Weblog

Monday, 09 November 2009

  • NEW BABY

    today was a lovely fall day in the high seventies and beautiful big blue sky.  mother and i  decided to go see the new baby, grandbaby of her brothers daughter ,her niece, and my cousin. first we went out in the garden and cut rosemary and picked pomegranites, there were a few good ones left on the tree, to take to her. then we stoped at the store and got some pink roses for the mother of the baby.  we drove on the interstate 91 to the 55 to the 22 and finally arrived at studebaker road and 7th street in long beach. went to the house and sat and talked and walked in her garden where we got sweet basil, lemons,apples,and bell peppers. the bell peppers seem to be doin real well this year so i think i might plant some in some pots.  pretty soon the mother arrived with her husband and baby. wow! what a beautiful baby. big boy for only a month old, with lots of red hair and green eyes. he is already turning his head to look when he hears his daddys or mommys voice. we all got to hold him and cuddle and take lots of pictures.  we had a wonderful visit. i gave the minature pink roses to the mother and said,"everyone always brings the baby presents but no one brings the mother anything" she got tears in her eyes, it was such a special moment. after they left, my cousin, my mother, and i went out to eat at a restaurant where my cousins mother, my aunt, my mothers brothers wife worked for many years before she died. we had been there many times but not for a long time and it just happened to be the cooks anniversary, he had been a cook there for 33years, so we all got cake for desert. we didn't know it was his anniversary it just worked out that way. it was very special. mother and i both got patty melts with salad made with the good homemade bread the cook makes each morning(it is a very small homestyle restaurant,yes they still exist in southern calif.)the bread was soooooo good that we bought two loaves to take him.  they also have homemade pies there with mile high merinque on all the creme pies. we didn't get any pie this time because the patty melts have a full half pound of hamburger on them and it is good beef fresh from the packing company each morning no frozen stuff in this restaurant. so with out bellies full and frosting on our faces along with a big smile we said our goodbyes and drove home.  the traffic was light so it only took an hour both ways. we were very fortunate because if there is traffic it can take up to three or four hours. such a shame that the traffic keeps us from getting together more often when they are really so close. such wonderful people, i am so blessed with these special relatives!!!!!   PTL

Tuesday, 03 November 2009

  • INDIAN SUMMER?????

    looks like we are having summer weather again as it is 90degrees in the shade today and just to hot to work out in the yard. since it is the first of the month i had to take everyone around. yesterday i took aunt jean and i also did some of my shopping for monthly supplies at target. i always buy enough for the month essentials like toilet paper, kleenex,paper towels, whatever cleaning supplies i am out of etc.  today i took papa around to do his stuff. friday i will take mother around after exercise class. i still have to go to kaiser in wildomar to get my medicene. i went to kaiser in riverside for a mammogram and diabetic retinopathy since they don't have those clinics in wildomar and they wouldn't give me my meds so i have to go to wildomar. bad enough that they charge you your life savings for them they don't need to be so nasty about refilling them. i went to wallmart to check out the price and it was the same.  i was going to finish lopping off the bougainvilla but it is just too hot. aunt jean is not even working out in the garden so you know it is hot hot hot. we went to lowes and to a rummage sale and got some plants. i got a really nice holly bush for four dollars now i have to find a pot to plant it in so will go to big lots tomorrow while i am waiting for my meds maybe when i get back they will be ready. i plan to keep the holly bush by my back door on the patio. last year at christmas i got a rosemary christmas tree then transplaned it at the bottom of the patio stairs now i have rosemary coming out of my ears and i am giving it away like halloween candy hahahahahaha as for halloween we had no little ones again this year and because of the flu they canceled the halloween carnival on main street.  no one wanted to bob for apples or touch anything someone else had touched like the fishing poles on the fishing game etc.   well it is supposed to cool off this weekend and rain but i will believe that when i see it.  sorry to hear all the midwest is so muddy & can't get the corn in. my cousins in mn are real unhappy with all the rain, personally i think you should send it to us we have been in a drought for five years.

Friday, 30 October 2009

  • JULIEN

    after two days of fifty mile an hr winds and dust, sand, dirt, mold, ash so thick in the sky it looked like fog yesterday dawned crisp, clear and sunny. so mother, aunt jean, and i decided it was a perfect day for a drive up in the mountains to see some fall colors. papa didn't want to go he said he couldn't see them anyway as his macular degenration is advanced now and he can't read or see the tv screen. he got a video eye so he can read some magazines on the computer screen. anyway so mother , aunt jean, and i jumped into my honda crv,ex and headed out. we drove down the interstate fifteen to temucula and took hwy 79 up the mountain thru warner springs to santa isabel and then up the mountain further to julien. there were not many fall colors just some few trees that had yellow leaves near warner springs. we stop in santa isabel at the famous dudley bread store and got some of that good date,raisen, walnut bread and i found some garlic sourdough so bought two loaves of that for the freezer. then in julien we went to the julien pie shop and had julien apple pie with cinnamon ice cream. walked around the town a little and stoped in a couple little stores and the town market. i did some price checking in the julien market and every thing was three times the price it is here. i go to the 99cent store and they had the very same products for $3 what a mark up wow!!!! we were going to get a whole julien apple pie but they had been marked up from $6 to $12 since last year and the julien apples were $6 for 3lbs. last year i paid $2. needless to say we didn't buy anything except i got 4 postcards for a dollar fifty and last year it was a dollar. i also noticed that about half the businesses were closed and the motel had only two cars when usually the place is full open and full up and crowded.  we headed back down the mountain and decided to take hwy 76 past henshaw lake. the lake was about half dried up and no one was there. only one boat at the dock and the cowboy town was closed.  we headed on down the mountain passing palomar observatory turn off and to our favorite open air fruit stand only to discover that they were closed out of business. we drove on to pala and the date and avocado trees were lovely and the casino parking lot was full.  we finally found a pick up truck selling avocadoes so got a big bag for five dollars about 20 avocados and they are a dollar a piece in the grocery so that was a great bargin.  all in all we had a lovely day couldn't have asked for better weather and more beautiful countryside especiall around warner springs and pala. in pala there were big red bouganvilla growing down the hillsides in full bloom so lovely.  so that was our fall outing. next month they want to go to oceanside and have lunch in the harbor. we will see how the weather is for a walk along the pier. hopefully we will get a nice warm day in nov. to be able to enjoy the pacific ocean.  it is so close but i haven't actuall been out to the beach for over a year.

Saturday, 24 October 2009

  • POMEGRANITE JELLY

    31/2 cups juice, 5 cups of sugar, 1/4 tsp butter optional, i pkg suregel or you favorite brand (no lemon juice)

    fall is when the pomegranite crop comes in. some years we hardly have any and other years we have an overabundance. this year we had beatiful big pomegranites but not a whole lot of them.  first we picked all that we could reach and put them in the wheelbarrow.  next day we cleaned two big pots full of seeds. now this is not what you think it is. first you have to put newpaper down on the picnic table, then you put on garbage bags first cutting holes for your head and your arms, wear old clothes that are already stained under the garbage bags, and you have to have latex or plastic gloves not rubber ones. then you get a big knife and you cut the pomegranites in quarters and fill up the picnic table with them. finally you are ready to sit down with a big pot and a garbage can next to you. then you clean the seeds out of the pomegranites and try to get as little of the little divider membrane skins in with the seeds. we cleaned for about three hours and got two big pots full of seeds.  then put them in the refrigerator covered with a lid overnight as we were all pooped and sunburned even though we sat under an umbrella at least it was only 85 instead of the preditcted 92 and there was a cool breeze. then clean up the picnic table and sweep the patio being careful not to step on the seeds and track them into you house. pomegranite juice makes a terrible stain that does not come out. ok now we are to day three. get the pots of seeds, a funnel, and a container to hold the juice all ready to go and plug in the juicer. crap! the juicer doesn't work the motor is burned out or something who knows. jump in the car and run to wallmart and buy a new juicer. ok lets try again. standing in front of the juicer you spoon the pomegranite seed into the juicer, why do they have to make those holes on top so tiny? i did notice that it splatters all over the lid of the juicer maybe that is why. so get the first batch of juice and strain it into the container. then clean the juicer and do it again. keep this up for about two hours until all the seeds are juiced. then clean up the mess and put the pomegranite juice in the refrigerator overnight to settle as you want only the clear juice not the cloudy sediment at the bottom.  today was day four. put the jelly jars to boil, washed them the day before, and then set them up in a roasting pan with a couple inches of hot water over a low flame on the other side of the stove. this is to keep the jars hot so they don't break when you put the jelly in them. now measure out the sugar in a separate bowl, measure out the butter put it on a plate, open up the sure gell. already to go! put a tall pot on the fire and measure out your pomegranite juice into the pot add the sure gell and stir until well mixed, then add the butter and stir until melted , keep stirring until the mixture comes to a full boil then add all the sugar at once and stir that in fast so it doesn't clump, keep stirring until it comes back to a full boil than cannot be stirred down and it is foaming up then stir for exactly one minute not a second more turn off the fire and pour the jelly into your jars quickly before it starts to set up.  then clean up the mess and do another batch. i made eight pints today and a couple smaller jars for gifts to special people. my dad hoards the stuff as it is his favorite. he is ninety years old so i make sure he has his pomegranite jelly!

    NOW i hear you all saying why does she do it like that. ok cleaning the seeds by hands gets cleaner and nicer seeds you get to inspect the fruit and throw away all the ones that are not red enough or have turned black or brown and throw away the ones that have bugs in them.  if you just smash the pomegranite to get the juice not only do you not know what else is in the juice but you get the bitter flavor from the rind and the little divider section membranes and that is nasty. cooking the jell the old fashioned way insures a nice sweet good batch. you cannot do freezer jelly with pomegranites. at least i have never know anyone who got a successful batch thay way. finally buying the juice in the market is really a no no as you don't know what else is in the juice. it says one hundred percent juice but with what else water, preservatives, how old is it etc. the fresh juice is much sweeter and makes great jelly.   come on over and i let you have a taste.

Monday, 19 October 2009

  • TRACTOR SHOW

    it is that time of year again when all the people in the antique farm equipment club have their big fair and tractor parade. it is in vista not far from the mission san luis rey.  it is a national park and everyfall they have the place all made up for old time farming.  we arrived around eleven am and got on one of the trams that gave tours of the entire fair grounds. they had a bandstand with country western and bluegrass singers, booths with all kinds of crafts. a weavers hall that incidently is open all year and gives lessons on thursdays and a quilting hall. the place was full of old farm machinery and all of it running all over the place with everyone from 8 to 80 driving. they had tractor races and steam engine races.  we got off the tram at the food court. they had beans and ham with corn bread baked in a wood stove, chili, hot dogs, hamburgers, and tri tips with and without bbq sauce with potato salad. also had mexican food. there were booths with popcorn of all kinds, old fashioned candies, jams, canned goods etc.  then across the road was a big building that sold nothing but pie, bread pudding, and soft ice cream. they had every kind of pie you could think of and they warmed up the bread pudding for you.  we decided on the tri tips with potato salad and settled down to a nice lunch and visiting with all the folks there. then it was time for the parade so we ambled over to the bleachers. there were all sorts of tractors john deer and alice chamber of course but then lots of others fords, lincolns, sears, farmall, chacric(sp?), iowa water boy and steam engines galore one was from 1896. the people were dress up in period costumes and they had little skits in the parade. one tractor was pulling an old fashioned lunch shed and some guy jumped in the shed and grabbed the chickens and ran off down the road, the old woman came jumping out with her frying pan and chased him then the sheriff shot off his shot gun and the deputy came a running they caught the chicken thief and the old woman took her chickens back to the lunch shack and away they went then some kids came marching with a sign "old fasioned school" and the teacher was behind them with a paddle and a mean looking face. then a tractor was pulling a wine barrel and a guy jumped on the back and stuck a giant straw in the wine barrel and started drinking the wine out comes the sheriff and shoots off his shotgun and the deputy comes a runnin pretty soon all three of them are drinking from the wine barrel and the tractor pulls them down the road. then here comes an old women with a white bun on top of her head and old fashioned dress and she is driving a tractor and drinking out of a whiskey jug. she stops the tractor, gets off and staggers around. on the front of the tractor is a big pail that says honey bucket and she staggers over, takes it down then squats over it. when she is done she picks it up and starts staggering around looking for a place to dump it and finally throws it into the crowd sitting on the bleachers (it was full of rice), then here comes the kids again this time they are carrying a sign that says "school of today" and they have the teacher hog tied and pulling her in a wagon. then came the model T and model A touring cars and pick up trucks and then more steam engines and a steam engine roller. the little kids were driving the garden tractors and the steam engines were full of teenage boys. those boys have to go to school and get a certificate in steam engines before they can step on one of those machines and there were so many boys there age 17 to 19 on the steam engines. i never saw so many steam engines and they are so big!! one of them had a wheel on it that was big enough to be a paddle wheel of a steam boat. one thing i noticed was that there were no animales. it was all about machinery. they had other machinery there too like straw pickers and manure spreaders etc.  after the parade we made a bee line for the pie shed and got some of that good homemade pie, apple, pumpkin, cherry, peach, and bread pudding. there were six of us and we all had lots of that yummy soft ice cream. the weather was in the high 80's but we were only about 12miles from the pacific ocean so there was a nice breeze.  it was a wonderful day and our aunt jean won a free lunch for being the oldest person there, she is 93!!!!!!  wish i had a scanner and a photo shop so i could post pictures but alas that is not to be, so sorry.