When Chris came home he brought a box full of garden bounty from our friend Nick who grows quite the garden on his acreage out in Corning.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Finally Friday
I took today off from work because I was scheduled to have a 6:30 pm softball game in P-town and I didn't want to drive up the hill twice in one day, but by noon today I found out the game had been rescheduled to a double header on Monday night. So I really did get a whole day off to myself! Not that it was nearly as glamorous as I'd have you believe, but I did get my grocery shopping, laundry, dishes, and house cleaning done. And I even managed to make a gluten free cheesecake in between my action packed day.
A rather tasty crust made out of apparently the world's most expensive nut flour - almond meal. $13.99 for a 1 lb bag at S&S! I mixed it with melted butter, Splenda, cinnamon, 1 egg and vanilla extract. I'd be totally happy just eating the crust, it was so good. 50 minutes later, after filling it with cream cheese goodness....
Once it completely cooled I stuck it in the fridge for our enjoyment later during the Olympic opening ceremonies tonight.
When Chris came home he brought a box full of garden bounty from our friend Nick who grows quite the garden on his acreage out in Corning.
Cilantro, basil, lemon cucumbers, behemoth cucumbers, and mystery peppers. And it's not just one mammoth cucumber, there's about 10 of them. Good thing the boy likes them. After pulling out everything to see what was in the box my hand smells like heavenly basil. Can't...pull...hand..away..from...my..nose. Sniiiiiff.
When Chris came home he brought a box full of garden bounty from our friend Nick who grows quite the garden on his acreage out in Corning.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Gifts for me
When I got home from work today I found my new stylish Nook tablet cover had arrived in the mail.
Now I don't have to carry it around in my oversized netbook sleeve. And, because my Nook came with a $30 gift card, it was practically free.
Tonight was bunko in Chico and I annihilated my fellow blue-hairs and won "most wins" with 15 out of 18 games. Coincidence that I was always the scorekeeper...???
A beautiful crystal bowl that my fancy bible study salads will look glorious in. Or I may just keep it filled with a Costco-sized bag of M&Ms. I haven't decided yet.
Today was my first trip out to our biggest active job site in town. I had to go out so that I could locate and count trees that were still waiting to be felled for site improvements.
It's the new CHIP housing project (low-income) that is back behind the bowling alley on lower Clark Rd. You drive down the access road between the bowling alley and the motel and it leads you back to the site. 32 housing units within 11 apartment buildings. I'm sure that as soon as they're completed they'll fill up immediately. There's always a need for low income housing up the hill.
The Canadian got back today from his coast trip for work (he's been gone since Tuesday morning). And all before I had a chance to throw any raging parties or watch a marathon of chick-flicks. What a waste of a perfectly good opportunity!
Now I don't have to carry it around in my oversized netbook sleeve. And, because my Nook came with a $30 gift card, it was practically free.
Tonight was bunko in Chico and I annihilated my fellow blue-hairs and won "most wins" with 15 out of 18 games. Coincidence that I was always the scorekeeper...???
Today was my first trip out to our biggest active job site in town. I had to go out so that I could locate and count trees that were still waiting to be felled for site improvements.
The Canadian got back today from his coast trip for work (he's been gone since Tuesday morning). And all before I had a chance to throw any raging parties or watch a marathon of chick-flicks. What a waste of a perfectly good opportunity!
Monday, July 9, 2012
New picture
We welcomed some new members to our living room shelf today;
That's the newest pic of our nephews, Tyler and Kyle. Handsome little devils.
Well it's official - we're booked for an October Las Vegas vacation! There was great deal going on right now for flights and hotel combos so we snatched one up. We're staying in an upgraded room at New York, New York which is towards the south end of the strip. While neither one of us are gamblers there's so much other stuff to see and do there that we'll have no problem staying busy for four days. And since we're not going until the third week of October the worst of the summer heat should be over by then. It's always nice to have a vacation to look forward to.
Well it's official - we're booked for an October Las Vegas vacation! There was great deal going on right now for flights and hotel combos so we snatched one up. We're staying in an upgraded room at New York, New York which is towards the south end of the strip. While neither one of us are gamblers there's so much other stuff to see and do there that we'll have no problem staying busy for four days. And since we're not going until the third week of October the worst of the summer heat should be over by then. It's always nice to have a vacation to look forward to.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Happy 4th of July!
Our day off started early when the Canadian rolled out of bed around 7:30 a.m. to get an early start on brewing a new batch of beer. After a couple of minutes of prep work, he left it to steep and we headed off for an early morning bike ride. We tried a new path this time catching the bike trail where is connects to Lassen Ave and rode it south all the way to the Esplanade before turning around. A nice 45 minute ride and all before it got too hot. Other than that we spent some time catching up on some recorded shows and even squeezed in a quick trip to Barnes & Noble where I picked up a Las Vegas travel book for our trip this fall. We didn't have any fancy BBQ plans for dinner so we just had some pulled pork sandwiches, corn on the cob, potato salad, and mozzarella with tomatoes and balsamic vinegar (a new pomegranate flavor my mom got me).
I tried a new corn cooking technique I just learned and it worked fabulously. You microwave the corn, still wrapped in their husks, for 4 minutes per ear and afterwards the husk and the silk come right off. But be careful, they're hot like hell-fire damnation. A lot easier than boiling water on a 100 degree-plus day.
Chris pulled some mead and wine samples for us to try of stuff we've got fermenting in the beer cave.
A lemon mead, mint mead, plum wine, and another mulling spice mead. So far the lemon mead is the best, the others still need a little time and/or sugar. The mint mead has potential, but may need to be diluted later on, we'll see how it finishes.
All in all a very quiet day off capped off with the happy news that my brother-in-law, Jeff, got engaged today. Congrats to him!
I tried a new corn cooking technique I just learned and it worked fabulously. You microwave the corn, still wrapped in their husks, for 4 minutes per ear and afterwards the husk and the silk come right off. But be careful, they're hot like hell-fire damnation. A lot easier than boiling water on a 100 degree-plus day.
Chris pulled some mead and wine samples for us to try of stuff we've got fermenting in the beer cave.
A lemon mead, mint mead, plum wine, and another mulling spice mead. So far the lemon mead is the best, the others still need a little time and/or sugar. The mint mead has potential, but may need to be diluted later on, we'll see how it finishes.
All in all a very quiet day off capped off with the happy news that my brother-in-law, Jeff, got engaged today. Congrats to him!
Sunday, July 1, 2012
This and that
By royal command of my mother I shall do a quick catch-up of the last week's festivities. Last weekend we spent a lovely weekend up north visiting the 'rents.
As is our tradition Mum and I went Macy's, but our timing was all wrong and they were just clearing out old stock so I got nothing (except three new pairs of shoes, but that doesn't count). To celebrate Mum's birthday and Father's Day we went out to dinner Saturday night to McGrath's fish house and had some delicious clam chowder. And as usual, Chase was happy to have some company to play with.
Monday night was another ball game up in P-town. It was a late one (7:45 pm) so I got to come home first, have dinner, and pick up the 1st baseman down the street before heading back up the hill. It was our first game with out new pitcher that I recruited (wife of a co-worker) who has played softball for years and even had a little experience as a back-up pitcher. She was phenomenal and I was thrilled to not have to pitch!
And the best part? We won our first game 8-6. I scored two singles out of my three at bats and two RBIs. I alternated each inning with another gal to play 3rd base instead of my usual left center field which I really enjoyed. We've got another game tomorrow night so we'll see where they put me this time.
Thursday night was my first night back at singing practice after a three months break. I only planned to take off two months, but when my time was up I couldn't even make it through half of a song set before my throat was on fire so I had to extend my time off. Everything felt good though so I sang this morning and got two rounds of applause from the congregation for my return. The pastor told everyone that his mom had the same surgery that I had and she too was a singer, but afterwards was never able to sing again and that's why he kept checking on me every week to see how I was feeling. He feared I could suffer the same fate. Thankfully, though it took longer than I expected, the inflammation around my vocal cords seems to have receded and I should make a full recovery.
Friday night we went to Magic Mike where the Canadian was only one of four guys in the whole theater which was packed to the gills with screaming women. I was impressed with how brave he was.
Wilson came home for the weekend for the first of three upcoming summer weddings and spent a little time with us Saturday evening.
We spent the evening mocking her for disliking almond milk while loading her full of Chinese food from Ginger's. Then, as quickly as she blew into town, she had to head back home.
On Saturday we also spent a little time at Barnes and Noble where I informed the Canadian that after researching all the options available I had decided that I wanted to purchase a Nook Tablet. While he wasn't a fan of the idea at first, he was the first one to break in to the box and start playing with it as soon as we got home.
I like that it just needs to connect to a Wi-fi network, which I have at home and work, instead of having to buy a separate data plan it. We've been checking out all the free apps and books which will more than entertain us for quite a while before having to actually buy anything. I got hooked on the travel apps and spent all afternoon planning vacations to Boston and Montreal. Maybe this isn't such a good thing (for my pocket book) after all.
Softball practice got cancelled tonight so I get to hang out with the old man before heading to the gym. Then it's back to the coal mines tomorrow where we're scheduled to be issuing a permit for a big housing project that they want to have the media present when we issue the permits. So I suppose I should wear something a little nicer than my usual leisure suit with mesh tank top.Or not.
As is our tradition Mum and I went Macy's, but our timing was all wrong and they were just clearing out old stock so I got nothing (except three new pairs of shoes, but that doesn't count). To celebrate Mum's birthday and Father's Day we went out to dinner Saturday night to McGrath's fish house and had some delicious clam chowder. And as usual, Chase was happy to have some company to play with.
Monday night was another ball game up in P-town. It was a late one (7:45 pm) so I got to come home first, have dinner, and pick up the 1st baseman down the street before heading back up the hill. It was our first game with out new pitcher that I recruited (wife of a co-worker) who has played softball for years and even had a little experience as a back-up pitcher. She was phenomenal and I was thrilled to not have to pitch!
And the best part? We won our first game 8-6. I scored two singles out of my three at bats and two RBIs. I alternated each inning with another gal to play 3rd base instead of my usual left center field which I really enjoyed. We've got another game tomorrow night so we'll see where they put me this time.
Thursday night was my first night back at singing practice after a three months break. I only planned to take off two months, but when my time was up I couldn't even make it through half of a song set before my throat was on fire so I had to extend my time off. Everything felt good though so I sang this morning and got two rounds of applause from the congregation for my return. The pastor told everyone that his mom had the same surgery that I had and she too was a singer, but afterwards was never able to sing again and that's why he kept checking on me every week to see how I was feeling. He feared I could suffer the same fate. Thankfully, though it took longer than I expected, the inflammation around my vocal cords seems to have receded and I should make a full recovery.
Friday night we went to Magic Mike where the Canadian was only one of four guys in the whole theater which was packed to the gills with screaming women. I was impressed with how brave he was.
Wilson came home for the weekend for the first of three upcoming summer weddings and spent a little time with us Saturday evening.
We spent the evening mocking her for disliking almond milk while loading her full of Chinese food from Ginger's. Then, as quickly as she blew into town, she had to head back home.
On Saturday we also spent a little time at Barnes and Noble where I informed the Canadian that after researching all the options available I had decided that I wanted to purchase a Nook Tablet. While he wasn't a fan of the idea at first, he was the first one to break in to the box and start playing with it as soon as we got home.
I like that it just needs to connect to a Wi-fi network, which I have at home and work, instead of having to buy a separate data plan it. We've been checking out all the free apps and books which will more than entertain us for quite a while before having to actually buy anything. I got hooked on the travel apps and spent all afternoon planning vacations to Boston and Montreal. Maybe this isn't such a good thing (for my pocket book) after all.
Softball practice got cancelled tonight so I get to hang out with the old man before heading to the gym. Then it's back to the coal mines tomorrow where we're scheduled to be issuing a permit for a big housing project that they want to have the media present when we issue the permits. So I suppose I should wear something a little nicer than my usual leisure suit with mesh tank top.Or not.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)