It seems that my entry on June 9th has been a magnet for people who are being hounded by the Illinois Tollway Authority for failing to pay tolls. One of the first people to comment said that he had a coming hearing. I’m glad to say that he was successful in his protest, and has been excused from his fines. But, it seems that he is the exception that makes the rule.
If this is a subject of interest to you, I recommend that you go into the archives and read the comments from June 9th. You’ll find advice on how to prepare for your hearing, and also information on two lawyers who may bring a class action suit against the Tollway Authority.
Apparently, law abiding toll payers who pass through the gate rather than waiting for the light to change to green have been rounded up in the hunt for the scofflaws. It seems that the delay in registering the toll is causing a serious problem. Another problem is the number of malfunctioning toll booths. The Authority assumes that IPASS equipment malfunctions and that the toll booths always work right.. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds in the courts.
To those of you who paid the tolls….good luck with your cases. To those of you who didn’t….pony up!
Summer Salad
Summer Salad is one of our old family favorites. I could eat it every day while produce is fresh. A visitor named it, saying that it tasted like Summer to him.
Each of us has our own variation, but this is the basic salad:
Fresh, ripe tomatoes
Cucumber, preferably the small “pickle” size
Green onions
Oil and vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh dill, minced…..a lot of it
Now, I’m basically lazy, so I use Italian salad dressing on mine. I like the “Robusto” varieties with lots of seasoning and garlic, or Paul Newman’s Italian Dressing. We cut the veggies into bite sized pieces. My salad tends to have more tomato and cucumber and less onion, but you can vary the proportions to suit yourself. Add the pepper and the dill and then cover it with salad dressing. I tend to have a heavy hand with the dressing, and a lot of it gets thrown out. Actually, you could use it as a merinade the next day if you saved it.
It’s possible to use broccoli flowerettes, or even raw cauliflower in this salad. I occasionally omit the onion and substitute the broccoli. NEVER leave out the dill. It’s the magic ingredient.
Chill the salad for a bit before serving. Enjoy!
Did I pass??
I was visiting Red Eagle’s blog and found this test. This is supposedly my personality based on my birth date:
Sensitivity
Full of charm
cheerful
gifted
without egoism
likes to draw attention
loves life
motion
unrest and even complications is both dependent and independent
good taste
artistic
passionate
emotional
good company
does not forgive.
Well……some of it is close….. I’m not sure that I understand “without egoism” and “likes to draw attention” being compatible…..but I won’t quibble. Frankly, I think it makes me sound a lot better than I am! *G*
Dill
I haven’t talked much about the fact that I am interested in herbs. I have a lovely raised herb garden that DH made for me the year after we built our home. I’ve always used culinary herbs, and now I’m learning medicinal uses as well. I moderate an herbal group on YahooGroups, and they have been teaching me fascinating things. Red Eagle has given me instructions on how to share pictures with you, so I hope to post some of them in the coming week.
Despite the fact that I have a fifteen pound black cat by the name of Ed…..my gardens are the home of endless chipmunks. Right now, they are making a home beneath my thyme and sage. You’d think with Ed, and the neighborhood cats, and the dog, and an occasional hawk, that my gardens would be safe, but that’s far from the truth. One year, the chippies gathered up seed from dill plants that I had allowed to go to seed in the veggie beds, and they transferred them to the flower beds along the front walk. Since then, I have had annual infestations of dill!
This week, we pulled 90% of the volunteer dill from the flower beds and brought it into the kitchen. I stripped off the leaves, and we culled the leaves from the stems. Then I minced the leaves and spread them over two jelly roll pans. I heated the oven to about 110 degrees and let the dill gently dry for several hours. If the dill has been in moist ground it might take 4 to 6 hours to dry it out. I have three bottles of dill stored away now, which will easily keep me for the next year, and I still have fresh dill to put in my salads.
It gives me a great sense of satisfaction to be able to grow and store my own herbs, and Dill is the easiest of those I work with. Look for a recipe using dill in the next post.
Chili Sauce
I have an old family recipe to share with you. With tomato season coming up, you want to be prepared with great ways to use them. This is called “Chili Sauce,” but the name belies it’s use. This piquant sauce is best used with pork roast or other meats. It is thick and chunky, like a salsa, but that’s where the similarities to salsa end.
Chili Sauce
12 to 14 pounds of ripe tomatoes
2 bunches celery, chopped
3 onions, chopped
3 green bell peppers, chopped
She Lives!
Well, I’m back to my computer! We had a wonderful visit with the girls, and with my youngest sister. When I left you we were debating about movies. We ended up choosing “Bruce Almighty,” and it’s a pretty good movie. Jim Carey is not my favorite actor, but this was one of his more restrained efforts, and we enjoyed it.
Friday morning we took the girls to exercise with us. Then we went to Sci-Tech and strolled through the science museum. The girls seemed to enjoy the outdoor activities the best. I think they needed the chance to let off steam. That evening we went to the local arcade and let the girls loose to play games. Kate chose the games that gave her the greatest return in tickets for prizes. Becca caught on to what she was doing and searched for her own “winner.” She ended up shooting basketballs. She played game after game, racking up the points and tickets. My arms hurt watching her, but she had a blast!
Saturday we needed to play things by ear because of weather. DH drove into Chicago to sail, and we followed by train in the middle of the day. The girls discovered that “A Taste of Chicago” was on, and asked to go. We did about 2/3s of it before everyone was stuffed (chocolate dipped strawberries, corn on the cob, etc…). The next stop was Navy Pier. We shopped for a bit, saw the IMAX movie on Baja, California, and then had dinner at Joe’s Be-Bop Cafe (again, this was the girl’s choice!). We shopped one last time, and then headed for home.
Their mom drove up on Sunday. We had a family gathering, playing cards and cooking together, doing a little more gardening. Monday morning, my sis helped me with some heavy weeding in the herb garden while the girls packed up for the trip home. It’s very quiet here now.
I think everyone had a good time. I sure did. Now I need a week to recover! *G*
Birthday Wishes
Let me be the first, since I’m a day early, to wish JAMIE a Happy Birthday! Hon, I hope you have a blast celebrating… But, PLEASE…….don’t give me the details. I’m old and you could give me heart failure! *G*
June 25, 2003
Quartz Crystal
What Stone Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Boy…..I’d say this is me. I need to be reminded to close my mouth now and then and let other people have their say. I guess that’s what’s so nice about blogging……I can “talk” until I run out of steam, and not worry about cutting someone off. I don’t know if this has developed from working alone for so long, or if I was just a pushy broad to start with, but let me near a group of people and I want to TALK!!
I “borrowed” this little quiz from Red Eagle’s blog….it’s from Quizilla.
Well….I’ve survived the absolutely worst game of miniature golf that has ever been played! We were all silly, and our golfing showed it. We even managed to loose two balls, but found a baby bunny. Then I sent them off go-carting. Lots of smiling faces after that! And the ice cream seemed to be a fine ending for the night.
We watched “The Matrix” last night. My sister may chide me for letting a 14 and 12 1/2 year old watch that movie. As it unfolded, I realized it might be scary for them. The younger one was “disturbed” by it….and asked to sleep somewhere where there weren’t so many windows….
Today we washed the dog. What an improvement! He’s not 100 percent clean, but a whole lot closer. We towel dried him, and then put a red bandana on him. He showed everybody the bandana and then went off to take a nap. Too much excitement for an old dog.
Tonight, it was laser tag. I’ll tell you…those 15 minute sessions FLY by! Seven of us, three adults and four kids from 8 to 14 played for half an hour. Those little suckers really understand strategy! lol I was dead in the water most of the time. I think I came in sixth in the first game and fifth the second. I was sneaky and wore black jeans and a black turtleneck, but the flashing lights on your harness sorta give you away! lol
Tomorrow….the movies. How can you make a choice between “The HULK” or “Bruce Almighty?” I really want to see “The Pirates of the Carribean,” but it’s not out yet.
Sooooooo………..we’re making it through the week. The girls have been working on some math problems their father assigned. They gave me some help cleaning the kitchen after dinner last night. We’ve played Spite and Malice and Uno….and tonight they are ending the evening with Nintendo. We’re tying for a balance of real life and vacation! *G*
It’s time for me to go check on the girls. I hope you are all enjoying the start of summer!
Music Help
I’m a musician with a ROTTEN memory. Jamie will be more than happy to tell you all about it.
I have a favor to ask. I’d like to create a CD with songs that have the word “Lady” in them. “Lay, Lady, Lay” comes to mind, and I know there are hordes more….but I can’t think of them.
Any suggestions??
Checking In
Hi, everybody!
I just wanted to check in and let you know wazzup here. Yesterday I drove to Indiana to meet my sister and pick up her two daughters, aged 12 & 13. They are visiting with us for about ten days. It’s possible that I may be a bit scarce here while we try to provide them a memorable visit.
We plan to make a trip to Chicago to have dinner, walk Navy Pier and watch fireworks. The trip to the Chicago Shakespeare Theater has been nixed as being too juvenile. I thought it might be. It was a live stage show of “The Littlest Mermaid.” I have to check to see if the girls are old enough to play laser tag. We’ll play miniature golf, and I hope to arrange a swim day with their cousins. I’ve been talked into taking them to the movies. I’m not sure if we are seeing THE HULK….or Bruce Almighty. Gawd…..I can’t believe I’m going to do that! We may even do a little mall time. I’m tired just thinking about it.
Our house is normally very quiet. We have four adults who live here, and two of them are usually at work during the day. Hearing girls chatter is really something. At times I wonder if they are talking another language, and my most frequent response is “WHAT???”
If you have any suggestions for things we might do to fill up the rare moment left unscheduled, please let me know. I’ll check in when they let me sit down for a moment.
I hope you all have a wonderful start to summer!