Peaches! Oh, How They Grow!

I shared this picture about three weeks ago.So this . . . . . . ^ . . . . . . . . . . was what the peaches looked like then.

And . . . . . . . . . this . . . . v . . .

. . . is what they look like now! Those little suckers are growing! I can't wait till late May or early June so I can sink my teeth into some of them! I absolutely LOVE peaches--fresh peaches, in particular. And peach cobbler. And peaches and cream. And peaches and cream with cereal. And peaches on vanilla ice cream. And . . .

Terrrrrific Cauliflower Salad

The other day I had some cauliflower that needed to be eaten and didn't necessarily want to COOK it. So I rummaged around on "cooks.com recipe search" looking for a salad recipe using cauliflower. I found 3 or 4 recipies that kind of appealed to me, but only liked bits and pieces of what they put together, so I sort of combined some of their ideas and came up with this recipe. I was amazed at how scrumptiously delicious it was/is. It's chrunchy, which I love. It has bacon. Ditto. It has English peas (green peas). Ditto again. AND Ranch dressing. What more could one ask for?

Terrrrrific Cauliflower Salad

1 medium head cauliflower, washed and broken into florets
3/4 lb. bacon, fried crispy and chopped
1/2 lb frozen green peas, blanched slightly

Combine cauliflower, bacon and peas in a large bowl. Top with dressing. Stir till everything is coated. Can be eaten immediately or chilled prior to serving. Should be eaten within three days. (Cauliflower tends to get a bit soggy after that!)

Dressing:

In a small bowl, thoroughly mix the following ingredients:

1 cup sour cream (buttermilk if you prefer)
1 cup mayonaise
1 pkg Ranch Dressing Mix (or more, depending on taste)

I used about twice the equivalent of 1 pkg of Ranch Dressing Mix, which was about 1/4 cup or so, with sour cream and mayo.

My family said it was too rich for them, but I LOVED it! Of course, when you combine crispy, fried bacon and Ranch Dressing with fresh vegetables (and frozen peas), how can you possibly go wrong?!!!!

For variations to the above recipe, I could see adding broccoli florets, finely chopped red onion, or sliced green onions, carrots (grated, sliced, whatever). Ooooooh! What about combining with Blue Cheese crumbles? I'm sure there could be more variations.

If you try this as a base for adding other fun (and nutritious) ingredients, please share them with me!

Saturday Was A GREAT Day!

Saturday, 3/15/2008, was a really great day for me! It began fairly early at my oldest daughter’s home. I spent Friday night with her after her Dad and I met with her for supper. (He and I have a standing “date night” on Fridays.) Since I had a play to present Saturday for our Church (which is very close to her residence) on Saturday, and she was the Asst. Director and one of the cast members, it was practical that I spend the night with her. (I live about 75 miles away.)

We arrived at the Church at about quarter to eight Sat. morning to set up for our final rehearsal with all 10 cast members. Since it was a Reader’s Theater performance, the biggest thing we had to worry with was making sure everyone practiced using the 3 microphones. Yes. Three. Only three. We were borrowing them from another member of the Church, and he thought he could lend us six—which would have been great—but he had another obligation and so 3 was all he could spare. So. We used 3. And it did work. Not flawlessly, but it worked. Oh, and the other biggest thing we had to worry with was that all the cast members showed up. One of them I’d never met before. Seriously.

It was kinda crazy, I admit. But it was lots of fun. Oh, and all these cast members were recruited. We had a casting call . . . There were several women who were “interested” but well, I brought one with me—conscripted as she was—but she loves being involved in plays, etc. We were pulling members from congregations all over central Louisiana to a central location for this production—and you know how busy everyone is these days with 47 different directions to head at any given point in time, right? Well, of the 10 cast members, the ONLY TIME all 10 met together was on the day of the performance! I’m not lyin’!

Okay. So you know this was NOT any kind of professional kind of deal, right? (Or even semi-professional.) Anyway, it went very well! Everyone did a fantastic job on their parts, the microphone issue went fine and we got several compliments. Most of these ladies had done little to no acting before this endeavor. They didn’t feel competent, but, because I begged them to get involved, they did. I think only three of them had done any serious kind of acting before. (Actually, my daughter and one of the other cast members had acted in a couple of earlier Church road shows I’d written back when they were teenagers, too.) So, I really had to work with those who didn’t feel comfortable with acting. (I’m NOT a director by choice, either.) I like to write—obviously—but I have no training in college or by having been in any plays myself that I haven’t written. I’m in the dark as to so many issues with regard to good directing! Thankfully, my daughter has had some theater classes and helped me a great deal. And, I asked for help from the cast members, so it was a “community” project. (Yes, I did have the final say, I’m strong-willed enough to have things my way, once I figure out what MY WAY is! Ha, ha.)

After the performance, I was presented with a lovely basket of tulips (in pots) which, unbeknownst to the lovely sister who bought them for me, I had longed for some potted tulips just a couple of days prior! What can I say: God knows the desires of our hearts—even if they’re only simple little things like beautiful flowers!

So, after the play, we had a little activity to help everyone who attended that day get to know each other better. We had people come from Mississippi and all over central Louisiana. Not an especially large crowd, but coming at least an hour-and-a-half drive for several of us. After that activity, we had a delightful luncheon and further visited with ladies from a variety of walks of life.

Our “CAST PARTY” followed at Dairy Queen, so we ate MORE. (Ice cream treats…it was a very warm day—in the 80s.)

An hour later I had another Church meeting—training for Seminary and Institute teachers. It was GREAT! Those meetings are always so enlightening to me! I simply LOVE teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ! And learning about it! And how to be a better teacher!

After that, I went back to my daughter’s apartment where we ate left-overs from the night before while watching August Rush, a great movie. I was on such a “high” from the day’s activities that I sang for a good portion on the hour-and-a-half trip home. The sky was absolutely gorgeous! I was headed kind of northwest and the sun had just set. There were NO clouds in the sky. The deep orangy-rosey glow on the horizon blended upward to the yellowy almost green before seamlessly turning to a peacock blue that deepened as I looked toward the apex of the sky! I just LOVE those colors! It was stunning and exhilarating! I love the sky at that time of the evening. And before. And with clouds in the daytime, and well. I love the sky. Nature. God! His goodness. Saturday was a GREAT day!

Spring has Sprung! Act II

Check it out! Tiny, little, fuzzy, baby peaches! AND they've GROWN since I checked them out just last week!

It is such a gorgeous, beautiful day today! Oh. I also discovered after my glowing report of multitudinous little, baby peaches growing on this very tree . . . Well, it seems I was a bit overzealous in my description. I didn't find that many today after all. Sigh. Apparently--and I guess I really already knew this--but, there weren't too many little flying creatures out buzzing the peach blossoms early on. My entomologist daughter reminded me of the essential requirement bees and other winged creatures provide with the pollenization necessary. Back in December and January and even early February there just weren't too many of those flying critters around. So those slow-to-open peach blossoms were the smart ones. They waited for the bugs to do their thing. So, I guess the poor, confused tree won't be bowing down under a huge weight of excessive numbers of peaches, after all. Sigh.

But I do have some other pictures I took today that I think are pretty cool! My middle daughter (the entomologist) had to teach me--via the phone--how to "work" the camera to do the job I wanted it to do. Ain't technology--and family help--won'erful! I think so, too!

Here goes!

Don't you just LOVE the pristine, delicate beauty of these white azaleas! This shrub is very small, and mostly inconspicuous hiding near the end of our house close to the chimney.

This next gorgeous specimen, is located very close to the first. Flowers! I love them!

This precious cluster is surrounded by sister blossoms on our yellow plum tree.

This little beauty is a wild blackberry, or dewberry or something kin to them. The flowers and fruit are beautiful and yummy, in that order, but oh! the stickers on the vines! OUCH!

These little gems are, number one, some kind of flying insect--too cold to be disturbed by the several pictures I took while it braved the cool temp and wind here this afternoon. It's resting on number two, a rosemary blossom on one of the several rosemary plants I have--and love to use in my cooking!

This is my neighbors' redbud tree reaching out in front of one of their pine trees, just over the fence from our yard. (One of a few redbuds they have.) Sigh. Sniff. I miss my lovely redbud tree that the falling oak took out almost two years ago. I loved that tree!)

So, with all these pictures you can see why I'm so excited and loving Spring! Hope you have a great and beautiful Spring as well--even if your area is encased in ice and snow or other kinds of un-Spring-like weather at the moment. You can enjoy my Spring with me!

Spring has sprung--and with magical flowers, even!

The other morning as I was driving and enjoying all the new spring flowers popping up and out, when I noticed some different looking "flowers" just up the hill from my house. Do you see them? The tiny, little white flowers? It was a bit foggy which added to the scene. I called my husband (the one with the camera) begging him to go up the road and try to capture some of these very different flowers before the weather and lighting changed.

He was so kind to accomodate me and so, now, I have them to share with you! Care to guess, if you don't already know, what they are?

Well, you most surely know what kind of "flowers" they are--and there were so many of them--looking quite magical in the early morning, foggy light. Yes, spiderweb flowers! Aren't they enchanting? Cute? I found them fascinating--so many of them in this little space. There must have been quite a few little spiders spinning their little hearts out all night long to produce so many of these!

I was very pleased with this one close-up, probably because I love the brown leaves with all their vein detail. I guess the pine straw is okay, but the little green plants and grass contrast nicely with the fallen leaves. (If you've never had to rake pine straw, well, you just can't appreciate how greatful I am we aren't ankel deep in the stuff any longer! It's miserable to rake.) We only have one pine tree left in our yard and a monsterous one at that--even though all our neighbors have many which border our property. So the pine straw here is at a minimum.

Oh, by the way, our peach tree, poor thing! It is so confused. We planted this tree (not pictured, dang it) in 2002. In February 2003 it began bluming. Yes, I said February--early February. My husband and I religiously went out and covered the poor tender tree each night before the temperature would drop into the 20's. Once we forgot and I knew the tree was doomed. Actually, it produced several peaches--not too large but 2 or 3 dozen. Tastey, too!

Each year since, however, it begins to bloom earlier and earlier. AND it NEVER lost all its leaves. Like, when did peach trees become evergreens? I tell you this tree is confused. (And we no longer suffer it to be covered. If it wants to bloom in 15 degree weather, well, that's its business, you know.) This time, for reasons beyond my scope of understanding, it began blooming in December. Seriously. I am not lying!

My son and I were in the car about to back out onto the road, and I looked really closely and asked, "Son? Do you see what I see?" "Uhhhhh, what DO you see?" "Look at the peach tree? Are those blooms?" "Where?" "Come on. Look closely. Don't you see a few?" Then I began pointing them out and, sure enough, he saw two or three, also! December. And it was blooming! And it bloomed, and continued to bloom. Last week I saw a few blooms left along with new sprays of little green peach leaves! And this last fall is the FIRST time it EVER lost all its leaves. EVER. I don't understand. I tell you this poor little tree has issues!

Anyway, I checked closely last week--it's already making tiny, little, fuzzy, green peaches. True, they're only the size of a . . . of a . . . ummmmm . . . well . . . hmmmmm, I guess you could say, tiny peach? Smaller than the tip of my baby, pinky finger. But they are very cute and if all of them were to "make", the poor little tree will be so weighed down it'll probably break in pieces. We'll remove some of the fruit before it ever gets to that stage--IF it gets to that stage where we'll need to do so. We've had to do it before!

One of our little plum trees is blooming, too! And the azelaes--two or three of those are blooming. Don't you just love Spring?!?!?!? One of our near neighbors has a huge plum tree in their front yard in full bloom! And other neighbors have redbuds. (I do miss my redbud. Waaaah.) And there's quince blooming. And I've seen tulips and daffodills and jonquills. It is just beautiful. I do love Spring! Happy Spring to everyone--and looking forward to a lovely Easter!

Princesses--Little Girl and Female Cat

This little doll is my granddaughter. She loves princesses, loves to play princess AND loves her cat. This most tolerant of all cats has (somewhat) willingly played along with the princess theme--as you can see. Lovely, precious granddaughter called to me the afternoon of this picture: "Grandma, come look at Daph! See! She's a princess!"

And, indeed she was--and is. Lovely princess-cat, or is that cat princess? (Then there's that "Queen" title I almost forgot about) Whichever, Daph has the softest coat of fur you can imagine and, as you can see, she's a beautiful calico. My daughter--mother of the lovely girl child pictured above--said they picked this particular cat at the animal shelter because she reminded her of the cat our family had when she was a lovely, young girl herself. I remember that cat, Cali, treating my daughter as if she were one of her kittens. (I never figured out why since my daughter could, of course pick Cali up and well, you know the size difference in humans and cats being what it is and all). Nonetheless, Cali would call my daughter to follow her with the same maternal cry (and patience, I might add) she gave her own baby kittens when she wanted them to follow her. And, she'd also attack any dog that wandered into the yard if my daughter was outside. (The same dog could come eat out of Cali's food bowl otherwise without any trouble--but let my daughter be in the yard! Dog was on notice, at the least, or under attack!)

Daph has treated precious granddaughter in an even more motherly fashion. I remember my daughter telling me multiple times that if her little one (during her early baby days) was wailing for whatever reason--like not wanting her diaper changed--Daph would go into super-defence mode, meow pitifully, and exert all possible energy to come to her aid. The cat's obvious intent was to protect the baby as if her life were endangered!

Animals are most entertaining and comforting to those of us who've been blessed to have them for companions. Here's to Daph! She's been to the vet earlier today and is suffering with an infection. Get better soon, sweet cat! You've been a great blessing to the family who loves you.

You need to get your head examined, or I've lost my mind somewhere

Something weird has happened. Seriously. Yesterday I had an MRI and an MRA of, yes, my head. (A friend told me she's also had her head examined, too.) Well, before I got into the huge machine that makes an enormous amount of noise (I think the inventors of said machine should have THEIR heads examined) I asked the tech guy to explain how it worked. He chuckled and asked, "So, how much time do you have?" My response: "Just give me the Reader's Digest version."

This was basically it: "Our bodies are mostly made up of water molecules."
"Yeah, I said. And water molecules are pretty cool with the way they have an electrical charge." "Right. Well, the magnets in the machine " this part I forget exactly ... send an electrically charged beam or something and it RESONATES somehow with the water particles (read: molecules) and give an image they can record.
"So, the clicking noise (horrendous noise the first time I experienced this procedure) is the machine switching the magnets polarity back and forth?"
"Yes, for the ... " contrast ... or something or the other.

Well, that was kind of what I expected, but I didn't know about the water thing. Water molecules are pretty awesome--the properties they have with the oxygen having, I think, a negative charge and the 2 hydrogen molecules having positive charges . . . if they didn't have those properties, plants couldn't get water up from their roots and the sugar they produce in their leaves down to the roots or other parts of the plant. It amazed me to learn these things when I took biology a few years ago. Anyway, science has always intrigued me.

So, back to the huge machine. With all the magnetic polarity switching back and forth, I think I lost part of the electrical functioning of my brain. Seriously. I visited with, ate dinner with, and saw a movie with my oldest daughter after having the MRI and man! I've had trouble remembering things and getting my words all messed up as they try to come out of my mouth, or out of my fingers onto the keyboard trying to type this post. You could ask her. We laughed a lot, but it was obvious something was different! You have no idea how many huge typos I've had to try to fix as I've gone along. I mean, I'm not the world's greatest typist by far, but gee whiz! This has been extraordinarily difficult today! Not to mention that my usual poor spelling has just zeroed out as well. So if you find errors in this post, its not my faoult! It's the MRI monster that sucked stuff out of my brain yesterday. I promise that's the problem.

I hope I can recover! I need all the positive brain activity I can find--recover--improve--use, whatever. Getting old is hard enough on a person's brain. This is totally unfair. I'm complaining to my neurologist next Tuesday when I see him again.

Ooooooooooooh. Maybe I should wait until AFTER he gives me his diagnosis. Hmmmmmmm. But, seriously. It's been a real trial to try to talk and/or type coherently. (IS that a word? The right word? I hope so.)

Say a prayer, okay?