Saturday, February 5, 2011

It's My 1-Year Blog-Aversary

A little confetti...










A few balloons...




A brass band...






And a cake!
 





I can't believe I have written 270 posts since I started this blog. Thanks to all of you that have supported me with your kind words and comments during this past year. I am looking forward to seeing another year of our life, documented in words, pictures and recipes.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Simple Pleasures

Sometimes it is the simplest things that can bring a smile. I would have to confess, every time I walk into my kitchen and see little Miss Cow sitting on my island, I just have to smile.

The view of her best side

The view of her back side   
(please don't tell her I published this picture of her derriere)



I am so happy to see my one-year old grandson, Ivan, smiling again. He was a very sick little boy for about 10 days. He had a very bad case of the flu and ended up extremely dehydrated. He wouldn't eat or drink. He was sent to the hospital for an IV, but they couldn't get the IV in because his veins were collapsed. They called in a trauma team that tried numerous places and finally found a vein that was viable. He went from that to walking pneumonia. I am so thankful that he is back to his cute little self again, and was able to spend some one-on-one time at gramma's house this week.


As soon as we walked in the door of our house, he said, "Pancakes." So gramma made him pancakes. 

Simple pleasures.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Peanut Butter Granola

It has been months since I made fresh baked granola, and I have missed it! I have bought a couple different granola's, but they just don't compare to homemade. The store-bought granola is usually quite spendy, and I have not found one that really enjoy. 

When I saw this recipe for Peanut Butter Granola, from Baking with Boys, it sounded good, looked quick and easy and I couldn't resist making it. I used a combination of unsalted dry roasted peanuts and unsalted dry roasted almond slivers for the nuts. I used dried cherries in place of the raisins and omitted the chocolate. The smell in the house was amazing as it baked. I baked my batch for 10 minutes, turned the oven off and set the timer for 12 minutes. I like my oats toasted a little darker and they turned out just the way I like it. This isn't a "crunchy" granola, but it's really good on yogurt!


If you decide to make this granola,

Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Saying Goodbye...for now



It is hard to say good-bye to a life-long friend

We shared many years of good times
Helping each other through hard times

Although there is sadness in this good-bye
So happy that you have been set free

Surrounded now with perfect love
No more tears
No more pain

Just perfect peace


1953-2011
Forever young
 
 
Good-bye sweet Arlene
Until we meet again

Going "Broody"

Happy February! It is hard to believe that it is already here. I have not posted as often as I expected, and the reason is, I'm nesting!

Yes, nesting is a big job! In most animals, including human animals, nesting is done in preparation for a new baby! Well, we aren't expecting a baby, but my nesting instinct has been so strong, you would think that we were! I find myself just wanting to be home, organizing and making our new home as comfy and cozy as possible for us. I seem to put off leaving the house until it is absolutely necessary, which isn't normal for me. In the bird world, the term used to describe this insistence on staying in the nest as much as possible, is "Going Broody."

If you have ever watched birds build a nest, you know that it is a lot of work. We watched finches built a nest in our eaves in SoCal. They were in almost constant motion bringing scraps and twigs to their nest from sun up until dusk. They were constantly chattering and making their little bird sounds, and it sounded like they were having the best time "nesting." They came back to that nest for several years, and they always gave it a face lift before they settled in with the big job of keeping their eggs warm. I can really identify with those birds!


As I'm sitting here writing this, I'm watching the birds flying back and forth from the trees to the bird feeders.

 
 


The grey squirrels have been very busy gathering food. There are four that are regular visitors in our yard. They come around first thing in the morning, again around mid-day. They arrive just before dusk for their last meal of the day. After eating, it is really cute to watch them play, jumping from branch, and making their cute little squirrel noises together as they scamper up to their nest.


The squirrels are very aware when I am watching them

You can see how well Squirrely blends into the trees. His tail looks like a bottle brush in the middle of the picture, with his body facing down the branch. He stayed in the position without moving for over 5 minutes, waiting for me to leave so he could go into his nest.

Squirrely is very near his nest, but won't go in when he knows I am watching. We were having a stare down!

I caught the little puff ball just before it went into it's nest

I am feeling the urge to go fluff my nest some more, maybe unload another box or two, or five!