Ducks In A Row

My dad always says "Get your ducks in a row"...meaning, make sure everything is in order and you have everything you need before starting a project.

Many years ago, Mom was big into country geese and made dozens of them in ceramics. They usually wound up atop the upright piano. One day my dad was waiting in the car for her and that little mean streak she tries to hide came out. She stopped by the piano and began arranging the geese. When Dad came back into the house he stared at Mom, who smiled sweetly and told him...

"I just couldn't leave until my ducks were in a row." Dad is a sweet, long-suffering man, so he just rolled his eyes and asked her if she was about done.

The point of this story is that I find myself using this phrase often. And each time I do, I think of that incident.

It's like those moments when you suddenly realize "OMG! I sound just like my mother!"

Day 12

Michael Jackson is still dead. Alert the media!

I'm Pickled...Or How I Spent My Holiday Week-end

I got up Friday morning and straighted the house a little. Then I headed out to have my car serviced and run it through the car wash. And then I hit the road for Alabama to spend the holiday with my family.

Friday evening I made a vegetable salad that needed to marinate overnite. Next, I made dill pickles. I cheated and used a packaged mix for these but I used Dad's home-grown cucumbers.



Saturday morning I made banana bread and baked beans. Dad cooked ribs and corn on the grill. I also made some sugar free strawberry ice cream. So our 4th of July celebration included ribs, marinated veggie salad, roasted corn, sliced tomatoes, diced cantaloupe, baked beans, banana bread, and strawberry ice cream. Not bad for 6 people!

Today I put the finishing touches on a batch of bread & butter pickles I started on Monday. The photo above shows the dill pickles on the left and the B&Bs on the right.

Bread & Butter Pickles

2 gallons sliced cucumbers
1 1/2 c pickling salt
2 c vinegar
1 oz alum
5 lbs sugar
4 tbs mustard seed
2 tbs cinnamon
1 tbs celery seed
12 whole cloves
6 c vinegar

Place cucumbers in a non-reactive container with salt and enough water to cover. Refrigerate three days.

Drain the cucumbers and combine with vinegar, alum, and enough water to cover. Refrigerate two days.

Drain the cucumbers. Bring to a boil sugar, spices, and vinegar and pour over cucumbers. Refrigerate overnite.

Boil the pickles for 10 minutes and place into sterilized jars. Place in boiling water bath.

I can hardly wait to make a turkey sandwich to have with the B&B pickles. Ham for the dills.

Really???? You Want to Go There????

It has been one heck of a day at work. Seriously crazy. On top of a super crazy week last week. But we have been handling it.

Or so I thought.

I offered a co-worker some popcorn left from my afternoon snack. Another co-worker stated, "I don't know how you have time to eat popcorn...I'm too busy!"

Now I sat down and reviewed todays stats. I take calls. So far today, I have out performed her by 30% and everyone else by considerably more. And I've worked two reports and sorted through a couple of difficlut logistical problems.

I just need to vent here, but there is steam coming out of my ears right now. Nobody in this place can keep up with me and I am !@#$%^&* tired of hearing the martyr cry of co-workers who seem to think that nobody on the planet works as hard ass they do.

This is an easy job. Frustrating, but you sit in a climate controlled office, talking on the phone, typing, and doing a little detective work. We aren't out digging ditches or scrubbing toilets. DO. NOT. IMPLY. THAT. I. AM. NOT. WORKING. AS. HARD. AS. YOU!

Father's Day Carrot Cake

I gave my dad a beautiful bird bath for Father's Day and he really liked it. He's still watching for the birds to find it, though. So Saturday morning I asked him what he wanted me to cook for Sunday. His menu: pot roast with potatoes and carrots and onions, green beans and fried squash from the garden, cantaloupe. He pointed to a brownie mix in the pantry and suggested I make it for dessert.

"I could do that," I responded, "but I was thinking about making a carrot cake."

His eyes lit up and he smiled. "Really? Would you do that?"

You see, I know that my dad with the super sweet tooth has an all-time favorite dessert and that is Carrot Cake. And the fact that I was willing to make one for him thrilled him to no end.

So I took Mom to Tuesday Morning and then headed to Publix. She is almost as slow in the motorized cart as she is with her walker. And the basket kept filling up with things at her eye level. Ranch dressing, olive oil, syrup, etc. We got our shopping done and headed home.

I started grating carrots after lunch. If you've never made carrot cake, you have to know that you can't use the food processor to grate your carrots...you have to use a box grater. I used a recipe from Bon Appetite given to me by an online buddy, Diane. And I followed her advice and cut the oil from 1 1/2 cups to 1/2 cup and used 1 cup of applesauce.

I'm not big on cake baking. I'm not really very good. But this cake was quite tasty. It even looked halfway decent.



Just a little lopsided. Not too bad.

I can only get three radio stations on my clock radio...the oldies station, the farm reports, and 650 a.m. Classic Country. It is set on the country station because of the local news and weather, and I'm discovering some great songs I'd never heard and/or appreciated before. Like this little treasure from 1972. Please note the songwriter....



ONE'S ON THE WAY
(Shel Silverstein)
Loretta Lynn - 1972


They say to have her hair done, Liz flies all the way to France,
And Jackie's seen in a discothèque, doin' a brand new dance.
And the White House social season, should be glitterin' 'n gay.

But here in Topeka, the rain is a fallin',
The faucet is a drippin' and the kids are a bawlin'.
One of 'em a-toddlin' and one is a crawlin',
And one's on the way.

I'm glad Raquel Welch just signed a million dollar pact,
And Debbie's out in Vegas workin' up a brand new act.
While the TV's showin' Newlyweds, a real fun game to play.

But here in Topeka, the screen door's a bangin',
The coffee's boilin' over and the wash needs a hangin'.
One wants a cookie and one wants a changin',
And one's on the way.

Now, what was I doin', Jimmy get away from there,
Darn, there goes the phone.
Hello honey, what's that you say?

You're bringin' a few ole buddies home? You're callin' from a barn?
Get away from there! No, not you honey, I was talkin' to the baby.
Wait a minute, honey, the door bell,
Honey, could you stop at the market and...Hello?
Hello? Well I'll be.

The girls in New York City, they all march for women's lib,
And Better Homes and Garden shows, the modern way to live.
And the pill may change the world tomorrow, but meanwhile, today.

Here in Topeka, the flies are a buzzin',
The dog is a barkin' and the floor needs a scrubbin'.
One needs a spankin' and one needs a huggin',
Lord, one's on the way.

Oh gee, I hope it ain't twins again!

Is that great or what? OH, Loretta, the places you will go!

Lucky Finds

Last year about this time I found Lucy Addison Allen's Garden Spells at Kroger. I usually toodle through the books section there, just to see if there is anything new and am almost always disappointed. If I read John Grisham or Sandra Brown, I'd be in luck, but for most of my reading taste, Kroger isn't the best place to shop. The Bantam Discoveries were an amazing find because, after Garden Spells, I found The Wedding Officer by Anthony Cappella. Both of these books made my summer of 2008 memorable for reading material.

I ran into Kroger last Monday for some Diet Cokes that were on sale and wandered into the book aisle. And once again, I was pleasantly surprised. I found Eve of Darkness by S.J. Day, the first in an urban fantasy series. Eve had a brief, steamy relationship with Alec Cain 10 years ago and because of that, she has been "marked" and is now a member of God's enforcers. Alec is back in her life as her mentor, training her in the tracking and killing of demons and other devilish creatures. Alec's brother, Reed Abel, is there, too, to guide her. He also likes using her to irritate his brother.

I read this book in one night and loved it! And the best part of all? The second in the series just came out! I bought Eve of Destruction Sunday and finished it last night. Where the first book created the world and the history of the characters, this one took me full force into the action and left me with a mountain of emotional turmoil. Luckily, I only have another month to wait for the third in the series, Eve of Chaos.

If you like urban fantasy, are a fan of Patricia Briggs and Mark del Franco, you will really enjoy these books.

And for something really different....

I received a copy of Mr. Malcolm's List from the author, Susan Allain. This book was a refreshingly light romp in Regency England with shades of Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen. Mr. Malcolm is highly desirable "among the ton" but is very cautious of his heart. He has a list of attributes for his perfect mate, an almost impossible standard. When one young woman finds out about the list after Mr. Malcolm has rejecter her, she sets her cap for revenge by presenting him with an ideal candidate who will then break his heart.

No sex, no violence, no foul language, just a pleasant little romance.

Great summer reads for two different genres that I can highly recommend.