TGIF

 Hello-Hello-Hello!

Abandoning my blog for a week was not my intention!  But life, or rather work, got in my way.  It has been a week folks!  I had to be in the office Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  And each day I was there for at least 6 hours.  I have no idea how I used to work in the office 5 days a week for 8 hours plus each day.  It is exhausting!  And then I got roped into going to dinner with a group on Tuesday at the General Warren Inne an historic place in Chester County.  The food was good (but too much) and I haven't driven at night in over a year...my cataracts make night time driving not a good thing for moi (am thankful I will be having surgery this summer).  Because of that, I had NO alcohol with the meal - I stuck with seltzer water since I was worried enough about driving in diminishing daylight.  Luckily I was able to scoot out just before 8:00 and was home by 8:30 before it is really dark.  Whew!  

Most nights I've been too wiped out to stitch or knit.  Last night Colin was over for steaks on the grill and we sat around a fire after dinner which was so nice and relaxing.  Fletch and I are on cat feeding duty starting Saturday as Colin and Mailing are going away for the weekend.

So here is a quick wrap up of this past week with some pictures I had intended to post during the week...best laid plans and all that.

Last weekend was HOT.  Like 90+ degrees both days.  Dee came over Saturday morning for a little knitting/stitching time.  It had not gotten really hot yet by the time she arrived, but we stayed inside out of concern for ticks (which are everywhere this year).  I started a new dishcloth and working with cotton on larger needles is hard!

I like the colors, but it is slow knitting on this one (that's the 1st [STILL] Enthusiasm Speckle sock in the background).  Hoping to put in some more rows on this - maybe today?  And also the sock - toe decreases FTW!

Tyg was not pleased with the heat.

He was like this much of the weekend.  His lips are getting pink again and soon I will need to get his meds from the vet.  His lips swell and get pink every summer in the heat.  I think it might be a combination of allergies and the heat.  He has been scratching a lot lately too, though we see no signs of fleas.  We did put some "natural" flea and tick stuff on him (peppermint oil). but again I think it is allergies of some kind.  The pollen this year is crazy.

I did manage to get a little stitching in over the weekend and this is where the sampler stands as of right now.

I'm a bit tired of all the brown in this one, but I'm still enjoying it.  I'm hoping to be able to work on this over the weekend.

We have not really had much rain to speak of (some Wednesday night, but not much), though that will change starting today.  It does not look like a really nice weekend for us.  But things in the garden are flourishing.  The garlic is crazy high and we are hoping for scapes soon.  The salad we had last night was made with greens (chard, spinach and lettuce) from the garden.  Rhubarb is still producing (I did make rhubarb sorbet last weekend) and the figs are growing.  We also have our first sunflower open.

On the reading side of things I've started a new book:  Oil and Marble which so far (60+ pages into it) is very enjoyable.  I may even finish it over the weekend!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend!  I'm looking forward to getting together with Dee tomorrow morning and Monday is Fletch's and my 41st anniversary!!  Hard to believe it's been so many years.  Meanwhile, I have a conference call at 10 and another one at 12:30...but at least I'm home today and not in the office!

What's for Dinner?

 Hello All,

It's Thursday, so I'm talking food.  I can (and do) talk food any old day of the week.  I love to eat, love to cook, etc.  Today I'm sharing one of our most favorite ever recipes.  BBQ Shrimp.  Remember Jeff Smith?  The Frugal Gourmet?  This is his recipe from NOLA (New Orleans, LA).  I made this last Saturday when Colin and Mailing came over.  We always serve it with a big loaf of Italian or French bread for mopping up the sauce.  I also always make a big salad to go with it.  Honestly, I'd be fine with just shrimp and bread to dip, but the salad makes me feel healthy (because the dish surely does NOT make me feel healthy...but so good!!):

• Chop up 3 slices of bacon and fry in a sauce pan.  Do not drain.
• Once the bacon is cooked add 1/2 pound of butter (yes - 2 whole sticks).  Melt that and then add:
• 2 TBS Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp basil
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 TBS Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 tsp tabasco or hot sauce

Simmer that deliciousness for around 5 minutes or so.  Put 1 1/2 - 2 lbs of shrimp with the shells on in a pan (hint - use an aluminum throw away pan - you do not want to have to clean the pan, trust me) and pour the sauce over.  Bake at 375 uncovered for 20 minutes or so, stirring a couple of times.

I just put the whole pan on the table so the sauce is there for the bread.  You can peel the shrimp or not.  Sometimes we eat them shell and all and just leave the tails on our plates.

This is so rich and so filling that we do not usually have dessert, but I did make cookies for Colin and Mailing.  

Blueberry & Chocolate Chunk Ginger Cookies

In a small bowl, whisk together:

• 1 Cup flour
• 1/4 Cup wheat germ
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

In a large bowl whisk together:

• 1 large egg
• 3/4 Cup brown sugar
• 1/3 Cup canola oil
• 1 tsp vanilla

Add the flour mix to the wet ingredients and stir to combine.  Add in:

• 1/2 Cup oatmeal
• 2 oz of chopped chocolate  (I just used chocolate chips because that's what I had)
• 1/3 Cup dried blueberries
• 1/4 Cup candied ginger chopped

Stir just to combine.  Heat oven to 375

Drop by Tbs on an ungreased cookie sheet (I used parchment paper) and bake till puffed and barely golden.  ~ 8-10 minutes.  Cool on pan 2 minutes and then transfer to a rack.  I got 2 dozen out of this recipe.

Well, it is 7:20 a.m. and my mouth is watering for BBQ shrimp!  LOL.  Guess I will pour another cup of coffee and get to work.  I have a bunch of reports to get out this morning.  Later I will make a Blueberry Rhubarb pie!

Have a great Thursday!

Unraveled Wednesday May 19, 2021

 Good Morning All,

Looks like it is going to be another beautiful day here.  Blue sky and sunny at 6:40 a.m.  I woke at 2 a.m. hearing a fox bark in our woods.  I was happy when Tyg woke me at 4:30 because that meant he was in when the fox was roaming around.  That is not always the case!

Even though places are beginning to open up in PA, it is a slow process.  I was setting up some dinner reservations for Kevin's group next week when they are in town for budget meetings.  The group is 8 on Monday and Wednesday nights, but 13 on Tuesday night.  Sullivan's Steak House will only take a gorup of 7 or less.  And a number of restaurants had no openings next week!  I did finally find 3 different restaurants and am glad to have that out of the way.  I will not be joining them for dinners.  Today one of the things I need to do is figure out lunches for about 30 people each day next week.  Luckily there are places nearby that deliver.

Also received an email yesterday indicating that my office will no longer require masks as of today for those who are fully vaccinated.  Vaccination is not a requirement for coming to the office and the hope is that those who have not been vaccinated will still mask up.  Seems a little early to me, but we will see....

Since it's Wednesday, I'm linking up with Kat for Unraveled Wednesday.  A bit of knitting was accomplished on the "Enthusiasm Speckle" sock.

The heel has been turned and I am back down to 16 stitches on each needle.  Of course I did not manage to get a picture that shows the pattern...not that it shows up that well in this yarn - I think it will once it is stretched out on a leg.  The pattern is free on Ravelry:  "I Smell Snow" by Sanni Koivumaki.  The pattern is only on one needle, but manages to keep the knitting fun and interesting.

On the reading side of things, I am still making my way through Daughters of the Dust but it is beginning to drag a bit for me.  I'm only halfway through but find myself nodding after reading only 2-3 pages.  Yesterday I picked up at the library the 4th Matt Goldman book Dead West which should be a quick read and also Oil and Marble which looks very good.  With those two on my night stand, I may give up on Daughters of the Dust.

Well, it is now 7 a.m. and the work emails are flying in, so I'd best get to work!  Have a good one everyone.

Tiny Needle Tuesday 5/18/21

 Hello Everyone,

How are you?  I'm groggy and sluggish.  So much food yesterday - all wonderful, but oh my!  As I mentioned, we went to Mailing's parents for dinner last night.  It was Bonnie's birthday.  There was no lack of food:

There was lamb, a whole fish (in the red sauce above), soft shell crab, squid and other fish, bamboo shoots (!! from our house - just to the left of the fish in red sauce above - and they were yummy), eggplant, green beans, potatoes, rice, sticky rice dumplings, other dumplings, noodles, pickles, and on and on and on!  After dinner, but before dessert, we took a walk (well, Fletch stayed back and rested...and I felt like I should have!!).

There is a trail behind Zohngren's and Bonnie's home that takes you to the John James Audubon Center.  A very pretty place to walk.  The Center also has an enclosure where they keep injured birds.  We saw both a hawk and an owl!

There were also a jay, some chickens, another owl (which we did not see).  It was a good walk - about 2 miles is my guess.  By the time we got back, we were ready for dessert.  Mailing had made a rhubarb almond tart and WOW!  what a treat that was.

Bonnie fixed some chrysanthemum tea to have with the tart.  Fletch and I waddled home after that!

Enough food!  It's Tuesday, so let's talk stitching.  My sampler continues to progress nicely.  I managed to get quite a bit more stitched.  I could possibly be half-way through this project, I'm not sure...haven't measured completely.  but here is where it's at as of now.

Again, I'm loving the richness that the silk floss brings to this project.  The subtle shading of the thread is so nice.

I've a somewhat busy day (work-wise) ahead of me, but I'm hoping to carve out a bit of time to stitch and also knit some.  Wishing you all a wonderful Tuesday!

Weekending

 Good Morning!

How are you?  And how was your weekend?  My weekend was decidedly good, but man it seemed to go by in a blink of an eye!

Friday night we ordered out which we had not done in ages.  A spinach, mushroom and roasted red pepper pizza for moi and a roast beef hoagie for Fletch.  Yum!  And...Fletch picked up the order at the window (a walk-up window, not a drive by window) maskless!!!  Masks are still required inside, but not outside.

Saturday morning I met up with Dee for some coffee and chatter along with knitting and/or stitching.  That, of course, was lovely.  Meanwhile, Bonnie & Zhongren (Mailing's parents) came over to harvest some bamboo from our property.  Zhongren wanted a bunch of the poles to use in his garden.  Bonnie spent time gathering bamboo shoots.  I had completely forgotten that they are edible.  Next time I make stir fry, I'm sending Fletch out to the back of the property to get some shoots.  Bonnie brought over some Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves) for us!  I steamed them last night to go with our dinner and they were delicious!

I looked around the garden some and our figs are really growing!!

I counted 15+ figs.  (The tall flower in the back is rhubarb.)  I can't wait for these to ripen.  After our Asian Pear tree had so many blossoms, it is diappointing that we only see one pear forming.  Not sure what is going on.  But inside, we have lemons forming!!

I showed the ultra-fragrant blooms the other week, but I wasn't sure we would actually get any lemons.  so far we have 2 that are beginning to grow.  There are still many buds on the lemon tree, so we could potentially get more.  I'll have to think of some special use for these!

Colin and Mailing came over early in the afternoon on Saturday and stayed until almost 10 p.m.  We had a great dinner (BBQ shrimp, bread and salad made with greens from the garden) and then sat around a fire outside in the evening.

Sunday was errand day.  Fletch and I did a Costco run in the morning (and managed to gas up the car for $0.25 less per gallon than the station nearest our home).  We were surprised to see a number of folks in the store without masks (we were wearing ours).  That afternoon we did a small/quick grocery shopping (and everyone was in masks).  I think we are good for the week - both the frig and freezer are full.

Today I'm going to the office for a couple of hours this morning.  More budget work and some other things I need to do.  Tonight we are heading over to Bonnie & Zhongren's for dinner (it's Bonnie's birthday) - it will be nice to see them again and also Colin & Mailing.

The sun is up and the sky is blue.  It is supposed to get fairly warm this week and we could have a spot of rain or so.  I hope your week is off to a great start!

What's for Dinner?

 Good Morning All,

Once again the sun is up and the sky is blue.  It's a bit on the chily side, but pretty out there.

I have another salad for you that, to me, screams summer.  We bought some more corn on the cob that was, once again, surprisingly delicious for this time of year.  I had cooked a couple of extra ears and then cut the kernels off to save for this salad.

We had this with fish the other night (and the Dr. G Riesling:)).  It keeps pretty well left over as well (except the avocado...that never really keeps well, but you can just pluck out those pieces).  

I had intended to share This Link with you all yesterday and promptly forgot!  Colin shared this with me on Sunday - love it!!

Time to run - Thursday mornings are busy for me - lots of reports to run.  And...I have a dentist appointment at 11:30.  Will catch up with you all later.

Unraveled Wednesday May 12, 2021

 Good Morning All,

Today I did not sleep in, rather I woke abruptly a bit after 5 a.m.  I was stretching out my legs and suddenly got one of those cramps in my calf - a charlie horse.  Yikes!!  Luckily I was able to stop it before it became full blown.

Anway, happy birthday to Ray, my oldest brother and also to Bobby, the CEO of my company.  Happy mid-week to the rest of you.  I hope your week is going well and that you are finding time to enjoy things - knitting, stitching, reading, etc.

On this Unraveled Wednesday (linking up with Kat and friends) I am happy to say that I did start a new pair of socks.  I'm not terribly far along, but I've started and they are FUN!!

The yarn screams confetti to me...or reminds me (for some reason) of bubblegum.  The yarn is from KnitPicks and is their Muse line (75% superwash wool and 25% nylon).  The colorway is Enthusiasm Speckle and I'm knitting the pattern I Smell Snow - a free pattern on Ravelry.  I'm not sure how much the pattern will really show with all the noise of the yarn colors, but it is a nice pattern to knit - not too complicated, but interesting enough to keep one from getting bored.

This past week did not see any more progress on either the French Market Bag or the Wintertide Shawl (or the Guernsey Wrap for that matter).  Maybe I can get to one of those today...only time will tell.

There were a number of people at the office yesterday and the next two weeks will bring in even more.  Everyone is having budget meetings and, honestly, as folks get vaccinated, I think they are just happy (anxious perhaps) to get OUT.  Everyone is still wearing masks and everyone is keeping distanced so that is good.  After so long, it is just weird to see people walking around the office!  I hung around till about 10:30 and then I left.  I stopped to buy wine on my way home.  I'm not real fond of Riesling wines as I usually find them too sweet, but Fletch likes them and we were having fish for dinner.  When I saw this bottle, I had to get it (yes, I do buy wine by the label):

Ha!  Dr. G (Dee, does Giroux have a doctor's bag with a rabbit in it?).  For the record, this is a dry riesling and was actually pretty tasty (Fletch did not like it - not sweet enough for him).

When I got home after the wine shopping I picked a small bouquet for our lunch table.  Some Lily of the Valley, one little Lilac bloom and some Wood Hyacinths.  So pretty.

The bud vase is one my Mom kept in the kitchen when I was growing up.  All summer long it would hold a single rose bloom.

On the reading front, I finished another mystery by Deborah Crombie (Kissed a Sad Goodbye).  This is in a series and is not fabulous, but for some reason I keep requesting them (in order) from the library.  They are quick reads.  Last night I started a new book:  Daughters of the Dust which so far (50 pages or so) is very good.

Time to get moving!  I'll pour another cup of coffee and then get to work...it feels like this will be another busy day.  Have a good one!