Me, Enjoying the Weather...

Me, enjoying the weather...

PRAYERS

Slow changing of heart
calms the storms blocking seasons; 
forgiving the past.

ARGUMENT!

ARGUMENT!

Fall awaits her door
opening to early snow
summer holds on tight!

PUSHY FALL

Tries to force entry
banging upon the stage door
yet summer finds peace.




RED FLOWERS

Nursed by sweet summer
bloom in the raining of tears
showering beauty.



PEACE

Sun sets upon strife
bringing divine colors in;
stars will shine on blues.


skb

RUBIO and BANJO



2 Bettas (from a photo I found online)



My fish tank now has a Betta. He's bright red and I named him Rubio! So, now I have 2 fish, Banjo (my banjo catfish) and my Betta, Rubio. They are so relaxing to watch, better than medicine in so many ways!



A banjo catfish (from a photo I found online)


These handy fish clean your tank so well you hardly have to clean it at all, except vacuum and change the water. They eat algae off the glass, rocks, plants... and they are so much fun to watch!

Both these fish have plenty of "personality!"

Some days you just have to grin and take it...

We had a power failure of 16 hours recently. Several of my fish died right after the power went back on! I was shocked about this until I realized that they must have hyper-ventilated. They got over-drunk on oxygen, the poor things! They had been breathing so heavily, gulping air during those 16 hours (probably unconciously) that when the power and their "air" came back on, they sucked in so much oxygen that it killed them, poor li'l things.

I guess I'll have to get some surface breathers like the Betta from now on. My Banjo Catfish did survive, he's a surface breather and did so during the whole 16 hours. I love him so! He's so much fun to watch.



My Daddy's Lentil Soup

My Daddy's Lentil Soup

This is a 24-48 hour recipe in some ways! That is because it tastes best after having simmered for that long or there abouts. What you'll need to make it the best way are the following, though some things can be substituted:

1 onion
(medium, medium pot size, large, larger pot size, etc.)
1/2 to 1 bag of dry lentils
2-3 carrots
cellery tops (leavy parts)
1 Daisy Ham (or Polish Sausage)
1-2 bay leaves
peppercorns
salt to taste
water

A crock pot can be used, or stove top pot.

Fill your pot 1/2 full with water. Soak lentils for 24 hours in the pot. Fry the onion to a golden brown. Slice the carrots and cellery. Place the pepper corns and bay leaf(s) into a tea ball or some other thing that separates them from the main soup. Then boil the water and add all the other ingredients. Bring to a rapid boil for 10 minutes and Simmer 24 hours. Enjoy!

My uncle worked for the UN



"TWO OF MY COUSINS WERE BORN IN AFRICA"
(My uncle worked for the UN)

To see this page and entry your own stories...
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 I never had the chance to meet them until I was in eighth grade. When I told my social studies teacher they had come home to the USA, she wanted them to come to our class and answer questions. I had to inform her that they lived in NYC, a 3 hour drive from where I went to shcool. She acted like she didn't believe the whole thing then!

My cousins were so into everything that was new to them here, swingsets on the school playground, our dog, the forest behind our house, etc. I really did not get a chance to ask them much.

Over the years I understood that their having been born and raised for many years in a war torn country made it not too much what they wanted to talk about. That country had been torn apart; it was called Nigeria by some and Biafra by others...

I wonder if they ever saw any elephants, I never asked.

I do observe that their birthplace influenced their lives a lot. The older of the two boys joined our army and after many terms of service, is now studying CAD on the Post 911 GI Bill. The younger one plays the drums professionally and obviously heard many a drum in his early childhood.

Africa is still mostly unfamiliar to me. Thankfully, though, my cousins have shared a bit of their memories about it here and there on their Facebook Pages. I'm always impressed!

~

My Daddy the Chef!

Photo complements of
a CHOPHOUSE in
Murphy, NC

( COOKING WITH DADDY AFTER MY SCHOOL DAYS )

My daddy was the chef and connoisseur in our family. He LOVED Italian restaurants and was known to take Sunday afternoon drives two states away to find the "bestest" ones! Mom was a world famous computer programmer, and a pioneer in her field too.  SO daddy was our chef extraordinaire.

Daddy would make steamed clams with me every day after high school. It was my job to watch them and let him know as soon as they slowly opened... then we enjoyed them with real butter, YUM!

He had a PASSION for spaghetti and sausage; he made some mean baked beans and the BEST home-made soups and stews! Everything was done the old fashioned way, no cookbook, a pinch of this, hand full of that, etc.

He had some awesome pots and pans with copper bottoms.

These days I use cast iron pots when I can, or the ones he liked to use with the copper bottoms. I find these in thrift stores. I have built a bit of mean arm muscle with the heavy iron ones too; lifting them is tough!

He didn't use crock pots or a microwave because they had not been invented yet! I use my crock pot quite often, but my microwave seldomly.

Last night I made some popcorn the old fashioned way, no microwave. You have to shake it the whole time you cook and fry it in a bit of oil, or it will stick and burn!

Soups and Stews: 

Daddy would fry the onions to a golden brown (uncovered) before adding them to these. This way we'd be sure the "onion gasses" would not overpower the more gentle flavors of other veggies.

Baked Goods:

He didn't do cakes or cookies, so I did those. I liked the simple ones you drop by the spoon on cookie sheets and bake. I do them that way even today. He liked to get things from the local bakeries best though. And eclairs topped his list (mine too)!!!

We had a huge dining room table that seated maybe 12. Daddy and mommy both enjoyed dinner parties and entertained often. We were not rich; daddy was a plumber. We were just comfortable and that is the kind of life I try to live these days in their honor, God rest their souls.


Photo complements of
a CHOPHOUSE in
Murphy, NC