How you all doing? We have another morning of the temperature and dew point being the same. I believe I could put this on repeat and tap 'post'. As the country and most of the world is well aware of. You may call me Suzy, as in Sunshine. You are welcome.

I made these biscuits yesterday and found them worthy of not only a photo but of the recipe.

Biscuits

That's my story for this September Sunday morning. The horses graze, the cats annoy, the raccoon comes to the door for cat food. I drink my coffee and Mark chatters.

It’s Humid

We seem to have moved to the tropics. Our temperature currently is 72 F/22 C. The dew point is the same. Autumn, where are you?

We had a very good dinner last evening of steel head trout and fennel from my garden water troughs. Steel head is one of my favorite fish.

The day before I made a lemon ricotta cake. I don’t often bake but sometimes I just want something. I love a ricotta cake. I could sit down with a fork and just eat. This used the last of the three containers I made with a gallon of milk, each about 2 cups.

I’ve had a few days of more energy and therefore activity. No matter how long it’s been a reality, I am still surprised at how long it takes me to accomplish a single task. I have accepted this reality and feel good that at least I am doing something. Let go of who I was and accept and appreciate who I am now. I sound like a self-help guru.
 

Few Words Wednesday

Good Wednesday morning. Things have been quiet on the homestead. I have two appointments this month for epidural steroid injections. I will be relieved to have all of this behind me for awhile. It's been a long haul. It would have been nice to have arrived at this place sooner, but I didn't. The upper forward slump bothers my ego but at this age seems less important than the pain. I've had my grumble over the lack of interest from the medical professionals so it's time to let it go.

I made eggplant parmesan yesterday. I have always roasted the eggplant slices but this time I fried them and I have to say I like it better. Getting the slices crisp means after cooking in the sauce they are a perfect texture. Roasting is faster and less messy, but the result from frying makes it worth the extra effort.

That's about it. Medical issues and food with a dash of cat thrown in for good measure.

 

Goodbye August

Seeing double?

Tabby, outside, and Gatto doing what cats do only in almost synchronization.

Unfortunately we are once again in the hot and humid weather. I think I have been saying for a few summers that summer is the worst. Well, this, for now, has been the worst. Bah humbug. I feel like a cat.

Feeling so Great

Coming your way soon.

Lake Inferior

Bordered by two loser states. Minnesota and Canada.

What Can I Say

Signora, sono un gatto, capisci?

Although this doesn't necessarily qualify for an "now I've seen it all", it does come close in my world. He made himself a bed on a pile of oregano I put on this shelf to dry. I did name him Gatto. 

Grazie per le lezioni, Jean.

*Thanks for the lessons, Jean

Moments

So, another weekend is behind us. One more to go and we enter the season of autumn. I look forward to tolerable temperatures. Which we have actually had the past few days. Yippee.

Speaking of autumn, I have slowly started my annual ritual of preparing food for the winter. I bought what I thought were fennel seed plants but which happily turned out to be fennel bulbs. Fennel has been difficult to find and when I do the cost stops me. There were four plants, one died, leaving me three beautiful bulbs to pull on Saturday. I then made fennel frond pesto. I think I may be happy.

I put some of the pesto to use with last evenings' dinner. I have three thriving basil plants which I will start turning into pesto and frozen cubes for cooking.Those tomatoes were picked from my water tank garden that morning. Something else making me feel happy.

This morning I had another moment of happy when I saw Tabby calmly observing his domain. He and his three siblings were born in the barn to a stray mama on Mother's Day, 2015. Two boys. Two girls. Jigs became a permanent inside cat in 2016 after an injury. Tabs and his brother split their time between inside and outside. Mona wants nothing to do with the house.

 Seek and hold your moments wherever you may find them.

Update

Happy Caturday

I'm giving a quick update on the results from the torture chamber. The MRI shows arthritis throughout the spine. I have straight back syndrome because of this. I still have the fluid on both sides of the spine so surgery is not warranted at this time. I will be given some kind of injection in my neck then later in the thoracic spine when I see the spine doctor. I was told there are two each and they can last as long as a year.

This won't straighten me but it will take away or at least reduce the pain. The PA told me posture exercises after I have the injections may help somewhat.

So, finally, after five years, an answer.

Have a Greyt Friday

Smile

 

take the leap

and relish the day

More About Food

What can I say. It's my life. Yesterday I took a gallon of milk and turned it into ricotta. 

For slightly under $4 I get three containers of ricotta and four of whey. The whey can be frozen for use in baking when the weather turns cool.

Why so much ricotta you may wonder. One reason is these lovely things are starting to become ready to pick. I will also make a ricotta cake and perhaps ricotta gnocchi. Mark had not eaten eggplant before knowing me, being open to trying anything, he found he really likes it. Eggplant involtini and parmesan are on the menu. Mark loves eggplant "meatballs" so....... I'll likely indulge him.

Monday I roasted a small baking sheet of tomatoes. Last evening we had them for dinner.

 That's the skinny from the worlds end.

Kitchen Tales

We are in the part of summer where an abundance of produce appears, either in your garden or farmer's market. I started paying attention to preserving the bounty from my then huge vegetable garden about 20 years ago. I got involved in canning for a few years, but I one year I asked myself, why? It is an effort. It's hot. I had always froze things like green beans and such, why not the rest of my bounty. So I started freezing whole tomatoes, roasting and then freezing tomatoes, making pesto, making basil cubes, all destined for the freezer. My produce now grows in four 200 gallon water tanks, tomatoes, eggplant, fennel. I also have accidental celery (it was in with the parsley) and multiple pots of herbs.

I shred zucchini, roast and freeze eggplant. Slice and freeze peppers. The zucchini and peppers are from Neighbor Bill, who was going to cut back but didn't. We also get cucumbers from him. And tomatoes. I can't remember the last time I bought a can of tomatoes.

Last week I brought one of my remaining bags of whole tomatoes up to thaw. I leave them in the refrigerator until thawed, then I pop the tomato out of the skin like a pit out of an olive. Voila! Tomatoes to become sauce. No making and then canning a sauce. I make it as I use it. Yes, I am brilliant.

Or......not.

 

Into the Depths of the Beast

My Thursday afternoon adventure. Spending ninety minutes in an MRI machine. Ninety excruciatingly painful minutes. I cannot lay on my back, my bulging spine screamed at me the entire time. I was about at the end of my rope when I heard the nice young man say it was finished. I really wanted the results, so I sucked it up. I think I deserved a ribbon around my neck. 

 

No, This is Not The Onion. Glorifying Misogyny

I don't know about you but I am not going back to this. 

 My friend, Lori, had the sense to add some info about this person. Which I have added.

Yenor has taught political science at Boise State University since 2000 and has been open about his opinion on social justice programs at universities. His antifeminist views, claiming career women, include referring to some as "medicated, meddlesome and quarrelsome", led to a Title IX investigation and his being charged with civil rights violations by Boise State. Yenor is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and Loyola University Chicago.

Toil, Toil

A bit of morning light to brighten the day.

 

I spent three days clearing out the screened porch. It's too handy for stashing 'stuff'. It has been three years since we used it, mostly because it's too hot. I'm allowing the grape vine to crawl along the screen for some shade. It was a tragedy when the enormous tree with the wonderful canopy had to be felled. That south facing space became a sauna.

We had our first meal on the porch last evening. Nothing to write home about, just a thing taking very little effort. Tri Tip steak and a green salad for me. Grilled sweet corn for Mark. Boring but did its job.

I have the rest of today planned out but I will make an effort to pop in. I need to get going or I don't get going. Excitement here at the worlds end.

An Apple a Day They Say

Good Friday morning one and all. We are starting this day with a thunderstorm rolling it. It will supposedly be brief. We picked up an Aldi order yesterday so I am supplied with fruit for a while. Cosmic and Envy apples. They have rekindled my love of apples. Thank you to Boud for introducing me to Envy apples.

My appearance here may be sketchy for a few days. I'm on a roll in the catching up department around the old homestead and need to focus on that while I still have the oomph. Just to let you know if you don't see me commenting on your blogs. These bursts are rare, so I must grab them when they appear.

Sometimes the simple things turn out to be some of the best. A little bit of leftover pork chop, zucchini and peppers from Neighbor Bill and we had a simple, flavorful dinner at almost no cost. Can't beat that.

Tried Something New

Good Morning one and all. It's a pleasantly cool morning, something rather rare these days. Life has been quiet and uneventful, which isn't a bad thing. The produce is beginning to produce. Soon I will have tomatoes and eggplant. Fennel and the accidental celery. Herbs are in their glory and all is well. 

My good friend Lori posted a recipe I found unusual, so I had to give it a try. It turned out to be really good. 

I don't have biscuit mix so I put the dry ingredients together for biscuits. I used about half of that for this recipe. The oil threw me off but I gave it a go. It worked! I used olive oil as I haven't any vegetable oil. I used Gruyere and Pecorino Romano with some shredded mozzarella on top. I had to cook it 50 minutes. I think I had it in a smaller casserole dish which made it thicker. Thank you Lori. You got an A+ from Mark!

 

Winter is Coming Soon, Right?

I walked through a patch of catnip yesterday. The cats have been enthralled by my tennis shoes. They take turns.

Another, just like the others, hot and humid day ahead. The horses are doing well, handling this weather like the Arabians they are. They do remind me they are Minnesota Arabians. I'll be doing like Gatto and lay low.

Donating Gatto?

I took this photo of Gatto just now. The fellow has claimed this donation box as his own and that is that. There is no explaining them, so I don't try.

His Highness, McCool, has decided he is a house cat yet still enjoys a good lounge outside, so the deck is his outdoor version of the house. He rarely leaves it unless he decides to come inside.

 

Of course I have to comment on the weather. This morning the Twin  Cities had a dew point of 80 degrees. You know, that state the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon used for Frost Bite Falls (International Falls) where everything was frozen? Welcome to the jungle. We have condensation on the outside of every window. The old grey mare and her herd will be staying in for the day. Yes, I will too, but this referenced Babe. Horses that have been somewhat pampered don't need to struggle in their twilight years. That was the message left for me anyway. 

Quiet Day

Happy Saturday. 

The cats have the day off.

Birds on a Wire

 

*Matthew dislikes Leonard. When I asked him why he said because he thinks he's so cool. That's because he is said I.*

Weeds and Such

We are having three days of what was once normal summer weather. I am taking full advantage. Yesterday I weeded this flower bed. It was laden with weeds. I had to carefully maneuver my way into the inner area to pull weeds and vines. Me treading carefully is a laughable idea, since I can barely walk without tumbling over, but somehow I managed not to fall and destroy what I was trying to clear. This flower bed took four hours to weed and my body knows it.

This wildly overgrown patch is next on the list but may need to wait until tomorrow, the last day of a working temperature. Today will be a less stressful-on-my-body day. Just some general cleanup, maybe some mowing. Then more weeding Thursday.

This overgrown spot will be tilled for Iris transplant later this year. I have many that need a new home. The daylily population, here and everywhere not pictured, all come from the few I brought with me from my home in Saint Paul, as well as the yellowish iris which are also in abundance. It's a pleasant remembrance of that grand old house.

Enjoy a stroll through a garden. 

Dogdom

I am certain one and all are anticipating the day I would start going down the doggo memory lane. You will wait no more. Introducing two of my three bassets. These two did live together for two years. Lots of twos in there.

  Howard B. Hound

2007-2017

Basset Hound Extraordinaire

Murphy the Magnificent

2003-2018

Rescued Fella

2015

Are you going to eat that?

This Is Not a Yawn!

Howard worked himself up from a barely audible squeak until he reached this, full-blown howl that could shake the roof. It was all about biscuit time.

I do believe I've put enough photos up for you to catch the common Basset theme. They can be slugs. They are also incredible clowns and very stubborn beasts. They have a thing called 'flat basset'. When they decide they are not going to move, down they go and good luck to the poor soul who thinks they will move them. My friend and helper on the farm said it was like moving a wet bag of cement. With big-boy Howie it was probably two wet bags of cement.

Aroooooooo

 

Is It Caturday?

Gatto and Jigs wanted their day in the sun.

It is cooler today but humid. The smoke is gone for now, anyway. It is nice, and the cats appreciate it, to have the two kitchen doors open.  One door gives them access to this porch you see them snoozing in. We don't use it much since it started to heat up, especially after the enormous tree that sheltered it died. It had been a pleasant place for many a lunch and dinner.

Stay well, my pals.