a mixed bag...

OK, this is a very mixed bag...  (or should I say mixed blog)... and possibly of little interest, but it is what it is.

Naan bread

This time my Naan bread came out pretty good. I will post the recipe here. It's pretty simple:

Almond Flour Naan Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour

1/3 cup flour ( I used King Arthur's non-gluten measure for measure)

1/4 cup Greek Yogurt ( I used sour cream... can't have yogurt)

1/4 tsp salt

pinch sugar

Instructions:

Mix together almond flour, flour, salt, and sugar

Add the yogurt(sour cream) and stir until dough forms

(add more yogurt/sour cream or water if too dry)

Divide into 6 balls

Roll dough out thin between parchment paper

Spray griddle

Cook until slightly browned on each side

Since I only wanted 3 pieces, not 6 - I halved the recipe and it came out fine. I used unsalted butter on mine, but you can put anything you want on it... cheese, tomatoes, garlic butter, etc.

****************************************

I like this photo of our grand daughter at Dinosaur Valley State Park taken a few weeks ago.

We picked her up at school yesterday... and got to spend some time together. Since we are all vaccinated and stayed masked, it was great. I sure have missed her this past year.  But her mom (who is a nurse) said that we need to stay vigilant... as they have some patients in the hospital now that had both vacs and still came down with Covid due to thinking they were safe and no longer masked or followed recommended procedures.

*************************************

 

More pics of kittens playing:

****************************************

And I've finally started taking down Easter.  Yes, I know I'm late, but I like Easter decorations. I generally pull all I can find and put on table in front room before putting everything away for another year.

This little teapot and cup/saucer I bought at Harrod's years ago

and this last tea set is one we gave my mother-in-law and it came back to me after she passed. My daughter has dibs on it now...

(I'm also cleaning and dusting my China cabinet today)

And that's it! 

For those interested, my back is better. I can still feel a twinge on occasion, but it seems to be on the mend. 

Take care, stay safe... enjoy this spring weather, but don't let your guard down just yet. We may be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, but we haven't reached it yet. 

Hugs (still virtual),

Rian

a short vent and on to mundane things...

Just a short note here at the beginning of my post so I don't forget to mention it later... (and I very well may... since I forget what I planned to say fairly easily these days). 

But having read and heard so many times recently that wearing a mask shows 'fear'... that it's beginning to irk me. Wearing a mask in my opinion shows common sense and concern for others, NOT FEAR! Does that mean that those people who believe this think doctors wear masks in surgery out of fear?  Science and medical professionals may not know everything, but they are certainly more knowledgeable than the general public. And most people these days are aware of how germs are spread. No, masks may not totally prevent the spread... but the possibility that they may help some is well documented... and seems certainly worth the effort.  I'll take that possibility over someone's concerns for his/her worries about a show of fear any day.

Now that said... I will go on to other things:

Yesterday I made a chicken and broccoli bacon quiche.  Grandson is not terribly fond of broccoli so I chop it up really well and add it where I can. It has been my experience that anything that has an abundance of bacon and cheese is generally well accepted.

Preparing the ingredients

finished quiche

Next are some pics my D-I-L sent of my youngest grand daughter (7) visiting a friend out on a local farm this week.

I was told that she absolutely fell in love with the Giant Pyrenees in the first pic!

And lastly here's a picture of my living room 

in the Animal Crossing game: 

The island is beautiful and the ocean views are fantastic. In this game you can also swim in the ocean or fly to mystery islands. Now with Halloween upon us, I have the island decorated with carved pumpkins, etc. as well as have put several pumpkin patches (which grow orange, yellow, white, and green pumpkins) all over the island. 

(Since I can neither garden nor travel these days, this game has given me some virtual options - and I am continually amazed at how detailed the options are) 

Anyway, I truly hope you are having a good weekend... and if voting is behind you, possibly a calm one knowing that THAT is behind you and now only time will tell...  (and prayer couldn't hurt).

Hugs, (virtual of course)

Rian

(...and forgive me for venting at the beginning here. Sometimes you just have to say what is on your mind and in your heart)

 

Is it Friday May 1st already?

rabbit, rabbit!  not so white rabbit.... 

Happy First day of the month! Rabbit Rabbit! not so white rabbit!
Somehow this pic seemed more appropriate these days of worry and confusion than a cute little white rabbit...

I've been trying to post every 2 days. Yesterday got away from me again. But it shouldn't matter too much as there's not much new going on. 

Have you noticed that the days pass very fast... and the nights not so much? It's weird - as from the time I get up (around 7:30 or 8:00), fix coffee for DH and tea for myself, watch a few minutes of the news, and do a few other things - before I know it, it's 2 or 3 pm.??? This is generally the time I think of getting dressed (either that or taking a nap). Not sure why... as no one goes in or out. But my mom always told me that you should never stay in pj's all day. 

We had 2 outings this week, both to collect groceries from curb-side pick-up (as much as I'm a home-body, it is nice to get out). DH worked in the yard a bit, mowing and trimming. I baked some frosted tea cakes and am thinking about trying my hand at making yeast rolls - something I've never done.

****************************************** 

daughter and hubby

Our daughter's 50th birthday is this Sunday... but we won't be there. Normally we try to drive down for her birthdays - and this is a big one. But we're not ready to venture out quite yet. The hill country in Texas is so beautiful in the spring.... bluebonnets everywhere! She will send pictures and I will share. They have a few acres with horses, chickens, dogs, etc.  - and 3 ponds on the property. 


                                                     

These pics are our granddaughter with their Great Dane taken  last Easter when we were there. Everything was so green and the fields so full of flowers. She graduates this year and will be going off to college this fall... but with this pandemic, we're not so sure about either graduation or the fall. She's worked so hard and has done so well that having this uncertainty is hard (not just for her of course, but for all those graduating seniors).

I have to post a picture of the chickens (you know how much I like chickens)...

chickens drinking from front pond

Guess I'll close here and get back to making another mask. I read somewhere that flannel makes a better mask than cotton as it's not as porous. So I made a cat mask to send to  grand daughter. She has an adorable little cat called Gizmo.

Here's the mask:

It's Friday! (not necessarily TGIF... but still Friday) I hope you have a lovely weekend... get out and enjoy nature, try doing or making something new, or just make someone smile! 

Hugs,
Rian

grandkids, superbowl, cats, and an Amaryllis

grand daughter at her desk at St. Joseph's

DH and I were there for her first Grandparents' Day Friday. She turned 6 in November and is in Kindergarten at St. Joseph's.  We were worried when she started as she always said that she wasn't going to school... that she wanted to be home-schooled. But as it turns out, she loves it. There are only 15 in her class and after visiting this week, we both agree that it seems to have been a great choice.





Today is the Superbowl. Will we be watching? Probably not. We are Saints fans and even though I don't sit and watch the game normally, DH said that he wasn't going to watch it either. More than likely most of our friends and relatives in New Orleans aren't watching. From what little I know/or heard, it was a botched call - but it happens. My philosophy is: breathe in, breathe out, and move on. But of course it's easy for me to say... not so much the players.

Tux, Julie, and Ghost are taking full advantage of the situation. They are sleeping in DH's chair today - where he usually watches TV. 

And I can't remember if I mentioned that we have a crazed Cardinal that keeps throwing himself into our window. It's been going on for weeks. Apparently he doesn't hurt himself or he would have stopped by now. I took a video, but can't figure out how to get it from my iPhone to the blog. I tried to send it to my email (like I do pictures from my phone), but it doesn't seem to work. Anyway, I can post a picture of Tux watching him.

Tux watching crazed Cardinal

Oh... two other things I should mention: First, they still haven't fixed our streetlight... and second, our Christmas Amaryllis is starting to open!

 
It's not a great picture and I had to enlarge it so you could see the red colors. Also, it's getting tall and top heavy.  We may need to put it into a heavier container (there's hardly any dirt in the one it came in).

Enjoy your Sunday and have a wonderful week!  Since the groundhog has predicted an early Spring.... we can only pray that this crazy weather is on it's way out. Stay warm and stay safe!

Good Morning Saturday...

This is me... every night.  I fall asleep with the book and book light in the bed... sometimes even the cell phone. This cat also reminds me of one we had years ago when our kids were small. He was a long haired orange tabby that our youngest son brought home from kindergarten. Apparently the story was that the mama cat was walking across the school yard with 3 babies and this one fell asleep on the way across. The others left him. Our son took him home. We named him Sebastian.

Now I have to share these pics of youngest grand daughter celebrating her 6th birthday yesterday evening. I have to say that there's nothing cuter than watching 6 year old girls enjoying themselves. The conversation as they played with dolls (a combination of Barbies, American Girl, and Frozen character Elsa), LOL's, etc. was priceless. I find their little minds at this age are so active that it's fascinating to listen to their conversations.

and this one shot right before she changed into her Frozen (Elsa) birthday dress....

Being around them makes me think of the old movie, "Gigi" where Maurice Chevalier sings that song, "Thank Heaven for Little Girls"...

OK, that's my contribution for today.  Just wanted to share these thoughts with you.  I'll leave with another pic I found on Pinterest that I liked.

Have a great weekend!

cats, grandkids, pottery, and books...

Ghost and Tux sleeping by the Aga

Today was a very busy day (not for the cats as you can see). It was our youngest grand daughter's first day of Kindergarten and we were all apprehensive. As it turned out, she did just fine... and I think she even enjoyed it. Today was only until noon, but tomorrow is until 3. She says she's looking forward to recess tomorrow so they can go out and play on the playground... (she explained to me that there wasn't enough time for recess today since it was only a half day)

I'm working on a few more clay projects, more windchimes, another bluebird soap dish, and an egg shaped bird house. Once I get them a little further along, I'll post a few pics on the Cheeky Chickens Studio site. By the time the new semester starts at the end of August, I should have several things to fire.

BTW, my jaw is definitely better. I don't want to talk too soon, but although I'm still careful with it, the TMJ inflammation or whatever it was seems to be gradually going away. (Hurray!) 

There's been so much political uproar on the news that I've basically 'tuned it out'.  Sometimes I think people are losing their minds. That's all I'll say on that subject.

I am reading a good book written by an 85 year old woman that decided to take notes while living in a home for the aged. Actually it's 3 books in one, "Out to Pasture", "Over what Hill?", and "Older but Wilder". The author is Effie Wilder and her stories are both insightful and funny. 

Oh, and I tried a new recipe from Cast Iron Comfort Food magazine today to celebrate grand daughter's first day of Kindergarten. It's a giant snickerdoodle cookie made in a cast iron skillet. DH actually saw this recipe in the magazine at CM and promptly bought it for me. They do have some other good recipes in it too...

Cast Iron magazine

Snickerdoodle in cast iron skillet

Happy Wednesday!

our own personal faerie...

I was looking through Facebook this morning at family pics that I hadn't seen and came across this one of youngest grand daughter. She will be 2 next month. She has a very Irish name due to both our ancestry and her parents visit to Ireland before she was born. However, seeing this picture made me think that perhaps she does have a bit of the faerie dust about her. This was not taken in Ireland, but if I close my eyes, I can almost see the ancient stones in the background.  What do you think?

My daughter went in to have some bloodwork taken this morning. She called to tell me she *blacked out* while they were doing this. She has done this before, but it's been years. She said that it hurt terribly and that she tried to hold it together, but finally lost the battle somewhere between the 4th and 5th vial.  I told her that it shouldn't hurt terribly... that perhaps the tech doing it was not very good.  With my C history, they take blood all the time, and it doesn't hurt . The one time it did hurt was when my veins had probably collapsed due to dehydration as part of the preliminaries for a colonoscopy. At that time none of the nurses could find a vein... and that *digging* did hurt.

And talking about techs and nurses, we just heard that  a second nurse that worked with Duncan (the Dallas Ebola patient) has become ill.  They are testing her for the Ebola virus, but more than likely she is also infected. I tend to trust that the CDC knows what it's doing, but I really wish that these Ebola patients would be sent to the 4 CDC hospitals throughout the country that are equipped to handle this type of thing.  Other hospitals are being *trained*, but those CDC hospitals are already trained and equipped. Since the number of cases at this time is so low, it seems that it would be safer to have the patients contained there then at hospitals that are in the mist of being trained. Later it may be necessary to use any and all hospitals available, but for the time being it seems sensible to use the CDC facilities (IMO).

Closing with a poster I came across on someone's site and thought it was great. I'm sorry that I forget where I saw it or I would post the original source.

This is what our kitchen floor looks like on grocery days...

Kittens! A funny story! And being Happy...

Guess what! DH found Shiney's kittens this morning. She had moved them originally from the garage to the side of the house... and now they're over by the fence (in the flowerpots). She is black and all her kittens are black (as far as we can tell... some blacker than others).  And I have a friend  who has about 30 acres in Anna, Texas. They have horses, burros, dogs, and cats. Her outside (barn) cat had kittens a few weeks before Shiney.  She sent me these pics.

           These were sent from her iPhone to mine....

This mama had 2 solid orange tabbies, 2 orange and white, 2 calico, and 1 grey tabby...















Both she and Shiney appear to be very good mamas.  My friend will keep all her barn kitties, there's no question there. As for us, we usually take the kittens to the Adoption Center here, but we're procrastinating this time. This is Shiney's first litter and she's been such a good mama that we may let her keep this first batch. If we can work with them and get them friendly (which we have done on other occasions... especially since it's summer and we can sit out back with them), then we can take them in for their vacs and neutering. We'll see. May have to play this hand by ear (that sounds kind of weird, but you know what I mean).

By the way, I will tell you a funny story about my 18 month old grand daughter.She and her dad were over here this afternoon. She has now discovered the stairs and it is the greatest source of entertainment for her... climbing up and down them (with either her dad or me holding her hands), and then eventually looking down through the banisters to the entry below.  Today we gave her a small ball that she could throw down, it would bounce and one of us would catch it and throw it back to her. It was an amusing game... for the first 15 minutes or so... then it became a quest for a way to get her back downstairs without causing an uproar.

Well, I decided to try something.... I asked her if she would like to go back down and get some ice-cream (she loves ice-cream!!).  I didn't know if she would understand or even want to leave her little game, but surprisingly enough, she immediately grabbed my hand and headed down, led me to the kitchen, then to the freezer... and everyone laughed when I handed her the tub of Blue-Bell's Home-Made Vanilla and she sat right down on the floor with the carton on her lap.  All she needed was a spoon and she was ready!

Her dad snapped this with his iPhone fast before she started taking the top off...

On another note:  Just listened to a program on PBS called "Happy"...  It was a study on what made people happy... in different lands as well as in general. However, it really didn't tell us anything that most of us don't already know. If your basic needs are satisfied and you have people around that know and love you, most are generally happy. Those that don't have these things... those who are very poor or alone in the world... as well as those who have too much or want too much... where the drive for money over-rides everything else are not. It does have to do with dopamine... but apparently the conditions we find (or put) ourselves in affect this chemical. Exercise and laughter apparently increase the dopamine whereas stress and not enough sleep diminish it.  Now... realize that I'm paraphrasing the whole program... but this is what I took from it.

What was interesting that I didn't know:  they showed a circle chart where it showed the amount of... how do I phrase this.... maybe the *tendency to be happy we are born with* (50%) as well as the environment we live in (10%), and the leftover amount that we may have control over (40%). It was this 40% that we could play around with... by doing things we enjoyed, being around people we cared about, sharing... etc. And another interesting fact they mentioned was one's tendency to for want of a better phrase - *to pop back* after adversity.  It was not always simple, but it did involve "choice".

Then... and now

a few years ago...




















and now...

















As you who read my blog know, our grand daughter just spent a week with us. She is great with the cats and spends a lot of her time either playing with them (Jack misses her already) or taking pictures of them as well as the outside cats, raccoons, possums (we have a tiny one that visits these days), etc. She will sit for hours perfectly still waiting for them to come close. Or she will don rubber boots and head out by the creek looking for turtles and snakes.  Yes, she is a natural born nature-lover.  You can find more pics of her riding at an early age here.  (just scroll down to "Grand daughter and her horses")

But when she's here in Dallas, she misses her horses, dogs, cats, and turtles back home.  Luckily she has an iPhone and can use it to see and talk to them daily... as well as her family and friends (kind of like skyping?)

Loving animals seems to run in the family as even our youngest grand daughter (7 mons) seems to be fascinated with the cats and gets so excited when she sees them.  She wants to grab them... and occasionally does.  Luckily they don't seem to mind.  (We don't let her grab Rose... Rose is a bit unpredictable).  And recently she found the pink horse (which use to be other GD's when she was young) and is crazy about it . We have to laugh as she actually jumps up and down on it like she's 'posting'...

She likes to feel the fur...

Here she is jumping up and down hanging onto the mane...

















and lastly here is a picture of that tiny possum that has become a nightly visitor...

we call him 'Tossum' (for tiny possum - original, yes?)