My Favorite Summer Salad

I am so tired of buying lettuce and having it wilt in the fridge before I have a chance to use it all. So, I've started cutting up a seedless cucumber, two on the vine tomatoes, one or two small green peppers and 4 oz of Feta Cheese. Then I sprinkle dried onions, parsley and 6 table spoons of Paul Newmans Balamic Vinegarette Dressing (sometimes I use his Tuscany Balsamic Dressing) over it and stir. It's easy to make and good to eat! NUMMY!!!

...and the April Employee of the Month is...

 

Was there any doubt? Really, you walk into the Walmart that he works at, and you would think he was famous! People stop me as I am shopping and say to me, "Are you Al's wife?" and...."Your Al's wife, right? He is so nice." "We love working with Al!" The man has been loved at every job he works at...no wonder he would rather work than retire with me. Like he says, he feels like a "hero" at work....I think I need to treat him better so he will want to retire with me . Gotta love the man! While I am bragging about him, I should tell you that he was a great student and I think I have heard him say he barely missed a day of school from first grade through college. I can tell you for a fact he only missed one day of work before he "retired" (except for when his mom passed away), and that was because I begged him to stay home with me one day! How on earth did this man get stuck with me for a wife? I guess I need to make him a plaque that says, Husband of the year - every year for the past 33 years! I love that man!

A Boy and his Dog

Really, I wished I could upload the video that I took of KC playing with Pounce! It's too long, and would have to be cut up too much to post - and I have a weak internet service...so I won't post it. Pounce must be the most patient dog I have ever seen. He just lays there and lets KC roll over him. It's so cute!

Drew's First time on the Mound!

Slumdog Millionaire - The Book vs The Movie

After reading the Twilight Series, and then seeing the movie, I decided the best way to see movies would be to read the book first. So, since Slumdog Millionaire sounded like it could be a great story, I picked the book up at Walmart a few weeks ago. I began to read it, hoping that the first few paragraphs with foul language would not be the norm for this writer, and we could move on to a great story. Then came more explicit language and descriptions, and I am just not into that kind of reading, so I put the book down feeling pretty disappointed. I made the decision that I really didn't want to watch the movie. I gave the book to my daughter and thought maybe she might like to read it, but even as I handed it to her, I wasn't very encouraging.

After I got home from Oregon, the Blockbuster movies started arriving, and the first one that I opened was...yep, you guessed it, Slumdog Millionaire. It sat here on the table for a couple of days, and finally I asked Al if he wanted to watch it. He thought it would be good, and I admitted that often the movies don't follow the book. I was very pleased that so much of the garbage in the book was left out of the movie. The story line was so much more than the graphic words and description in the book. The movie, although it wasn't to the T of the book, was actually better than the book, in my humble opinion. I definately am glad that I watched the movie.

Crocheted Garden Apron and More

These were a fun project to work on while I was heading to Oregon on the train, and while I was in Oregon. I wished I had the energy to make one for all of my gardening friends! I got the pattern at Michael's Craft Store, and the yarn I crocheted with is the Lily's Cotton yarn. I love working with it, because it feels good in my hands, and doesn't stretch or split like some acrylic yarns.

Then the square weird little things are called Amaguruchis, but Zee calls them "POPTARTS" - and honestly, that is a more fitting name. The girls picked out their colors and added the extra "hair"....so you can be really creative when designing these Poptarts!

Betty's 87th Birthday

My garage sale friends get together for lunch every few weeks, and luckily for me, we get together when I come to Oregon. This time it was Betty's birthday - wow, 87 years old! It was fun to sing happy birthday to her and have her share some of her great life stories. She's a pretty awesome woman!

Summer Sandles

When the sun shines and you feel all warm and happy; and mom and dad are away, sometimes you just need to go shopping. So the four of us went shopping for new sandles! The girls are great little shoppers, and are good at watching out for their pocket book! I told them each how much they could spend on sandles, and they came way under budget! They did good! Now, we just need to take some time and polish our toe nails!

Cali taught Zaide to Ride the BIG Girl Bike!

Cali taught Zaide to ride Maisy's bike without training wheels! Cali was so proud of herself....but then so was Zaide. Maisy simply said, "Oh, I don't care if she rides my bike, because I really want a new one!"

A Warm Day in Oregon - Splash Waterpark

While Kesch was at a womens retreat, and Dale was working the pizza wagon, I stayed with the girls in Oregon. They were wonderful on Saturday and on Sunday they worked hard to clean the house before Kesch got home, so I treated them to an afternoon at Splash. The girls are absolute waterdogs!

Cul-De-Sac Mothers Day Parade at Kesch's House

Coreographed by Cali (of course).

What Do I do in Oregon with the Girls?

You might wonder what on earth would keep me busy with the girls in Oregon for almost 3 weeks....well, there are a lot of things we do. We go shopping, of course, and hang out with the neighbor kids, but we also watch video's (The Cinderella Story was my favorite!), read books outloud (I read "The Meanest Doll in the World" book), baked cookies, helped make the mothers day gifts (an apron and a Starbucks Coffee Cup), and decorated foam drink holders.

Zaide likes to bake cookies with me and so for days on end she says, "Grammy, are we gonna make cookies NOW????" Finally we did:



Iced Orange Cookies with Zaide

Here's the recipe for the Iced Orange Cookies that Zaide and I made today:

Make ORANGE ICING first:

1 1/2 tsp. grated orange rind
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup orange juice

Mix icing ingredients together until smooth. Set aside.


Orange Drop Cookies by Louise Murie MacLeod from the Jackson Hole Recipe Book

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. grated orange peel
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vinegar
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup Walnuts or pecans (my grands are allergic to nuts, so I didn't add them)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets and set aside.

Mix milk, baking soda and vinegar together. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt together.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition with a wooden spoon. Mix in vanilla and eggs. Add milk and stir to blend.

Add dry ingredients to mixture, stirring well to blend. Stir in nuts.

Drop by rounded teaspoons on cookie sheet. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes (Or until lightly browned - the recipe says 20 minutes, but that seemed to long in my oven). Ice cookies while they are still warm.

We had a great time making these cookies - and she loved licking the bowl! UGH!

Maisy Puts on a Play

Maisy put on a cute little puppet show while I was visiting! She loves to play like this!

Maisy's Build-A-Bear at Home From Auntie!