Ordinary Life

Some family members from home alerted  us to the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship when the ad started airing on tv during this season's Master's Tournament. I promptly registered Chandler and a little later, we received notice that he had made the 'lottery-style' cut for the first qualifying round.  We've been a little pre-occupied with baseball, but Chandler took the opportunity to practice at the driving range whenever he could find a chance to do so.  Though he has been swinging a club since he could hold one, and though he believes golf to be his birthright (I mean, he's from Augusta, how could it NOT be so, right ? Right. ) Aside from friendly rounds of "PuttPutt", this was Chandler's first competitive anything to do with golf.  Chandler's First ScoreBoard   Chandler warms up before his group is called to the tee box.  Chandler waits for his turn at the first event: Driving  Is there anything more fun than entertaining a toddler in a ...

The BigKids were forced to exit the pool when the rain grew heavy and annoying and cold. We took our little sunshine with us. On the way back to The Dry, we spotted bananas growing over the community fountain. I have since charged Clay to fetch them for me.  We recently watched The Princess Bride again and my head is still full of Buttercup and Farm Boy I suppose- Clay said "I'll get right on it" to which I reminded him he is supposed to say "As you wish." I am happy to report he quickly amended his reply. However, I am still waiting on the bananas. 

Another entry in the "Not Pretty But Palatable" files:  Pita Pockets I followed the recipe linked in the title loosely. I used White Whole Wheat along with regular All Purpose flour. I believe it added a chewy quality that I appreciate in bread. I made two batches of dough, and due to life circumstances, I left them covered on the counter overnight - as opposed to for a few hours. This turn of events gave a sour dough like quality- also appreciated in breads we consume. Pita dough discs waiting to be flung into the oven. Two factors made my pita less than desirable: My hastiness to finish the project and my fear of very high temperatures.  Had I rolled the discs more uniformly and had I not flung the discs haphazardly onto the HOT baking sheet in the oven, leaving them to cook more or less in the shape that they landed, they'd have no doubt been easier to use for sandwiches. I chose to roll some discs smaller with the kids in mind, but they were too small in the end.  I t...

GOOD POEMS ~ various authors, arranged by Garrison Keillor Lots of good picks here (fitting title) but I had no doubt there would be. I had gotten ahold of Good Poems for Hard Times  first- a long while back. I hope to enjoy  Good Poems, American Places  in the near future. I copied so many of the poems into my quote journal that my hand began to ache. I eventually had to write the remaining titles of those I wished to keep so that I could look them up, print them out and just paste them in instead...too, too many. Someday, I will have all of these volumes on my shelf...somewhere. Currently, we move too much. Stacks and stacks of books are glorious, but heavy to move about the countryside, plus I hate what happens to books in storage.  Iscariot by Tosca Lee Lee's writing- and subject matter- reminds me of dark chocolate. And I love dark chocolate. I love when a book glimpses a familiar subject from an unfamiliar vantage. Iscariot was that kind of book. Painting a v...

I had some 'leftover' ingredients. We turned them into lunch.  Sauce: Half a tomato, cut & mushed up Mixed with a little wine, tomato paste, balsamic and seasonings Crust: Last remains of Greek yogurt & self rising flour Pressed into an oiled pan with using a layer of plastic wrap (big help on the sticky dough finger problem) Then, buttered & seasoned with crushed garlic & pantry stocked italian flavors. Hunked up Mozzerella ball and Basil from our patio "garden" Baked at 375  til bubbly Remaining garlic tossed in olive oil & salt, roasted alongside pizza in tin foil packet Whatever roasted garlic was not eaten whole (love that stuff!) we mushed and mixed with sour cream for our dressing of a bag of orphaned Florida Red potatoes that lay abandoned in the bottom of the pantry.  ( Italian Bakers~ Mozzerella & Italian seasonings) It weren't fancy, but it was tasty. 

Earlier, I shared pictures I found online of an unlikely friendship . Here is another strange pairing found a little closer to home:  That's my patio grape plant holding the leaf of my patio corn.  I am happy to see them supporting one another in such constructive ways  ;)

I have been creating some visual art type things for a project. For one part, I needed a picture of ' unlikely friends ' At least, that was one of the search terms I used. It was late when I came across these photos... and that is what I blamed the initial fit of giggles that overcame me on... this very late hour I found myself awake and playing with graphics.  I have no such excuse however,  for every other time I am overcome by mirth by these candids- which is every time I happen to see them.  That monkey's smile...  the way he's so sincerely sharing his banana...  

The first time we tried this, we only had a blender handy and the results did not resemble all the pins you see of this recipe on Pinterest and such places. Since that time, I finally replaced my old food processor. So we gave the recipe another go. Ingredients: Bananas~ sliced into 'medallions' >>For ease of use, we lined plates with the banana slices and covered them with wax paper. This allowed for stacking the plates due to limited space in the freezer. << Once bananas are frozen, pulse in a food processor until creamy. We neglected to make this recipe the day we intended, so the bananas were frozen pretty solid. It took a little extra scraping down the sides of the processor for everything to mesh together. Serve immediately. Delaying too long will not lead to melting as with ice cream, but it will lead to more of a mashed banana treat than a frozen one. Personally, I am a fan of banana ice cream. When I used to work at an ice cream scooping place, my favorite ...

I finished reading the following from our first Summer Reading book grab at the  local library:   Whale Season  ~ N.M. Kelby This was a fun, quirky Florida read. I had never read Kelby before. I imagine I will look up her other titles. Though this story is set at Christmas time, it feels like Summer. A lot like living here.  There was a moment in the story where the proprietor of a strip club realizes that the disdain she feels for the men that ' should be home with their families on Christmas Eve ' is misplaced... that these men are working on Christmas Eve for the sake of their families... regardless of the questionable nature of their chosen lunch spot.  Sometimes, I am like that... it takes me a long time to see what has been right in front of me all along... to see something familiar in a new, perhaps kinder perspective.  Or at least to choose to try to.  Elsewhere :A Memoir ~ Richard Russo This book explained a lot. It brought Russo into sharpe...

PaPa and Grandkids @ Waycross 2013 This is one of those days that leave me tongue tied. Not for a lack of good things to say. Rather for trying to find a new way to say what is good and true and known and noteworthy about the man that is my father. And then to repeat that quest for the man whose Adventures in Fatherhood I get to watch in 'real time' as he plays dad & hero to my crew of 4. Words just fail me, that is all. Lots of people, in assorted tributes today,  have pointed out  what makes a man a good man- qualities that carry over into their fatherhood, making them, by default, good dads. Then there are folks who talk about what was missing- either because Time robbed them or because certain qualities or values escaped their fathers (like sobriety.) These people too, are affirming that a good man makes for a good father. Also that those of us blessed to have our father still living here amongst us are truly blessed. I think that what makes a list about any give...

  Chewy, Tangy, Sweet & Savory... you should try it.  * I used turkey bacon, but any type will do nicely

One challenge I often face  is serving everyone's meal at the same time; without having the first half served cold.  Especially meals cooked in batches, like burgers or pancakes. Often times, eating a 'batch style meal' works a lot like singing in rounds... as the first group reaches the mid-point of their meal, the second group begins to eat, as the first group reaches takes their last bite,  the third group is beginning and the second group has reached mid-point... everyone finishes on whatever course they find themselves whenever I run out of ingredients... technically, all together.   By "group" I mean, quite simply, individual . I have a griddle that makes cooking for many a little easier. Thanks to our most recent move (into a furnished place), it was banished to storage almost a year ago... for (what feels like) forever.  When life puts your stuff in storage- Make Lemonade! Yeah, I mixed my metaphors. So, what? Ice that lemonade and sip it as you imp...

 Rye's art & snack session was set up like this.  Look closely at those pencil leads, it will be important later.  Sugar is brainfood...it was a perfectly nutritious snack...stop judgin' me :)  Sprinkles make ya sweet... ...and Sprinkles are inspiring!  Yes...just a shirt & training pants... it's what works for us...  ~Sugar Lips~ Okay, time for the story.  I bought a container of sprinkles in hopes of convincing Riley to broaden her culinary horizons. Currently, she and Buddy the Elf share a similar palate .  Yes, sprinkles are made of sugar too, but if you shake them over, say, Mashed Potatoes or Chicken Nuggets then sugar becomes a lesser ingredient. Especially when compared with most of her current preferred favorites, like "Big Chocolate Cupcake Cookies" (a.k.a. Reese Cups) and Pink Ice Cream.   It isn't an exact science, but it has met with some success.  So, Riley had a little bowl of sprinkles during her art and sna...