It was a Cold and Stomry night

Not really..hehe. It was a spring afternoon when my gig a low decided to trim the colossal Mulberry tree in the back yard. I said shouldn't we get a professional out here to trim the tree? Not a chance, After my gig a low fell out of the tree twice with a chin saw he realized I was right. So he called the professional. A guy from our church. Had he ever cut trees before? yes. Was he a professional.... anyway the guy for our church worked hard and trimmed the very large tree.  We were pleased  with the results.


Later that night I was in the bedroom, I see the guy who lives behind us on a latter looking over our fence. He starts yelling HAY ANY ONE OVER THERE - HELP HELP HELP. So I run and get my gig a low. The minute the man who lives behind us saw my gig a low, he  started going nuts. He started screaming about his cactus. His cactus must be 8 feet tall. One of the branches that came off the tree hit his cactus and knocked off a little part the he eats. My gig a low apologized. By now other neighbors are congregating in their back yards to see what all the commotion is about. We will go to Safeway and buy you some cactus to eat, (I have seen it there.) No way, he only wanted his cactus. So I guess an offer and compromise was not enough, the guy kept screaming. I am thinking my gig a low is going to blow his top. He managed to remain calm. The guy who lives behind us started yelling about the fence. You didn't help me pay he said. What, we didn't even live here when you replaced the fence. Anyways my gig a low finally got fed up with trying to reason with the guy behind who lives us and said, Ok, sue us, and my gig a low stomped into the house.


We has stopped thinking about it until the other night at 9:30 when the door bell rang.

Last Night - Yes its true.

Me and my gig a low were watching The Fantastic Seven. My dad had called to let us know it was on PBS. My gig a low was very excised to name 5 out of the 7 actors. I was kind of board thinking about what do I have to blog about today?

1. Me and my dad went to the farmers market
2. We bought corn that is yellow and white.
3. The doggies had a reading lesson with the word SIT.

pretty boring stuff. Just about that time the doorbell rang. I looked at the clock, 9:30 pm. The first thing I think of is a home innovation robber trying to get us to open the door. My second thought it a door to door solicitor. It is to late for that. My gig a low answered the door. I hear him talking in a calm manor. If it was a solicitor he would be yelling for them to get off our property. No yelling.  I hear another mans voice. So I have to get up to investigate.

It's dark out side because our porch light is not working. So I pop my head out the screen door to see who my gig a low is talking to. Standing on the other side of my gig a low is a cop. WHAT!!!!!

So of course I have to interrupt and say what in the world is going on here. The cop says in a matter of fact tone that our neighborer behind our house called the cops. The man asked the cop to come around the corner and ask us if we had been egging his house. Are you joking? I said. No ma'am, the cop says. Why would we want to egg his house, that is the most stupid thing I have ever heard I tell the cop. I guess you have nothing better to do to check and see if middle - aged adults are egging peoples houses. The cop says I can see you two are really not the type of people that would do something like that. I say still in shock, all we want is peace with the neighbors. You can tell him that. The cop says sure, no problem. So I invite the cop in for some coffee and a donut. (just kidding) But I did invite him in to look at our eggs, to see if they matched the description of the eggs on the house of the jerk who lives behind us. The cop said that would not be necessary. He flashed his flash light around our yard and said he liked it. I told him he was welcome to come back during the day to take a look at our yard and have dinner with us. He appreciated the invitation but he had to go back and talk to the guy who lives behind us.

There is a story behind all this so I will write it later on today or tomorrow.

I forgot 2 things

1. I went to the Olive Garden with my friends at our new church. Food 1 1/2 out of 5. Service 1. BLAH. Me and my gig a low's dinner still cost $50.00. That is ridiculous for a glorified Denny's. 

The group seems to have forgiven my outburst and all is well. I really like the leader of our group. I would love to sit for hours and just talk about God and life with him and his lovely bride. He is a man of grace. His wife is a pastor too. They are both filled with wisdom.


2. I am trying to teach my doggies to read. Sit, Lay, Turn (around.) My girl doggie is a sight hound so no doubt she will get it. I could tell she was trying to read it when I showed the paper to her. She looked at the paper with black sharpie words, she looked at me kind of puzzled. She must of been thinking what are you doing? Why are you holding up that paper? Do I get a treat if I look at the paper? The boy doggie, well, he was looking under the paper and over the paper just trying to figure out where the heck that treat was.

Mr. & Mrs. Olive

Earlier this week, Cinderella and I took a drive along the delta were the farm country is. It was hot, windy and dusty. Our main objective was to go olive oil tasting.  Cinderella set it all up. We were going to the olive growers house. The Olive growers said you have to drive along this dirt road and their house was under a big American flag. Ok, everywhere we turned there was dirt roads with houses that had big American flags. I am thankful for modern technology, our cell phone. The olive lady was at the control tower leading us in for a perfect landing.

Mrs Olive lead us into their beautiful home. Their kitchen was bleach white. We sat on bar stools, at the white stone bar, separating us from the kitchen. Mrs. Olive had her green apron on with their olive oil logo on it. It became obvious that Mrs. Olive was the brains behind the operation.

Cinderella and I quickly explained to Mr & Mrs Olive that we did not know proper olive oil tasting etiquette,  Mrs. Olive said there are 2 ways you can taste olive oil. The first way was like wine tasting. You smell the oil, sip the oil, swish it around in your mouth, then take a deep breath to make the flavors come alive. Or you can dip your bread in it.  Mrs Olive gave Cinderella and I both little white bowls of sour dough bread chunks.

The first oil Mrs Olive brought out was extra virgin olive oil. She poured the oil into little cups. I decided to be brave and take a swig. Hum, not to bad. So I thought I had better try it again with the bread. Mrs. Olive has her presentation down to a science. Going over the daily operation of the olive oil business and demonstrating her product. Mr. Olive was comic relief.

The next oil was garlic olive oil. Mrs. Olive said their garlic olive oil is NOT infused. They use the whole clove and squeeze into the oil then filter it. I pick up the new little white cup and said cheers, took a sip, deep breath WOW the garlic was so good. Drinking this stuff would definitely keep the vampires away.  So I thought I would make sure I liked it and tried it with the bread, it was even better with the bread.

Mrs Olive was talking about all the health benefits of olive oil while she handed us our next taste. Garlic Basil olive oil. Mrs Olive said this one had a peppery taste. I politely sipped my Garlic Basil olive oil. I did not taste the pepper. Mrs Olive said take another sip and take a deep breath. I did. It was like my taste buds on the back of my tongue illuminated with pepper. That was fun. I wanted to try it again. So I did. Then I dipped bread chunks into the oil. Mrs Olive was telling us her recipes for her oils.

Next came the vinegar. Mr Olive makes the red wine vinegar himself. This first one was called "Cabernet Savignon Red Wine Vinegar". Mr. Olive was telling us that drinking red wine vinegar relieves muscle cramps or cramp cramps, also said it helps acid reflux and indigestion.

He knows that because he has a stand at the farmers market at Kaiser Hospital. A doctor stopped by to say he was a cross country runner. He carries red wine vinegar to stop his legs from cramping. The doctor carries the vinegar in a 2 oz flask. He bought their vinegar and has been a customer ever since. The doctor told Mr and Mrs olive that red wine vinegar triggers the metabolic something or other to stop the cramps.

I couldn't wait to try it. Cinderella and I took a sip it was like being punched with sour.  Cinderella started coughing. That vinegar would clear anything that ales you I am sure of it. Holy pungent batman, that stuff is strong. Me being the person I am, had to go for a second round of sip and dip while Cinderella was still coughing. I liked it.

Next came the balsamic vinegar. Mr. Olive said they went to Italy to get someone to make it for them. It took a long time to convince the Italians to agree, but they did it. The first was regular balsamic vinegar. It was very good. I make a great steak marinade with balsamic vinegar. It was aged 15 years. Next was the dessert balsamic vinegar. Mrs. Olive poured some over fresh strawberry's for us to try. I liked it and started dreaming of all the desserts and salad dressing I could make with it. It was aged 25 years.

Mr and Mrs Olive also had tapenade style olives chopped up and put in a jar. YUCK. it must of been the capers in it. They have black and green tapenade. She served it with bread sticks. It didn't matter. I did not like it. Cinderella seemed to like them both.

They also sell stuffed green olives stuffed with

• garlic
• blue cheese
• jalapeño
• habanero
• anchovy 

On the way out Mrs. Olive gave us a tour of her trees. It is going to be a good harvest this year she thinks. The trees where loaded with little baby green olives. I hope I can go back someday. It was really fun. Thank you for setting up this dining adventure Cinderella!

Good Night, Sleep Tight

Some how I woke up with this song in my head. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv4sBV8YAlg
The Lawrence Welk good night song. My big brother still watches the show on cable with fond memories. Yes, we were forced to watch it, the show was pure torture for me. I still get the creeps when I watch it or think of it.

At that time in my life I was getting my life theory's from listening to Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Sis. They all just kinda went together. Sis had the most groovy white go -go boots in town. The polka was not going to cut it with me.

Did any of you watch Lawrence Welk? Or did you take a walk on the wild side like I did? What old song or music stirs up the most emotion for you 

Photos For Foodies

We took JD out to dinner to celebrate.
The restaurant  "Ayzyl La Jolla".
JD and I share a love for slow food.

We arrived at 5:00 pm because JD had to get to a Graduation event! The place was packed by the time we left.

 

Our view from our table

To start with
We had Humboldt Fog Fondue with Parmesan Crostini  (sorry no time to take a photo we had to eat - Humboldt Fog is one of my favorite cheeses.)
 

Salads
This is JD salad. Roasted Beet & Heirloom Tomato with Burrata cheese .

My gig a low had a Wedge BLT Chopped salad with Buttermilk-Bleu Cheese Dressing. I did not have a salad.

Main Entrée
JD had Colorado Lamb -
with Roasted Garlic and Truffle Cream Sauce
and Sage Potatoes Gratin.

My gig a low had Cedar-Smoked Halibut with local vegetables and Grilled Fresh Asparagus.

I had the T-Bone with Classic Béarnaise with Pawns and Sage potatoes gratin.

We had to get dessert to go, because JD was almost late for her event  that was taking place on Saturday night. We had the Chocolate Decadence Cake with orange mousse.

Jd & Grad Quilt

Here is Jd and the quilt I made for her graduation! We can refer to Jd as Electrical Engineer now.! The quilt top fabric is made out of fabric imported from Japan. The in the middle is cotton & bamboo batting. The back is make out of flannel.

Sample

This is a small sample of the gardens at the hotel in La Jolla near San Diego.

JESUS WAS NOT A REPUBLICAN

Pet Peeve #527

Some people believe that you MUST be a republican to be a Christian. That is hogwash.. News flash Jesus was neither a republican or a democrat or tea party person. It drives me crazy when Christians bash any president in a group / public setting.

What you and your husband/ dog / or loved one, talk about over the dinner table is your own business. Don't bring politics to church.

My understanding is that as Christians we are suppose to bring people together, not separate them further. Division is from THE DEVIL last time I checked.


Ticker tape ... There are republicans AND democrats that do not know the love of God.

We are called to pray for our leaders, not to complain about them. So what if the president said "ass." If that is all you have to bash a president about you don't have a life. I can bet Obama ( how do you spell Obama?)  is not the first president to say it.

After the comment above I let everyone know how I felt and politics and Christianity tonight at bible study. I was not popular at my new Church a-gain.

Dad Grocery Shopping

Here is a photo of my dad on his first grocery shopping trip since he broke his hip over a month ago. Yes, thats right, we went out and it is 90' today..

Our first stop was Kmart. He drove the go cart and practiced for the grocery store. Although, he really was a pro at driving the go cart right a way. He could go forward and backwards with out a problem. I always run into things when ever I go backwards no matter whether I am driving or walking.

Then it was off to Lucky's. See that big smile on his face? That is because he is next to the Oreo's! Did you notice the cherry pie in his basket? Its sugar free! I think dad had a great time!

Yesterday

Yesterday this is what I did

• Got my car serviced 
• When on a short bike ride with my sweet friend
• Went out to lunch with my sweet friend
• Me and my sweet friend went shopping because I had to get a white blouse
• Water my water guzzling ferns and tomato
• Laundry

Went over to my dads - My big brother and his wife were there

• I helped my dad with some medical stuff
• Made and fed my dad and family dinner - Meatloaf Sandwiches, potato salad, fresh asparagus, hard boiled eggs,  and for dessert we had Reese's Klondike Bars.
• After dinner me and my gig a low went shopping at Wally's (Walmart)  to buy him some new clothes.

phew. 

Garden and Abalone ?

My cherry tomatoes are setting already! I must have at least 10 green cherry tomatoes right now! I planted artichokes and a lemon cucumber. I started some mammoth sunflowers and green bush cucumbers. The grape vines are reaching out their long arms hooking on to anything in their reach. The ferns are starting to perk up with the warm weather, The jasmine is blooming and it smells really sweet in the evening. The bees were busy in buzzing around our lavender bush today. Our little frog is back making big noises! I think he is living in or near my spider plant.


The birdies love the bird bath. I cleaned it today. It is a very popular hang out. I have been thinking about making a bird bath cam!  The birds are fun to watch splashing around.


It is suppose to be hot this weekend - ugh.


I have been craving abalone! To bad I don't know any divers anymore. Getting fresh abalone right out of the ocean is SO GOOD. In the old days we would go camping, the guys would dive and get the abalone. The women would pound it and flatten it, then the guys would cook it over the open fire! It would be a feast! How did I get on that subject? I must be hungry!

Shopping for the Dogs Update

So I called the health department, they said they could not do anything about the dogs at Nordstrom's.

My next step was I called Nordstrom's and talked to the store manager. I explained how appalled I was with all the doggies running around in the store and defalcating.  The store manager said that Nordstrom was a dog friendly store, and he was aware that a limited number of dogs have an "occasional accident." But they were not going to change the dog friendly store policy.

I was telling people at work about the dogs at Nordstrom's and this Sub says I take my dog to Nordstrom's.  She said she had been kick out of other stores for bringing the dog in, not at Nordstrom's.  I told her she needed to leave her dog at home. Her dog does not belong at the store. Then the sub went on to call me a dog hater. In my opinion dog hater has nothing to do with the fact that dogs are pooping, leaving hair and fleas at a clothing store.  Dear Sub - that is a bad argument. I can still love dogs and think they do not belong at department stores.

1 year

It was one year ago that my dad had the surgery for cancer. They removed his pancreas, spleen, gallbladder, part of his intestine and a scoop of his stomach.  Can you believe it? His doctor said it was going to be a "rough road," that was prophetic. 


To celebrate his one year anniversary I bought my dad a box of ice cream drumsticks. They have the new mini ones that only have 19 carbs per drumstick. That made him happy.