62 years

 Count down to Easter. My fridge is weeping for space. Strange as it seems that big Sub Zero lacks space and I don't know what is taking up all that area for it certainly isn't inside usable space. I heard the Sub Zeros can really cost now days...can it be that one is $18,000? I bought mine in 1997 and I am sure I did not pay anyways near that price.

Later today I am taking the beef tenderloin out of the freezer and letting it thaw in the fridge. Then I will be generous with the salt and pepper while it is marinating. It is a beautiful piece of beef from Carfagna's and since it is special I have waited for special people to visit with us and celebrate our 62nd wedding anniversary and Easter. Have a lovely day.

What is going on?

 What's going on here?  The driveway is full of trucks and they are not here for a party.  There is a cherry picker in the front yard because John is redoing the chimneys...no small job, but he is methodical. The pergola is being repaired and spray painted.  Joe and Glenda are hoping we can play cards under that on Sunday between feasts. I fed the workers chicken and noodles and mac and cheese with pepperoni, cheese bread, enhanced oyster crackers and slices of a sweet treat. It will be a long day. Oh, the slate roof is getting cleaned and the bricks are getting power washed. Well, that's enough of that.

I have two tables ready for Easter but I still do not know who all is coming. Never mind, I'll be ready.

I am looking for another good book, and some good tv in the evenings...so far, not so much.

At least it is warm and spring is here.

Help is on its way!

 Yea!! Tomorrow and the next day we will be happily inundated with workers. There is so much to be done although Eric left things in great order at the end of the summer. These are things we have had to do for years at this time of year. The difference is there will be a cherry picker involved. The chimneys need point tucked. And, they need a wire cap on the opening because we have visitors, especially in the spring.  Unwelcome, but they don't care; this is home to them too.

I feed the workers. Always have. So they come hungry and I intend to be ready for them with pork, potatoes, and carrots, and, Amish cheese bread. I can't give them the cheese bread croutons--Andy would not like that a bit.  He is very possessive when it comes to homemade croutons. I should have something sweet, but by now you know that door seems to be closed for good. No matter what I see in magazines and on the food network, I cannot make myself bake! Oh, I just thought.  I have a chocolate Babka in the freezer or I have little cakes that could be used in bread pudding. (I never used bread in that, just something sweet because the stuff I pour over the chunks of cake is delicious.) It is so easy and not like baking at all, except you do have to put it in the oven. lol) I can manage that.

We have bouquets of daffodils all over the house. They line the driveway, they are in the secret garden, and hover inside the hydrangea patch. Nate has bought and planted a fruit garden with three apple and three nectarines trees. I must admit, we have NO LUCK with fruit trees. The deer ruin them and it is so sad because the trees really want to be here. He also planted a dawn redwood..no fruit on that hardy tree and it will get to be a hundred feet tall, but I won't get to see that.

Better get busy, twelve people will be here Easter Day. First time in a year. I have the ham from Carfagna's. Carfagna's is moving from route 161 to Polaris. It will be a grand big store a bit like the one in New York that Lidia of public tv fame has. I like her show on Saturdays, but it is only half an hour for some strange reason, but, leave it to public tv they might pull it and have some infomercial going on in its place for three weeks! Don't get me started on that!

Best cake ever

 I have finally tracked down the cake lady. This was a cake that appeared at Alyssa's wedding shower. I have raved about this cake for a year and today I was able to order the same Victorian sponge from Carrie the one that produces excellent baked goods to many Columbus' happy people. I will put her information on so you too can enjoy her wares.

Well, Easter will be only a dozen people but we intend to relish getting together after a year to celebrate Easter and our anniversary, 62 years, and Joe and Glenda's which is next month, also 62 years of marriage.

I hope the day, Easter, is warm and sunny and we can eat at least the first meal of the day outside. We are having a ham and a beef roast. I have started on the soups trying to get things done ahead of time so I won't be worn out with the effort.

Monica and crew come today.  I hope this is window cleaning day, they are a mess from winter. I need sparkle! And cake.

http://www.CarriesSugarBuzz.com/ 614 348 7684 She is on Facebook too.

Company's coming, at last

 I had better get my skates on. I hear we are having company on April 4th which is Easter and our 62nd wedding anniversary. (I thought it was 63 years, but after labored math, we came up with 62nd.) I was not sure what day it was when I heard the news, so I had to calculate the logistics like indoors or outdoors, will the outdoors be ready...the pool is being drained and a new liner put in, all the outdoor furniture needs power washed and placed not to mention the cooking and organizing, but it is worth it.  I've done it many times and I will not be shy asking for help. 

One thing I really want is one of those Victorian jam cakes that was brought to the wedding shower for Alyssa.  It was the most glorious cake I have ever seen and that includes wedding cakes. Real old-fashioned roses covered the top of the cake and jam and whipped cream layered the inside. It was wonderful. I think it is called a Victorian sponge. I understand the maker of this wonder has a single oven in her regular kitchen and she turns out these masterpieces seemingly effortlessly, or so I am told. I have not met this person and will have to rely on Beth to track her down.

Our planted flowers are looking a bit sad this morning but this always happens to us, we buy and plant too early.  Yesterday a single honey bee ravaged our pansies near our kitchen door.  He got a fill because he was alone while plundering the blossoms.

I'm off to make soups. Talk to you later as the day progresses.

 

Fairy Tales

 Many buttocks were constricted and pearls were clutched as each member of the Royal family waited their turn to be thrown under the double-decker. Most girls now days are simply not cut out for the royal life once they have had a taste of it, with Kate being the exception; she out-waited and out studied the lay of the royal land and has been remarkable. I did not watch the backbiting debacle, but one can hardly ignore it as the press all over the world are having a slobber fest. I understand it did not take long for the bombs to start exploding and the tales to be told some more questionable and effective than others. As I read the reviews gauche came to mind for some reason. It seemed a fairy tale to me and not a good one. There is trouble ahead methinks.

Spring 2021

                    It looks like spring has arrived!

Is there anything that sports spring like primroses? They are difficult to find this year for some reason. I like to fill the kitchen with them if we can find a spot to buy them. I never had luck in planting them because I would forget what they were and pull them up as weeds. Duh!

Tonight we are having Sam's ready ribs. We just pop them under the grill to get some nice marks and to get them hot and Bob's your uncle.  If we are weather lucky we will eat them outside because they are a mess to eat. This is cleaning day and I also hate messing up the clean kitchen.  I should have thought of that before I pulled them out to cut them into pieces. Never mind.

There is absolutely nothing new to discuss unless you want to debate the royals. Waaa Waaa. Or the border crisis, which is terrifying, or who is running the government..hardly anything to discuss.

I'm off to sit in the sun.  My bones are calling the heat. Happy sun day to all.

Cheese bread

The Amish have the best cheese bread.  I can't keep it in the house.  Andy likes the croutons I make with it.  Large knuckles of it to go with soups and stews. I looked online and there are a lot of easy cobblestone cheese bread recipes, so I chose one from The Bossy Kitchen; sounds like my place. It is baking now, but I am a little concerned, it called for 4 teaspoons of baking powder. If you have ever tasted a bite of something with too much baking powder in it, you will remember it for life.

Nate is home from his travels and they start up the business again in three days.  Right now he is resting and getting in the groove.  Mike has all the trucks and equipment ready and waiting, that's what he does during the winter.  Each has a role to play and it works.

Last night I was skimming through the tv offerings and stopped at channel 51. They had two hours of Escape to the Chateau and even though I had seen the episodes many times it made my day.  It is crazy how much I enjoy that show. It is supposed to be on WOSU tonight but they have a programmer that is not reliable with his menu. They interrupt a show that I am looking forward to, having someone talking for hours about how to invest, how to stay healthy, and how to....on and on for the entire two weeks donations period. They show cartoons all day long and just get to the good stuff at night. I could scream. It does not matter how important the show is. If they need donations then they get one of those long-winded beings to chatter for two days and evenings. Check channel 51 every once in a while, I am finding some of the content interesting.

Well, wish me luck I smell the bread and hear the buzzer.  Got to go.

Note:

This was not what I was looking for, but it was better the next day.

In and out service

 What do you do when your internet goes and comes at will?  When the squirrels have eaten half of the line belonging to Spectrum which continues to charge when the service is less than reliable. Change providers? They all use existing lines that have been used since before Time Warner--I don't remember who was before that but the line stretches over Cooke Rd. and it is the line on which the squirrels come to visit, as if we don't have enough of their relatives on our side of the road, to begin with.

So what did I do? I cleaned, threw away, and arranged difficult-to-reach cupboards. I got two done before the service came back online moaning and groaning. (Me, not the line.) There were bottles opened but not used for a long time.  That filled a bag of trash. I am going to do one big drawer and then call it a day. There are plenty more to do and I will do them, but not all at once.

I am giving up on Kristin Hannah's Four Winds book, I cannot take any more sadness.  I should have read the reviews before I bought it.  All of her books have been so good, I actually looked forward to this new one.  Unless you want an extensive lesson on dust, dirt, poverty, depression, unkindness...skip this one.

I am itching to get outside to clean tables and arrange and get planters ready, but it is too cold despite the sun.  It is doing its best, but winter is stubborn and won't let go.  We will beat it yet!

Good Thursday to you

 Good morning. Snow is sliding off the roof making a display of the coming of spring. I think we all look forward to that season more this year than ever. Also, a signal of spring, Nate arrived home last night from his few months of travel, with a concentration in the USA this year. Can spring be far away? I think not!

Monica and her crew come today. I do love a clean house and fresh beds. It is a blessing.

While they are here, Andy and I are going to the Amish store in Plain City. I look forward to that too, so my day is looking good.  I will tell you about any new product that I see there.  I know I am getting their homemade cheese bread.  Andy loves the croutons that I make from those loaves.  I need a big supply of their pickled jarred products too.  Their Jake and Amos pickled products are the best I have tried so far; slightly sweet with a tiny kick, it adds to an anti-pasta salad like none other.

I wonder if we can have Easter here this year with the family.  By then most people in that age range should have had their shots.  I would like to celebrate our anniversary as well as Joe and Glenda's as we married in April and they married in May Sixty-three years ago. If we have a potluck, it should not be too hard on anyone. It's a nice thought and something to look forward to.

I am struggling through The Four Winds by Hannah Kristin, the most depressing yet compelling book I have read in some time. I don't want to read it because it brings me down, but it's like a car wreck, you can't not look.

Bella, our Yorkie is terrified of the chair lift. But, if she wants to come downstairs she had best get used to it because that's how we roll now. It's growing on me.

Sweet pickled pleasure from the Amish cheese shop--they have the jarred pickle products and I put them together with savory items from the fridge.

It is not pretty but...

 Our chair lift is in and it is the subject of many memes (I don't know what that is but it has brought great joy to the receivers of pictures of Mike riding up the staircase.) It is not the first time I have been the subject of these jokes that, I don't get, called memes. Once I sent a text to David by voice about a relative who wanted a roof.  Her name was Lynn Fox but the Fox came out f---. I went on and on about how badly Lynn Fox wanted the roof and how quickly Lynn Fox wanted the roof and it all went viral. I am glad I give my boys such joy.

Well, the lift is terrifying and useful.  We probably could have waited another few years, as MidWest said they would hold the price for me several years ago. No matter how long I waited and they kept their promise, so we got a great bargain, thanks to Jack and Martin and Martin's boy, Kyle, who put it in today. It is not pretty, but neither is going to an assisted living compound.  We plan to leave here feet first. We have had a ride up and down several times, but tomorrow morning, when I usually have to carry Bella (Yorkie) down the stairs, it will be very handy, and I will eat my words then. I know a little girl who will like the ride too.

I made soup today and a nice salad.  We are on salads with a couple of meals a day now. I like those mini bunches of artisanal lettuce from Kroger, or Whole Foods. There are four in a bunch each one different and very fresh.  And, they hold their freshness for several days. I like hardly any dressing on the salads and Andy takes about two teaspoons full. He is starting to watch his intake which has gotten out of hand with my constant cooking. If he goes on a diet, there will be no one to cook for on this property. I will lay around and eat bon-bons and watch soaps.

Talk to you later.