My little escape artist

Many of you know that I have the cutest pug dog in the world.  She just turned two on my birthday, and wow is she in her terrible twos heheh ... One of the problems with the new house -- and believe me they are few -- is that the fence is really a mess.

Well Midge has found a couple of holes/loopholes that her little butt can just about fit through ... but I did manage to watch out for her and keep her in the ysrd. UNTIL LAST NIGHT! Now, it is 11 pm and time for evening ritual.  Generally I can see her fine with the moon and the stars, but after all she IS a totally black dog on a totally black night.  You see where I'm going, right?  Yes, she took this opportunity to wiggle her little butt through a hole in the fence. Now it is pitch black and I'm down on the ground trying to see a pitch black dog!  Fortunately she doesn't have much of a nose so I heard her snuffling before she actually came for her treats (bribes).

And after our lovely brunch today I took my Aunt out to see my garden (We have been picking bushels of tomatoes since December!) and when I turned around that lil devil dog had disappeared out of the yard again ... only now I was frantic!!  Thank goodness I had lots of helpers combing the neighborhood on foot and in cars and she was found on the next street --- with a totally surprised look, "Oh, hi, what are you doing here?!" She came home to a house full of frightened and scolding people!

Time to fix this problem!! Thank goodness my "Mr. Fixit" brother is here and knew what we needed to do.  Ultimately of course I have to replace the fence, but I thought getting unpacked and settled might be a priority.  Anyway, we took hardware cloth and staple gun and snippers and fenced off the biggest spots today.  Still more to go, but he taught me what to do. 

And the Midge stayed in her home yard the rest of the day!

Birthday for Brother or Super Bowl??

He has been telling me for weeks -- even before he arrived! -- that it was Super Bowl Sunday and we could not, under any circumstances plan anything for that day for his birthday that would interrupt him from the game.   Hmmmmmmphff ... Our first hurdle.  Ok, brunch with our Aunt and Sophie had a friend overnight. So the young girls and I fixed yummy eggs Benedict with steamed asparagus on the side, and famous Florida just-picked strawberries on the plate.  Jenny did her usual beautiful table decorations and all in all we had a great brunch.

By the way, I have truly the easiest recipe for Hollandaise sauce ever, and I've used it for 40 or more years:  2 egg yolks and 2 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice.  Mix well in a saucepan and put the heat on low.  Cut a stick of very cold butter into 4 pieces and add them one at a time until each melts, then add more.  The sauce will thicken nicely as it cooks.

Tip/trick ... if your sauce separates and looks icky, take a whisk and a teaspoon of water at a time and whisk quickly and it will come back together just fine :)

So, now brother gets the super bowl, we got to feed him nicely, and there is cake for half time.

Ohhhhh forgot that when I was headed to the grocers yesterday he wanted to give me his list of snacks he wanted for his TV I brought home potato chips and dip :)

The Land of the Living ...

.. and experiencing great loss. ...  Wow, it's been a long journey this past year while my best friend, companion, and love of my life fought cancer.  He passed over in November and needless to say, my pain and loss and sadness are deep. But I am working hard to fight through it all.


I moved into my house -- my own house --January 30.  Gee that packing was fun (NOT) but everything in my life is here -- including darling Jenny and Grandniece Sophie! -- I just can't yet find anything except the ladies, the cats, and Midge the Pug.  But day by day with the help of my little lists, it will get put in place.

I just read another blog where the wonderful owner (no, not Flylady who has helped me in the past heheh) has been posting weekly rooms to tackle! This sounded like a great approach since we are blending households.  My dear niece who has been my life-long precious friend actually left job and family to move from Dallas to Sarasota to be able to help me this past year.

My youngest brother came down 10 days ago for two weeks to help put things back together and set up shelving -- you know, all those guy things heheh so he's having fun in Florida and has helped physically, mentally, and emotionally.  Yes, Martha is still my hero, so I must say "It's a good thing!"

Good night! Hope to be back playing before too long :)

Linda (whew now in Florida!)... and experiencing great loss.

Important upcoming dates!

really I'm kidding ... sort of!  lol!  April 15th is National Glazed Spiral Ham Day -- if you've never had a Honey Baked Ham ... search them on the Internet and get yourself one!!

Stay tuned because April 16 is Eggs Benedict Day ... do I have recipes and stories for you!!

April 18 is National Animal Crackers Day ... oh my gosh, do you remember the little boxes with the strings attached that were such a treat?  Hope your kids enjoy the same!!


And April 20th is Pineapple Upside Down Cake day ...

I could just go on and on but you'll have to check back because I have so many recipes to share!!!!  Have a great tomorrow!!

Crab Louis

Since my liver and onions yesterday wasn't such a hit with most of my friends ... I thought tonight I'd go the seafood route because it is so fresh and plentiful here in Florida.  Not wanting to put a LOT of effort into dinner for one, and having picked up a container of jumbo lump crabmeat, I developed a craving for Crab Louis.

What is it?  
Many historians believe that the salad began appearing on menus of finer West Coast establishments between the turn of the 20th century and World War I. Other historians suggest that the salad was named after King Louis XIV who was known for his enormous amounts of food he could eat. I prefer to believe it was named for King Louis -- thus it is a "dish of kings" -- or in my case queens! lol!!

The crab is traditionally placed on a bed of good lettuce (I'm using baby greens) with hard boiled eggs, chopped tomato and asparagus spears surrounding it.  The dressing is made with mayonnaise, red chili sauce, minced green onions, Worcestershire sauce, parsley, lemon juice and salt and pepper and served on the side.  Since it's just me eating, I'll pour that right on the crab!!

That's Life ...

... and it's tough times.  After our exciting move to Florida back in December, we had a lovely Christmas with family and then for my birthday in January darling Jenny and Sophie came to visit!  We were off to a great start.

Then along came the bad news ... in February my husband was diagnosed with small cell cancer in his lungs and by March it had spread to his liver and bones.  We're putting up a good fight and going through chemo with another round this week and more scans next week.  Our mantra nowadays is from our favorite movie "Finding Nemo" and it's "just keep swimming" so we're trying to keep our heads above water.

One of the biggest challenges is getting enough nutrition into Howard as he is not in the mood to eat.  I make a mean milkshake full of calories, but he can only drink one or two a day :)  But at least he's trying ...

Keep us in your thoughts and swim along with us!

Nutella -- are you addicted?

It's World Nutella Day, and if you haven't tried this confection, it's time you did!  Here's a site with dozens of ways to incorporate Nutella into your every day life!  I even have a friend who has to fight with her grown son over the large sized jar of this wonderful treat!  Once tried, you'll be a forever friend!

http://www.nutelladay.com/nutella-recipes/