Fig Time

Who knew that when I planted a one foot tall tree last July that I would have already had 2 harvests from it?  And now, it's fig time again!

The tree is well over 7 feet now and has branched out considerably from the one lone "stick" that it was last year as a sapling.

The tree drops all it's leaves twice a year after harvest, making it look pretty pathetic.   Eventually, as the fresh green leaves come out, the tree starts to look a little prettier.   After several weeks, tiny buds appear above where the leaf attaches to the stem.   Eventually those little buds become larger and larger, becoming figs.  When the figs reach the size of a small walnut the leaf directly below it falls off, leaving more nutrition for the developing fig.

It will still be another month before they are ready to pluck off the stem and use in my favorite recipes.  Pork loin roast with port wine and fig sauce.......fresh fig jam......warm figs with goat cheese and honey.....yum! 

But first I will have to patiently wait for them to ripen.....on the tree....and keep the squirrels and racoons away.....hmmmmm, just a girl and her gun.   Naw, just kidding.  It is true, though, that the figs have to ripen on the tree because they don't ripen if picked early and brought inside, so patience is the key.

I'll let you know when they're ready,
Debbie

Down Time

We haven't been to the river for months and we recently ran up there to pick up some of my sewing room furniture for my studio here at home.   But that was just a one day trip up and back so there was nothing relaxing about that!    While we were up there we discovered that a mouse had taken over.....and I mean he had really taken over the joint!   So, we went up there this weekend and began the not-so-fun task of reclaiming our cabin.

Everything had to be scrubbed, as good 'ole Mickey had left a trail behind him in every drawer and cupboard.   Now, at least, the cabin has had a good fall cleaning and we think he is gone for good.    Whew!    Don't want to have to clean up after a mouse like that again.  Yuk!  

We did get to relax for a little while, emphasizing the word "little", because we took Molly along for her first sleepover at the river.    She actually did really well and I think she'll be a good companion for me when I go up there without Joel.   Here she is napping on the cozy rug in the living room.    She looks pretty relaxed, wouldn't you say?

Yawn, now if only I could take a little nap, too!    Someday, maybe,
Debbie

"Porchy" Pig

When Jeremy was about three and a half years old, Julie and I were talking to him about cartoons.  He kept mentioning "Porchy Pig" and we would correct him and say it was Porky Pig.   He would look at us with defiance and repeat "Porchy Pig" and Julie and I would dissolve into a fit of giggles, which only made Jeremy madder.   Which made us laugh even more because he was so stinkin' cute with his fierce facial expressions.

Now, what does that have to do with today's post?   Well, whenever I make pork, I think of Porchy Pig and I smile all over again.   Here's what we had for dinner last night......

 This pork roast was marinated in garlic and lemon and herbs and grilled over medium high heat until the thermometer read 160 degrees.   Let it rest covered in aluminum foil for 10 minutes and then slice against the grain to retain all the juices.  Yum!    Add veggies and a salad and enjoy.

As Porky would say, "That's all folks!",
Deb

Do you "Pinterest"?

I admit it........I'm hooked...........addicted, even..........crazy about............gotta have it........
Pinterest is what I'm talking about.   If you haven't gone there yet, just try www.pinterest.com and see what all the fuss is about.  It's an idea forum in pictures.   People submit photos of everything and anything and you can collect the photo ideas (called pinning) onto your own boards.  Think of it as clipping pics from your favorite magazines and pinning them up on your bulletin board.......except it's all done on your computer......and you don't have to buy expensive magazines.........and you can keep adding and adding to your boards as much as you want for free!

What I love about Pinterest is the wide variety of ideas I get.........like recipes............like how to get my whites white..............like how pretty a bathroom remodel can look............like how to scrapbook your child's wedding.......and on and on it goes.    Having said all that, I saw an idea for my garden that I loved and decided to give it a try.   Recently Jeremy changed out his bedroom and we had a large, well made dresser mirror taking up space in our garage.   I brought it inside this week and painted the wood with two coats of primer and two coats of flamingo pinky-peachy paint leftover from my shop.   Ta-da!   A totally free addition to our yard.   Tonight I convinced Joel and Jeremy to drill some holes and hang it up for me.......

It's now on the fence in the back of our yard facing the house and pool.  Depending where you are standing in the yard, you get really pretty reflections of the sky, the pool, or the white Bird of Paradise plants.  

The mirror is about four feet high and provides a bright focal point behind all the tropical plants behind the pool.   I think I'm going to like it there!    Joel isn't so sure.............yet!   giggle

Workin' on a Key West yard,
Debbie

Quote

A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have.
                                                                                                                       Thomas Jefferson

Something to think about,
Debbie

Re-use & Re-purpose

Makes me giggle just to read that title because I can be the most un-P.C. person I know.   I don't follow the whole "green earth" mantra that is so prevalent in our culture today.   I don't stop to consider how many miles my food traveled before I purchase it.(But I do grow a lot of our own food.)   I drive a big 'ole SUV and have no guilt about it whatsoever.   (Hey, it suits my needs, so, I drive it!)   And I run the air conditioner to keep us all comfortable instead of suffering in the heat.   ( Who cares if you have the windows open if the heat makes you miserable?!)

Now, having said that, I use my own brain (don't need the P.C. police to tell me what to do) and figure out ways to re-use what I have in my home, which helps me save money and makes me feel just a little smug and creative!  LOL  We used to call it "common sense" when I was a kid.........hey, just sayin'!    The years spent as a single mom have permanently imprinted its own form of frugality on my lifestyle.   I use appliances until they die, even if they're not the latest "trendy" color shown in the magazines.   I wear my shoes way beyond the time of being fashionable and I still have leather purses from 1988 that I use!   

 So, when I started eating the most fabulous ice cream(technically, it's gelato)  in the world, I almost threw the empty container away.   One look at the handy screw on lid got me thinking and I have been washing and saving the "empties" for quite a while now, and still keep coming up with ways to use them.  One year, I filled them with sugar and stuck a fresh Tahitian vanilla pod in the middle.   (Do this in September so it has time to scent the sugar)   Then I wrapped a ribbon around the container and labeled it Vanilla Sugar and gave it as presents to all my friends who love to bake.  It makes the most delicious sugar cookies.

After purchasing a cool shelf for my scrapbook supplies, I had an empty row and realized my Talenti containers fit in the shelf perfectly.  Now I have a row of them neatly holding various ribbons.  I'm saving some more because I just know I'll need a container with that handy Talenti screw on lid for something or another......maybe to hold all the little paraphernalia in my sewing room!

But, of course, the best part is using every little bit of that gelato.   My favorite way is to put a teaspoon of it in my tea.   It cools the tea to the right drinking temperature while subtly infusing the tea with vanilla.  Yum!

So, if you're like me and don't quite fit into the mold of being labeled as "environmentally friendly", maybe you should take another look at your life.   You may re-purpose more things than you realize, you just didn't need to be told to do it!  

Good for you!
Debbie
(Belligerent as ever)

Vote-2012

I was at Frida's Bakery in Largo this afternoon and noticed a sheet of paper posted on the wall above the cash register.   It had the number of Obama cookies sold vs. the number of Romney cookies sold.   So, I guess that is supposed to represent how voters are expected to vote in the Presidential election in a few short week.    I just had to buy one and add my "vote" to the count................

Pretty cool idea, huh?
Deb

In the Dog House

Yeah, I'm in the dog house.    I'm still not sure why she's so mad at me.  You know, the lady that feeds me and takes me outside and plays with me.   One minute I was playing with my toys and before I knew it, she had put me in my play pen.  

Alone......just a dog and her chew stick.   Sad, isn't it?   Alright......so, I may have peed a little on the floor.......again........in 3 places..........     What?    Don't blame me!   She's the one that was busy making some new soup recipe for that big guy that rubs my belly.   Talk about bellies!    But I guess that's a subject for another day.

She made some kind of corn potato chowder......and said something about watching football.   Again!   What's the big deal with football anyway?   I guess she got over it because she picked me up and let me lay down on the couch with her while she talked about some guys named Roethlisberger and Tebow.   Don't know what that was all about.

Anyway, it was pretty cozy up there so I fell asleep.    Not a bad day for a girl like me.   Wonder what trouble, er, um, fun I can get into tomorrow?

Fluffy ball of lovin',
Molly
(Debbie helped me type this, a little)

Puppy Antics

Hmmmmmm, this is what I encountered as I walked out to the dining room..........and Winston had nothing to do with it.    He just happened to be standing there observing.   Besides, he's too dignified to get caught pulling such a childish prank!  

 It's the adorable, fluffy puppy who was the culprit.   I could tell because she had "melted" toilet paper all around her mouth.   And she was still chewing on some over by the door where she had dragged the tail of the T.P.

 Molly had pulled an entire roll of toilet paper around the house.  She had a really great time and we all got a good laugh from her latest trick.    Guess I'll have to leave the door to the bathroom closed for a while.   She sure has brought a lot of life to our once-quiet household.

Can't wait to see what she does next,
Debbie

Can You Canoe?

Got a call this morning from my mom, asking if I could help her retrieve a "Scanoe" from a sporting goods store and drop it off at her friend's  house.   "How hard can it be?" is our family motto......usually followed by a fit of giggles.   I was hoping this wouldn't be one of those times.

I arrived at the store and she was out front with the salesman, and a 14" canoe was sitting by the curb, just waiting for someone to take him home.    We tried putting it on the roof of my car and then the guys lifting it informed us that they cannot tie it for us because of liability issues.   I'm in a dress and heels and mom definitely shouldn't be trying to wrangle with the big red thing, either.   We finally figured out that the back of my SUV has a window that opens and the guys loaded the Scanoe into the car.

I drove to her friend's house with 4 feet of red boat sticking out of the back of my car, but we got there without incident.    Ok, it may have been 5 feet.   It sure looked funny, though.

 

Luckily I didn't have to make any right hand turns because this baby was kinda in my way....this is the front seat of my car with the scanoe almost up to the windshield.   You just never know what kind of trouble my mom will get me into!    Ha!   We had a few giggles pulling this one off, that's for sure.

Delivery girl,
Debbie

Bedtime

Every summer my two oldest grandkids and I head for our "tin can cabin" on the St. John's River for 4 days of Grammy camp.   It's a time for us to enjoy each other without parents, rules (ok, there are some rules), or other interferences.   We usually bake something special one day, make homemade pizza another, craft our brains out, swim in the pool, ride bikes and drive the golf cart as fast as it can go.   (I have more grey hairs to prove it!)

But the best part of the whole week for me is when we all snuggle in my bed.   Sydney has her Barbie's, Jackson is watching endless cartoons, and I'm hand quilting.   We giggle and just talk about whatever pops into their heads.   Great blessings..............hope they haven't outgrown this stage by next year when we have Grammy camp again.

Just call me Grammy,
Debbie

Quality Family Time

This is my brother Tim.................asleep at 4a.m. in the E.R.    And, no, he's not the patient.
   


Let's just say it had something to do with a keg of birchbeer soda and a trick that went wrong.
That's all I'm gonna say about it!  What happens in the Pocono's stays in the Pocono's!   A fun time was had by all (snicker).......

Big Sis,
Deb

Breakfast of Champions

Oops!   Wrong breakfast..................just kidding.  White Russians are for much later.....

 

 

Yum!  Now this is the breakfast of champions.   Some protein from the scrambled eggs, a couple slices of crispy (the only way to eat bacon!  Just sayin') bacon, and blueberries on top of homemade gluten free waffles with a few drops of real maple syrup.  

 

I recently found out I am gluten intolerant and so I bought a few cookbooks and ordered new flours that I can digest like brown rice flour, sorghum flour and potato starch.   Mixed up a batch of gluten free flour mix and used my old recipes.  Voila`!  It worked.   Yippee!  

 

So what do you eat for your breakfast of champions?

Debbie

Next Project

Ok, I saw something really cool!   It's a mini orchid house....made from repurposed old chippey-paint windows.   I love it, I love it!   Now I just have to go to the salvage yard and buy 3 old windows the same width and con, er, um, ask, ummmmm, beg my husband to make it for me.   Yeah, that'll work!

 

Need a handyman,
Debbie

Home Town

The town I spent most of my childhood in......is just a gap in the mountain of the Blue Ridge mountain chain.   Driving north from Philadelphia toward the Pocono Mountains, the road gently winds up and over hills through beautiful farmland dotted with neatly maintained barns next to centuries old stone farmhouses.

And then the gap in the Blue Ridge mountain appears and I know I'm almost there....

My understanding is that the gap was created millions of years ago by glaciers that sliced their way through the mountain.   I remember waiting at the bus stop as a teenager in deep snow as the wind came howling from the north through the gap, whipping the skirt of my dress and heavy winter coat.  

Brrrr,
Where are you from?
Debbie

Sleep Deprivation Study

Yes, we've been conducting a sleep deprivation study here at our house.   Since Molly arrived, Joel and I have been rudely reminded of how much time a new puppy can require of us.   She started out getting up 3-4 times every night and is now, finally, sleeping thru the night.   With one small caveat........she gets up full of energy and raring to go at 5:30 A.M.!!!

 

So, I've resorted to catnaps (no pun intended) with Molly whenever I can.  At least she curls up with me and takes a little nap of her own. 

 

I wonder if we'll ever sleep 8 hours a night ever again?

Deb

Here, Fishy-Fishy

Hmmmmm.........where can I put this?    I saw this "fish fence" in a store and now I'm trying to figure out where I could put it.    It's just too cool!  What a great room divider, or privacy fence for the deck or just a fun piece of art somewhere in the yard.   I'm gonna have to work on that.  Maybe I could make my own in the shape of a flamingo!

Just don't fence me in,
Debbie