Winter Wonderland

Less than 2 weeks until Christmas

Where did the year go? It's hard to believe Christmas is just around the corner. Thank goodness I'm not in a rush this year.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween earrings

Barack Obama is our President!!!!!

I'm overwhelmed with so many emotions. Last night was a victory. We have a first black president. We have a first black First Lady. We have a first black family.

It doesn't matter who you voted for - you voted!

Is it time for Posole?

Ingredients for Posole

2 lb. Pork chops or tenderloin (cut into 1" cubes)
dried long red chile (or you may use frozen or canned chile)
2 T. salt
2 t. Oregano
2 t. garlic powder
4 cans White Hominy
1 t. cumin

Preparation: Place cubed meat in a large kettle with oil and one tablespoon of salt. Cover meat and cook over medium heat. Add all other spices and cook; then add red chile sauce and hominy. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Add the additional salt or more if needed for taste.

To serve, ladle the posole into bowls and serve with flour tortillas.

Bocce

Sunday we played Bocce in the neighborhood.

Bocce is a precision sport belonging to the boules sport family, closely related to bowls and pétanque with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire. Developed into its present form in Italy (where it is called Bocce, the plural of the italian word boccia which means "bowl"), it is played around Europe and also in overseas countries that have received Italian migrants, including Australia, North America and South America (where it is known as bochas; "bolas criollas" in Venezuela), initially amongst the migrants themselves but slowly becoming more popular with their descendants and the wider community. The game is also well-known in Serbia as boćanje (боћање) and in Croatia as boćanje, bućanje, or balote, depending on the region.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bocce

A game can be contested between two players, or two teams of two, three, or four. A court match is started by a randomly chosen side being given the opportunity to throw a smaller ball, the jack (called a pallino or a boccino in some areas), from one end of the court into a zone about 5 metres in length, ending 2 metres from the far end of the court. If they miss twice, the other team is awarded the opportunity to place the jack anywhere they choose within the prescribed zone. At this time the team that attempted to put the jack into play first gets to roll the first ball.

The side that places the jack is given the opportunity to bowl first. Once the first bowl has taken place, the other side has the opportunity to bowl. From then on, the side which does not have the ball closest to the jack has a chance to bowl, up until one side or the other has used their four balls. At that point, the other side bowls its remaining bocce balls. The team with the closest bocce ball to the jack is the only team that can score points in any frame. The scoring team receives one point for each of their balls that is closer to the jack than the closest ball of the other team. The length of a game varies by region, but is typically played to 11, 12, or 13 points.

Players are permitted to throw the ball in the air using an underarm action. This is generally used to knock either the jack or another ball away to attain a more favourable position. Tactics can get quite complex when players have sufficient control over the bocce ball to throw or roll it accurately.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCHhYy4NoNI

Washington, D.C.

Last month we traveled to Washington, D.C - my first time! We forgot the camera so we bought a disposal camera - which worked out ok.

Fairmont Hotel in Alexandria

The White House

The Capitol

National Monument

Holocaust Museum

Lincoln Memorial

Jefferson Memorial

Arlington Cemetery

Islamic Center

Union Station

Oldest House in Georgetown

The Ford Theatre

Orange Beach, Alabama

Vacationing at Gulf Shores/Orange Beach (Alabama) was heavenly. Following are pictures of my vacation:































































































View of Gulf Shores on Perdido Beach Causeway:

































View of Orange Beach from our condo:


















Ono Island (across from our condo):


















WindDrift Condos:

































Gulfport, MS:


















Biloxi, MS:

Flowers Galore

Products with my name on it

Mouse in the house

This past week I made a horrible discovery. As I was getting ready to go out, I was out of toilet paper in the main bathroom. There is a closet across the hall that we keep pots and pans that don't fit in the kitchen and toilet paper, plastic bags and napkins. I opened the closet to get some toilet paper and whoa...the loose toilet paper rolls had been ransacked. I thought what the heck happened here? I pulled out the two drawer rolling cart that's in this closet and there was in the corner a nest a little mouse must have made. No mouse though.




















Sigh, so we have a mouse in the house (that sounds like a song). I set up some poison traps to see if we can catch it. And, this explains why the fringe off my bathroom rug was eaten. Taz didn't eat it - the mouse did! I'm curious why the dogs haven't caught it yet but anyway having a mouse in the house does not make me a happy person...grrrr! We've had mice in the garage/basement but never upstairs in the main house. I just hope we catch it soon!

New photos of Jack and Taz

Taz

Jack

Snakes, Snakes, Snakes

It's beginning to feel like summer. It's hot and humid and the snakes are out. I don't even want to take a picture of them to share - ok, maybe later. There are traps all around the property and thank goodness for netting at Home Depot. That netting does keep the snakes away. They get in it and can't move, eventually they die. Unfortunately, the netting is also trapping the good stuff...like black (King) snakes which are good to have around. They eat poisonous snakes! And, I have found birds caught in the netting ;-( I just hate that!!

We are surviving but Jack is so curious. He wasn't the one that was bitten by a copperhead almost 4 years go. Taz, as tiny as she was, one summer night got too close to some bushes and a copperhead bit her on her little paw. We rushed her to an emergency animal hospital. She was in shock and her paw looked like a catcher's glove. Poor little thing.

It's always something...either my dogs are getting skunked or snakes present an immediate danger!

Beautiful Day!

It's a beautiful Friday in May. The air is cool and crisp and the sun is very bright. I haven't posted much these days probably because I've been busy with other things and it seems allergy season is over for me. I was hibernating....had to stay indoors as much as possible. In addition to spring allergies I also have asthma, although my asthma is under control with medication. Arkansas has had some pretty bad pollen counts and with all the rain we've been getting it seems to be getting better.

We've had our flooding problems, plus a number of tornados in this area. I'm just glad the rain has stopped, at least for now. In the middle of the summer I'm sure I'll be wishing it would rain again! ;-)

Hopefully I'll be able to work in the yard this weekend. My spring flowers are almost gone and I'll be concentrating on summer flowers.

Springtime!