Monthly Archives: July 2007

>Another top ten list

Posted on by
2

>After I wrote my list of ten about Amigo, I promised La Petite I’d write about her, too. She responded, with her voice positively gooey and dripping, “Ooo, I feel so special.”

1. We share a talent for sarcasm.
2. We enjoy shoes. She loves her Converse All-Stars, and I actually enjoy taking her shopping for them because it’s so much fun.
3. We’ve seen all the Harry Potter movies together. I’ve read the books, too; she prefers the movies. Sometimes we chat afterwards, and I can fill in the back stories that the movies have to skip to save time.
4. We love our bunnies. In fact, our crazy bunny Peanut loves us best. He isn’t very fond of the men in the family.
5. We don’t mind getting dirt under our nails. she is good with flowers; I take charge of the vegetable garden.
6. We could watch the movie The Blues Brothers over and over again. We quote lines from the movie when they seem appropriate, and we know all the trivia. (Yes, Carrie Fischer’s salon is the “Curl up and Dye.”)
7. We can share a box of mixed chocolates without conflict. She likes the milk chocolate, while I prefer the dark.
8. We like fresh tomatoes and fresh green beans, right off the vine. Mmmm.
9. We enjoy our caffeine. She lives on Mt. Dew, and I love my coffee.
10. Green Bay Packer Football. ‘Nuff said.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Mmm…banana bread

Posted on by
6

>It was 80+ degrees and humid, my back was in agony, and I couldn’t let the bananas just sit there. So — I waited until evening, mixed up the batter, and baked a double batch of banana bread. (The eggshells and banana peels will become compost, but that’s a different sort of recipe altogether.)

One Loaf of Banana Bread

2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup margarine or butter, softened
3 eggs or 3/4 cup egg substitute
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium-large bananas)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups flour (I like 1 cup all-purpose flour and 2/3 cup whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
(optional) 1/2 cup chocolate chips or 1/2 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 or 9 inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Beat the sugar and butter/margarine in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, bananas, and vanilla. Beat until well blended.
Mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Stir into the banana mixture just until moistened. Blend in chocolate chips or nuts. Pour and scrape batter into the loaf pan.
Bake the 8 inch pan for 60 minutes, 9 inch pan for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean.
Cool 5 minutes. Loosen sides of loaf from pan. Remove from pan and cool completely on a rack before slicing.
Mmmmm.
Warning: Teenagers in house will inhale this. Make two if you want some for yourself.

I have two zucchini sitting on the counter waiting to be diced or shredded into some form soon. And there’s always the ever-growing rhubarb. The family will not go hungry.

Thanks again to Betty Rohde of the Super so fat, low fat, no fat cookbook. This recipe is adapted from hers. If you bake it the low-fat way, it has only 1 fat gram per serving.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>I rock!

Posted on by
5

>Scribbit has awarded me the Rockin’ Blogger award! I read her almost daily and I really enjoy her site, so based on its source, this recognition is a great compliment. I shouldn’t let this go to my head, but she described me as “… an excellent writer and has a top-notch blog I love.” Wow!

Many of my blogging virtual friends are in Chicago this weekend for the BlogHer conference. (My last trip to the big city included a hot, steamy baseball game, not a businesslike conference.) I chose not to go to BlogHer, but I will look into the transcripts of sessions from the volunteers who were sweet enough to live blog them. Meanwhile, I will rest with the knowledge that even though I’m not hobnobbing with the blogging A-listers, according to at least one marvelous blogger, I still rock!

Compost Happens is approaching a major milestone: my 10,000th hit. I didn’t add the stat counter immediately in the beginning, so there are a few hits missing, but I know it didn’t miss a significant number. I think I may have to have a party when I reach 10,000.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Christmas in July

Posted on by
Reply

>I admitted this in another post; I shop almost year round for Christmas and birthdays. My sister-in-law sent me to this site, and I found some really unique treasures. In fact, that’s the name of the site; Evelyn’s Treasures.

I give practical gifts sometimes, and sometimes I’d rather give fun. Let’s see; La Petite might like this. My garden would look nice with this addition. I enjoy windchimes, and Evelyn offers several different types. Clicking on the home/office section will help you find some gorgeous bookends and other office supplies with pizazz. I like the Chinese sword letter opener for something both cool and useful.
Even though I like to pick on my younger brother, I would probably give him this. Cute, eh?

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Thanks, Mom — Group Writing Project

Posted on by
7

>”Thanks, mom” is the theme for MommaBlogga’s latest group writing project. My entry is squeaking in under the wire for deadline, but you can still go here for more entries and more information on Jordan, the head MommaBlogga herself. Here is my entry.

Naming the Mother
In the Ugandan tradition, children are named not just at birth, but throughout their lives according to their characteristics and significant events.

The only girl.
She of thoughtful eyes that needed strong glasses.
She who shared a room with her brother.
The one who took to the piano and the organ like a duck to water.
The one who earned A‘s without breaking a sweat.
The child with the near photographic memory.
The first generation in the family to attend college.

The mom.
She of carpools and babysitters.
She who attended concerts, talent shows, conferences, and open houses galore.
The one who welcomed our friends and significant others.
The one who set another plate on the table whenever our special someone visited.
She who sent us to college, even though we took a little extra time to graduate.
The grandmother.
The one who read the first four Harry Potter books to her grandson.
The one who helped her granddaughter make skirts out of jeans.
Call on the phone grandma.
Email the whole family grandma.
She who faced breast cancer with courage and humor.
She who laughs until she wheezes.
She who keeps up the old traditions and creates new ones, too.
The mom I can only hope to equal someday.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Oh, brother.

Posted on by
4

>It could fit into the category of adventure. It could be creative problem solving. A more accurate label might be dangerous choices, activities for which you are too old, fun things to do unless you get arrested, or ways to make your mother laugh until she wheezes because she can’t believe what you’ve done.

My younger brother just gave me yet another item worthy of big-sisterly teasing that fits at least one of the above categories; I just can’t decide which one.

My brother and his wife were staying at my mom’s apartment in the senior living complex. Mom left for a morning appointment. Shortly after that, her husband got a phone call for an appointment of his own saying, “We’ve had a cancellation. Can you come now?” He left, too. Brother and sister-in-law were gathering their things and putting their shoes on to drive across town to my house when they realized they would have to leave the apartment unlocked because there were only two keys, and both keys had left with their respective owners. Er, renters. But my ever-creative brother thought of another solution.

He locked the door from the inside and climbed out of their balcony. On. The. Third. Floor.

His route to the ground took him over the balcony, past the apartment below, down one floor to a mildly slanted roof, and from there to a nice, solid wall surrounding the dumpsters. He jumped down from the wall to where his wife was waiting for him. I didn’t see this happen, but I’m sure she was at least grinning, if not laughing out loud. They hopped in the car and came over to visit.

The plot thickens. We went back to the senior living community and had lunch in its little cafe. The downstairs neighbors were eating there, too. They didn’t seem to recognize Brother, so we decided he had escaped the adventure without being seen, despite smiling and waving at the other table.

So, folks, what do you think? Here are a few category options.

  • Adventure
  • Creative thinking
  • Cognitively guided problem solving
  • Things you should have learned in school (or not) had you been paying attention
  • Reasons to build your upper arm strength
  • Are you really smarter than a fifth grader?
  • I can do anything, I’m a liberal arts graduate!

Yes, our mother was surprised. And she really did laugh until she wheezed.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>10 Common Traits

Posted on by
5

>

Ten things I have in common with my son, Amigo

1. We’re both disabled. He is vision impaired and has Asperger’s Syndrome. I am hearing impaired. Since he’s a teenager, he would insist that just being a mom is an impairment in itself.
2. We like to go out for lunches and brunches, especially in the summer. this year we’ve tried out several new (new to us) restaurants and diners. We’ll remember those that had Braille menus for him!
3. Both of us have a tendency to get anxious in new and difficult situations.
4. We bond over Trivia. We watch Jeopardy as a family each night. At 15, Amigo can hold his own. He has an excellent memory.
5. Green Bay Packer football! He is a cheesehead through and through.
6. We both love Christmas, even the shopping and wrapping parts, but especially the music.
7. We enjoy the public library. He checks out books on tape/CD, and I pick up whatever strikes my fancy. In the summer we go at least once a week.
8. We like to bake. Okay, I like to bake cookies and he likes to eat them. It works, doesn’t it?
9. Reading. Reading together. ‘Nuff said.
10. I admit it; we share a sense of humor.

He reads my blog, so I’m sure he’ll have to say something about it — when he gets away from Youtube and gets around to reading it, that is. 🙂

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Tiny Bunny

Posted on by
10

>When we brought home Tiny bunny, Beast accidentally knocked him off the bed onto the floor. It wasn’t malicious; Tiny was just that small, and Beast was just that big. Tiny could fit in one hand or in the hood of La Petite’s sweatshirt. Tiny was so small that even the vet wasn’t sure whether to say “boy or girl;” it was hard to see the, um, evidence one way or the other. Dr. was pretty sure that Tiny was female, though.

Tiny and Beast bonded. When Tiny got older and matured, we took her in to get spayed. She came back, well, neutered. She was really He.

Beast died last year. Tiny has lived in the house with us since then, hiding in odd places and playing with toys. This morning we called the animal hospital. Tiny is sick, with many of the same symptoms that Beast showed last summer. He had trouble breathing this afternoon and ran a high fever. The vet put him on an antibiotic, but looked very worried. Late last night, Tiny started sneezing blood violently from his small furry nose. We called the 24 hour vet line and brought him in. The bottom line: he has an infection, probably an abscess, and is very likely on his last petite little legs. Rather than leaving him in an specialized oxygen tent at the animal ER, we brought him home. We will make his day(s) as comfortable as we can, keep checking in on him, and snuggle him as much as he can handle. When he’s ready, we’ll say goodbye.

Update: Tiny passed away around 2:30 Sunday afternoon. I was with him and able to pet him and soothe him as he took his last few breaths. Thank you for all of your words of support.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares