Monarch eggs & caterpillars, at last!!!!!!!

Yes, I am soooooooooooooo psyched! I went out to check my milkweed plants this afternoon and lo and behold, I found some Monarch eggs and a wee, bity caterpillar! I am so happy! Just feel like I'm doing my itsy bitsy part to save the Monarch. Anyway, I took a photo to share the joy, so to speak. I'll take more as the caterpillar(s) grow. Keep on with your terrific weekend. Mine's sure a good one despite having to mow the freakin lawn, again!!!! Oh, and the river has yet to completely spill over its banks yet which is real good news. Bye!

Faucet's still on, Lord!!

Yes...... we are still sopping wet here in Iowa. About 2" again last night! The river through town is out of its banks again and isn't due to crest until Sunday! Not good. Just got back from a bike ride and got to see where the river has already risen over our community recreation trail. Heck, the waters had just receded from the flooding last week when we got over 4"!

I had a nice walk with a friend on the trail this morning before the river started to breech its banks! The top of my head is itchy now, though, as I just discovered I got a little sun-burned. I was so good about putting on sun screen before we took off on our walk, but alas, I neglected to wear a hat! Someone needs to create hair styling products with sunscreen in them.... or are there some on the market already? Share your info here if you know of some good ones! Anyway, it was so nice to have a walk-n-talk with a friend. Now as an empty-nester (and in between jobs, as well) I am trying to work on cultivating some friendships. I fear I let that part of my life go by the wayside as I focused almost exclusively on my family (particularly children!) and my work. Now it is time to start expanding my support network 'cuz I find it gets a little lonely when the kids have 'flown the coop', so to speak! Any of you out there feel the same? All I can say is this transitional phase of life (going from full-time motherhood to full time couple-hood) can be challenging! I mean, I love seeing my children grow, mature and thrive, and I relish the adult relationship we are starting to enjoy... yet, it is still hard not to feel somewhat left behind. They are just starting the exciting, albeit sometimes daunting!, journey to total independence & young adulthood while I'm facing the stark reality of middle age (yikes- turn 50 in May!) and beyond! Oh well, I think I'll move on from this rather depressing tangent I've taken off on- more on my mid-life crisis in another post! :-)

Have been getting some wonderful fresh veggies from my friend's garden lately. I froze some sweet corn the last couple days so my two children can eat somewhat well away at school. I should clarify that- my daughter does not need any help eating well, she does an awesome job! However, my son is lacking in the culinary arts department! He just has too many conflicting interests and good eating habits get put on the back burner, unfortunately! Today my husband cranked up the smoker, and we had wonderful pork chops, sweet corn, green peppers, okra brushed with olive oil & onion filled with honey all on the grill! Pair that with some red wine and homemade, garden fresh carrot cake for dessert and life just couldn't get much better!! Oh, with my carrot cake recipe I finally tried the healthy tip of replacing one-half of the vegetable oil (I use canola, of course!) with plain, unsweetened applesauce. It worked terrific! I could not taste or see any difference, and the substitution certainly shaved off some unnecessary calories!

Well, time to get back to my page-turner book. I'm reading the first book in Stieg Larsson's acclaimed trilogy, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Although a bit dark, I am loving it and can hardly put the book down. I'm nearing the end and am on the 'reserve list' (first in line, thankfully!!) at our local library for "The Girl Who Played with Fire". Good night and have a GREAT weekend. Peace.

Shut off the faucet, God!!

Yes, we've received more rain here in the soggy state of Iowa!! Four, yes, four!, inches overnight!! I would have taken a photo of the rain gauge, but my hubby dumped it when he went out to check it this morning! Unfortunately, it was a little too much moisture for the soil to absorb, so our basement got a little wet. Luckily, it leaked in on the side of the basement where we have a drain and no carpet- the utility room and pantry. The dehumidifier ran all day along with our AC and that made short work of the water. Really, I've not much to complain about compared to the flash flooding some communities had to deal with. What a summer! Usually by late July we've stopped mowing and our lawns are getting brown- especially our lawn since I refuse to waste a precious resource keeping a lawn green!

Finally had a chance to take some updated photos of our kitten, "Elphaba". "Elphie" is growing so fast! She is getting along well with or other two cats, "Frodo" and "Sam". My husband captured one photo of "Fro" and "Elphie" sleeping together in one of their favorite 'nap' spots- cats have so many as those of you 'owned' by a cat(s) already know! :-) Hope you enjoy the pics!



Have enjoyed the bounty of a friend's large garden lately. We've been out 'shopping' in the fields, and I've brought home sweet corn, green beans, beets, lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers, kohlrabi, onion, potatoes, broccoli, basil, peppers (green and jalapeno), turnips, zucchini & peas. Looking forward to tomatoes, cantaloupe and watermelon! I made my favorite veggie recipe yesterday- a chocolate zucchini cake! Yum! I also had fun making a yummy Mediterranean dinner last night- shrimp piccata pasta with salad greens, walnuts/dried cranberries & apple cider dijon vinaigrette and a glass of white grenache! It made my husband and I feel like we were back in Spain- we had a wonderful trip there earlier this summer! Anyway, my husband thought the meal deserved a picture! As I rarely get that enthusiastic of a response for most of my meals (and rightly so, I must admit!), I immediately grabbed the camera. Thought I'd share it with my imagined? blogger followers, too. Bon appetit! Opps, I mean, bueno comiendo! I'll try to post the recipe for the shrimp piccata pasta soon. I must admit the salad was one of Dole's awesome bagged mixes! :-)

Not much more to post today. "Elphie" is being very naughty right now, so I need to supervise our rambunctious kitten. Have a great night. Stay dry!

Freedom!

Another week has zipped by, but the good news is I am ALL DONE with my census work! While it was okay some of the time- met some real nice and helpful people- overall it was disappointing. As seems typical of any government enterprise, the census bureau was quite disorganized with a lack of efficiency as well as fiscal restraint. So many mistakes were made and repetitive actions taken, that I quickly became rather disillusioned. I did my assignments with speed and accuracy, but I can't say the same for other enumerators. The U.S. Census needs to make some major changes and go digital in 2020! Hopefully 'change' will come.... but, as with the promises of my successful presidential candidate, one's rhetoric is often completely disengaged from one's actions and results.

Still no camera, so I can't share updated photos of our little "Elphaba". She is growing like a weed!! So adorable! All the cats are getting along well now except for the skirmishes which are typical of any 'siblings', two- or four-legged! :-)

It has been horrifically hot here in Iowa. Heat indices in the 100's! I feel blessed to have central AC! I don't know about you, but the combo of heat & humidity has always done me in!!! Despite the heat, I did do a little cooking yesterday. I made my first homemade chocolate custard/pudding. No jello pudding box mix for this gal!! It was quite the project, but it turned out awesome. So thick with a great chocolate flavor. It was worth all the steps... making sure that the initial heating of the milk did not reach boiling, grating three squares of unsweetened chocolate, separating eggs (yeah, I put the custard in a pie shell and topped it with meringue. Realized too late that meringue is touchy to make in high humidity AND more is not better when it comes to the time your eggs are left outside of the fridge before separating!!), and then CAREFULLY heating the mixture to a full boil lasting thirty seconds WITHOUT scorching! The one step I drew the line at was putting my finished custard through a sieve to make sure there were no little egg clumps- figured a few tiny egg clumps wouldn't kill anyone. (I've yet to really taste any!) I'll try to post the recipe when my daughter has time to show me how to attach recipes to my blog. Remember to bear with me.... I'm a newbie!!!! :-)

Finished reading Take Two and Take Three by Karen Kingsbury- both so good! Now I just have to wait for her to complete Take Four which I think completes her Above the Line series. Now I'm on to reading Nicholas Sparks' The Last Song. Started out kind of slow but now I'm totally into it. I LOVE to read.... I really try to restrict my reading time to defined periods (a half hour break during the day or just before bedtime) otherwise I can easily find myself reading away an entire day! I know there are worse vices, but nothing gets done around the house (i.e. cooking, cleaning, taking care of the pets, interacting with my hubby :-), etc......) when I'm totally enraptured by a book! Ah, it's my 'cross to bear."

This has been a nice weekend starting Friday. Had to pick up my husband from the airport and got to combine that with a visit with my son! It happened to be moving day for him because of renovations occurring in the college housing complex he is residing in during his summer internship. All the interns had to move into the newly renovated apartments so their old ones could be updated. The new apartments are much nicer, and he really 'lucked out' on having Mom and Dad available to help on the hottest day of the year!!! Yesterday, I did a little cooking (my custard!), and we did some grilling (pork roast, hot dogs and hamburgers) in order to avoid using the stove. Despite the wicked temps, my hubby and I fit in an evening bike ride- not too bad since there was a breeze and we kept moving. This morning we slept in a little and attended the 10AM Mass rather than our typical 8AM Mass. Father Matt was back from his two-week vacation which was nice. He always gives good homilies with at least one joke!! Now I'm just waiting for my daughter to check in- she was up in the Twin Cities visiting a friend this weekend- and should be on the long drive home about now. Gathered she's having a GREAT time via her facebook update!!

Well, I know it is the Lord's Day, but I still have a little housework to do. The saying does go, "cleanliness is next to Godliness", so I think God will be okay with me doing a little vacuuming! Have a great Sunday! Peace!

Time flies..... when you're having fun??!!

Wow, time has flown since my last post on the 5th. It's been a little crazy around here. Since I am currently in-between veterinary positions- as you may (or may not) recall- I am a veterinarian by profession- I am working as an enumerator for the 2010 US Census. We just started the second phase on Wednesday (July 7) where we re-check vacant and deleted houses to make sure we didn't miss counting ANYONE. It has been pretty frantic 'cuz of time constraints. I knew that would be the case, so all day Tuesday, the 6th, I mowed, did miscellaneous yard work and cleaned the house. Plus I planned ahead a few meals. Then Wednesday, the 'madness' started, and I've been putting in 11 - 16 hour days!!! Plus, to top off the first day of phase II, on Wednesday I got bit by a dog! Of course, being a vet, I immediately requested a look at the dog's rabies vaccination certificate!! It was current, thank God! However, I made the error of mentioning the bite (which did draw blood) to my supervisor and, the government being the government (and quick to cover its a**!), I was made to immediately head to the ER to have an exam, receive a tetanus booster and start on antibiotic. What a fun, fun day!!! I'm doing fine- the only residual pain is due to the tetanus booster. Your arm aches for DAYS after that shot (and , in my case, swells real big, too)!!! I'll call the dog's owner after 10 days to make sure it is alive and kicking, and if 'all is well', this latest saga will be behind me! :-) So..... if you see any injury statistics for the 2010 census workforce, you'll know I am one of those found under "dog bites/attacks"!

Oh, good news with my milkweed flowers. I saw a Monarch butterfly making the 'rounds' by them the other day. No eggs yet, but I'm cautiously optimistic!! I'll share pictures if I discover any eggs or caterpillars! (still don't have my camera back from my son the 'great traveler', but I'll borrow my daughter's if the need arises!)

Still reading books despite my long census hours- skimping on sleep a little as I often find myself reading well past midnight! The last novel I completed was Dan Brown's Deception Point. I loved it- a real page turner!! Course, I love all his novels including The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons. I never understood the controversy surrounding them, and heck, I'm a practicing Catholic! Too me his books are just great fiction! However, if they do touch on some of the darker realities of the Catholic Church's history, that's OK. After all, the only way to conquer and destroy evil is by exposing it to the "Light"!!!!

Had a wonderful walk this evening, after my census work, with my dog and daughter. Then I've been enjoying reading my latest book, Take Two by Karen Kingsbury. It is Book 2 in her Above the Line series. Yes, I am a rather eclectic reader!!! I love her books....... I envy the very personal faith of her characters. I enjoy the fact that some of my favorite scripture verses are often cited throughout her books within the context of the story, and it helps me to keep them close to my heart and mind! Her stories are certainly captivating and very enjoyable if you like Christian fiction.

Well, time to call it a night as the clock has struck 12!!! Possibly my last census work day tomorrow..... only three cases left in my assignment. Wish me luck on finishing them up, so I can FINALLY catch up on house-keeping. Let me just say, the dust bunnies are currently winning the battle in my house!!! :-) I'll blog again soon. Peace!

Rain, again!

Gee, we just can't seem to get out of this particular weather pattern of rain and more rain. It is real muggy, too! Oh, a real down-pour has begun just as I am writing this entry. At least there are no severe weather warnings blaring on my weather radio at the moment!

Smells great in my house at the moment. Placed a wonderful loaf of Everyday Whole-Wheat Bread in the oven about ten minutes ago...... boy, does it smell great! Yeah, I know, should not be running the oven on a hot, muggy day, but when you need bread, you need bread. I wish I had a "summer kitchen"! (for my readers (imaginary?!) that are not familiar with that term, it is a separate, small building that sits near the main farm house. In days of old it was popular to have such "kitchens" in which during the hot summer months baking, canning, etc... could be accomplished without making the main living quarters intolerable. My folks have one on their farm, but my Dad has converted it into a fly rod production/fly-tying retreat! :-) Getting back to my Whole Wheat bread.... I found it in the magazine Eating Well. That is an EXCELLENT magazine, by the way. You can find the recipe on their website at eatingwell.com (I tried to attach a link here to the exact html SEVERAL TIMES, but for some reason, the link shows in my draft but not when I post. Grrrrr!!)

Finished reading Jodi Picoult's House Rules. What a great, yet at the same time, difficult book to read. I have a friend who has an adult autistic son. I've always admired her strength and commitment to his welfare. I often wondered it I could handle such a test of motherhood with such grace and determination. This book seems to capture the feelings such a mother must experience (overwhelming love as well as overwhelming physical and emotional strain); however, not being the parent of an autistic child, I can only guess that Picoult's book portrays that reality accurately. It also touches on how strongly and permanently siblings are affected by a developmentally, emotionally or physically disabled sibling. Picoult's book, Handle with Care, also touches on this issue. That is another thought-provoking and emotionally raw novel which I strongly recommend.

Well, the oven is 'beeping', so I had better get my bread out ASAP! Take care, and I hope your week is off to a great start!!!!!

Independence Day!!

Celebrating another birthday today..... our country's! Went to Mass this morning and the closing hymn was "Let there be peace on Earth". A great sentiment; yet how unlikely given our human tendencies to not compromise (& to always see others' faults and totally refuse to acknowledge our own!) I seem to always find myself remembering events of my childhood when holidays come around... like the fact that there was a period during my childhood when we no longer went to firework displays because my parents felt they glorified war. The firework boycott was during the time of the Vietnam conflict, so in retrospect, I can understand their point. At the time; however, I just thought it was yet another weird thing about my family, and I missed my Mom making a huge paper bag full of buttered (none of that lite microwave stuff!)popcorn to munch on while we watched the display light up the sky. I also recall how in the year of our country's bicentennial we each had make a project for sophomore history class to celebrate our country's 200th birthday! I decided to make a needlework based on a photo of a hand pump and pump house on our farm. The strange thing is my teacher okayed the project despite the fact that the pump/pump house were only 100 years old. I always thought it was weird how I was able to do a project that celebrated my pump house's 100th B'Day instead of my country's 200th. Maybe "A" students, like 'jocks', can get away with just about anything?! It was a beautiful needle point, by the way...... just not relevant to the assignment! :-)

It's rainy again today- got 3/10ths overnight. Muggy with lots of mosquitoes now! Yesterday was sunny, breezy and pretty nice. We had a good day with extended family having a 'barn raising'- started constructing a 60' quonset to be able to store machinery in- particularly the combine with its head attached. I had a chance to bond more with my nieces and nephews which was nice. They all live states away, so don't get to see them much.

Well, I've got butter softening to make "super chip cookies" in celebration of my son's B'Day. (The recipe is one he made for 4-H and got considered for State) He'll be passing though on Wednesday on his way to a conference, so he can have some..... maybe I should wait to make them 'til Tuesday night??!! They are REAL yummy, ya know! :-) Had garden fresh beets with lunch today. I just love them. I eat them peeled and boiled with no added toppings. Awesome!! Well, have a great 4th with family, friends or just your best friend- YOU!!!! Peace! Let it begin with US!!!!!!

Happy July!

I feel bad that I have neglected my blog for virtually a week. Some things came up, and I just didn't have the energy to post. Sorry if anybody in the cyber world has been checking in on my musings! I'll try to get better at sticking with the program. :-) I won't be able to share any photos for a bit, though, 'cuz I let my son borrow my digital camera since his is getting repaired. He is having some traveling adventures both through his summer internship and personally that really necessitated his having a camera along. I miss it, though. The ease of a digital camera is so conducive for snapping shots at the spur of the moment. However, one finds oneself taking literally hundreds of photos!!!! I had trouble organizing my old 35mm film photos... in fact, there are still boxes of photos that have yet to find a home in a scrap book!! Now, with the ease of digital photo taking, the problem of documenting with actual words all my photos is nearly impossible. Oh well, I just seem to block out that reality and keep clicking away!!

I've been checking my milkweed plants- still blooming and smelling lovely- but no butterfly eggs yet. There have been some smaller butterflies around them as well as small bees and other insects, but I have not 'caught' a Monarch visiting them. Keep your fingers crossed for some Monarch caterpillar action!

Still doing some fun summer reading. Just finished The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander Smith that is this month's selection for our public library book club. I enjoyed it a lot. Not my typical genre, but it was a fast and fun read. I look forward to hearing other book club members' take on the book when we meet in July. Now I've stated Jodi Picoult's House Rules. It is one of those books that is hard to put down and an emotional read. I feel she is a great writer with her books being VERY thought-provoking. I usually need to have the kleenex box nearby as I read her stories, as I often find myself reading along as tears track down my face.

Another great day for drying clothes on the line- I have two load out there drying in the wind as I speak. Read in one of my magazines that you should wash bedding weekly to minimize dust mites and dust in particular. Somehow I had gotten out of the habit of washing bedding that often- lazy I guess! :-) - but I've turned over a new leaf and am now on top of the situation. It helps to have a new high efficiency front loading Whirlpool washer to make laundry fun!!!!! I'm also trying to vacuum more... with THREE cats all long-haired, I think "Elphie" is going to have a long coat.... vacuuming AT LEAST weekly is a must. I sure love my bagless Bissell Pet Hair Eraser. It freaks me out to see all the dust and hair I pick up, however. Yuck!!! Guess I need to brush my four-legged fur balls a little more too!!

Well, got some more house work to do, and some baking and bookkeeping as well. My youngest turns 21 today, so I'm in mourning a little too!! Where does the time go??? Seems like just yesterday he was 2 and calling me a "Bad Mommy!" when I told him some random pieces of iced birthday cake were all that were left of the 'Combine Cake' I was making for his birthday!!! He was not amused, but it made for some cute family videos!! Don't worry, we quickly showed him his real "Combine" cake- a real masterpiece if I say so myself- and he was all happy!!! Ah, the joys of motherhood- way too fleeting. Now he is on a plane to see his girlfriend and his best friend-NOT ME!!! However, that is as it should be, and I hope he have a great time..... but not toooooo great! ;-) That's all for today- Peace!