Thought for the Day

In my small "cleaning frenzy" this weekend I found a couple of articles on stress that I had torn out of the magazine Woman's World. The magazine reports that a British study showed that you can erase up to 65% of your anxiety triggered jitters and replace them with feelings of bliss simply by flooding your brain with TWO minutes of positive images of things you love - - your friends, your family, your dog, bouquets of pink roses, anything you feel passionate about. "When you focus all your attention on positive thoughts, you instantly dampen your production of cortisol and other harmful stress hormones," explains Larina Kase, PsyD., from U of Penn. Bonus: You'll also banish sleep woes that go hand in hand with anxiety & stress

The other thing to watch out for is High Fructose Corn Syrup. That stuff is in EVERYTHING! Read labels - do what you can to keep it out of your diet. And take minerals - (calcuim, magnesium & zinc). They soothe and nourish your adrenal glands, reduce inflammation and blood pressure and ease muscle tension. Together these can also lower cortisol levels. (Cortisol has been found to trigger a host of health problems including obesity, heart disease and MEMORY FADE!) *Maybe THAT'S my problem...too much cortisol is causing "CRS"...






Don't forget to visit with your friends. Venting to a trusted friend may reduce your cortisol production by 400%.

Weekend Cat Blogging

Neelix rests after working so hard to provide for the family dinner table.

Bumper Stickers & Pasta Salad

Hmmm - it's kind of a reach to combine those two isn't it? But hey - I got my Sheep & Cats for Peace bumper sticker today & put it on my car! We'll see what kind of a response I get from my "R" friends...

MY FAVORITE PASTA SALAD -

When I sold Pampered Chef products, one of my favorite dishes to demonstrate was called "Confetti Pasta Salad" It used a lot of high end products (hopefully selling alot of them in the process) and it was a quick & easy. It has chopped vegetables & pasta, and is dressed with Italian dressing. As a consultant, we weren't allowed to eat at the parties - the food was for our host's guests. But this salad would always look & smell so good that I'd have to stop at Haggen on the way home to buy the ingredients so I could make one for myself. And I mean for "myself" because you all know that John doesn't like garlicy things.

Over time, I added & changed the recipe and came up with this version, which I call:

Greek Confetti Pasta Salad (serves 8 - 10, great for potlucks)

8 – 12 oz package of tri-colored pasta – radiatore (short chunky ruffled pieces of pasta) or fiori (these look like little flowers) or your favorite. Cooked & cooled; Put it in your big yellow Tupperwear bowl (doesn’t everyone have one of these?)

For the dressing combine: ½ cup red wine vinegar
1 cup vegetable oil (I like to mix ½ EVOO & ½ Canola – the EVOO gives it great flavor and the canola keeps it from “setting up” in the fridge)
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 T sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp Pampered Chef Italian Herb mix (or you can substitute
½ tsp dried oregano, ¼ tsp dried basil & ¼ tsp onion powder)

Put this all in a pint jar and shake it up. Let it sit and “get happy”

CHOP AND ADD TO THE PASTA: (Often you can find a package of veggies, cleaned and ready for a veggie tray in your deli – this package is just about the right amount of each and you don’t have any leftovers)
1 CUP RAW BROCOLLI FLORETTES
1 CUP RAW CAULIFLOWER FLORETTES
1 CUP BABY CARROTS

Next, add:
¾ cup crumbled Feta Cheese
6 oz Salami – thinly sliced then sliced into “ribbons”
½ can of black olives, sliced in half *use the whole can if you like olives
½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Optional (to taste):
2 GREEN ONIONS W/TOPS, FINELY CHOPPED
½ RED BELL PEPPER, FINELY CHOPPED

Toss the veggies, cheeses, salami, olives & pasta. Shake the dressing vigorously & pour about ½ of the jar over the pasta mixture to start. At this point, I also add between ½ & 1 cup of Best Foods Mayonnaise, it “mellows” out the salad – but dressing a salad is a matter of taste – I generally end up using all of the homemade Italian dressing (you could use your favorite bottled brand if you like) plus the mayo. This salad is best made early in the day so the flavors will meld together. Just before you serve it sprinkle on another ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese over the top.

Hope you enjoy it.

And here's what's happening in the garden today:

The pumpkins are getting BIG!











The bees are very Busy on the sunflowers







AND the Rose of Sharon is starting to bloom - soon it will be hard to get out the back door!



It's going to be a busy weekend - my friend Nancy K. has inspired me to clean up my "horrible" corner of the dining room that houses my computer - wish me luck!

Weekend cat blogging & New Toys

Here she is, Ms. Sinda, looking prim & proper (& hiding from Neelix, I'm sure).

She had all kinds of things to say to the Service man from Lehmann's Applicance who came out Friday a.m. to put in our NEW DISHWASHER!!! The old one was new with the house 12 years ago and a "budget" version at that - we're lucky it lasted as long as it did. (Well actually it stopped cleaning the stuff in the top rack, well, about mid April, but we've had other things on our minds since then...)

And speaking of NEW TOYS!!!

This is(was) Thorson's play ball - it is flat from being thwacked tooooo many times.


Here's John, hoping that Thorson doesn't decide to make a "play ball" out of him while he does the change out to the new ball.



Hmmm - smells kind of like the old one.....

Yes, I do believe this one is acceptable. We're back in business!

Just another day's work on the farm. Ha, Ha, Ha...

A Sobering Dose of Reality

In May, after I told my friends about my cancer diagnosis, I recieved an email from my friend Mattie, who said she had a friend who had just had the same surgery that I was facing - would I like to talk to her? Sure I said - and we exchanged email addresses & phone numbers, etc.

Turned out that this woman was a customer of the company where I work - so we had some "common ground" to start with - 'M' was not as "lucky" as I was though - her cancer was more advanced and they had removed some lymph glands. After her recovery from surgery, she would be facing radiation therapy. We talked some - I wished her good luck & "intended" on getting back to her once I got back from Seattle & surgery.

You know what they say about the road to hell, don't you? Well, after surgery & during my own recuperation, I was pretty much focused on myself - & I must say that I have recovered from the surgery far faster than expected (I have to stop picking up heavy things tho - that's been my downfall to this point)

Anyhow, 'M' had been on my mind for a couple of weeks - I had not saved her email address, so I emailed Mattie - who was, unbeknownst to me, in France (oh, la, la!) - thankfully when she returned last week, she sent me 'M's email address with the caution that she was not doing well, and might not be able to return my note. But I emailed her anyhow, hoping for the best (and sending a card in the mail as a backup).

I got a response from my email a day later - and it was very sobering. Turns out they gave her too much radiation, landing her in the hospital for a week, then manifesting itself in a kind of radiation poisoning with sores and painful joints. The good news is that it will go away - the bad news is when it does, she will have to have chemo.

Ok, so I cried for most of the rest of the day. No, not big bawling tears, but just private little sniffles - it makes me cry even now. I've heard that the first thing many people say to their doctors after a cancer diagnosis is "Why ME?" I guess my thought is 'How did I come through so easily?' I have been pondering this all week long - am I supposed to feel guilt - am I supposed to do "more" with my life?

I don't know - so I'm putting this "on the table" so to speak - My thoughts and prayers are with 'M' and I wish her the best in her recovery...



And life goes on -

Tomorrow - new toys all around, my favorite pasta salad recipe and more weekend cat blogging.

"Cats & Sheep for Peace"

I've found another cool blog - it's called "Apifera Farm: Where animals, art and lavendar collide". A woman named Katherine in Oregon, who is also an artist, writes this blog.
( http://apiferafarm.blogspot.com/) She has made a bumper sticker that I have to get - it says "Support Local Farm Animals working for Peace - If we can all get along - can't you." with a picture of a cat & a sheep - ("Cats & Sheep working for Peace") (if you click on her link to "Goats for Peace" it will take you to her website http://www.cafepress.com/katherinedunn/967698- she has some very fun stuff -

Well, speaking of Cats & Sheep - I think it's time for some weekend Cat & Sheep blogging!

For some reason unknown to me, Neelix LOVES to lay in the compost pile - then he drags all that stuff inside on his fur. Blech -



Whereas, Sinda has places to go, things to do and people to whine at...









The little boys have been helping John build their new hostel - and they can be very helpful - but despite their supervision, quite a bit is getting done.

Turns out that Gizmo is smarter than we thought - he's discovered that if "someone" happens to leave the gate unlocked and if you pull on this chain, the gate will magically open and there is a whole world of green stuff on the other side.....

The little monkeys went for a walk this afternoon - John found them in the middle of the front lawn, happily munching away - luckily, they'll follow him anywhere (as long as he has a bowl of grain anyway) and he soon had them back in the pasture - those little monkeys..LOL

and Finally -

"SHEEP FOR SALE"

This is Lucy (photo taken in April) - she is a two year old ewe who had twin boys this spring - Her father was Whoamule Deuel & her mom was Marietta Xena. She has Flett in her background on both sides.

And this is d'Jango - He needs to go to a good home where he'll eventually have some girlfriends. He is very sweet and good natured. He also has Flett on both sides. He is fawn under those milk coco tips, and has a very silky fleece.

John would love to talk to you if you're interested in either one of these lovely sheepies.



Well, it is time to turn into a pumpkin- John is taking tomorrow off and taking a drive by himself - me - I'll probably do laundry, put up beans in the freezer and read some of the new books I got today - one from the library, two from Costco AND two in the mail from Literary Guild - Oooh - when it rains it pours.

Guilty Pleasures...

Hmmm - Guilty pleasures -

Like sitting around all day reading a good romance/mystery novel -



or finding a hidden treasure in John's garden.....










Cherry turnovers from ARBYS - (no kidding - they are THE BEST!)




Sitting out on the deck in the evening, almost drowning in the perfect perfume of these lillies.....







Taking a break in the middle of the day to read my friend Nancy's blog - "A Shepherd's Voice" (check out the links under My Favorite Places) It never fails to make me laugh (or cry)...........or finding a new blog that I like to read....






Mmmm - Pretty fiber - wool in every color of the rainbow from the vendor floor at the Black Sheep Gathering (which is a Guilty Pleasure all of it's own)






M&Ms, great kitchen tools (especially my Pampered Chef pastry cutter), freshly brewed iced tea, really good brownies, talking to one of my sisters on the phone....

Hmmm - guilty pleasures...

Weekend cat blogging -

Haven't had time to follow Sinda & Neelix around this week, but here is my favorite piece of garden art - Have a great weekend.

Glad it's Friday?

Boy, everyone I've talked to sure is (Glad it's Friday, that is). And it is HOT here - not that I'm complaining - we still have power and all our frozen food is still frozen - here I am, on the computer - my heart goes out to the people in Missouri & the eastern seaboard who have gone/are going through horrific storms and have no electrical power.

Just as a matter of self preservation, I try not to be a very "political" person. It can cause rifts in families and between friends, but I am so frustrated with what is going on in the world recently - bombings in Mumbai (aka Bombay), the Israelies are pounding the snot out of Lebanon, and the whole thing in Iraq is going to heck in a handbasket (do you suppose we will have lost all those American lives just so the Iraquis can start a civil war?). Just the thought makes my blood pressure go up, so I thought we'd take a little walk around the farm instead...

Just inside the gate we have two Jacquemontii Birches (also know as Himalayan Birch) They have the whitest bark of the birch family and are just spectacular in the winter when you can see their "white skeletons" - especially with all the evergreens planted around them. But they are lovely at all times of the year - lush and green in the summer and when fall comes, their leaves turn bright yellow! Generally our big cat, Neelix is waiting on one of the rocks for us to get home. It's a good feeling.









The view from "my" chair on the front porch doesn't quite include the pond, but you can hear the waterfall and it's lovely to listen to anytime, day or night.


I am discovering that bloggers have quite a wonderful community. I feel like I have made some new and very interesting friends. Take Susan at Farmgirl Fare, for instance - Susan lives in Missouri - she was a "victim" of the storm that hit the area night before last. Her blog is great mix of food and farm with beautiful pictures of the area and with funny & often touching stories about her critters. One of her chickens (whose name is Lindy) went AWOL during the storm, and people all over the planet were sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to find out if Lindy came home safely - the good news is Sheeeeeeee's SAFE! (read about it here) http://foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com/2006/07/daily-farm-photo-72106.html

Oh, and those are not eggs from Susan's chickens, they are eggs from OUR chickens - Americauna breed - pretty eggs and very tasty to boot! (the eggs, NOT the chickens - NO, NO, NO, we don't eat our chickens!)


And out by the barn is our handsome ram Thorson. He's playing with his "play station" He'll start running from the other corner of the pasture and whack that blue ball into the post that is to his right. See how it is getting worn away? One of these days he's gonna hit that thing and land on his butt because it will snap in two.


Well, thanks for taking a walk around with me - I'm a little calmer now, but very sad - so many lives lost or ruined - to what end? (Trust me, Condoleezza, a "false promise" is better than none at all.)

When you all go to bed tonight - please say a prayer for PEACE in the world and for the victims of the tsunami in Indonesia - (over six hundred dead and 20,000 people are homeless ) - I will.

Enduring Friendships

Almost 20 years ago two ladies, who were very good cooks, decided to open a little tiny diner on the main street of Bellingham. It was called "Around the Corner Cafe". It was the kind of a place where you might get told that you had to eat your vegetables before your could have a "Little Something Sweet" for dessert...and the kind of place you could go to see a friendly face when the boss was being a jerk...and the kind of place where you made new friends - and ate breakfast or lunch with them almost every day. But as "they" say, "All good things must come to an end" and the little restaurant closed it's doors. But the memories remained - and to this day, the friends remain friends - and get together in the summer for a potluck lunch to catch up on each other's lives -





All year looking forward to Jo's baked spaghetti & cheese or Maria's teriyaki chicken legs - yum...


And pick up on that philosophical discussion that you left off with last year at Christmas - (for you see, the friends have a cookie exchange at Christmas time, too) And we would be vvveeerrrryyy disappointed if Denise didn't bring her wonderful Around the Corner Chocolate Cake. (which certainly should have been given a much finer spot on the table - it is hiding behind that stainless steel bowl with the sesamee noodle salad in it -)

It was a fun picnic. In the hustle bustle of today's world, it is nice to see some things & some friendships endure. See you in December, old friends.

A Toss of the Coin -

I couldn't decide - the beans & blueberries or the "Around the Corner Picnic" - and the Beans & the Blueberries won out - so, you'll have to wait for another day to hear about the Picnic.

These are blueberries from the bushes that we bought from my sister. She & her husband have been raising blueberries & blueberry bushes on their farm in Mossyrock, WA for 40 years or so. She works harder than anyone I know.






These are (affectionately called) "Lila Beans". They are a common pole bean, heirloom variety, except for the fact that the "original" seeds came from the crop of a duck shot up in the wilds of Canada, by someone in the family of our friend Lila (who passed away a couple of years ago at a ripe old age). Lila's mother, being a frugal woman, found the beans when she was cleaning the duck for dinner, decided to keep them for the next year's planting. That was probably close to 60 years ago, I imagine. The family saved some beans from each year's crop to plant the next year. Lila would can them and always brought a big pot of beans (with just a little bit of bacon to flavor them) to the church potlucks. A couple of years ago before she died, Lila donated a few jars of bean seeds to our fundraiser auction. I bought a "bottle" of these magic beans - I think I paid $8 or $10 for a 1/2 pint jar, and since Lila passed away, John has become the "Keeper of the Lila beans". Alas, I do not can, and they are not very good freezer beans - but they sure are good fresh.


For the last few years we have had a crop of Scarlet Runner Beans on the back side of the house - their lush foliage keeps the house cool in the afternoon and the bright red flowers are very striking. (They are very good to eat too) This year, John decided to switch to purple pole beans - aren't they pretty? They are also very tasty. We had some of these for dinner tonight. (They turn a dark olive green when they are cooked)

Later this week, I'll have a few words to say about the dynamics of friendship .

Weekend cat blogging - a second try

Shhh - he's sleeping ( & how do I know he's sleeping? - because he's snoring!) Neelix has also been known to lie in this position to watch TV - he particularly likes Mariner's games and "Walker, Texas Ranger"...

Everyone have a happy, laid back weekend! T.

What's in YOUR wallet?

A major credit card company asks this question on their TV commercials on a regular basis. Have you looked lately?

I had to change purses after my surgery, because the one I regularly use weighed too much (7# is too much?) Anyhow, my temporary purse doesn't have room for my wallet, so I had to move the "important" stuff from the wallet into the temporary purse. Ok, so I suppose I really don't need to carry the pictures of my cat Jaxom (died in 1995) or my Grandma Billie (died in 1991), but I might need that AARP card (never can tell when you're going to get a discount... & I definately need that $7.25 lunch discount card for the Black Angus...)

Costco card, Yup - "What do Unitarian Universalists believe?" - maybe - might get stuck in an elevator with someone and need an interesting topic of conversation...

Don't want to forget that spare car key - although it seems like when I've locked myself out of the car, it's because I decide I don't want to carry ANYthing and throw the whole shootin' match back into the car - including my purse, with the spare key (do you know how embarassing it is, when you work at a locksmith store, to have to call in and ask someone to come open your car?!)

Driver's licence and credit cards, of course - and then tucked away in the far reaches is a little note that I copied out of a book one day, in 1993, right after John & I got together - It's from "Wind, Sand and Stars" by Antione de Saint Exupery - the person who wrote "The Little Prince"

"Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together, in the same direction."

That's a nice thought, huh?


Busy day tomorrow - payday - up to my ears in alligators - and a Building Industry Assocn. Membership dinner tomorrow night at the mansion at the Loomis Trail Golf Course - hmm - maybe I'll take my camera - it's a pretty cool looking place. John's not going - he says he has no interest in sitting around for the evening listening to a bunch of Republicans - well I don't either, but they aren't ALL R's and even some of the R's are nice people - PLUS we get our "ROII" (Return on Industrial Insurance - a BIA program that rewards you if your workers don't have any accidents) checks if we go tomorrow night - otherwise we have to wait until next week. It's money for the company I work for, but it gives me pleasure to bring it back & we use it to pay for our annual picnic/BBQ in September. *you can have a pretty great party with $2-3 Grand - However, compared to some companies - we get small potatoes back - one of the cement companies is getting a check for $98,000.00 - oooh-la-la - - - what I could do with that in our coffers! Plus - Filet Mignon & Halibut for dinner - and I don't have to pay for it. Yum!

Here's what's blooming this week in John's garden

SUNFLOWERS!

and

"LILA" BEANS

LILLIES

AND

MORE LILLIES

AND AMISH PIE PUMPKINS - GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO WITH ALL THOSE PUMPKINS! (seein' as how we still have about 25 pkgs. of pumpkin in the freezer from last year - holy cats!)