Guest Services

Last night a bunch of us got together to meet my niece's good friend, Kat, from Iowa.  Normally, we don't need the excuse of a new family member to get together and eat, but we were being nice letting Kat think she was the reason for strappin' on the feedbags.

And what a feed it was!!!


I made some standard fare, queso dip and guacamole (which was AWESOME, if I do say so!!) but Sister outdid herself with cheese and onion enchiladas and build-your-own beef tostadas.  We had cake and banana nut bread and pralines too, but the BEST of the sweets was Sheli's Fruit Salsa!!  My girl introduced this incredible and quite versatile dish to the family a couple of years ago and it has become as big a standard for our family gatherings as Deviled Eggs.  So far I've tried the leftovers on toast and in my salad but I'm still debating if I think it will go well on a dish of Blue Bell.

Fruit Salsa

1 Fuji apple - peeled, cored and diced

1 cup diced fresh strawberries

2 kiwis - peeled and diced

2 bananas - peeled and diced

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hrs. 

Serve with cinnamon & sugar pita chips.

The big warm-up

The last few days have been really warm and sunny.  You'd almost think Spring is in the air, but it's just a bit too soon still.  However, it is nice to walk outside in shirtsleeves and no coat and not hear that little voice in your head (no, I don't know which little voice it is; there are far too many to name them all) saying "Hey stupid, you forgot your coat!!"
Even so, I'm not really looking forward to the warm up so much.  Last summer is still far too fresh in my mind (we weren't blogging then, but for those who were close enough to hear me screaming in frustration, it got up to 90 degrees INSIDE my house at one point... WITH the A/C on!!)

I did manage to venture outdoors a couple of times with camera in hand and it was nice to be out even though the landscape for the most part continues to look dead and my sinuses are telling me repeatedly and with conviction that I am foolish to assume there won't be anything worth sneezing over.  The best part was spending time with The Tater Tot in the park; I know he'd be outside all day every day if we'd only let him.  And knowing this makes me wish even more for a home with a boy-sized backyard!!
As I type, it's 81 degrees and the A/C is on...  I am in a state of rebellion.  I do not want it to be summertime.  I baked banana nut bread in protest.

Compounded problem

Sister and I have been talking for some time about the possibility of moving into a house together.  Me, Daddio, Sister, Mr. Lee, Mits, and possibly Mema all under one roof.  Or maybe two.  The idea has a lot of merit but the details may require a bit more gnawing on.

When we first started discussing it, we worked out in pretty short order what would happen in practical terms inside the house.  I clean, she cooks, 'nuf said.  But there's so much more to it than just the simple every day tasks that keep a house running.

Money, for instance.

Who will work and provide payment for the groceries and cleaning supplies?  The A/C and heat?  The feed for the donkey?

Oh yes, there WILL be a donkey!!

When I threw this idea out for my immediate family to dissect, it was met with some enthusiasm.  Which was a bit of a surprise but in hindsight makes a lot of sense.  After all, my kids aren't all that crazy about the idea of the old folks moving in with them when the time comes.  And too, we all loved the house on the lake when Mema and Papa lived there; it stands to reason we all want something in the way of that again.

I have no idea where or when or how.  There are far more unanswered questions right now than cemented plans.  But I'm having a good time dreaming about "some day" just the same...

 

Some beach...

This cold, cold, cold is making me wish for warm Gulf breezes!!!  But there's still a lot of winter left before we can even dream of flip-flops.  And Sister still has to get that hot air balloon ride in.  So, in the interest of chasing the chills away...

 The chairs are waiting for us.

Baby It's COLD outside!!!

Well, we've come a LONG way from the mid-70s of last week!!  Monday evening brought rain that moved right into sleet in the wee hours of Tuesday.  Our resident fireman reported back that the roads were horrid (he left for work at 4:00 a.m.) and things were getting worse as the morning came on.  I found out later they had a call that included one of the fire engines but had to make do without it when it was unable to stop going through the intersection!!
So, with rolling blackouts and frozen pipes, Sister made an executive decision to cancel this weekend's adventure in hopes of finding a warmer weekend somewhere down the road.  As much as I really wanted to see all the things Gruene has to offer, I'm good with waiting for walking weather.
Daddio has a fire going and I've been in the kitchen making cookies.  If it's too cold to antique, I guess we'll just have to EAT!!!

 

Hello Cupcake, part two!!

Here's a look at the finished product.  Sister added one more flavor to our cupcake tower then frosted them to match some of our favorite Scentsy scents!!  We ended up with Mochadoodle Hazelnut Latte (a combo of Mochadoodle and Hazelnut Latte), Peach Ginger (Just Peachy, Ginger!) and Praline (Central Park Praline).  They were very pretty and incredibly tasty!!  It'll be interesting to see if anyone else uses the idea and to see what flavors they end up with.

Next weekend we're off to Gruene, TX for a frolic!!  Should be a fun trip and I hope we find lots of interesting places to tell y'all all about when we get back.  We've also discovered that Wimberly is an antique-rich little spot as well and Sheli tells us there's a huge antique "festival" down in that area every year.  SWEET!!

Like I said, I really can't cook...

I've always been better in other rooms of the house than in the kitchen. I'll clean the kitchen; for HOURS.  I actually prefer cleaning to cooking.  I'll do the bathrooms.  I'll run the sweeper.  I'd clean the pool if we had one.  I consider cleaning as a perfect form of therapy for me.  Don't get me wrong, I don't go out of my way to find stuff to clean up, but I have been known to spend good portions of beautifully sunny days inside mopping floors.


Yes, I am sick.  And no, I've not consulted a therapist about this.  There may need to be a 12-step program.

I do have other hobbies.  I gardened for awhile, but when it's hot enough out to fry eggs on the back of your neck and the love of your life is lying on the sofa in a comatose state with the A/C blowing overhead and the TV on... well, there's just something totally screwed up about being outside with a shovel and half-dead plants.  I used to sew by hand.  You know, cross-stitch and embroidery.  But my fingers get stiffer every year and the eyes aren't what they were, so that's gone by the wayside as well.  I do still read, but it puts me to sleep so I only read when I'm already in bed.


So, what does that leave me?  I scrapbook.  I know it's the latest "craze" and all that, but I honestly enjoy it and am pretty specific about what I make and how it looks.  I completely dislike anything that could be termed "cute" in favor of things that might be considered a bit off the norm.  I also like to take pictures and (I think anyway) I've got a good eye.  So, I usually take pictures with scrapbooking in mind and that makes things so much easier when it's time to put the two together.

I also like working in the smaller formats.  Most of my books are 8" or smaller.  I love the chipboard books that spell out words and have even made my own when I didn't find the word I needed (Sister and I made our own "Beach" books for our Port A pictures) although I don't think I'd do that again without a machine to make more accurate cuts.

So, here's a sample of the "Engagement Calendar" I'm putting together for Mandy.  It chronicles the year (actually 14 months) of her engagement.  I thought it'd make a nice keepsake.

My other ongoing project is now in it's fourth year.  I started with an 8" scrapbook of Sheli's pregnancy with Justin and am now working on his book for age 2 to 3.  For now, it's almost as much fun creating the books as it is spending time with him.  Actually, it's much quieter...

This one is a bit harder in that I have to remember to get at least one picture of him each month, but it's been fun to watch him grown and change.  Eventually his changes will slow down and (hopefully) there will be other babies to do books for, so I don't know how many more "year" books he'll have.  Initially, I didn't photograph the pages as I went, so I do need to go back and do that against the day I don't have them to hand for reference or to browse any longer.

For now, I have them all while his room at his house gets reorganized.

 

And that beach book turned out a lot better than I'd hoped!!