Bob......A Haiku

Bob is always there

On a sunny day or gray

He greets me curbside

His look of longing

He knows I can't resist it

Give him what he needs

Is it sweets he wants

Or a salty treat for him

I will hurry Bob

As I gather his treat

Bob will take time to reflect

On his lot in life

With luck Bob has found

Someone who will be so true

With extra donuts

On this spring like day

It will be a salty treat

And he does not share

Bob can be picky

But that is ok with me

I like to spoil him

When it's very warm

Bob will rest after eating

Tomorrow will see him back

The End


Bob started coming around last spring and I would throw nuts out to him and sometimes peanut butter crackers. I only feed Bob, because there are too many squirrels around here to be able to feed them all. And I know it is Bob, because when I had a car, he would run to the curb when I pulled up in the afternoon and follow me all the way up to the porch waiting to be fed. Now, when I open the front door the other squirrels ignore me, but if Bob is around, he comes running up to the porch.

Last year I think Bob might have been with child, his nipples became very prominent, but I still call him Bob, but I say it girlie like!



RECIPE OF THE DAY


CINNAMON KUCHEN (M.L.Sweeney)

2/3 cup of butter (10 1/2 tbl)
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs

Cream these ingredients

ADD

2 cups of flour
3tsps baking powder
1 cup milk (or buttermilk)
dash of salt

I had the flour and milk alternately

spray a 13X9 pan with cooking spray (I line it with parchment paper, that way I can pull the whole thing out.

TOPPING

1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 stick of melted butter
2 tbls of cinnamon

Mix topping ingredients together and crumble evenly on top of batter in the pan.

Bake at 350 for approx. 45 min. I start checking by inserting a knife til it comes out clean around 35min. but it usually takes more like 45min. It is a big kuchen so check every 5 mins or so towards the end til it is done.
It is soooooo good. I make it all the time.



Kathy

5 Things......

Here are 5 things that I hate and the usual things that people hate don't count here, they are just a given. For instance everyone hates wars, violence against women and children, violence period, child molesters and the list goes on and on. These are not the things that I'm talking about here, this is just icky stuff that I personally hate.

1. PEAS....peas, I loath peas. They are nasty little mushy balls of "ickieness". I hate the looks of them, the smell of them cooking and ohhh, the taste is just nasty.  Yes, I have tried them before. When I was little I wouldn't eat my peas so my mom made me sit at the table until I ate some.  By the time I tasted them, they were cold and nasty.  And ever since then, I avoid them like the plague. What really irks me is when I order vegetable soup anywhere, there seems to be a disproportionate amount of peas in it compared to all the other vegetables in the soup. Do you know how long it takes to pick all the peas out of a bowl of soup, too long.

2.  Circuses..I have never liked the circus. And I have to say the biggest reason is because I don't like the way they treat their animals or the methods they use to train their animals. It is not very nice at all. Elephants are trained using bullhooks, which is like a big stick with a sharp hook on the end that they use to train them, because their hide is so thick they can feel it when used. Other animals whipped into submission. Maybe some circuses have changed their methods, but I doubt many have. Plus, I don't find it entertaining to watch animals like bears dressed in funny costumes, or big cats being forced to jump through hoops and elephants having to do tricks.  I don't find it amusing to watch animals doing things unnatural to them. I didn't take my son to the circus when he was small and I told him why. BUT....I do love Cirque du Soliel. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. For one thing, they don't use animals, and the skill and talent of the performers is extraordinary.  If you've never seen it, do. I DID take my son to see them, and he loved it.

3.  I also hate parades and ice shows, for no particular reason , just because.

4.  I hate when someone in front of me at a checkout fumbles through their purse or wallet to get the exact change to pay with. For instance, the total is $10.37, they pay the bills but then search and search for the 37cents, then looking and looking for the last 2 pennies. I just want to say.."for God's sake, just give them a dollar and get change back.  It just makes me crazy. I can't help myself.

5.  I hate that I don't have enough confidence in myself. Not enough confidence to speak up at just the right time and say just the right thing when it is needed. Not enough confidence to change things in my life that I want to change but don't always feel strong enough to do it. Not enough confidence to "march to the beat of a different drummer" that at times I want too.  Not enough confidence to change directions when the road I am going down doesn't seem right. Hmm....obviously something that is in my UNcomfortzone, and I need to work on.

RECIPE OF THE DAY

BUSY DAY CHOCOLATE CAKE  (Lucinda Scala Quinn)

1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour

1 cup of sugar

3 tbl. unsweetened cocoa powder

1tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp coarse salt

6 tbl. of  oil (canola/vegetable)

1 tsp pure vanilla

1 tbl white vinegar

1 cup of cold water

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, make a well in the center and add wet ingredients and whisk until completely combined.. Spray an 8in pan with cooking spray and add mixture. Bakes at 350 for 35 to 40 min. or until you test the cake with a toothpick and it comes out clean.

Tastes good with icing or whip cream of just a dusting of powdered sugar.  I love this cake. and if you are interested, it is vegan also.


Kathy

Time To Bite The Bullet

There is nothing so humbling as going to the Doctors office. Even when you are just going for a quick checkup and to get a couple of prescriptions renewed, it is a daunting experience. For some reason when they call you into the back area, they insist on weighing you in the hallway for all to see. I always make sure that I wear shoes that I can slip off, even if it is the dead of winter I am NOT about to be weighted with shoes on. If I could strip down I would, but we don't want everyone running from the building in a panic.

And getting my blood pressure taken always makes me a nervous wreck, even though it has always been ok, I just get all jittery when they bring that cuff near me.  Well, this time it was a little elevated, not horribly, 141/87, but just enough to talk about.  I still think it was from the nerves and the two humongous mugs of coffee I had  an hour before my appointment, but I couldn't convince her of that. Dang it!!

So of course THE TALK came back around to the fact that I need to loose some weight. Of course, that is what she said when I asked what I could do about it instead of taking medication. I do not like taking medication if I can possibly avoid it. I always figure there must be another way. Of course, this is not news to me, I have already talked previously about needing to loose some weight.

I am an emotional eater. I don't eat when I'm happy or sad or depressed. It's when I am tired or stressed. I just want to grab something quick and easy and yummy, my biggest temptation is plain, Lays potato chips and pretzels. I have been super stressed lately, I try to think that my "glass" is half full, but lately my "glass" seems to have sprung a leak. No wonder my blood pressure is up and I have been snacking too much. So now it is time to bite the bullett.

I reconsidered the Weight Watcher plan because it does work, but with all the tracking and planning, you have to think about food all the time.  Counting calories.......hmmmm....same thing.  80/20 plan, where you eat healthy 80% of the time and eat what you want, within reason, 20% of the time, I like it, but can I keep my portions under control, I don't know since I'm not doing such a terrific job of that now! Low carb?? NOOOO. Everything in moderation? Yes, but can I moderate, that is the question.

I don't know what I'm going to do, but I have to seriously do something, the perscription for blood pressure medicine is hanging over my head. I definitly don't want to have to take any.  I already walk everyday, but the doctor said I need to walk more or incorporate some other exercise into my routine. As you know, I like to live my life with wild abandon and whimsy......ahem............anyway, I have to change my ways, for real this time. I have been scouring cookbooks for healthier meal ideas and I have come across several that I really like, and I figure since summer is on it's way, there will be plenty of berries, melons, fresh veggies. So here I go again, but this time there is more at stake, my blood pressure and I don't want that problem. When you start taking medication for one thing, there are sometimes side effects and then you have to take a pill for the side effects and the cycle starts. Not for me!


RECIPE OF THE DAY:            OATMEAL SMOOTHIE


1 cup of ice

1/2 cup of frozen raspberries

1/2 cup of plain low fat yogurt (I use greek yogurt)

1 banana

1/2 old fashioned rolled oats

1 tbl. honey

1 cup liquid (I use 2% milk, but you can use juice, milk or any liquid you prefer)

Place ice and raspberries in the bottom of the blender and all the other ingredients on top and blend til smooth.

I have fixed this smoothie many times and it is very, very, good. You can even change up the fruit to whatever you like.   Enjoy.


Kathy

LOLA

I love Lola, or as she likes to be called, "Lola Bella" because that's her name in Italian....really, it is. We got Lola last May. It had been a year since we lost our precious girl Trixie, who at 11yrs old died of lymphoma.She fought it for a year, but finally it was time to let her go. I was going to wait a year or two before we got another dog, I just needed a rest from taking care of  "somebody". Then my friend told me that a friend of hers had a dog that he was trying to find a good home for, for free. I was hesistant at first, but she was just the type of dog I was looking for, Lab mix, spayed female, 2 1/2 yrs. old. And the amazing thing was that she looked just like Trixie except she was all black and Trixie had some white on her.



Trixie



Lola is a challenge, a really big challenge. As soon as I saw her I knew I wanted her. She sounded like the perfect dog, she was good with kids, liked other dogs, loved to get in the water, rode well in the car. I thought this is great, I've never had a dog that liked water or other dogs. Apparently she was with a family for the first two years of her life but supposedly they were a busy family so they sent her to a rescue group. She was there for a few months and then the guy I got her from took her in, but he lived in an apartment and because of his work and his bad back (hmmm, OK?) he wasn't able to give her the time she deserved.

Well, let's see, she hates water, only has liked one other dog, no other. Isn't good around kids because she tends to nip when she is playing, which isn't good for children. And while riding in the car she barks the whole time, especially if she sees another dog, or a big truck or van goes past.



Lola and Jack

Despite the showing of teeth, this is Lola and her boyfriend Jack, playing. She loved playing with Jack, although she always had to show her dominance when they got together and Jack let her. She would get on his back and snarl and bark and he would just stand there until she was done and then they would play and play. Unfortunately Jack and his mom have moved, she misses Jack.

Bathtime is like wrestling a 60lb bear, I can't let little kids come up and pet her because, although she likes it, it is the sudden movement of kids that makes her nip at them. So I tell all the kids that she doesn't like kids so they won't come up to her. She also doesn't like big vehicles. If we are walking she barks at large trucks, vans, fire engines when they go past, although she has gotten a little better about that, sometimes she doesn't even pay attention to them....sometimes.

When I first got her I notice she had callouses on her front "elbows". A friend who has fostered dogs before told me that it was probably from spending most of her time in a crate. As a matter of fact, the guy I got her from gave me a huge crate that he used for her. He put her in it everyday when he went to work. I NEVER used it, not once, I alwasy leave her loose in the house when we are gone and she has never done anything wrong when home alone.  I have also noticed that if I raise my hands up in the air and raise my voice when just fussing at her about something or getting excited about a ballgame, or just hoopin' and hollerin' about something else, she tucks her tail, cowers and tries to hide under the table or behind a piece of furniture. So I do believe there has been some abuse in the past and I think that if she was crated most of the time that she was not socialized very well, hence some of her problems.

As you can see, Lola has obviously went from the crate to "owning" most of the couch. But that's OK. Sometimes, when I am sitting on the couch watching TV, she will keep pawing at me until I take her paw and hold it in my hand and then we sit there on the couch holding "hands". She is such a sweetie.....most of the time.

My biggest trouble with my sweet Lola is when we go for a walk. She is fine until we see another dog being walked and then it is pandemonium. She barks and barks and carries on like a wild woman. I have already learned that if I see another dog being walked I go another way, turn around, cut across or just stop until they are out of sight. It is quite embarrassing, you cannot get her attention as she is lazer focused in on the other dog, barking and standing on her hind legs.  I have tried bopping her on the nose, squirting her with a squirt bottle and using a high-pitched whistle, to no avail. I try to walk at times of the day when I don't think many other people will be out because this is one dog walking neighborhood. We walk a lot through the cemetary because I can get a pretty good view of the land and see whose coming.  The cemetary is almost like a dog park, so many people walk their dogs in there that they now provide little "poop" bags for your convenience.

So our walks are always good exercise but not always very relaxing. As we walk, I have to continuously look behind us to make sure nobody is coming up behind us jogging, riding a bike, or walking a dog, all while keeping an roving eye all around to see what we might run into. It can be exhausting. I keep hoping in time as she becomes more socialized she will start to calm down.  Hopefully..hopefully....hopefully. Sometimes I think that when she sees these other dogs that maybe she really wants to play, but she would want to be the dominate one and that would not work very well. 

If anyone has any suggestions I am open to them if it will help make our walks more relaxing.

I would never give my "Lola Bella" up, she will always have a home with us until she crosses the Rainbow Bridge someday.  Plus I know that most people wouldn't be able to deal with her "challenges" and I couldn't bear the thought of her being passed around or abused even more.

She really is a sweetie.......what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. And I love her and my son loves her.

How could you not love that face!!!!




I am adding a new feature to my blog.....My Favorite Recipe.  Every post I am going to pass on a recipe that I particularly like and hopefully you will try it and love it as much as I do. They are not my original recipes, but some from my favorite cooks.


LIMEADE

Bring one cup of water to a boil. add 1/2 cup of honey and stir til dissolved. Let cool. Meanwhile, squeeze enough limes to make 1/2 cup of lime juice. Add 4 cups of water to a pitcher, add lime juice and honey/water mixture, put in fridge til cold.  It is my favorite warm weather drink, I drank it all last summer.

You can substitue lemons for the lime and sugar for the honey if you want and it is still very good. I like using the honey because it is healthier for you. Plus if you use local honey it helps with your allergies.

If you are so inclined on a hot summer evening, add a shot of vodka to it and have a nice adult beverage.

I hope you try it, you will like it!!!


Kathy

Short Story......continues

I have been thinking about my short story a lot. I have all kinds of ideas just swirling around in my head, but can't quite figure out how to get them from there to paper. It almost feels like there is a "plug" that is stopping the flow. I jot down ideas all the time, but getting them into some kind of  "form" is the difficult part. So I have been looking on the all powerful "google" to learn the techniques and structure of writing a good story. Very interesting stuff and I have a lot to learn, but I am really excited about getting a handle on it.

When I was in school and had to write papers I never felt that I could get my point across without running on and on and on. Of course, sometimes less is more and I really tried to work on that aspect of writing. I usually got good grades and while a freshman in college I wrote a paper on anti-vivisection and the professor really liked it and and said I had a good grasp of the facts and controversy of the subject. I was very proud of that paper.

I can't tell you why I feel the need to write, I'm not sure I even know, but it has been something gnawing at me for a long time. But it has always made me nervous and UNcomfortable to have people read what I have written, especially in front of me. When I would ask my mother to read over something I had written for school, I would always leave the room. I think it makes me feel vulnerable and exposed to put my thoughts and ideas out there. But...I have been putting myself out there for a little more than a month now on this blog so I am feeling a more confident about it. Good or bad, I still plan to keep at it.

A few weeks ago I wrote a few lines that I wanted to start my short story with. Well, here they are again along with some additional lines.

"She was dressed from head to toe in all red. A bold statement for someone almost 6ft. tall, and even taller in stilettos. Her long hair hung like flaxen silk down her back. All the women in the room sat up straighter and the men, well, the men were on the edge of their seats.

As she glided across the floor towards her table, she noticed a man standing off to the side of the stage. It was open mic night at the small, out of the way nightclub and he was waiting his turn to go on. She had a fondness for musicians, usually the rock 'n roll bad boys. But all the acts tonight were country music, which she didn't really care for, but her friend had talked her into coming. Her friend had just broken up with her boyfriend and wanted to wallow in some "beer drinkin", "my dog got runned over" and "my wife ran off with my best friend" music.

Jimmy had been playing music as long as he could remember.He grew up in the mountains and the houses were few and far between, so there weren't a lot of kids to play with. He spent a lot of time with his grandparents while his momma and daddy looked for work. He used to play the spoons with his granddaddy on the front porch and when he got a little older, his grandma taught him to play the dulcimer. He taught himself to play the piano and the guitar. But his favorite instrument, by far, was the fiddle."


OK, that's what I have so far. It may be  "amateurish"and "unpolished" , but I look on this as exercise. I'm getting my creative juices in shape and ready to work.  Remember, it is still a work in progress and it is a big deal, for me at least, to even put my writing out there. If you enjoy it great, if not, hopefully I will improve with time.  Thanks for reading.

Kathy

Despair...and....Hope

Imagine in the span of 10 minutes losing everything you own, not having a place to live, work, go to school, and possibly losing family members. But that is just what happened to thousands of people last Friday when tornadoes ripped through Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and several other states in the midwest.  It makes my trips to the UNcomfort zone rather trivial.

You've seen it on the news, people wandering around in shock, having just emerged from their basement or storm shelter to find their "life" has blown away. If they are lucky, no family members were injured and as they look through the rubble of their life maybe they will find a couple of family photos, a special trinket from a child, an unbroken dish, or favorite quilt. People desperately looking for missing family members, family pets and in the midst of their despair they have to put one foot in front of the other and keep going on.

I cannot even fathom what these people must be going through. The closest I've ever come to a disaster is a few years ago a wind storm came roaring through town and almost 500,00 people were without power for a number of days. I was without power for 8 days and I lost everything in my refrigerater and freezer and I couldn't watch TV. Wow, and I thought I was living on the edge of civilization, how ridiculous that sounds compared to these people's reality.

But you can already start to see it, in the news reports and videos. HOPE. Everywhere, people are stepping up, donating supplies and time. They are coming from out of state to help rebuild, using their skills and expertise to help complete strangers. I would call it the human spirit, but I have also seen it with animals. I'm sure many of you have seen on Youtube and Facebook the videos of a dog dragging another injured dog out of the middle of the street, the elephant saving her baby from drowning in a lake and many others. So I can't really call it the "human" spirit. Maybe you can just call it the spirit or the soul of every living creature, but whatever it is, you can see it in the survivors of Friday's tragedy. They are pitching in to help their neighbors, they vow to rebuild their town, their school, their lives.

The evening news tonight showed a church in Henryville, IN, and it was full, and you could see the hope in their faces. They were people who were left with nothing, yet they still contributed to the collection plate in order to help others. You never know your own strength until you are tested. It would be easy for these people to wallow in self pity and who could blame them, and maybe they did for a few hours or a day or two, but they have picked themselves up and gotten back to the business of living.

Hope is a magical thing.

My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims, first responders, volunteers and anyone else involved. But I do wonder, celebrities are always good about holding telethons and fund raisers for victims of  natural disasters in other countries, and rightfully so, I commend them for it.  I just hope they will do the same for the victims of natural disasters here in the United States.

Kathy

5 Things......

5 things that I really, really love.

This list does not include family, friends, or pets because that would be just too obivous. It also does not include by much wanted Kitchenaide Stand Mixer.....sigh.

1. The best chocolate milk in the world is made by JD Country Milk. Oh my goodness, you have never tasted anything sooo good. It is CHOCOLATE CRACK. Made with whole milk, sugar, vanilla and cocoa...period. No artificial ingredients.  I only allow myself to buy a quart every two or three weeks and I only drink a small glass in the morning. It is something to be savored.  A locally owned grocery store carries it and it comes farm direct, local farm, all natural.  They also have milk, buttermilk, cream and half and half. The milk products are pasteurized and non-homogenized so you have to shake it up each time as the cream rises to the top, and it is in glass bottles. I also have to say that the cream is to die for, makes the best homemade whipped cream. Try it, trust me, you'll love it too.

2. Reality TV, like Survivor and Amazing Race, but NOT the "romance" ones like Bachelor and Barchelorette....ick.  But I love the Real Housewives of Atlanta...New Jersey....New York....Beverly Hills and my very favorite...Orange County. Now don't judge me...I also watch PBS and History Channel and Discovery Channel, so I'm not a complete heathen.  I can't help myself and I am always glad their drama is not my drama.  I just love to watch the ladies from Orange County going to lunch, eating their fancy salads and drinking white wine while wearing their strappy sandals and cute sundresses all the while arguing and stabbing someone in the back. I like to pretend I could have that life. To me is's pure escape and I make no apologies for it. Now the fact that I also like Mob Wives....well, that's a whole different story!!

3. I really have developed an appreciation for wine. although I really don't know a whole lot about it, but I know what I like. There are several really nice winerys in this region and I have tried wine from a couple of them. So far my very favorite is Oliver's Wine. The Soft Red and The Soft White are very good. I like wine that is not too tart, with a little sweetness and I like it chilled. Both of these wines fit that bill. Of course, when I am having a glass of white wine I feel like one of the housewives. But, I still need to check out several more of the local wines, it is going to be a hard job but someone has to do it.

4. I love my heating pad. Yes, there I've said it, I love it.  I am very cold natured, even in the summer I get chilled easily. In the summer with the air conditioner on I get cold, I have it set on 77-78, but I still get chilled. I personally like it to be in the 90's and hot and humid during the summer. But, in the winter I really freeze because I cannot turn up the heat as much as I would like otherwise my bill would be through the roof. So when it is cold outside, I like to sit on the couch with a heating pad on my lap while I'm watching TV. It is so warm, it is usually the only time I am warm in the winter. People complain about being hot natured, let me tell you that it is just as awful being cold all the time. Also, that goodness for flannel sheets!!
I HATE being cold (I think that is another reason I like the Housewives of OC, it is always warm there!)

5. When is George Clooney going to find me? You know I'm not a patient person, so he just needs to hurry up. I am tired of my "future husband" dating all these leggy starlets and wrestlers (?). Doesn't he know how good we would be together. He has said in interviews that he is so busy with work he doesn't plan on having children.   GREAT...my son is 18, I don't plan on having anymore children.  He has said that his divorce years ago was so painful  he probably would never marry again. FINE...I can go along with that, no problem.  He's from Kentucky....I'm from Kentucky. He is like a throwback to the cool, classy, suave movie stars of yester-year.  PERFECT....I love old movies and film noir. He has a pet dog.  GUESS WHAT...I have a pet dog. We are close to the same age.  Don't you see, we would be perfect together. Do I have to connect the dots for him???  Jeez.....you know we would be good together.

Now where did I put that heating pad?

Kathy