Ninety-seven days later …

Time flies

I could say I’ve been really busy as the reason for why it’s been a while since my last post but the reality is that I’ve just not had a lot to say. I get focused in other directions and forget that I even have a blog. There’s my guilt confession. I forgot about you blog. Oops!

Catching up

A lot has happened in the last three months. I’m now, officially, a year older.

Read some good books by some of my favorite authors – Suzanne Kearsley, Harriet Evans, Beth Hoffman, Dorothea Benton Frank, and Mary Kay Andrews.

Movies this summer have been a disappointment, though. I guess the highlight for me was the new Star Trek pic, but not much else has given me a reason to spend a small fortune to sit in big dark room with too many other people just to be entertained. Even the thought of popcorn couldn’t entice me to see most of what’s in the theaters this summer.

Family matters

Ollie

I’ve mentioned my house mates, Ollie and Emmy, in a few other blogs. You may remember that they’ve been with me since 2001. Though Emmy is doing fine, Ollie had cancer and, rather than prolong his suffering, I had him put down in June.

We miss him. Well, maybe Emmy doesn’t. He was pretty much a bully and made her life miserable. I think she is actually pretty happy now. She has the run of the house and has become quite playful again.

Winding up

I’ll try to not forget about you again blog. With a little luck, I’ll be able to squeeze a few posts in between studying for the next CCP module exam and whatever else I can find to do to avoid studying.

Okay. I admit it. I am just lazy.

Easy Peasy Beef Stew

Posted by goodoldgirl

We all have certain things that make us feel cared for, comforted. For many it’s certain foods that evoke happy memories of home and family. Which, when it comes right down to it, is what comfort food is all about isn’t it?

I know I do, and I suspect that most of us probably do, have more than one comfort food. My comfort foods include my mom’s chicken pot pie, warm biscuits, spaghetti with meat sauce, pot roast, beef stew, and coconut pie. My mom’s coconut pie is a slice of heaven on earth, but that’s a story for another day.

I asked her once where she got her recipe for beef stew and she said she made it up. I think I was about 10 at the time and didn’t know it was even possible to make up a recipe. (I thought they had to come from a book that some kind of professional recipe-maker wrote.) I’ve learned since that most recipes are made up by moms.

Where was I? Oh, yeah …

It wasn’t until years later that I learned that, for most people, beef stew has a brown sauce. Mama’s beef stew has a red sauce. Think that sounds funny? Don’t laugh until you’ve tried it.

Here’s the recipe …

Ingredients:

1 Pound of beef, cut into one inch chunks
2-3 Potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
5-6 Carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 Small can of early green peas
1 Small can of tomato sauce
1 Small onion, diced
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Tbsp instant granule beef bullion
1/4 Tsp garlic salt (or, salt to taste)
6 Cups water

Directions:

Pour olive oil into a dutch oven. Add beef chunks, diced onions, salt, and beef bullion granules. Brown beef and onions over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to brown evenly. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat after 5 minutes and cover.

Simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours (until beef is fully cooked, tender but not falling apart). Add carrots, potatoes, and tomato sauce. Continue to simmer until veggies are tender (usually about an hour). Add peas and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

Serve with a salad and hot crusty rolls. (Apple sauce is a good side dish, too.)

Now, doesn’t that sound delicious?

Garden Art …

Posted by goodoldgirl

I’m lucky in that I get to work at home a couple of days a week. One of the nicest things about working at home is the view — my garden. Granted, it’s not the biggest or best looking garden in the world, but it sure beats the heck out a gray office wall.

You see, I live in a condo that’s a townhouse with a small garden area that is mostly my patio with a couple of small flower beds on either side of it that is wedged in between my house and carport. My love of gardens was a gift from my mom and my small garden is precious to me.

The flowers …

I supplement the flower beds with containers of flowers scattered all around.

I like my garden. It’s peaceful. It’s sunny during the day and shaded in the evening. It’s homey. It’s mine to do with as I please. (Well, technically, the bank owns a small part of it, but it’s mostly mine.) One of things I like most about my little garden, and gardens in general really, is the art folks place within them.

The art …

We all have our preferences for garden art. Some of us like statues of Greek gods and some like little bunnies.

Me, I like them all. For example, I like vintage plant stands and almost anything done in wrought iron, especially wall art. I like kitties, and bunnies, and turtles, too. I adore my St. Francis statue and my rusted tin cat.