Pepper Update

Remember the little green pepper we were growing (top picture)? I finally picked it the other day...we had had a cold snap, and the plant was looking droopy, plus the green pepper was turning red. I put about 1/2 of it into my tuna noodle casserole last night. I felt so "pioneerish" growing one of my own ingredients *LOL*.

Looking at houses

We are, thankfully, moving into a new phase since selling our house on 10/27 - shopping for a new home. Although we have a lot in Tarpon Springs that we want to build on, the idea of living in the RV for another year or so while that's going on is pretty daunting, not to mention the expense of renting the RV site and paying to have all our household items stored.

We decided to buy a small house to live in, reserving the majority of the proceeds from the sale of our home for building the new house to at least the C.O. stage. Since we are crazy people who are addicted to the DIY and HGTV channels, we want to buy something we can fix up and then at least break even when we turn around to sell it. As it turns out, this is easier said than done!

We have what seem to be reasonable criteria - 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage, 1500+ sq. ft. and priced below market value. We're probably naive, but we thought there would be DROVES of houses to look at, what with all the foreclosures on the market, but there are actually just a few, and we looked at them this weekend.

We've got 2 that we are considering, so I'll post updates as we go through this process.

Pumpkin Carving

It's an annual tradition at our house. I think they turned out beautifully!

Picture of Procrastination

This is a picture of procrastination. Or perhaps I could call it "Wishing You Had a Frost-free Fridge Doesn't Make It So".

Twice-Baked Potatoes (aka Once Grilled & Once Microwaved)

When my daughter and I visited my dad, we pretty much cleaned out his freezer supply of twice-baked potatoes that my sister makes for him. K liked them so much, that she asked me to get the recipe and make some to keep on-hand for snacks. Baking the potatoes in the oven heated the camper up so much, that I adapted the recipe to do the cooking on the grill - works out great!

I buy a 5 lb. bag of baking potatoes, and make a HUGE batch - these things go fast at our place! Wash and scrub the potatoes with a brush, pat them dry, and rub a light coat of extra virgin olive oil on the skins. I place them on an insulated baking sheet on the grill, and cook them on low for 2 hours, turning them once after an hour.

Let them cool off for 10 or 15 minutes; Cut each one in half lengthwise along the skinny side so that there's a nice wide shell for filling.

Use a spoon to scoop out the cooked potatoes, leaving about 1/4 inch along the skin. In a large mixing bowl, mash the cooked potatoes to the desired consistency - I like to get rid of most of the big chunks, but I don't try to make it as smooth as mashed potatoes.

Add 1 cup of light buttermilk, and 1 cup of fat free sour cream. Now, this is where I kind of wing it, but it always turns out nicely...pinch a nice fistful of shredded 2% sharp cheddar for each potato you cooked (e.g. 10 potatoes=10 healthy pinches of cheese). I use the same haphazard measuring technique to add chives - use 2 or 3 chive leaves per potato, and snip them with kitchen scissors. Add one 3 oz. package of real bacon bits (Publix makes good ones.) And finally, toss in 1/2 tsp. of sea salt. (I forgot the salt in this batch, but it still tasted fine.) Mix the ingredients well.

Start with the nicest shells, and heap them full of the potato mixture. This particular 5 lb. bag yielded 24 filled shells. Stick them in Ziplocs in the fridge or for longer storage, the freezer. Microwave them when you're ready for munchies...they're wonderful. The teens around here rip through them like a swarm of locusts!

Sign of Fall

OK, I'm having my first cappuccino since last spring, so fall must officially be here. I laid off cappuccinos when the weather got warm, since drinking anything hot made me feel like a human radiator.

I knew that when the first cool morning came, it would absolutely, positively need a cup of cappuccino to go with it. I frantically searched for a replacement for the little carafe that the (darned) cat had broken over the summer, and I finally found one online. Yesterday morning hubby kindly made me my first cappuccino of the season, and we sat outside enjoying our hot drinks, along with a couple of slices of toasted sesame Ezekiel bread for me (hubs says it's like eating dirt! LOL). It doesn't take much to make me happy :o)

What do YOU do that officially makes it fall for you? Leave me a comment - I would love to know!

Clockwork

I am so proud of my friend, John M. Floyd. He has just had his third book published, a collection of short stories, mostly mysteries, called "Clockwork". You can read all about the book on the publisher's web site at Dogwood Press.

I met John over 30 years ago, when I began working at IBM in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1977. When I first saw John, he had his then 2-year-old son Michael by his side while his wife Carolyn was in the hospital with their new son David. John and Michael were getting ready to leave the office and John had stooped down to button Michael into his coat. "Daddy, you need to put your coat on, too," Michael said. This tickled John. "Gotta take care of your old man," he said. My first impression was that this guy was a good egg, and I still think that 33 years later.

I had known that John was an avid reader and movie buff; his development as a writer has been a real delight to watch. I'm amazed at the mysteries and thrillers that come out of his head; sometimes I think I should tell Carolyn to sleep with one eye open :o)

"Clockwork" is a great read, as are his first two collections, "Rainbow's End" and "Midnight". Treat yourself or the book-lover in your life to an autographed copy by ordering direct from the publisher at Dogwood Press. You won't be disappointed!

Oreo, the floppy-earred chihuahua

Meet Oreo, sometimes known as O-dog, our chihuahua. She's only about 6-1/2; don't let the white face fool you. She's just prematurely gray. She's quite special - for instance, she does a very convincing imitation of roadkill, as you can see.

She also has floppy-ears, which takes the edge off the chihuahua look, and we find it very endearing. When she was a puppy, they told us the ears would eventually stand up, and for a while, the fold in each ear worked it's way up, until there was just a little flap folded over at the top. Then, it was like the effort was just too much, and both ears flopped over big-time and have been that way ever since.

In the past couple of years, she has developed an interesting tongue feature - it often hangs WAY out the left side of her mouth when her mouth is closed, even when she's sleeping.

She's extremely friendly, which surprises people who think chihuahuas are mean. The only time she's gets testy is when the other pets crowd her at her food dish or on the sofa... I totally understand; I'm the same way myself :o)

Thermostat Wars

Here's an equation for you:

1 post-menopausal woman who's carrying around a little more weight than she'd like +

1 man on medication to lower his blood pressure and slow his heart rate = PERPETUAL THERMOSTAT WARS!!

I never thought it would happen to us. I used to shake my head at the bickering between my parents over turning the A/C up or down. "Wow, it's so great that we both like the house at the same temperature - we're just so compatible," I'd think to myself.

And then, a few years ago, it changed - I morphed into this woman who seemed to be constantly overheated. I've been known to throw a pair of jeans into the fridge just to tolerate putting on long pants. About the same time, hubby started heart meds which made it harder for him to stay warm. It's a pretty common sight at our house to see me sitting on the sofa sweating in a T-shirt and shorts, while he's bundled up in quilts like Nanook of the North.

A few days ago, hubs asked for a Hershey's kiss from the candy bag on the counter. I passed him one, and when he popped it into his mouth, he casually asked, "Why is the candy soft?" "Because - it's - so - HOT - in - here!" I practically shouted.

Maybe when we build our house here, we can incorporate some little custom environmental zones - a hot spot for him, and a cold one for me :o)

Footing the bill

Recent foot problems and a trip to the chiropractor led to an unusual (for me) purchase - a pair of Skecher Shape Ups. It was unusual for a couple of reasons - ordinarily I would never consider spending $80 on a pair of sneakers. However, the inability to walk without pain can drive you to do strange things. Second, I wouldn't normally buy a shoe where the sole is shaped like the bottom of a rocking chair. But, what the heck, at that point in time, I would have given shoes with Hovercraft abilities a try.

I have to admit, they took some getting used to. I had to endure the snickers of my family as they watched me try to stand still on these things, but instead, swayed to and fro, trying to find my balance. I had the misfortune of stepping in doggie poo once, and as you can surmise by looking at the treads on the sole, cleanup was no fun.

After I had gotten over the sticker shock somewhat, the chiropractor threw a curve ball my way.

"You know, you'll only be wearing these shoes for about 6 months, 'til your feet get back to normal. Then you'll switch to a "maintenance" shoe with a different shaped sole."

"No, I won't...I just spent $80 on these shoes - I want to be buried in them." Well, I didn't say that, but that's what I was thinking.

I will say that, after a few weeks of wearing the Skechers, I am a convert. My feet feel great, and I don't even wobble around on them anymore. Hmmm, do you think if the chiropractor said they were medically necessary, they would be tax deductible? I'll have to check into that. Hubby also wants a doctor to tell him that an 18' Sea Ray 185 Sport is medically necessary to reduce his stress...guess I'll have to check into that, too :o)

Shoveling Seagrass

We like to go up occasionally to our lot in Tarpon Springs and hang out, dreaming of the day we'll build our house there. (Yes, we're pretty boring people.) Low tide exposes a beautiful little sandy beach and the sunsets are spectacular.

A few months ago, we noticed sea grass washing up on the beach. As the weeks went by, more and more sea grass washed up until it created a thick, slippery mass of sea grass that made it just about impossible to wade out in the water. After a little research, I discovered that it's a natural annual phenomenon, which essentially turns your shoreline into a big compost pile.

We decided to reclaim our little sandy beach. We purchased a pitchfork and tarp at Home Depot and got busy. A little trial and error directed the removal efforts. The most interesting thing we learned was that there was a top layer that scooped off pretty easily with the pitchfork. Underneath that was a layer that had been decomposing for quite a while, and was basically - muck. Stinky muck. REALLY stinky muck. Hold-your-breath, cover-your-nose-with-your-shirt stinky muck.

We decided to haul the intact seagrass over to a pile to dry out. We spread the muck out in another spot because it looks like it will make a great soil amendment when it dries. After one session, here's what the beach looked like:

A few more sessions should git 'r done, and we'll have our lovely little beach back...'til next year :o)

Advice for Dog Owners

Never leave your dog alone with a watermelon. Period.

One Little Pepper & How It Grew

K got a Topsy Turvy planter for her birthday in June and we filled it up with pepper plants. It's grown and grown, and flowered and flowered, but no peppers - until now. A lovely little pepper has appeared.

It's not very big, but I have big plans for it...I'll use about 1/4 of it for a tuna noodle casserole, and split the rest between a batch of Mexiburgers and a homemade pizza. Grow, little pepper, grow!

Steampunk

Just received a goodie bag from Rings & Things today...they have a drawing each month to give away goodies to their blog partners and this month I was one of the lucky winners!

Here are the goodie bag contents:























Now, to the untrained eye, this may look like a shopping trip to Home Depot. However, to those in the know, these are components used in steampunk design. Whenever I see steampunk items, I think of an old TV show from the 60's that I was crazy about, "The Wild Wild West." Secret service agents West and Gordon guarded President Grant and they alway had the coolest futuristic gadgets!

What exactly IS steampunk, you may ask? It's tough for me to describe, so I'll just quote the definition on dictionary.com:

"a genre of science fiction set in Victorian times when steam was the main source of machine power"

O-o-o-kay. Still a little vague. To give you a better idea of the style, here are a couple of Etsy items by artisans who do steampunk design:

























This beautiful piece by Cerriousdesigns is actually a USB drive. Steampunk frequently has gears and an aged patina look. For more info on this item, click this link: http://www.etsy.com/listing/54001079

Here's another great steampunk piece:

















This beauiful cuff bracelet is by edmdesigns. Notice the use of gears, metal and the industrial feel of the sawtooth blade. For more information on this piece, click on the following link:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/52679246/

Now, I will be the first to admit that I've never made a steampunk item in my life, and I'm not sure I could. However, I've had several requests to make some masculine phone charms, and I think that the industrial look of the steampunk components would make a fine "man charm" :o) So excuse me, but I've got some designing to do!

Where were you on this day?

I had just dropped my daughter off at school and come home. I had a a little while where I could weed some flowerbeds before I needed to go shower and get ready to pick my mom up at the airport. She was coming in to town to visit for Grandparents' Day at my daughter's school.

While I was weeding, my cell phone rang. It was my sister. When I saw it was her, I was afraid that Mom had gotten ill and couldn't make the trip.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Have you seen the news?"

"No, why? What's going on?"

"Well, a couple of planes have hit the Twin Towers in New York...they've grounded all flights in the U.S. It's bad."

"WHAT?"

I could not picture what was happening in NY, but knowing that every flight in the U.S. was grounded told me that this was something truly horrible.

"Go inside and turn on the news. It's bad. Mom's at home; she hadn't left for the airport yet, but she won't be coming for a while. It's bad."

I rushed in and watched the news in horror. Other news began to surface, like a plane down in Pennsylvania, and another hitting the Pentagon. I went to pick my daughter up at school, talked to my husband on the phone. I wanted to have those I was closest to, close to me.

In the days and weeks that followed, I remember fighting off panic as the story unfolded. I no longer felt safe. My heart broke for the people who had lost loved ones. The stories of the heroism that surfaced were unbelievable. I will always remember 9/11/2001.

A Box of Checks

I had put it off as long as I could, but yesterday I finally broke down and went to the bank to order a new box of checks. Now, why would this be something I would put off, you might think? The fact of the matter is, I knew we would need to change our address from our old house in Orlando to our new location, a campground in Largo. I felt that putting our new address on our checks would make it official...we are now - TRAILER TRASH.

Never mind that we still OWN the house in Orlando and are trying to sell it in a terrible economy. Never mind that we have 80 acres in Monroe County, AL, to use when we retire. Never mind that we have saved throughout our careers to have adequate retirement funds in our IRAs and pension plans. Our official address is now a campground, and that kinda smarts.

However, when I look around at the rest of the "trailer trash", I see an awful lot of nice people. On one side of us is a lady in a modest camper with her cat; she's working in Clearwater while her husband holds down the fort at their home in the Carolinas. On the other side of us is a family with a son who homeschools; they moved from a large home to a camper here because the husband had been spending hours commuting to his job in St. Pete. Next to them is a very nice lady who's a retired guidance counselor and psychologist. She has a young Cavalier the same color as ours; she offers frequently to have our dog come visit for play dates. Behind us is an elderly widow with a shy Chihuahua; we occasionally chat while we're out dog-walking.

So, all in all, it's not so bad, and (hopefully) a temporary thing :o)

Save the "25"

We had the blessing of celebrating our 25th anniversary last week. Actually, it was on the 18th, and we didn't so much celebrate as we did just take note of it. I didn't want the occasion to slip by without doing something special, so I ordered a special cake from Cake City in Safety Harbor. This lady really does works of art. I described in very general terms what I wanted and here is the lovely cake she came up with.























We took it to the pool to share at a weekly Friday evening social. One lady joked that we should freeze the "25" - she said we could take it out to use it for our 52nd anniversary. I said, "Yeah, I'll be 82 and he'll be 84." I hope we make it that long. Here's a photo of the bride and groom...wish I had an old one to post for comparison, but all that stuff's in storage.



















We got a picture of us recreating the cake-cutting moment. It reminds me of an anecdote I read years ago in Reader's Digest. A lady attended an anniversary party for an elderly couple. She noted that, as they sat next to each other, they constantly held hands. She commented to the older lady, "I think it's so sweet that, after all these years, you two still hold hands." The older lady replied, "Honey, if we ever let go, we'd kill each other!"

The Cat's IN the Bag

This cat's IN the bag - and she has a definite preference for Vera Bradley. (She IS a little miffed that they retired her favorite pattern!)

Get Your Ducks in a Row

Saw the cutest thing this weekend. A mama duck was trying to lead her 13 babies over to a nearby canal, but the installation of a new fence had apparently blocked her old path. She waddled frantically up and down the length of the fence until a good Samaritan dug a little hole under the fence for everyone to get through.














Have had lab tests and MRI done to discover (hopefully) the cause of the vision loss in my left eye and allow it to be treated so that my vision is (hopefully) restored. Will let you know how it goes.

Better Letter Answers

Did you have any luck with my word puzzle? Okay, just in case you're still working on it, I'll give you a hint: the category that all the new words belong to is "animals".

Now, to see the answers, scroll on down....
***** A N S W E R S B E L O W *****
***** *****
***** *****
***** *****
***** *****
***** *****
***** *****
***** *****

dig dog
car cat
deck duck
house horse
sheer sheep

Hope you had fun!