Saturday, May 12, 2012

stuff number 9,752 . . .

Thursday, Lee and Joanie and I went to lunch at a neat little place in the marina.  The outside seating consisted of what I thought were just booths, but turned out to be covered gliders . . . I'm thinking in case you didn't get enough of a rocking sensation overlooking the intercoastal . . . or maybe if you had trouble getting your sea legs once off your boat???? 

Lunch was good and plentiful and the view, heck, I'll share:
 
 
It would be hard for anything to not taste good here. 

p.s.  when Kidlet was young, the place was called something different and as with most little kids, they get easily bored when sitting with mom, dad and grandpa, so the next time we went, the 9TS pulled a little wad out of his pocket after Kidlet was finished eating.  It contained a bit of fishing line and a hook stuck in a small cork.  A little left over chicken and Kidlet was happily fishing off the dock while we enjoyed each others company.  Yay sloth!!!!

Change of subject!  My new dishwasher was installed today.  Double YAY!!!  Now I won't have to wash everything twice.  How pitiful that I get excited about a new dishwasher.  Snort!!

And saving the very best for last, these arrived this morning!!!!
 
 Thank you, thank you, thank you, Stacie, who knows how much I love spring flowers!!!!!

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

the power of cabbage . . .

Kidlet loves corned beef and cabbage.  It is one of her favorite meals.  Well, to be truthful, let me edit that statement.  Kidlet loves corned beef and taters.  Cabbage, not so much.  So first thing this morning, I popped the brisket into the crock pot along with some onions, taters and carrots and left it alone to do its thing.

About five something, something, I got hungry but Kidlet's tummy had not yet registered empty/slash/starving.  :She only has two settings:  So I grabbed the cabbage, sliced it into crescents and tossed it into a frying pan along with juice from the crock pot and turned it on to braise. 

Twenty minutes later, while salivating down the right corner of my mouth, I made myself a plate of the above mentioned goodies and headed to the living room to nosh.  Since cabbage and Kidlet are not buds, I left the lid on the pan but turned off the heat.  Something I think I must have done a thousand times before.

This time however, mid meal, I hear a large sucking groan from the kitchen.  Not the type of sound that bodes good news.  With concern plastered on my face, I ran to the kitchen, to find the following:
and no, my lid does not typically look like a silver plated pug with cabbage innards. 

Ascertaining that nothing lethal had occurred, I went back to my dinner before attacking the issue at hand.

After trying a hot water bath followed by a dip in the freezer, I finally pried the lid off the pan.   The pan has survived, the lid had met its maker.

The power of cabbage now scares the willies out of me.  Is this what my insides threaten to do without Beano?  The ramifications are endless . . .

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

cravings . . .

Kidlet was craving the 9TS's shrimp aioli . . . or maybe it was me but it would be a huge reminder of who wasn't making it.   To skirt around the issue, I checked recipes for shrimp scampi that came with tons of kudo's and since I am a huge fan of Tyler Florence, I decided to give it a go.

Of course it was different.  Good but not the same.  I would make it again because I loved the white wine infused with garlic, shallots and lemon.  Kidlet was not so happy.  It reminded her too much of her daddy's dinner.

Tomorrow we are going with an old favorite sauteed without memories: corned beef and cabbage!

Tomorrow we are also on the hunt for a new dishwasher.  This one has seen better days and needs to move onto greener pastures . . . ones that actually washes the dishes.  Wish us luck, I almost fainted when I saw how much the prices had risen in 12 years.  EEK!!!

Monday, May 7, 2012

pippin and bear

two short months . . .

Yesterday as Joanie and I were headed for the home stretch of our morning walk, dripping in sweat and literally, quite soggy, Joanie spied a Florida Soft Shell turtle about 500 feet from his pond, apparently stuck in a sandy stretch of what we Floridians call lawn.  We looked for a while and decided he needed help back to his watery nest.  I was elected.  Now, this was no small turtle but I grabbed him with one hand on each side and lifted him up and out in front of me and headed pondward.  He was very docile and appreciative until he could see his puddle whence we parted company in one giant leap.

Joanie and I mused as to why he wandered so far from home and why he was headed toward the highway but nature being nature, our brains went on to other things.

This morning, as we walked out of the neighborhood and down the street, we could see a convention of turkey buzzards in front of the nursing home that houses the pond.  I think Joanie and I gasped at the same time.  No, it could not be our turtle, so lovingly saved the morning before but as we walked closer, it became quite obvious that it was indeed our wayward reptile.  His gyroscope must have taken a hit somewhere along the way and modern machinery took its toll.  Sigh.

But as I looked down at our lost friend, I started to cry.  I cried because we tried to help him and he still died.  I cried because the doctors tried to help the 9TS and he still died.  I cried because I'm not sure I still believe in God and that is a lot to lose in two short months.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

art in the park . . .

this morning, Joanie, Kidlet and I headed out for the 40th Art in the Park . . . again, not a huge art show but fun to look around and the aroma of kettle korn makes me swoon.

But first, I couldn't resist a few shots of this guy because after all, nature is the best art.  
 is not he amazing!!!
remember the crabby guy from the last art show who wouldn't let me take any pictures of his animal leather????  Guess who didn't ask this time?
 Summer finally hit our section of the state.  89 degrees and kidlet was parched, as were we all.
but she perked up.  :o)
I took a lot more shots but other than this guy, who was missing some of his anatomy, there wasn't a lot to see:
oh, and I bought Kidlet a hippy t-shirt and then decided what the hey, and being totally inappropriate, bought one for myself too. 

Friday, May 4, 2012

annie oakley and calamity jane . . .

Thursday evening, Craig, Stephanie, Kaitlyn, Kidlet and I headed to the gun range.  Yeehaw and color my neck red, but boy, did we have fun.  And since the 9TS wanted me to be proficient, proficient I will be and that means practice.

Kidlet is really into the whole gun thing.  She did a great job with the little .32 and the .327 and moved over to Craig and his weapons of choice, all of which were considerably bigger:
But because I am still happier shooting with a camera rather than a gun,  Kaitlyn and I departed early in the Miata to start dinner and homework.  While little K crammed for her Spanish test, I fiddled with  the requisite dogs and burgers, sweet corn on the cob, fries, baked beans and chocolate cake.  Well, actually, I cheated and made Craig do the grillin'.  Talk about five stuffed happy rednecks waddling around the pool . . .