by Jen_F | Jen_F, Musings
I was going through the pictures we had taken on our last get together and came across these that I thought I would share……..
Surprisingly enough these pictures have nothing to do with food with the exception that the participants eat food (dog food, that is). Ok, since I know that the word critics will come back to get me on this one…. the four legged ones eat dog food. The two legged ones don’t.
Actually this first picture is from May.
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Here’s Conehead. Poor Dusty, he wore this stylish garb for what seemed like months.
He also snookered me while Shari and the boys were gone to Georgia for Clay’s graduation. |
I thought I was supposed to hand feed him since he had to wear the cone all the time and could not get down close enough to his dish to get the food out.
Come to find out, it was ok to take the cone off so he could feed him self.
CALL ME “SUCKER” for a sob story. LOL
I like to look at it as one on one personal bonding. Hand feeding is a great way to build a relationship with a dog.
This month was the first time I had seen him without the CONE in such a long time, I almost thought that Shari had gotten another dog.
You might think that all Shari does is hang in the kitchen making breads, cakes, frozen yogurt and fondant, but that’s not true. She also takes time to play in the yard with Lefty.
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One might note that she obviously HAD been in the kitchen cooking prior to stepping out into the back yard to have a throw-about with Lefty …..
OR
She lives in that apron !!! (hehehe) |
Not to be forgotten, if you look hard enough, you’ll see Spirit in this picture. I’m sure Deb will thank me for this one.
There you have it….. The GOOD LIFE as a dog at Shari’s house…….
Til the next time…
You’re never too young or too old … So ……
Live Every Moment,
Love Beyond Words,
Laugh Everyday,
~Jennifer
by Shari | Musings, Shari_T
I?m afraid that painting the bedroom has taken up most of my time this week, so there was no card to mail to you, Jen, but I hope you are enjoying your birthday.
Did you remember to wear your sexy birthday suit?? (The dress I gave you, not YOUR birthday suit!)
I wanted you to know that I had not forgotten your special day, so I made you a birthday cake!
It was a moist and luscious 2-layer pineapple cake with raspberry lime filling, topped with an Italian meringue and covered in coconut.? There were even cherries on top.
Sad to say, there are no leftovers.
Now that I think about it, the cake wasn?t really that good because you weren?t here to share it with us.
I hope your day is as special as you!
Love,
Shari
by Jen_F | Jen_F, Musings
I didn’t really think about this being my 60th birthday, since by my count, I’m only 10 and still too young to date, but I suppose it was a milestone birthday in many ways.
I got the following in a card from Mother and wanted to share it here with everyone….. not that anyone else might care how this special brat baby came into the world …… It’s the memories that count.
July 12, 2013
My darling daughter, Jennifer.
If I had been on the ball and if you had been born in the spring, fall or winter, we could have thrown you a super-duper happy 60th birthday bash.
Instead, you have a mother who bought you this fantastic card, telling you how wonderful you were and how happy I was to have you as my daughter, only to find, I had stored away “somewhere” with all of this month’s cards I carefully bought last month.
I had bought this crazy (couldn’t resist) one earlier for you when you were down with the “foot/cane” syndrome. Fortunately, I had stuck it in my waiting for birthdays, etc., file, so will be content to send it along and otherwise just tell you how much I love and respect you.
How well I remember your dad and I deciding we could “afford” another baby. He had gotten a $25/mo or so raise and the time between you and Deb would be just right so without fear we moved on with our “we are going to have another baby” routine.
Your gestation time was uneventful and pleasant until the move to Conroe in early summer when you were due in 2 months. You even survived my ingesting way too many crabs when we camped out on the Gulf coast beach, happily catching and boiling the crabs, giving away many, but I ate a LOT and soon afterward was allergic to crab for quite awhile.
It was cloudy that day and your dad forgot that sitting around on the beach without his shoes on was likely to cause a sunburn – clouds or not. Poor thing. He couldn’t wear his boots for about a week.
Moving along toward your birth date, I had found a wonderful GYN, we made plans within the family how we were going to manage everything while I was in the hospital and soon after return.
Pat, although just 6 was to do the laundry in the garage, and on a stool hang the clothes on the line. This was her idea, not mine. There was a very deep drainage ditch not far from the clothes line and I worried that she might fall but all went well and we continued to have clean clothes for awhile.
Your dad was to work in the Texaco office for a few weeks so he could be handy in case something went wrong during the day.
Sunday, July 12, 1953, at almost exactly 6:00 p.m., ok – Daddy, think we might need to move on to the hospital – pains have begun. Having had Deb very quickly, I was fearful of being too far from the hospital – just in case.
That was a good move. You were born about 9:15 or so. You were in a hurry to get into this world and get busy and that you did.
When you were born, doctor commented “this one is going to be different” and so my darling, unique Jennifer had made her entrance into our world.
Unfortunately, despite my telling the doc that I could deliver without anesthetic, he told me he needed it since he had just come up from the morgue where he had viewed the body of his best friend who had been in a truck that hit a horse.
Doc was rattled and was honest enough to tell me so. He also was honest enough to tell me he had “hit” me in the wrong spot in the first spinal attempt and I was going to have what they called “spinal headaches.” Did I ever – for almost 3 months. For quite a few weeks, I couldn’t lift my head off the pillow without blacking out with blinding headaches.
This pushed the family, Dad, 6 year old Pat, 2 ½ year old Deb and me, to make big adjustments.
Pat now was also helping with breakfast and lunch so Dad could spend some time with you during his lunch 
break. The elderly lady next door came every day to bathe you. Pat and Deb handled the bottles and since you were born at night, you continued to believe that you should be awake all night and sleep all day.
I couldn’t get up to rock you because of the headaches but Dad would when you cried and you seemed to always be hungry. I think you were born with hypoglycemia, looking back on it.
I remember one night about midnight, Dad was rocking you, you stopped crying and gave him a big grin. He said -”don’t you grin at me”.
We moved on with your sisters changing diapers during the day, playing with you when you were awake. It was a really good experience for us all. The family unit could survive by pulling together.
That October we moved on to Hempstead. After more months of this crying a good part of the night and sleeping in the daytime, I finally went to the local doctor and said “I need help with this baby’s sleep habits.” He tells me he can fix you in 3 days.
“What”, I asked???
He said when he brought his babies home from the hospital, he gave them a meds to help them sleep through the night for 3 days and after that they would. When I asked why he hadn’t offered that to me before, he commented that parents should suffer a little and laughed – but he was right and you became the happy camper at night and our sweet playful baby in the daytime.
Time marched on. You became your own sweet, cute, fiesty, innovative, unique self that we love so much and are so proud of.
Always know how much I love you.
Have a wonderful birthday. Sorry we can’t have a big bash for such a milestone.
Love, Mother
Thank you Mother, for sharing this. Oh, and thanks for ingesting way too many crabs…. Perhaps that’s where I get my unnatural love for seafood, crabs included. LOL
PS: Thanks for the picture. Mother says that is me at 11 months old.
Til the next time…
You’re never too young or too old … So ……
Live Every Moment,
Love Beyond Words,
Laugh Everyday,
~Jennifer
by Shari | Musings, Shari_T
It’s tough to imagine that our mother is 84 years old today. Where has the time gone?? I’m sure she wonders that, too.
I had planned to make my traditional homemade vanilla ice cream for today’s post, but Ryan forgot to put the liner back into the freezer last night. It takes about 20 hours for my liner to freeze, so no ice cream.
I was able to find a small bit of space in the craft room over the weekend to put together a card for her birthday. I need to finish putting everything away in there; it has, after all, been almost a year since I had the floors replaced. Again, where has the time gone?
The Cuttlebug, a die cutting/embossing machine, came in quite handy. I used it to emboss the birds and vines, and then used pastel chalks to color them. I love the way the deckle edging gives the card some character and brings out the center.
I punched a circle out of coordinating paper and embossed it.? I used Inktense pencils to highlight the Happy Birthday.? A little ribbon topped off the centerpiece of this card, and I could not believe my luck in finding the cardstock with the bird in the corner. Perfect!
It made for very simple and elegant card.
Come June, I think our sister time together each month will be taken over by wedding creations.? I’ve spent the past few days looking at invitations, flowers, decorations, etc., we can make using my Cricut.? I can’t wait to begin crafting some fun with my Cricut again. I have missed doing that this past year.
Deb and Jen arrive Monday; I have to decide what’s cooking before then, I guess. I know we enjoyed the buffet of breakfasts, so I may do that, as long as they are up for it. While Jen may be the Queen of the One Pan Meal, I’m the Queen of What Can I Stuff in a Tortilla!
Until next time, live like every day is YOUR birthday!
Love,
Shari
by Deb D | Deb_D, Musings, Pork, Recipes
During one of our “sister’s” weeks, I made a scrumptiously, delicious dinner. It consisted of baked acorn squash, sauteed Swiss chard, & a Texas-style marinated pork tenderloin.
We cut the acorn squash in half, coated the baking pan & edges of the squash with coconut oil – I think that it gives the squash a good flavor as it cooks. The squash is baked cut side down at 350degrees for about 30 – 40 minutes (depending on the size of the squash).
Swiss chard is a member of the spinach family but is much heavier leaf with much larger veins. In my opinion, the stem & stalk are the “best” part of the vegetable. Be sure to rinse the leaves & stalk to make sure that all dirt is removed.
I lay the leaves down with them folded together and cut out the largest part of the stalk. I cut the stalks into 2 or 3 inch pieces to cook. The stems take longer to cook so I cook them first. This vegetable can be cooked in any oil or fat that you choose. My preference is either bacon fat or butter.
Melt your fat & drop the stem pieces into it & cook until they are “fork-tender.” I take the folded leaves and cut them into about 1″ strips. I put them into the pan with the stems and cook them until they “wilt.”
I will post the recipe for the pork tenderloin marinade either in the comments section or in a separate posting. I marinated the tenderloins overnight so they would absorb the most from the liquid.?? They were cooked at 350 degrees for approximately 30 – 40 minutes.
All said & done, we had a very delicious meal that the whole family could enjoy!
Please remember to laugh often, dance as if no one is watching, & sing as if no one is listening! Peace!
DebD
by Shari | Desserts, Musings, Recipes, Shari_T
Once in awhile you get an idea that actually turns out better than you plan. This recipe is one such example.
This recipe is “company dessert”.
It’s that good!
I purchased a couple of pineapples last week, which began a series of thoughts that look something like this:
Pineapple = summer = hot = no cooking indoors = grilling = ice cream.
Naturally, all roads lead back to ice cream. Well, in this case, they lead back to frozen yogurt.
Since pineapple and coconut are a natural pairing in food, it didn’t take long before I was in the kitchen mixing up my latest concoction.
To make the coconut yogurt, you will need one large container of Greek yogurt, a sweetener (I used 2 tablespoons of honey to cut the bitter flavor in the Truvia), coconut flavoring and shredded or flaked coconut (I recommend a finely ground coconut).
First, you will need to mix your yogurt, sweetener, coconut flavoring and coconut in a bowl.
Place yogurt mixture in the refrigerator.
To make the pineapple swirl, you will need fresh pineapple, coconut oil, coconut sugar (or you may substitute brown sugar), pineapple juice, cinnamon and vanilla.
Melt the coconut oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add pineapple to oil and allow to cook until the pineapple softens and just begins to turn brown (about 5-7 minutes).
Stir in the cinnamon, coconut sugar and pineapple juice.
Bring to a boil and allow it to cook until the juice becomes a syrup.
Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Set aside and let cool about one hour.
Now it’s time to prepare the frozen yogurt. Place the mixture in your ice cream maker and prepare according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Just before the yogurt is completely frozen, drizzle the pineapple mixture into the ice cream maker.
Allow the mixture to swirl through the yogurt without actually mixing into the yogurt.
This is truly one of the best frozen desserts I have ever eaten. Daniel claimed this to be the best ice cream/yogurt dessert I’ve ever made.
Shari’s Company Worthy Coconut Frozen Yogurt with Pineapple Swirl
Yogurt base:
- 4 cups plain Greek yogurt
- 1 cup sugar or sweetener equivalent
- 1/4 tsp. coconut flavoring
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut or flakes
Mix all ingredients and place in the refrigerator.
Pineapple swirl:
- 1 Tbls. coconut oil (you could substitute with butter)
- 1/2 cup fresh pineapple (cut into small pieces)
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar (you could substitute with brown sugar)
- 1/3 cup pineapple juice
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Heat the coconut oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the pineapple; cook until tender and just until the pineapple begins to turn brown. Add the sugar, cinnamon and pineapple juice; bring to a boil and continue to cook until the liquid becomes thick, like a syrup. Remove from heat; add vanilla and stir. Set aside to cool for about 1 hour.
Freeze the yogurt according to manufacturer’s directions. Just before the yogurt is completely frozen, drizzle the pineapple mixture over the frozen yogurt and allow it to swirl into the yogurt. Do not over mix.
Serve and enjoy!
If you do not have an ice cream freezer that allows you to add while freezing, you could do one of two things: add the swirl mixture to the yogurt mixture just prior to freezing, or use the pineapple syrup as a topping. Either way, you’ll still have a wonderful dessert.
I will be serving this to Deb and Jen when they are here visiting later this month. I know they will enjoy it.
Love,
Shari
