Hello again.  I am alive.  It has been a rough couple of months, but things are looking up.  I hope I made my last trip to the dentist.  Love him, but don't want to see him again...ever. Too, I hope this is the last new computer I have to buy.  Matt has practically moved in to keep things rolling. (Not really, but he has helped a great deal.) Life is complicated.

My Kindle has been having a work out. I swear the new TV shows are horrible and they keep dragging in the old shows from eons ago which we have seen many many times. The new talent they have dug up is hard to watch; so crude, fighting, drinking and misbehaving. I must admit I used to watch some of the shows like that.  It was like a train wreck I didn't want to see it but could not resist the shock factor. They verbalize everything and say things I have no idea what they are talking about. Oh well, to each his own. I have a few favorites and enjoy Sunday night TV best at this point.

I just finished reading The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis.  I have read several of her books and enjoyed them and just discovered some I had missed. I just bought The Address by her. The Paris Dressmaker was good too. Amazon has another nice feature and that is if you have bought the book, forgot about it, they always give you a message saying when you bought the book so you don't buy it again.  Even with that I have to keep a list.

Our great granddaughters were here for the afternoon.  What a delight. We think everything they do is smart and cute--never having had girls we are besotted. They will be getting a brother in December.  That will put the cat among the pigeons. Look out!

Nate has been keeping us in flowers, peaches, and apples.  He drives pretty far to find the best and makes the trips count. We are so lucky to have him with us.

I will try to be more interesting as I creep back into the blogging world.  Thanks for reading.

 Recipe.TV

@recipedottv  · TV NetworkI have found a good recipes tv network today and watched a show from Ireland and one host from Paris. I really enjoyed crossing the ocean to get a better view of cooking schools, new recipes, and places to eat when in Paris and other countries which are featured, but which I have not viewed since I just found the channel today.  In Columbus it is 252 if you have Spectrum cable. I just found their Facebook and it looks like fun too. Look it up and let's see what we can find.
Nothing else exciting happening here, hence not much to write about. I am thinking about an outing in case we are locked down again, but I may just stick to home which is looking good thanks to Monica and her crew and Eric and his workers.  We have been wanting to get Glenda and Joe up here for a day visit.  Glenda is not doing well, but she does perk up when she is away from home.  Any outing gives her peace and Joe, some relief.  He is watching over her. (Our sister-in-law and Andy's brother...Joe and Glenda.)
We have used the smoker three times and all went very well. We may try something this week-end. I feel fall creeping in and look forward to stew season. If I had a food truck, and I am glad I don't, it would be soup on the menu. I used to like the food truck series on tv, but when they went to Alaska, that did me in. I have been watching Escape to the Country, a UK series that helps people find and buy homes mostly in rural England.  I keep hoping Escape to the Chateau will come out with a new season, but so far, no.
America is in a mess, it's been spoiled and I only hope it can right itself. I hope you all are adjusting and that you are well and as happy as possible. (By the way, if you have tried getting to me by emails, I am unable to receive email.  I punched a button or something that won't let me in, so I have to wait for Matt, a grandson. to come and rescue me...again.

The Market The Garden The Peaches

 I t used to be that the Clintonville market was so crowded one could hardly see everything.  Many of us looked forward to Saturday because of the market.  For some reason, the powers that be moved it to the fairgrounds and while the venders showed up, the customers did not.  It is such a shame because those venders rely on Saturdays to make their money.  Andy did get some lovely  corn on the cob and I cannot wait to get it shucked and designated.

We have the brisket in the smoker. It is our third attempt at smoking meat and so far so good, and I mean good. Low and slow, so if you put it in the smoker and you are hungry to start, you are in for a long wait.

I am enjoying a peach, real peaches margarita. Nate has been to the out- of-town peach farm and on his way home to Baker's Acres for more plants.  He has started another garden and he is good at it.

I have lost many of my readers due to my 'blues' lapse, but maybe they will come back. I still have not remembered all that I wanted to post during that time, but it too will appear one day.  It's summer, let's make the most of it while we can. Thanks for reading.

Finally!

 What a life we have led for the last two months.  Twenty-five bad things happened as a black cloud lingered over Many Branches for a long stretch of time. A broken computer was the least of it, but I was not able to get into my blog on the new computer.  Finally, this morning, I figured it out.  What a pain in the butt~  I am likely to cuss any minute just thinking about the stuff we have gone through.

I've had so many things that I discovered that I wanted to share with you, if I still have any readers, and now that I am on I can't think of anything but the bad stuff. I see this morning that the squirrels are feasting on our tomatoes AGAIN this year. Who ever heard of squirrels eating tomatoes? They like them ripe or green and they also carry them up the trees and throw them at us. And, this is not even part of the bad stuff. However, we found a place that has the best tomatoes, for $3.49 a pound. (My mother would roll over in her grave if she knew I  bought tomatoes for that price.) Desperation calls for silly moves. Anyway, Weiland's on Indianola Ave. has great tomatoes. So, we were able to have our first BLT's of the season yesterday.

Corn on the cob seems to be scarce this year. Andy found some good ears at the Clintonville Market which, by the way, has moved to the fairgrounds.

Nate has this property looking like Oakland Park Nursery.  He has bought and tended the flowers in his spare time all summer.  And, he has bought a smoker.  We have had good results with it having created a pork shoulder, ribs, and this week-end a brisket is on tap.

Now that I have this working again, I will get off and make a list so that I can remember all the things I wanted to tell you about...if you are still there. Hello

Now enjoying summer

Rediscovered

 I have just refound the blog Mennonite Girls Can Cook. I was lured away by the cooking shows and cooking blogs that burst forth in the last few years. I refound the blog because I am having the guys fire up the big green egg for grilling on the 3rd. It has been sitting under the lilac bush unused for years because I do NOT like to grill, but I love to eat dishes from the charcoal grills. The 'girls' are the ones who turned me on to the big green egg and they do everything on theirs having one for camping, count me out there, and one for home.  They even bake bread in theirs.  Mine is definitely underused. The Mennonite women have several sites and lots of cookbooks.

Nate continues to plant but Andy and I made our last trip to the Thank You sale at Oakland Park. I have never seen them so well stocked for this sale, but then we usually find out about the sale when everything is picked over, but not this time. Our plants are flourishing and such a comfortable feeling comes over me when I am floating around dead-heading the lush plant life. Life is good.

Our golf cart is back from repair and how we missed having it this spring. We don't play golf, it is our garden cart and the lifeline to the far back yard. I have given it a good work out trying to keep up with Nate's plantings.

I am off to make up my menu list which is no small job because the minute I think of a dish I want to make it and it is always too much food with lots of leftovers.  Luckily Cincinnati is willing to relieve me of some of that tale home food.

Favorites

 I've been absent for a couple or three weeks but now I have a few things to tell you about.  I've been to Trader Joe's and I must tell you that his potstickers with chicken have captivated the household. One bag will not be enough for Andy, Nate, and me. Yesterday we had them again and this time, I had 4 baby bibb lettuce hearts from Kroger called artesian lettuce in the fridge. After sauteing the potstickers I laid each one in a blanket of lettuce and the hot and cold combo was amazing. One other thing I bought several bags of was stir-fried (vegetable) rice. I mostly do my own rice, but in a pinch, throw two bags of this rice in a saute pan and add whatever you like, shrimp, peas and carrots, corn, add what you like in your rice stir-fry.  It is a full meal and ready in minutes. (Joe's Langestino tails are delicious in this stir-fry.) From the frozen food section. Lightly reheat the frozen tails at the last minute.  They don't like to be overcooked and you won't like it either.) These are so good on soft buns or on Po Boys. Also, good in salads.)

Moving on to Kroger, Andy's favorite store, I like Kroger's wavy chips. These potato chips are so good and believe me, I know a good chip.  I will take potatoes no matter how they are presented so I have had a few in my time. You won't be disappointed even when you reach the bottom of the bag...use the crushed chips on your next oven casserole for a nice crunch and good taste.

Kroger has a peanut butter called honey peanut butter either crunchy or smooth.  It is my favorite.

Now that most plants are where they should be doing what they should be doing, maybe we can get back in the rhythm. Andy and I actually went to two outdoor nurseries without masks.  How daring are we?

We are having a big do July 3rd.  Lots of people are coming so I must get to prepping and advanced cooking so I too can enjoy their company.

fresh fruit

Andy and I just got back from Sam's.  I was prepared to go maskless but caught a glimpse of the crowd and they were all wearing masks. Sigh.  So I put mine on. The this and that that the government is putting out there does not match and it is very confusing. But, that is not why I am blogging. The strawberries... the first of the season from the Driscoll company, wow, they are red through and through and so beautiful. Large, juicy, and not days old, but hours old or so it seems.

Our trunk was full and I just placed the last items. Thankfully.  I always buy too much and then fret about storage. I put a slow cooker on with fresh green beans, ham, corn, and potatoes for dinner.  I have a bevy from which to choose and I want to make it all at once, as usual. I bought a nice corned beef to make for Mike to take to Matt on Saturday night.  When he lived with us, that was his favorite meal. He will soon, in December, have another mouth to feed and we are all looking forward to helping out.

Well, Andy is rested up from the trip to Sam's and we are off to buy me some loungewear, now that I have time to lounge.  Life is great. When the doctor asked how are you, I said perfect.  He said life cannot always be perfect Well, it is simply darn close to it for me. I love this time of life. The doctor has to hear a litany of sad stories day in and day out, so it is difficult for him to see a woman with a near-perfect life, but there you have it.

I think the July 3rd party here at Many Branches is a go. Let's see who will be coming.  I hope it is a crowd. The pool has had a face lift and is looking the best ever, so here's hoping there will be swim attire in the cars coming up the drive.Note: On the 3rd, we are having family from Florida and California, and Cincinnati so far. Yea.

Sprayway

 I tried A new product today that I am really happy about. It's for windows and it is a spray called Sprayway.  I love it. I have never been really satisfied with window cleaners and I read about a man who does house cleaning and has this can in his product basket that he takes with him. I ordered it online from Amazon.

The guys are installing a full house generator for us and cut the internet cable line while digging.  So we were without tv or computers last evening.  It did not kill us, but we did not like it. I went to bed at 9:00m so I am perky today. That may be due to the shot the doctor gave me in one knee. It helped so much I was walking around as I did not too long ago.

Carfagna's sells these made-in-the-store mini meatballs.  I paired them with pasta and Carfagna's jarred basil sauce yesterday and it was so good, especially with our fresh basil from the new patch. The flowers are flourishing and I think the cold spells are over for us.

JD sent us two new hanging planters just because...the nicest way to receive a gift. He and his mom and dad are planning to come from Florida for the weekend of the fourth, so my mind is planning a party, not on the actual fourth, but on the third.  So many people have plans on the 4th and scatter here and yon, so maybe they won't be tied up on the 3rd, which is a Saturday and the fourth, of course, on Sunday this year. I think a potluck for the first half and grilling for the second half of the day. I just don't want to do all the cooking this time and it is fun to eat other people's dishes too.  It gives me great ideas.

JD started a new job and has been training in Austen. He completed and closed his first week of sales with a total of $850,000 in computer software in one week making him first in his group. We are so pleased with his success.

Have a great day.

 

insanity strikes America

 I am on the war path today.  Have you heard "they" want to take the word mother out of the holiday and replace it with the birthing day? I spent 16 hours in labor with each of my children and they sure as hell will not be taking the word mother from me.  I earned that title as did ALL the mothers in the world regardless of how they became a mother.

This 'correctness', and there are a lot of names available for this crazy correctness Woke movement has just gone too far. We need to get a grip and stop pandering to these people. I intend to use the words I have used for 83 years and if they don't like it they can ignore it. I  have never wanted to take another stand on a subject, I have done that plenty of times in the past, but really...this is insane.

The flowers in all the shopping places are glorious this year regardless of the cold spells that have happened in the last two weeks. Hopefully, warmth will be around the corner and we won't lose any more plants.  Ours are doing well and today should find all the big planters and window boxes full and flourishing.

We had a chair lift put in in anticipation of staying here as long as possible and it's broken, already. Luckily neither of us happened to be riding it at the time. There is money to be made if someone in that business would devise a way to fix and beautify this product.  It is ugly, loud, unreliable, flimsy,...I could go on, but you get the idea.  No thought was put into the design to make it appealing to see while spiraling up the stairs of the home. There are many people planning to stay in the home as long as possible and looking for ways to make this happen and a stairlift is one of them. Ours is being fixed and here's hoping it is fixed for good otherwise it may shoot one of us through the house and out the door. Problem solved.

Happy post MOTHER'S DAY. MOTHER, MOTHER, MOTHER.

This and that

 I had forgotten the blog The English Kitchen and revisited it today. She posts every day and she must have gotten a new camera device because the pictures are so much better than before. She always has good common recipes that can be made by anyone who can read a recipe.  She loves potatoes and has glorious pictures and recipes featuring the potato, but do not miss her other recipes. She has a really large cookbook out with a bad index but tons of wonderful recipes.  She cooks for two but writes to do this or do that if you are serving more people.

We are planting flowers like crazy people. We are also happy with the progress of Nate's new fruit orchard.  The deer have found a new path to the creek and only appear once in a while in the back yard and we shoo them away.

The pool looks glacial and has never looked better.  Once we get things arranged I will post some pictures. I hope we can have some family here for a swim party day when it warms up and all the renovations are complete outside.  We have ordered a whole house generator to be installed.  Since we are planning to stay here in our old age, we are installing helpful items that will aid us as we age.  I hate it when the electricity goes out, so I am glad to have this device in place soon. Thank you, Mike and Nate.

Bless you, the readers here in this blog.

Where the Crawdads Sing is a movie coming out June 2022. I can't wait.  It is one of my favorite books. Don't miss this good read.

 

Cauliflower gnocchi

 Trader Joe's cauliflower gnocchi is a new product for me and I am putting it in an unusual stir fry; no recipe as usual, just adding and tasting as I go along.  It is pretty too until it gets overcooked which I hope doesn't happen. But I am writing this blog while it is working on a slow stove.  I have to set timers now days because I forget what is on until I smell something, hopefully, it is a good smell rather than the other kind. (I just tried a spoon full of the gnocchi--too doughy in this dish, but fried crisply might be better although I won't buy it again.) I am not knowledgeable about gnocchi, so I will leave you with that.

Note: I tried it again and again and could find no trace of cauliflower, just miniature dumplings. It is a BIG no for me.