bark

Not the woof woof kind.... the good kind.

The white chocolate oh-so-yummy-you-think-you-died-and-went-to-heaven kind.

The foundation for this recipe came from Barefoot Contessa, but I pretty much use whatever is in my pantry.

Here's the recipe for White Chocolate Bark:

1/3 cup nuts (walnuts, pecans) (I used dried sunflower seeds today)
16 oz white chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup diced apricots
1/4 cup coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Bake nuts for about 8 minutes, then set aside to cool. Once cool, chop into smallish pieces.

Place 3/4 of the chocolate into a glass bowl and microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until melted. Once melted, immediately add the rest, stirring until melted.

Pour chocolate onto parchment paper (on baking dish) and spread into a rectangular form, about 8x10".

Sprinkle with nuts, dried fruit, coconut, whatever. I gently pat it into the melted chocolate to keep it secure.

Set aside for 2 hours, or put into refrigerator for about 20 minutes to harden.

Break into pieces. Keep in fridge or at room temp. Great dessert. Or anytime treat!

Enjoy! Nancy

banana pancakes

There's a song by Jack Johnson... Banana Pancakes. He's singing along and then there's a little snippet where he says eating banana pancakes. Maybe he's making banana pancakes. I don't know. I love to sing and am not afraid to put my own words to songs....

This morning we're having banana pancakes for breakfast. My new most favorite breakfast! I'm sure there's real recipes, but I just smash a banana or two into my Krustez batter and call it good.

You can eat them smeared with peanut butter (like my husband does), with syrup, or just plain. I like to eat them plain, as they're just that good.

Every time I make them, and eat them, makes me think of being in Hawaii....

Later.... Nancy

the day after

I'm glad Super Bowl only comes once a year! Course, for me, it's all about the Eats. It's a regular Food Fest! My kids come over and we all sit around and visit and laugh and have a good time while my sweet husband tries to watch the game! He doesn't complain. Although I think he should! We have yakking, three dogs running around, two babies making noises, AND we're all in the same room together! None of us understand the game (except my husband), we're just in it for the food and commercials :O

This year I decided to clean the pantry out of all food tempting. I'm "prediabetic" and am supposed to be watching my sugar and fat content. Well, I do.... I watch it go right in my mouth! So I decided to just bake up all those pre-packaged desserts and empty out the freezer and start the year anew.

(This picture is just the dessert table. Lemon bars, Triple Chocolate Brownies, Rice Krispie Treats, Chocolate Covered Cherries, Harry & David's White Chocolate Moose Munch, leftover candies from Halloween and Christmas, with a little vegies tossed in! )

I tried two new recipes this year--one for ribs and one for chicken wingettes. They were okay.... but not ones I'd make again. The most sought after, and desired, food item at any family event is Mike's Famous Garlic Dip. If you like garlic, you need to try this at your next event. It's a recipe that his step mom always made. Mike adds so much garlic that it makes the top of your head sweat! And it's so addicting.... truly.... once you start, you simply can't stop stuffing it in your mouth. I'm not a delusional person. I know my children come over for the garlic dip, not to see me....

This year we started a new generation of Garlic Dip lovers. Little Hunter LOVED LOVED LOVED it! Mike made him a special dish that wasn't as hot, but he still thought it was pretty yummy.

Garlic Dip

1 cream cheese, softened (8 oz)
1 cup mayo
1 LARGE spoon of crushed garlic (or enough to burn....)
Shake of Worcestershire

Mix it good and serve with potato chips. YummmmME!

apple pandowdy

One of my addictions is books. I love books. Gardening books. Bird books. Romances. Mysteries. But especially cookbooks. If they have colored pictures, all the better! Bookstores are a dangerous place for us to go because we can never get away without buying several, each. When we go South, we always hit a Barnes and Noble at least a couple times, walking out with bag fulls. My hubby and I went into our local bookstore last week looking for an Easter book for my grandbaby and walked out with this Big Sky Cooking. I'm not certain if I bought it for the recipes or for the pictures. It's a lovely picture book of a lifestyle we constantly long for. Home on the Range! The Western lifestyle. Lovely, lovely.

The kids came over for dinner last night and I hate to say it, but it was THE WORST dinner I've ever made! We've been eating a lot of pot roasts lately because they've been so good and are so versatile, but last night's was so tough you couldn't even chew it. The only thing it was good for, besides tossing to the three dogs waiting in the wings.... was to grind it up for hash. Horrible horrible meal.

But dessert was good! One of the recipes that attracted me about the Big Sky Cookbook was for apple pandowdy. It's similar to an apple pie but without the bottom crust. The recipe is so simple to make, although it does take at least two hours to prepare and cook. You make the top crust dough, then let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes. Then you roll it out and cut the dough into 3" squares and then put it back in the fridge for at least another 30 minutes to overnight. The dough is then laid on top of the apple mixture in a haphazard manner. Once you start baking, you bake for 30 minutes and then baste it with the juices and then bake for another 30 minutes. It's a much different process than anything I've made but so simple and very good. The recipe is too long to put here, but if you're interested in it, just send me an email and I'll forward it to you.

Have a great Monday! Nancy

it's sunday

What is your favorite day of the weekn? Even though I'm retired, I still get giddy over Fridays and the anticipation of the weekend. Silly ha? We usually get all our errands done during the week when most people are working and the lines aren't so long and just putter around the house on the weekends. Still, Fridays are my favorite day of the week.

Yesterday I mentioned how I love organizing things and working with details. This is my project this week. It's all the nursery signs, pricing tags, and other stuff from the nursery where I work in the summers. What a disorganized mess it was so I brought it home for a winter project. I finally got it finished and had to remove it from the dining table otherwise I would have continued puttering around with it; fine tuning it; changing it. My guess is in a year's time, everything will be back to the way it was originally....

Do you ever watch the Paula Deen show on the Food Network channel? She's one of my most favorite TV cook show hosts. I love her down home ways, her simple home cooking, and even the way she greets you! Do all southerners say "y'all"? I try a lot of her recipes and have never been disappointed. Yesterday I made some cookies I had been eyeing in her Cooking with paula deen magazine since March 2006. Paula's Ultimate Oatmeal Cookies. The recipe is too long to put in here but if you like oatmeal recipes (with icing!), click here. This was a good reward for getting my sign project done! Yummy!

It's snowing this morning. Just a light dusting as if God is up there with a sifter, gently swooshing it back and forth over his land. It's a delicate, dainty look for this morning. Sorry, I deflected for a moment....

Have you visited the blog, Modern Country? Beautiful. Beautiful pictures. We go alllllll the way to Norway and she does put English as a second language, but you don't need words to read at this blog. Just pictures. Lovely lovely pictures.

Hope you're having a great weekend! Nancy

new reading

Bought a couple new books today.... I need more books like I need a hole in the head! But next to dogs, books are my next weakness. Okay, chocolate is in there somewhere, but books, definitely, find their way into this house way too easily.

A trip to Costco today found the Barefoot Contessa's Family Style cookbook in my cart. I have most all her others and they're some of my most favorite recipes. They're simple to make and oh, so good. Tonight we're having prime rib and I thought I'd try her Parmesan Roasted Asparagus to go with it. Here's the recipe:


Parmesan Roasted Asparagus

asparagus, about 30 stalks
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 lemons cut in wedges, for serving

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If the stalks of the asparagus are thick, peel the bottom half of each. Lay them in a single layer on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes until tender. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and return to the oven for another minute. Serve with lemon wedges.


This will be a perfect accompaniment with prime rib and oven roasted french fries!

The other book that found its way into the cart was Elizabeth Gilbert's eat pray love. The back cover says, "In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want--husband, country home, successful career--but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she felt consumed by panic and confusion." This is "One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia." This book requires a good cup of tea and a soft, comfy chair. I think I'll start this book first.

Thanks for stopping by today. Hope you had a good day!

my traditions this time of year

I know I'm not alone when I say, "I hit the after Thanksgiving Day sales." Yes, it's a family tradition even though I'm the only one in my family that does it. I tell my husband, "I go for the socks." Yea, ah ha.... sure.... But I do! My daughter gets a dozen new pair every year and the boys, too, get a dozen white sports socks. Course you can get them just as cheap a couple days later and avoid the morning madness, but it's that madness that I love. I love getting up early, with sleep still in my eyes, my hair a mess and coffee in hand and head out. Most years my sweet husband will go with me, support me, because he loves me that much. (Personally.... I think he has just as much fun as I do although he would never admit it!) For me it's the beginning of the Holiday season, of which I absolutely am crazy about. I don't care what time it is. I don't care that there are hordes of people. It's just fun. It's festive. People are happy. Plus there's free coffee and donut holes! So there you have it. It's all about the donut holes!

Let's see.... My Thanksgiving dinner is usually typical of one my mother would have made. I've had the same menu for all of my adult life, with few deviations. It's definitely a traditional dinner; very simply made with way too much food. It's always a good day though. We spend most holidays with my ex-husband and his wife. It hasn't always been this way, but we became friends after the divorce and it's good for the kids. This year Soapy asked to host dinner, which is a first. It should be a good day.

Here's the recipe for one of my traditional salads I serve on Thanksgiving Day. It's a recipe passed down from my mom, so holds a special place in my heart especially this time of year. She passed away two days before Thanksgiving 11 years ago.... This is a very sweet salad. Very delicious.

Carrot Salad

6 cups (about 4#) carrots, cut in 1" pieces, slightly cooked (until just crisp tender)
1 white onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp prepared mustard
1 tsp worcestershire
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup oil
1 can tomato soup

Mix all ingredients and pour over HOT carrots. Cool.

This is such a good salad and even if you don't care for carrots will find this a refreshing salad. Have a joyful day!

good food

Today I'm grateful for fruit! I adore fruit and could live on it all year long. Especially sweet, ripe mangoes and papayas. Persimmons are my latest new love though. Have you ever tried one? I would see them in the store and wonder about them but since I didn't know how to eat them, I just walked by. A few years ago my husband and I were driving on Bainbridge Island and stopped at a fruit stand where they had persimmons cut up and ready to sample. I tried one and fell in love right there and then. Now, whenever Costco has them, I buy a few boxes. They're so delicious in a fruit salad, a green salad, or eaten alone. I peel them because sometimes the peel is tough, then slice in quarters and pop them in my mouth! Really, if you've never tried a persimmon, do! They typically can be found in the stores this time of year but just a short period of time.

This time of year you'll find oranges and grapefruits at their peak. For Christmas brunch last year, I made a citrus salad that was so good. I made it for dinner last night. I think you'll enjoy it as much as I do.

Citrus Salad With Mint Sugar

2 white grapefruit
2 pink grapefruit
6 large oranges
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup sugar
seeds from a pomegranate

Cut peel and pith from grapefruit and oranges. Cut between membranes to release the segments. Combine fruit in large shallow bowl. (Fruit can be segmented one day ahead; cover and refrigerate.)

Place mint and sugar in food processor and blend until mint is finely chopped. (I don't have a food processor and just chop it fine.) Sprinkle mint sugar and seeds over fruit.

Yummy! This recipe came from Bon Apetit 2003 and can be used for any occasion. I made it for dinner last night and then finished it off for breakfast this morning. It's not only a pretty dish but festive looking as well; very colorful with the pinks and reds. So Christmas! Enjoy!

good things

It's a chilly morning in Juneau; 34 degrees. It looks like it could easily snow today....

I've been busy baking; that's what I do this time of year.... One of my favorite sweet treats is this easy toffee recipe. I first ate it at a potluck. Reluctantly I placed a piece on my plate. I say "reluctantly" but for anyone who knows me, you know there's no "reluctance" when it comes to eating chocolate or sweets! I don't recall if it didn't look so good or maybe the presentation was off. Regardless, I wasn't so excited about eating it, but did take a piece to be polite. I have to tell you after my first bite, I returned to that place in line and I hovered over it, eating one piece after another. It was addicting. It melted in my mouth! I couldn't stop myself!

So imagine my surprise when I asked for the recipe and saw that the main ingredient was saltine crackers! Before you wrinkle your nose at this, just give it a try. You won't regret it.

You Won't Believe It's Toffee, Toffee

1 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 package Nestles milk chocolate chips
40 saltine crackers
1 cup pecans, chopped
jelly pan roll

Line the jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and spray with Pam. Lay saltines flat on foil. Melt sugar and butter together. Heat until foamy. Pour mixture over crackers evenly. Put in oven and bake 350 for 10 minutes. Take out and while still hot, pour chocolate chips evenly over crackers. Let melt a minute or two and then spread with a spoon or spatula to coat crackers evenly. Sprinkle pecans over this; pat down slightly. Let cool and then put in refrigerator until hard. Crack up and put in your favorite candy dish. Store in a cool place.

These are so easy to make, any busy mom can make them. Better yet, let your children help lay out the crackers. These make a great gift and store really well in the freezer.

After these are done, grab yourself a cup of coffee and jaunt on over to my new friend's blog--The Village Voice. She has the most incredible photos, poems, and poetry. Just what you need on a dreary day to sooth your soul. Enjoy!

heritage

The web defines heritage as "practices that are handed down from the past by tradition."

My mother grew up on a farm. They made do with little. She learned canning and all of her adult life, canned all the bounty from our garden. We had a large pantry that was filled to the brim with canned green beans, corn, tomatoes, tomato sauce, grape juice, pickles, pears, peaches, and the list goes on.

I moved away from home when I was 18 and came to Alaska, where I've lived ever since. It hasn't been without regrets that I've lived so far away from family for so long. You miss out on so much. You're not at all the family gatherings and reunions; you're not hearing stories, learning family history, or gathering memories. Yes, I have many regrets about living here all my life.

But it's funny how you take your heritage with you, even if you don't know what it is at the time. I'm so much like my mom and I can see me in my daughter and my son. Some times I find myself holding on to a purse in my lap when riding in the car and I think, "oh, no, I've turned into my mom!" But some heritage is good. I love to garden; I love crafting and making things with my hands; I love making my house a home, I love the simple things in life. Thank you, mom.

But one tradition, one part of our heritage, that didn't get passed down to me was canning our bounty. I could defend myself by saying it's because we don't have the fresh produce available here. It costs a small fortune to feed a family, let alone buy in bulk to can.

My son has proven me wrong. My son, 23 years old, has lived here all of his life.... has carried on the family tradition of canning. I am so proud of him, I could burst. He started canning pickles last year and has moved into pickled beans, cucumber relish, dill asparagus, salmon, and other treats. And it's good! Michelle, his sweetie, has even dove in and made some pickled garlic.

I am so proud of my children. All two of them AND their partners. All of them. Family is so important to them as is family traditions and their heritage. Tracy commented the other day how Bucky is "just like grandpa." He has turned his linen closet into a pantry and is filling it, stockpiling it if you will, with his home canned bounties. I am so proud that he's carrying on the family tradition of canning; canning and sharing his bounty; canning and making memories; canning.... because he's his grandmother's grandson....

a crab care package

This is Porter investigating a cooler we received from a friend in Gustavus last week. He knows a good thing when he smells it, because inside is about 20 dungeness crab.

Gustavus is a remote community west of here. It's located right on the water where the fishing is plentiful. They don't have any tourist industry, no industry actually except for Glacier Bay National Park which is nearby. It's a wonderful little place. I'd like to live there. It's a place where you would, without a doubt, know all your neighbors and live a quiet life. You'd wear flannel shirts in the summer and wool shirts in the winter. You'd always be wearing some kind of hat. And XtraTuff rubber boots. You wouldn't worry so much if you didn't take a shower that day because chances are, you wouldn't see anyone. You would downsize before moving out there, keeping only the essentials; you wouldn't require a lot of fluff in this new life. You would live with nature and live pretty much off the land. You would come into town (Juneau) a few times a year to shop. Life would be simple.

We have a friend who used to come to Juneau to fish every summer. He fell in love with Alaska and ended up moving to Gustavus where he built his own little homestead. Gary keeps us supplied with fresh dungee crab, halibut, and shrimp. We love Gary!

We usually eat crab for a couple nights and then crack and freeze it for quiches later on.

This was our dinner one night--crab louie (salad), a crab quiche, and rosemary/garlic bread. Yummy!

Here's the recipe for the crab quiche:

Crab Quiche

Pastry for 9" pie crust

1 cup crab meat, pat dried

1 cup swiss cheese, shredded

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese (optional)

1/3 cup finally chopped onion

4 eggs

2 cups whipping cream

3/4 tsp salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Sprinkle crab, cheeses, and onion in pastry-lined pan.

Beat eggs slightly; beat in remaining ingredients. pour into pie plate.

Bake uncovered 15 minutes.

Reduce oven to 300 degrees. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. I usually end up having to cook it for much longer than 30 minutes though.

Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

This is so good, hot, warm, or cold. Enjoy!

seafood chowder

My cousin and his wife were in town a couple weeks ago, visiting my ex-husband. They've been good friends for well over 30 years, in fact, I met my first husband through my cousin. Anyway, we had everyone over for dinner and some good conversation before they headed back home. My "ex" brought the brightest red sockeye salmon that I sprinkled with a little lemon pepper, a spread of mayo, and lemon slices, and then baked. Oh, so good!


Also on the agenda was seafood chowder. As summer closes in on us and fall hovers overhead, you might need a good, solid chowder for dinner one night, or two. What's nice about this chowder is you can put anything in it--halibut, salmon, crab, shrimp, scallops or clams OR some of all! Keep in mind that these quantities are just estimates. I generally triple this recipe using 2 lbs of bacon, a whole onion, six stalks celery, five or six cloves of garlic, 5 lbs of potatoes, etc. You might want to add a little more flour than called for too if you like a thicker, creamier soup base.

I love my chowder full of goodness--lots of bacon, potatoes, and seafood. I probably don't put as much water and cream (whole milk) in that it calls for either to give it a thicker base. In this version I added about 3 lbs of halibut, 1 lb of small bay scallops, three cans of baby clams (with some juice), two trays of small Petersburg shrimp, 2 lbs of bacon, and 5 lbs of potatoes. Anyway, this recipe gives you a base to go by and you can feel confident that no matter what you add, it'll be scrumpuous! Add some crusty bread and you've got a meal!

Seafood Chowder

6 slices bacon
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup flour
6 cups water
8 tsp chicken bouillon
2 cups chopped potatoes
1 pound salmon or halibut or a variety of seafood
2 cup light cream

Cook bacon until crisp. In droppings cook celery, onion, and garlic until tender. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in water and bouillon. Bring to boil. Add potatoes. Reduce heat. Cover and cook 10 minutes. Stir in seafood. Cook 15 minutes. Add cream. Heat. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

Bon appetit!

Food for thought


That would be the title of the post, IF I could actually add a title to it.... Not certain why the last two days I've not been able to. hmmmmm Might have to contact the blogmaster.

Anyway..... Do you think about food a lot? We do. We hardly get done eating one meal before I start thinking and planning the next.

And big meals. No canned soup and bologna sandwich for us. Well, I wouldn't mind once in awhile, but my hubby is still very much in love with the idea of a BIG dinner. On a hot, summer day, I would much prefer a sandwich made with Wonder white bread AND Oscar Meyer Olive Loaf. Yes, honestly! Thank goodness we don't have many hot, summer days!

Not only are my meals large quantities, but always plenty of choices to choose from in case you're a picky eater. Yes, I always seem to cook enough for an army. So if you're ever in the area, you know where you can go for a free meal!

This was our dinner the other night.
Just a small fruit salad.....
and an even smaller macaroni salad....
and baked chicken.

The picture of the chicken is a little blurry. Sorry.This baked chicken has become a favorite of ours.

Here's the recipe:


Thaw however many chicken wingettes/drumettes you want. We buy by the bulk from Costco because they're so good, we eat LOTS! Arrange in a single layer in a cake pan or cookie sheet that has a side to it. Drizzle just a tad olive oil over them and season with salt and pepper. With your hands, mix it together. Bake in a 400 oven for about an hour (or more) or until crispy and brown. You can turn them half way too if you want.


These are so good, you won't be able to eat just one!

it's the weekend

I love weekends. Still. Even though I'm retired, weekends are still my most favorite days of the week. Especially "Fridays." Excepting my Fridays are now Mondays. And I get so confused as to what day of the week it is with my screwy work schedule. I work Fridays, Sundays, and Mondays. But having three days off, in a row, is good. I've been a little lazy since returning from vacation, but hopefully won't waste these upcoming days :O

So what do I have planned for this long weekend? I just popped a rhubarb brunch cake in the oven. If you love (or even like) rhubarb, you must try this recipe.



This sloppy mess turns into





this golden brown beauty.










Which then looks like this when cut. Flop some whipped cream and.... yummy!

Rhubarb Brunch Cake

1 pkg Pillsbury Plus Yellow Cake mix

1 cup water

1/3 cup oil

3 eggs

4 cups sliced fresh rhubarb or frozen rhubarb, unthawed

1 cup sugar

1 pint (2 cups) whipping cream

Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour 13x9" pan. In large bowl, combine cake mix, water, oil, and eggs at low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes at highest speed. Pour into pan. Top with rhubarb. Sprinkle with sugar. Pour cream over top. Bake for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm (or cold) with whipped cream (or not). Store in refrigerator.

Now.... the sad part of this story. As I was typing the recipe up it dawned on me that I forgot the 1/3 cup oil.... certainly not on purpose.... but what will it do to the cake? We'll see in an hour's time. Crap. Anyway, if made with ALL of the ingredients, is THE most delicious cake you'll ever have.

Also "this weekend" I'll be doing surgery on our sweet little Sadie's toys. Before we left on vacation she was doing really well at playing with her stuffed toys and not chewing holes. Since we've been back.... she's been showing us, I guess. I sew them until there's just no more sense to, then she'll get new ones.

Have a great week!

i've lost my marbles!

No, not really! Just wanted to share a photo of my marbles with you! Don't you love marbles? They're so bright and just the sight of them can cheer you on any dreary day. I don't recall where these came from but suspect some are quite old.

Do kids even play with marbles anymore....?

In the "good ol days... " we played with marbles, pick up sticks, lots of board games. We didn't have a lot of store-bought toys. We rode our bikes almost everywhere, or walked. We read a lot, maybe they were just comic books, but we were reading. We didn't sit in front of the tv all day nor did we play games that alienated us from our family.

But what goes around, comes around. Look at this old skateboard! This was mine when I was a kid; from the 60's. I set this cute candle-in-a-teacup on top just so you could get an idea of how small it is!

I worked outside for a few hours this morning but the bugs are so bad this year that it makes it so not enjoyable. The mosquitoes are HUGE and the no-see-ems.... rightly named because they're so small you don't see them... you just feel their bite....well, the no-see-ems are out in force. Now I'm waiting for a rhubarb crisp to come out of the oven.... It's smelling really good! If you like rhubarb desserts, you'll love this recipe!

Bon Apetit!

how much is 9 yards

This is! At 8:00 a.m. this morning a dump truck delivered gravel for my walkways. I was so excited as have been wanting to do this for a couple years now. But the other part of me knew it would be a lot of hard work. We contacted Juneau's high school to see about hiring a couple football players (they hire out to earn money for travel) but was told that since it was Memorial Day, no one would be available.

We asked to have eight yards of D1 gravel delivered and they gave us nine, just to make sure we requested enough. All I could think of was ohhhhh my poor aching body! After hauling gravel to the back yard for, ohhhhh, about six or seven hours today.... I managed to get about half way through the pile. This is strenuous work; not work for a 55 year old woman. I started out putting 20 shovelfuls into the wheelbarrow and that quickly decreased to 15 shovelfuls and by mid-way through the day, it was down to 10. This is some heavy heavy stuff.

But it looks really good and hopefully will keep the weeds under control. Regardless, I just love walkways, especially walkways that wind! But that's my goal when gardening anymore, building maintenance-free gardens. My husband used to work side by side with me but he can't anymore. After working 30 some years in the masonry trade and four surgeries later, he is limited in what he can, or should, do. He's not supposed to lift anything over 5 pounds or push or pull anything that is vibrating (like a lawn mower) ordo anything vigorous or strenuous. So our roles have changed these last couple years where I try the best I can to take care of all the strenuous and heavy work and he takes care of the lighter duty. I think I've accepted this change in roles better than he has. It's still extremely difficult for him to watch me do such hard labor. And I love him for that.

Mike canned fish today. Here's Kona, Sadie, and Dixie Cup assisting! Dixie isn't our's. She lives behind us and is the fattest little beagle girl I've ever seen. Somehow she manages to scoot her fat little body under our cyclone fence but we continue to be amazed at how. There can't be more than 4" to squeeze under! Dixie Cup.... what a funny little pork hound she is....

Today was an exhausting day. Think I'll go hop in the hot tub for a bit and soak my aching body....