Goodbye Snow

Before leaving, we checked to make sure our kayaks were in good shape.

Hope when we come back from Florida the snow will be gone!

Denim Shorts

As I was packing for our trip to Florida Larry thought it was time to get rid of my favorite pair of shorts.  A pair of cut off jeans that I've had for more years thna I care to remember.  They used to be long jeans, then for a long time I couldn't fit into them.  When I finally could fit into them again I made them into cutoffs so that I could get rid of a stain that they had.

I almost considered it when he said, "Who wears cutoff jeans anymore?"   Then I decided to check it out.  On the left are my shorts and ones I found online at Nordstrom for $245.

Then I made another pair to look like another style I found at Talbots for only $69.50

Asparagus Soup

Even though we had a bunch of leftovers in the refrigerator for some reason I felt the drive to make something else.  There was a pound of asparagus that I bought on Sunday at Aldi because it was a good price and just didn't feel like roasting it as a side vegetable so I thought "what about asparagus soup?"

I looked at a bunch of recipes but wanted to make it healthy, not loaded with a bunch of cream so found  a healthy one  and this is how I made it.



Asparagus Soup
1 pound asparagus
2 potatoes
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 can chicken broth

Cut off the ends of asparagus and cut into 2 inch pieces.  Dice the potatoes and the onions.  Mince the garlic.  Add everything to a pot with the broth and cook for about 1/2 hour until it's all soft.

Using a hand blender blend it all together and add some milk if it's too thick.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve with warm bread and grated cheese.

It was really good and we had leftovers too.

Superbowl Strawberry Yogurt Cake

I had to put this recipe on my blog even though I saved it in Pinterest because I don't want to forget about it.  It was a big hit at Patti's superbowl party last night.

The recipe comes from here - -> A Spicy Perspective

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Fresh Strawberry Yogurt Cake

YIELD: 12-16 slices
PREP TIME:15 minutes
COOK TIME:1 hour
The most amazing Fresh Strawberry Yogurt Cake around. This strawberry lemon bundt cake is a classic favorite no one can resist. It’s the most shared cake!








Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces plain or vanilla, Greek yogurt
• 12 ounces fresh strawberries, diced
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan (10-15 cup pan.) Sift together the 2 1/4 cups of flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated.
3. Toss the strawberries with the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Gently mix them into the batter.
4. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan. Place in the oven and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
5. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Once cooled whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

NOTE: I’ve had a few questions on the texture of the batter. The consistency of the yogurt and the juiciness of the berries, greatly determined the consistency of the batter. Thick (dryer) yogurt will produce a thicker batter, in which the berries won’t sink to the bottom (top) of the cake as seen in the photos. Either way, it is a great cake–don’t worry about the thickness of the batter.= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 
MY NOTE:  For some reason I thought the recipe needed 2 12oz pkgs of fresh strawberries and until I looked at the recipe the day after I made it, I still thought that so that is what I used.  It was delicious with all those strawberries but next time I'll try it with just 12 oz.

ANOTHER NOTE:  The day after the superbowl party the leftover piece that we took home with us became so super moist and mushy.  I still need to check with Patti to see if hers did too.  When I make it again and use only 1 box of strawberries I'll see if that was the reason.  Or maybe I needed to leave it uncovered.

First snowshoe

So glad that I was able to breath again so that we could enjoy the first snowfall.  Originally I didn't want to go out because it was freezing.  The high was only 17 but we enjoyed every minute and it wasn't cold at all.  In fact next time I'm going to wear lighter long underwear on top.

Unplanned hospital visit

I repeated this so many times on Monday, Dec 11 when I went to the Emergency Dept at RGH but I'll just document it here for my reference.

Here is the whole story.

On Saturday Larry was going to heat up the last of the Moroccan Stew that I made and before he put it in the microwave I grabbed a spoon, took a taste and started to cough because something went down the wrong way.  I didn't cough it up but after awhile I couldn't feel it anymore to cough up, but my throat was a little sore.  

The next day I noticed a shortness of breath.  I couldn't understand why it happened but it felt like back in the old days if I had too many cigarettes and it was hard to do an inhale without coughing.  We took our usual 2 mile neighborhood walk and life seemed normal.

On Monday Larry wanted to go for a walk but I didn't want to because it was COLD.  Eventually I changed my mind and we set out.  As we came around the block and up Ensign (small hill)  I couldn't catch my breath.  I was breathing so hard and I checked my heartbeat on my apple watch and it was over 140.  We walked down another block and stopped to talk to a neighbor and I caught my breath.  We finished the rest of the walk but I didn't have my usual energy.  After we got home I kept checking my pulse rate and it never went below 115.  Usually it's resting rate is in the 60s or less.  

So of course I looked up my symptoms on the internet and I decided we needed to go to Emergency.  Before I made the final decision I took a shower and washed my hair just in case.

On the way to the hospital we stopped at the doctor's office which we were driving right by and they also said "Head over to ED."

Good thing we did.  After an X-ray and CT scan I was told that based on the story starting Saturday I had aspirated food into my lung.  They wanted me to stay overnight and I was scheduled for a bronchoscopy the next day.  It was supposed to happen in the morning but didn't until the afternoon.

Fortuantely I brought my iPad and iPhone and portable charging device with me.

I stayed awake for most of the bronchoscopy but I think I must have dozed or just don't remember them removing the food that went into my lung.  They told me it was a potato but I knew there weren't any potatoes in the recipe and when I looked up the recipe I saw that the culprit was probably a garbanzo bean.  After some more hanging around I finally got to go home.  For the next couple of days I was really cautious about what I ate, mainly yogurt and smooth foods.  I'm also being kind of vigilant about making sure I chew everything really well now too.

I spent the afternoon in the hall watching all the activity

My CT scan machine

missed dinner but this was good except for the white bread

My overnight and 2nd day stay room in MCO - Observation

P.S.  12/27/17 - When I went home, I was told I should make an appointment with my personal physician within 3 days.  I actually got one for the next day.  The reason they wanted me to go was so that she could tell me they found "an ill-defined area of low attenuation within the periphery of the right lobe of the liver" and it was advised that I go for a follow-up CT scan.  I don't know why they couldn't have done it while I was already in the hospital.  Anyway I got an appointment for Dec 22 and went to the imaging lab over by RGH, a really nice, quiet space.  And for $60 I had my CT scan and then had to wait for the results.  I sort of remembered that 14 years earlier when I went to emergency for some complication  I thought I was having right before I was leaving to go to Greta's before Myles was born they found something on my liver but checked it out then and it was nothing.  Anyway, of course, I had to worry that I probably had cancer although in researching spots on livers they usually turn out to be nothing - but that didn't matter - I was giving myself 2 months.  On Tuesday, 12/26 I got a call from the doctors office and put a name to what it was - a benign liver hemangioma.  It's nothing and probably something I was born with - Happy New Year!!!!

3 wise women

I came across this and with the womens movement now I thought this was so cute.


What would have happened if it had been three wise women instead of three wise men who visited Jesus? They would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and brought practical gifts.

Hilton Head

We got down to Hilton Head and had to sit through another owner update.  It was at that update that we found out that the package for the extra nights at Surf Watch that we bought last year came with a cruise too.  Neither of us realized that.  Now we have to find someplace to go.  Life is tough.

Our room overlooked the pool and I spent some relaxing hours there.  We went to Kroger over in Shelter Cove and found our favorite horeseradish cheese and also Larry's favorite Merlot Cheddar from Murray's.  We can't get either of these at home.  It's amazing how much food I have to import because we can't get it here. 

We met JoAnn and Jerry for dinner at the British Open Pub.  We hadn't seen them since we were in HH in April 2016.

Wadmalaw

We left Myrtle Beach early to spend the weekend with Gerry and Kay at there house and Nadine flew down from New Hampshire.  It was short but fun and when we left we booked a week at there house for next October.

 We took a walk down to the boat launch and took a group selfie.

Myrtle Beach

We had a pleasant drive to Myrtle Beach.  Weather was good and so was the traffic.  We got out of the car at Ocean Watch and boy was it hot!  80 degrees.  We went to check in but our room wasn't ready.  We finished our check in and rooms were supposed to be ready at 4:00  and it was 3:57 and we didn't have a room.  We went down to the pool bar to wait with a beer and got a call at 4:22 that our room was ready.

We eventually went and got our room key and them unpacked our car onto 2 carts and went to our room where we found someone laying on the kitchen floor working on our refrigerator.  We took all the stuff off the cart and decided to go to the store.  We came back and the refrigerator still wasn't fixed.  No problem - all we have to do is make sure we close the door.  The door just won't close automatically with a push.  We wanted to put our stuff in and go to the hot tub.  We told him he could come back on Friday since we were leaving 2 days early and he should have plenty of time to work on it.

We did go to the hot tub and it felt so good.

On the Way to Myrtle Beach

We drove down on Saturday thinking we wouldn't have any traffic going through DC since it was a Saturday.  Forget it!!  Our ride was fined until we got on 95 south of DC.  What a mess.
Anyway, we got off to stop at a gas station for their rest room since I never would have made it going less than 5 mph and when we got back on the traffic was gone.

We stayed at the Marriott Residence Inn in Fredericksburg and got upgraded to a two bedrooom.  Nice!!  And better yet, ther's is a whold new area at Town Center mall called the Villages at Town Center and we found the best restaurant - Park Lane Tavern.  Great draft beer and fish sandwich with the best tasting garlicky tartar sauce.  Usually I never use tartar sauce but this one was so good that I even dipped my french fries into it.  Good thing we could walk both ways from the hotel because we needed the exercise.  We want to repeat all of this on our way home.

Van Zile Travel Evening

We went to the Century Club for the Van Zile Travel evening.  We had 2 glasses of wine each, went around and talked to everyone at the tables, "I wish I was rich," and Larry, who never wins anything, won a $75 credit for Travelex insurance.  Fun evening.  Sherry and Rich were there too.

Conversions

This is the link to this page:  https://www.online-convert.com/

It should convert ibook to epub

Find text msgs on Mac

This is how you can find you're text messages on a Mac.

From the Finder Menu select Go and scroll down to Go to Folder

Type ~/Library/Messages

You will find all your messages by date and conversation.

To find email downloads go to:
~/Library/Containers/com.apple.mail/Data/Library/Mail Downloads

Pesto

Since I have tons of basil and I'm going in for surgery in 4 days, I better make some pesto soon!!

I sort of used this recipe from http://www.closetcooking.com/2010/08/basil-pesto.html
I made two batches

In both batches I doubled the recipe but I used walnuts instead of pine nuts because that's what I had, a little more garlic and in the second batch I not only doubled the entire recipe I used twice as much basil.

Grandkids Photobook

I had to make a photobook because I bought a Groupon from Photobook America and it was expiring.  I decided to make a book about my grandsons from birth to present.  It came out so good I made another one for Greta.

The cover is my favorite.

New Car

Wednesday (7/26) I went to Hoselton for service on my car.  The past few weeks the Maint Req light was on but I kept ignoring it.  I finally made an appointment and as soon as I was checked in, I was approached by someone from the service sales force asking me if I would like to look at some new cars since my lease was up in 4 months.

Friday I picked up my new car.  A 2017 RAV4, I am definitely in a rut.  This is the 5th RAV4 I've gotten but at least I got a new color.  It's dark blue and in the sunlight it looks like it has glitter sprinkled all over it.

They changed a couple of things I didn't like about the 2015.  They added back the sunglass holder over the window and the small tray in the console box.  I also like the way the direction you're going shows on the rearview mirror.  I got a hitch with it for a bike rack, now maybe I'll go somewhere with my bike, and cross bars so I could get a kayak carrier, if I want.  The safety features all came standard like a beep if you change lanes without putting on the blinkers - GUILTY and a warning if your close to other cars or walls, etc.  I also like how the car will automatically slow down when using cruise control if you get too close to the car in front of you.

No more smell from the smoothie Tucker accidentally left in the back seat that spilled down under it, although that had dissipated over time with much cleaning and air fresheners.

Note:  11/29/17 - Noticed I can open the car with thin gloves on, not sure if it will work with heavier ones but this is also a plus over the last car.

Banana Split Cake

I looked online and couldn't find a recipe like the one I have that I got in the 1970s from Rosella from Garden Club.  This recipe was so good that I decided I would make it rather than try one of the others although I substitute 8 oz cream cheese for 1/2 cup butter and 2 eggs in the original recipe since the eggs would be raw which wasn't a problem back in the 70s.

Banana Split Cake
Crust:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup brown sugar

Mix and line a greased 9 x 13 pan.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes

1st Layer:
2 cups confectioners sugar
8 oz cream cheese

Beat until creamy.  Spread over crust.  Cool in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

2nd Layer:
1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple well drained.

Spread over crust and Layer #1

3rd Layer:
3 bananas

Sliced over layers

4th Layer:
1 cup fresh sliced strawberries or 2 (10 oz) packages frozen strawberries drained.

Spread over earlier layers

5th Layer:
1 large container of Cool Whip spread over top
Sprinkle with chopped nuts

You can make the crust ahead of time and then add the other layers on the day you serve it.

A Garden this Year?

For the first time since all my plants got drowned out a number of years ago I decided to plant some herbs.  But instead of planting them in pots I planted them in the ground.  When I did my last batch of plants in pots I had one lone oregano plant left over.  I was on my way to drop it in the trash and then it made me feel so guilty, after all it was just a baby, so I stuck it in the dirt alongside the garage.  It thrived.  And thrived.  And thrived.  This year we thought we pulled all of it out but it has now mingled it's way in with the mint that we can't get rid of either.

Here are some shots taken in June of the plants, although the chives died instantly and just yesterday I replaced it with a strawberry plant because I couldn't find anymore chives.

 Front row:  parsely, basil, cilantro  Back row:  rosemary, chives, missing strawberry

I did plant a tomato in a pot which is doing well.  Larry took very good care of them while I was at Greta's.

Flowers already on the tomatoes

And our apple tree is loaded with apples.  Last year we had none.  I may have mentioned that before.

June 9 - just babies

June 21 - growing up

I'm not Shrinking

These are a series of shots that were taken over the last 3 visits to Greta's which are only 3 months apart.

Myles at 13

Hunter at12

Tucker at 10