Listicles

Nietzsche said, (among other things) "A will to a system is a lack of integrity." But, zip need a system! So I am trying out a couple new apps.  We'll see how well they work.
One is a cute little app that makes your to do list a little roll playing game. Task Hammer.  When you complete a task, you get points to move you character up levels.  My character is Princess Bedo, a sorceress. Lol!
I'll Yale about the other one later.

Cleaning the mudroom

Adorable hubby and I are both packrats. But we had frost last night, and I had to get the pile of stuff that was taking up space in the mudroom out of there so that there would be room for firewood, wet boot trays and the wet boots that go in them, etc. I get an A for effort, but only a B- for technique, since some of that stuff is now in my car, since it needs to go to the feed room for the horses. But, at least I have established a new baseline. Ah, all right I better go finish up...

I think my refrigerator is dying

My freezer is making things really cold, and my refrigerator is hovering at 40 degrees.  I rearranged things, Hopefully that will bring the temperature down.  Otherwise, it's new frig time for the old homestead!  If this is the case, I am thinking about getting one of the ones with the freezer on the bottom,...

Additional water news

This morning adorable hubby dumped almost 4 inches of water out of the rain gauge.  It poured last night at our house.  In the middle of the night, it poured for a little while inside our house.  The place where the falling tree tore the rain gutters off the front facade, is probably leaking.  So, I have called the insurance company, and we will see what they say.

Outside the house the trees are soaking up the rain and everything seems several feet taller and much thicker - we really live in temperate rain forest here, with the high canopy, the under layer of younger trees, and the ground layer of bushes and shrubs...it's really beautiful.

The frogs are going crazy in celebration. Over the weekend, I found two tree frogs in the kitchen.  Don't know how they got in there.  Silly things.

Poem for a small planet (fragment)

I recall the blue water planet,
Circling a yellow sun.
I recall the hearts of love,
Beating as one.
I notice the mindless ground,
Revealed by mindful attention.
I act with those beating hearts,

Displaying boundless compassion.

Act with those beating hearts,

Subsumed in boundless compassion.

Oh, my sisters and brothers,
The hearts of love are calling,

Care for the blue water planet.....

On-call satisfaction

Here I am, wide awake in the middle of the night. I got paged at 10:45, and it wasn't obvious that the problem was fixed until about 15 minutes ago. There is some satisfaction about getting a good resolution to a problem. Actually, I got paged on my way home, and was able to solved that issue too. So, two big successes today.  But I need to get up at 5 am. Ugh. Better try to sleep.

Pony outfits

We live in bug heaven and the ponies suffer from the mosquitos, gnats and flies. This year we are going to try something different and keep fly sheets on them as much as we can. Here they are all spiffy and clean. The big boy horse has already ripped his good. But he get utucaria from the gnats and he is happy to have it on. The old girl horse is just happy for any attention. Such good ponies. Don't know what happened to the photo. I don't seem to be able to get a better one to attach.

Bumper crop of blueberries!

Not sure how well they will show up in the photo, but we are headed for a bumper crop of blueberries this year. Blueberries are great. I'll start checking them every couple days now because it seems like I often miss the earliest ones! Stay tuned!

Iris in Bloom

See the lovely lavender irises blooming? See the vigorous horseradish blooming white in the background? See Tommy, the Guardian of the Garden, lurking in the shade? See the pea pole teepees waiting for the sugar peas to crawl all the way to the top? I love gardening!

Lunch muffins

Yummiest savory salmon lunch muffins!

2.25 c. cooked wild rice blend
8 oz  spicy Creole seasoned grilled salmon
3/4 c chopped onions
3/4 c chopped broccoli
1 c chopped spinach
4 eggs
2 Tbs good olive oil
Creole season salt

Prehheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients except salt.
Put muffin cups in muffin pans. Fill cups to tho top with rice mixture.
Sprinkle lightly with the seasoning salt.
Bake 30 minutes. Cool completely before freezing.
Reheat by microwaving.  1 - 2 minutes.
Serve with a little tartar sauce or mayonaise, as they tend to be dry.

Planting rhubarb

We bought a little Troybuilt rototiller, and ran it two days, and the choke lever which was plastic, broke off. Poor design. Adorable hubbie took it back and traded it for another one.
But now I have been interupted so many times thus weekend, I never got to rototill any more of the garden. I did get the third rhubarb plant planted, so that is something. And I did a little weeding, always a good thing.
Ah well, tomorrow is another day, as they say...

Peas and more peas

First real time in the garden this evening!  Broke out the new rototiller and promptly broke the choke lever.  Who makes a choke lever out of plastic, anyway?
Was able to till up enough dirt to plant peas.  Sugar snap peas. 3 teepees of them, which should yield a crop 65 days from now. Yum!
The garlic planted last year is going great guns. That is it looking weedy next to the pea teepees.Tomorrow I will plant more garlic, for a second later crop.  I noticed a few volunteer potatoes coming up as well. I haven't decided if I will leave them or not.
The rhubarb are getting big.  I have selected where I will put the third one. Horseradish and lemon verbena and bee balm are all doing fine. 

Wheat free challenge!

My sister has been diagnosed with celiac disease, and I know my knees feel better if I do not eat wheat, and that they would feel even better if I dropped a little weight, so we are starting a wheat free challenge. We will touch base every day and share weight and wheat free eating tips.
We talked at 6:00. At 7:30 I thoughtlessly had a piece of strawberry rhubarb pie. I realized this even later in the evening! So, on this challenge, I have no where to go but up! 
Days wheat free since 4/18 =0

Adventures in plumbing

Winter is hard on plumbing. The sink in the unheated mudroom is a case in point. We tried turning it on today and the base of the faucet is split so it leaks every time we turn on the water.
So we found a valve we had in a drawer and adorable hubby spent several frustrating hours putting it together. When we turned the water on, this valve also is split and leaks slowly.  So it is usable now, but still not really fixed. 
I will burn the weeds in the garden tomorrow night.
Lesson of the Day: when you take a part off of something because it is broken, mark the part "Broken" if you are going to keep it for emergencies.  You would think I would have learned that by now! Oh well, we have a working hose faucet again. Spring chores are always a joy because it is spring!

Chocolate Haystack Cookies

1 1/3 c rolled oats not instant
.5 c unsweetened coconut
.25 c slivered almonds
.25 c evaporated milk
.75 c sugar
.25 cup cocoa powder
2 TBS butter
.5 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla

1. Toast oats on a dry cookie sheet in a 300 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, untill slightly brown and fragrant.  Combine oats, coconut and almonds in a large measuring cup.
2. Butter waxed paper and put on a large cookie sheet.
3. Combine everything else except vanilla in a heavy bottom pot. Heat over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture comes to a full rolling boil. Remove from heat.
4. Working quickly, stir in vanilla. Then stir in dry mix.
5. Immediately drop 1 TBS portions onto waxed paper. Let cool before storing in an air tight container.

We are all the same

We are all human beings and we all live on this little planet Earth. We have lived on this planet competing and fighting with eachother.  But our habits and the waste we create as human beings is damaging the energetic patterns and chemical balances that make this planet hospitable to human beings. We have to figure out how to live together on this little planet, or we will kill this little planet and ourselves in the process.

New Year's Day 2016 Song of Celebration

Today, remember to rest in love,
Today, remember to act through love
Today, remember love is all there is

No acting, no resting,
no today, no tomorrow, no yesterday,
no remembering, no not remembering

No no, no not love

Love love love love love love love love
love love love love love love love
love love love love love love
love love love love love
love love love love
love love love
love love
love

love