A Ruff Life - Sunday afternoon family visit

Sunday Family Visit

 Coming home from fishing, we stopped at Trejo's place to visit.  Everyone was outside on such a beautiful day.  The English Mastiff, Tony is laying down.  Walking in front of him is Trejo.  Duchess is laying on the ground keeping one eye on both of the boys.


Trejo wants to play

 Trejo was excited to have visitors to play with on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. 


Trejo and litter mate, My Jenny

 Although litter mate, My Jenny wasn't too sure about Trejo's intentions.  They are both 16 months old and have only seen each other once since Trejo went to his people's home.  It was good for them to spend some time together even if My Jenny was a bit shy at first.


RUN, Duchess, RUN

For those people that believe in cropping Dobermans ears.  Here is a fun picture of Duchess running towards me this afternoon.  Her big, floppy ears flying through the air. She was too old when we got her and the vet wouldn't crop her ears.  I'm glad because I can honestly say after seeing a Doberman with natural ears, I like them that way.


Mama, Duchess and 16 month old Son, Trejo

 Tongues hanging out this mother and son had a fun time running in the country yard.  It is nice to see them playing so well together.


English Mastiff, Tony meets My Jenny

Our Dobermans are none too small weighing in about 75 pounds each.  My Jenny today was getting to know Tony an English Mastiff that weighs about 100 pounds more than she weighs.  It took her a while but she finally warmed up to him.

A thought for the day...

It was the perfect day to go out fishing.  We went out to one of our favorite lakes.  We always catch fish there. Not today; we didn't even get a nibble.  That left me time to think. 

Me thinking is just a dangerous thing:

We were taught in school that thousands of years ago a glacier covered Minnesota. When the glacier formed, it pushed the land, creating lakes, hills and other landscape features common to Minnesota. As the glacier melted, the lakes filled with water.

So how did the fish get in the lakes????

There is only one way. God created! It wasn't some glacier affecting they lay of the land. God created. God placed in each of the lakes a good mix and balance of fish. Over time the DNR (Department Natural Resources) has taken over stocking and re-stocking lakes to make them into the best sport fishing possible. Maybe if we wouldn't play around with the balance the lakes wouldn't be so threatened by zebra muscles and milfoil. Just a thought.

Blown Away!

I took the dogs out to the lake alone today.  There was a periodic breeze in town making it a beautiful and comfortable day. When we got out of the car at the lake - Whoa Nelly!



Blown Away at Clear Lake

I was almost blown away and I'm large enough never to be blown away! It was almost cold with the wind blowing in across the lake.  With that said, it was very peaceful and beautiful out there. I passed several celebrations on the out, graduation parties, anniversaries, and birthday parties.  That was keeping everyone else away.

White Caps on Clear Lake

I was amazed watching the white caps and looking across the lake I saw about a half dozen boats.  Personally, I think they were taking a pretty big risk but I've noticed fishermen have a different idea of what is risky.

Clear Lake, Watkins, MN 6/29/2013

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

I never give up.  Once again I tried this recipe. A neighbor gave me her recipe to follow. You know I'm not good at that! Especially when she said follow it to the letter.

Mix a yellow cake mix per box directions (do NOT use pudding in cake.) - It wasn't my fault the grocery store only sells mixes with pudding, was it?
1 1/2 cup sugar sprinkled over the cake.
4 cups chopped rhubarb spread evenly over the top
1 pint whipping cream over the rhubarb
Bake at 350 for an hour. YES an hour!  The top will get dark brown. I think next time I make this I might try 50 minutes if the stove is fully preheated.  (The edges got a bit drier than I prefer.)



Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

Are you wondering what happened because I used pudding in the cake mix?  During baking the sugar, rhubarb and cream are supposed to sink to the bottom while the cake bakes up.  The sugar and rhubarb didn't sink as well as it should have. That means it doesn't look picture perfect pretty but it tastes "scrumptious!"


Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

FLASHBACK!  Growing up we were surrounded by neighbors that were my grandparents age or older. We often called them "grandma or grandpa" (and their first name).  One particular grandma always shared her recipe and she always said to us, "this is so scrumptious, isn't it?"  We weren't dumb, she was feeding us, "scrumptious!"

Hotdish

Periodically Dale gets hungry for hotdish. Pasta, cream of soup and meat are the basics.  Every time is different. 


Base for Hotdish

This time I sauteed onions in olive oil, added garlic, then browned the hamburger. I added cream of mushroom soup, mushrooms, kidney beans, and shredded cheese. The pasta was garden rotini which added some nice color.



Cooked garden rotini

After mixing everything together including ground pepper, it cooked for an hour and we had a wonderful tasty meal.  Hotdishes are nice because you can mix different things for variety but still have the same comfort food.

Today's Hotdish

I took three showers tonight

Okay to be fair, I GOT two showers and TOOK a third. 

To start at the beginning.  Dale took the Dogs to the Lake today and the wind was blowing into shore.  With the hot humid week, that meant that the shore line was green and stinky.  Dale didn't see the girls run into the lake or along the shore but they also run in tall grass at the edge of the park.  They came home stinking terribly. 

To top it off, Dale had a pale of corn for the squirrels that had been uncovered during the last week with day after day of rain.  Have you ever smelled rotten silage?  The back yard was smelling of some very ripe silage and the smell was sneaking into the house.

Duchess and My Jenny hadn't had a bath since mid winter.  They swim all the time and they haven't been too stinky, until today.  For some reason, I usually give the girls their baths/showers.  My Jenny was the first.  When I closed the bathroom door, she put on the breaks.  It takes me longer to get her into the tub than it does to give her the shower. She actually takes a shower very well.  She stands nice in the tub and doesn't try to jump out.  That being said, washing a big dog in the shower, I do end up wet.

My Jenny was done with her shower and half dried when I opened the bathroom door with the towel wrapped around her.  She walked out like a princess; then she started prancing and dancing around.  "Look at me! I'm clean! Don't I smell nice? Come on, let's play! Huh, can we? can we? Let's play!" I told Dale that I think she was tired of her own stink.

So I tested out the theory and gave Duchess a shower.  She was slightly more cooperative getting in but still put on the brakes.  When she got out, it was a repeat of My Jenny from princess to wild woman.  The two of them pranced and dashed around Dale's place like they haven't played together in months.  I think they were both tired of their own stink. 

I got a shower with My Jenny and a shower with Duchess, and then it was time for my own personal shower.  Now, at the end of a perfectly beautiful day, the three ladies are smelling sweet.  Too bad there is no place to go. 

Rain, rain go away. Come again another day!



Rain, Rain go away...

I used my lunch time to take the girls out for a run.  The last round of storms were on the East side of the state heading out.  It has been nearly a week of daily storms and rain.

Sunny and clear for most of the next week.  That is except for the weekend???? What is up with that? So far this summer nearly every weekend has been cloudy or rainy.  To be fair there is a 20% chance of scattered showers on Saturday. Dale was seeing the forecast and talking about watering the garden.



White Lilacs

The warm wind was gusting across the open fields and carried with it a soft fragrance.  Ah, the smell of blooming flowers.  It was obvious that the flowers were in the early stages of blooming. As I looked around, the shrubs (white lilacs) on the edge of the park were starting to bloom.  The bees were swarming and feasting on the delicate white blooms.



Bee's Enjoying Lilacs

I love fragrant flowers. But lilacs belong outside. My allergies can't take that much pollen inside. It is sad but true.

Strawberries!

Strawberries in Bloom

I can't wait! The strawberry plants have been full of blossoms and we are finally starting to see the fruit appear.  Today we found one ripe strawberry.  A bird took a bite of it.  That did not deter Dale; he ate the part that the bird did not.  I am going to have to find some netting.



Strawberries

There isn't anything better than garden fresh fruits and vegetables.  Just as a reminder. When a plant flowers and the flowers and creates an edible bite after germination, that edible bite is called fruit.  Vegetables are from roots or stalks.

Rhubarb is a vegetable.
Tomato is a fruit.

Here are some others...
Fruit = strawberries, blueberries, cherries, zucchini, pumpkin, squash, beans, and peas just to name a few.

Vegetables = carrots, beets, kohlrabi, radishes, potatoes and asparagus just to name a few.
I like most fruits. I don't like many vegetables. Hmmmm.

Perspective of a 10 Year Old

This weekend I had the honor of my nephew staying with me.  Friday night both of the dogs stayed with us. Isaac and Duchess slept on the bed while My Jenny and I slept on the couch. 



Night guard

Saturday, Isaac gave me his words of wisdom:

Auntie, dogs have the perfect life. They sleep all the time. Eat when they want. They get to play fetch with all kinds of balls and they can catch Frisbees in their mouths. Wouldn't that be so cool to be able to play so many different ways!



A Dog's Life

There you have it the perfect life! 

Walking with Jesus

Skywire - Nik Wallenda

This evening, Nik Wallenda walked across the Grand Canyon on a two inch wire.  Discovery channel showed it live on TV.  In a discussion before the walk his father or uncle made a comment and his reply back was, "you couldn't know that unless you are in my shoes on the wire."  The ironic thing was that he didn't have an answer himself because it was a situation that he hadn't walked in yet.

Dale and I watched Nik's walk on TV.  It took just under 23 minutes to walk across the wire.  A majority of the time fighting wind gusts from every direction.  With each step as the thin wire swayed beneath his feet, he thanked and praised.  The first 3/4 of the way he said, "Thank-you Jesus. Jesus, you have control over the wind, calm this wire. Thank-you Jesus." 

 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207:13-14&version=NIV

The Narrow and Wide Gates

¹³ “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Nik's focus, his trust, his faith was shown in every step.  The path Nik had to walk across the Grand Canyon was narrow only two inches wide.  It was filled with hazards and distractions; the wind and the height, about 1500 feet.  With each step, he praised and worshiped God.  As the winds gusted, he praised God more and put his life quite literally in God's hands.  If he would have stepped any direction off his narrow pathway, it would have led to destruction. 

One of the common ways of describing the need for salvation, is we stand on one side of a great expanse and God is on the other side.  Jesus died on a cross and that cross forms a bridge between man and God.  But in order to cross the bridge, we need to accept God's gift - the mercy and forgiveness of our sins.  It is a narrow road and one that is as as difficult to walk as Nik's 23 minute walk across the Grand Canyon.  Lean on Jesus, praise and worship Him every step along the way. He will help you and give you peace.

Have you accepted God's Gift?  A good place to begin reading the Bible is in the New Testament book of Luke.  Then Matthew, Mark and John to get more perspective.  (It isn't one of those books that is read from beginning to end.)

Perigee Full Moon

Perigee Full Moon

I left Dale's tonight and over the landscape of this small town, I saw this BIG, beautiful, orange moon.  I've seen this before and tried to take photos and it always shows up as a little dot.  But I got a new camera with a 300 zoom lens.  Awesome!  I actually got a picture that made me feel like I was capturing what I was actually seeing in the sky. 

Before I downloaded it, I had to play with it and I zoomed one of the photos even closer.  It got a little more blurry but it is pretty amazing how much detail you can see.  Then the clouds came and I lost my view.



Perigee Full Moon (zoomed 4 times from original)

So what is special about this full moon on the second day of summer?   

It is the Perigee Full Moon.  In lay-mans terms it is the day of the year when the moon is at its closest to earth. What many are referring to as "Super" moon.
http://earthsky.org/tonight/is-biggest-and-closest-full-moon-on-june-23-2013-a-supermoon

Did you know that scientifically, it is a fact that on the night of the full moon that the moon creates tidal effects on the oceans.  Since the human body is over 80% water, it is possible that the Full Moons (in fact all the moon cycles) also have a physical and mental effect on us?   After all the word lunatic was derived from the fact that people with certain mental illnesses are worse during the full moon phase.  Ironically, geriatric dementia is worse during the new moon phase.

Weather providing, you may have one more day to take advantage of this beautiful view.  Enjoy!

Saturday at the Lake

Dale has been rained out every weekend.  It looked like today was going to be another rain out.  So they decided to go fishing off the dock instead of going out in the boat.  I promised my nephew, godson, that we would take him fishing this weekend, "weather providing".  Storms through the night usually don't make fishing very good. 



Fishing off the Dock

This fishing dock is by a park that the dogs love to go running at.  We toss sticks into the lake and they run out and catch them.  Dobermans don't swim well but these girls definitely love running into the lake.


My Jenny Playing Fetch

Duchess loves to run in the tall grass too.  I think she hopes to rut out some kind of a critter to chase.  But, knowing her she would end up being the one chased.  As I snapped all these shots by the lake, this one is my absolute favorite. 


Duchess by the Lake

Across the park, there are down trees, damaged picnic tables and a lot of down branches.  More storms to come from what I understand.  A possible storm daily for the next three to five days.  Many people in surrounding areas still without electricity.  Please pray for them.



Damage at the Meeker County Park

Batton down the hatches!

I woke up Friday morning and my grill cover was off the grill, across the lawn and sitting in the grass next to the sidewalk.  I'm not sure what trip this cover took but looking at the scuff marks, either something big knocked it off or maybe it was tossed into the road and someone threw it on the yard?

Scuffed Lid

Compared to the down trees, power outages and all the destruction across the state.  I was protected. According to the news reports, these storms could bubble up every evening or night.

Thursday night it came in the middle of the night.  It knocked power out to about 150,000.  By Friday evening about 75,000 people were without power until the next round of storms went through and it is once again about 150,000 people without power.  I thought they were going to put all the power lines under ground to avoid trees going down and causing power outages.  Instead, I'm seeing more and larger above ground power lines.

Flash Flooding

 About 7PM Friday evening, the rain was coming down so hard that about three inches of rain flowed down the streets like a river.  Now let's be real here.  There are more and more houses; tar roads, and sidewalks.  They all block the rain from its natural pathway.  Little by little we infringe on nature, and these storms  become more and more destructive.  I'm hearing "flash-flooding" in the news more and more every year.  Because the storms are getting worse? Or is it because people are making too big of a footprint on this world in the desire of "acquiring more."

A late blooming spring - but summer is here

I think I've been doing a pretty good job of keeping the worst of the heat out of my house.  I'm still cooling with ceiling fans.  Dale gave in and put his air conditioner in a few days ago.  But he mows about eleven lawns and most of them with a push mower.

Today I took a short lunch and took the dogs out in the country to run in an open field. When we came back into town, Dale was almost done mowing a lawn with the push mower.  We took him two ice cold bottles of water.  The temperature in the mid 80's although hot, feels much worse with the humidity.  As we were arriving home from lunch, there was a huge crack of thunder and from that point the wind picked up. 

Dale kept mowing lawns but at least he now had a slightly cooler wind to offset the humidity.  He picked up Duchess and My Jenny about 3:30 and they went down to the lake.  Today, even Dale went into the lake to cool off. 

Summer begins at 12:04 AM and we are supposed to be in the middle of thunderstorms.  So if summer comes in like a lion does that mean it will go out like a lamb? 



When it rains, it pours

Frustration! is an okay feeling.

I was hitting wall against wall today at work and with personal things in my daily life.  I don't always take a lunch break but Dale had the dogs for a couple hours in the morning which means that I wasn't taking 10 minute outside breaks every 90 minutes.  I had the dogs again at lunchtime and my frustration level was so high that we took a short ride out to one of their favorite "running" spots.

I needed to get out in the fresh air and walk a bit.  I made a call asking for prayer.  I sometimes let the TV run with movies I've watched in the past just for background noise.  I stood up to take a break and watched the climax of the movie.  That short 5 minutes had me crying.  I guess that helped to release the frustration.  Oh yeah, I cry at movies all the time and when I see someone else crying in public you can see tears in my eyes.

Later, I looked up "Frustration" in the Bible to see what words of wisdom God's Word provided. Ecclesiastes 7 happens to be summarized by one word, "wisdom".

Ecclesiastes 7:2-4

New International Version (NIV)

² It is better to go to a house of mourning
    than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of everyone;
    the living should take this to heart.
³ Frustration is better than laughter,
    because a sad face is good for the heart.
⁴ The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
    but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

 

^{http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes+7:2-4&version=NIV}

 

Wow! That is so opposite of the world view.  But really should that surprise me? So often Satan's lies are hidden in beauty, pleasure, and desires fulfilled.  Everything that commercials, movies, and magazines tell us we should go after is what the Bible teaches that we should stay away from warning "the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure."

Oops

This spring I went into my 9X9 lean-to on the North side of my house to get the lawn mower out.  It was leaking like a sieve.  Dale checked it out inside and out and there were a few issues:

• That section obviously wasn't shingled when the main roof was done.

Or

• when they shingled the roof the used old, bad shingles. 
• The drainage spout for the gutters from the main roof goes down the middle of the roof.
• The guys found out there was nothing consistent about the roof.



Dale starting to remove shingles

Today Dale and his friend Tom, who used to be a contractor, re-shingled the tiny roof.  The roof broke in where Tom was standing. He was okay but that was obviously where it was leaking. I didn't use the lawn mower or snow blower last year because Dale always beat me to it.  I'm pretty sure this was a problem last year too. 



The problem spot

Parts of the roof didn't have ply board. So the added some there and replaced the rotted sheet.  They also put down Ice and Water as you can see, there is not a good slope so it does build up with ice in the winter time.

The main roof looks good. So I'm guessing they skipped the tiny shed to save money. Houses are nice but there is always something causing a challenge.

You need to have a little bit of fun every day...

That is just one of the lessons from the movie, "Star Trek Insurrection".  That particular lesson was what the young boy was teaching Data about being more human.

This is one of my favorite movies.  It focuses around the Ba'ku, an advanced race of people that settle on a planet and give up their technology.  No weapons are allowed.

The biggest lesson in the movie is that the bitterness and resentment that you carry in life will change you, and anyone else that will pick up and carry your resentment with you. But those family, friends, and aquaintences that you hold the resentment against remain unchanged. 

Also in the movie, they teach that the perfect moment in time is created when you leave everything else behind, stop asking questions, and focus on the moment.

The Ba'ku have created an absolute Utopia. The rings around the plant stop them from getting old. So they spend hundreds of years working their way through life. As a result, the rush and busstle created from trying to "achieve" is gone.  The artisans are students for years before becoming apprentices.  Those apprentiships last for 30-40 years. The lesson being, if something is worth doing then it is worth doing well.

Star Trek over the years has scattered tid bits of subliminal life lessons.  Tin Man taught us that everyone needs someone. I could go on and on... but I like these lessons from today - especially resentment.  Give it up and let it go. It is only hurting you.

Rhubarb-caramel Ice-cream topping

Another way of "how NOT to lose weight" by Dale's cousin Debbie.
Put a stick of butter in he bottom of a large soup kettle.
Dice up rhubarb into the kettle about half full.
Put in a cup of brown sugar.
Begin heating at a medium heat, stirring frequently.



Rhubarb cooking in sugar & butter

Add a tablespoon of vanilla.
As the rhubarb breaks down, taste for tartness. Add more brown sugar in small increments as needed. 


Rhubarb Caramel

I wasn't given a detailed recipe and this worked and tasted great!  Give it a try and enjoy the rhubarb treat.

Ice Cream Topping

Sweet Corn on June 15th

I bought sweet corn at the Cub Store in Buffalo, Minnesota. It was 10 cents a cob with a limit of 10.  Corn is finally visible in the fields, barely. So it is obvious that this was not grown locally. Definitely a loss leader for the store because there was no way they could bring fresh sweet corn that distance and profitably sell it for ten cents a cob.  We were amazed that the cobs were full, sweet and tender.

On a separate note, I was shocked and amazed coming home at 10:45 PM to see a father biking while pulling a young child behind, one kid was riding a small bike and a third kid was riding a three wheeler big wheels style. I won't be surprised to see a kid was hit and killed. At the key time when the drunks are starting to leave the bars, he is biking down the dark streets.  I reserve this phrase for a rare use, "the stupid idiot!"

Do you stomp on your food?

As I was driving down the highway this afternoon, some cows caught my eye. I looked off to the South side of the road and there in the pasture, belly high in grass were about a dozen cows. 

The farmer most likely has rotating summer pastures.  The cattle are let out in one until they eat the grass down to nubbles.  By that time one of the other fields have regrown and are ready for the cattle. 

But they don't stand by the edge and eat their way in! They stomp down their food and go randomly into the middle of the pasture. Then they start eating.  Eat a little bit and stomp down more grass going to another spot to eat. 

Do we do that to ourselves?  In our hurry to get something we think we want, we tromple across the span without regard to how we might benefit from everything under our feet on the way.

How NOT to lose weight!

What can I say?  Wichita, Kansas has some awesome restaurants. 

Fruit Tart

 I planned ahead and set my mind to have a very small high protein lunch so that I could have a good dessert.  I ate the tart before lunch.


Raspberry/White Chocolate scone & Apple scone

I had a taste of each of the scones for dessert.  I ate one of them in the middle of the afternoon and I will eat the second one later.  But they are all very good! http://www.copperovencafe.com/

 

A Foodies Heaven!

I have confessed many times that I do NOT like shopping.  So I am going to shock all of you when I tell you that two of my co-workers wanted to go shopping after work and I went with them.  The caveat was that one employee said that everything in the store was 50% off and I don't mind people watching.  I am in need of (okay so I wanted) a new summer shirt to go with my dress pants for work. 

We started out at Coldwater Creek.  I tried on a couple of shirts and they just didn't fit right.  There was a really cute skirt but when I felt the fabric, I knew that I would be irritated with it very quickly.  So I sat in the entry way, talking on my phone while watching the other shoppers.  (People watching is a valid reason for shopping.)  There was one shirt that kept catching my eye.  So at the end of the conversation, I tried on that shirt.  It was okay but as I walked out to show my co-workers, Tammy stepped out and had on a shirt that wasn't working for her but I thought, "oh, where did she find that it is so cute!" But before I could get the words out of my mouth she said, "Trisha, you need to try on this shirt.  It would be perfect for you." It was and I bought it.

They also wanted to shop at Talbots.  I saw a pair of pants that I was interested in but they had two sizes smaller than mine and two sizes larger than mine but not mine.  There wasn't anything else that interested me.  Too many stripes and patterns going the wrong way! That is a pet peeve of mine.  Although, I did see this gem.



Bumble Bee Earrings

I've been looking for these for a long time.  Good bumble bee earrings are very difficult to find.  They won't be for me.  They are a gift for some one that really likes bumble bees after hearing Mamie McCullough.  http://www.mamie.com/

The last store that we went to was Cocoa Dolce (artisan chocolates) because it was 100 degrees here and we wanted to make sure that the chocolates didn't melt. I haven't tried any of the chocolate that I bought yet because I am still full from supper.  We were on a mission looking for good steaks.  We ended up at Redrock Canyon Grill.  Where two of us has steak and salad.  The menu had steak served with a potato and the veggie of the day (which has peppers).  My co-worker had them substitute a salad for the potato and veggies, and I followed suit.  I'm learning to order what I want - good idea. At the end of the meal, I turned down dessert.  The other two decided to order. 


A Foodies Heaven!

Our mouths dropped when the waitress brought the desserts.  She had said that the chocolate dessert was about two inches.  We decided she meant, two inches of ice-cream between two inches of a rich chocolate cake, underneath two inches of thick, rich whipped cream almost whipped to sweetened butter with chocolate and homemade caramel topping drizzled over top of it.  The pineapple upside down cake was in its own container, an oval about six inches long and melted like warm butter in your mouth.  The waitress neglected to tell us that one dessert was big enough to feed 3-4 people!  

There were no words when the spoon entered my mouth. The meal was good but the dessert was above and beyond anything I've eaten recently. 

Bless her heart.

I have learned some thing new this week: a southern meaning of "Bless her heart."  I guess it is not the compliment that I thought it was for all these years. 

According to a co-worker that grew up in Oklahoma, bless her heart is more often used as "what do you expect from _____".  If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.  Isn't that what your parents taught you?  Well, for those times when there really isn't anything nice to be said because a person has goofed up so bad you bless them. 

That Cindy, bless her heart, has done some creative accounting again.

So before you bless a person, make sure that your blessing is pure and not pity.

Proof it is Springtime! & Living life with God's Passion

One of my all time favorite plants is the Bleeding Heart.  It's delicate pink and white flowers looks like a heart that has been split at the point and is dripping out.  My mother had one in her garden when I was a child.  It was a large bush and bloomed early in the year. 


Bleeding Heart

My Grandma Field always had Honeysuckles in her garden.  Also a very delicate flower, the Honeysuckle flower you could pick and break open the little balls on the end of the flower that belled outward.  As you broke it open on your tongue, a sweet taste like honey would land on your tongue.  

Honeysuckle

Both plants have similar leaves.  But a Bleeding Heart is planted with root stock and the Honeysuckle will re-seed itself and pops up in a different place every couple of years.  So despite the weather not getting warmer than 65 degrees this last weekend, I have shown you solid proof that according to my garden it is springtime. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ambivalent... I have always considered this to mean that someone didn't care one way or the other about something.  But as I looked up the definition, they define it "having mixed feelings about something".  I suppose in a way they could be the same.  If you have mixed feelings about something it could leave you not really caring one way or the other.  A continual exercise of analyzing the pros and cons of your feelings could easily saying, "I just don't care that much." 

I started looking this up because the verse that came to my mind today was Revelation 3:16

So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

 

More and more I come across people that in the name of political correctness, take a middle of the road decision.  They are no longer passionate about their own personal beliefs.  Jesus calls us to be passionate about his teachings.  Not to stand on the politically correct words of society but to be passionate!  Hot or Cold it is important to acknowledge where you are in life.  Jesus example was always extremely passionate about life, the love of God, and living a reconciled life (humans and God.)  Let us not tempt him to spit us out of his mouth.  Let us choose to live a life that is HOT, on fire for Jesus.

Exhausted

Weekend days can be so exhausting!

I was hoping to sleep in this morning but my eyes popped open just before 6:30 AM.  I tried to turn over and go back to sleep but it wasn't going to happen.  I got up and walked into the kitchen area and soon after heard a tiller running.  (Dale's tiller was temporarily being stored in my car port.)

I got My Jenny (the dog) out of bed and let her out.  I told her to go find Grandpa.  It didn't take her a few seconds to figure out where he was at.  I quickly changed out of my nightgown and put on outside clothes.  Dale's niece had called and needed both tillers and his help possibly putting a fence around the new garden.  I had told him that I would take the dogs for the day.  So once the tillers were loaded on the trailer, we got the dogs inside my house so that he could take off.  Then the day began:

8:00 AM Chiropractic appointment
9:00 AM leaving town, stopped and talked to a friend going in for surgery in 9 days to have a section of his colon removed due to a confined spot of cancer - Pray for A.D.
9:45 AM drive thru breakfast for me with two plain eggs for the dogs.
10:00 AM drop off the car for an oil change.
10:15 AM Help pick out an Alto Sax (I'm giving my nephew 7 lessons for his birthday present this year.)
11:00 AM Help my sister pick out computer software for graphic design. (She will be helping design the cover of my book, "The Man I Was").
11:45 AM Pick up car; let the dogs out to go potty (they were with me not in the car during the oil change); Head towards church to do the accounting. 
12:00 (noon) Let the Dogs run in the open field behind the church before doing the deposit at church and chatting with a couple of people.
1:10 PM Drive thru the bank.
1:25 PM Go to Sam's Club (re-newed the membership but at a lower level.  I "tried out" a special club that they offered at 100% guaranteed.  I got my money back on that and it was enough to pay for this years membership fees.)  Shopped!
2:00 PM Changed from Sam's Club to Cash Wise shopped some more.
2:25 PM Finally DONE! and Heading home. 
I stopped on the way home to let the dogs run again.  When we got home almost everything was unloaded and all three of us laid down on Dale's bed and took a nap.  He was still over working at his nieces.  Up and down a couple of times, we rested for about two hours.  Then it was time to go over to the park.  The city was having a fundraiser for the pool.  Pork chops were being grilled down by the Fire Hall; and one of the owners of a local restaurant was helping serve up the sides of coleslaw, pork and beans and potato chips. 

I can say anything except, "where did the day go?" It went wild and a little bit everywhere!  Dale was exhausted from his day and both dogs decided to come home with me tonight.  It works better when they are split but I guess they were missing me.

Knee high by the 4th of July

In Minnesota for the corn crops to be successful, they need to be knee high by the 4th of July. That is 27 days away.  I will be watching it closely this year.  I noticed on the way back from the Twin Cities tonight that the crops were barely showing.  Some looked like they have not been planted yet.

As much as this will be unpopular, we need hot, humid with scattered showers to make it through to that perfect harvest. This weekend  will be a short and busy weekend!

Have a wonderful day ~ you only get them one at a time.

Too many good choices for food!

La Galette French Bakery & Deli was the place to have lunch today.  It was located in Delano (not Delano, Minnesota so don't go looking.)  We each had a different dessert and can you believe it that we all finished our desserts even though we didn't finish all our main meal?



Desserts First!

I had a Quiche with ham and broccoli, creamy potato soup and a homemade roll.  The rolls were harder than the traditional American roll with a slightly harder crust.  It was all very good. 

Ham & Broccoli Quiche with Potato Soup

For supper we went to "Old Town" and ate at Hana Café, Sushi bar.  Two of us shared some Sushi.  I only had four pieces and I'd already eaten two before I took the photo.  They always make it pretty!

Sushi

One of my favorite Japanese dishes is Tempura Udon.  Served in Japan at train stations.  People will stand at the Udon stand and have a bowl of soup while waiting for the next train.  It is delicious. 


Tempura Udon

If you are happy and you know it...

Morning World!

....clap your hands!  *clap*clap*  Do you remember that song?  I put my plate down on the breakfast table this morning and I started playing with my food.  I moved the bacon to make a HUGE smile. 
I am in such a good mood this week.  I have a lot of information that I need to get to my publisher. Some of the details of the book, dedications, acknowledgements, endorsements, and an about the author section. 

That last section is the most difficult. My last "about the author" was not written by me.  When it comes to putting together a short paragraph about who I am I seem to lose my words.  Maybe that is why I like putting so many pictures in my blogs?  Like, I treated my self to a favorite dessert this week, Tiramisu! 


Tiramisu

It was so rich that it was difficult to finish. But sometimes you just need to celebrate a little bit of life. ...if you're happy and you know it then your life will truly show it, if you're happy and you know it clap your hands.

I'm too excited to sleep!

After work, I stopped an picked up supper.  By the time I was done eating and making phone calls, I was ready for a swim. From there I had an hour meeting with a co-worker.  By the time I finally got to my personal e-mails it was about 9:30 PM!  I had and e-mail from my publisher. 

It contained five attachments including a Welcome letter to Creation House!  It is official and they have a very aggressive schedule for me and a lot of "to do's" for me to accomplish. 

• choose a photo of my self for the back cover
• get the publisher the delivery instructions for my copies of the book
• choose a front cover
• provide endorsements
• provide acknowledgements or dedications
• They will edit and proof read then send it back to me and I need to turn it back around to them with any final adjustments.
• Approve, approve, and approve.  :^)

I am thinking of going with this photo:

Weekend cooking...

I bought a few yams this weekend and Saturday night we had baked yam fries.


Baked Yam "fries"

(Can you call them fries if they are baked?)  Saturday, we mixed yams and regular potatoes as a modified American Fries.



American Fries (Yams & Potato)

A friend had told Dale that they had bought bourbon marinated steaks and since then they use 1 cup of bourbon with a little brown sugar as a marinade for both beef roasts and chicken.  The chicken was better than the beef. 



Bourbon Beef

Bourbon Chicken

I've heard of using wine and cream sherry before.  The alcohol bakes off leaving the flavoring behind. It is an easy way to add flavor to any meal.