Pictures of Spring

Bulldog man went for a ride into town to pick up the mail and take some pictures of the trees blooming.

Signs of spring:

Of course Beans wanted to go for the ride into town too.

More pictures, beautiful trees.

Did You Say Muffins?

Pineapple raisin bran muffins, oh boy!!!

Pineapple Raisin Bran Muffins

(Makes 12 Muffins)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 eggs

2 tablespoons applesauce

¼ cut molasses

1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple

Milk (see directions)

1 cup flour

1 ¾ cup raisin bran cereal

½ cup raisins

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

Directions

In a bowl combine eggs, oil, applesauce, brown sugar and molasses mix together.  Sift in flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.  Place pineapple and the juice from the can into a 1 cup measuring cup, then add milk until it makes a complete cup, place in bowl with ingredients and mix well.  Add raisins and your raisin bran cereal, mix completely together.  Line your muffin pan with muffin paper (cups) and spoon batter into paper cups.  Bake at 400F for 16-20 minutes until done. 

After reading several blogs on growing celery in a jar, I decided to cut the ends off my celery stalks and place them in water to get them to start growing.  As you can see, they’re doing pretty well, I just need a few more weeks and I can place them in the garden.

Bulldog man and I went to the local sporting goods store to find a good quality pair of work boots for myself.  Something I can use in the garden, on the property, or while hiking/camping.  This store had only 4 different boot styles for women and only in sizes 6, 7, 8 and 8.5.  When I continued to look around, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  There were 5 aisles of boots, all different styles (regular, steel toed, and safety), a variety of colors, all kinds of sizes and widths for men.  Obviously this store (remain nameless) only caters to men when it comes to selling boots.  It’s not beneath me to buy a man’s boot if it fits, but all the boots in my size were too big in length and width. Oh my, I guess my boot purchase will have to wait for another time.

Reality Of Where We Are

Times are getting tough in this country, the typical middle class is no longer and those that were considered the lower class feel defeated due to the recession.  People are more cautious with spending money and those who are unemployed are having a difficult time locating work.  Employers looking to hire, take their time hiring because they have a diversified group of people with various levels of education, experience and age to hire from.  They’re extremely selective and won’t pay a person for their experience or skill.  If you think it’s tough now, WAIT!  There are more people (families) in the United States without food, a roof over their heads, clothes, shoes, cars and money that are living on the streets.  In order to just survive, these people turn to the state for assistance, organizations for food and shelter and some are committing crimes against one another.   Prices of gas are on the rise.  Commodities will follow, what’s next?  Have you figured it out?  Have you prepared yourself or your families for what’s to come? Do you think you should protect the ones you love?

Here’s the reality, courtesy of CNN today, February 26, 2012.

http://cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2012/02/25/dnt-oh-elderly-man-shoots-intruder.wews.html

Health, Food and Garden

The tree pollen has been bad the last two days.  I woke up this morning with one of those headaches; you know the one I’m talking about.  The one that makes your head feel like it’s going to explode!  I can always tell when the sinus headache is going to last for a while.  That’s when the circles under my eyes become more prominent.  Time to take another allergy pill (God knows, there are so many to choose from) and start flushing the sinus cavity with my sinus rinse. THIS IS NOT A COMMERCIAL, It is what I call relief.   Since starting use of the Natural Sinus Relief by NeilMed, I have noticed that I no longer get the sinus infections/colds as I used to.  When I start the day with a headache or my sinus’ start acting up, I will flush my sinuses twice a day for about 1 to 1 ½ weeks with the sinus rinse.  Then I will stop the sinus rise, until I have the symptoms again (this product can be used daily, I use it when I need it).  This process has saved me money (on doctor’s visit and antibiotic prescriptions), time (from being sick, miserable and at times stuck in bed) and my mental sanity (when you don’t feel good, you really don’t want to function).   When we first moved to Oklahoma, I was sick (to the point that I needed to see a doctor and take antibiotics) approximately 5 times a year (usually lasting weeks at a time).  I will have you know, I’ve never been this sick residing elsewhere.  Oklahoma has mostly flatlands where I’m at, and when the wind kicks up, which is all the time, pollen of all types, dust, mold and smoke (from fires) are predominant.  So in my defense, I have found a remedy that works for me.  I recommend using the sinus rinse if you have sinus issues.  Who knows, this product may work for you.  ***If you use this product only use distilled water and make sure to warm the water slightly

Time for a topic change!

Dinner consisted of baked chicken, baked sweet potato fries and my version of a panzanella salad (recipe below).

Panzanella Salad

(Serves 4-6)

2 Green Bell Peppers

1 Orange Bell Pepper

1 Yellow Bell Pepper

1 Red Bell Pepper

2 Plum Tomatoes

2 Cucumbers

1 Can Black Olives

1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese Diced

4 to 5 Tablespoons Olive oil

Salt to Taste       

Pepper to Taste

3 Ciabatta rolls or 1 loaf crusty bread (French)

Directions

Wash all vegetables.  Cut ends and remove seeds, then dice (large pieces) all bell peppers and place in large bowl.  Cut ends of tomatoes, slice tomatoes in half and scoop out seeds and liquid.  Dice tomatoes and place in bowl.  Peel cucumbers and cut in half, then cut length wise and scoop out seeds.  Dice (large pieces) and place in bowl. Add olives without juice to bowl, dice mozzarella cheese into bite size pieces.  Add to vegetables 4 tablespoons of olive oil.  Salt and pepper vegetable mixture and mix, set aside.  Pull out a cookie sheet, cut bread up into crouton size pieces and place on cookie sheet.  Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil on croutons.  Place in oven and turn broiler on. Broil until all croutons are brown.  Remove from oven and place croutons on vegetables and mix.  Now your salad is ready to serve.  This salad can be changed up by using other raw or roasted vegetables.  You may also wish to add fresh basil to the salad.

Wooohoooo, I planted onions today and well I must say, they look pretty wimpy or pathetic!!!!! I just wanted to get them in the ground (see picture below, no laughing allowed). 

More to come regarding my garden in future posts.

Almost Time To Plant

Today was an extremely busy day for all of us.  This morning Young master (our son Dakota) went to high school and technical school.  Bulldog man and I worked on the property.  Bulldog man grabbed the chainsaw and cut down several large branches off a tree, cut the gate post to size and grass whipped areas that desperately needed it.  While he was using the posthole digger to dig a hole for the post, I went ahead and started cutting grass (you wouldn’t think the grass needed to be cut since winter is coming to an end, but the grass is growing like crazy and needed to be cut). After finishing school, Young master came home and helped Bulldog man place T-posts and fencing around the garden area.  With the additional fence, Bulldog man went ahead and tied a piece to the gate (to prevent critters from entering through the gate).   I’m excited; the area will hold my above ground garden boxes.  Next step is to pull out our garden plan, create another larger garden box, pickup additional stand alone pots, manure, and peat moss, and make a trellis and several plant cages.  I can’t start planting in the garden; I have to wait a couple weeks.

  

I decided to make a big cowboy dinner tonight.  So this morning, I put a brisket in the slow cooker.  About 5:30PM, we decided we were done working on the fencing and property for the night. Besides, the sun was starting to go down and we all needed to wash up for dinner.  OMG, our house smelled of brisket cooking.  I took the brisket out of the slow cooker, made fried potatoes with green peppers and onions, pinto beans and cornbread.  We usually have a green vegetable with our meals but tonight, NOT!!!!!! 

Slow Pace

Bulldog man and I spent the day together at a slower pace. We took the morning to have breakfast together, relax and just have great conversation.  After, we returned home and walked the property picking up stuff that blew in from the high winds we’ve been having.  We decided to remove the weather protection from the faucets outside (don’t think we need the protection; don’t expect any more bad frost since going into spring).  This was needed because we have flowers blooming that need watering (and if you step in mud or shall I say something else, you can wash it off).  

Bulldog man and I went out to the local range to test my gun.  The gun, a 9MM Beretta PX4 Storm SC is a great gun.  Never had any firing problems, handles fabulously, easy to load and extremely easy to breakdown and clean.  About 4 weeks ago, we sent my gun back to the manufacturer upon their request to fix a front site that continued to fall off.  Apparently the site was never properly posted.  Beretta USA, without hesitation issued a pickup tag, picked up the gun, tested the gun, fixed the gun and turned it back around to us, at no cost, within 3 weeks.   No, this is not a Beretta commercial, I’m an avid fan. I would highly recommend Beretta USA when you go to purchase your next gun.  Beretta USA stands behind their merchandise.  If you’re looking for a comfortable gun (small size, big punch gun - - Beretta Web Page) for your wife or yourself, make it the 9MM Beretta PX4 Storm SC.  Great gun for personal defense and conceal carry.   **** For pictures of the Beretta 9MM PX4 Storm refer to my earlier post in January, titled Consider This…..

We have been putting together a list of items we need to pickup and stock within the next couple of months. 

Extra Gas – check

2 more lamps – check

Candles - check

Batteries – need

Additional water filters – need

Hand held mixer – need

Flour – need more

Brown sugar – need more

Surgical scissors – need

First Aid Tape – need

S.W. Radio – need

Yosemite National Park



Another great place to take your family, make it a day trip or several, is to Yosemite National Park.  Camping, hotel, or staying at the lodge is available. You may see all kinds of beautiful birds, bear, sheep, mountain lion, fox, coyote, bobcats, snakes, deer and others I haven’t mentioned.  Bulldog man and I were in Santa Rosa, California due to his job.  On one of his days off, we decided to take a drive and make a day trip to Yosemite; this was back in the spring of 2004.  The park was approximately 2 – 3 hours from our location.  So, we got up real early, packed a little breakfast/lunch, jumped in the rental car and headed on to our destination.  It’s not unlike us to just jump in the car wherever we are and take a day trip. Anyway, back to the story. We drove through this orange grove, OMG… it was so delightful.  The smell of sweet orange blossoms, not anything you’ve smelt before.  I really thought I was in heaven...until, we entered Yosemite National Park.  This was heaven, the beautiful mountains, cliffs, trees, flowers and wildlife.  I can’t explain it, but you know when you see something and can’t believe it’s real?  Well, it was………………..

Here are a few pictures I would like to share with you while visiting.



Cascade Falls

El Capitan

Yosemite Falls

In the news yesterday they focused in on Horsetail Falls, part of Yosemite National Park (bringing back memories of our visit). This waterfall, during the last 2 weeks of the month of February has a neon orange glow as if it were a fire.  This orange glow is produced by the sunlight as the sun is setting.  This event is not a yearly event.   Once you watch the video courtesy of YouTube and Yosemite National Notes, you will know why I said I’m in heaven. 





Monday, Monday

Happy President’s Day!!!

Update:  Hedgehog and his pal Hippo recovered from surgery.  Beans (our dog) is totally relieved, both of his favorite chew toys came out of surgery okay.  Doctor Sandy was able to stuff the guts back into hedgehog’s body and sew him up.  As for hippo, all he needed was minor surgery (a little stuffing) and his leg sewn back. 

All Better Now!!!!

Beans is content, he has his Hedgehog Back.

He's Back To Romancing the Hedgehog, bow-chicka bow-wow!!!!

I want to share with you a favorite of mine.  Eleven years ago, my husband, Bulldog man introduced me to the Green Chile.  We were driving from the DFW Airport in Texas to Tularosa, New Mexico to visit family.  As we were pulling into town, I kept seeing these large metal circular cages rotating over a fire.  The farmers were roasting Green Chiles alongside the road and next to the grocery store. The entire area had this fabulous smell.  I had never seen anything like this before.  When I tasted the Green Chile, I knew I found a new friend for life.  I keep a case of Hatch Green Chiles in my pantry.   Anytime I have an opportunity, I will put the Chiles in a recipe.  I won’t buy any variety of Green Chiles; it must always be Hatch Green Chiles.  Bulldog man has created a Green Chile monster of a wife.

Part of My Stash

Another Saturday

Here’s my youngest son, Dakota showing off a wood-burning stove he made in Welding class. From time to time, when Dakota has extra time at school he asks if there anything we want made.  Of course, this is for extra credit.  Bulldog Man showed Dakota a picture of a stove he was interested in.  The next week, our son brings home the wood-burning stove he made from scratch.  It looks great and we can’t wait to use it.  Now we have one more source to cook with that doesn’t require electricity. 

This morning was finally a sleep-in morning, woke up at 8:30 AM.  Usually, I’m up and going at 5:00 – 5:30 AM.    I stripped down the bed and washed all the blankets and sheets.  I won’t place them back on the bed until later this evening.  We need to pull up the mattress and box springs, and vacuum (might as well since everything is moved out of the way) the floor. My agenda was not to clean the floor under the bed; it is to rotate the box spring so the mattress sits better.

 Carnitas….carnitas….carnitas, yes you heard right!!!!  I just love Mexican food, more so when I make it at home.  I have beef (carnitas are generally made with pork), since I don’t have pork, I made them with fajita beef.  I will take my fajita beef strips of meat and cut in small pieces and brown up with onions (generally you don’t brown the onions; you put them on the meat raw with the cilantro mixture. I can’t eat raw onions; they don’t like me, so I brown them) in a little olive oil (EVOO, if you’re hoity-toity).  Add lime juice (preferably from a fresh lime) to the meat mixture. While the meat and onions are browning, chop a handful of cilantro into small pieces and place it into a bowl.  Add a little olive oil (EVOO), fresh squeezed lime juice and set aside.  Finish cooking your meat and onion mixture.  Place the meat and onion mixture into the cilantro bowl and mix briefly.  Now get out your corn tortillas (homemade or store bought).  I am using store bought (because I am lazy just didn’t have time to make them).   Heat up the tortillas and then spoon a little of the meat, onion and cilantro mixture into the tortilla shell.  There you have it--a carnita!  Now I would also compliment the carnita with some refried beans, and maybe a little salad.  Before I married Bulldog man, I was the typical girl that would have the typical Mexican food (from the southeast) you find in a restaurant.  Little did I know, this food was not your typical Mexican food, it was Tex Mex.  My husband educated me very fast on what was true Mexican food.   Now not only do I love Mexican food, I call Bulldog man my “Little Mexican”, LOL!!!!!

Adiós hasta mi poste siguiente.  

(Translation: Good bye, until my next post)

I Am Tired Of It!!!!!

 It’s time for a rant!  The last several days, all we have heard on the news, is anything and everything about Whitney Houston.  Don’t get me wrong, I am sorry to hear this entertainer lost her life due to mixing prescription drugs. As we all know based on history, this entertainer, like others, displayed plenty of warning signs which were obviously never addressed.   So, why is this headline news?  We have military troops over in the Middle East fighting and dying for freedom and not one word is mentioned in the headline news.  Why is this country obsessed with celebrities and reality television, and not concerned about this country, or the men and women fighting for our Freedom?  Wake up people, the celebrities you idolize are not going to protect your Country or Freedom. I would continue my rant, but I think I have said enough.  What are your thoughts?

On a lighter note, Bulldog man and I went to the country store and bought a gate, posts, and fencing today.  Tomorrow, we will start putting up the fence around our garden area to keep the 2 and 4 legged critters out of our garden. This is so exciting, can’t wait to have a fully developed and functional garden again.

Update on Beans.  The hedgehog he loves didn’t put out of Valentine’s Day.  Beans, frustrated with the situation, ended up pulling the stuffing out of the hedgehog. Surgery is pending.  Diagnosis: hedgehog should be fine.

Ode de Pepe Le Pew

This morning we woke to fog lingering over Somewhere, Oklahoma.  The fog created a fine mist, and with the temperatures at 26 degrees, this mist turned into miserable ice.  Roads were slick, black ice very apparent.  This was one of those mornings where you wanted to drive your kids to school.  After opening the door and walking gingerly on the front porch (to prevent falling because of ice), I made sure our little friend, Pepe Le Pew was nowhere in sight.  It was obvious he was near, you could smell him.   Apparently, some poor bastard got nailed, lol.  I must say, it’s nice to have a skunk that alerts you with its scent when someone or something has cut through your property. 

 I borrowed a great cookie recipe, Mountain Man’s Everything Cookies, from a friend’s blog.  Please check out Glo’s blog for the recipe and information on living off the grid, and homesteading: http://offthegridat-30.blogspot.com/2012/02/recipe-thursday-mountain-mans.html

Picture of the Cookies (talk about heaven!!!!)

I made roasted chicken for dinner the other night.  The chicken was prepped with olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lemon slices and orange slices (picture of chicken in prep stage. Sorry, I failed to take a picture of the end result).  When finished baking, I served the chicken with mashed potatoes and fresh broccoli.

In closing for the night, I had to take this picture of Beans with his toy (a hedge hog).  He felt the need to bring this toy to our bed.  This hedge hog toy has become a mate for our silly little dog.  He takes this toy everywhere, shakes it, throws it, and bites it. 



End of the World or a Storm?

I went into town yesterday to fill our truck up with gas in preparation for the supposed ice/snow storm working its way into Oklahoma Sunday night into Monday.  While pumping gas into the truck, I told myself dinner tonight can’t be salad.  It’s too darn cold out; we need something that will warm up our bellies.  Okay, so my decision was to change up the menu for dinner.  I’ve decided we’re going to have soup.  I have all the items in the freezer and pantry to make a belly warming meal.  We can have chicken soup, beef soup, fish soup or a vegetable soup.  Then as I was topping off the gas tank, I recalled a conversation I had several weeks ago with Bulldog Man.  He asked me if I had ever had corn chowder.  My response to his question was, no I have not.  After pumping the gas, I told myself we’re going to make corn chowder tonight.  It will be a nice little surprise for Bulldog Man. I knew I had everything I needed in the pantry to make the chowder except cream of corn.  Okay, not a problem.  I will just stop at the local Wal-Mart-- it’s just down the street from the gas station and pickup the cream of corn up and another baking sheet for baking cookies.  It won’t take but just a minute to run in get what I need and run out.  I drove into the Wal-Mart parking lot; to my surprise the lot was full. I asked myself, is Wal-Mart giving stuff away? The only time I have seen the local Wal-Mart this busy is when there is a holiday coming up (Christmas, Easter, Halloween ect…).  It took me a while to find a parking place. Once in the store, I hurried up and found the baking sheet I needed and went on to find the cream of corn. Everyone in the grocery section of the store seemed to be buying groceries as if the world was coming to an end.  When in actuality, all that was happening was a potential ice/snow storm coming our way. The local news media predicted the potential of approximately 2 days of bad weather. Of course the media made a big to do about how this is going to be the biggest storm to hit Oklahoma in a while.  Shelves of food, specifically soups, vegetables, cereal and drinks were practically gone or strewn all over. I was so happy to find my cream of corn, I hurried up to the cash register and paid for my merchandise and left the frenzy back at the store.

The moral of my story; no matter what the situation, you need to consider being prepared for anything at all times.  Storms, loss of electricity, and emergencies happen all the time.  Consider stocking food and water in your pantry for those emergencies. Remember you need enough food and water to feed your entire family for several days.  Don’t find yourself doing shopping the last minute.  If you do, you may not find the food needed to feed your family during the emergency.

Please don’t get me wrong, I am a prepared person. I refuse to wait the last minute before an emergency to make sure my family is well taken care of.   I just wanted to surprise my husband with making him a soup he asked me about.  Generally speaking, I don’t stock cream of corn in my house.  So it was just a little something I needed to pickup.  Was it worth going to Wal-Mart and dealing with the crowds?  Let me say, Bulldog Man loved the soup.  Does that answer the question?

Corn Chowder (Serves 3 to 4)

½ large green pepper, chopped (no seeds)

½ onion chopped

Saute green pepper and onion together with a little olive oil in a soup pot.

Add to pot:

3 ½ cups of potatoes diced

3 cups of water

1 (tube of frozen or a can of cream of corn)

1 can evaporated milk

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Cook until potatoes are done, then serve.

Compliment soup with your favorite bread.

JI would have included a picture but the soup was gone before I thought about taking the camera out.  Next time folks!

Price of Freedom - Marine LCPL Carpenter

God bless Marine LCPL Carpenter
and his family!

I have to say, to me, this is the most touching, heart wrenching, meaningful photo I have seen.

Meet Landon.

His father, Marine LCPL Carpenter, gave his life defending our country in Afghanistan earlier this year, a month before his son was born.
Baby Landon's Mom wants his story to be known. Take a moment to share this photo with your friends and reflect on the price of freedom. Never forget the price of freedom.

Winter Weather

Winter here has been relatively warm compared to the last several winters here in Oklahoma.  Temperatures have been varying from teens to low 30’s in the early morning hours and from the low 30’s to 70’s later in the day.  This is the second time we have made a record since the 1950’s with the mildest winter season.  It’s my understanding, the weather pattern is caused by La Nina, producing a jet stream that’s farther north of its normal position (Thanks to AccuWeather for the map!).

La Nina is part of an “arctic oscillation”.   Now, what the hell does that mean? Instead of an explanation from myself, I think J Farmer’s Almanac explains it very well in his blog,

http://thejfarmersalmanac.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html

Based on AccuWeather.com, Winter 2011 – 2012 Forecast, “The Long-Range Team expects areas from northeastern Texas and Oklahoma into Kentucky and Tennessee to deal with more ice than snow events this winter, especially from early to mid-season”. 

This evening our local weather forecast indicates snow for Sunday into Monday and rain Monday night into Tuesday and Wednesday.  Is this the start of the ice prediction for Oklahoma?  So far, our weather has been bearable for the old bones in our bodies.  With the warmth, my flower beds started to sprout.  When our temperatures drop into the 20’s- 40’s the sprouts in the beds just stand still, no growth.  Not only are the flower sprouts confused, so are the birds and little critters (hell, I’m confused too).  The birds and critters are out and about searching for food and water.

Below are a few pictures of the last 2 winters we have experienced here in Somewhere, Oklahoma (yes, somewhere out there!).



Year 2010



Year 2010 (want to BBQ?)



Year 2011



Year 2011



 

Planning

Making plans instead of hasty decisions is one way of saving money and staying within a budget.    Bulldog Man and I sit down and plan our dinner meals together every two weeks and write (excuse my messy hand writing) them on a smart board in the kitchen.  At this point, I compile a grocery list with all that is needed to make these meals.  Once the list is finished, I will take the list and shop in my kitchen, crossing off the items I have in stock.  Items not found in my kitchen will stay on the list for grocery shopping.  I find sticking to the menu on the smart board during the two week period saves us approximately $150.  Having the smart board displayed in the kitchen also allows the entire family to see the menu plan.  If I get stuck outside of the home before dinner, another family member can go ahead and start the evening meal. 

As you can see based on the smart board our dinner tonight was baked potatoes and salad. 

 Something simple and delishJ.  Dinner doesn’t always have to be something gigantic, just something to fill the hole in the stomach, lol.