favorite products

 About once a month, Andy and I take a drive to Plain City to visit the Cheese Shop in Amish country. Each trip I find a new untried product and rekindle some that I had forgotten about.  They also have great pepper bacon, cold cuts, and cheese bread. The last time I stocked up on their hot sweet pickles which are paper-thin packed with a welcome punch.  I even use the juice from the pickles in the anti-pasta salads that I make for Andy and Beth. That's Hershburgers cannery Hot Sweet pickles. Yum.

Last time I rediscovered the mini marshmallows that are perfect to use in the Rice Krispy squares that I like to make if I know when Madeleine and McKenna are coming to visit.  I missed the mark yesterday with their surprise visit to announce a new addition is on the way...Owlett, if it is a girl or Cat Boy if it is a boy. (Madeleine's suggestions.)

Also special and in jars are delicious pickled cauliflower, sweet baby corn, and corn salsa...all good in the anti-pasta salad.  I tend to throw everything in this dish and then pour the juice from the baby corn or cauliflower over to just make enough liquid to be absorbed in a short time.  If it needs other ingredients I don't hesitate to put in cheese squares, Genoa salami chunks, and even cooked pasta rendering it not the anti-pasta salad, but still good. There are no mistakes with this salad, I think I have added just about everything I see in the fridge at one time or another.  One new addition is the fresh, raw cauliflower pearls right out of the bag.  It gives the salad a nice crunch.

All is well on Many Branches and repairs and renovations are still going on.  I try not to leave the property because when I do, Oakland Park Nursery will be my destination and it is STILL too early to plant the containers, Doris!!! Don't ask me how I know this.

  

Easily entertained

 Last night we had the most delicious Chinese take out.  I had given up on Lucky's on High Stree under new ownership.  Beth had a client that raved about Hunan Lion on Bethal Road, although if memory serves me, I think there is also one near the Sanctuary where Mike once owned a house. We had four different main dishes and each one was scrumptious. The egg rolls were a bit different and not to my liking, but the other food was wonderful and well packaged and still warm, neat, clean and we will now have a new Chinese treat to look forward to, usually on Sunday nights now days.  Gone are the Sundays when the entire Lechler family gathered for a feast after church. We are now spread all over the place.  Well, change happens and we make do.

Something exciting is happening tomorrow!  After more than 25 years of weak signals Spectrum (once Time Warner) has heard my pleas and a new system is closing down Cooke Rd. while the changes are being made.  No more fading Internet, or ribbons over a show on tv that I wanted to see, they finally realized that we were paying the same amount of money as those homes receiving good signals.  One line, the mainline, crosses Cooke Rd. from our house to the house across the street.  The squirrels treat that as their bridge and stop along the way to nibble the wires.  Now the wires are in tatters and the reception is really bad. Just add that renovation to the list from yesterday and also the still-to-be-done work around here and know that soon we will be good as new. I am a happy woman.  (Doesn't take much to entertain me now days.)

See the big picture

 Wow! Who said retirement was slow and easy? We are in the throws of repairs and maintenance and do we have the good guys who know what they are doing.  Johnny spent a week on the roof alone and says it will last another 83 years.  The chimneys are point tucked, and the entire area is power washed and the tennis court is next on the agenda. (Oh, and a new liner for the pool goes in in a few days as well.)  The old liner was to have lasted 7 years and it lasted 14 years, so we got our money's worth.)  Then a full house generator is going in for when the electricity goes out which is a few times a year and then I kind of lose it.  I just don't like it and I don't know why.  I must have sundown syndrome. We are preparing to stay in this home in our old age and a very ugly stairlift is now sitting on the stairs.  It is handy and useful, but it is not quiet or pretty, so I waited as long as I could before getting it.  I still use the stairs unless it is a really bad day, but there you have it.  Getting ahead of the game is the answer. The bright spot is going to Oakland Park to pick out the plants for the season.  Two big containers have very hearty herbs, big enough to add to a frittata on Saturday--they do make a difference in a dish. We jump the gun with the flowers and pay again down the road, we just can't resist.

We had a lovely group of family here for Easter.  Kathy showed everyone pickleball which is a new game for the tennis court..new to us.  When the repairs are done the man said he would add the lines for pickleball to the court and then we will have a pickleball tournament one day soon with family. It will be a pizza party and later in the day a grill out.  I am done with the lavish big parties.  It is exhausting, but fun. I now know my limits.

I love spring.

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.