IT'S NOT A JUNGLE OUT THERE ANY MORE

For the past week, my husband and I have been working on our backyard.  I pulled most of the weeds one day and they were big weeds - like tumbleweeds!  I filled one corner of the yard with those.  The next day I attacked the "Jungle" - a section of our yard that was so overgrown with weeds and new tree sprouts that I gave it that nickname.  I wasn't sure we could even get that section of our yard ever looking normal again,  but after today, I finally have hope.  One of the big problems was those hated vine things that grow along the ground everywhere.  I pulled and pulled and pulled those up today.  My husband even got in there and trimmed the crepe myrtle and the pine tree.  Then he started running all that through his chipper.  He wasn't able to run the tumbleweeds through the chipper, because the first time he tried it, it came to a dead stop.  Then he had to take it apart and get the tumbleweed out (that had twisted and wrapped itself around the blades).  He still has a pile of bigger limbs and the pile of tumbleweeds to chop up.  He said he'd take his chain saw to the bigger limbs and his machete to the tumbleweeds.  I wished I had taken a "before" and "after" picture to show you the difference, but I didn't.  Once we're done, I'll at least put up an "after" picture.  One step at a time.  We have a huge lot and still have a whole lot ahead of us.  In the latter part of October we're going to rake up all the bark (they used for ground cover) in the front and lay rock.  My back aches just thinking about it.  Our goal is to get our whole lot zero-scaped (except where the lawn is in the front and back) so that when we go on a mission, all someone will have to do is spray the rocks to kill the weeds, and mow the front and back grass. 

FAST MOON RISING

I just happened to look up and see the moon peeking up just above the mountain top.  By the time I ran to the next room and got my camera, it was already up!

BARBIE'S NEW FURNITURE

This is the Barbie furniture that I made while I was in Ireland.  I gave this to Gilbert Girl's youngest daughter as part of her birthday present.  I also bought her a Fairy Barbie (what she told me she wanted) and a Jacob (from Twilight) doll to be boyfriend to her Fairy Barbie. 

HE CAN READ MINDS!

Me (thinking):  I need to tell (husband) to bring me a Peppermint Patty while he's in the kitchen. 

Husband:  Do you want me to bring you a Peppermint Patty?

True Story!

NEITHER RAIN, NOR SLEET, NOR DARK OF NIGHT.....

Last night my husband and I went to Sam's Club to get a few things (which is where I saw "Motorcycle Mamma").  We left there and went to Office Max and when we came out it was raining.  I love the rain.  I love the lightning and the thunder and just love the rain, whether I'm inside or outside.  I never minded the rain when we lived in Ireland.  We could tell that it must have been raining pretty hard while we were in Office Max, because there were big puddles everywhere and we saw lots of water running down the sides of the streets and in the intersections.  Coming up the hill towards the turn-off to our street, there was so much water running down the hill that it would splash up on the windshield and we couldn't even see to drive, so my husband had to slow down.  The street that we turned off on to get to our street was really flooded.  We exclaimed again how hard it must have rained while we were in the stores.  As we were turning into our driveway, I noticed something on the planter wall beside our mailbox.  I had my husband stop just inside the driveway and I got out (in the pouring rain) to see what it was.  He thought I was crazy to get out in that rain, but I knew I had seen something.  There sitting on the wall beside the mailbox was 2 packages of books that Amber had ordered online and had sent to my house.  When I got in the house I opened them to make sure they were all dry.  Luckily they were packaged in plastic bags, so everything was dry inside.  What was my postman thinking?  Granted, I didn't go down to get my mail that afternoon - mostly because my mail never comes at a regular time everyday.  My mail can come anytime from 11am to 7 pm.  I've even had it come at 8:30 pm before.  What if we hadn't gone to the store?  It would have sat there all night!  Anyone could have come by and helped theirselves.  We have had problems with our mailmen leaving packages at the end of our driveway.  I know it is a bit of a hike up our driveway to our house, but come on, the UPS and Fed Ex guys don't mind!  We have found packages beside our mailbox, behind our mailbox, inside the wall, and in the bushes.  I have a large mailbox, but I had to get a locking mailbox, because of having mail stolen out of my box.  I have the larges locking mailbox that I could find.  I guess I just need to make sure we get the mail before dark every day. 

MOTORCYCLE MAMA

SIGN THAT YOU'RE TOO OLD TO RIDE A MOTORCYCLE:

When your husband has to back up the bike alongside a curb, so you can stand on the curb to get on.

STOMACH WOES

Last Sunday as I was going to church I mentioned to my husband that my stomach was feeling a bit weird.  I decided to go ahead and go to church and ended up staying for the whole block of meetings (3 hours).  We got home a little after 2 and ate lunch, and then the diarrhea started (sorry, TMI, I know).  Well, it wasn't too bad, just some stomach cramps and only diarrhea a couple of times.  By the next afternoon, the diarrhea and stomach cramps stopped, but my stomach felt sore.  Trust me, I really didn't have that bad of stomach cramps, I've had them a lot worse, and I really didn't have any nausea.  But my sore stomach persisted.  Walking upstairs, leaning over a counter, lifting something, or even riding in a car made my stomach hurt. 
So now today is Thursday, and I still have these symptoms.  I wonder if I need to go on the BRAT diet?  By the way, I know it stands for Bananas, Rice, and Applesauce....what is the T for?  Tea?  Tender love and care?  Well, I had to go to the store today, so I bought Bananas, Applesauce and Tapicoca pudding.  Forget the rice. 

I REMEMBER......

Things I remember about 9/11:

I remember the exact spot I was at when I heard about the first plane, when driving home from taking my son to school.  I can even picture that spot on that street in my head, when I think about it. 

I remember when the second plane hit, I knew it was an act of terrorism, without the media even telling me.

I remember my daughter calling me and asking, "What is happening, Mom?"  as if she could hardly even believe it. 

I remember my daughter coming over to watch tv with me all day.

I remember both of us sitting and watching in shock, and crying.

I remember it being so painful to watch, yet you couldn't tear yourself away and just go on with your daily schedule.  People were dying and we couldn't turn our backs on them on go on with our routine.

I remember worrying about my parents and wanting to talk to them...just to make sure they were ok, so I called them.  I remember talking and crying with them. 

I remember my husband calling me to see if I was okay, and crying with him.

I remember turning in the scriptures to read just what I needed to read. 

I remember the courage of the firefighters, police and rescue workers.

I remember the heroic stories that came aftewards.

I remember being proud to be an American...

FOR THE CINNAMON ROLL FAIRY

CHRISTINE'S CINNAMON ROLLS
2 pkg. yeast
2 1/2 c warm water
3/4 c oil
3/4 c sugar
8-8 1/2 c flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 tsp salt
- Disolve yeast in warm water.  Stir in sugar, salt, eggs, oil and 4 c flour.  Beat until smooth.  Stir in remaining flour and knead lightly to make soft dough.  Cover lightly and store in fridge.  It may be or best . Brush with melted butter. 
FILLING:  Combine 1 c chopped pecans, 1 3/4 c sugar and 2 TBL cinnamon.  Sprinkle on dough. Roll each side from long side as jelly roll; pinch to seal edges.  Cut in pieces & place on greased pan.  Let rise in warm place about 1 hour.  Bake at 350 for 25 min.  Frost with powdered sugar.   For best results, store dough in fridge overnight.

RED OR GREEN?

Delirious, these are what green and red chile peppers look like.  The red one is already roasted, but it gives you the idea.  They grow both here and when you go to a restaurant, they will ask you if you want red chile or green chile on your mexican food, which is why "Red or Green?"  is our "State Question".  :0)

FOR AMBER

Here's some "fall" recipes for Amber:

CRANBERRY ORANGE BREAD
2 c flour
3/4 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 c butter, softened
1 Tbl. grated orange peel
3/4 c orange juice
1 egg
1 c fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped
1/2 c  chopped nuts
- Heat oven to 350.   Grease bottom only of 9x5x3" loaf pan.  Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl.  Stir in butter till crumbly.  Stir in orange peel, orange juice, and egg till moistened.  Stir in berries and nuts.  Spread in pan.  Bake 55-60 min.  Wrap and refrigerate 8 hours before serving.  Makes 1 loaf. 

SWEET POTATO WEDGES
4 med. sweet potatoes
2 TBL vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
- Heat oven to 450.  Grease jelly roll pan.  Cut potatoes into 1/2" wedges.  Toss potatoes and oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place potatoes in single layer in pan.  Bake uncovered 25-30 minutes, turning occasionally till potatoes are golden brown and tender when pierced with fork.  - 4 servings

TACO SOUP
1 pound hamburger
3 cans corn - undrained
3 cans Ranch Style Beans - undrained
3 cans Petite diced tomatoes with green chile
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 pkg. Ranch Dressing mix
- Brown hamburger.  Put all ingredients together in large pot and cook at least 5 hours.  Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, guacomole, or shredded tortilla strips or corn chips
(PS.  This makes a whole lot.  Wish I had a smaller recipe...)

APRICOT WHITE CHOCOLATE
One 10 oz. pkg white chocolate chips
1/2 c dried apricots, chopped
1 c chopped almonds
- Use a 1 qt. microwave-safe dish.  Melt chocolate in microwave for 1 1/2 min. on high.  Stir chocolate until smooth.  Add apricots and nuts.  Drop by teaspoon onto cookie sheet.  Refrigerate until set.  Makes 20-25 pieces.

HOARDING GREEN CHILE

One of my good friends who moved away from my state last spring came back to visit this weekend.  She and her husband came over this morning to pack green chile so they could use my freezer to get it frozen before they take it back to their state tomorrow.  Her husband went to Walmart this morning to buy 2 big bags of green chile and have it roasted right there in the Walmart parking lot.  You have to roast it so the skin will split and peel off.  Then Walmart put it into big clear bags and put them back into the box.  My job was to lay the chiles out on cookie sheets so they could cool.  Then my friend and her husband just put several into a pint-size freezer bag, smashed the air out and sealed it, and wrote a "10" on it (for 2010).  That's it. They got about 73 pint bags.  Each bag had 4-5 green chiles in it. Some people finish skinning it and take the stem out and wash the seeds out and then freeze it, or even go on to chop it up and then put it in bags and freeze it.  This was so easy, and my friends say they feel like it keeps it's flavor better with the seeds, stem, and skin flakes on it.  They showed me that when you're ready to eat them, you take out a bag and defrost it.  Then you take each chile out and wash it off and the skin washes right off.  Then you pinch off the stem, split it open and wash the seeds away.  Then you can chop it up and put it in casseroles or other dishes, on a sandwich or hamburger, or if you're a "real chile freak" - just eat it plain!  Yum! 

Even though I've lived in this state for 16 years, I've never learned how to freeze my own green chile.  My house had this great "green chile smell" all day.  This week I'm going to Walmart to get my own bag of green chile roasted.  I met a guy once when I used to pick up a friend from dialysis that was from out-of-state.  He used to live in my state but moved further west.  He said that he and his wife were in town for one of their "chile runs".  They bought an RV and gutted it.  Then fitted it with as many freezers as they could fit in it.  Then they come to our state and buy lots and lots of green chile, roast it, and pack and freeze it.  Then they drive all over the western seaboard selling it.  They mostly sell it to people who used to live here but have moved west. 

Tonight I made sloppy joes. But I had a big piece of green chile to put on the top.  Yum!  The difference in the green chile you pack yourself and the stuff you buy in the can is:  FLAVOR.  Can't beat it!