I think I've got the flu.

I was hoping it was just allergies and the body aches were just coincidence but nooooooo, I have fever too. I did get my flu shot so it should be a mild case.

I hope so, I have too much to do today.

Replenishing the earth . . .

, , , with a little help.

Today I'm going to a composting workshop. I'm am going to buy a partially subsidized worm box and some worms. I have been composting (sort of) in a regular bin and saving lots of tasty treats for them to eat and turn into dirt.

I hope they find a happy home here.

What Then Shall We Do?

Luke 3

10 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?

11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.

In My Opinion . . .

. . .the right movie won.

This is me today.

Sometimes I wish I were a cat. Up to 20 hours sleep a day sounds good.

Scrap the Pudding . .

. . .I'm making FLAN!!

Food Storage

Larry thinks we are broke. We're not but he felt compelled to get some money out of the credit union to pay some bills early. I suppose it will make us feel not so broke. I told him I would keep my recession attitude and I know it would be a good thing for us to get out of debt.

I have been recession cooking this week, just using what's in the house with a great deal of success, I might add.

We've had chicken noodle soup, macaroni and cheese, pancakes with hot apple, cranberry, honey topping. (different meals and all very tasty)

Today we're living off the land and our food storage. I have made split pea soup (I even have some fresh parsley and basil left in my failed herb garden) and tangerine orange honey lemonade. I will make Paula Deen's recipe for hoe cakes closer to dinner time. Dessert will be chocolate pudding or rice pudding. Maybe I'll make both and mix them.

(my life feels abundant)

Winter and my cousin Ruth

What dermatologists use

I saw this title on Yahoo! It reminded me of hearing a well respected dermatologist speak on geriatric skin care. She said the best non-allergenic, cheapest skin care product to protect and moisturize old skin is . . .

CRISCO!

(interesting, huh?)

A Night at the Movies

Suggested Valentine gift from LACMA

Is it just me or is this grotesque?

It's supposed to be a reproduction of a Dali design and I like Dali but this is weird.

( i wonder if this is a sign that i am becoming 'normal' *gasp*)

Beautiful Woman

This is my wonderful Grand-niece Lisa Marie.

Her parents are pretty teriffic too.

(sometimes i can't believe how blessed i am to have the family i do)

Another Great Day . . .

. . .in the History of Modern Entertainment.

On February 5th, 1919, Charlie Chaplin,

Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith launch United Artists.

Born on this day--

Red Buttons

and

John Carridine.

(love those movie stars and character actors)

For Jim

Van Gogh's Migraines

Posted byJennifer GericsSep 29, 2007
Vincent Van Gogh, the famous Dutch Impressionist painter, suffered from severe migraines. He was thought to be insane, but migraines were not well-understood in the 1800's. They were thought to be a form of mental illness. Van Gogh spent time at a French insane asylum, St. Remy, where he created one of his most famous works, "Starry Night." It is said that he drew inspiration from his intense migraine auras. Perhaps these headaches enabled him to create the vivid, colorful paintings for which he is so well-known. (from suite101.com)

Quit trying to describe your aura and paint it. (van gogh was nuts too, bi-polar gets my vote but schitzophrenia is still in the running)

More Recession Food

I had some leftover rice from Sunday's potluck so I made some rice pudding. I just used the recipe from my handy old Better Homes Gardens Cookbook. Added some fresh nutmeg in addition to the cinnamon called for and used brown sugar instead of white just for fun. Made it a food storage event as well by using canned milk.

With a little vanilla ice cream, it was very good.

(next time i think i'll add orange zest, ginger and dried cranberries instead of raisins)

Recipe for Ruth

From Recipezaar.com

Orange Poppy Seed Cake
1¼ hours 20 min prep

A recipe by Theresa Williams. She calls it "the best cake in the world." Its delicious!
SERVES 8

Ingredients
8 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup poppy seed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 oranges, zest of, grated

Orange Glaze
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 325°F Grease 10-inch bundt pan (or two small loaf pans).
2 Cream butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3 Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Mix well after each addition.
4 Fold in poppy seeds, vanilla and grated orange zest. Pour batter into the prepared pan(s).
5 Set on middle rack of oven and bake for 50-60 minutes (less time if baked in loaf pans), or until edges shrink away slightly from sides of pan and cake tester inserted into center comes out clean. Let cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes before turning it out onto a cake rack.
6 When cake has slightly cooled, prick holes in it 1 1/2 inches apart with a long toothpick and pour the *Orange glaze evenly over top. Serve warm. Disposable loaf pans work great for this, as the pans hold all the glaze and keep the cake moist.

7 *Orange Glaze.
8 1/2 cup fresh orange juice.
9 1/2 cup granulated sugar.
10 Combine orange juice and sugar in a small saucepan and simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until a light syrup forms.

My 2 cents:

I didn't have that much poppy seed, just more than 1/4 c. seemed like enough. I used a pastry brush to pick up the run off from the glaze and get it all on the cake. My bundt pan is dark non-stick, I might decrease the cooking time next time. I filled the center with orange wedges and leaves from the tree. It was gorgeous and very tasty. 8 servings is really big pieces, I think a reasonably sized serving would yield 16 or more. I think I got more.

Celebrate

It's a red letter day!

Today in 1893 Thomas Edison opened the first motion picture studio in West Orange,
New Jersey. (see? didn't i say this is orange month?)

John Ford was born in 1894,

Clark Gable in 1901,

and George Pal in 1908.

(could someone please pass the popcorn?)

I Declare . . .

February to be Orange Month.

It is the height of the season for naval oranges and I have a naval orange tree.

So far I made this . . .

I tweaked the sauce with a jar of orange marmalade. (Yes, made from oranges from my tree.)

Then I made this . . .

These are for a potluck after Church tomorrow. I hope it's all good.
We have bagged oranges to give away.
I will also cut some up to eat plain.

(growing our own food is a good recession thing, I think)

"It's gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day!"