Winners, Runners and Termaters

And the Emmy Board Game goes to...

Brenda Christmas AND Foberswife!

Games will be on their way this week. Don't you just love getting packages in the mail? And when they contain chocolate, well, that's reason to 

dance a little jig! (I do so love to dance a little jig now and then.)

In other news, I've been a good girl: exercising and eating lotsa fiber. Mike's still jogging (that's him below; I'm sitting on the curb resting, of course). 

I loathe running of any sort. Much prefer funner exercise like biking, croquet, mall shopping walking, etc. 

As I've mentioned before, every Spring I get the planting bug...every summer I neglect the whole caboodle and give it over to the mosquitos, and every fall...

...this is where we end up. 

And yet, by the grace of God, I get goodies now and then!

In the past week, I've collected red and green peppers, tomatoes (more than all summer) and green onions. Amazing! I've stepped out into that yard all of six times this summer, and probably every time it was because I was making one of my favorites recipes (and one of the only ones Mike requests; how should I take that?): 

Salmon Cakes (adapted from Chicken of the Sea) 

2 pouches (large) of Chicken of the Sea Pink Salmon

(I suppose one could use canned, but the boney parts freak me out a bit)

1/2 cup finely chopped green onions

1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

A couple of dashes of cayenne pepper

2 medium eggs, beaten

2 cups seasoned (or not) breadcrumbs - divided

Butter for frying

Combine first five ingredients in a bowl. Stir in salmon, egg and 1/2 cup of the bread crumbs. Form mixture into balls (this makes about 8), roll in remaining bread crumbs and flatten. Fry in butter (just use the amount your conscience allows, hehe) until golden brown on each side.

We love them with spaghetti squash (as above) and they also make great sandwiches if you manage to have any leftover the next day. It's a very flexible recipe - I've used grapefruit juice in place of lemon, tuna in place of some of the salmon, and panko for the bread crumbs. The original recipe called for garlic powder, which I don't love, but you may. So have at it, and use up those end-of-season garden offerings!

A Little 'O This and a Little 'O That

Lookie there - celery-green hose and turquoise sprayer! 

AND green-and-turquoise garden gloves!

I started lettuce early this year and it's nearing the end of its run already.

I still enjoy it the "Mel Tufts" way:

...a spritz of white vinegar and a sprinkle of sugar.

Ok, a couple of sprinkles of sugar.

YUM!

...and last of the baby spinach and rainbow swiss chard...

(well, there may be enough left for an omelette or two)

I picked up an old copy of C.S. Lewis's first sci-fi book 

at the loverly Victory Home Thrift Store - what a {slow-paced but} exciting romp!

And after yakking about it with a new-church friend, he passed along this set:

CHRISTIAN SCI-FI - what a fascinating concept!

Here's a sneak-peek at the yarny project:

We all have decent bikes now.

If only we could find time to RIDE THEM.

We're all busy as bees as we transition to our new church - 

pictures will pop up one of these days; 

for now I'll just say that we're overwhelmed by God's goodness and grace

and though very tired, we're having a blast!

Where On Earth Did I Leave My Phone?

Spring has arrived, and as usual I'm feeling a bit Feverish.

What a lovely month March was, here in southeastern Virginia.

Sweet-pea-lovely!

Bleeding-heart-lovely! (...er...that sounds a little creepy...)

Green-onion-lovely!

Parsley-lovely! Thaaaat's right...say it with me...parsley is LOVELY.

(And not gharsley)

Spinach-lovely!

Squirrel-preventive-lovely!

 Baskets-of-herbs-lovely!

Did YOU see my phone??

Hibernation Was Nice, But...

Well, HELLO! Has it really been three months?? This is what's snowing now:


All the lovely blooming, sneeze-inducing blossoms! It seems like just yesterday that we were dragging the Christmas tree (what was left of it) out the door.


We've gone through three toilets in as many months. Did you know you can pour water into the bowl and it will automatically flush? I suppose you did. Well, it was news to ME. And it got old pretty quickly.



Finally got everything fixed and then a squatter moved in...squatter...I crack myself up... I didn't have the heart to flush him, so I started using the downstairs bathroom. Mike wasn't quite so sympathetic, and the squatter has been relocated to an underground home.


In February we opened the the best thrift store ever.




We're still getting all kinds of fascinating donations.


Snagged this the other day for a great price at The Barn (our outlet). I have no idea where to put it. But isn't it lovely?


I picked this up, too, because I was inspired by the mirror below it. It's just plastic, but I'm hoping to find a nice retro aqua paint and see how close I can come to that cool mirror below (which I saw on etsy.com).





Buddy has found yet another way to be pampered. He's been under the weather...six hundred dollars and a mis-diagnosis of trapped gas later, that's right, trapped gas, turns out he has a spine problem and I have to carry him around, particularly up stairs, and perhaps for the rest of his life! He goes outside to do his business, then he whines at the steps, and like a dutiful mommy I step outside to scoop him up. Just as I reach down he runs off. I end up chasing him all over the yard, usually in something elegant like a robe and Mike's dress shoes. It's a good thing he's so cute.

Boo, on watch at the window for nefarious cats, looks all innocent here.

But imagine my chagrine when I came upon this, just an hour after bringing Buddy home from the vet with a month's worth of anti-inflammatory pills. Chewables...that was a mistake. Leaving them on the kitchen counter was evidently another one.

So back to the vet I went, with another dog and another gigantic wad of money. He's pretty well recovered now, and back in the swing of things at the ladies' home, including Saturday night Bible study.

Here are a couple of ladies who are too cool for their shoes, Flutterbug and Grandma. Her grandma is hip. We hardly blinked when we were watching a home slide show of family pictures and she said, "Who dat?" Actually, that's an outright lie; we laughed our heads off. She's a groovy grandma for sure.

The older I get, the more non-fiction I enjoy. I find myself compelled to fill my brain with fascinating things like what I learned in this book: (regarding size) a virus is to a human as a human is to the earth. Wow. No wonder they're so sneaky.

I'm reading this sequel to "A Year in Provence" which I devoured last year (a girl can dream, can't she?):

Who could resist a book that starts with a sentence like this?

Been feeling all artsy-craftsy again. There won't be any meals served on the kitchen table for a while.

Mike wants a wall-sized mural in his new office. Here I am starting something I have no idea how to do:

More on this project later. I have a backup plan. Let's just say I'm glad my sister just married a mural artist.

In the meantime, I also have a mess in the spare bedroom. More on this later.

Time to kick the brown thumb into gear. I soaked some seeds overnight and then planted them in these groovy pots: tarragon, dill, catnip, cilantro (the other herbs go in the big pots outside on the fence).

So there you have it. This is all but a few dozen highlights of the new year. I'd keep going, but I hear Buddy crying my name in the backyard. Time to wrap up in an afghan, and maybe throw on a bike helmet and chase him around the yard. Perhaps you'll see me on AFV one day, if my neighbors are savvy.

Finally! or, Watched Tomatoes Never Ripen

Neglecting the back yard for a week did the trick.