I have egg on my face in a major way!
Today, I received an e-mail from a friend about children of Congressmen not having to pay back student loans. I had just been listening to a local radio program where the speaker was talking about how much it costs to send students to various colleges for four years. The cost is astonishing! Moderate expenses might be $60,000 or so for room and board and tuition. Most private schools are much more expensive than that for four years. The students or their parents are left with huge loans that have to be repaid, and a years worth of some of the payments could be the equivalent of buying a brand new car for cash each year!
At any rate, I read the opening of this e-mail and saw red. I hit forward, added a personal message, and then sent it to almost everyone in my address book. (Those who live outside the US were spared, as were business contacts.)
So, I started to post the message here, and found myself writing “If the item about not having to pay back student loans is true…” I hadn’t checked. Drat! I’m always the one who gently tells friends that they should check with Snopes before sending on rabel-rousing e-mails. So I checked, and sure enough, most of it was false.
I HATE making an error of that magnitude. The only good thing that might come out of it is that I’m bound to hear from a lot of people I haven’t talked with for a while. Of course, they will be writing to tell me that they forwarded it BEFORE they read my mea culpa.
For the record, I think an amendment requiring Congress to operate under the same rules as everyone else in the United States is a good thing. They should be required to participate in Social Security, Medicare, and the health care reforms, and they should earn MODEST pensions based on years of service. If there’s a grassroots movement out there to accomplish this, I’m all for it!
And for the record, I’ll be more careful about what I pass on in the future.
Mea culpa!
Monthly Archives: March 2011
Favorite Things
Tulips, and crocus, and snow bells a-rising…..
Daffodils are making lots of headway, and I can see chives from the kitchen windows. The oregano was greening up under the stalks that had wintered over. I can see the lamb’s ears beginning to shape up. They’re not just a mound of sad-looking leaves any longer.
I planted six specimen plants under one of the front windows, and I can see two small plants greening up. Unfortunately, I can’t recall just which plants they might be. I know there’s foxglove and phlox but I don’t think these little plants are either of those. I’ll have to wait for bloom and mark them.
The ox-eye daisies that I have been ripping out of my flower beds are coming back, especially where they are growing among old iris. I didn’t want to sacrifice the iris just to pull out the daisies, but their time may be coming!
The iris have very nice new leaf starts on them. I need to walk down the driveway to see if the new iris I planted have made it through the winter. It would be a good time to check on the peonies, too.
I have a mound of mulch that I want to spread over the gardens, and I should get some Preen out there where I don’t intend to plant seeds.
I love Spring!
Parsnips, Anyone?
I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a parsnip. I thought they looked like a turnip or a rutabaga. I was surprised to find that they look like tan carrots.
Dear Husband was browsing through a soup cookbook that called to him, and found a recipe for roasted vegetable soup. I tried the recipe today, and it’s very simple. I halved red tomatoes and seeded them. I halved a large onion, two carrots, and two parsnips. I seeded an orange bell pepper and cut it into strips, and peeled five cloves of garlic. (The recipe called for three, but we like garlic.) I roasted the veggies cut side down on a baking sheet that had been sprayed with Pam, until they began to brown, about 40 minutes
The recipe didn’t give me any guidance, but I lifted off the charred skin of the peppers and tomatoes. Everything went into the blender in two batches, with some chicken broth to make it easier to puree. I added seasonings, and heated the soup on the stove to a boil. I used a little more chicken broth to de-glaze the pan, and I think that added a LOT of flavor. At that point, you cover the pan, and simmer the soup for fifteen minutes to let the flavors blend. This soup smells wonderful while it’s cooking. Even my step-son was lured in to try it!
You could make this a bisque by adding sour cream or cream or half and half, but we wanted to try the recipe unaltered the first time around. It’s good. I’ll make it again, and add it to my list of soups. DH suggested that we could add small pasta shells next time. I get the feeling that HE wants to cook, but he wants ME to do the work! lol
Now I have to look for more parsnip recipes. We have a bag of them in the refrigerator. Too bad they don’t sell them one at a time! *G*
Tidbits
There’s nothing earthshaking to note today, but I have a lot of tidbits to share.
The amaryllis bloom that I posted about recently has begun to wither, but the bloom on the second stalk is just starting to open! Tomorrow, I’ll cut off the first stalk and move the supports to the second. I think we’ll have another week to ten days of pleasure from this plant. This summer, I’ll put all four of the amaryllis plants outside, in a bid for a Christmas display.
Dear Husband and I had a light breakfast together, and talked about our (read:MY) plans for the weekend. I want his help to clean out the mudroom closet and the shelves under the counter. The hanging things are his, and I suspect there are dead boots and odds and ends that could be thrown out. I need to have him tell me why something should be kept.
I hadn’t intended to clean out three of the shelves in the cleaning pantry, but I wanted to put away the food processor, and it seemed like a good time to do the job. I store potatoes, onions and garlic on the lowest shelf, and discovered four sweet potatoes lodged behind the onion bin. Wouldn’t you know that I had just sent DH off to buy a sweet potato? I reorganized all the cleaning products, threw out an old iron (there were three stored there, I should really throw out one more), and generally got things into a more usable order. When DH returned I told him where to find the mink oil for his shoes, and he said he had just purchased more mink oil, not knowing it was there. I handed him two containers, and the brush. I think we need to do this reorganization about once a quarter until we’ve used up all the doubles and triples of things. Note: I did this with the food pantry and the freezers last week!
Mark the calendar. Today was the first day we have seen chipmunks for the 2011 warm season, and they are exceedingly frisky! The gray squirrels have been ruling the roost during the winter, but these little rodent cousins will eat them out of house and home now that they are awake.
My brother-in-law’s sister, Karen, is in the hospital. She may have had a heart attack. Prayers and positive thoughts would be welcome.
I’ve started a book called “The Coffee Trader,” by David Liss. It’s set in Amsterdam in 1659. I love novels in historical settings. If this turns out to be a good book, I’ll post more about it later.
I have to buy a skein or two of red yarn this weekend. I am assembling an afghan for Shelly Tucker, the organizer of “Share a Square.” She has organized the donation of more than 12000 six inch crocheted squares, as well as the assembly of these squares into 150 afghans for kids who will be attending cancer care camp this summer. It’s been a pleasure to be a part of this effort. If you crochet, or know someone who crochets, Shelly will be organizing a repeat effort for 2012, starting in August. Visit her FAQ page for information on what she needs.
I had a good day yesterday in the sewing room. I have just two seams to sew and I will have finished the second of five or six baby quilts I plan to do this year. YEA!!! I have the parts cut for one, and half of another, sailboat quilt. There are times when it’s just comfortable to sit and cut pieces for quilts. I have another quilt on which I’ve completed the blocks, and just need to sew them together.
SUN!!! OMG, the SUN IS SHINING!!! I understand that we are supposed to have a week of gradually warming temperatures, with some sunny days. THIS is what I have been missing for the past two and a half months. I think that I experienced a little SAD this year, and I’m very happy to have this glorious light around me!
And with that, I think I’ll open the shades in the studio and sew for a bit. I hope you’re all having a great weekend. Don’t forget to turn your clocks back!
Just ONE ingredient
Why is it that when you want to try a new recipe, it seems that you are always lacking just one ingredient?
I am a new subscriber to Cook’s Country magazine. I’ve been a part of the America’s Test Kitchen family for a long time, but I’ve used the cookbooks and the Cook’s Illustrated magazine.
So, my first issue arrived and I sat down to browse through it. YUMMY recipes, a lot of comfort food, not especially oriented toward someone on a diet, but great older recipes updated. There were several recipes I wanted to make immediately!
No….I need smoked paprika for the paprika potatoes. Hmmmm, no half-and-half for the cheese sauce for the broccoli. Darn! I need HOT Italian sausage for the “Quick Sunday Gravy,” Dutch-processed cocoa and milk chocolate chips for the chocolate pudding. Ooops…that’s two ingredients. Oh nevermind, it calls for heavy cream, too. I don’t think I have clam juice in the pantry to do the popcorn shrimp, and there are no Granny Smith apples for the apple fritters!
I’ve been told that if the local grocery store runs out of anything, they could call on me, but I can see that I’m falling down on my motto of “Be Prepared!” I don’t mind having to wait on most of this, but the potatoes and fritters are really talking to me! *G* Maybe it’s a good thing I don’t have all the ingredients.
Cookies
The Girl Scouts have Dear Husband’s number!
Our household ordered seventeen, that’s right SEVENTEEN, boxes of Girl Scout cookies this year. Of course, it’s for a good cause, and they are freezeable. (Thank God!)
Our oldest granddaughter is a Daisy. I don’t even know what a Daisy is, but it’s part of the GS system. She was introduced to her first sales experience with the cookies this year. Grampa, not to be outdone by other members of the family, bought ten boxes from her.
We have always purchased cookies from the daughter of a member of my quilting bee. (I know….too confusing. Just keeep reading! lol) This year, DH bought seven boxes from her, still a major purchase.
Dear Husband was wise and put most of the cookies in the freezer right away. For me, out of sight, out of mind, is the way my craving operates. Better to have the cookies tucked away, where I am unlikely to be browsing for a snack. I’m happy to say that I’ve had about a box and a half in just about a month, a record for me!
I was shopping yesterday for our weekly groceries. I had gone shopping without a list, which is a first for me. I’m always prepared with a list that is generated by the meal plan for the week. DH had six things on the list at the refrigerator, and mentioned that he’d really like some ice cream, too. He’d read the list to me the day before, and I could remember all of it.
I knew I needed fresh fruits and vegetables, lunchmeat, quart-sized storage bags, and the ice cream. As I passed the bakery, I was SO tempted to browse, but I am on a kick to use up what we have in the house. I was actually thinking about the two boxes of lemon bar mix in the pantry. It never occured to me to think about the GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!
I’ll be prepared for desserts and snacks for months to come!
Yippeeeee!!!
The daffodils are coming up!!
As I was coming up the driveway yesterday, I could see a stiff stand of leaves about two inches tall in the bed at the front of the house. Today, I stepped out to check on them, and could see that pods of daffodils are up all along the face of the house. YES!!
Last week, as I fed the birds, I could see that the oregano was greening up. No doubt the other herbs will make a showing, especially tomorrow when it is supposed to be 44 degrees.
This little bit of greening is just the start of a rush that will come during the next month, but it’s always the best. It confirms that spring is coming, that things will renew, and that there is hope that the cycle of our days will continue as expected.
I think I’ll spend a little time with the White Flower Farm catalog, dreaming of just how beautiful the grounds could be.
I’m SUCH a happy camper!
Baby Quilts
I’m so behind in my quilting! There’s just never enough time to do all I want to do in my sewing room! Can you tell I’m addicted??
I have pieces for five baby quilts sitting on the work table. Four of them are in every shade of pink, with sashing that has tiny pink rosebuds. Two more are sailboat patterns that are in bright colors with a multi-colored microdot background.
What will likely happen is that four of the pink quilts will come together quite quickly. I have the fabric for the sashing and borders to cut, but once they are cut, the rest will go together in no time.
The sailboat pieces are cut, but I have to sew and then sub-cut about 150 pieces, At that point I can assemble the sailboat blocks, and the pinwheels that alternate with the boats.
Both of these projects came about because I wanted to see what I could create from the stash I have on hand, and because my family is so darned busy making babies!
I need to get several of these done so that I can give them before the little girls are 21. I’m waiting to hear whether I need to make a quilt for a boy.
There must be something in the water…..
The Amaryllis that Saved Itself
Remember the amaryllis that I was going to throw away??
Well, that bulb that saved itself by sending up a bud on a two inch stalk, eventually grew to be THIRTY-SIX INCHES tall! It’s so tall, I had to add a bamboo stake to the pot to help it stand, and I’m going to have to find something sturdier to hold it now that all four blooms are open.
This, is what I have been blogging about:
Bob
We have a daytimme racoon, which is a bit unusual. For the most part, raccoons are nocturnal. However, this raccoon seems to have a problem. The first thing you notice is that it walks oddly, protecting it’s back right hip and leg. The second thing you see is that it’s missing a large part of its tail. The guys in this household have taken to calling it “Bob.”
I’ve watched this animal for several days. It comes to gleen what it can from under the bird feeders. Its winter fat has faded, but it’s not gaunt. When he, or she, walks, she puts the right foot down carefully, so I think the damage might be higher up. She doesn’t limp as much as she shuffles.
Either this animal has been clipped by a car, or a larger preditor may have hurt it. We have learned not to feed the raccoon population, but it’s very hard to keep from helping this one. I really don’t want to encourage it to stay. I suppose it would be best to let it sink or swim on its own, but I hope it recovers.