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Archive for May, 2009

Raised Bed Success

Posted in Gardening, Pets on May 23, 2009|

I am so happy with the progress in our raised garden bed.  The potatoes are growing like crazy.  I am putting extra dirt and compost around them every few days and there are still new plants sprouting.  The cucumber plants have blooms and baby cucumbers on them, and the sweet pepper plants are starting to bud.  The herbs are growing as well as the lettuce.  Our strawberries are doing great, too.  Even though they are small, they are still getting ready to bloom!  We do have a very sad note to add to this, Baby-Cat is no longer with us.  Tuesday evening, we found her under the bay window and she was so weak she wouldn’t respond at all.  We started feeding her with a dropper and took her into the utility room for safety.  She lived until Thursday morning when she died in C’s arms while he was trying to feed her.  We have been so sad in losing Baby-C.  She was only here for a short time, but we loved her very much.  She didn’t look sick at all, so we think that a male cat may have tried to hurt her to get to her mother.  Godspeed, Baby-C! We will miss you!

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Wordless Wednesday

Posted in Gardening on May 20, 2009|

Future French fries:

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Take Me Out To the Ballgame…

Posted in Fun on May 17, 2009|

C & I did something last night that neither one of us have ever done.  We went to a minor league baseball game.  Bowling Green, Kentucky, which is about an hour from where we live, is now home to the Bowling Green Hot Rods Class A team.  They are a farm team for the Tampa Bay Rays and this is their first year.  The name comes from two sources: Bowling Green is home to  the only Corvette factory in the world and Beech Bend Park Race strip is located here.  We had noticed the advertisements on TV and C said he wanted to go.  I ordered tickets and t-shirts for his birthday.

I have been to a couple of Cincinnati Reds games many years ago and have always enjoyed baseball.  I was the only child and grandchild of 2 baseball fans, so instead of being taught softball like most girls, we played baseball in the backyard. 

The Hot Rods’ field is really nice.  It is a new stadium called simply enough Bowling Green Ballpark.

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The game was originally scheduled for 7:05pm against the Charleston Riverdogs, but since Friday’s game was a rain-out, tonight was a double-header with each game being 7 innings.  The first game started at 6:05pm and we got there soon after the doors opened at 5:00.  It was “Bucket Hat Giveaway Night” sponsored by Crazy Eddie’s Furniture.  Of course, we had to do a self-portrait to model our new head gear.

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The game started well, with the Hot Rods in the lead until the top of the seventh inning, and then everything started going right for Charleston.  The final score ended up being 6-2 in favor of Charleston.  It was getting pretty late, so we skipped out on the second game which Bowling Green won 5-4.  We had a great time and will definitely being going back.  The seats we had were great!  We were about 6 rows behind the BG dugout just left of home plate. 

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The mascot was really cute.  His name is Axle the Bear and whoever works in that suit does a super job! 

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The staff gave away prizes throughout the night.  Right above, Axle is throwing t-shirts to the crowd.  Some of the other staff used a t-shirt launcher to give them away (C LOVED the t-shirt launcher).  All in all, this was great, great fun and I would highly recommend anyone getting away to the ballpark for a game!

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Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Posted in Cooking on May 16, 2009| 1 Comment »

It is strawberry time, folks!  Here is another recipe (yes, I know, I am addicted to strawberries) that can use either fresh or frozen.  The pretzel crust gives it a salty kick to go with the creamy filling and sweet strawberry topping.

 

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

For Crust:

1 cup pretzels, crushed

1 stick butter, melted

1/4 cup granulated sugar

For Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

8 oz. Cool Whip

1/2 cup granulated sugar

For Topping:

1 large box strawberry Jell-O

2 cups boiling water

2 cups cold water

4 cups sliced strawberries (if using frozen, thaw and drain well)

ingredients

Crust: Place pretzels in a zip-top bag and seal.  Crush with a rolling pin. Combine crumbs with melted butter and 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Press into a greased 13×9” pan. (Since I was taking it to 2 dinners, I used two 8” pans.  It will not be quite as thick.)

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Filling: Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth.  Stir in Cool Whip and 1/2 cup granulated sugar.  Spread over crusts.

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Topping: Prepare Jell-O according to package directions.  After 1 1/2 hours of fridge time, stir in the strawberries and spread over the cream cheese layer. 

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Chill and enjoy!

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Progress

Posted in Gardening, Home on May 13, 2009|

I know I already had a Wordless Wednesday post, but I was so excited with what we accomplished today that I just couldn’t wait.  C & I are working on a few landscaping projects this spring.  I plan on doing a before and after photo show when these are done, but I had to throw in a few “during” shots.  Since rain is expected for the next few days, we were trying to finish up the planting in front of the garage.  We leveled the dirt Monday and yesterday, and I had hoped to get the chance to plant today if we could beat the rain.  We did!!  Also, there was a package on my front porch when I got home from Miller’s Nurseries in New York.  Guess what, now I had 25 Tribute strawberry plants as well!  Can you believe it…we got it all done!  YAY!  Here is the proof.  The 3rd picture is the strawberry bed. 

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Wordless Wednesday

Posted in Gardening, Pets/Animals on May 13, 2009|

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They grow up so fast!

Posted in Pets/Animals on May 12, 2009|

It was just yesterday (ok, last week) that our wee kitten was nursing it’s mother.  Now it’s a big cat munching on cat food!  We fed Mama-C this afternoon and after she ate her fill and wandered away, I heard crunch, crunch, crunch.  I was surprised to see the little one eating away at the leftovers.  Baby-C didn’t want to share either.  When I would get close, the hair on it’s back would rise.  When Patches got closer, it started hissing and spitting. 

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There has been an beautiful bluebird coming to our birdfeeder.  It is not a typical Eastern Bluebird that I was used to so I had to get a photo.  My zoom is not quite far-reaching enough, so I had to stake out a spot on the ground close to the feeder and wait!  My not-so-good patience was rewarded with this photo.

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I did a little research and found that it is an Indigo Bunting!  The blue color of this bird is amazing.  It is as blue as the goldfinches are yellow,…

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And the cardinals are red.

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Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted in Family on May 10, 2009|

C and I want to wish both our wonderful mothers a very, very, very happy Mother’s Day!  You both deserve the best of everything!  We love you both very much!

Here is a blast from the past…photos of C and his mom and me and my mom from several (I do mean SEVERAL) years ago. 

 

withchad Tammi & Betty appr. 1977

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Blonde Brownie Ambition

Posted in Cooking on May 9, 2009| 1 Comment »

Yes, I am a blonde, so I guess I am a little biased toward this recipe.  It is one of my favorite brownie/cookie recipes, and I have been making it for over 10 years.  I found it in the July 1998 edition of Bon Appétit magazine.  They had found this creation at the S-Moores Cafe in Augusta, GA.  It is a winner!  It is easy, rich, decadent and delish!  Here it is…

 

Blonde Brownies

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

10 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

2 cups light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup milk chocolate chips (I use 1 cup)

3/4 cup chopped pecans

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 13×9” baking pan.  I use the wrapper from the stick of butter.  Combine flour, baking powder, salt & baking soda.

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Add sugar to melted butter and whisk to blend.

 

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Whisk in eggs and vanilla.

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Gradually stir in flour mixture.

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Add chips & pecans.

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Spread batter in pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.  I know, I know.  When this comes out of the oven, you will want to dig in with a spoon.  DON’T DO IT!  It’s worth the wait to let it cool and then cut into squares.  ENJOY!

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“Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Kerrygold.”

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I’ve been SCHNOOKERED!

Posted in Pets/Animals on May 9, 2009|

I have never been a cat person, always a dog person.  When C & I lived at a different house, we adopted a stray and named it Blondie.  That was the only cat I had ever named.  Blondie got ran over and I swore that I would never get close to a cat again.  I was wrong.

When we built our house, a female cat just showed up one day.  She thinks this is her house and she just allows us to live here.  We call her Mama-Cat because I refused to give her an actual name, and now that IS her name.

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She presented her baby to us earlier this week.  Again, I was not getting attached.  I was not feeding her here, she could still go to where the food usually is.  I was not going to worry about her.  They would be fine on their own.  I said it before, I’ll say it again…I’VE BEEN SCHNOOKERED!!!!  When Mama-C came to the door yesterday morning, I broke down and gave her a plate of food.  When the storms came, C & I worried about where she took the baby.  They were fine, by the way, hiding under our bay window on the deck.  I was trying to be all tough until I took one look at this…

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And this…

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And now, I’m hooked! Sigh!

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