The weekend Again ;)

Il est fini

Finally the gas problem has been fixed, thanks to my Sweetie. Man he is something special. Hot water, so now I can make soup for this evening.

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Tell ya what two solid days with no hot water is NOT fun. We had enough heat in periods of time to run in and out of a shower, so I was not totally stinky.

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Yesterday was not all that cold, and I got my hair trimmed, PLUS a pedicure…ahhhhhhhhhh my tootsies are as smooth as a baby’s bottom. ;)

No nail polish though ~ that is for sandal weather. We are getting ready for SOME kind of weather this weekend.

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Saturday: Snow Showers, High: 31 F, Low: 10 F Sunday: Partly Cloudy, High: 13 F, Low: 9 F

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Then other accounts say 6 degrees, Bottom line COLD!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

I have already stocked the bird feeders and now I need to clean the fireplace of ashes. Then make the soup, then off to see a movie. Yes I invited Sweetie [he accepted, tee hee] to meet me at the Mall. Dinner will have already been prepared so when we get home I can amazingly plate it all in minutes. ;) I even have appetizers ready for him to munch on while I reheat the soup and the rest of the meal. ;) The best part, aside from my Sweetie is I can play with my Mandolin Slicer… I am a cut up ya know!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ How to Use a Mandolin Slicer ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ William Shakespeare, in the opening of his great comedic work, "Twelfth Night", declared, "If music be the food of love, play on!" Classic French Onion Soup Always serve this marvelous French country dish as a meal, lunch or dinner, with lots of salad and crusty French bread--hot to 8-12 people.

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· 1 stick butter (8 Tablespoons) **I use the butter WITHOUT Salt*** Therefore I can control the amount, since there is salt in cheese most times anyway. · 8 cups onions, thinly sliced · 3 Tablespoons flour · 3 quarts beef stock · 1 Tablespoon salt · 1 teaspoon pepper · 1 cup brandy ***sometimes I use Sherry instead*** · 1 teaspoon BV meat glaze (or kitchen bouquet, bovril, or oxo, in a pinch)--optional · grated Gruyere cheese · grated Parmesan cheese · French bread · olive oil

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Melt the butter in a Dutch oven and add the onions, stirring constantly.

Cook for 5-7 minutes, until soft.

In the meantime, cut slices of French bread into 1/2 inch pieces and toast them at 350 degrees in the oven for about 15 minutes--until they are dry crusts.

When the onions are soft, sprinkle them with flour, stir,

then add 2 cups of beef stock and stir until the mixture is thickened.

Add the remaining stock, stir into 1 Tablespoon of salt, the pepper, and the brandy.

Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 1/2 hour to an hour. Add the meat glaze and taste for seasoning.

When you're ready to serve,

ladle the soup into individual bowls and cover each with a thick handful of Gruyere cheese.

Top each with a piece of the toasted bread, which has been drizzled with olive oil.

Sprinkle it with the Parmesan, then run them under a broiler for a few minutes and carry out to the table.

c'est complet

Wow what a day...A bonny Day

Willow (Salix) are a genus of around 400 species, Some willows, particularly arctic and alpine species, are very small The Willow is the tree most associated with the moon, water, the Goddess and all that is feminine. It is the tree of dreaming, intuition and deep emotions. Symbolically it belongs to the beginning of spring, when all of life is stirring in the depths and begins to shoot outwards once again. The willow has always been known as a tree of dreaming and enchantment, and it was associated in Celtic legend with poets and with spells of fascination and binding.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ the little girls name~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mom is named Paisley,might be speak my Celtic heritage.

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Paisley’s western name derives from the town of Paisley, in central Scotland. Paisley or Paisley pattern is a droplet-shaped vegetal motif of Persian origin,[citation needed] similar to half of the Yin yang symbol, or the leaf of the Indian bodhi tree or the mango tree; or to a leech. The pattern is sometimes called "Persian pickles" by American traditionalists, especially quiltmakers

In Indian culture, the Paisley was originally an illiterate way for village people to communicate that it was harvest time. They would put ink on the side of their fist and stamp it places so that people would know it was time for harvest. This symbol was later adapted in design form in artwork and elaborated upon by the town of Paisley

Some pitiful pictures of the New pet rescues…

The little Boys name is:

Jacopo (Character) from The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) They are adjusting New names NOW OFFICIAL Mom and Kids adjusting Quite well

Brisk and SUNNY… I got the Log splitter stared all by my self…I only split the logs I could lift until youngest son came out to help.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Hubby was attending to the Annual Lions Club Pitt BBQ. Which means I dinna have to cook, Always a treat now and again.

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We separated the yucky wood from the wood pile so to be slated to burn in an outdoor pit…sorta romantic and useful as well.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ My GOAL is to go through all the piles of firewood and SPLIT it all… A GOAL mind ya!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ One of the things I find so amazing it trying to predict how the wood splits. Sometimes the wood sounds like an ancient ship groaning under the stress of the waters and the tides... like the Book The Perfect Storm. I liked that movie after I read the book…as is in Most cases the book is better…in this instance, reading the book first let the movie FLOW more I felt.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ We got into several logs of Apple wood, man that is such a sweet smell in the fireplace inside… Well there were two or three logs that were filled with these COLOSSAL ants. Needless to say they were PEEVED with us.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I was going to take a walk about to see what was in bloom but stopped short as I saw Sweet Violets.

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What a day … "Sweet Violets" is a folk song with humorously surprising lyrics. The chorus is from the song "Sweet Violets" by Joseph Emmet, from his 1882 play Fritz Among the Gypsies.

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Big Day here

the male kitten

Little female kitten OH she is so lovely

Side view of Mom Cat

The male kitten looking just toooooo CUTE

Mom Cat below

Her three kittens above

It has happened AGAIN. I was INNOCENTLY getting medications for our dog George. As I waited in the Veterinarians office my head looked toward the Bulletin Board. YA the ones with PLEASE ADOPT this or that animal.

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The gentleman in front of me was picking his dog up from surgery and the wait time was longer than usual. So there I was, needed to entertain myself………………………… That is when IT Happened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pictures no less, I sighed and told myself NO NO NO! Myself did not listen too well. I took the phone number down anyway, thinking I would, on the drive home, talk myself out of the mad desire to get kittens.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It did not work!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later in the afternoon I assembled a new bed, toys, new feeding dish etc. I think SUCKER is written across my forehead! I called the number and the lady sounds so nice…MAN am I an easy mark or what?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So all the way to Richmond and all the way back pondering names for the soon to be brother and sister littermates. Yes, for sure I am excited. I will pick up these wee ones late this afternoon after they have been vetted. Also George will have time to re settle on from our trip.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BUT it gets BETTER, I think! I talked to the lady last evening about sending pictures via e-mail so my Sweetie could see what was coming here. She, the lady said, {I paraphrase here ~~ “would you consider taking the MOM Cat?”]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ YIKES and YE GADS…I tip toe into the Family Room and interrupt my Sweetie and the Steelers Football Game…I get the comment from my Sweetie “Go for it”! Awwwwwwwwwwwww he is so sweet!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So here it is three new felines. Already talked to the Vet today and we are scheduling “Mom” to be Spayed etc prior to her coming here, Safer that way for sure. Perhaps Thursday the Mom will have been scheduled for surgery and recovery time might be this weekend. YE GADS!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BUT wait, look at them, aren’t they just tooooooooooooooo cute? Now to watch them and decided upon names…

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Shades of: The music for "My Favorite Things"

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Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,

bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

brown paper packages tied up with strings,

these are a few of my favorite things.

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Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels,

door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles.

Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings.

these are a few of my favorite things

SIGH

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Life is GOOD

Is History Important?

My Sweetie and I enjoyed the movie was incredible as was the first Elizabeth movie. Of course the company was the BEST.

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While we were walking to the car my Sweetie pondered about a scene on the movie: Contemplating if it was indeed Sir Walter Raleigh that set fire to the British ships and unleashing them towards the anchored ships of the Armada in order to scatter the Spanish fleet.

###################### It is called Hollywood: So who was that fearless pirate who inspired Elizabeth: The Golden Age’s director Shekhar Kapur and who was instrumental in the film as defeating the Spanish Armada? His name was Sir Francis Drake, an infamous pirate and slave-trader whom the Spanish called "El Draque" (the Dragon).

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There is a climactic scene in Elizabeth: The Golden Age where Clive Owen’s character, supposedly Sir Walter Raleigh, has the brilliant idea of setting British ships on fire and unleashing them towards the anchored ships of the Armada in order to scatter the Spanish fleet. Historians credit Sir Francis Drake with that exploit. However, Shakhar Kapur unabashedly usurps that episode from Sir Francis Drake’s life and puts it in the hands of Sir Walter Raleigh in his film; while in actual fact Sir Raleigh was safe on land-

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– just in case history is of any significance here.

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########## Laura Sydell, NPR interviews the films Director. 'Elizabeth' Director Brings Indian Sensibility to Work

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Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr at 37 degrees

Yikes my toes are chilled. My Sweetie and I had fun yesterday looking for STUFF to finish up some projects. I even got a planted re potted and found it had secretly propagated due most in part to the hectic summer here. Now instead of one plant I have four.

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Now for the AH HA! For Kalanchoe to flower again, cut the flowers off when they start to die back and let the plant rest for a month in a dark place. During the resting period you don’t have to water the plant or maybe less water. When you’ll notice new buds, bring Kalanchoe back in its appropriate place, restarting the regular watering.

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but...

They can reproduce asexually through a process called fragmentation. The adult plant drops leaves, which eventually sprout new miniplants. Each miniplant grows into an adult plant.

more about that later

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The agenda for this day is to plants some bulbs, which I will describe later, and the Tree/ Shrub I got in DC, getting the bird feeders out and re cleaned along with the food. It is not quite time yet to feed them, there are still many plants, berries and the like for them to forage upon.

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When my Sweetie and I have completed the MOST of our list we will settle back and go out for a HOT DATE…that means a movie and dinner. Whoooo Hooooooooooooo!

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Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) We enjoyed the first movie,[Elizabeth] and now Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush return for a gripping historical thriller laced with treachery and romance-- ~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~

Synopsis!

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Then

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Dinner!

Already had my fill of GREENS

The formula for shear stress in a beam is: See viscosity ;

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As soon as my Sweetie left I got one more hour of weed eating in before the heat would be too intense. While the chore is far from complete, I call it an on going work in progress; I have used all the gas in the designated can. Therefore that means I am finished? Well it’s a thought ;)

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Now on to less green activities as today the new mattress arrives. I so hope that we picked well. I figure it’s a 50-50 guesstimate. Soon enough we will have the verdict. I figure twenty years on the life of a mattress is ling enough. Add four children bouncing all over it for sure counts. Of course children jumping is a major NO NO as far as mattress manufactures say.

~~~~~~~~ The average mattress lasts about 10 years. By adding ¼ plywood between the box springs we added 10 more years.

~~~~~~~ Several weeks ago I went to all available stores in search of the Perfect Mattress. I always wore comfortable clothing, sandals, and was prepared to spend at least 15 minutes per mattress. After doing the preliminary research my Sweetie also tested the beds and offered his opinions.

~~~~~~~~~ According to the research I had these products to consider. I read much on mattresses. This I thought was fascinating: During the Neolithic period: The mattress and bed are invented. Beds are raised off the ground to avoid drafts, dirt, and pests. The first mattress probably consists of a pile of leaves, grass, or possibly straw, with animal skins over it.

~~~~ Hello lets go camping and forget the tent the pots and pans and do a Euell Gibbons. Stalking the Wild Asparagus (1962) and Stalking the Blue-Eyed Scallop (1964) ~~ To name a couple of his books.

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The word ”mattress”is derived from Arabic words meaning, "to throw" and "place where something is thrown" or "mat, cushion." During the Crusades, Europeans adopted the Arabic method of sleeping on cushions thrown on the floor, and the word materas eventually descended into Middle English through the Romance languages.[1]

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~~~~Crusades ey? In 1970s: NASA invents material that later becomes known as memory foam[2]. This has to do with viscosity. YIKES Physics and MATH?

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Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a fluid to deform under shear stress. Memory foam was originally developed by NASA to ease the pressure of extreme G-force during space shuttle take off. It was never used in the space program, but was subsequently used in medical applications, for example with patients suffering from pressure sores or bed-bound for a long period.

~~~ This of course brought to mind the story by Hans Christian Anderson. The Princess and the Pea.

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So hold the calls I will be seeing if I can locate any peas!

Tee hee Once Upon a Mattress

2 beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee or not

Lavender chicken Ingredients 4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts l/2 cup Lavender Jelly l/2 cup Lavender Liqueur l/4 cup Honey l/2 cup Triple Sec 3 tsp. garlic powder Salt & Pepper to Taste 3 TBS. Herbes de Provence 1 TBS. Old Bay Seasoning Steps You're gonna' love me for this one! It looks as if it would take a long time to prepare, but it is really very easy. 1. Wash Chicken Breasts thoroughly. 2. Pat Chicken Breasts dry. 3. Put garlic powder, salt and pepper, Herbes de Provence and Old Bay Seasoning in paper bag. 4. Put Chicken Breasts in bag and shake thoroughly, making sure they are covered with herb mixture. 5. Put Chicken Breasts in Pyrex dish and spread the Lavender Jelly, Honey, Triple Sec over chicken. 6. Add either the wine you are having with the dinner (1 cup) or 1 cup water to Pyrex dish. 7. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 40 minutes or so (depending on thickness of breasts), uncover and bake 20 minutes more in oven, dipping sauce over breasts one more time. 8. Garnish with fresh parsley to serve. I have made this dish and served it with Jasmine Rice flavored with coconut, honey and triple sec and a fresh green salad with feta cheese. Wine: Chardonnay/Pinot Blanc. It was delicious. This recipe can be frozen and heated in a 350-degree oven for about 40 minutes. How to make Lavender Liqueur

To be, or not to be [Shakespeare – Hamlet] They gather on my Lavender

Bubbles

Convex Concave Spherical Hemispherical Globular body of air Effervescent Colors

The fascination lingers, when bubble meets another.

Cooking: Blanch, Boil and Simmer

Double, double toil and trouble;

burn, and cauldron bubble. Act 4, Scene 1, MacBeth, William Shakespeare The bubbles you had when a child…the bubbles a waterfall makes.

Bubbles in the bathtub ~

Champagne ~~~~~~~~~~~ The Bubbly The bubbles that appear on a freshly treated piece of lumber, as if a troupe of dancers have begun the ballet. Much more ethereal than bubble wrap… The roofers will be out of here today. All that remains is finishing the light wells! Life is Good!

Not quite an Elephant’s eye UNLESS

It is a short Elephant! HA! Knee high by the 4th of July, gosh, heck and gee whiz the corn is as high as D’s eye. Oh, what a beautiful mornin',Oh, what a beautiful day. I got a beautiful feelin' Ev'rything's goin' my way. Oh Yeah baby, and Emerilism there, but the roofers are almost finished, the painters are being lined up and the Surprise for Sweetie Might get put together this night. Finding "corn as high as an elephant's eye" proved to be quite a challenge. Since filming the musical ”Oklahoma” was to take place out of season, no tall cornfields were to be found anywhere. The job was given to the people of the University of Arizona Agricultural Department, who planted each stalk in individual containers and held their breath. With rain and good luck, the corn grew to a height of 16 feet, causing Oscar Hammerstein to quip: "The corn is now as high as the eye of an elephant on top of another elephant."

There they were ~ still on this Summers Solstice

The vigil began last evening @ 8:45 p.m. Of the 6 buds on the Night-blooming Cereus, Queen of the Night, Dutchman's Pipe Cactus Epiphyllum oxypetalum. Possibly because the weather was cooler these past two days the blooms lasted until this morning. What a thrill that was and at the time of this posting the blooms remain fully opens. Temperatures here not yet in the 60’s! In 2007, summer begins June 21, 2:06 P.M. EDT the Longest Day of the year All of this plus the Queen of the Night~ brought to mind more Shakespeare in the Midsummer Night’s Dream. June’s solstice is known as midsummer, and Midsummer's Day is 24 June, three or four days after the solstice itself). Latin for sun stands still, in astronomy; either of the two points on the ecliptic that lie midway between the equinoxes (separated from them by an angular distance of 90°).

It poured buckets

One tree, across the creek took a direct hit.

The roofers were just putting down the last piece of felt before the winds and rain came. I was relieved they were off the ladders. Then the Lightning! Lou Christie’s song Lightning's striking again and again and again and again popped into my head. Once the winds and lightning passed they were back on the roof. YE GADS said I to me…WHY? One worker accidentally dropped his cell in the three-flu chimney! …It was a fishing expedition that lasted about 45 minutes. Bottom-line He Can Hear you now! The Cell was retrieved. The contractor said he would order the chimney caps today! All's Well That Ends Well! A comedy by William Shakespeare and is one of Shakespeare's least performed plays.