Sunday, July 26, 2015

Easy like Sunday .....

 Hey - you - yeah, I mean you - whatch doin? 

George here - out snoopervising Mummy on one of her recent forays outside the house...we have to follow her around and make sure she doesn't get into trouble with bees or falling over hoses... (Mummy here - "and you do a very good job, George - I appreciate your help")

Anyhow, it's Sunday, and during the summer, that means things are pretty laid back around here.  Breakfast is brunch and lunch is ... well, whenever you can wrangle some...

This morning Mummy made cream scones for The Shepherd for his brunch.  He fills them with strawberry jam and happily munches away.

And there are extras for snacks later in the day. 
 Mummy had seen a recipe for Raspberry Scones on Pinterest last week and wanted to try them this morning.  The Shepherd said he wanted his scones plain, so, she made two separate batches - plain ones for him and raspberry ones for her.  She had picked the raspberries at a friends house a couple of weeks ago and put them in the freezer - she initially froze them on a cookie sheet so they were little individual "nuggets of frozen goodness" and then put them in a freezer container.  They are luscious to snack on when you just want "something a little sweet"

The recipe called for a whole cup of raspberries, but she wasn't willing to part with that much of her stash, so she just used a half a cup - she added them while they were still frozen, so she could break them up a little bit  -  as you can see, 1/2 cup was plenty. 

You can find the recipe from Pinterest here

She left out the almonds because she didn't have any, and thinks that the recipe called for way too much glaze/frosting - she only used a tiny bit on each scone.  And, they were delicious! 


On a whole 'nother note, Mummy got this African violet from a friend, two years ago when she celebrated her 20th anniversary at The Salt Mine.  (Happened to be on July 26!)

Some of you may know that she left that job on June 12.  "Early Retirement"   was fun at first, but she was applying for jobs that looked interesting and last week was offered a part time position at a NEW Salt Mine.  She starts on Tues 28th - 22 years and 2 days from the time she started the job at the "OLD Salt Mine".   Anyhow, this African violet never had bloomed again since she got it, but it is blooming again for the first time - she figures it must be to celebrate her new job. 


So, that's pretty much the news for today.  I have to go clean my handsome furs now, so you can go away. 

We hope you guys all have a great week ahead.  I'll keep you posted on how Mummy's new job goes! 

XOX   George









Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Hey Nabisco ! ! !

BEST. IDEA. EVER.

Ok, so I couldn't show you MY package, because I ATE THEM ALL - 
Down to the very last crumb!
Thin, crispy - even after you open them - 
the package reseals and they STAY CRISPY!  

And you can still lick the frosting off the one side.
It's just the right amount!  Who'd a thought!

But the best deal is - they are thin - 
and three of them are totally satisfying  -
(OK, so I ate more than three at a time)
but still.....

Might be the biggest cookie revelation ever!!  
Bwa ha ha ha.....

By the way, I have not been compensated in any way by the Nabisco company for raving about their new cookie - this is an AD FREE BLOG and I pay for my own cookies, thank you very much. 



Friday, July 17, 2015

Your Honor, I object....

I was on Pinterest the other day - Oh, yeah, digital hoarding - that's my middle name - and there is something that's been bugging me -

My home page is a mix of food, pretty flowers, cats & funny sayings.  I have noticed a proliferation of food items with "Crack" included in the name - The one I was looking at was "Cracked out Chicken Bubble-up"   Eh?

Just out of curiosity, I typed "crack" in the Pinterest search bar.  - Holy cow -

Cheese & garlic crack bread
Crack slurp noodles
Christmas crack
Crack dip
Crack cake
Maple caramel bacon crack
and of course
Cracked out chicken bubble-up

So, I'm wondering if any of the people who named these dishes have ever tried crack?

I'm wondering if any of the people who named these dishes have any friends or family members who have ruined their lives because they actually ARE addicted to crack.

Maybe they need to look up addiction in the dictionary - a habit of activity, often injurious  -  Synonyms include:  

    bag    bent    craving    dependence    enslavement

    fixation    hang-up    hook   inclination    jones  
    kick       monkey      obsession       shot       thing
    monkey on back    sweet tooth 

OK, so I get that "Dependence Dip" doesn't quite have the same "je ne sais quoi" as Crack Dip, but PEOPLE!!  Maybe think about it when you say something is "just like crack"  -  because, unless it's going to cause you to live homeless/on the street, it isn't "just like crack"  -  

Just sayin'  

And now, a happier thought for the day -  

Gracie - a few days after "gotcha day" in 2011 - when we FINALLY let them outside to explore the big outdoors - 


 


Gracie, last month - Bless her heart.

She's our little tootsie roll - & loves, loves, loves The Shepherd.  Sometimes when I come to bed, she is snuggled up as close to him as she can get - whiskers to whiskers - it's sooo cute (but you'll just have to imagine that one folks - ...I'd be looking for a new place to sleep if I took that picture, if you know what I mean...)

Thursday, July 09, 2015

Happy Gotcha Day to George and Gracie

 Four years ago today, I brought home the most precious gift - George & Gracie.  They were "barn cats" living on an alpaca farm out in the county - The farmer man had passed away suddenly and the farmer's wife had decided to sell the farm so she needed a new home for these two kitties. 

We had been catless since Sinda went to the bridge in February, and I was ready for some new kitties. 

Here is a picture of Gracie taken last month as she hid out in the coolness of the hops & kiwis arbor.  She is such a sweet kitty and sleeps on the foot of the bed most nights. 

I just have to convince her not to play "whack a mole" with my toes as she has VERY sharp daggers for claws and you'd think I was trying to murder her when I try to trim them!!

George is my handsome man - he loves to come in and sit on my lap when I am spinning - or like right now, when I am trying to work at the computer.  Sorry George, I'm busy - you'll have to come back later. 

Many of you know that last month, I was offered "early retirement" from the "salt mine", so right now I am home all of the time - they still haven't gotten used to me being around, but they are starting to run in and out now and then to say "hi"  -  especially in the hopes that I might give them a snack. 

 Here is one of the ice cream cakes that they had at my going away party :-)  


I'm looking for new employment, but don't hold out very high hopes.  There are several large employers in the area who have just laid off a fair amount of their admin & accounting work force!  I'm very glad to have George and Gracie to keep me company as I adjust to not working. 


Thursday, July 02, 2015

Oh, for Pete's sake

It seems that there is an outbreak of salmonella in Washington state that has been traced to backyard chickens. 

It appears that several of the cases were transmitted because people were "cuddling and kissing" their chickens.  I've heard of "kissin' cousins" - but kissing chickens?? What the heck??

For Pete's sake people, these are barnyard animals.  You do NOT kiss and cuddle with barnyard animals!  Any farm kid knows that!

And to top it off, some of the cases were caused because people let chickens run free in their houses.  I'm sorry, but ICK!  From someone who has spent many hours cleaning out the chicken house (when we had chickens - this picture was taken in 2007 and the last two of these birds just "flew over the rainbow bridge" this past winter) -  just ICK! 

Honestly, sometimes one wonders what people are thinking!  The next thing you know the CDC will come down against small chicken flocks just 'cause some "city folk" don't know any better than not to kiss their chickens! 

OK, end of rant...



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