Back Yard Chickens

The coop is done. Stephen's amazing, beautiful design. But I must admit, when the chickens arrived 4 days ago, I wasn't sure if the coop raised that high was going to work after all. Was the ramp too steep? Where there not enough "steps" for them to latch on to? These 4 little 12 week old beauties wanted nothing to do with going up the ramp or being put into the coop by hand. I'd put them in and they cried to be let out. They wanted to stay outside all night and sleep on their outside roost, a lovely branch from my cedar tree. It is summer. And the nights are warm. So I really couldn't blame them. But they wouldn't even go up to see the inside of their new home!

I tried one evening. I picked up Mona Lisa (Ameraucana) and placed her on the coop floor. She laid down, but wasn't very happy to be there. She sat in the doorway facing the run. Then I put Buttercup (Golden Comet) there. She stood there looking around wondering how she was going to get down. Then Viola (Barred Rock). She stood and peeped and bobbed her head around, obviously not happy. Then I went to get Big Red (Rhode Island Red). She (probably HE), turned around and glared at me, "Don't even think about it!" Big Red jumped to the ground just as I reached out my hands and stared at me, "Don't you ever try that again!!"

Last evening I even put Meal Worms up there to entice them……. didn't work. I put Viola in the coop and she jumped around trying to figure out how she was going to get back down. "Too high….. Too high," she cried. Then I picked up Buttercup to keep Viola company, thinking that would calm down both of them. Buttercup immediately jumped around trying to grasp onto the walls and then found the top window opening and sat there yelling, "I'm going to jump! I'm going to jump!" and Viola still squeaking "Too high….. Too high." In the meantime, Mona Lisa and Big Red nervously ran around the run trying to find a safe place to hide and get away from this crazy lady that's playing havoc with their peaceful little world.

"There's the ramp down," I kept telling them. "Here. Find the treats I left you up here. You guys aren't even looking!"

So, I gently led Viola to the ramp/stairs to go down and slipped her over the edge. She squawked and ran downstairs. Whew! Safe! Buttercup was going to have nothing to do with that! She suddenly gave out a yell, "Aaaaaaaaaaa!" and jumped and flew down to the ground. All 4 birds safely on the ground now, I left them to find their own place to sleep, figuring they'd find a way to stay comfortable.

Guess what I found this morning when I went to see them? Viola and Buttercup were both in the coop upstairs making a feast of the Meal Worms I had left. They flew in and out of the doorway and up and down the stairs without giving it a second thought. They're starting to grow up and are feeling more comfortable in their new home. I think I'll make the Meal Worm trail again tonight and see what happens.

Message From Heaven

He walked up to me as I was on Yard Duty at school today. He was obviously from India with an accent so strong that I couldn't understand him. Maybe he wasn't even speaking English, but I knew I had to listen. He spoke to me for about 5 minutes and left me with a message.

Sing and let your voice be heard.

Don't talk too much.

Get your head out of the computers and books.

Go outside into nature.

Then you will become like children…..a beautiful flower.

As he started to walk away, I bowed and thanked him. He turned around to face me and said, "You are a beautiful flower." I felt like the heavens had opened up and shared the most profound lesson. Who sent him to deliver this message to me?

Burrito, I guess… For One...

Put a flour tortilla on the plate. Line the tortilla with thin slices of Oscar Mayer Delifresh Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken Breast. Put a generous amount of Black Beans down the center. Top the beans with a handful of shredded cheddar cheese. Roll up. Microwave 1 minute. SO Good!! I ate this with a fresh, sliced tomato. Perfect for dinner on my own. Fast and delicious. Just thought I'd share.

Inspiration

The first time I noticed her was in August of last year when I first started back to work after my summer break. She was bent over, her body beginning to form a question mark. But she was running. Well, not really running. More of a little shuffle as her feet lifted slightly from the ground, her arms bent at the elbow with almost fists in front of her chest. Her back was bent and her head was low. She wore sweats, a hat, and white ear bud cords. I've been seeing her for about six months now. It was almost painful to watch and I wondered what motivated her to get out and do this every morning.

I saw her again this morning. She wore the same sweats, the same hat, the same ear buds. But she looked different. This morning her back was straighter! Her little shuffle was more the gait of a runner! Her steps were more confident. I smiled and gave her a silent cheer as I drove past, looking forward to seeing her again tomorrow. The body that had looked old and wasted was no longer. And I understood.

Laughter

Laughter is an instant vacation. ~Milton Berle

I hope to be on vacation all year.

Buon Natale e Buon Anno a tutti!

Anise and Walking

Anise prevents wrinkles

and

Walking exercises the brain.

Anise ~ according to Dr. Oz.

Walking ~ according to an "ongoing study which spans 20 years….." (San Jose Mercury News, Wed, 1 December 2010) "The more people moved, the higher their brain volume, a marker for brain health….. For healthy adults, walking at least 72 blocks a week (about six miles) can preserve brain volume and slow the risk of cognitive decline. Cognitively impaired adults needed to walk at least 58 city blocks a week (about five miles) to achieve the same results."

SO…...

I'm going for a walk and then coming home to make some biscotti with anise seeds.

Flexibility and Resiliency

"Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful. Everyone know this, but no one can do it." ~ Lao Tzu

Thoughts:

Relinquish your hold on experiences that don't serve you.

Be willing to let go and move on.

Be open to changes in your plans and have back up strategies.

Switch gears.

Discussions?

"Food, Glorious Food"

I don't usually do this much thinking about food, but I'm having fun finding recipes on line and in old cookbooks. Here are two easy blender recipes.

Blender Banana Bread

from Red Castle Historic Lodgings, Nevada City, CA

2 eggs

3/4 tsp. grated lemon peel

1 cup sliced ripe bananas (I used 2 that I had in my freezer)

1/2 cup soft butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 3/4 cup sifted flour

1 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Put eggs, lemon peel, bananas, butter, and sugar in blender container. Cover and blend on high for 20 seconds or till smooth. Sift together remaining dry ingredients into a mixing bowl. Pour egg mixture over and stir just until moistened. Fold in 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I used pecans) if desired. I also added 1/2 cup chocolate chips at my grandson's suggestion. (great addition!!!) Turn into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or till done.

Blender Lemonade

from Ina (The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook)

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used Meyer lemons from my garden)

1/2 cup superfine sugar, to taste

1 cup crushed ice

4 cups water

Place all ingredients in a blender and process until completely smooth. Serve over ice.

Now find a lovely spot in your garden and enjoy!

Rice Salad

I tried a new dish on Papa today. Rice Salad. He was BBQing pork chops and I wanted something quick and refreshing to go with it. I also wanted to use up some leftovers in my refrigerator. Rice... Chopped tomatoes from tacos the other night... I hate throwing food away.

I put the rice and chopped up tomatoes in a bowl and added:

cut up celery

flat leaf parsley and a couple leaves of basil, chopped up fine (about a hand full)

then I tossed the whole thing with:

a generous sprinkling of olive oil

a little vinegar

sea salt and pepper

It was delicious! I'll definitely make it again. It would have also been good with some feta cheese sprinkled in.

Just thought I'd share.

:-)

Biscuits

I found a great recipe. Fast. Delicious. And I can make as little as 4 biscuits which is perfect for the two of us. I'm dreaming of a summer morning sitting on my back porch with a latte and warm biscuits. Lovely dream... Soon...

Fluffy Biscuit Muffins

from Taste of Home: Ultimate Five Ingredient Recipes

(Lots of good things to eat in this book!)

1 cup self rising flour

2 tablespoons mayonnaise (do not substitute)

1/2 cup milk

In a bowl, cut flour and mayonnaise together until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk, stir just until mixed. Spoon into four greased muffin cups. Bake at 425 degrees for 14 - 16 minutes or until lightly browned. Yield: 4 biscuits

Try them... Let me know what you think!

iPhone Blessings

Here I am at the grocery store, picking up a few things, when it occurred to me that it was going to be freezing cold and rainy on Monday. And after a full day of work, I'm going to want dinner to be quick and warm and delicious. Tortellini Zuppa! Perfect. I've made it many times but couldn't remember all the ingredients and I certainly wasn't going to want to go to the grocery store on Monday, late and tired, in the rain to pick up that one forgotten item.

So, I got on my iPhone (love my iPhone!!) and went on line to my daughter's "food blog," Busy Mom's Culinary Club. I clicked on "soup" under Categories and found the recipe instantly. Knew what I had at home and picked up the rest. Monday is soup night with enough left over for a couple of lunches. I have bread and cheese and some ice cream for dessert. Mmmmmmm.

Thanks, (T) !! Love your blog.

Beer Bread anyone?

Delicious. Easy. Fast.

You can mix this in 2 minutes and then put it in the oven to bake while you prepare the rest of your meal. Warm bread with dinner tonight? What a treat!

3 1/2 cups self rising flour

1/3 cup sugar (I find Baker's Sugar works best, but regular granulated is good too.)

1 egg

12 ounces beer (Use regular beer. The cheap stuff you don't like to drink.)

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

Bake in a greased and floured loaf pan at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until the bread is golden brown or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Cool slightly and remove from pan. It slices easily with a bread knife even when warm, so go ahead and get yourself a nice warm piece and spread it with some butter! Enjoy...

Pumpkin Dump Cake

From my Facebook Friend, Noëlle Rábago Boesenberg.

I made it to bring to Sacramento on Halloween for moving day. Very easy. Smells wonderful! Delicious...

1 (29 oz.) large can pumpkin

1 (13 oz.) can evaporated milk

3 eggs

1 cup sugar (ok to use less if you want)

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1 box yellow cake mix

1 cup chopped pecans

1 ½ sticks butter (melted)

Mix together pumpkin, milk, eggs, sugar, spices. Beat well. Pour into greased and floured 9x13 inch glass pan.

Sprinkle cake mix over pumpkin mixture, then sprinkle on the pecans.

Pour melted butter over the whole thing.

Bake 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Watch closely at end. It burns easily.

Serves 12-15.

Scarf for Clifford, the big red dog.

I was visiting in Sacramento.

little 6 year old granddaughter wanted a scarf for red stuffed Clifford. I told her I had yarn but no knitting needles. Very sad Nonna. Very sad little girl. Can't disappoint my little girl! :-(

Now what?

Son-in-law (daddy) overheard and asked what knitting needles look like?

"Sticks with points on the ends," I told him.

"Hmmm," he said. And went to the kitchen. He returned seconds later with a set of chopsticks.
Clifford is getting a scarf. :-)
happy little girl.
ingenious son-in-law

Now she wants me to make him a shirt! That's going to be another story...
The end.

The Best Birthday Gift

She doesn't usually know who I am anymore. Or, at least, she doesn't appear to know me. She doesn't even recognize her own home and often wants to leave so she can "go home" when she's tired and wants to go to bed. She even walked out of her house, down the street and around the corner, with the TV remote in her hand, escaping from her very frightened caretaker, only to be found a few minutes later by some very kind neighbors and my sister...

But she's always happy anyway and loves visitors. So I went to see her on my birthday last month. We sat on the love seat in her living room and she was just looking at me with a kind of blank look in her eye. Staring.

Then, suddenly, an awareness came across her face. She looked at me as if she hadn't seen me in a very long time. "You're my daughter!!" she said. "You're my daughter!!" over and over and over. So excited her hands were shaking! "Yes, I am." was all I could say. She hugged me, telling me that I was her daughter. So happy to see me. It was my birthday and my mother knew who I was!

The best birthday gift ever...

Spa Day?

It all started because I needed a routine colonoscopy. Now this isn't something that I look forward to, but necessary to be done every 5 years if I want to remain healthy. I've already had an experience with cancer and will do whatever I need to prevent it from occurring somewhere else, thank you!

I purchased my nice box of medicine to start the cleansing process. 2 mild laxative pills and a 2 liter container with powder to mix with water and flavoring. I was a little nervous to be going to school/teach that day, but I was told I could continue with my regular routine and that I wouldn't be interrupted with any sort of emergency situation. Only clear liquids from the time I wake up and no solid foods or dairy products or red colored liquids. I had gone shopping for chicken broth, yellow gatorade, and apple juice. I'm ready to go...

I took the 2 pills at noon, drank my 16 ounces of chicken broth, and continued on. Drank tons of water and sipped on my gatorade all day. No problem. Went to my voice lesson after school. No problem. I thought, "this is easy." Then about 10 minutes into my lesson, I looked at my teacher (a woman, thank goodness!) and made a mad dash to the bathroom. Whew! made it! 

Ok. Let's try this lesson again. Singing, singing..... Mad dash to the bathroom! Whew!!!! made it! Sang for 5 more minutes because I needed to go through a couple of pieces with her, ended lesson and went home. 

The evening sessions, drinking my 2 liters and spending lots of time in my pretty blue and white bathroom, was interesting. When I told my daughter about it earlier in the day, she had said I should turn it into a "spa weekend." So my bathroom had the candles lit and a pretty vase of baby pink roses on the shelf. I also added a nice basket filled with interesting reading materials, pencil and paper, things that could occupy my time. It helped. It also helped to be able to go out into my hot tub when it was all over at 11 p.m. and soak in the 103 degree bubbling water out in the beautiful cool evening. I went to bed and slept peacefully.

The procedure went smoothly and my gentle husband held me close as he walked me, wobbly from the medication, out to the car. I walked up the walkway to our house and he commented about me looking "like I had been drinking." Wobbly from the meds, hungry from not eating since 2 days ago, happy to be home.

Well, I continued with the spa feeling and made myself the most delicious, healthy drink:

unsweetened almond milk, one whole banana, frozen blueberries, and a splash of 100% cranberry juice. Put all in the blender and blend till nice and smooth. Pour into a large, pretty glass. It's the most beautiful blue color and tastes delicious.

Then I sat in the "dapply shade" on my back porch with my basket of reading and my computer. Lovely. Suddenly getting hungry and with my husband gone to work, I prepared my lunch:

I put 2 large tablespoons fresh tomato salsa on my plate

(mine was mild, but you can spice it up if you like)

Then I put 2 eggs, fried in olive oil, on top of the salsa

(it warms it up a little. nice.)

and made a slice of french bread toast with butter.

My dessert was a cup of sugarless apple sauce and a hand full of nuts.

Water, water, water all day, of course.

Feeling wonderful. Spa weekend? You bet! 

Christmas is coming and the money is going...

We've become overwhelmingly commercialized in the U.S. and I wonder about other Christmas gift giving traditions. I "googled" and found this:

In Italy, instead of children writing letters to Santa Claus asking for presents, Italian children write letters to their parents to tell them how much they love them. The letter is then placed under the father's plate and read after Christmas Eve dinner.

Now, I love getting gifts as much as anyone else, but how I would treasure a love letter from my husband, from my child, from my grandchild!

Mamma

I got to her house just as she was ready to go for her afternoon walk, holding on to her purse with one hand and her caregiver with the other. At almost 94 years old, she gets around well but conversation comes in very small snippets if at all. Her world is often her memory of childhood and sometimes I think she's back in her Italian village in the mountains of Tuscany.

As we head out the door, she knows the directions she wants to walk. Turn left at her sidewalk, turn the corner at the end of the block, cross the street and walk to the next corner, turn that corner and the next, cross the street and walk to the parking lot of the neighborhood restaurant. No, you don't stay on the sidewalk there, but must walk through the parking lot and under the overhang of the building. Her walks never change. Her step is quick and has purpose. She holds on to her caregiver the entire time and is careful not to fall.

Today she held on to my hand also. A beautiful, warm, sunny Thanksgiving weekend and the sidewalks are covered with autumn leaves of every color. She wasn't careful walking through the leaves. She headed toward them like a child heading for a rain puddle. Head a little down, feet suddenly dragging on the dry pavement, then a bit of a rush as her little feet became buried in the dry leaves and she swished through them singing something I didn't understand.

She's happy. She smiles all the time. She sings. She lives in a world that I don't know. But once in a while she shows me a picture of her world. Sort of like a quick look through her window and then the curtain is drawn again.

Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes

Very simple. Very quick. Very good.

Drizzle olive oil in a skillet. Chop some garlic (I used 2 good size cloves) and add it to the warmed oil. Saute on medium heat just until you start to smell it. Then add about 5 or 6 chopped Roma tomatoes. Stir around a bit and let cook on low while you cook the pasta. The tomatoes will make a nice delicate juice. Keep low so the juice doesn't dry out.

Add 1 pound good quality penne pasta to boiling salted water and cook as directed. When the pasta is cooked, drain well and add to the tomato skillet. Add more olive oil and stir to combine well. Add some chopped fresh basil. 

I serve it straight from the skillet topped with grated cheese and fresh perle Mozzarella. Pour yourself a glass of wine and you're suddenly in an Italian village!

A daughter's cancer

Our children aren't supposed to get cancer. My daughter, a young wife and mother, is supposed to be enjoying the best times of her life. But she was recently hospitalized with thyroid cancer which spread to two lymph nodes. Her thyroid and two lymph nodes were removed. Seeing her in the Oncology Ward of the hospital broke my heart. 

Now she's going back to the hospital for an Iodine Radiation treatment that I can barely understand. She's a fighter. She always was. Now she's fighting to get rid of the cancer that has invaded her body. Her spirit is positive and she's ready to go. Anxious to get through this next step. Wanting it done and over. Me too.

The best times of her life are just ahead. Healthy. Strong. Happy.