Month: July 2012

Home Grown & Country Fed!

Last Thursday night my friend Doti went to a meeting with me.  It was a fun summer talent table.  When we got ready to leave she mentioned something about going to the Farmer’s Market in Springfield.  I went home and told the hubs about it and he made mention that he’d like to go (b/c I showed interest in going).  So I sent Doti a message and asked if she had room for a couple of tag-alongs?

She said she did so Saturday morning she stopped by our house and picked us up and Springfield bound we were.  I would like to say I got lots of photos, but sadly I didn’t.  I took my point and shoot with me (b/c I thought I’d look weird dragging my dSLR with me) and it stayed in my pocket the whole time.  My iPhone came out at the very beginning to snag a few photos but otherwise, it stayed away too.  OMG, what is this world coming to?

We left there with some good treats!  Peaches, cheeses, blueberries, tomatoes, jalapenos, & onions.  Hello YUM!  just maybe not altogether at one time ;).

We didn’t plant a garden this year because, well, lots of reasons, maybe next year!  But we sure did enjoy the Farmer’s Market!  Fresh, homegrown, produce. Heck yeah, sign me up!

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Serendipity III {Las Vegas} & Frrrozen Hot Chocolate

Do you remember the 2001 Romantic Comedy Serendipity starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale?  Well back in 2005 for my college graduation present from my mom, she took me to New York City.  One place on my must-see list was Serendipity III.

 

Do you remember that Frozen Hot Chocolate they ate/drank in the movie?  I wanted to try one of those so badly!!!

A few years ago I googled on the internet trying to find that fabulous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate recipe when I stumbled across this cookbook that had the recipe in it. (more…)

Why God made pets

They help out around the house

They protect our Children

They look out for the smaller ones

They show us how to relax

They “converse” with each other

They help you when you’re down

They are great at decorating for the holidays

They have “great” expectations

They are Patriotic

They are happy to “test” the water

They love their “teddies”

They know who’s “Boss”

They know when we need a good laugh!

Swiss & Bacon Dip

My aunt introduced me to this recipe years ago.  She said you could founder on it.  Now that is a horse reference and definitely something you DON’T want to happen!  It’s a bad deal.  But this recipe, it’s excellent

And for me to say this it must be pretty darn good b/c I’m generally not a Swiss cheese fan.  By the way, when I was a little kid I watched a special somewhere, sometime on Swiss Cheese.  The way that the cheese gets the holes in it is as it is aging it expels gas, or else, they said it “farts”.  Yup, food for thought 🙂

Swiss & Bacon Dip – Rachael Ray

8 slices bacon, chopped
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayo
2 rounded tbsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
3 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup smoked almonds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Brown bacon.  Drain on a paper towel.

In mixing bowl combine cream cheese, mayo, Dijon,

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My Dearest Love

You have no idea how happy I am that God brought us back together. We drifted apart, but partially I think we both had to go make our “mark” on the world. You left yours on a wall in Afghanistan and I wrote mine in the beaches in Costa Rica. We took very different paths from each other but it’s so strange how we wound up back together.

I know there are times when the “what if’s” in life fall into our heads or pangs of jealousy even take over (yes I said it), but at the same time we’re strong as individuals but we’re stronger as a team. Never let those things rule our lives and I’ll try my best too. Sometimes I fall and I need you to help pick me up and guide me back on path, and I believe it’s ok to ask for help. Can’t maybe died in the corn patch, but needing help sure didn’t!

I love you more now than the day you proposed to me. And we’ve had our struggles as every married couple does, but let’s stay on track with each other by our side!

Love,

Cole

Helpful Hints

To make self-rising flour: Mix 4 cups flour, 3 tsp salt and 2 tsp baking powder. Store in a tightly covered container.

One scant tablespoon of bulk yeast is equal to one packet of yeast

Unbaked cookie dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to several hours or frozen in an airtight container for up to 9 months

To prevent pasta from boiling over, place a wooden spoon or fork across the top of the pot until the pasta is boiling.

Boil all vegetables that grow above the ground without a cover.

Green pepper may change the flavor of frozen casseroles. Clove, garlic and pepper flavors are stronger when frozen, while sage, onion and salt become more mild.

A few drops of lemon juice added to simmering rice will keep the grains separated.

One pound of boneless chicken equals approximately 3 cups of cubed chicken.

Burnt food on pots and pans — Allow the pan to cool on its own. Remove as much of the food as possible. Fill with hot water and add a cupful of liquid fabric softener to the pot, let it stand for a few hours. You’ll have an easier time removing the burnt food.

Chocolate seizes — Chocolate can seize (turn coarse and grainy) when it comes into contact with water. Place sezied chocolate in a metal bowl over a large saucepan and an inch of simmering water in it. Over medium heat, slowly whisk in warm heavy cream. Use 1/4 cup cream to 4 oz of chocolate. The chocolate will melt and become smooth.

Stew or soup in greasy — refrigerate and remove grease once it congeals. Another trick is to lay cold lettuce leaves over the hot stew for about 10 seconds and then remove.

— too salty — Add a little sugar and vinegar: for soups and sauces, add a raw peeled potato.

— too sweet — Add a little vinegar or lemon juice.

Total Duh Moment

Or maybe even a blonde moment… oh wait, I’m not blonde. haha, j/k to all my blonde friends.  I have been before in my life 🙂

Ok so Sunday afternoon after church hubby and I went to my parents house.  My dad walked into the kitchen where we were standing and handed me this:

As we can all see, this is a sweatshirt from Alaska.  btw, my parents just got back from a vacation there, lucky ducks, while we were sweating our arses off here in 100+ weather, they were wearing jackets in 50 and 60 degree weather, but that’s besides the point.

Anyway, back to my point here…. So dad hands me this sweatshirt.  Now when they got back they brought me a cute apron that said Chocolate Moose and had a brown moose on it, they brought hubby & tbug back shirts.  So when dad handed me this I asked him, “Where did you get this?”  He just looked at me, shook his head and said, “Pakistan.”

Hardy har har.  The rest of the day any random off the wall question was answered with Pakistan, but hey, I got a new sweatshirt out of the deal!

Linking up with Megan over at Mackey Madness for:

Sometimes: I’ve been known to have duh moments.
Always: If Nothing else, I’m good for a laugh.

Sometimes: It’s fun to answer weird questions with weird answers.
Always: they stick and then people look at you strange out in public when you do it.

Sometimes: I really love wearing sweatshirts, especially hoodies.
Always: I hate the cold, once I’m cold I can’t get warm again.

Sometimes: I wish I didn’t have to work and could travel the world.
Always: Reality hits me and says, I owe I owe it’s off to work I go.

And that’s all I have today.  Happy Tuesday!

Josie’s Ristorante – Scammon, KS

Saturday afternoon my hubby and I were tired of hanging around the house.  It really was too hot to do much, so we jumped in the car and headed off toward West Mineral, KS toward Big Brutus.
About a year ago or so we had a really funny conversation about this one restaurant in this one town over in Kansas somewhere having to do with 400.  Well after my hubby googled what info I could actually give him we found out it was Josie’s in Scammon, KS.

It just so happens that Scammon is 7 miles from West Mineral where Big Brutus is located.  Perfect outing!!

Welcome to Scammon, KS population 482.

Eventually I did learn that the 400 that I thought of was actually 400 Main Street.  Yey :).

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Saturday Afternoon Adventures

When I was a little kid, my dad took me somewhere in Kansas to see Big Brutus.  Turns out, Big Brutus is in West Mineral, KS.

 

 

So can you tell how big Big Brutus is??

Big Brutus is the nickname for this massive machine, a Bucyrus-Erie model 1850B electric shovel.  It was the second largest of it’s type back in the 60’s and 70’s.  It is 160 feet high (16 stories high) and weighs 11 million pounds. The bucket holds 90 cubic yards or 150 tons. Maximum speed is 0.22 MPH. It cost $6.5 million in 1962.

Now to give you a bit of an idea how large he/she it really is, do you see PC down by the tracks??  Yeah, it’s that huge

 

 

This is the bucket.  Brutus wasn’t used in the coal mining but more to remove rubble from the area.  The bucket was operated by the Operator and he could pick up a load in complete in 55 seconds.

Ok I’m sorry, but people defacing something like this to “leave their mark” is kind of sad.

This lead to another small room.  No idea what it was for but there was a gap between the two doorways…

The elevator on the left was the only way in or out of the machine.  The top right photo is trying (although not doing a good job) of showing how massive the inside of the machine was.  The bottom right is sad.  Come on people, don’t sue if you do something stupid… you cause it for the rest of us not to be able to experience cool things because people are afraid of being in horrible lawsuits!  Remember Lawyers are the only ones who benefit from lawsuits!  They get a pretty penny!  Ok done ranting :).

 

 

They had maps on the wall and people placed Pins from their location.

Ok it was HOT on Saturday.  Can you see that by my car temp pics?  What was really funny is the fact that when we crossed the Kansas line the temp in my car rose a degree :). haha.  So anyway Big Brutus closed at 6.  As we were driving to dinner (we ate at Josie’s in Scammon KS), a storm blew up.  I had plans of washing my car (seems to always rain when I do), but waited until after our adventure.  Well it rained before I got my car washed.  The lower left photo shows the storm blowing in.  The dust was flying!

So have you ever been to Big Brutus??