!

ABC Wednesday - It's a D!

Do Join Us!

A World of Fun

We hosted a baby shower this weekend and my daughter volunteered to make the cake. From scratch. Totally from scratch. I'm not kidding. I tell you this because anyone who knows me even slightly knows I am more than capable of botching even a box cake mix. I cannot bake. At all. And I'm a pretty decent cook. 

As you can see, the cake was iced with fondant. Tho she didn't make the fondant (Wal-Mart carries it in their craft department - along with butter extract - imagine that!), she had to dye all those circles. I'd say it was a pretty terrific job, especially considering this is only the second major cake she's made and only the second time she's worked with fondant. Of course, she wasn't entirely happy with it, but we were all impressed and thought it was wonderful. If I would have had to make this, I'd still be in a puddle on my kitchen floor, weeping copious tears. 

Extras...

Anyone need a decorated cake?

~~~

xoabb

expect anything!

That's my world!

Do join us!

Sunday Serenity

Hold fast to dreams 

For if dreams die 

Life is a broken-winged bird 

That cannot fly. 

Hold fast to dreams 

For when dreams go 

Life is a barren field 

Frozen with snow. 

~ Langston Hughs

~~~

xoabb

Serenity's expected for all who visit here...

An Organic Complaint

Dear 365 Organic, 

I love your products, I really do, and while I'm willing to pay more for your organic product than for a non-organic equivalent, I am not willing to pay for a plethora of organic spinach stems. While a few stems are understandable, a plethora of stems is not.

Until you improve your stem count, sign me...

Not buyin' Spinach 365!

 

~~~

xoabb

expect irritations at times!

Sky Watch Friday...and a Stella Tale...

We've had extreme (at least for Connecticut) weather here this winter. Last Wednesday, early dismissal was called. I went home to do...well something, though two days later, who knows what the heck it was and then headed back out. I took the above photo while just leaving our driveway. Isn't this just a beautiful winter scene, even taken through the windsheild, what with all it's water drops? (Of course, you know how I feel about winter...)

And now a Stella-bella tale...

A little background first:

Stella and I have our routine we go through every morning before I go to work. I let her out, then back in a bit later, and always make sure her water and food bowls are clean 'n full. Then as I'm walking out of the house, I reach into the already open open the front closet, reach into the treat bag and give her a rawhide square. Stell grabs it and then goes to her crate cave and lies down for a good chew. (An aside: She adores her cave crate - and the door is never locked.) 'Nuff background, on to the story:

I'm sitting at the kitchen table watching TV when I hear quite a bit of ruckus behind me. I turn around and what do I see? Stella has her entire head in the closet, obviously buried in the rawhide bag. She pulls out her head and starts walking toward the kitchen and there are at least 6 rawhides sticking out of her mouth in every direction. Suddenly, she sees me and I swear to God her eyes widen to the size of saucers! She then promptly opens her mouth and lets all the rawhides fall out and scatter on the floor. Stella is now looking at the ceiling and everywhere else but at me, all the while slowly and as nonchalantly as a dog can, turning around to leave the immediate premises. "Stella! Naughty!" I say to her. Of course, she turns around and looks so damn guilty I totally forgive her and let her keep two of the rawhides...Don't tell anyone, but it's the second time this has happened...and there certainly could be a third...or fourth time...o dear! (sigh)

Yup, I'm wrapped around her paw...totally wrapped.

~~~

xoabb

expect anything!

Sky Watch Friday

Do join us!

Winter Remains...

And if I'm honest?

I really don't mind. Not one bit! While GB is definitely a 3-season, never below 55º kind of guy, I am definitely a 4-season kind of gal. Hmmm....who ever heard of having a home in a warm climate and going to the frigid for winter months??? (That would be me!)

Ornamental maple, photo taken 02/03/09

~~~

xoabb

I expect  snow!

Cuuute!

ABC Wednesday - It's a C! Today I'm sharing with you two definitions of the word ~cute~. The first is the sarcastic version, the second, the adorable version. 

Yesterday as I was driving up my street, what did I see? THIS, on the side of the neighbor's yard...cuuute! What's going on? Is this the new place to exercise, or is there a new dump yard I don't know about? Whatever it is, it's tacky! 

~

Cute: endearingly attractive in the way that some children (see below) and young animals are.

Little Miss Magic wants help putting on her princess slippers. 

She wore them the entire evening. 

It improved her bowling game immensely!

~~~

xoabb

expect anything!

ABC Wednesday

Do join us!

That's My World!

Photo taken 01/22/09

Just a few months has brought great 

change to my Saugatuck River...

Thankfully, with the rising and falling tides, the river

always has open water for the water fowl. 

Photo taken 01/22/09

Sunrise on the river...

Photo taken 01/22/09

Same day, looking up the river - totally frozen here, so 

the birds are ~walking~ on water!

Photo taken 10/03/08

The Saugatuck River

just three months ago!

What a difference!

~

xoabb

expect anything!

That's my World!

Do join us!

When Life Attacks!

Baby Blues by Jerry Scott & Rick Kirkman:

I thought I'd uploaded a video for today. It obviously didn't work, as I discovered this morning. Cathy's (Noble Pig) comment, "Where's the beef?" really just hit the nail on the head! Blah! Irritating to say the least.  

Hope you enjoy the above cartoon half as much as I did. If you have kids or work in an elementary school, I'm sure it will bring a chuckle!  

~~~

xoabb

expect to be frustrated sometimes!

Sunday Serenity

This path called life.

~~~

xoabb

expect anything!