7 Random Things

The Rules: Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their own blog post with their 7 things as well as these rules. You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog. Remember to leave a comment for them letting them know they have been tagged and to read your blog.

1. I have a problem following “rules”. Therefore if anyone wishes to participate in this meme, please do so, or not, as you choose.

2. I was once a truck driver. I drove a cab over baby blue Mack, hauling double belly dumper trailers. I did turn arounds from sugar beet fields to the processing plant.

3. I was in a bank when it was robbed. The scariest part, for me, was when the police showed up, surrounded the place and burst in with guns drawn. They had everyone lie on the floor while they checked out what we were doing there. Even the guy that robbed the place didn’t do that……….he quietly passed a note to a teller, took what money she gave him and left. We, the customers, didn’t even know what had happened until the police showed up.

4. I am fascinated by the paranormal. I would love to be a member of a professional ghost hunting team. Searching through attics, basements and such in search of evidence of hauntings is something I would love to do.

5. I am a crowd-a-phobic. I dislike having be in a large number of people such as, large cities, shopping malls, concerts, anything like that.

6. I love clocks. Especially the older type. One of the best gifts I have gotten was a Black Forest coo-coo clock. I love the sound of its’ ticking and the coo-coo.

7. No surprise here, I love to cook and bake, and cook books. I throughly enjoy creating meals and baked goods. My kitchen is my haven and I spend most of time there. I can sit and read a cook book like it was a novel.

Chocolate Sin

1 cup cocoa

1/2 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300. Grease a 8×8 inch pan. Melt butter, add sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients **batter will be very thick and sticky*** Pat into prepared pan with greased fingers. Sprinkle 1 cup of semi-sweet chips over and pat down. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting. These are fudgey type brownies good for when you need a serious chocolate fix.

Painting, again

Yesterday I finished the bedroom. The project became a lot more drawn out than I had originally planned, but it is finally done! I am happy with the result.

Once again I had to get rid of wallpaper covered paneling. Behind it I found a wall in not too bad of shape, but it needed a lot of spackle. Both from all the nail holes from the paneling and some old water damage that the paneling was covering up. At least, on that wall, the wallpaper and the paneling came off together. The wallpaper boarder around the rest of the room didn’t give up without a fight. So once again there I was wetting down the damned stuff and scraping it off. I will have much satisfaction watching that crap burn in the fire ring.

I never noticed just how dirty the walls were until I was soaking that boarder off. The water was running down the wall and leaving cleaner streaks, it was really disgusting looking! Then I had the thought running through my head that I had been living with that for over a year thinking that someone had a poor choice of paint color. The paint, under the dirt, wasn’t the greatest but not as bad as what I had been looking at all this time.

The room is now a nice restful shade of dusky green, and it compliments the comforter and bed skirt that I have. I am so happy to have this room done, well at least the painting. I still have decorative touches to do here and there, but I will have those done shortly. Then it will be the cozy bedroom that I envisioned when we moved in.

Finally, some rain

It has been very warm and very dry. There has been no rain for the last 45 days. Everything was looking wilted and tired. The lawn has very large patches of brown where there used to be lush green grass. The babbling of the creek that always so delighted me, has fallen silent. Only still pools of water, scattered here and there remain. All the green and growing things have been coated in a layer of dust, blown around by a warm breeze and an exuberant little boy playing in the dirt. The ground has become brick hard and cracked from baking in the sunshine.

Today we awoke to cloudy skies and the distant rumbling of thunder. A promise, I hoped, of some desperately needed rain. The air was still, heavy and expectant. Now and then there was a hint of a breeze. Every now and then the sun tried valiantly to break through the clouds. Slowly heavier and darker clouds rolled overhead and the sounds of thunder came closer. Tentatively the first drops of rain began to fall, there was a brief flash of lightning followed by a low roll of thunder. The rain began to increase in intensity, not a fast and hard rain but a more moderate and steady shower swept over the parched earth.

Our first rain in over a month fell slowly and steadily for over a two hour period. So far we have gotten just less than half an inch, but it was a start. It was enough to clean the dust from the leaves of the trees and to give the thirsty lawn a drink. Hopefully we will be getting back into our regular weather pattern soon and get some more rain. I really miss the sound of the water in the creek.

Strawberry Balsamic Chicken

• 2(8 ounce) containers strawberry yogurt
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 4 large strawberries
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the yogurt, 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, sugar, pepper, cinnamon and salt. Place chicken breast halves in a shallow baking dish, and pour the marinade over them. Refrigerate for 12 hours, turning chicken over half way through.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Scrape the marinade off of the chicken breasts, and place them into the hot oil. Quickly brown the chicken on both sides, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and let rest for 3 minutes. OR heat grill to med high heat, grill chicken for 4-5 minutes per side. Wrap in heavy duty foil, and leave just off the direct heat of the grill until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
3. While the chicken is cooking, transfer the marinade to a saucepan. Bring to a low simmer over medium heat. Remove stems from strawberries, and slice thinly so they will fan nicely. Set aside.
4. Slice chicken breasts on the diagonal into 1/2 inch thick slices. Place on serving plates, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the marinade over each chicken breast, and fan one sliced strawberry over the top. Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh mint and parsley. If you really love balsamic vinegar, finish the dish off with an artful drizzle. This is really good served on either a bed of rice or noodles and a salad.
   

Catch Up

Sorry for the lack of postings lately, I really have no excuse.

Hunter was once again fascinated when they came to pick up the big round bails of hay. He watched as they moved them around and loaded them onto a flat bed wagon. He just can’t get enough of watching someone work with a tractor and as always has endless questions about everything. I know he will remember this experience for a long time!

Jeff2s dad and step mother were here for a short visit in their travels around the lower 48. It was good to see them again and we had a nice visit. This was the first time they had seen Hunter in person. Hunter was really tickled by the fact that grandpas daddy was here. He thought that it was funny that grandpa had a daddy, but he quickly got it figured out and had a marvelous time talking to great grandpa and great grandma.

Heres to getting back to more regular posting and back to writing up my Monday recipe feature. Bright Blessings to all!

Big Entertainment for the Little Guy

The farmer that owns the hayfield has been busy having the field mowed, raked and bailed. This was major entertainment for Hunter. He had a clear view of the goings on from the side yard.

On Tuesday the hayfield was mowed and raked. Hunter watched fascinated as the tractor with the mower drove around the field cutting down the grasses. He was thrilled when the guy driving the tractor would wave at him every time he went by! Hunter would watch for a while, then come running into the house to ask questions about what was going on, then run back outside to watch. Later, when the next tractor and rake showed up, he was again glued to the fence watching as the tractor made its way around the field.

Yesterday they came to bail the hay. Hunter watched as the bailer picked up the hay and dropped the large round bails out the back. As usual he was full of questions as to why they were doing this. We explained to him that this was food for the cattle during the winter when the grass doesn’t grow. His response was that the farmer must have a “great big” pantry to keep it in…………..

His next experience will be when they come to pick up all the bails and move them out of the hayfield. I am sure that he will be full of more questions when that happens!