Good Morning Friday

 

 This is the sunrise early morning today.Another hot and humid day-but supposedly rain and a cool down coming in tomorrow

  Happy Labor Day-to those that celebrate  (USA)

Morning Surprise

   During this very hot summer, I have missed hearing the eagle pair singing and sitting together.

This week though I have heard his song but haven't seen them-this morning-I could.

  I had to really zoom in.

Yesterday I was concerned though, as their was a bobcat clearing brush up there. On no I am thinking, hoping they don't take the trees down as well.

  When we first moved here, we learned that a family owned this large piece of property up on top of this hill. I have been so hoping this didn't get chopped up for lots of homes. This eagle family has been been here for many many years.  Will have to wait to see what happens.

A Good Day for Bean Soup & Cornbread

   A couple days ago I bought one of those large thick sliced cut ham with the little bone in the middle. I don't buy ham very often any more. Maybe once a year now do to Larry's heart disease.

  The leftover ham I cut into small cube sizes and made a mixed bean soup. Today I finished that up and made a small cast iron pan of homemade cornbread. I love this recipe as it only uses cornmeal, not flour and a little bit of cornmeal. 

  I searched my posts here, and when I was posting recipes in cast iron I shared this recipe here

  It comes from King Arthur flour site that I found many years ago. It since has been taken down, which is a shame since this is gluten free too with no flour. 

  I used to double the recipe and make a larger cast iron pan of this. Usually though some of it would go stale before we ate it all, so the birds got it.  This size pan is perfect for the two of us and for two meals

   Turns out this was the perfect meal today as the temperatures dropped with T storms most of this morning. This one gave us lots of rain and very large booms from the thunder.

  That big Shootout with the speedboats got postponed, but has just restarted again. I like watching a bit of it on the tv and they usually have a stunt plane too.

  Happy weekend

Coming together to Save our Nation

Good Morning Friday-Ramblings

  Hello everyone,

  Were you able to see the August full moon? I didn't get a photo but it was just glorious to see over the lake. Huge and very bright-but not orange here like I have seen in some photos. The moon with it's very bright reflection over the lake was really amazing.

  These past several days we are enjoying much cooler weather 50's-low 60's F early mornings and low 80's during the day-loving it!  We are heating back up though to the 90's F

    I did get out with the weed eater to tackle the very very tall grass in areas-of course I over did it and my back is not happy. It was screaming in pain yesterday. I laid on the floor last night with a few blankets so I would be laying really flat. I know better than to do this two days in a row too. I wanted to get it knocked down before the heat returns and before labor day weekend.

  This weekend is the lake's big Shootout event -the big speed boat races-many are already here running fast boats up and down the lake (Lake in the Ozarks)  They are fun to view as they fly by-the docks not so much. This is a huge charity event to help those in need in our area. It gets bigger every year and is televised in more areas now too. I think last year they raised around $500 thousand dollars

  My dairy attack on my body is getting better-slowly. Really watching what I eat.  I have lost 5 pounds too which I have been wanting to do.

     I am someone that has always preferred  snacking opposed to sitting down to a meal. I have had to finally give up potato chips etc as well-too much fat in those for my digestive track. That was a big one for me this year-no more potato chips, fritos, popcorn. ugh.  Larry is really enjoying ice cream and Klondike bars this month still. I shopped the local small grocery stores yesterday and found all natural popsicles with half the sugar.  I bought a box of mango ones for me. Yum I used to make my own-and still have the popsicle forms to make them-I may just do that.

   I started shopping at Sav a lot more. These stores are in Missouri and I am not sure if they are outside of the state. Our friend tells me they buy their meat there. I discovered if I am there Monday through Friday when they first open-they have a section with really marked down meat. We pretty much only eat pork and poultry these days. I found a small boneless pork loin roast for $1.50 Wow I grabbed that one for sure. If we were eating beef still-they had two packages of huge porterhouse steaks-really marked down as well. I do buy organic grass fed hamburger but no longer steaks etc. I asked where their meat comes from, I thought they sold usa meats-she said from the local farmers-love that.

 I have been working on the next embroidery block. This time I outlined all the motifs first, and now working on all the X's in the background. I want to see if I like this better than filling in the wolf, trees etc with the X's

Wow preseason football games have started already. I don't watch preseason games though. I am still watching the KC Royals baseball games. They are getting closer to getting into a playoff wildcard spot.

Another month is flying by this year-soon we will be in September-Wow how did that happen?

Enjoy your Friday and Weekend

 

  

Happy Weekend-Coffee and This & That & Amaranth Grain-Long Post

Good morning Friends,

   Last night was the first night in months that I fell asleep and didn't wake up til early morning. I didn't feel totally refreshed but I finally did get a good night's sleep. I have a lot of sleep catching up to do but this was a good start.

  We are back to very hot temperatures again with humidity-well it is August which I think is usually one of the hotter months here including July. This year I am sooooo ready for autumn to arrive.

 Since I can not work outdoors still, I am motivated to start the deep clean of our home  before winter settles in. If I do this now than when it cools down hopefully by mid September I can work outdoors-finally.

 Some mornings teas just don't work, I am out of decaf coffee so instead I ground up dandelion and chicory root. Have not made me  a pot of this in sometime now. It tastes really good too.

 Next to our coffee  maker I have these containers behind the coffee and decaf coffee. I grind a crock full of the coffees at a time.

 The dandelion and chicory pot is up on top .This makes a very smooth swallow. I forgot how good this actually is.  

   Many years ago I used to subscribe to Gevalia 's coffee club. I would stay a member for a year or two stop it for awhile and then re subscribe. Each time I would get some sort of coffee pot along with one of their crocks-most were white and I did get a green one once.  One year I had resubscribed   to get their porcelain pour over coffee maker-that makes really good coffee too.

  I was surprised when my new Gelli plate arrived really fast, just a couple days after I ordered it. Since I don't pay for amazon prime, it said it would take a week. We get our mail here at the lake really fast-which I love-since I order a lot of foods online too.  I haven't had the chance to play with the gelli plate  yet though.

   My system is still messed up since the too  much ice cream incident but it is getting better slowly. Really watching what I eat-lots of fresh fruits like berries and melons. Back to making chia seeds in 1% milk which my body can handle. I did find one more carton of cashew milk too that I used up with the chia seeds. I used to buy nut milks that the ingredients were only the nuts and water nothing else. Those are no longer affordable anymore.  I don't have a lot of food shopping choices close by so I order a lot of gluten free and organic canned items especially online. Coffee beans are more affordable online at Sam's club.

  I did order amaranth for another gluten free cereal besides just gluten free oatmeal. I haven't cooked with this one before although in the past I have used it as a flour.  This is actually a seed but is referred to as a grain. Very nutritious with protein and fiber  All the recipes I found to cook it as a cereal was 4 servings. So I broke it down to 1 serving. It needs a long slow cooking time and for 1 serving needs more water for sure. The flavor is pretty decent after the long cooking time kinda like cream of wheat cereal or a creamy grits cereal.  Any of you cooked with this as a cereal?  

Here is a photo from online-   It is as small as sesame seeds.

and this link made the amaranth porridge into a cereal or a savory dish

  The lake will be very busy this weekend going forward to Labor Day weekend.  Major boat racing events this weekend and next. 

  I have been watching older movies that I have never seen before on the streaming app Tubi and they have less commercials than regular tv so that's nice.

  This afternoon I did some "cyber" housecleaning.  I will be 75 this coming October-yikes and Larry will be 79 in October.  Using a computer started back when I retired in 2003

    For some reason this afternoon I went through the blogs I follow-and deleted lots. I am down to around 30 or less now. So many I never visit or they don't visit me, some have passed on-I finally was able to let those go. Only one I saved was Shroo- She was very special and I still  miss her. I really think she may have passed as she was ill.  Many I just don't go back to and read so those are gone. I did save a handful of arts and crafts blogs that I learned a lot from when I retired.  Just a very few that have totally opposite views of my own, don't visit me even if I visit them- are now deleted. 

     I did the same on Facebook as well-I would leave that very very liberal run space if not for a handful of friends since I retired and no longer blog. Also I follow one of my favorite authors there, along with many Yellowstone photographers. I visit but do not post much there anymore. also I don't have a cell phone so friends that do-text me on facebook and I get that as a message.

  I have rambled on enough it seems-smiles- Happy weekend everyone.

    Oh and I forgot to mention, when I was going through my too many teas,  I discovered I have a box of black tea  and also green tea that are not decaf-I missed that some how when I bought them. Any of you in the USA that would like some of these tea bags let me know with your address and I will mail you some. Larry does not drink teas and I can't drink these. My close by friend Mary drinks no teas.  

  

  

Cool Down

   Good morning Monday,

      It has been cool here-this morning feels like October, a little rain coming in. We soooo needed a break from the high temperatures and high humidity.

Sadly I have been ill during this perfect weather for getting outdoors. I have food allergies, back in the 80's when doctors could not help me I did an elimination diet and figured out I had celiac-no gluten. I also over the years have had issues with dairy products-full fat milk, cheese etc. So last month I forgot about that and have been enjoying ice cream in the evenings during those extreme hot days. My husband loves ice cream too so this has been a treat for us-ahhh not so much for me-Last Friday it all backfired and my body is rebelling-severe constipation and painful rash on my hands, feeling really ill.  I should have known better not to have ice cream more than once every 10 days or so.

  On a very positive note, yesterday Larry made it up the steps-and into his heavy equipment that has been in the same spot since his fall early October. This has been sitting on a steep hill where we were working on a drainage ditch since that fall.. A friend that we pay to help us with things was here, and the weather being cool-was a good day for this. Larry needed a step ladder to get into it. Battery needed charged but it started right up. That has been on his mind for awhile now to get it moved. With this moved, once we can get Larry's Snapper to start-thinking needs a new battery-he can park that near the basement door and drive up the hill to the top.  So this was a huge day for him. Of course severe pain today but I know he feels good accomplishing this task.

  Larry's suburban will not start now after sitting all this time. I don't drive big vehicles like this, but we should have thought to start it once in awhile. Now the electronics are off and the "key" needs to be  reprogramed to work  Not sure how to go about that.

 After falling in love with Erika's printed leaves on her gelli plate-I had to buy me one. I have lots of acrylic paints too, back when I was trying out painting, so am anxious to try this out. This has been a rough one since Larry's fall and I have not been able to concentrate on any of my arts and crafts. I am enjoying the embroidery project but this one has me excited. The woodworkers table will work perfect for this project, will just cover it up with one of those flannel backed plastic table covers. It will save me from needing to clear my very full desk top in my craft room.

  There were some happenings at the Olympics this year that I was not too fund of. The closing ceremony was "weird" in my opinion but I loved the ending when they passed the Olympic flag to Los Angeles with Tom Cruise-that was fun.

 Happy Monday and new week

Found this Snoopy online

It's Not Just Politics This Election

    I don't want to post politics as most of my readers have different views than I do, but I just wanted to express my views and share what I believe. .Note: some like to debate-I don't debate-period. I am just sharing my thoughts that this is not a regular election-it's a choice on keeping America or Not.

  This coming November election should not be about what party you favor, but saving our great country from demise.  I know this sounds dismal but in my opinion this Is the most important election of my lifetime and I will be 75  this October. I have voted in every election since I was 21 and could vote. I do this to honor my freedom of voting, and to honor the past women that fought for my right to vote.

 If you are one to watch the news daily or read it on your phones you have been indoctrinated by the media with whom ever is in charge with untruths and misleading information. Sounds crazy doesn't it??  but  a few years ago I had watched something live and the news media twisted it all around to report a lie. I was stunned and from that day forward I have not watched any news shows.  I also don't watch conservative based news either as both sides spin a truth to what they want to tell you. Instead I scan the internet and compare notes of the reporting to figure out what the truth might be.

 If you are a senior like me, you may remember Walter Cronkite a news man-back then the news was reported,  Not someone's "agenda" or their "spin" on the truth. I would really like to know who is running our country right now. Wouldn't you? Have you ever thought about it? 

   Biden is not capable and Harris's only job from day one that I can tell was the border.-She didn't finish building the last small section of the wall. Never once visited the wall. We are no longer safe in our country because of this. I think I heard over 20 million illegals have crossed and they are taking jobs and money away from the American people. We are All immigrants by heritage, but we followed the laws and came in legally. So what is "their" plan? some states are letting illegals vote-are you ok with that??

  Many people dislike Trump so much-why?? mostly because the media has lied, and these past years the federal government has attacked him constantly with false accusations and untruths using extreme liberal judges in courts. So of course when you watch the "news" you are told untruths.   I ask myself what is really going on here in our country??  Some  country or person or persons are working on changing our country to a very far left liberal extreme agenda. Trump is in their way.

 I think some will vote for Harris just because she is a woman. I don't care about gender or race, I only care about qualifications to do the job. Scan the internet and listen to her speeches-you will be shaking your head. In some states she tells them she is black, in other states she tells the truth that her heritage is India.  In my opinion she is not a Democrat but a very far left extreme liberal. Her VP pick is even more extreme-he watched his cities burn to the ground and did nothing about it.  and so far she is refusing to debate with Trump and has done No interviews with any reporters. So what are they hiding?

  Also if I was a Democrat I would Not be happy with whom ever is "in charge" that they forced Biden to step down from the race (but he is still fit to be President now??) -Harris has gotten No votes to run for President. I would not be happy about that. She was chosen by whomever their "handler" is. This should have all been decided at the Democratic convention Not before- by casting ballots to choose their new nominee since "they" forced Biden out.

 This vote in my opinion is Not about voting for your chosen party,  but voting to save our country as our founders envisioned   We need to all really research everything before casting our votes-this is not a normal election this time around. Don't be persuaded by the media or campaign ads-do your own research and really take this election seriously.

  I agree with Trump-we need one day voting on paper ballots, and absentee voting as needed only. Some states are voting for months even past election day. Our votes are no longer secure in many states.

 I also ask friends -- were you better off during Trump's term? No inflation, food prices affordable, gas low. Everything is soooooo much more expensive now. Also My choice if I want to buy an all electric car The govt should Not be choosing for me. Not every situation works for electric cars-Biden has it set up to phase out all gas-ridiculous.

  I remember this ad from Reagan and it says it all. (this is Reagan's ad)

Ok  this will be all you  hear from me on politics but our country is in trouble so this is me fighting for her

Happy Dancin-Cool Down & Embroidery Etc (Long)

   Good morning mid-week 

    Yesterday afternoon I could feel the cool down coming-finally-it's been over a month with highs in the mid 90"s. Am thinking though that a lot of the USA has had a hotter summer. Here in this part of Missouri these types of summers since we have lived in this area come around every 15-20 years so nothing new for these parts. 

 Yesterday  I did leave after 6 am once it got light to vote early-but sigh no one at my polling place. Never got a notice in the mail that it had changed. So I did my food shopping at Wal mart and then in the same city is our county court house so stopped in there. I could no longer vote there  but she apologized that I didn't get a letter and told me the new place-which was close by but not  marked very well. Now being held at the Methodist  church.  They have a one lane drive to the church so I am thinking come November I will vote at the courthouse instead-less stressful as the polls should be packed-hoping so.

 Yesterday I did finish up the first wolf panel. I soaked it in soapy water last night to remove most of the blue markings, I wanted to see what it looked like without those markings.  I struggled with the X's in the wolf especially that I marked in-but in the end will be ok. I rinsed it out this morning and laid it on a towel to dry on top of the dryer.

   I needed more white showing, so I outlined the stars and moon with white thread but did not fill in with the X's . I had marked lines with a quilting pencil for the moon and those markings did not come out yet-hopefully in the wash those will. Now that I think about it-I could still go back and fill in with  the X's and would still be white with the thread.

 There are 6 of these panels so I think I will stitch another one like this one, and then each two will do them a little different-maybe just also outline the trees instead of filling them in, not sure yet. Also thinking of using different colors for the wolf too-shades of browns, darker greys.

  Last week I had apples that needed to get used up in a crisp. I added dried tart cherries to them.

  You are all probably getting bored with seeing apple crisps, I won't make another one til the fall crop comes in-these were not as nice being last year's crop. I grabbed my largest cast iron pan to get most all of the apples used up. This is the first time I struggled with the heavy pan-getting older-ugh 

  Yesterday our friend that also helps Larry with outdoor work projects was here yesterday. One of the things I really wanted done-is if they could get down the hill and steps-Larry's Grandfather's rock. Larry has moved this rock where ever he moved for close to 50 years. It is a unique rock, and back years before we retired -a friend of ours that was a taxidermist for a museum asked if could make a cast of it. Was perfect in many positions for displays.

  A few weeks last autumn before Larry's fall, we moved it to the lake house but it has been up on top of the driveway since-then our neighbor didn't like where it was and without asking moved it next to his small rocks. I told him about the rock and that one day it will get moved-and that he had it upside down too..

  It is rather cloudy outdoors right now so didn't capture all the colors in the rock-love the spots that hold water for the birds.  This was extremely heavy-they had it on a dolly and going down the steps the strap broke-but Lesley was able to save the rock-yikes. It did chip the concrete steps a bit.  

  I told Larry about it, and he says "why did you have them bring it down?"  So we could enjoy it here. He was wanting to get it moved over from our neighbor's property but our side right there starts the steep downhill driveway-steep hill on the back side as well-and we couldn't enjoy seeing it. Plus it could roll down the hill I was thinking too.

  So anyways long story but am grateful-told Lesley this will probably be the rock's last resting place.

 On that same trip to the woods house, I saw Larry's woodworking table. I love old wood pieces especially and said I want that piece. My thoughts were to place it in the living room-but at the time did not realize it was so long. Larry left so much of his shop behind that I just really wanted this piece. So of course he was having a fit over it. The only spot I could find that was long enough was in my already too full computer-weaving-food pantry room.  It is cramped in there a bit but I have the table-smiles

  So the guys brought that down too and set it up. I cleaned with Murphy's oil soap  and then rubbed in a wood preserver. It is a lot darker now after doing that. I can still get into the two pantry cupboards behind it-the bookshelves there-and Lesley made enough room to the left so I can use the weaving warping board-this was all set up when I came home yesterday On the floor behind are the quilting poles that go into a quilting frame.  

Our friends from Wisconsin have not been down for a visit in a couple years now, but when they do-they sleep in this room on their air mattress-I am hoping there will be just enough floor space still. If not will need to figure something out.  Originally I wanted a bit larger house-one more room would have been nice to fix up for a guest room.

  This ended up being a long post but was good to write a post to share.

  The cool down today is "heaven"

And The Heat Continues

  Good morning new week,

    Not much happening here still, mostly do to the extreme heat wave that has not let up, no rain but next week it is in the forecast.

  Over the weekend I watched a lot of Olympics and looked for movies on the app Tubi found a couple to watch.

 For summer treats we have been enjoying more ice cream than we usually do-and I bought for the first time-Klondike bars for a treat. I also make smores in the microwave once in awhile too-I love them and since I don't have a gas stove here at the lake, the microwave works pretty good.

  I worked on the hand embroidery piece all weekend as well, not totally crazy about the outcome, will finish it today. I will rinse this in soapy water by hand to get rid of all the markings and see how it looks then. I am not going to stress over it as this project was suppose to be a stress reliever and to accomplish something during this heat wave. 

  Looking this morning for a summer song to share-and found this old classic

  Happy new week

Good Morning August