The Transplants : Downhome to Downtown

The Ultimate Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:52:00 +0000

Introducing Karen's nemesis, Wiseass.

Pet will go back to boiled chicken as soon as she finishes this!

Karen

Last year I swore I wasn’t going to make any New Years resolutions and I didn’t. But this year I have a few. Number one on the list, lose those pesky muffin top pounds for good! Last year I lost twelve pounds and was quite proud of myself. This year I need to step it up a notch to get rid of my lingering poundage. But what can I do when I’m allergic to crunches and love to bake? I’m thinking of duct taping my mouth shut but that seems a bit too drastic not to mention sticky. Any ideas Pet?

Pet

You’re asking the wrong person about dieting. I just don’t believe in it and the route I take is to buy clothes to hide the bulges. Of course if those extra pounds affected my health I’d be singing a different tune. I happen to be lucky enough to have a doctor who insists his patients with extra pounds are healthier. He is a nut on exercise though, another thing I hate besides dieting. Those machines turn me off. My only advice to you is you look great without those 12 pounds. Now relax and enjoy. I have a feeling you are going to try to reform me. Dieters and exercisers always do while really fat people think I’m perfect.

Karen

Well of course you’re perfect. : ) I hate exercise as much as the next person ( exercise addicts are the exception and should go into therapy!) but faced the fact a few years ago that I have to do something on a regular basis or my love of baking will be obvious to everyone. : ) I think finding something you don’t hate is the key. For me it’s walking. I have the perfect place right down the road, The Rose Bowl. It has a very nice park-like golf course right next door and I walk around it and clock in three miles. This time of year I get to enjoy the visiting Canadian geese that hang out in the nice sized pound on one side of the course. When I hear them squawking I think they are cheering me on.

Pet

I too am a walker, though more like a one miler than three miles. Maybe that’s because I take my 125 year old dog with me. But I have to confess sometimes the old guy wears me out. Another confession: one time I went on a real diet the deal was I would diet and talk about my experience on the radio. Those pounds came off all right, but since allowed food consisted of only boiled chicken breasts or fish with a salad and an apple, a gourmand like me became very disenchanted. If I hadn’t signed a contract I’d probably have dropped out. I lost twenty-five pounds okay, but to this day I can’t endure eating boiled chicken breasts and/or fish and apples are far from my favorite fruit.

Karen

How anyone could think that boiled anything would make ones mouth water is beyond me. I hear boiled chicken and run straight for the M&M’s! Unfortunately despite the limited success you get from crazy wacko diets like eating cabbage soup for two weeks, it’s really the boring old limit portion size and eating sensibly that works over the long haul. For my snacker friends, throwing the don’t-eat-after-7:00 rule keeps them from throwing in another 300 to 400 calories at night.

Still I have friends call me all excited how they are trying the latest greatest fad diet. My favorite was the Caveman Diet. This became a rage when all those Geico insurance adds were running. My friend was all excited and told me it made so much sense. Eat only natural nuts, fruit, and lean beef (closest she could get to a saber tooth tiger) all organic gathered by hand. I couldn’t be a smart ass. I said, “Sounds great! So you are going too hunt and gather your meals at Wholefoods. Oh and did you know the average age of a Caveman man was 15 years?”

Pet

True, true. We always hear how healthy our ancestors ate but they didn’t live near as long as we do. Maybe all those preservatives in processed food preserves us too! But oh how fattening fast food and ready food is. And the stuff seems addictive. When fast food outlets sprang up in and around Native American reservations, the inhabitants took to obesity, very unlike those svelte handsome second bananas in 50’s and 60’s cowboy movies. Personally, I am too much of a gourmand to relish fast food. We also have about 300 pounds of super lean, organically grown beef in my freezer so why buy half pounders even with coupons? Your cave person friend would have fun on our front porch supervising the no hormones upbringing of the steers and while they grow she could shoot a wild turkey, catch a few catfish and return to the antediluvian life.

Karen

Ah the country and it’s back to basics living. City living encourages bad behavior. Everything is so convenient you can walk to the nearest fast food or Starbucks and get your fix. In LA despite the crazy pace, people get fat because they drive everywhere. Just like the old punk song, Nobody Walks in LA. People park as close as they can to avoid walking even a few feet. Poaching a parking space has become a fine art in LA. I don’t bother. I have a pedometer so I park as far way as I can to clock in a few more steps. I’m a competitive person by nature so it’s amazing the lengths I’ll go to get to my 10,000-step goal. Of course like most things I have a love hate relationship with my pedometer who I’ve named Wiseass. Some days I wiz through my steps and pat Wiseass’s counter and think, see who’s the wiseass now. Then there are the days when I think I’m doing great but Wiseass keeps showing me I have 1,000’s of steps left to go. Then I throw him against a wall. But he always gets the last laugh when I pick him up and he’s still working. Now you know how he got his name. Wiseass!

Pet

I have to laugh about your statement that people in LA are fat. Ha Ha! I’ve never seen a really fat person out west! Your alls definition of fat is going from dress size 2 to size 4. I challenge you to sit in the parking lot of the local Wal-Mart and see some really fat folks. Tennessee didn’t get the handle of third fattest state in the country without really trying. Fortunately that same Wal-Mart is the third largest in the country so shopping there gives you a goodly portion of those 10,000 steps. The dog food happens to be about a mile from the groceries. That’s the kind of exercise I like. Especially when you can get to the restaurant and order our state dish…biscuits with sausage gravy. Gotta go make some. Hubby likes hamburger gravy on top of home fries. Can’t win. Happy dieting and exercising every one.

Childhood Christmas Memories City & Country

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:40:00 +0000

The week before Christmas in the city (Baltimore) helps Pet recall her childhood memories.

Karen's disco ball ornament. Makes her want to get up and dance!

Pet

For sure ‘tis the season going full swing. This time of year, when looking out at the cows nibbling that winter brown grass, I can’t help thinking of Christmas past, way back into my childhood when I spent the big day in the city. I didn’t live in Manhattan, but my grandparents did and their big brownstone was my home away from home. The year Santa Claus sat on the window sill while he and I held a long conversation I was sleeping on the third floor. Undeterred, the jolly elf had a ladder and stopped by to tell me all my presents were at home in Queens. To this day that image remains so real, I almost think our late night chat wasn’t a dream. Actually Santa and I first talked when I boarded a space ship and met the real Santa. So, Karen Anne, should I stop there or do you want me to tell all about my city adventures from those long ago holiday seasons?

Karen

That’s funny you should bring up the ghost of Christmas past as I was just thinking about the year when I was ten. The snow must have been 12 feet high as it was past my second story bedroom window. One of the worst blizzards in New York history. The electricity was out so my grandparent’s farmhouse was only illuminated by kerosene lanterns. Needless to say the Christmas tree looked like a large blob with only a hint of glimmer when the faint light from a lantern would catch the edge of the foil icicles. I complained to my mother that I wouldn’t be able to open my presents when I couldn’t see them amd my Christmas was ruined. I was quite the grinch. : ) I’d love to say that in the end it turned out to be the best Christmas ever but I’d be lying. : )

Pet

Oh my! Your ten year old Christmas could be fodder for a Scrooge story. No wonder you have a phobia about the dark days. My grandparents dragged me all over the city for every holiday event available. We started with the Thanksgiving Day Parade. That kicked off Macy’s favorite season when Santa set up shop there. Getting to see him wasn’t easy in those days. First we kids had to wait on a long line leading to what looked like an elevator decorated like a space ship. Once on board an attendant confirmed this was indeed a terrestrial vehicle and we would fly to the North Pole and see Santa in his shop. Actually we took the elevator up to the very top floor. Santa was there all right, surrounded by elves and ho ho ho-ing his head off. I don’t remember what I asked Santa for that year, but I do remember a little book they gave us with the starting verse, “Once RH Macy’s was so small, Pygmies could hardly fit in there at all…”

Karen

Wow times have changed! I love the big city store window Christmas displays but the country has its attractions too. Nothing like seeing a long chain of real snowmen lining a country road waving their stick arms as you pass by. And the sight of huge real fur trees decked in lights 20 feet high. The Christmas lights look even more beautiful as they twinkle in the total darkness of the night. Or the way the lights reflect in the fresh powder after a good dusting of snow. One of my favorite things is going for a horse drawn sleigh ride the night before Christmas. The sound of the horse’s hooves crunching through the snow with their large bell ringing as they prance along is total Christmas heaven!

Pet

I see a Norman Rockwell scene with the sleigh and horse riding out of the Christmas card. Too bad the scene is not repeated in the country except for the tourist places. You’re more likely to find hay wagons attached to those ever present green John Deere tractors. Christmas magic can come to city kids too. Walking through Rockefeller Center with what seemed like millions of trees adorned with lights and baubles was, and probably still is, a holiday treat. I wasn’t so happy the year we went to tour the trees with my girl scout troop. We were using the buddy system to keep track of everyone. I flunked a survival badge because I lost my buddy. One minute she was there and the next poof. No buddy. Panic set in but a few minutes later she returned. She’d seen a friend of hers ice skating on the sunken rink below the sidewalk where we stood, and scooted away to say hello. Nowadays she’d have simply used her cell phone to alert her ice skating pal. Yes, things do change.

Karen

Well in small town upstate NY a cell phone still doesn’t do much good. You either have to drive 30 miles out of town for 10 miles or up a large hill till you’re practically next to the tower before you can get a signal! During Christmas time the tower becomes a landmark as the company puts a large lighted star on top. It really looks beautiful perched way up on top of the hill the only light for miles. My other favorite light display is the on the one and only bank. It’s a cute brick building built at the turn of the last century. For the holidays they trim all the windows in white lights and hang big wreaths in the center of the glass. The contrast with the red of the brick makes for a very festive display. My runner up has to be the Methodist church. It’s your classic white gothic style with a pointed steeple. All the congregations chip in their labor and literally blanket the church in white lights. With lights blazing the church looks like it belongs on Main Street in Disneyland. Spectacular!

Pet

I’ll admit. Those small town lights, Norman Rockwell style win out over the trees in Rockefeller Center, or on the mall in D.C. Or maybe they get equal billing. Now I have a story to tell when I lived in the Greater Washington/Baltimore metroplex. At that time I was a resident in a neighborhood advertised as being “on the doorstep of the pentagon”. The highlight of the season was a neighborhood contest with awards going to the house with the prettiest lights. This was fun until new neighbors moved in…country folks…who loved to share. That is they thought the lights on all the trees were community property, so in the wee hours the teenage boys would tour blocks and blocks for miles picking one or two (never missed right?) lights from each and every tree. They ended up stringing lights all over their small house. Totally dazzling. And when they won the prize the rest of us took a virtual bow. After all, their decorations turned out to be a neighborhood endeavor. Shouldn’t we all be proud?

Karen

I call that grand theft! Well Pet, all this talk of childhood memories makes me want to hop on a plane for smallville New York! But I’m a city girl now so I’ll have to be content with the nicely lit historic homes in my neighborhood, the huge Christmas tree on the steps of Pasadena City Hall guarded by statuesque stone lions, and last but not least my Christmas tree loaded down with over 300 ornaments that this year sports a disco ball with multi colored lights!

Pet and I wish our faithful blog readers, whether country or city, a wonderful holiday season and a happy and healthy 2010!

The Darkness

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:43:00 +0000

Pet's proof that the approaching darkness can be beautiful.

Karen's vain attempt to make the darkness a little less gloomy

Pet

The days are short, the nights are long, all happening so soon. Seems like only minutes ago we were going outside after dinner, working the soil, throwing Frisbees for the dog and breathing in the scent of blossoms. Now as the end of the year approaches, there’s music and laughter and lights all over the great outdoors, but that’s all fake. Mother Nature is not kind causing us depressed humans to improvise and keep our spirits up with lights outside and in. Any kind of festival this time of year, including 3 million lights at the Winter Fest in nearby Smoky Mountains, sparkles up the dark. I bet you do plenty glittering these short days in not so sunny California.

Karen

For some reason this year falling back in time has really hit me hard. It’s like I’ve never experienced a time change before. One minute it stays light till 8:00pm the next I have start turning the lights on in the house at 4:30!!! Like I’m in some crazy horror film. Or better yet an episode of The Twilight Zone. As the darkness descends, I just can’t seem to get used to the disappearing light. I look at the clock and it’s 6:00pm but my body thinks it’s 10:00pm. What the heck happened?

Pet

I know all about the time darkness falls in December. We once ran a small radio station which had a fairly good coverage during daylight hours. Then, during the month of the best advertising in the year we had to cut our power at sun down which happened at 4:45 p.m. Our overnight power was exactly the same as a 100 watt light bulb. That hurt. Minutes are added to the clock a few days before the solstice. That’s why in ancient times our primitive ancestors celebrated the return of the sun. So hang in there, Karen Anne. The sun will come back.

Karen

Maybe I need to get one of those light boxes like the people in Alaska use. That way I can have daylight for 20 hours if I want. : ) I’m not the only one who thinks this year the darkness seems to be more intense. The neighbors have been complaining more than usual and my hubby goes into a funk as soon as the sun goes down too. Maybe there’s something going on in our little slice of the world. Could be residual fallout from the fires. We lost two weeks of light when the Station fire was raging. The air was so filled with smoke it looked like twilight 24-7. And no we didn’t see any vampires. Lol

Pet

Another device to chase the dark away is what they do in Scandinavian countries: paint and decorate houses in bright or pastel colors. But wait, they do that with your Victorian gems so I guess it doesn’t work. How about spotlights on the house? Lights all over the garden? That way you can alleviate the doom and gloom from October to April. You might have a killer electric bill, though. We have a full moon tonight, so bright as to mimic daylight. Looking out the window on a full moon night, an optical illusion of snow on the trees and lawns occurs. Since you guys in Southern Cal most likely don’t remember snow, you probably don’t know what I’m talking about.

Karen

That’s it! We need snow in Southern Cal! Nothing reflects the light better. Actually went to a holiday party last night and the host had trucked in a ton of snow (here better know as ice) and the kids were having a blast sledding down the make believe snow covered slope. Even though it was quite cold last night the “snow” was melting fast and they had to keep making more. Think I’ll have to stick to lights. But don’t think my neighbors would appreciate my putting huge floodlights in the backyard. Especially since one of them has the habit of strolling around their house au natural for the whole world to see. Think about what kind of shadows they’d cast!

Pet

For sure snow brightens up the landscape. Even junk yards look better with a few inches of snow. Falling down houses, ill kept yards, all become pure and pristine covered with that white stuff. Too bad here in Tennessee snow only lasts a few hours. A few very pretty hours though. And with our snow storms we usually have “black ice”. The snow covers frozen spots and on my curvy, narrow road, I stay home until the temps climb back over 40. A little further north, no one stays home when the snow starts. Why? Usually sane, citizens of all ages become obsessed with rushing to the store to buy bread and milk. Will the bread and milk trucks get stuck in the storm even though it’s never happened? Ahhh...Wintertime up north is here.

Karen

As a former snowbunny I know what you’re talking about. But snow in Southern California only happens every 80 to 100 years and lasts ten minutes. Guess I’ll just have to run out and get one of those lights like my friend in Oregon has. She’s actually a native California that moved up to north. The first couple years she lived up in Oregon she was in the worst mood. But then she went to the doctor and was diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder, appropriately named SAD. After her doctor recommended she use light therapy, she made a complete recovery. Just in time as she was getting ready to move back to California. Maybe light therapy will get rid of my darkness blues. Or maybe I should start a campaign to have Daylight Savings time year round!

Pet

I think a campaign for universal daylight savings time is already around. Too bad, with the not so hot shape of the world, we have more important items to worry about. But maybe some of them would go away with the simple solution of more light. So try to cheer up through the doom and gloom while enjoying your hundreds of indoor lights. Sooner than you think, you’ll see the days lengthen. Hooray… The sun returns from its long winter journey.

Country Bumpkin vs City Slicker Pets

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:32:00 +0000

Karen's new kitty GT, looking very Spooky for her close-up!

Karen's new addition Slick, dressed to the nines in his tuxedo and spats.

Amelia looking absolutely terrific for almost 300!

Pet's 121 year old Herman lounging in his favorite chair.

Pet

Hi Karen Anne, I get joshed a lot about my nickname whenever the sign “No Pets Allowed” appears, but let’s ignore all that joviality because I want to talk about pets, those little creatures we have around the house and yard, real pain in the butts, but a definite source of unqualified love so we keep them around and they become a major part of our lives. I have to start out by saying, “My pets can beat up your pets.” Household animals living in the country are a rugged breed. My spaniel, Herman is 121 in dog years, but still finds his way down to the woods in back of the house to drink from his favorite stream. He can’t see a foot in front of his face with his one remaining eye, can’t hear unless super loud and is showing some effects of old age. But he loves to run across the lawn, jump up the steps and into the house where he can easily find his way around. We call him the zombie dog. That’s because real dogs don’t live as long as he has, so we figure somewhere along the line he transformed into the pet of the living dead. Would you believe he’s still cute? Hope I’m that cute when I reach 121!

Karen

Well, I think my tortoise shell calico Amelia has Herman beat, she’s 288 in cat years. She doesn’t run around much any more and her favorite pastime is very long catnaps, still I think she’s doing great for almost 300! She’s a city cat all the way. Her second favorite thing to do is give herself long luxurious baths so she’s always ready for her close-up. : ) She was even offered a commercial spot but my dreams of having a famous pet were not to be. Amelia never made it past the test shots. One look at the bright lights and people darting around everywhere and she took off. I had to search the set for over an hour to find her. My dreams of seeing my beautiful cat on the TV were dashed. But you’ll still find Amelia grooming herself with zeal. And people still tell me she should be in commercials. I just grin and say, “I know. Doesn’t she look fantastic for 300.”

Pet

Amelia sounds like a great pet. I hope to get to meet her some day. Hey, I wouldn’t mind flying across the country to meet a great almost famous cat like Amelia. I’m finding here in the country folks have a different view of pets. They are all self-sufficient and cat naps are usually taken out of doors. I’ve never heard of a cat having nails removed so they don’t scratch the furniture. They just get tossed outside, like Sally the mostly white cat across the road from us. Always outside, she visits frequently, very carefully avoiding the speeding pickups, to check out the birds in our woods. When the sunflowers were in bloom, she and another neighbor cat set up headquarters underneath the giant flowers hoping to catch a lazy cardinal or goldfinch as they munched on the seeds. Sally has figured out that Herman can’t see too well and his cat chasing days are over, so has no qualms about cuddling with him when she wishes to do him a big favor. You know how these prima donna cats are.

Karen

Cats in the city don’t have beautiful woods to hunt in or meadows to while away the hours but they do have grass on demand. What the heck am I talking about? If my apartment bound cat starts chewing on my houseplants in frustration I can run out to the local pet store or nursery and buy her a nice container of cat grass. Yes, I can bring home a little piece of nature for my cat to devour. And if I think my cat is aggravated because she has no place to roam, I can take her to the kitty day spa. There she can frolic with other cats in a beautiful sun filled atrium with waterfalls and large grassy areas to lounge in. I can even book her a message! Nothings too good for the excessively pampered city cat. Just so you don’t think I’ve gone off the deep end, Amelia has a nice suburban yard perfect for hunting squirrels. And the only massage she gets is when I’m hunting for fleas. : )

Pet

I can’t imagine Sally Cat across the street spending the day at a spa. Here’s a bulletin just in. The black tom cat, her constant companion has gone missing. I wonder if she’s like a dog who lived with us also named Sally. Our dog was cute and friendly and loved the outdoors. We had to keep her away from the chicken coop next door, not too difficult since she had no problem hunting in the woods for her gourmet meal of feathered friends. Sally Dog also enjoyed walking off into the woods with her companions. She got her sister, Polly, her daughter, Sugar and two neighbor dogs to trot along with her. Slight problem. Sally always returned alone. Since she missed out on transforming into a zombie dog, she’s now in doggy heaven while those of us here on earth have never figured out what in the world she did to get rid of the other dogs.

Karen

Talk about a dastardly dog! Here in the city there are only three reasons pets disappear. One: they get lost and are hit by a car just blocks from their home. Two: they are some fabulous purebred that a criminal snags to get the reward money. Three: The coyotes got them. I’ve mentioned before how Pasadena is over run with coyotes, like much of LA. I’ll never get over the first time I saw a pack of coyotes running down my nice residential street, one with a cat in its mouth! Talk about welcome to the Wild West! That’s why our household recently went from one cat, good old Amelia, to three. We rescued two feral black and white cats, a brother and sister, after they both were mauled by coyotes. Several hundred dollars later, both of them are doing well. Amelia has finally gotten used to her new companions. Slick, the tuxedo clad brother, earned his name by managing to survive his very bad tangle with the dreaded coyotes. His sister, GT, a cute black long hair, earned her name from the little white goatee she has on her chin. Needless to say they both have become house cats, and I don't think they mind one bit. : )

Pet

Your new cats sound darling. Amelia must be quite the lady not to get jealous and take them for a walk like Sally Cat and Sally Dog did. Oh those coyotes! Something we have in common. They abound here. Don’t think they are an endangered species. Do they howl at night like they do out in the country? Creepy Halloween noises. Sounds like a chorus of ghosts. The country coyotes find little calves quite tasty. So of course the whole herd goes bonkers and loud mooing ensues. The dogs for miles around bark their heads off. I used to get alarmed at shot gun blasts going off in the middle of the night. Now I know, just a farmer protecting his herd from the hungry beasts. I’ve heard, but not seen a coyote here. Once in the mid winter when we lived on a bay of Lake Ontario in upstate New York we watched a lone gray coyote cross the frozen waters. They go after our domestic animals when the forest critters run out. I like them much better in the deep woods than in backyards and farmyards.

Karen

It’s amazing how coyotes seem to be all across the US. Was visiting a cousin in Atlanta and she said they roam the streets there too. Maybe the last animal standing won’t be the lowly cockroach but the formidable coyote! As for my old girl Amelia and how she’s gracefully adjusted to the two feral interlopers, let’s just say they’ve had their ups and downs. I’ve caught Amelia several times letting Slick and GT know exactly who’s boss. She definitely queen of her Victorian. : ) If one of the young upstarts even thinks about stealing one of her favorite nap locations they are in for a big swat in the face. And if they don’t move out of the way fast enough Amelia will make sure they have a scar to remind them not to try it again. My parting thought about pets is I agree with you. As much as pets are a lot of work, (just like husbands : ), they give us such pleasure and can turn a down day into a laugh feast by their crazy behavior. And the best part is, they love us no mater what!

Mother Nature Time

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:58:00 +0000

A picture of the beautiful wildflowers in California. Definitely Mother Nature at her best!

A picture of Mother Nature at her worst taken by one of our faithful readers.

Karen

Here in Southern California, the end of summer, beginning of fall, signals the start of wild fire season. This year we’ve had a particularly brutal introduction as one the biggest fires ever to sweep through the Angles Forrest began raging and is still not out two weeks later. As I live very close to where the fire started I’ve been living with the consequences. For the first week and a half the air was so thick with smoke it looked like a heavy fog. The air smelled like the largest summer barbecue in history was in progress. No longer could I work on my endless porch project. I was forced to stay inside. Here in Pasadena, and other foothill cities, when a fire starts we don’t run for the hills. Okay bad joke. : ) We run from one air conditioned building to the next and pray the fire stays high up in the foothills and doesn’t decide to stop devouring scrub brush and small trees but change its diet to houses.

Pet

Sounds like Mother Nature gone wild, although I’ve read suspicions of arson abound. I’m sure if you suffering residents find the match tossing perpetrator you’ll band together and finish him off. Or at least make him/her suffer. Mother Nature is pretty well ignoring us here in Eastern Tennessee. Last year this time we were in the midst of a horrendous drought and the farmers were crying the blues. Never rains, but it pours and this year the same farmers are showing rotted crops from too much rain and standing water. Not near so bad though as our relatives in Kentucky who were pretty well washed out with four inches an hour of rain earlier this year. We did discover a leak in the roof of our new addition and had to put buckets under the waterfall until the contractor came out and fixed the problem. Misplaced vent or some simple thing like that. Bet you Southern Californians would love to have some of that rain. Unfortunately it never rains there, right?

Karen

Well, not lately. But there’s a rumor that El Nino is headed our way. One of the reasons I’ve been working on restoring my porches. The last El Nino year we had two weeks of non-stop rain. That was when I lived in my Craftsman bungalow with a river rock foundation and a small basement. Yes Virginia, some older California homes actually have basements. I had the brilliant idea of putting my office down there because it was so cool (the house had no AC) and cozy. Big mistake!! The basement flooded and my office was wadding in 10 inches of water! Can you say disaster for all things electronic! So although we desperately need the rain, we have to be careful what we wish for cause when they do come, Southern California turns into Seattle Washington.

Pet

Proof that rain does come to Southern California: The movies and TV. Whenever the story is set in LA, the clouds let loose big time. I’m sure if you drive through town on a rainy day, you’ll see those cameras rolling. Everyone thinks that the biggest danger of hurricanes comes from those fierce winds. Albeit they’re not much fun, but the real villain comes from, you guessed it, the rain. In Florida the drains are not set up to handle all that extra moisture. So new rivers and lakes spring up. The poor folks, who can’t sell because their property is not waterfront, have that minor detail corrected by Mother Nature. Those who already live on the waterfront were rewarded a few years ago when Floridians experienced a barrage of hurricanes by becoming boat owners. Yup, the front yard became a marina but pity the poor boat owners. They had to traverse the coast searching for the speed boat that sped away, the wrong way. When Mother Nature goes wild, many suffer.

Karen

That’s for sure. Of course we have wild fires here to worry about but also the Big One. I guess as a non-native I still find the whole idea of living in the Big Ones shadow a bit hard to take. Most of the time I walk around totally oblivious to the fact that the earth could move, or even split apart, at any second until it actually does. A nice little size 3 or 4 earthquake will send me into nightmares about The Big One. I get up the next day and double check all my antiques to make sure that my quake hold is still firmly in place. A native, and fellow antiquer, had to show me the tricks of earthquake protection. Who knew you had to anchor down all your china and glass wear to make sure it doesn’t end up a shattered mess on the floor? Not me. Now my friend has turned me into a bit of a fanatic. She lost thousands of dollars worth of amazing china and antique glass in the Northridge earthquake. She thought she had done enough to protect her collections but the 7.0 earthquake taught her over the top protection is the only way to save what you love. The things we do to keep Mother Natures destruction at bay.

Pet

And then there are tornados. One year, a while ago, we were driving through Texas in the month of April. A horrendous rain storm kicked up. We turned on the full of static radio and heard, “A tornado is about to touch down in Paris, Texas.” Then the signal disappeared altogether. I looked at the map and screamed, “Paris is the next town we’ll be going through.” We immediately pulled into a motel and found everyone huddled in doorways. All these prime spots were taken so we just stood at the desk until a brave clerk ventured out to check us in. No problem since the tornado did not come our way though much damage was done in its hazardous path. Doorways are also a favorite spot for Californians when the earth tremors. But you know, I’m not sure they’re the safest place to be. With that extra material which I guess folks think will protect them, what happens if the building collapses? Wouldn’t a hit on the head with a piece of drywall and some plaster be less dangerous than a club coming from the doorways’ frames? Decisions, decisions to be made in snap seconds when trying to hide from Mother Nature’s wrath.

Karen

That’s funny you should bring the doorway safe haven up. Think I just read a few weeks ago that they found standing in the door way isn’t that safe at all. Flying debris can hit you and wouldn’t be pretty if it were glass. I think they went back to the other safe haven, under a large heavy piece of furniture. This might be safe if you live in a one-story house but what about on the twentieth floor of an apartment building? Hiding under your grandmother’s antique dinning table isn’t going to help much if the building is collapsing. I think my worst experience with Mother Nature was when I was on a ferry going from Okinawa to Kyushu Japan. Halfway into our trip they had a typhoon warning and sure enough we couldn’t get out of its way. The waves were crashing over the three-story ferry. The bottom floor was filled up with water like a swimming pool. My friend and I fled to higher ground, which meant invading first class on the third floor. We could barely navigate the stairs, the ship was rocking so badly. At the height of the storm when I thought the ferry was going to sink I joked to my friend, “Well, if we’re going to die it might as well be in first class. : )

Pet

Seems like Mother Nature takes turns on who will be hit. Texas, victim of a terrible drought is now flooding. The sun shines and temps rise into the 80’s in the usually frigid mid west. The weather prognosticators don’t know which end is up, so many predictions are wrong. At least we haven’t heard that four letter word, SNOW, in the forecast--yet! Here in Tennessee where we only have a smattering locals often wish for the stuff. Admittedly a winter wonderland is beautiful to behold, but getting through it…pffft. So I say those who yearn for snow have never survived a white winter. We lived for five years in upstate New York touching the Canadian Border. We admired the colorful flags attached to the antennas on cars not yet knowing that the practical purpose of these bright wavers was to facilitate finding the right car when those white drifts covered them. Everyone there expected the snow but sometimes Mother Nature pulls a surprise. One year we had an early flight out of Dulles Airport near DC so we checked into a motel the evening before. We found pandemonium in the lobby. A plane had landed carrying folks who’d parked their cars around the hotel. A blizzard had hit the night before continuing into the morning and the cars were buried. No antenna flags so only much digging could reveal their transportation home. Do you think Mother Nature had a good laugh???

Karen

She laughs her ass off everyday. As a former NY upstater I can totally relate to your flag story. There are so many things natives to do cope with Mother Nature. But I don’t want to bash Mother Nature too much. She might decide to have a typhoon over my house. : ) And she does do some amazing things. Although the fire we just experienced was a terrible tragedy. And the locals fear the flooding that might be brought on by El Nino, at the same time come spring; we are going to see wildflower on the hills we haven’t seen in 80 to 100 years. Mother Nature is pretty cleaver. She usually has a plus side to the disaster she wields. The heat generated from the fires causes the seeds that have been dormant all this time to sprout. Two years ago the same thing happened abut 80 miles north and the wildflowers were so spectacular they were on the front page of all the local papers. Not being a native Southern Californian, I decided I better drive up and experience the rare phenomenon myself. I’ll never forget when I turned the corner and got my first glimpse of the foothills. They were blanketed with a kaleidoscope of colors. Bright purple flowers fought for space against yellow daisies and the shocking red orange of California poppies. As I took dozens of pictures to capture the moment, I couldn’t help but want to bow to good old Mother Nature. She’s has quite the knack for decorating.

Pet

We get the good and the bad from Mother Nature. With everything quiet now, I say we bid goodbye to the lady and not try to stir her up, even though sometimes she produces spectacular sights. Bye Mom!

What? Summer's Almost Over?

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:41:00 +0000

Here's one of Karen's vanilla cupcakes. Yum!!

Just a sample of what Pet finds lurking on her doorstep in the summer

Karen

Can you believe summers almost over? Guess that explains the fact that we haven’t blogged in over a month. But somehow once summer comes, time fly’s by. With my endless projects (yes, I’m still working on the porch) and the usual guests one-month blends into the next and all of the sudden it’s September! In wonderful tinsel town, life goes into hyper drive in the summer. There’s the long list of must-see movies, and of course you need to make sure your spray on tan looks fabulous. Then there’s the mandatory pool parties and night’s out with friends. What’s a girl to do?

Pet

Life’s different here in the country. While the town park hosts some fun pool parties, the grownup farm community slaves away harvesting mostly winter food for those ever hungry cattle. Corn is chopped, soy beans beaned and multi piles of hay appear. The roads are constantly clogged with farm equipment going or coming from a job. And the veggie gardens are coming in. The neighbors individually ask, anxiously with pathetic looks, if we need tomatoes. No thanks. Our one beefsteak and two plums are supplying all we need. But they don’t take no for an answer. Today we went out for a while and came home to fifty pounds of ripe tomatoes on the front steps. We’ll freeze these, but the other neighbors are still tossing us wistful looks. We can’t leave home for fear of the ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES.

Karen

Believe it or not we city folk have vegetable gardens too. In fact they are all the rage. So you can bet the trendy set has taken it up big time. Little gardens have sprung up everywhere. They are amazed at how easy it is to grow your own tomatoes and herbs. You don’t need a lot of space. In fact we have a nice little garden going on our second story porch. Five varieties of tomatoes and a nice herb garden all growing in long containers. Once barren apartment balconies now have all kinds of veggies cascading over the railings. Here in drought-ridden Southern California the trend to grow your own vegetable gardens isn’t the best choice because they are such heavy drinkers. But several people on my block have torn out parts of their front lawns and put in gardens. The woman at the end of the block has some great looking corn. I just love it. Makes me think a little bit of country has snuck into the big city. Next I’ll see my city neighbors breaking out the Farmers Almanac. : )

Pet

We’ve had enough rain this season to satisfy those heavy drinkers. One nearby town has a tomato festival with the big event being a tomato fight. Get rid of those soft babies by pitching them at each other. And speaking of heavy drinkers how about that different breed of vegetables showing up on your doorstep at summer’s mid point? This attack comes from the overnight, out of town visitors, who we casually invited last winter while bragging on the glories of southern summers. Who knew they’d take us seriously? But here they are, waiting to be fed and how many things can you cook with tomatoes? Open up the wallet and bring on the country ham and free range chicken. Karen Anne, can you mail us a couple of your fabulous desserts? We have ice cream and store bought cookies but these mid summer wanderers expect more. HELP!!

Karen

Ah yes. The human type of heavy drinkers can really be a hand full. I’ve written before about my notorious aunt who never met a form of alcohol she didn’t love. One time when I knew she was coming to visit I cleaned the house of every imaginable liquor source. I wondered why she wasn’t complaining the first day when I told her I was implanting my tough love program. Then I caught her sneaking a sip from a flask she had hidden in her purse. But after two days she managed to drink every drop she brought with her. Since I refused to take her to “stock up” she sat around pouting and even changed her flight to leave the next day. Darn. : ) But that’s not the end of the story. That night I wondered what was making all the noise in the kitchen. I turned on the light and there she was downing my bottle of vanilla extract!! Here’s a much better way to enjoy vanilla. : )

Vanilla Cupcakes:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2/3 cup granulated Bakers sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup buttermilk

Buttercream Frosting:

2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk or light cream

For the Cupcakes: Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Fill the muffin cups evenly with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees, until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. If you want flat topped cupcakes then slice off the dome of each cupcake, with a sharp knife, before frosting.

For the Frosting: In an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth and well blended. Add the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more milk or sugar, if needed.

Pet

Sounds wonderful. The recipe not your thirsty guest! How about mixing up a batch and calling overnight express? Or filling one of those PO if it fits we mail boxes? Recipe is way too complicated for me. Fortunately my guests request a much simpler recipe, and appetizer instead of desert. I love making (and eating) this time of year because we have three special ingredients. Tomatoes, of course, Vidalia onions, best sweet onions in the world special crop of our neighbors in Georgia, and herbs of every kind growing their little hearts out. So when the visiting kids ask for Tomatoes on Toast, this is what they get:

Pet’s Bruschetta

One large tomato, half sweet onion, clove garlic, Italian herbs, fresh better (basil, flat leaf parsley, oregano and thyme) but dried mix works too, garlic oil, 12 thin slices Italian bread, ½ lemon, extra virgin olive oil, lemon pepper.

Dice tomato, onion, and garlic. Add lemon pepper and Italian seasoning to taste. Squeeze lemon; add with 1 or 2 tbs. olive oil. Set aside to season. (Can’t keep olive oil dressings in refrigerator since they coagulate) Brush Italian bread with garlic oil (can be made by heating ¼ cup oil and 2tbs. Butter with chopped garlic for 45 seconds in microwave) and top with more Italian seasoning. Toast in hot oven (425) for about 15 minutes or until desired brown is achieved. Don’t need to be brown, just toasted.) Suggest serving separate because if tomato mix goes on toast too soon it gets soggy. Also some people like to munch on the toast alone. Roasted pepper or eggplant appetizer good on the toast.

No more recipes, please! I’m starving!!! Tell me what do you do to amuse your guests besides feed them?

Karen

Actually, most of my guest arrive with their own lists. I guess they figure not only should I provide lodging and gourmet meals I should be a chauffer too! I hate to admit it but once in awhile the guests come up with places I’ve never been. I’m used to request’s to visit Disneyland, Universal Studio’s, Hollywood walk of fame but the Neon Museum? It was actually very illuminating. : ) My recent guest came with a list of Taco trucks they wanted to check out. Yes, LA has a slew of them and in fact some are quite famous. Or infamous if after eating off one you end up spending way too much time in the bathroom. lol

Pet

I always try to show my guests the real Tennessee, beautiful vistas, scenic farmland, state and National parks, lots of TVA lakes surrounded by million dollar homes and interesting power supplies like coal chimneys and nuclear towers. But my next scheduled crew coming in a few weeks includes my niece, a lawyer from New York. She is a great Dolly Parton fan who insists on doing Dollywood with the biggest roller coaster in the world and other irresistible attractions. The other girls are delighted to be going to the theme park, telling me they always wanted to, but I wouldn’t take them. I got burned out on these places early when my kids were young and we’d visit our California relatives. We did Disneyland three times and I got a headache the minute I stepped into this Wonderland. By the time Disneyworld opened I stayed outside the golden gates. Why bother since it’s been years and years but “It’s a small, small world” refuses to leave my head.

Karen

The things we have to do for family! Not only is summer the time for guests, but here in my historic neighborhood, we are in the middle of planning our big summer barbeque. Yes, here in the good old LA metroplex we are going small town. Something about living in an historic landmark neighborhood makes us very close knit. We have big porches on our houses so we hang out and wave when people walk by just like I used to do in my small town in upstate NY. I guess it’s the common bond we have of loving old houses and working to preserve them that makes us feel a connection. It’s nice to know when I’m risking my life up on a 20-foot ladder painting my porch that there’s someone just as crazy just down the street! : )

Pet

Living in a beautiful neighborhood with friendly neighbors certainly does take some of the sting off city life such as noise, traffic jams, bad air and over population leading to waiting on lines everywhere. Enjoy your landmark house, but please go easy on those ladders. While we are enjoying a cooler than average summer tales of super hot weather out west has reached us. So keep cool and paint in the winter when the weather’s perfect and maybe I can escape from below zero temps and check your work out! Enjoy your summer parties. Here County Fair time approaches and the farm ladies get vicious. They’re after those blue ribbons for their home made, home grown goodies and they’ll do anything short of slipping vinegar into the competition’s apple pie. All in good fun, of course.

Karen

My grandmother was the queen of pies. She always won the best berry pie competition at the local fair. Here in the city, it’s more about who managed to score a reservation at the latest award-winning restaurant. : ) They do take their food pretty seriously here in tinsel town. As long as someone else cooks it. LOL That’s another thing I like about my historic neighborhood, the people here can really cook! Of course most of them are from good old tinsel town. Speaking of my neighbors, I better get back to my planning duties. Four households coordinating the food for the barbecue can be a bit of a headache. Top priority is to make sure we have no repeats. Last year we had four people bring exactly the same coleslaw. I’m a huge fan of the stuff but not when it’s the only side dish!!!!

Pet

Have fun at the barbecue which I know will turn out fabulous with you at the helm. And think of me tugging monstrous crabgrass out of my garden. This mutation only appears in midsummer along with the katydids who serenade us every night. Never mind four sides of coleslaw, never-ending paint jobs, weird plants and singing bugs, we’ll be missing the balmy days soon enough. So enjoy the rest of Summer!

Shiny Stars

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 06:18:00 +0000

Just think, if it wasn't for Karen's Shiny Star this amazing grand Victorian home would have been replaced by condo's!

Good Samaritans come to Pet's recuse and helped load a thousand pound butcher block.

Pet

In our last blog we talked about pests, so why not go with the antonym and highlight the shiny stars in our lives? We talked a bunch about insects, so that’s where we can start. We have a picture from last blog of two stars, the butterfly and the bee. These little guys are so essential to the natural cycle of life. Without them spreading the plants pollen they’d die out and we wouldn’t have the vibrant colors of summer in our lives. Yay bees and butterflies! Another favorite of mine is the tiny orange bugger with the black spots. They’re lady bugs and their favorite snacks are those nasty little aphids who love to devour rose bushes. Aside: do you know that ants, interesting but still mainly pests, herd the aphids and chase them to the rose bushes where they milk them just like we do the dairy cows? Bet you didn’t know that! My positive vibes are so overtaking me, I have animal, vegetable and mineral shiny stars I want to talk about. First, let’s hear about some of your stars shining in the metroplex.

Karen

I love ladybugs! They’re cute and they eat those yucky, sticky, nasty, aphids! Without them my parlor wouldn’t be flooded with roses right now. Another one of my favorite insect shiny stars and in my opinion the most fascinating is the praying mantis. I used to love them in upstate NY but was so depressed not to see my favorites in California. That is until I moved to Pasadena. It’s praying mantis heaven! We have two kinds, the standard green and a molted brown version. The brown guys can get to be five inches long!!!! If I didn’t love them so much I’d be pretty scared when I faced one in the garden. But their giant size is a huge plus because these guys are serious about their stomachs. Seems I never see them when they aren’t munching on some pest. Got to love a shiny star with a big appetite!

Pet

Hey how about we find some shiny stars who don’t kill little thingies, even though the thingies are pest thingies. We have our domestic animals like Herman who’s 16 years old…or 112 in dog years…and your adorable Amelia, then we have our delicious garden veggies, I have growing tomatoes, very early for the valley. Okay that covers animal and vegetables but what about minerals? Are diamonds still a girl’s best friend? I have an antique ring with a big rock in the setting but never had an urge to buy more. Shines all right, but let’s get right down to people. Last blog we had a human hero write us. Bill doesn’t think plant munching critters are garden pests. He plants a special garden for them. And since he’s an ex cop, he probably has a traffic system worked out guiding the critters to their garden, away from the people garden. Now he’s a hero! A human shiny star.

Karen

This blog post got me thinking about my own human shiny stars. Like many people, I’ve had several in my life. My latest hero is the woman who founded the historic landmark district where my Victorian resides. When she moved to the neighborhood it was at risk of having the lovely historic homes torn down to make room for town houses and condo’s. History is not always cherished in the big city, so this area had long been neglected. But she saw the wonderful old homes and the history of the place, well over a hundred years old, and wanted to turn the area back into a shiny star. So with shear determination, she worked diligently and won the support of the community to found the second historic landmark district in Pasadena. I always think of her and her amazing accomplishment when I stroll down my neighborhoods tree lined streets and gaze at the amazing historic houses that still stand so proudly for everyone to enjoy. Aprile Boettcher is living proof that one person can make a difference.

Pet

Ms. Boettcher certainly deserves the shiny star nomination, but so do all of the residents who work so hard keeping their old homes looking gorgeous. I know you spend much time keeping yours up to your high standards. Pin a star on your shirt, girl! Here in the country we have many old buildings but they’re more functional than beautiful. Maybe that’s just in the eyes of the beholder since when brother visits from LA, he runs all over the county and beyond snapping pictures of the old barns. We even have a few ancient mills left standing. Then there are the local heroes who’ve refurbished the old buildings in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the most visited national park in the country. The drive through Cades Cove is a ride into the past. So here’s a salute to these men and women, the volunteers and park rangers who work on a daily basis keeping this breath taking place both historically correct and scenically magnificent. Shiny Stars all!

Karen

I’m a huge fan of people who respect and honor America’s history. We may not be that old as a country, but I think that makes our history even more precious. You mentioned the faceless hero’s that do good work every day. In the city I find I cherish even the most simple act of kindness. I have what you would call day hero’s. In the crowed crazy city of LA, it’s pretty dog eat dog so when an unknown stranger takes it upon themselves to help someone they don’t know, they are a shiny star to me. If it’s rush hour and the freeway is jammed, you can sit forever trying to get on the damn thing. So when someone actually stops traffic to let me get on the freeway they are my hero. I always wave and smile to let them know how much I appreciate their simple act of kindness. Unfortunately most hardened city slickers thinks their act of kindness makes them a sucker. Another simple act that I’m eternally grateful for is when someone holds a door open for me when I’m obliviously loaded down with bags. This simple courtesy that used to happen thousands of times everyday has gone the way of the dinosaur in the big city. So on the rare occasion that someone holds the door open for me I’m always overflowing with gratitude. My usual parting phrase is, “Thank you so much. You’re not from LA are you.” : )

Pet

Ha, ha! Your last sentence reminds me of when I was trying to get a bag into the compartment on a plane and had a hard time lifting it. One gentleman, and only one came to my aid. I said to him, “You’re from Tennessee, aren’t you?” Yes he was, and bless his heart as we say around here. The other local saying comes when an act of unkindness happens, like someone cutting you off on the highway. “He’s a so and so,” you say followed by “God love him!” That shows how friendly folks around here are. When outside, everyone waves from their car at whoever isn’t in a car, and often at other cars. Hey, I tried this the last time I was in LA and everyone thought me crazy.

Karen

Well, politeness and LA don’t really go together. : ) That’s why you can spot a transplant a mile away! But there is one thing that local’s do that I think deserves a mention, they throw one heck of a pool party. I’ve never been to as many aquatic parties as I have in LA. And if you have a party disaster someone will be happy to help you out to keep the party going. At one of my friend’s parties, disaster struck when the spa broke down. You would think a 8.0 earthquake hit by the sear panic that swept over the guests. But it only took fifteen minutes to track down a pool guy to come to the rescue. I think there is one on almost every corner in our fair city. To everyone at the party he was like Superman to the rescue. To my friend this guy was the shiny star that kept her party from being a totally failure.

Pet

Another act of neighborly kindness comes to mind when I cut up on the antique butcher block sitting in the middle of the kitchen. Not very good with sharp knives this is a wonderful addition, doubles the counter space. We found the genuine antique on a relative’s porch and we were gifted with the much-needed piece of furniture. Family and friends gathered around to help get the huge, heavy hunk of wood onto the pickup. Sons and son-in-laws, grandsons, some of the girls, everyone who happened to be around, rushed to assist with the lift. Took much lifting and pushing, heavy breathing, moans and groans to place the solid wood on the pickup. Once home we called on our neighbors. Our farmer friends came over between milking with a front-end loader. Push, push, and upsy daisy, the block is soon transported from the back of the truck to kitchen door. Humans only got it inside, and there she sits. All of the helpers, even the front-end loader, are heroes, shiny stars for sure.

Karen

Nothing like come-to-the-rescue neighbors!!!!!! When my hubby and I first moved to Pasadena we bought a cute little bungalow with beautiful woodwork and a narrow steep staircase. No way could we shove our queen-sized bed up the stairs to our master bedroom. We were dead tired, as we did most of the moving ourselves, and stood scratching our heads out on the front lawn wondering if we were going to have to put the mattress on the living room floor to sleep, when neighbors across the street came over to introduce themselves. The father joked that he didn’t want us to start our new life in the neighborhood by sleeping under the stars. He came up with the brilliant idea of pushing the mattress through the very large casement picture window in the master. In a matter of minutes two ladders appeared and the father and son were nudging the mattress up the ladders. We ran upstairs and managed to pull it through. Next came the much less flexible box spring. Luckily we had used two singles and they squeezed through the window with a giant shove from the father and son team. That night when we finally went to bed we were grateful for our wonderful new neighbors. Shiny stars for sure. So do you have any shiny stars in your life? Please share them with us.

PESTS: They can be Transplants too!

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:10:00 +0000

Not all insects are PESTS. Some friendly visitors to Pet's garden

Karen's cat Amelia on the hunt for PESTS!

Hiya Karen!

On this hot spring day I must talk about PESTS. And I’m eager to find out if the ones you have in the city can match up to ours in the country. I suppose occasionally you have a house fly wander in. You think that’s a pest? WRONG. Move into a house next door to a cow field and then you’ll find out that these flies flock in the thousands, maybe the millions, and love to plague the dairy herd, but even better spend much time figuring how to take over your house. Those huge masses of the insects…now that’s PESTS. So far we’ve only swatted a few flies, but we know they’re only the vanguards looking the place over so they can go back to their flock of millions and plan the attack. So we’ve killed a few. They don’t mind being killed. They know about all their relatives behind them and they’ve laid eggs enough to start a new generation in six hours. I have fly stories galore if you’re interested in hearing, but first I dare you to come up with worse pests than Ma and Pa fly!

Karen

You know how much I love a good dare!!!!! You’d be surprised how many strange PESTS we have here in the city. Do parking meter girls count? : ) We have the usual ants, spiders, pantry moths, and the occasional fly. But hands down the scariest pest I’ve ever seen was in my friend’s house in Palm Springs. He lives right on the edge of the desert so there are some of the usual suspects like scorpions and tarantulas. You don’t even want to see how much he spends on pest control!! One morning we headed into the breakfast room all excited about the fantastic omelet we were going to make when I happed to almost step on something that looked like it was out of a nightmare. It was large, about four inches, and had a head shaped like a seahorse and looked kind of like a miniature dragon. It even had large wings! Before I could let out one heck of a scream my male friend beat me to it. That’s how scary looking it was. Thankfully it was dead. My friend took a picture of it and sent it to his bug guy. Next thing you know he’s over in a flash all excited about our discovery. The bug guy proudly placed the creature into a plastic bag and told us he was going to send it off to headquarters. A month later my friend gets a call. The bug is actually from Chile. Wow did he get lost. And if he’s a taste of the PESTS they have in Chile I’m never going there!

Pet

I’m not touching that one. The South American bug sounds ever scarier than sighting one of those cheery sounding Whippoorwills in person. That’s comparing a bug to a bird so now in shock I’m turning to human pests. Too bad you don’t have any of them, except for the meter maids, in your metroplex. Unlike your scary bug that really didn’t DO anything, the human pests always do stuff to drive the rest of the human race totally nuts. Question: how come an inanimate object with wheels can turn a previously mild and meek individual into a raging monster? Case in point…the two lane rural road in front of our house curves through the countryside until about one half a mile both ways when it straightens out. So what does every red-blooded American boy or girl do? Why step on the gas, of course. Ignore those 40 mile per hour signs, terrorize Pet and her little dog, go, go, go, you PEST, PEST, PEST.

Karen

I have to agree that the human PEST is far worse than any insect. But before I go on a rant about homosapien PESTS I have another kind of PEST story. On one of those perfect putter-in-the-yard days I decided to plant a cutting garden. Like any good gardener knows, prepping a new space is really important. I eagerly tilled the soil dreaming of all the fantastic flower arrangements that would soon be gracing my parlor. Once I worked in some topsoil I figured out my flower placement and got down on my knees and started planting. Things were going along great until my trowel hit the edge of a large underground tunnel. It didn’t take long for the resident to come out and find out who had disturbed his home. Little beady eyes stared up at me and a loud grunt came from its snaggle tooth filled mouth. I’d never come face to face with a gopher before. This little sucker was ticked. He stood his ground and kept grunting. Our stand off turned out to be one legends are made of. : ) He obviously didn’t know who he was tangling with. I got out the trusty garden house and gave him one heck of a bath. He scurried off never to be seen again.

Pet

So many pests inhabit both the city and the country. The last time we spent a night at a motel in a very urban section of Brooklyn, NY, we were horrified by raccoon family scavenging in a garbage bin. A tough bunch, I can understand why your city gopher turned out to be a worthy adversary. Sometimes even deer come out of the parks and feed on city gardens. Here in the countryside we are inundated with them although they all disappear when hunting season starts. They are lovely creatures, so graceful, but boy can they chomp down on the veggie garden especially during dry season. Plus become a major hazard when driving after dark. Another hungry garden predator is the cute little bunny rabbit. Fortunately we have a healthy stand of clover keeping the little buggers happy. Still, I’m suspicious of the adorable little fur balls consuming my just planted baby dill. I planted fragrant herbs in the spot where the zucchini attracted a million squash bugs last year. I plan to buy the squash and cook them with fresh herbs as long as the bunnies stay away. So even after I put my number on the Do Not Call list, I’m still constantly fighting pests.

Karen

The PESTS I fight in the city are mostly the human variety. Besides the scourge of uniform clad, ticket totting netter maids, the second worst PESTS in the city are what I like to call the grocery stalkers. I’m sure in the country you might have your own version, but here in LA with endless organizations and causes to promote and raise money for I feel like I need body armor to even think about entering the grocery store. Sometimes the entrance is almost totally blocked by tables covered with petitions and food drives and the people who stand guard waiting to pounce on you. And don’t get me started about when it’s election time. I’ve even resorted to doing drive by’s before I pick which grocery store is safe to shop at. The people hustling green petitions should be horrified that they are actually forcing me to increase my carbon footprint. What happened to the days when all you had to worry about was the Girl Scouts and the ten pounds you’re going to gain from buying way too many boxes of cookies from the cute girl with braids?

Pet

How about the scantily clad car washers barricading the shopping center parking lot? I try to avoid shopping on a Saturday but even though I’m a major food hoarder, sometimes my freezer runs out of an essential item and there I go, getting the car washed whether she needs it or not just to gain entrance to the super market. I’d much rather make a donation to the cheer leaders, or first grade soccer, than plow through the parking lot pests. I’d also like to send some $$$ to that throw away newspaper which gets thrown away on the lawn every weekend. Here’s money for not delivering this pesky addition to the newspaper recycle bin. How about the kids in your family who sell stuff? You love them so you’ll buy but how much wrapping paper or chocolate bars do two people need? I guess we’d best not get on family pests or we’ll run out of blog space. Maybe I should just stick with the insects as I swat one of those disgusting little moths who try to take over my overstocked pantry with food still zip locked from last year. Boy the subject of pests is a never-ending one!

Karen

That’s for sure. So I’ll close this post out with a story about Pasadena’s most famous PEST, no it’s not our cute and annoying squirrels, it’s a very special seasonal PEST, The Rose Parade Locusts. They start arriving about a week before the parade in large caravans of Winnebago’s and family vehicles. They begin to stake out their favorite spots up and down the parade route. Going into Old Town turns into a logistical nightmare, dodging people with camping equipment and chairs while you’re trying to get into your favorite restaurant. I have a friend who actually turns the whole thing into a sport as his house in on the parade route. When the parade locusts start staking out spots in front of his house he tells them the city has changed the parade route to two blocks over. He takes great glee in seeing their confused and then panicked faces. Now I don’t condone his bad behavior but I can understand his frustration. You should see the huge mounds of trash the locusts leave in front of his house when they fly off. Nothing worse then a PEST that doesn’t clean up after itself!

Projectitus

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:19:00 +0000

Karen's gazebo and the newly painted fountain.

Pet's sunroom project in progress

Karen

I don’t know about you Pet, but the second the first week of Spring hits I get projectitius. I become a list fiend. With the first holiday of the season a month away I start to make my home improvement lists. Somehow the bright spring light only seems to highlight the deferred maintenance from the winter blues. Here in sunny California, all the flowers are blooming and once again the outdoors calls. That means I better spruce up the lawn furniture and get ready for unannounced neighbors to come over for a little glass of Pinot Noir in the backyard gazebo. The same gazebo that is currently covered in cobwebs and has dirt an inch thick on the floor.

Pet

Gone are the days when you wanted change in the homestead you simply sold the one you have and bought a new one. Feeling lucky to have a house at all, we’re diving into projectitus! Great word, Karen Anne. We usually start with the friendly place, the front porch. The chairs come out of the garage, hopefully don’t need painting, and are set in conversational mode. Big planters border the edge. A few tables for drinks and small planters join them. Frost warnings over, so next come the geraniums highlighted with tumbling petunias. Red geraniums with white petunias? Or all shades of pink. Whatever the color scheme, the front porch cries for geraniums and petunias.

Karen

I wish my projects were as simple as planting flowers. My main project is restoring my porches. All three of them! Although my house is a new Victorian built in 2003, my porches are from a house built in 1890 that was torn down because of the Northridge earthquake. Due to some shoddy painting by the builder, the hundred plus wood has been splitting and cracking every year. This year chunks started to fall off and I had to bump the porches up to number one on the project list. The back porch is also made from parts of the old Victorian and due to my brilliant idea of wrapping my wisteria vines around the posts the paint has literally been pulled off by the vine. Word of advice, don’t let a pretty vine fool you; they can cause hell when you’re not looking!

Pet

Flowers are great for covering structural sins when one is too lazy to redo whole areas. You, Karen Anne, are the ambitious type who gets to the root of the problem. Yup vines can be uber troublesome. Here in the south we have a vine that resembles a grapevine, called kudzu. The pretty leaves pop out as a first sign of spring. But then the vine grows and grows and grows. By midsummer they envelop all nearby trees, bushes and deserted buildings. Kudzu overgrowths spring up everywhere. The darn things are unkillable. The city of Chattanooga has a unique idea. They hire a herd of hungry goats who are able to eat kudzu as fast as it grows and at least keep the vines off of the highway. Idea: How about acquiring a herd of goats to trim back your wisteria?

Karen

I think the Pasadena police would have something to say about goats grazing in my yard! Then again the neighbors kids would think I hired a petting zoo. : ) Planting vines sure is tempting but sometimes you just have to break down and do good old manual labor mainly to keep guests from falling through the floorboards. : ) Of course my city friends think I’m crazy to work on the porches myself. But I have the skills and no one will give them the attention that I will lavish on them. I have to admit I sure would rather be doing something fun like decorating my front parlor. But ask anyone who has an old wood porch, and they’ll tell you, porches are always begging for attention just like kids. Lol

Pet

At our modern house the back porch was actually a deck. The view was great, the furniture comfy, location totally convenient connecting the breakfast nook with the backyard and the bordering wild life habitat. The big problem was the deck faced west, bringing cool mornings and sweltering afternoons. So the front porch was, and is, where we sit. Temps great out front, but instead of communing with nature, we watch the neighbors and wave at the cars speeding by. Ah, but that view of the yard and the wildlife culminating in the ever changing landscape of the Holsteins grazing on the ridge was simply to good to waste. So, Madam Devoted Decorator, tell me what project we should have undergone, and then I’ll tell you what we did.

Karen

Sounds like your deck needs a roof! How about putting up a gazebo? Worked wonders for my backyard problem area. We have a nice brick patio behind the garage that we never used till last year. The reason? We have a 100-year-old scrub oak tree that sheds it’s leaves year round. These aren’t just any old leaves; no, they have razor edges and sharp spines. You can imagine how much fun it was to hang out under it's very large and deadly canopy. Not! The solution came to me one day, a gazebo!!!! It’s been like heaven ever since. We are shielded from the killer tree and the gazebo almost feels like a tree house snuggled under the large tree branches. My neighbors love it and that’s where everyone wants to hang out in the summer. Turned a dead space into a popular hangout. Get yourself a gazebo!

Pet

A gazebo sounds great and I love the way they look. I picture a gazebo at one end and a hot tub at the other. A door from the master bedroom/bath leads on to the porch/deck. Woops, I mean ex deck. What we did was construct a sunroom on top of the deck, gorgeous sunny spot, and safe from the elements. We have a great time during all seasons checking out the wildlife, mostly deer, turkeys and bunnies, but every bird imaginable. The Holsteins graze on the hillside, rain, shine and below zero. When guests come for dinner they fight over the table in the sunroom. Not a simple solution, but it worked for us! What fun if we can manage to look out at a gazebo.

Uh oh…I feel an attack of projectitus coming on.

Karen

: ) Tis the season! I just finished a side project not even on my list. But the idea has been floating around in my head. I managed to finally score a great deal on a fountain for the backyard by the gazebo. There is a small wall mounted fountain on the back of the garage but it hardly makes a sound. Not the nice splashy ambiance I was hoping for. So I found a nice medium sized fountain high off the ground (we have raccoons) only problem was it was a horrible cream-colored fake stone. No problem for a decorating maven like me. They make wonderful fake stone spray paints so I found a nice dark granite color that matches my green and black theme. Always have to have a theme. Lol Now that the fountain is painted, it looks like a one that would cost twice as much. The neighbors are going to be thrilled by the new ambiance while they down their mojitos!

Pet

Fountains are nice but how about a whole pond spanned by a scenic bridge and some bright colored fish splashing below? One of our relatives built such an outdoor delight and if we can lure him down to our place, we’ll beg, bribe or threaten him until he builds a water place for us. We even have a water supply, a babbling brook hidden in the trees. The birds would love this addition. If only I were as ambitious as you! I’d be out there right now digging away. Actually we’d lure a farm neighbor with a back hoe to dig the hole soon to become the scenic fishpond. We have the acreage, now we need to catch Karen Anne’s ambition. Maybe if we promised relatives and neighbors unlimited mojitos, they’d grab a shovel and dig in. For the tee-totalers, we’d whip up unlimited supplies of those California death by chocolate brownies. Shamefacedly I must admit…to us projectitus is like a case of the flu. We lay low until the urge goes away!

Karen

Maybe I need a twelve-step program to cure me of projectitus. Instead I’ll be heading out to work on my porches. They are my major project for the year so I’ll be thrilled to get the worst off my list. Wish I felt a case of the flu coming on. : )

Happy Projectitus Everyone!

(until they find a cure)

Spring Can’t Get Here Fast Enough

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:06:00 +0000

We aren't the only ones with the winter blues

Pet's brother took this picture in London!

Yes Karen it's true, it does snow on palm trees!

Pet

This certainly has been a rough winter. Seems like the ice and snow will never quit. And the cold. Bitter, biting, blustery cold. Must we break records every day? And do they have to be, the coldest, the most snow, thousands of power outages caused by ice and other weather disasters? We snowbirds, stuck for the winter in balmy Florida, really sympathize with our friends and family up north as we watch them struggle on the weather channel in our shorts and T-shirts. Okay, so some days we have to top off our shorts with a sweat shirt, and even go unstylish and wear socks with our sandals, but even then the southern sun shines blindingly in a cloudless sky. Not a snowflake in sight. Lolling in the southland is great way to chase the midwinter blues.

Karen

Although we in Southern California have had one of the warmest January’s on record we’ve also had some of the coldest nights. Storms as far away as Alaska bombarded us though usually they never make it this far south. So I would say it’s been a miserable winter here too. I mean just when we’re ready to break out the bikini and hit the beach again we get anther rainy cold snap. But hey I’m not complaining, well kind of. : ) But what is worth complaining about is the way native LA people drive in the rain. I swear it’s like they’ve never seen water fall from the sky before. They have to slow down and stare to make sure the downpour is real. One thing you can spot right away are the transplants like me. We see rain and drive just like usual on the freeways, 70 or faster!

Pet

Do you notice how many movies in LA feature rain? The Hollywood folks get their cameras out at the first drop. I remember one of our early visits to S. California. The theme parks were closed because of the storm. So even golden state residents need a “snow day.” Not like our daughter in ice stricken Kentucky who has ten days off from school waiting on the electricity to go back on, but a weather related holiday anyway. Here in Florida there’s plenty of weather fun during the hurricane season so they don’t react to rain storms. Matter of fact, they love rain around here. We’re close to the forest fire area of last year. Dry foliage from the recent freeze makes efficient tinder. By the way, did I tell you we have cattle around here? Kind of opposite from the boonies back home. Here I counted 500 cows and 5,000 little houses. Back home reverse the figures.

Karen

Seems you find cows wherever you go. I’m sure they know you don’t take it personally. :) Great idea about “snow day” but in LA I think they should call them “rain days.” They actually would save lives. But these days we are grateful for every drop as we head into our third year of drought. Still, as I check the forecast and see one series of storms after the other I have to admit I long for the typical sunny California weather. I can see why my native California friend who moved to Oregon needed a doctor after the first year. When you’re not used to dark and gloomy days it really does make you stir crazy. She had to get a prescription for a special lamp to ease her depression. I’m sure the people in Kentucky and Back East could really use a light prescription too. And they’d love the side benefit of a great tan!

Pet

The winter sun is a welcome sight. As soon as the clouds disappear the days rapidly heat. Lately the blustery breezes keep the beaches deserted so we don’t see too many tourist type suntans. You know, the ones you want to say ouch to. Red and peeling instead of bronze and beautiful. When I went south in the winter I’d really concentrate on a tan. Mr. Sun kissed my Mediterranean hide with color George Hamilton would envy. Then every year the same thing happened. As soon as I stepped on the plane north, the tan faded and when we landed, all evidence of the southern sojourn disappeared. I stopped sun bathing when bombarded by hazard reports. Like most alarming health warnings sun avoidance comes with negatives since the word on the street is women get osteoporosis because those spf 50 lotions deprive their bodies of Vitamin D, essential to keep bones strong. Don’t know who to listen to re what’s good or bad for you I say, defiantly munching on a chocolate covered peanut butter cookie.

Karen

LOL Pet! I say anything chocolate would chase the winter blues away. As I look at the forecast and see another string of storms headed our way for most of the following week I quickly hit the grocery store and stock up on all the things I need to make my favorite chocolate treats. Nothing like gloomy weather to bring out the baker in me. Somehow that fact that it’s pouring rain outside is masked by the wonderful aroma of brownies baking in the oven. It’s also the perfect excuse to get a chocolate high. I don’t feel guilty at all indulging in a frosted fudge brownie with chocolate chips and washing it down with a big mug of hot cocoa with whip cream on top. Who cares that you can’t go outside when you are bouncing off the walls!!!!

Pet

Seems like when the weather worsens in the west, we warm up in the east. Especially the southeast! That doesn’t mean we’ll stop eating so we look great in our bikinis. Us eat-a-holics just switch the treats. We cool off those brownies (recipe, dahling?) and plop a huge dollop of vanilla ice cream on top. Or better yet caramel cheesecake ice cream. Instead of hot chocolate we haunt the convenience stores for grape slurpies. Need a protein fix? Hot dog stands spring up along with the Orange blossoms. All those goodies are on top of three squares a day. Yeah, the sun might be blazing, the temperatures rising, and days getting longer but we still have to fight the winter blues. Hopefully the food police will forgive us indulging since the diet starts in six weeks on the first day of spring. As for now…please, please, please give us that double chocolate chunk brownie recipe before we sign off.

Karen

Once again you ask me to divulge what to me is like a state secret, my favorite brownie recipe. But I’ll do for our blog fans that are buried in ice and snow. These are guaranteed to make you think it’s Spring!

Frosted Fudge Brownies with Dark Chocolate Chips

2 cups sugar

8 oz. butter (2 sticks)

4 egg yolks, slightly beaten

4 oz. (4 squares) unsweetened baking chocolate

1 cup sifted flour

1 teaspoon vanilla (preferably Tahitian)

4 egg whites, beaten until stiff peaks form

½ bag of Ghirardelli’s 60% Cocoa Chocolate Chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Put sugar in mixing bowl. Melt chocolate and butter together over low heat, stir until well blended and smooth.

Add sugar; mix well. Add beaten egg yolks; mix well. Add flour and vanilla; mix well. Fold in beaten egg whites. Gently fold in chocolate chips.

Spread in a 10x15x1-inch greased and floured jelly roll pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. When cool, spread on chocolate brownie frosting.

Chocolate Brownie Frosting

1 stick butter (4 oz.)

2 squares unsweetened chocolate

1 box confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 tablespoons milk

Melt butter and chocolate over low heat; stir until smooth then add confectioners' sugar. Heat milk until hot; add to chocolate mixture. Add vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread over brownies and enjoy!

(Consume with caution. Mass quantities are for heavy-duty chocoholics only. Not for the faint of heart : )

Happy New Year & The Dreaded Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 02:35:00 +0000

We have New Years resolutions too!

Karen

Well Pet, it’s another New Year and another resolution list. But you know what? I’ve decided to hop on the bandwagon and boycott. Yep here in LA there is a huge movement afoot to say no to resolutions. At first I thought it was like saying you don’t believe in Santa Claus. : ) Then I considered all the benefits. No posting up some crazy list of things that I’ll never accomplish. On a good year maybe I’ll complete three out of ten things. Of course being a competitive person I try to top the year before so the list has become something like an episode of Mission Impossible! So the whole concept of not even having to sit down and compile the list has been a total relief. What about you? Want to join the movement?

Pet

Sounds good to me, but too late. I’ve already started on my resolutions. This is the year I will lose those ten pounds I’ve resolved to for oh, about a million years now. No I’ll go ahead and lose twenty! And exercise…you bet. I’ll join that gym I’ve had my eye on and get a personal trainer and not only will I be thin but also fit. No more fast foods or anything else fattening. And my mind will be much improved in 09 as I resolve to read better books, maybe take a class or two…so easy now on line. Hey, maybe I can learn a musical instrument and a foreign language. I’ve been picturing the all new me for weeks now so how can I give the lovely vision up for some kind of crackpot movement? What do you think of the much improved person emerging at the end of 2009? Do you still think I should join the no resolutions team?

Karen

Not to be Bah Humbug but your list sounds like my typical dream big list. Why not add in that you’ll get an extreme make over and win the HGTV Dream House? Lol Truly, I think a positive attitude is great. My way of staying positive this year is to boycott my resolution list and yours is to go for the gusto. We always knew we were opposites right? : ) I think especially this year with the way the economy is going it’s a smart move to look for ways to try to make the most of the world you can control. So I have a nice set of goals for 2009. Not resolutions, goals. : ) Actually I do want to relearn a foreign language as I will be traveling to France in October. With any luck this time I’ll do better than the C - I got in my High School French class. I also have some very ambitious writing goals. As for weight, I too would like to loose the 15 pounds I’ve been lugging around for several years. And I need to get back to my four times a week walks around the Rose Bowl. I know what you are going to say, “But Karen those sound like resolutions?” A goal by another name…. : )

Pet

Wow! Here I thought (hoped) you would talk me out of my resolutions to work on fashioning a new me in the New Year and instead you come up with all kinds of commendable “goals”. Let’s get one thing straight. No goals or resolutions should state winning the lottery or getting that book out from the box under the bed and immediately into print by a major New York publisher. We have to be in direct control of our resolutions or goals or promises or pledges or whatever you want to call them. We can guarantee the purchase of one lottery ticket a week (If you play…I don’t!) and pledge to take classes geared toward improving writing skills. So my ambitious list wasn’t a dream list. For instance – a favorite finished novel bought by a movie company…a dream! Taking a screen writing course, and querying Hollywood type agents …goals. Get the picture? Now I’m going next door and announce my resolutions to my favorite cows. The girls are always so agreeable. And maybe we’ll discuss a few of my dreams.

Karen

Well, if your cows are anything like the cows back east I know what their goals are. Get milked!!!!!! I can see the resolution list too.

1. Stop chewing my cud 24-7.

2. Be the first in the barn everyday.

3. Find my own private meadow to graze.

4. Find a fly repellant that works!

Pet

You’re not funning me about my lofty resolutions, are you? So I’ll make them really simple like my bovine friends. I will lose weight and congratulate myself for doing so. Even if I shed only three pounds instead of 30 I’ll pat myself on the back and treat me to a low cal snack. I will finish the novel I’m working on while not neglecting the non-fiction projects I’ve started. That should keep me busy and following through should keep me happy. I just might also resolve to stop agonizing over the goals achieved by some of my more organized buds who seem to do in a day what takes yours truly a month. Everyone has to work at her own pace as the contented cow says while slowly treading well behind the lead cow on the way to the barn. The main thing is slow and steady, the plodder gets there too!

Karen

Yes, that’s the point in the end. Don’t beat yourself up if you only get three things done on your list. At least you tried. And although I’ve decided to go the boycott route this year that doesn’t mean I won’t work on my goals for 2009. This year though I’m not writing them down. They are firmly planted on my head. I only have four. Three that are realistic, and one that is pie in the sky. I mean last year gave me some hope. If Britney can lose a bunch of weight and look fabulous again, why can’t I? I think it will be interesting to see how many things I get done when they aren’t written down and plastered on the side of my refrigerator for all the world to see. Well, at least my hubby. : )

Wishing everyone much luck on their resolutions, goals, and dreams for 2009!!!!!!

Pet

I second the good wishes to all for the New Year. May your goals be met and your dreams come true. Whether you live in the country or the city, whether you’re a transplant or a native, be happy wherever you are and whatever you do.

Holiday Count Down

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:46:00 +0000

Karen's parlor takes her two days to decorate but this year she had to do it in one day and she has the grey hair to prove it!

Every Christmas season Eastern Tennessee is overrun with visitors. Thousands of Sand Hill Cranes stop by on their way to Florida. And you thought your house guest where eating you out of house and home!

Karen

Well, Pet it’s holiday crunch time. I’ve decorated every square inch of my house inside and out and have almost completed my Christmas shopping. Alas, haven’t started my cards yet. Every year sending email cards gets more and more attractive. : ) But my friends look forward to what crazy card I’m going to create this year so the pressure is on. I have to say it is nice to see my cards prominently displayed on my friends refrigerators. Lol I’m also bracing for the family and friend onslaught and the proverbial house guests. As the year winds down my schedule gets crazy. Good thing the peppermint schnapps is close at hand.

Pet

You’re having fun doing what you love, so don’t get over stressed. Me, I’m more laid back through the holidays, you know the one who smiles at all the whizzing around shoppers. I love giving regional presents that make the most of the area where you live. The farm where they turn out the Tennessee cheddar features lovely dairy cows I see out in the field brightening the landscape when everything turns brown. Fabulous tasting stuff. Some of my people will get dual gifts this year. First the cheese, then when my husband and I are enjoying our gift to each other…a long, lazy stay in WARM Florida, they’ll get boxes of honey belles, an Indian River delicacy, the best tangelos we even send to the family in Florida. Yes and when we’re down in the sunshine state we can see the orange trees out the window already sprouting blossoms for next year. And the best part? The goodies go out by mail from the suppliers, and I keep smiling.

Karen

I guess I’ve succumb to the city mentality. Everything has a deadline. : ) or as they say, that’s life in the big city. Here in tinsel town even something as simple as decking the halls becomes a competition. Who’s the first to get their lights up. If your neighbor hired someone to put them up then you are slumming if you do your own. If the guy across the street has a mini Disneyland on his front lawn then you better step it up and do Disneyworld! Nothing like Olympic level competition to make the holidays stressful. I try not to get pulled in but I have to admit I was ticked off when three neighbors up the street pooled their resources and have quite the light show extravaganza. Makes my icicle lights and giant snowman on the roof look pitiful. I think I need you to do an intervention. Lol

Pet

Why don’t you simply relax and enjoy the neighbor’s lights? That’s what I do. No competitions here in this hardworking farm community. But I remember when we used to live in the city prizes were awarded. We had some kids living directly in back of us who were…well to be diplomatic now that they’re grown and might be reading our blog, maybe from the State Penn, light fingered. So these little roughnecks (funny they had newly arrived from the country) would go from house to house stealing an ornament here, some lights there even blow up Santas and Frosties joined their heist. Then, blatantly, they’d display them all over their yard and house. And every year they won the competition. No one ever turned them in. First off they were cute little buggers, most needy of all the local kids, hard to prove the adornments were actually stolen, and hey…Wasn’t it nice that the whole neighborhood got involved? Now that’s what I call laid back.

Karen

I’ll say!!! You’d start a war if someone stole anything around here. The neighborhood called out the heavy infantry when a prized orchid was stole from the front porch of a house a block over. I was waiting for them to post missing orchid signs all over the neighborhood. Lol The people here take their holiday decorating seriously. We have a lot of Hollywood types and they don’t mess around with the over the top lighting and automated figures. One guy bragged that his electric bill was over five hundred dollars every December. I have to say it took some getting used to all the competitiveness. Not what I equate with the holidays. But I have to say I enjoy all the wonderful displays I can enjoy from my front porch.

Pet

So far everyone around here seems to be in good spirits. Saturday, a busy day, I found myself in that big super place. The crowds weren’t too bad since this is an enormous store in a small city, and there were plenty extra checkers. I ran across little lady in one of those motorized scooter looking confused. When I asked if I could help with something, she all but sobbed, “I can’t find the stuffing.”

I directed her to the proper aisle.

“Now if only I can find the canned artichokes.”

“Could it be in the fruit section?” she asked.

I set her straight that artichoke wasn’t a fruit but a veggie and we fussed about how you could never find a sales person when you needed one. I went back to shopping and she zipped off.

A few aisles over, zip she reappeared. “I found an associate. Your artichokes are next to the green beans.”

We both raced over there and this time found the quartered artichoke hearts. So now, thanks to the little lady in the scooter, I have the ingredients for this delicious dip for the party Saturday.

1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach - thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 7x11 inch baking dish.
In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth. Mix in the artichoke hearts, spinach and Parmesan cheese. Season with garlic and lemon juice. Spread evenly into the prepared baking dish.
Bake covered for 20 minutes. Remove the cover, and let the dish bake uncovered for 5 more minutes, or until the surface is lightly browned.

Karen

Your dip looks yummy but the calorie count kept climbing as I read down the ingredients list. : ) Yes, here in tinsel town yet another thing to stress out about is the astronomical calories one consumes at the various parties and dinners. Whole articles are dedicated to the art of nibble grazing. Why if you just take a nibble you can enjoy anything you want and not gain an inch! But I’m here to tell you that it’s a recipe for disaster. Because in the same magazine they encourage a major fast to help you look perfect in your sparkly cocktail dress. I’ve witness many a melt down when a poor starved soul starts to nibble and ends up gorging themselves instead. But one clever rail thin hostess found a great way to ensure no bad behavior would take place at her party. She bragged about how she put together the ultimate holiday buffet. All her treats were healthy and yummy beyond words. Well, I had no problem enacting the nibble rule at her party because everything was so disgusting one taste and you’d swear off food forever.

Pet

Yup, calories are a problem this time of year. That’s why in January every kind of diet suddenly surfaces. So many I can’t decide which one. I did go on one of those diets once and lost loads of weight, looked thin and beautiful enough to attend a tinsel town party. Unfortunately I got sick of chicken breasts, broiled fish and apples. As soon as I ate real food all the pounds came back. In my present condition they wouldn’t let me through the door in that skinny people place. At least here in the South wherever you go, whatever you do, you find someone fatter than you. Those biscuits and sausage gravy are worse putting on the pounds then the holiday goodies. So I guess when the New Year comes I’ll change my life style so I can finally lose those ten pounds I’ve been making a resolution to lose since about 50 pounds ago. Meantime I’m going to make delicious garlic toast to dip into the artichoke dip. Do I hear olive oil and butter?

Karen

LOL Pet! I think the more time goes by, weight piles on even faster. But here in tinsel town it’s like a collective mirror is held up to you every day. Especially since I made the mistake of making a living in fashion for over fifteen years. That’s why I try to look as thin as possible even if I gained my usual holiday ten pounds. Nothing worse than going to a party and having someone you see once a year look you up and down and say, “You look so plump and happy. I wish I could not care what people think. ” Ouch!!!!! But I have the perfect non-Hollywood correct response. “Why thank you. And I see you continue to visit Dr. Harrison. He’s a master with lipo.”

Pet

Speaking of eating a bunch the other day we drove to a wildlife refuge to observe the Sand Hill Cranes, tall fellows with red caps and very loud voices, who stop here every year during the Christmas season for refreshments before continuing on to Florida. Watching hundreds of thousands of these noisy birds chow down on wetland veggies is quite a sight. Often in Florida a family of these Sand Hills adopts a human family and demand food. Takes a whole bunch of birdseed to fill them up! Guess all that flying helps them maintain their svelte shapes. Well Karen, I’m about to say Felice Navidad and go back to stirring up my fattening dip and slathering grease on the garlic toast. But first I want you to release to all of us with watering mouths your top-secret scrumptious cookie recipe. And then you can say, “See y’all next year!”

Karen

So you are holding the blog hostage till you get my secret holiday cookie recipe? Like my stress isn’t bad enough? : ) Feeling my arm being twisted through cyber space, I’ll reveal the recipe but you and all our dedicated blog readers have to swear that you will not hand it out like candy. After all it’s survived six generations in our family without one tattletale. Now you are forcing me to break such a family tradition. Feeling guilty yet? : ) I have added a modern addition by adding dark chocolate chips to make a fantastic orange cookie even better. So here it is. It will be my gift to our loyal readers. Trust me these cookies are beyond yummy.

Orange Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 c unbleached flour 

1 c unsalted butter 

3/4 c white sugar 

3/4 c light brown sugar 

2 eggs 

2 tsp high quality vanilla (Tahitian) 

The juice and grated rind from one small orange

1 tsp baking soda 

2 cups Ghirardellis 60% dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Cream the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, orange juice, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Combine the dry ingredients and the orange peel and stir in to the creamed mixture. Fold in chocolate chips lightly and chill for 20 minutes or so. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls (or tablespoons if you like them man sized :) on a greased baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes until light golden brown and still soft, but set in the middle. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then remove to cooling rack or counter. Makes 3-4 dozen cookies regular sized or about 1 ½ to 2 man sized. Enjoy!

Pet & Karen Wish You Happy Holidays!!

Have A Happy (But Cheap) Holidays!

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:42:00 +0000

Karen's fabulous fall door decoration cost a staggering $ 1.50!

Pet's little friends came to live with her after a boxing day (day after Christmas ) sale. Now they stay in their own bargain box every holiday season.

Pet

That time is here, Karen. The season some folks love (you) and others only faintly like (me). Known far and wide as Ms. Scrooge, now that my kids are grown up, the only way I can get through the holidays, is to zip up my wallet and try to join in on the spirit. So, since everyone is worrying about THE ECONOMY, I thought I’d pass on some of my money saving trips. Okay, KA, quit rolling your eyes and pay attention. First I’m starting with my favorite subject, food. No matter how much all that gross commercialism gets under my skin I adore yummy holiday meals, and the many occasions to snack freely. But even here I look for bargains. Today I stopped at the grocery, you know for pick up stuff, bananas and tomatoes and walked out with two “specials of the day” both incredible good buys. Now a juicy fat ham and a plump roasting chicken reside in my freezer waiting patiently for holiday weekend revelry. Why have a great meal only on THE DAY when we have six weeks for gourmand bargain delights?

Karen

Well as I am a country girl at heart I’m always looking for deals. I don’t think I’ve paid full retail for anything in years. One advantage to being in the city are the endless places to save money and especially for the holidays. A big tradition in LA is to drive downtown to the freight train delivery depot and buy your produce and even your Christmas trees right out the piggyback container. Can’t get your tree any fresher and costing less except if you steal one out of the forest. : ) In fact when they off load all the trees it looks and smells like a forest. And for the most fabulous of holiday table decorations you just have to head for the flower market and then walk 20 blocks to the garment district and buy the most amazing fabrics for pennies on the dollar. People always wonder how I can afford to have my house decked out like a high end department store. I always give them a knowing smile and say, “I have a nose for deals!”

Pet

Positively fabulous. And here I thought you headed for Rodeo Drive to pick up your famous ornaments for your dazzling tree. Lots of our trees are stolen from the forest. Actually I have about a half acre of trees on my property. I bet more folks than usual will be cutting trees from the woods instead of laying out cash at expensive stands. Home made decorations can be very festive too. What’s prettier than decorative ropes made from pop corn and cranberries? We used to have a formula to make cookie like tree decorations. Alas they didn’t last through the years. Got to go now and clip coupons from the Sunday papers. Some folks tell me they don’t have time to go after these money savers, but for me it’s a hobby and I like to see the final grocery tab go down after they’re added up. I’m told they have a bunch on the internet, but I haven’t gotten into them…yet. Clipping from the papers rests my eyes after a day staring at the screen. At least that’s my excuse for searching, sorting and using these cash savers.

Karen

I love the Sunday papers too. I clip coupons but somehow they never make it from the kitchen drawer to the grocery store. I have the best of thrifty intensions though. : ) I have a confession to make, although I’m quite the renaissance woman and make my own curtains and sometimes my clothes, I don’t make my own ornaments. I do have a few of the ones my grandmother made out of old Christmas cards and they are some of the favorites on my tree. But that doesn’t mean I spend big bucks on the hundreds of sparkly decorations on my tree. No, I go to all the day after Christmas sales and snap them up for 75% off! And let’s not forget Thanksgiving decorating deals. You can snag them right now. I just bought a fabulous autumn leaf wreath for my front door as well as some I-can’t- believe-they’re-fake cattails and red leaf maple branches for a huge arrangement in the entryway at an amazing 85% off!! Total cost 7.00!!!!!!!

Pet

Woo hoo for you Karen! Do they give out cash prizes in decorating contests so you can get your money back? This year retailers are shooting out the bargains big time since they expect a holiday buying slump. Now’s the time to pick up your festive outfits, although they won’t be as rock bottom as at season’s end. Remember when we had to wait until after the holiday to buy cheap stuff? Not so this year. But then again, nothing’s quite the good savings as making do with what you have. Around here the custom is to deck the halls and everything else on Thanksgiving Day or not long after. I have a pretty front porch, easy to decorate with a few lights, candles, bows and wreaths. This will be the fourth year the very same adornments go out. My Christmas clothes also last for years. After all they only come out of the closet a few times every December. I remember buying my teddy bear Santa sweater-vest in a boutique at Marina Del Ray the year we went to California for Grandma’s 90th birthday. She would be celebrating her 102nd if she were still with us. Grandma’s gone, but I’ll be wearing the sweater to my chapter party this year.

Karen

Well that’s what I call putting your sweater to good use! But I have to admit I’m not a big fan of themed clothing. Maybe because I was forced to wear them as a kid. My Mom was a very accomplished knitter and she loved doing intricate themes to show off her talent. I had to put my foot down when at the age of 16 she proudly handed me a reindeer sweater with Rudolph’s nose made with a big red pom pom! But I have to admit I regret not hanging on to more of those sweaters. They really were works of art. But I’m sure someone is enjoying them today as they were so well made. I am proud to say I come from a very green family. They were recycling in the 1800’s. I love the fact that my furniture is 100 years old and belonged to my great great aunt. I have Christmas decorations that are over 80 years old. I try to keep their tradition alive by taking great care of my hand-me-downs. Of course many of the things that were considered out of date in the 1800’s are now worth a ton of money. I wouldn’t sell one piece. They look way to fabulous in my parlor. : )

Pet

That Rudolph sweater sounds cute! Wish I had one. DH has a much loved tee shirt he wears this time of year saying MERRY GRINCHMAS with the picture of the unjolly sprite himself ferociously frowning. We agree on most things but have different favorites when it comes to Christmas legends. Ahh antiques. I kind of swore off them the year the kids were at the rambunctious stage and we owned a St. Bernard. While fooling around in the living room they crashed into a family heirloom—a glass Tiffany lamp shade made by the master himself. But this year we’re back in the business. Though our house is modern we lack counter space in the kitchen for two fanatic cooks. Luckily, we inherited this huge butcher block, obviously used by a butcher of old according to all the hack marks on top, and with the aid of our neighbor’s front end loader form the farm, plopped it in the middle of the kitchen. Problem solved. And this genuine antique piece will be the star of our Holiday cooking endeavors. Talk about upgrading the kitchen at rock bottom cost.

Karen

Wow how tragic to loose a Tiffany shade!!!!! But what great luck to inherit the perfect piece for the kitchen! I love the holidays as I can bring out my grandmothers dishes. She collected tons of old transfer ware. I have a set that is brown and white that I use for turkey day. The red and white set I get out for Christmas, looks stunning on her favorite lace table cloth. Now that’s recycling! Just goes to show that having pack rats as relatives really pays off. : ) Well, I’m off to go scavenging for more deals. I saw a special on cranberries so I’ll stock up for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. They freeze really well. I’m also hoping to snag a turkey a bit cheaper this year with the help of a local store coupon. You can bet I’m going to take this one out of my purse!

Pet

You have my seal of approval for a happy holiday without going too deep into your purse! Antiques do serve a purpose. They are kept forever doing what they were made to do years ago. And are most appreciated around the holidays. Counter acting against the tense vibes cause by the falling stock market and worrisome economy, is the low cost of gas. That means we won’t have to get out the sled to travel to Grandmother’s house this year. We can well afford the low cost of gas although we might have to make the trip in an old car. Happy Thanksgiving everyone and have a very merry holiday season!!!

Spine-chilling & Blood curdling

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 02:38:00 +0000

Seems the zombies have discovered Karen's house!

Pet's Fortune Teller Says: Be careful what you wish for,

you might just get the Lexus of your dreams and the payments that come with it!

Pet

I don’t have to ask what you’re doing to celebrate the spooky holiday! Here’s my picture of your Halloween celebration. First off you spend days decorating your house into eerie ghostly perfection! Then you invite all your tinsel town buddies to a huge party. All the refreshments (delicious of course) fit the season…black stuff, body parts including eye balls and fall leaves everywhere except on your trees outside. And you’re drinking orange mohitas. Oh and being so close to Hollywood everyone arrives in a bloodcurdling costume looking like the real thing. Here all we do is shove some candy into a pumpkin for all the little gremlins showing up in dollar store costumes. Maybe we’ll sip the latest fast food item: pumpkin milkshakes.

Karen

Hum…..pumpkin milkshakes. Why do I have a feeling they might be a complete flavor disaster. : ) I think your picture is accurate of our Halloween festivities except for the party. No, here in the land of people who dare to be different, we are having a progressive candy extravaganza. We move from house to house handing out arms full of candy to the kids who swarm the street. The word has spread far and wide about our crazy tradition and SUV’s and mini-van’s start lining the street at 5:30. In our neighborhood ghouls and goblins have to be quick to get their treats as we are constantly changing which houses are handing out sweet treats. It’s tiring but great entertainment. Especially aided by our heavily laced blood red vampire punch. Why let the kids have all the fun?

Pet

Hope that laced punch doesn’t go to the trick and treaters. I remember some years ago at a party we served two punches spiked and unspiked. You guessed it! They got mixed up and we had some happy little ones staggering around. Your neighborhood sounds like a fun place, but then what else can you expect from localities coming straight from central casting. Around here we let nature take over in the fall. No one could recreate the autumn leaves in the mountains to the east and on the plateau to the west. The bales of hay and the content cattle loving the colder weather, make the picture perfect. I wonder if Halloween wasn’t timed to come right as Mother Nature puts on her biggest show of the year. Certainly is a favorite holiday! Let the fun begin.

Karen

Don’t worry, we keep the spiked punch far away from the kidlettes. It’s stashed right next to the severed heads and eyeballs. : ) As for fall foliage, not much autumn color in this town. Little sprinkles here and there which can only be seen from the height of a freeway overpass. The only cows around here are on the labels of milk cartons. : ) One of the things I find amusing about the city is little pumpkin patches that spring up from gas station and drug store parking lots. Where once there was a field of pavement, now there is a large hay strewn pumpkin covered vision of the country. I think it’s nice that city kids get to experience, on a small semi-Hollywood level, the joys of picking out the perfect jack-o-lantern. Of course on the down side, many of the pumpkins I see decorating peoples homes are not the genuine item, but plastic knock offs from China. So much for tradition.

Pet

Funny but California is the biggest milk producing state. I wonder where they hide the moo cows. Since the leading industry in the southern part of the state is movie making, and since scary movies are so trendy, I bet the costumes are awesome, complete with realistic makeup, ghoulish or bloody. Around here orange is in for fall. Not for Halloween though. Orange is the University’s color and football is an obsession, even this year with the home team not doing so well. Hey and not only hats and tee shirts, but vehicles, houses, even painted pets. Everyone competes to see who can be the most orange. On game day loyal fans arrive at the nearby docks in orange boats, the Volunteer navy. So you can bet the little tricksters will be decked out in orange. Poor Jack O Lantern doesn’t have a chance.

Karen

Well, I have to say orange head to toe is usually a big fashion no no but when sports are involved all the “rules” go out the window. As far as cows go, they no better than to stink up Hollywood. : ) But back to Halloween, yes, here in tinsel town Halloween is almost as big of a deal as Christmas. Some people go crazy and create huge graveyards on their front lawns and have giant spiders the size of Volkswagens spinning webs on their gingerbread covered Victorian porches. Oops that’s me. Lol I’ve seen some very convincing ghouls and vampires walking down my street. I’m sure some parents pay to have the make-up professionally done for their little demons. The adults here usually dress up with the kids. They don’t want to miss an opportunity to ham it up. Nothing cuter then opening the door to a pair of father and son zombies happily munching away on severed body parts and taking a break just long enough to scream out, “Trick or eat.”

Pet & Karen wish you a Scary Halloween!

Say Good-bye To Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 05:46:00 +0000

Pet thought you might like to know what a round hay baler looks like

Karen's way to say good-bye to summer

Karen

Well Pet, it’s time to say good-bye to summer. The final parties of the season are coming up just when the weather is getting cool enough to enjoy the back patio. Sigh. One good thing about living in Southern California is even as Fall approaches we can still be out barbequing and drinking mojitos. I really do think summer parties should start right about now. At least for the poor folks like me that live inland. But with the kids back in school and people getting ready for the Fall it’s hard to convince people now is the perfect time to party outside!!

Pet

Here in the country, we don’t know what a mojito is but we know summer’s over when the corn dries up. The ears are then picked by a machine that shoots the kernels into the cart and leaves husks on the ground. Next the grain travels into the silos for livestock dinners. One of our local farmers grows only grain and does one-thousand acres of corn. He has a customer over the Smoky Mountains in North Carolina who runs a hen house with one million chickens. The birds consume a tractor trailer load of corn a day. Now you know where those deviled eggs for your parties come from.

Karen

Wow, now that’s a lot of chicken and corn!!!!! There aren’t too many indicators of the close of summer in the big city. Unfortunately the most obvious one is that the freeways are packed and the commute time just doubled. But I know exactly what will ease the pain of a nerve splitting LA commute. Here’s the recipe for a mojito. It’s a summer favorite in Cuba. Kind of like a Caribbean version of a mint julep.

Ingredients: 4 mint leaves, 1 lime for juicing, 1 teaspoon powdered sugar, 2 ounces white rum, 2 ounces club soda, 1 sprig of mint(for garnishing) and crushed ice.

Preparation: Put the mint leaves into a tall glass and squeeze the lime juice over them. Add the powdered sugar and then pound the mint, lime juice and sugar together. Add crushed ice. Stir in the rum and top off with the club soda. Garnish with a mint sprig and enjoy. Yummy!

Pet

Sounds good but hope all you folks in Tinseltown wait to imbibe until you get OFF the freeways. Let’s see I have a great crop of mint, but need all the other ingredients. The saddest part of autumn in the country happens when all the flower die. The marigolds performing magnificently in the summer now are brown and very deceased. Some blooms such as vinca and scarlet sage will last until the first frost and some, like the pretty pansies, try to hang on through the winter. I love the change of seasons. The leaves are starting to turn now and us mountain folks share them with literally millions visit from surrounding cities. But I envy you with year round gardening. I’m going outside and popping in some crocus bulbs, as they serve as heralds of spring and rebirth.

Karen

Actually this is the start of my favorite gardening season. The weather has cooled down enough that I can get back out and clean up all the flowers a shrubs that didn’t make it through the hot summer months. Nothing is more fulfilling than tearing out all the dead carcasses and planting new flowers. I’m a sucker for petunias and pansies this time of year. They work so well with my Victorian house. I just planted a bunch of them in shades of purple around the two-tiered circular fountain in my front yard. Took me over a month to motivate myself. The down side of this time of year is the flocks of crows that swarm my fountain and usually end up breaking it. They love to toss all kinds of things in the basin. I’ve found everything from chicken bones to a nice gold ring!

Pet

I guess you can detect a subtle change of season out there in paradise. Planting pretty flowers seems like a great way to welcome autumn. Here in the country, you know summer’s over by those golden round bales of hay scattered through the fields. Although the drought seems to have popped up again we were blessed with enough rain to produce a bumper crop of hay. The hay, so important for feeding the livestock over the winter, went from hay stacks to those little square bales that had to be stored in the barn. Of course getting the hay in usually happened during the hottest week of the year. The round bales can be left in the fields until needed, and get this: one big round bale equals thirty of the little square ones. Anything making a farmer’s life easy is good.

Karen

I love the round bales scattered out in the fields. They look very much like a Van Gough painting. I remember when the first farmer in Upstate NY bought a fancy new round baling machine. He was the talk of the town! The square bales are what bring back nostalgia now. So guess what you see in the fake pumpkin patches in the city. You guessed it, square. But Fall is still a ways off here. We are still planting flowers and enjoying the last lingering hours of summer. Nothing like lounging in the backyard drinking lemonade and barbecuing all before 7:00 pm. It’s finally cool enough to start cooking at 3:00! Yeah! Unfortunately by 7:00 the sun is beginning to set. I so hate when it starts getting dark early again. I don’t miss the heat of summer but I do miss the sun going down past 8:00.

Pet

The shorter days are definitely cutting into my gardening time. This evening I worked hard planting red and yellow tulips along with daffodils. Those of us afflicted with gardening fever love trying to figure out how the flowers will look without the existing plants. Don’t you miss spring bulbs? I bet you don’t miss “putting away” the bounty of the vegetable patch for use all winter. I used to can, but now freeze whatever I can. Hard to believe that in a few short weeks my copious bed of basil will succumb to the frost. Basil just isn’t the same dried like oregano or frozen like parsley so I settle on a simple pesto recipe: 2 cups packed basil leaves, ¼ cup toasted pecans, ¼ cup parmesan cheese, ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon seasoned salt, ½ teaspoon coarsely ground pepper. Mix all in food processor until mostly smooth. Freezes nicely. The batch I made up is going fast so I’m making more while the leaves are with us. Goodbye summer!

The Summer Gourmets

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:58:00 +0000

Karen's Grandma's Old Fashioned Devils Food Cake

Yum!!!!

Pet's Hungry Garden Gourmets

Pet

Phew…The heat here in E.T. is fierce. Plus we’ve had ample rainfall for a change. That combination makes for abundance of fruits and veggies just begging to be cooked and consumed. First summer time cooking tip. Never take the husks off fresh corn until you’re ready to eat it. Clean off the silky stuff and pop the ears in the oven or onto the grill for a crisp treat. Fresh corn deserves real butter, no matter what your dietary notions are. Grill some extra ears for a corn salad treat. What do the gardens grow out west? We appreciate California fruit off-season, but this time of year…nothing tops a luscious Georgia peach.

No fruit recipes as we eat them all au natural. But here’s one for those extra ears of grilled corn:

CORN SALAD

2 cooked and cooled ears of corn

Eight plum Tomatoes chopped

Medium green pepper diced

Small sweet onion finely chopped

Small clove of garlic, minced

½ English cucumber, diced

½ small zucchini, diced

4 fresh basil leaves

Sprig fresh thyme

Sprig fresh oregano

1tbs fresh parsley

1 tbs lemon juice or more to taste

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Dash of chili powder

Lemon pepper to taste

Scrape corn off the cob, toss veggies and dressing in bowl and chill slightly. Keeps for a week refrigerated.

Karen

This time of year, we have melon mania. Cantaloupe for breakfast, Honeydew for lunch, and watermelon for dessert! Fruit is my favorite thing about the summer. Especially during cherry season. I go a bit crazy because they are only around for about a month here but they are so incredibly yummy I can’t resist gorging myself on them. They make such a terrific snack. We also grow a lot of avocados that I love. Funny, when I first moved to California I couldn’t stand them. I thought what the heck is that large green thing? Or black if it’s a Haus :). When I took my cousin’s dare to eat one, I thought the texture kind of slimy. But I couldn’t deny how absolutely delicious they tasted, especially when they came straight off my cousin’s tree! But back to fruit. They often star at all the great parties we throw in my neighborhood. The pomegranate margarita is the in-cocktail this summer. Here’s my secret recipe. Talk about yummy. : )

POMEGRANTE MARGARITA

2 cups pomegranate juice

1/2 cup limejuice

2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur (triple sec or Grand Marnier) 

1/2 cup tequila 

Margarita salt to coat the rim of the glasses serves 6

Pet

How do you squeeze pomegranates to extract the juice? Tomatoes bombard us this year. Also onions, chives, green pepper, and mega herbs. Calls for fresh pasta sauce. Toss tomatoes into a pan and pop into over until good and hot. The skins will slip right off. Then cut up and mix up everything else and cook on top of stove until liquids reduce. Tastes like summer time. . Our favorite dish for sliced tomatoes is a simple salad, kind of a play on the Italian classic made with fresh mozzarella. We use Tennessee cheddar. Today’s salad mixed slices of hickory smoked and herb cheddar. Top slice tomatoes with sweet onions, place cheese slices between tomato slices, Calamata olives in the middle and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Can you tell that tomatoes are my favorite food?

Karen

Having just come back from Italy and enjoyed many a Caprese salad, I think the Italians would shoot you for messing with their favorite classic tomato salad. : ) When I think of summer my favorite thing is potato salad. My hubby makes a version that will complement any barbecue as it’s done on the grill. He uses mesquite, which gives the potatoes a wonderful smoked flavor. Try this one at your next barbecue and I swear people will be beating down your door for more!

GRILLED POTATO SALAD

1/4 cup Sherry wine vinegar

1 large shallot, chopped

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

12 medium red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled (about 2 3/4 pounds)  Additional olive oil

2 bunches watercress, stems trimmed

3 green onions, chopped

Combine vinegar, shallot, and mustard in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Mix in cheese. Season vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper.

Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until almost tender, about 16 minutes. Drain; cool completely. Cut potatoes into 1/4- to 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Brush rounds on both sides with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Arrange watercress on platter. Grill potatoes until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.

Mound warm potatoes atop watercress; sprinkle with green onions. Spoon vinaigrette over potatoes.

Pet

Your hubby’s salad has my mouth watering. I wish I could hop a plane with a bag of the homegrown reds just dug from the neighbor’s garden! Used them today in a hot German potato salad I made to go along with our brats. The bacon complimented the new spuds and the onions sautéed in the smoky fat made the dish. I can feel the entire coast of California shuddering from the thought of eating grease, or is it another earthquake? Despite my Italian ancestry, I can’t get a taste for mozzarella cheese. But I like other Italian cheeses like the one in my favorite spinach salad:

PET'S EVERYTHING SPINACH SALAD

One six-ounce package of baby spinach with shaved carrots.

Four slices bacon (We use maple-pepper bacon. The smoky kind from Benton’s in nearby Madisonville is also yummy.) cooked and crumbled.

One large or equivalent small tomatoes chopped

½ cucumber diced

½ small sweet onion, chopped

½-pint ripe strawberries, sliced

Two tablespoons gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

One dozen pitted Calamata olives

¼-cup garlic croutons

Two tablespoons chopped pecans

Sprinkle of lemon-pepper seasoned salt

Raspberry-Walnut vinaigrette to taste

Place spinach in one big, or four individual, bowls. Layer ingredients and stir slightly before serving. Diners will add their own salad dressing. Ranch or Italian dressing also good.

Karen

Wow sounds decadent! Yes, here in sunny Southern California where everyone wants to look like a super model, bacon is actually a dirty word. : ) Salads of course are a main stay here and chefs can be very creative with the ingredients. How about instead of bacon to add a little crunch to your salad, adding some fried tofu, or better yet beetles. Have to say I tried them on a dare and roasted beetles taste like chicken. Lol Actually they taste like popcorn! Yum……………….. One of my favorite main dishes in the summer is grilled chicken. Here’s a recipe with a very California twist.

CALIFORNIA GRILLED CHICKEN

1/2 cup (California) walnuts

1 to 1 1/2 lbs of chicken breasts/tenders

1 large ripe fresh (California) nectarine

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup light brown sugar

3 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

Place walnuts in skillet. Over low heat, toast walnuts about 3-5 minutes until fragrant. Remove for heat and let cool. Then place the toasted walnuts in food processor or blender until finely chopped. Cut nectarine in half and remove seed. Cut up fruit; place in blender or processor and liquefy. Pour pureed fruit into a large saucepan. Add honey, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and ginger. Cook on low heat for 8-12 minutes until thickened. Stir nonstop once comes to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Once the sauce mixture is cooled place the chicken in a large zip-locking bag. Add mixture and toasted walnuts. Remove most of the air from the bag and make sure all the chicken is covered with the sauce. Refrigerate 1-2 hours before removing from marinade and grilling. Discard marinade. Then grill until done.

Pet

Love that chicken, but boo to the bugs. Markets are loaded with tasty vegetarian bacon substitutes so you West Coasters don’t have to resort to beetles. In New York, where residents realize that 99.9% will never end up in the movies, pork fat is all the rage. A super trendy noodle house, where a reservation is impossible to get, biscuits cooked in pork fat draw the crowds in. And where do these big apple eateries get the pork? Why here in Tennessee at Benton’s Country Hams. I’m going to end this fattening blog with a barbecue substitute. Pork ribs ala Petrina who doesn’t like tomato laden, sweet sauce:

PET'S SECRET SAUCE

Place a rack of baby back ribs in a roasting pan. Rub generously with garlic pepper, cover and bake for one hour. Pour off fat, cool and marinate in my secret sauce revealed here for the first time:

2 tbs. Worcester sauce

¼-cup soy sauce

2 tbs. Hoisen Sauce

2 tbs. Raspberry vinaigrette

6 cloves of garlic, minced

Dash Thai peanut sauce

Dash Liquid Smoke flavoring

½ can beer

Durkee Grill Creations Chicken and Rib Rub

I like to marinate over night and all day until the grill is heated. Since the ribs are already cooked, five minutes on both sides should do the trick.

For research into Tennessee cooking:

Benton’s Country Hams https://bentonshams.com

Sweetwater Valley Cheese Farm www.sweetwatervalley.com

Karen

Thanks for finally coughing up your secret sauce recipe! Now I don’t have to torture it out of you. : ) I thought I’d add to the fattening finale with my grandmother’s killer devils food chocolate cake recipe. Probably has 1,000 calories in a slice as it’s a three-layer cake but you can split it with a friend and feel half as guilty. : )

GRANDMA’S DEVILS FOOD CAKE

Cake:

1 cup unsalted butter

2 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups boiling water

1 cup cocoa powder (preferably Ghirardelli’s)

4 eggs

1 tablespoon (non-alcohol) vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups unbleached flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Frosting:

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate

1 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

3 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 3 - 9 inch cake pans or use my favorite Crisco spray with flour added. Mix cocoa and boiling water, stir until smooth, set aside to cool. Sift dry ingredients together, set aside.

In a large bowl beat butter sugar, eggs and vanilla together. Alternately beat in the dry ingredients and the chocolate mixture. Beat just until blended, do not over mix. Pour batter into the three greased pans (again I use the flour baking spray) for about 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove cakes from oven and allow them to set for 3-5 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Prepare frosting by melting the butter and chocolates together over low heat. Stir in the cream and mix until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and place it in a large bowl filled with ice. Using an electric hand held mixer or if you want a workout a wooden spoon, beat in the powdered sugar until the frosting holds a stiff shape. Chill. Place the flattest layer on the bottom and frost. Repeat with the other two layers. Use a baker’s spatula to apply the frosting in a swirling motion. Refrigerate till ready to serve. Enjoy!

One thing for sure, once you have a piece of this chocolate cake you’re likely be addicted. Dream on Chocoholics! Hope you enjoy the Transplants summer recipes!

Summer Vacation Hijacking

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:49:00 +0000

Karen climbed the seven story tower of Poppi castle

and lived to take this picture

Pet's vacation spot was a wedding held at Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn NY.

Karen

First off I want to say that my summer vacation is totally to blame for hijacking all my time for the last two months and causing me to disappoint our dedicated blog fans. Pet is totally not responsible. Right Pet. : ) I just got back from three heavenly weeks in Tuscany. And of course I had to prep for the big trip for most of the month of May and the beginning of June. It took two weeks just to figure out how many outfits I could squeeze into my 21 inch carry-on. As I am the blog master for The Transplants I chose to vacation in a lovely country villa that had no internet. I know, totally irresponsible of me. : ) But I wanted to get back to my simple country roots. And funny enough in the small town of Poppi the countryside looked a whole lot like upstate New York. Well, except for the quaint stone houses and an occasional medieval castle. Lol

Pet

Welcome back to the blog, KA! I've always wanted to visit Tuscany since I had Tuscan neighbors, fabulous cooks. The area food must be amazing! But as far as the countryside, if you live surrounded by farms with grazing cows, you head for the city. Which is exactly what I did, hopping a plane to Baltimore, proving once again flying out of a small city is not for sissies. Same goes for the drive to Brooklyn, NYC, for a family wedding reception. Found out that what I think is a traffic jam on the Jersey Turnpike is status quo to my city relatives. Actually, they commented on how light the turnpike traffic was and how sad the gas crisis keeps everyone home. Bumper to bumper for fifty miles means gas crisis and everyone's staying home? Not to us bumpkins.

Karen

Don't get me started on gas prices. With all the taxes they add in California we pay the highest price next to Hawaii! I much prefer to talk about food. The meals in Tuscany were quite simple but everything was fresh and wonderful. Similar to my grandmothers farm cooking but doused with tons of olive oil. And boy do they love to eat! Went to a big family style dinner one Sunday that was eight courses and took four hours! Not to mention the liberal pouring of wine with every course plus the after diner drinks. Grappa is basically 100 proof rubbing-alcohol. Yuck! But limoncello is very yummy and refreshing but watch out as it has quite the kick. Even the locals had a hard time standing once they finished their meal. Made the half-hour drive back to our villa, down windy country roads dominated by drunk Italian drivers, even more exciting.

Pet

Sounds like our family wedding reception. The meal took four hours and we plowed our way through eight courses. Unlike the weddings of old where everyone staggered out, drivers remained stone cold sober. The real wedding turned out unusual also. The bride hails from Los Angeles, the groom New York City with summers on Cape Cod. So on Saturday they married at the Cape with only close family present. The Saturday after they partied n Brooklyn with all the East Coast relatives and friends. Finally, they'll be honored at another reception on the West Coast before leaving for their honeymoon in Hawaii. What with new outfits for each event and all that planning, the miracle is the bride hasn't taken to drink. Yet. : )

Karen

Ah weddings. That could fill a whole blog post and more. I prefer the kind of vacation I just had. Traveling to foreign lands and soaking up the scenery. The people watching in Italy can't be beat especially the men. The way they preen their hair and dress impeccably I sometimes felt like I was in a perpetual fashion shoot. And as I was traveling with my Mom, not my husband, I was looking forward to getting pinched. I was so disappointed after three days nothing. Then on the fourth day I hit pay dirt. I didn't get pinched but I was propositioned twice!

Pet

Italian men have their priorities right. Instead of obsessed by sports, their favorite activity remains women, no matter how old they are. If you were single, you'd probably be telling us much more exciting tales re your trip to the Tuscan Hills. I do believe a few books and movies have the theme of falling in love in Tuscany. Since you're a married woman, tell us more about the fabulous food! We have here in Monroe County a country butcher who makes great hams and bacon, now discovered by trendy New York restaurants, who proudly proclaim, Bacon from Benton. Sis visited from LA recently and we stopped by for a tour. When we got to the bank, the tellers sniffed our smoky aroma and proclaimed, "You've been to Benton."

Karen

Benton's sounds like it would be right at home in Tuscany. They sure love their pork. In fact I haven't ever eaten that much pork in my life. Everything had bacon or ham. Whether sprinkled on a salad or in pasta or totally covering the top of a pizza you had little choice in the meat department. I think the most interesting thing about the food in Tuscany is that it doesn't really fit the classic American Italian mode. The pizza doesn't have a tomato sauce and neither does the pasta. But my favorite thing was the gelato. I became quite the connoisseur. : ) The best gelato I had was in the beautiful multi-towered hill town of San Gimignano. And according to the huge banner above the door it is world famous. No doubt in my mind it's well deserved. The stracciatella (stateside known as chocolate-chip) was to die for. Theirs had an especially think layer of dark chocolate drizzled over the top to make it extra yummy. Once you've had a really good gelato, ice cream pales by comparison.

Pet

I know you'll probably kill me for this but the Gelato you described sounds just like what we had at Olive Garden the other day. Well their chefs do study in Tuscany, and we loved the stuff. What are the sight seeing attractions in that province? Are there mega cathedrals like those that you see in other parts of that country? I love sight seeing and when my hubby drives through the back roads he loves, I am always on the lookout for those brown signs leading to a historical or natural wonder. Do they have those in Italy? Or do you keep your guidebook clutched in your fist? My niece moved to Napa, California, last week and we Easterners are looking forward to visiting that famous nearby valley. Rumor is the wine rivals Italian and even French brews. True, oh world traveler?

Karen

You might have to go wash your mouth out with soap. Olive Garden gelato is like the real thing??????? No way! I tried some at a local gelateria here in Pasadena that is supposed to be an Italian import and it was a total disappointment. Totally Americanized. Was more like ice cream than gelato. There is a huge difference in texture and flavor. But enough about the wonders of gelato..now to answer some of your questions. There are many mega cathedrals in Tuscany, Assisi, Siena and Florence to name a few. In person they are totally jaw dropping in their scale and beauty. I think I shot over fifty pictures in the Florence cathedral alone. The marble work on the outside is so beautifully carved and the layered colors of green, pink and white marble are like the most beautiful wedding cake. In Siena the cathedral is an eye-popping black and white layered confection. No wonder the pastries are so beautifully decorated. And yes they do have historic markers. And history is everywhere you look. And not just a couple of hundred years old like here but there are many things that are from Medieval times as well as from before Christ. But my favorite has to be the castles. After climbing seven stories to the top of Poppi castle's tower I could really appreciate what it must have been like to hike up the almost vertical stairs with 80 pounds of body armor. Just lugging my camera and water bottle was enough!

Pet

We visited a beautiful cathedral last winter in Mobile, Alabama. I've been to Italy and stopped at the cathedrals but my favorite is the Washington National Cathedral. Love those gargoyles and on the premise is a great herb garden. Would also like to visit some of the great castles of Europe, so how about taking me along on your next trip over there? I'd be glad to carry your camera and water bottle up the stairs. You could really get into a historical mood with your own lady-in-waiting. Do you have your next vacation planned? We don't care to travel when the weather is hot, for instance like now. But we do have a trip to the Shenandoah Mountains in late August, a family gathering for my birthday. You're invited and you don't even have to carry anything!

Karen

Wow my own personal lady in waiting, the offer is tempting. But I'm afraid I'm not up for another trip till next year. After it took almost 30 hours to get home, eight hours spent in airports and four hours stuck on the tarmac in Philly and then I still had six more hours to fly home. I'm done with flying for awhile. Well, except for the National RWA writers conference in San Francisco but that will be a breeze after my flight home from Italy! But I do wish I could come to your birthday bash. Sounds like fun!

Pet

Birthday celebrations are pure fun, as you well know since you've hosted a few. But that's a subject for another blog. Now writer's conferences in beautiful places seem like a vacation but you'll never get a chance to see the outside of the conference room. Instead you'll get to meet IP's or Industry Professionals and often they'll ask to see a sample of your work. In Wisconsin in Mid May, an editor and an agent did just that after I told them about my kickass Grandma book. All right, chapters done, I'll send them right out. However when whipping the pages into shape, a completely new story emerged. Hope those lovely women in New York are patient! You'll find out at the San Francisco biggie. Even better than a conference in a scenic place is one nearby like Northern Georgia where I'll be heading in October. The leaves will be turning and the book that never dies will have THE END on the last page! I can dream can't I? For now, we say adios to vacations, get down, and dirty, and back to work.

IN THE GARDEN…FUN AND FOIBLES

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:17:00 +0000

Some People Would Kill For Karen's Golden Arrow Award

Pet's Truck Loaded Down With Her Latest Project

Pet

My name is Petrina and I am a compulsive gardener! I love to dig in the dirt and when the sun shines, I'm outside every hour I can spare. Nothing stops me not even when I pulled a weed from under a rose bush and a furious horde of yellow jackets, stingers extended (think tiny swords), attacked me. Covered with hundreds of the tiny devils, I hightailed to the front door and found hubby screaming, Don't bring those things inside. Good thing our then house stood on a mountain, far from civilization, because I rapidly shed clothes, knocked spouse aside and ran for the shower. He swatted while I downed half a bottle of anti-histamines. Do you think I need to go to a gardeners anonymous meeting?

Karen

Yes!!!!!!! I might as well join you. I have the gardening bug too. Especially in the spring when my garden looks best. Plus I live in a town where you are judged as much by your garden as you are by the kind of car you drive. Here in Pasadena, we have our own Oscars for gardeners. They call the prize Golden Arrow. Just like the Oscars you have to be nominated by your peers. Now I'm not a gardening snob so although many of my neighbors coveted the Golden Arrow, I just did my gardening thing and didn't expect anyone would notice all my hard work. Then one day I found an invitation in the mail to attend the awards ceremony for the Golden Arrow and that I had won an award. Instead of being thrilled I now was put in the awkward position of having to tell my neighbors up the street who had been spending tons of cash on a landscaper in order to win the coveted arrow, that I had on a limited budget, and with just my two hands, won.

Pet

I'm impressed. Will your talents ever cease? Me, I don't know if even have a green thumb. My rule of gardening: whatever grows, plant plenty. I've now bought flats of yellow and orange marigolds, salvia, or scarlet sage, as I like to call them, those new wave petunias you don't have to dead head, and yellow snapdragons. If only they'd listen when I talk to them, jump into the ground, and plant themselves. I'm not sure how many plants in a flat but a big bunch. Today the sun blasts away in very clear air, but I had an eye doctor appointment this morning, got the orbs dilated and now can't go out for a few more hours. I guess I'll put on a pair of strong sunglasses and at least go outside to commune with my neglected babies.

Karen

Now that's dedication! Despite my award I'm much more laid back about my garden. I picked a lot of plants that basically look great with neglect. My little secret, don't tell. : ) I also have some more demanding plants like my roses but again I try to chose very disease resistant varieties. My favorites are a Peace, Double Delight, Fourth of July, Iceberg, and a beautiful lavender rose that the previous owners planted. Now that spring is here I can have fresh flowers in the house all the time. In fact I need to get back out in the garden cut some more roses. I hate to waste any of the flowers and it's a great way to avoid dead heading. : )

Pet

I'm also a big fan of flowers inside. My mother used to say, "You pick so many flowers for inside you won't have any left outside." She's the one who taught me. We used to pick armloads of wild daisies every spring and fill up all the vases. Yes in Queens New York, we found enough fields growing daisies to go nuts picking them. I have a wild daisy plant in my garden this year. I didn't have the heart to send it to daisy heaven. I cheat big time with roses. Plant the miniature kind and they grow like crazy, love to be picked and brought inside for cute arrangements.

Karen

I make sure my garden has enough flowers to keep the Golden Arrow judges happy but also make the inside of my house look like a flower shop. LOL Of course my allergies let me know when I've gone totally overboard. My neighbors have some amazing roses and we love to exchange flowers. They even give me cutting of my favorites. Now that's what I call neighborly. : ) In tinsel town suffering for beauty is not an option but a necessity. The things I've gone through to have a magazine perfect garden. Besides the yellow jackets, what other earthly disasters have you suffered out in the country?

Pet

Disasters? Hubby and I have lived through gardening traumas. We feel the pain whenever we move out of the house where we've slaved for years plowing, planting, watering and fertilizing until we get our outside looking just right. Happens every time: the next owners totally destroy our perfect plot. Usually we simply avoid passing the once beautiful, now offensive, yard. We sold one of the last houses to relatives, so we have to go back to visit. When they first moved in, they rapidly pulled out all those perennials we'd planned to grow in sequence and replaced them with annuals. Have to admit the new garden is bright and colorful, but I still mourn my uprooted babies, taken in the prime of their lives! Sniff.

Karen

Oh, don't get me started. I planted a beautiful English herb garden at my old house. I had to go through great pains to find just the right herbs as there was a large tree that would shade the garden through part of the day. The new owners were former apartment dwellers. They were clueless about being plant caretakers. They sold the house a year after they bought it due to a divorce. I could totally see that coming. : ) Anyway when I went to the open house I almost screamed when I saw the backyard. They had torn up my beautiful herb garden to put in a humungous spa!!!!!!!!! And that wasn't the end of their destruction. We had a cute little shed where I'd placed beautiful little window boxes loaded down with wonderful flowers and long draping ivy. The result looked like a miniature version of the main house. The husband tore them off and turned the shed into a biker bar. !!!!!!!!!! I needed the largest margarita in the world after that visit!

Pet

Before we close out our garden disasters, here's one more. Some years ago, when we lived on the mountain in Maryland, the modern house and the century old farmhouse were surrounded by what once had been beautiful gardens, now in disrepair. Took us a couple of years to restore, add to and keep up, but we did. Noticing the large front garden could use more greenery; I took some pretty plants growing in a flat and popped in a few dozen. After all, they came from an innocent herb oregano and I love oregano. At that time, I didn't know the old Greek saying, "One oregano plant will feed all of Greece." So the cute little plants, with the pretty white flowers, grew and prospered, grew and prospered ad nausea. I spent a good deal of time cutting back the stuff. Bet you guessed. We sold the house and the new owners let the enduring herb grow wild. Last we looked enough oregano grew for the whole world and choked all the other perennials to death. No more visits!

Karen

I learned my lesson too. Never look back. Unfortunately my hubby doesn't feel the same. Just the other day he wanted to drive by our old house. I almost had to do a double take. Instead of a large patch of dead lawn we were greeted by new sod. The once dried up deceased plants in the front flowerbed had been replaced by the living variety. The huge hedges that rim the property no longer looked like they would devour the house. They must have finally broken down and hired a gardener. Hooray!!!!!!!! But that's the last time I will ever cruise by. The garden still doesn't look the way I left it. No color at all in the once kaleidoscope filled front beds. I'm off to do some dead heading and pick a couple dozen roses. Have company coming and I always like to have the house smelling like a flower shop.

Pet

I'll leave you to your aromatic house and vibrant garden. The air in my abode is also quite fragrant. Sniff ......ah the pungent odor of Greek Oregano. Quick story. I asked dear hubby to till my veggie and herb garden ahead of planting. I told him the mint and oregano at one end, and the sage and lavender at the other were the only plants surviving the winter. Help!!! With mini tiller in hand, he did away with the hardy oregano and left a clump of pesky weeds. My favorite herb I'd been using all winter became mulch instead of spice. Happy ending. We found another robust Greek Oregano seedling at the fruit store, and we're back to cooking with class. Bye for now while I go out and play in the mud.

Spring Is Finally Here!

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:50:00 +0000

Karen knows Spring is here when her wisteria goes crazy on her back porch arbor

Pet knows Spring is here because the geese are having a party in the pond

Karen

Well Pet, the signs are everywhere. From flowers blooming like a virtual carpet in my front yard to the blossoms on my twin plum trees, all signs point to Spring is finally here! Nothing beats this time of year. I just love all the flowers. My back porch arbor is just starting to be covered with lavender wisteria blooms. They are so beautiful when they drape down over the beams. And the scent is amazing. Like someone dumped a huge vat of high priced perfume on my porch. As I breathe deep to enjoy the fragrance, I might sneeze, but who cares. Spring is here: )

Pet

The season seems more advanced in S. Cal than here in the Tennessee Valley, or do you have spring year round there in Paradise? The sign of the season I like best is the return of the bluebirds. The pretty little birds are friendly and like to join in on walks along the road by hopping on the telephone wires to keep up the pace. The plum trees are finally blooming. No, we don't get delicious plums from them. They get their name from the shape. They are quite popular because they bloom early, while most of the other trees are still dormant. My garden calls, but I learned a harsh lesson last year; planted everything in a balmy March and then a killer freeze hit April 5. We'll wait until April 15.

Karen

Ah gardening. I love it and hate it. When I pick a plant that loves the spot I picked for it I'm so proud. The larger it gets I feel like an overjoyed parent. But when the plant rebels and fights the spot of even worse, decides to commit suicide, I just want to pack in my not so green thumb. But after a few years of trial and error, I think I found what works. And we do have seasons in Paradise they are just much more subtle than other places. I think Spring is the most obvious. A riot of blooms is everywhere. Only the palm trees don't join in. They are party poopers. : )

Pet

You seem to garden as I do. Whatever grows, I plant in abundance. Big disappointment, I can't get one of our faves, healthy, tasty garlic to grow in the Volunteer State. Did well in Western Maryland, we even grew a crop to take to the farmer's market. Florida can't support garlic because little cloves need a freeze to multiply into big heads. Even with the local frosty winter, garlic is anemic around here. You might like the wisteria. but as far as garden aromas go, nothing beats the scent garlic oh oh, I forgot not everyone likes garlic the way we do! But the wind blowing over a field of the stuff makes for a very heady experience.

Karen

Spring is a very heady experience for me too. It's hay fever time! My nose lets me know that Spring is right around the corner before I see the first burst of blooms in my garden. First I feel an occasional tickle and then when the garden looks best I'm on allergy medicine with a tissue plastered to my nose. : )

Pet

I know what you mean! ET sprouts wall-to-wall hay fever sufferers along with the fantastic basketball and football teams! Other signs of spring are those little creatures that disappear in the winter and stick noses out in the summer. Bunnies everywhere get shooed out of the garden. Ditto ground hogs. Humming birds have free reign. Turtles and frogs stick to the pond, but nosey skunks love to slink around the house. Meeting up with Mr. Skunk will surely clear your head and make you run for the deodorizing tomato juice.

Karen

LOL. As someone who tangled with not one but two skunks, (yes we have them in the suburbs of the city) I attest that the experience is unforgettable, for several days anyway. Count on Spring to be the breeding season. I was lucky enough to have two skunks battle it out in my basement. The spray feast not only stunk up the whole house but our clothes reeked too. Tomato juice doesn't work for clothes. But four times through the washing machine with a vinegar rinse did the trick. But maybe not totally because I did see a few people hold their noses when I walked by. : )

Pet

Ah yes, the sights, the sounds, the smells and the sneezes of spring! We love the season anyway. Time to get out the shorts, kick off the shoes, and fire up the barbecue grill. Why does everything taste so much better outdoors and hot off the grill? At our house hubby considers the balmy weather new car time. While I don't particularly care for searching through long lines of new and newly used cars and trucks to find the perfect match up, a different vehicle makes the world go round. At least that's what dh tells me!

Karen

Here in Sunny California it's time to get out the shorts and sandals and hop in the convertible, hey wait a second, we do that all year round. : ) As for me, I'm slumming with my sun roof. Which I definitely don't use as much in the Winter. Now it's wide open to the sky. The thing I like most about Spring in Southern California is the perfect 70 degree weather. Not to hot or cold. Just right. It still gets a little nippy at night, about high 40's so you still need a jacket. I know. I can hear the people that live in the East and the Northern part of the country laughing their assess off right now.

Pet

Yes siree, Southern California sounds like paradise, except for the fires, mudslides, and earthquakes. But then all areas seem to have their own little weather emergencies. Here in the Southeast tornadoes are a problem this time of year. Not for us since living in a valley inside of a valley keeps out the worst, but we do get strong winds and lots of bang bangs with the lightening and thunder. Usually the wild weather follows a beautiful spring day, the kind hubby calls "weather breeders". Then after the storms, the temps plummet. Have to go and help with the birthday dinner. DH is a spring baby. Guess what he wants the birthday fairy to bring him? Hint: four wheels and a top of the line springtime aroma. Eau de New Car.

Karen

Even the fragrances of Spring can't beat out new car smell. And you're right about every place having a down side. We here in LA keep waiting for the big one. At least once a year scientists trot out to warn us to be vigilant. Always carry an emergency bottle of water and food in our cars, every LA person's home away from home. With every year that goes by without so much as a four on the Richter scale, we continue on with our lives as if the big one will never happen. So to celebrate, I'm going to go out in my garden and dig in the earth that thankfully isn't moving. : ) Viva LA Spring!

We've Been Tagged!

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 06:43:00 +0000

Holy Super Sale! The Transplants Have been Tagged!

Ruth decided to tag us today. Guess she figured we don't post enough.: ) Pet and I are good sports so we are hopping on the meme tagging train. We're taking a few of our writing friends with us. Aren't they lucky. : )

The rules of this meme are simple:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Share six unimportant things about yourself.

4. Tag six random people at the end of your blog entry.

5. Let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs.

Six unimportant things about Pet are:

1. My most hateful household task is folding Queen sized sheets fresh from the dryer. By the time I get finished they look unwashed.

2. During gardening season I have long conversations with my plants and apologize to weeds for pulling them.

3. Though I love going up high in tall buildings I am terrified to climb ladders, even have a problem with step stools.

4. I detest waiting in lines and will do anything to avoid them.

5. My favorite snack is olives, all kinds and shapes.

6. Although I have a blog and a web page, I don't know how to do either. Ruth does the web page and Karen does the blog.

Six unimportant things about Karen are:

1. My left foot is a tad smaller than my right.

2. I've always had long hair except the year my mother decided to give me a bowl cut.

3. I do almost everything with my right hand except write. So I'm left handed. : )

4. I'm an HGTV addict.

5. Picking a favorite color is almost impossible because I'm an artist.

6. Baking is my way of relaxing.

We're tagging some budding authors who have new books out or who will have them coming out soon and a bonus author who has a fantastic blog about her day job:

Wendi: www.wendidarlin. blogspot. com

Amber: http://www.amberleighwilliams.blogspot.com

Cheryel: hhto:/dragon.quill.livejournal.com

Vicki: http:vickismith.blogspot.com/

Leanne: www.myspace.com/leannetyler

Dona: http://donasarkar.blogspot.com/

Heather: http://www.shouldbewriting.blogspot.com/

The Winter Blues

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 23:25:00 +0000

Karen's cure for the unusually cold California weather is a nice toasty fire.

Pet's cure for the winter blues is a beach in Progresso Mexico.

Karen

Well the holidays are over and all I have to show for it is a messy house. Lol My Christmas decorating extravaganza was in full swing way past the holidays so I'm just now getting around to taking down my mammoth tree and the over three hundred ornaments. Why is it so much fun to put them up and such utter torture to take them down and safely put them away? Guess there's a down side to everything. : ) And once it's all down my house just feels so bare. Like it's taken off it's fancy party dress and put on a sweats. Lol

Pet

I miss the pretty lights this time of year when we still have more dark than light even though the days are getting longer now. Winter is kind of fun on cold, clear, sunny days. But on those dreary sleety days, we Easterners need cheering up. DH does his part by creating fabulous soups. We finished French Onion soup for lunch and he's whipped up seafood chowder for supper. While wholesome, hearty foods are not near as fattening as Holiday fare, how about working off the calories by hitting the fabulous winter sales at the warm and toasty malls?

Karen

This year I was all shopped out. Well, except for a 70 percent off sale that I just couldn't miss. : ) Now I have enough sweaters for everyday for two weeks! I agree with you about the weather and food. Even though I'm in sunny Southern California we do get cold nights. Gets all the way down to 40 so I put on a sweater and get out the down parka. I know, don't laugh. I love making stews and homemade soup this time of year. Makes the house smell so um um good. And it's actually cold enough that I feel guilty living in a Victorian if I don't fire up one or two of my four fireplaces. Usually they are just a place to put all my fantastic dust collecting eBay finds. : )

Pet

We only have one fireplace but being see through, two rooms get heated. Nothing is as cheery as a blazing fire on a cold night. However, just back from a short cruise through the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, we're already picking out a warm destination for February. Getaway to the south is the best cure for the winter blues. Folks here in Tennessee complain about the lack of snow. Protests about no snow go along with never having experienced a season long white out. When you lived in upstate New York, did you ever visit the Tug Hill Plateau where the snow is constant all winter long? Driving through that area is like going through a long white tunnel.

Karen

No. Haven't been there but I agree with you that people who long for snow don't know what they are wishing for. Have been in horrible winters in New York and Colorado. I always tell people here that their romantic version of snow isn't anything like the day to day reality. In upstate New York we had snow drifts way past our second story windows. Nothing like being totally trapped by snow. Couldn't get out for four days. After that long cooped up my brother and I couldn't wait to get back to school. Lol And in Colorado there were a few winters so cold animals froze. Nothing like walking to school and seeing an icicle cat. : ( Have to say I sure don't miss those kind of winters here in sunny California. 40 degree nights. Bring it on. : )

Pet

Frozen animals, yikes! Our animals here seem quite at ease with the single digits we've had today. Herman (almost 15 year old, one-eyed King Charles Spaniel) loves the cold. The Holstein cows seem quite content lolling in the sunshine, even though the Southern sun didn't warm anything today. The cows lined up for hours waiting to go in for their afternoon milking. That's when they get their yummy grain so they weren't happy about the delay. We pictured a disaster in the milking parlor such as frozen lines. They did manage to finally get inside for the milking before we ended up with instant ice cream instead of creamy milk.

Karen

LOL. Weather always seems to keep us guessing. One thing man will never control. Guess that's why some people become super organization obsessed. We have a container store here that takes up almost an entire city block! Walking in the store the selection is so overwhelming I loose all enthusiasm and go back to my piles of unorganized crap. : ) I have a friend who is an avid labeler. You open a kitchen cupboard and everything is in the appropriate sized container with labels listing all the contents. She lives in Upstate N Y so it's really obvious what she does when she's snowed in. Lol

Pet

Wish everyone here in ET had stayed inside today. We had icy patches on the roads and the whole area looked like a demolition derby. Cars slipping and sliding everywhere, mostly fender benders but unfortunately we did have a fatality in our county when a driver slid head on I remember once going up the mountain outside of LA to see the big observatory, and near the top, a light snow fell. The crazy Angelinos all wrecked on the side of the road and then attempted to dig out. Only problem was all wore shorts and sandals. Guess you simply don't believe in bad weather in Sunny California.

Karen

You must still be in your I-just-got-back-from-a-Mexican-cruise glow. Lot easier to take the cold after you've been basking in the tropical sun. I'm not a big cruise person. But maybe that's because the only two I've been on were with my hubby's crazy family. It's hard to enjoy tropical paradise when you have the parent's in-law who act like they are the cruise director. But they will proudly tell you they've been on 200 cruises so they know what they are doing. I'm convinced they need to go to Hooked on Cruises Anonymous. The last cruise we went on with them was 14 days long. We were on one of the biggest cruise ships ever built and somehow it still didn't seem big enough. : )

Pet

Yeah, I know what you mean. When we went on a long cruise we really didn't like the folks they sat us with for dinner. So we spent most of the time eating upstairs at the 24-hour buffet. We could have changed to another table, but we really like dining while wearing shorts. Food tastes better without worrying about spilling on dress up clothes. I don't know about taking the cold better after a few 80 plus days. Seemed colder than ever when we got back to the boonies. For our morning walk today, I wore two pairs of pants leggings under velour. We were the only ones in the park where they have a great bonus for walkers a heated rest room. Great place to stop whether you have to go or not. : )

Karen

Lol Well have to say I don't have that luxury where I walk. It's a big old park and the bathrooms are made of stone. Very cute and quaint but this time of year even though the lowest it gets during the day is maybe 59 it feels like that last thing you want to do is pull your pants down. Lol One thing about the weather cooling down, I get my two-mile walk done in record time. We just had a big storm come through with some much needed rain. The local mountains and foothills are covered with snow. They look so beautiful. Only happens a couple times during the winter. But as I gaze out my second story window to admire the dusted white capes I have to admit I'm glad that the snow is off in the distance and not piled high in my front yard. : )

Pet

Whoops you hit a sore spot with us living in ET. I'm talking about that word rain. The weather channel just had a drought tracker map on and our mountains have worst drought than your desert. TVA is talking about shutting down the nuclear plants since the water they need to run is getting scarcer. The result would be huge utility bills. So we'd even take a couple of feet of snow to make up for the lack of rain. But enough about snow. My spring bulbs are popping up despite a few single digit mornings, so my favorite time of year is not far behind! Meantime I think I'll hibernate!

Holiday Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 03:18:00 +0000

Karen's Christmas Tree with 1,100 lights and 300 ornaments

Tis the season to be over the top!

New Year's Day cooking of beans and ham is reenacted at the Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center in Townsend, Tennessee. Picture taken by Pet's brother, Peter Belsito visiting from West Hollywood, California

Karen

Well Pet, I just finished hanging my three hundred ornaments and I'm exhausted! I must confess I have a thing for Christmas ornaments. Like shoes and handbags, I can never get enough! But this year especially I have a good excuse. Due to a major disaster with my old fake Christmas tree, I lost half of my ornaments. Some of my favorites I've had for years and some antique ones were lost. I was beyond devastated. But this is one of those times I'm thankful to be a transplant because not only was I able to get a fabulous new fake tree, but I was also able to pick up some very nice antique and Victorian looking ornaments. The choices in the city can't be beat. Funny I shopped for them just like I shop for clothes and accessories. Do a ton of searching and window browsing and then finally make a commitment. Lol

Pet

Could be not as many, but we do have choices in the country. The local chains and markets are loaded with a vast selection of trees and ornaments. Like you I shop for decorations same as I do for clothes and accessories never buy retail go for the bargains. Being close to the forests, there's an abundance of real trees for sale. We could cut one from the woods out back but I hate to disturb the deer hiding out from the hunters behind the pines. I'll unpack the garage and hang stuff when the weather warms up. Hopefully before Christmas. I'd love to put red bows on the eight Black Angus heifers that live across the road. My little dog hates to be dressed up, but the cows are female so maybe they'd enjoy getting beribboned. The girls are huge now so I don't think I want to wrestle them. I'll settle for tying bows on my stone lions at the end of the driveway.

Karen

The only thing I have to tie a big bow around are palm trees. : ) Have to say I do love my white lights. Must have thousands of them all over the house. Have 1, 2000 on the tree alone! Even though they are everywhere I still love the icicle lights. Especially as in Southern California we can't get the real thing. Somehow white lights just make everything look pretty. The other thing I love this time of year are of all the little dinner parties my friends throw. Of course my waistline suffers but that's what elastic is for. Lol

Pet

Don't want to be a spoilsport but then comes January and diet extravaganza. You probably work your extra calories off taking down and putting away your thousands of decorations. I keep mine up until Jan. 6 or the twelfth night. Then I can't get them down fast enough. Speaking of eating, I bet one of our traditions never made it in healthy living Southern California. On New Years day, the favorite dish is pork, cook's choice of scrumptious dishes. In the south, black-eyed peas often are served as a side dish. Tradition says pigging out this way brings good luck in the New Year. Icicle lights are my favorite too, but for watching, not hanging, since all those years in the Snow Belt, twenty miles from Canada, surrounded by real icicles, any kind of ice is better forgotten.

Karen

LOL Pet!. Somehow you can never forget the snow Back East no how long ago you left. Although I miss the idea of snow. : ) Just got a good reminder when hubby and I took a mini break up to Yosemite. We went up to the high country part of the Park and it was 29 degrees with a wind chill that brought it down closer to 10. That kind of cold I don't miss! So for me electric lights as icicles are just fine. As far as yuletide food we have some traditional Eastern things we like to have at diner, like a Christmas goose. I especially liked the side dishes, pearl onions in a white sauce and oysters cooked in a casserole with a cracker topping. Yummy! You should have seen the look on my face the first time I went to my hubby's parents for Christmas. He's a native Californian. They had chips and salsa with guacamole for appetizer and for dinner to go with the tofurkey they served sides of couscous and artichoke salad. Groovy. : )

Pet

To me a tofurkey spells holiday disaster. I remember a real holiday disaster from my childhood. One of my aunts was Mrs. Christmas, kind of like you. Decorations everywhere and a tree so big it sat in the stairwell towering to the second floor. On the big day, we all gathered to ohhh and ahhh the perfect tree. Then along comes six-year-old cousin decked out in his brand new cowboy outfit. Big hat, holster with guns, chaps, spurs on his high-heeled boots. Little Cuz walked somewhat shakily as he learned to navigate on those heels. Wobbling close up to inspect the tree, he grabbed hold of a branch to steady himself. Cuz ended flat on the floor under, evergreens, balls, and lights. Auntie, Uncle and Boys all burst into tears, crying for the tree, not the cuz. Daddy and I extracted the little guy, laughing so hard we choked, heathens that we were.

Karen

Cute story Pet. But of course I'm on your Aunt's side. : ) Some of us take our Christmas decorating very seriously. Lol I take so long to put mine up, and my house looks it best all decked out, that I keep mine up most of January. I have a rule. If more than five people comment that I should think about taking my decorations down as Valentines Day is quickly approaching I actually start thinking about it. Luckily most of my friends are too polite to say anything. : )

Pet

Don't know why I'm dwelling on disasters this festive holiday season. I can't forget a New Year's Eve when we traveled out of town for big party where we would spend the night with the hosts. Shortly after midnight, Mr. Host comes down the stairs, stark naked, brandishing a nasty looking pistol. Fortunately, we hadn't drunk much and could drive all the way home ducking weaving cars. I'm betting Karen, Southern Cal's answer to Martha Stewart, holds, or attends, awesome New Years Eve parties.

Karen

Our neighborhood has a holiday progressive party that is a lot of fun. We move from house to house usually at least four. One of the neighbors has a traveling martini bar is his son's little red wagon. By the time we hit the desert house we always have to check to make sure we have everyone. Last year one of my neighbors trailed far behind and ended up wandering the neighborhood till his wife found him. But this year everyone is going out of town so I'm left to either throw a small party for my other friends or do nothing at all. You can guess what's going to happen. : ) Must show off all my hard work decorating the house somehow. Lol

Pet

I'd probably be the one wandering since New Years Eve Parties spell catastrophe for me. My last peaceful holiday season happened the year I turned six. On Christmas Eve, Santa Claus and I had a long conversation. We had no fireplace, so he came through the window. I woke up just as he entered my room. He sat on the windowsill and we talked and talked. I fell asleep again mid chat, but next morning I found ample evidence of his visit. Despite sharing the day with a new baby sister, he'd left plenty presents for me. Childhood dream? To this day, I wonder.

Urban Karen and Rural Pet,

The Transplants wish you all a wonderful holiday season. Whether you live in the country, the city or in between, we hope your days are full of friends, family, and of course presents. : ) And may the new year bring you everything you wished for and more. Happy 2008!

Holiday Musings

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 01:56:00 +0000

Karen's Magazine Perfect Holiday Turkey

Pet's Amazing Green Thumb at Work!

Pet

What happened? One day we’re suffering through 90-degree weather and all of a sudden the flowers are gone and we’re in full holiday mode. Me, I have my first decoration – My beautiful red amaryllis has bloomed, planted early this year. I love growing them around the holidays and then transplanting to the garden where they bloom again in May. Since the flowers might not last until even Thanksgiving, I planted another one, white and pink. The Christmas cactus usually blooms around Halloween. Didn’t this year. Does that mean it might actually bloom at Christmas, or will it skip this year?

Karen

I love both amaryllis and Christmas cactus but for some reason my gardening green thumb doesn’t transfer over to certain houseplants. I can nurse them along but they never bloom for me and don’t grow. So I’m jealous of you obvious talent. I’m still taking down Halloween, as it’s such a big deal at my house. Have three large containers worth. I actually have very minimal decorations for Thanksgiving. I put a nice copper leaf wreath up on the front door and on the dinning room table is a large turkey centerpiece that has been passed down one too many times and could definitely use a makeover.

Pet

Tradition here is to start decorating the great outdoors on Thanksgiving Day. Up go the ladders, out come the lights and even on this country road, the competition starts. Who’s lit up the most! I like lights in November and December because here we have so little of the natural ones. I don’t go hog wild and climb the eaves putting up icicles and blow up Santa. Lights on the bushes, candles in the windows and wreath on the door satisfy my limited decorating skills. Maybe the neighbors are thankful Christmas is coming. Or getting in shape for black Friday super shopping the custom for the day after eat-a-lot day. Me? I’m still thankful for all those delicious leftovers.

Karen

Well, in basically season less LA it’s hard to get in the Christmas spirit with no clues from Mother Nature. We do get clues from every store we enter. : ) But somehow the spirit doesn’t strike till much closer to the big day. Of course you do have the one neighbor who wants to be first on the block to be festive. We always laugh at the guy down the street who starts putting up his Christmas lights while he’s taking down his ghosts and skeletons. One thing I find a pleasant surprise for people season deprived like me is the occasional tree whose shock of fall color stands out amongst the palm trees like it’s almost florescent. And I’m thankful to the previous owners of my home who were also East coast transplants. They planted two maple trees and three liquid ambers so I have my own little piece of fall leaf heaven. I think of my fellow transplants whenever I’m greeted by a lone stand of fall color. We share that moment of nostalgia from our childhood. One thing I’m not nostalgic for is the conflict at the dinner table that happens when a certain Aunt has a bit too much of her favorite rose. This reminds me she’s headed this way in just five days!

Pet

We have a story we tell every year around Turkey Day. Many years ago, when Grandpa Louie was alive and kicking, after Mom laid out the feast, he stood up and announced, “No scrambled sauce.” He’d been a long time resident in Brooklyn, NY, but still spoke with an Italian accent. No one understood what he meant. We tried to get him to explain but the best he could come up with was “The red stuff.” Since he couldn’t translate the missing dish into his native tongue, we decided whatever was something unique to the U.S. So we got him a bottle of ketchup. Making a face, he pushed it away. “Scrambled sauce,” he demanded. We went ahead with the meal, ignoring grandpa until half way through little old sixth grade me got a brainstorm. “Cranberry sauce. We forgot the cranberry sauce.” After we rushed the red stuff from the fridge, the old guy smiled broadly and dug in. And to this day you know what we call that jelled delicacy.

Karen

Cute story Pet. I have a classic turkey story. One of my cousins had just married and was so excited to show off her new cooking skills she volunteered to do Thanksgiving that year. Well, I have to say the family had their reservations but we didn’t want to deflate her honeymoon hangover so we went along with the idea. When we got to their cute little house the place smelled fantastic. She had really gone all out with the decorations. Little ceramic turkeys lined the center of the table highlighting her pride and joy the real turkey. Its skin was the most beautiful golden brown. We couldn’t wait to dig in. As we passed the yams and the stuffing around the table, my Grandfather started to cut into the bird. Just as he was about to place the first piece of turkey on the platter my brother started laughing. The turkey was still raw inside. Not only that but my Grandfather noticed something sticking out of the cavity and pulled it out and it was the bag with all the innards. My brother was now on the floor. My cousin, holding back tears, ran for the front door with her husband following right behind her. After that day, my poor cousin gave up cooking for good.

Pet

Cuz shouldn’t have become discouraged so easily. I had many a disaster before I became the master chef that I am today such as the mocha icing for a lovely angel food cake. The recipe called for three tablespoons of coffee. I merrily measured out that amount of instant coffee granules, never realizing until the taste test (alas, on the party table) that they meant brewed coffee not the instant stuff. Whew, was that ever bitter. Aren’t you glad we can get asparagus year round now? Our favorite meal is leg of lamb, roast potatoes and asparagus. I know, sounds more like Easter than Thanksgiving or Christmas, but outstanding any time. Here’s how I do asparagus: snip off ends and wash asparagus. Keep whole even though you might have to steam in a frying pan as I do. After the spears are crisp/tender, drain water and season with lemon pepper. Put one-tablespoon butter, two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and one clove of minced garlic in custard cup and zap in microwave for 45 seconds. Add dash of lemon juice and pour over asparagus. Leftovers from this original recipe work in salads.

Karen

That’s funny as I had the same problem the first time I made mocha frosting. My excuse is I’m not a coffee drinker so I had no idea what a difference it would make. Asparagus and I have had a very rocky relationship until I turned about 30. Then all of a sudden the flavor I once hated, suddenly became one I enjoyed. Maybe my mature taste buds had something to do with it. : ) One of my favorite things to make for Thanksgiving is cranberry sauce. I love the way the berries pop when you heat them up. I just follow the directions on the bag of fresh cranberries except I add two big tablespoons of real maple syrup. Gives the sauce a nice taste and mellows out the tang from the berries. I’d rather stand before a firing squad than eat cranberry sauce out of a can!

Pet

If you ever tasted Dean’s slow cooker pork roast with cranberry sauce, you’d know why they make that stuff. Goes to show you there’s a reason for everything. Like out of this world pork roast. Bet that dish would be even better with real maple syrup added. The delicious food we indulge in around the holiday is only symbolic of the spirit of giving abounding this time of year. And I don’t mean putting on shin guards and helmet and joining the throng on Black Friday or other frantic shopping days. Scratch cranberry sauce represents the season better. Then again, I often talk to food, and the groaning table talks to me. Holidays past come rushing back to me from tastes and aromas of delicious dinners consumed with agreeable companions. Off to breakfast now at a new restaurant in a nearby town that serves the best eggs benedict. Would you believe $4.75 with hash browns? Do you think I need professional help for my love affair with food?

Karen

Most people do. : ) That’s why people gain an average of five to ten pounds during the holidays. After all, when you have nothing but parties and dinners for two months all revolving around food, how can you not want to indulge. For me, a confirmed chocoholic, next to Valentines days this time of year can’t be beat. I think I put on five pounds from my increased chocolate consumption alone. : ) And don’t get me started on all the amazing desserts this time of year. With all this talk of food, I’m going to grab the hubby and head off to our favorite breakfast spot where the chocolate chip pancakes are to die for.

Pet

No wonder we put on weight. We even go hog-wild at breakfast. Most folks either skip that meal or go with a bowl of bran and a banana. I could go nuts heralding my favorite breakfast meals. MMMM, how about a pasta omelet. Enough about food. Let’s return to the spirit of the season and wish everyone on the World Wide Web a fantastic holiday season. May the sights, sounds, and of course, tastes, be the best ever! Happy Holidays from the Transplants, Karen and Pet.

Boo To You!

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 23:18:00 +0000

Spirits have a special way of playing the piano!

Fortune Teller says : Open your mind but not too much or your brain might fall out!

Boo to you, Karen!

Here in the boonies we know Halloween is on the way. Pumpkins rule! Strange but even with the terrible drought we're still suffering the orange guys are bigger than ever. Some growers even have record breakers on display to be admired at roadside stands. We've plenty of corn stalks too making enhancing decorations. Me, I'm going with pots of mums coloring up the fast dying annuals and accenting the fall leaves, just turning color.

Boo back at you Pet!

I’m deep in party prep mode. We are having our bi-annual Halloween bash. Halloween is a big deal at my house as it’s my hubby favorite holiday and our wedding anniversary. Yep, that’s right. I made the mistake of asking the hubby what day he wants to get married and he said on his favorite holiday. It turned out to be a great wedding. Hubby came dressed as Dracula and looked quite dashing while I wore my mothers wedding gown. But I changed into a Morticia from the Adams family skintight black gown for the reception. We were married in a very spooky huge Queen Anne Victorian. Now I live in one. : )

Pet

Wow! What a fun wedding. No wonder you guys are still sweethearts after all these years. Do the two of you get dressed up again as Dracula and Morticia? Or will you don other creative costumes? My DH is a grouch about dressing up for parties. He will probably wear his grouch tee shirt on the big night, the one with a lovely pic of the green Sesame Street character. Or the shirt with the legend DO I LOOK LIKE A PEOPLE PERSON?. Daughter gets him a witty shirt every year and he wears them year round, not only on dress up night.

Karen

Ah…Men and their T-shirts. Lol I think I’m going to dress up as a Victorian woman in mourning. I have the costume from the cemetery tour. Guess I have a Macabre wardrobe. : ) As for the hubby, he has a scary collection of masks. Sure he’ll look spooky. I have four huge bins of decorations I put up every year. Almost as much as Christmas! We have a graveyard in front yard of course. I have a severed head floating in the fountain. Several witches hang out on the front porch. Inside I have all kinds of ghouls and bats flying around. With a Victorian you can really go crazy, as the house is already spooky.

Pet

My house is modern, lots of wide open spaces…not the least bit spooky, so I don’t even try. Actually I’m not a great decorator so I keep holiday embellishments to a minimum. Too bad you’re all the way out there on the West Coast. I could use some help. In Florida Halloween festivities rule. The Woman’s Club runs a haunted house. The girls go to Chicago every year for a seminar on how create to a haunted house, complete with the needed trappings. They do a fabulous job and scare the dickens out of me. Here there’s a haunted cave which is intriguing me. Caves are naturally frightening places. I’d love to see you decorate a cave, Karen. Matter of fact they were made for you.

Karen

Hey I don’ know how I should take that. Do I look like a bat? Lol What I love about Halloween it’s an adults excuse to play dress up. I loved playing dress up when I was a kid. Planning what costume I’m going to don every year is a lot of fun. We creative types love any holiday that gives us an excuse to decorate like crazy and design some outrageous over the top outfit. And nothing is quite as satisfying as being able to give someone a good scare. Not an easy thing to do to jaded adults. : )

Pet

Since your parties don't include children, you don't know what happens to them on Halloween. I mean think of a neighborhood brimming over with over sugared tykes running loose in weird costumes. Costumes are fun, but the candy's the thing. I've tried to give out apples in the past, but healthy treats go over like lead balloons. Don't you think the trick or treat custom of today teaches our darlings how to beg? I'm not really that much of a spooky scrooge lady. I picked up the cutest skeleton lollipops to hand out. Some of the candy was really gross. Who can eat dead bodies even if they are tiny and made of sugar?

Karen

Don’t talk to me about eatable body parts. One of my favorite things to bake for Halloween are witches fingers. People of all ages love them. They are always a big hit at my party. Here’s the recipe:
Take any brand of pre-made sugar cookie dough and roll it into a finger shape. Score the middle with a fork to simulate the knuckle and then use a slivered almond as the fingernail. Be sure and use some egg white to glue the almond into the cookie or it will pop off. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until done. Once they’ve cooled, drizzle red glaze all over the base of the finger to get the perfect chopped off effect. Delicious. : )

Pet

You're carrying the finger food thingy to the extreme. Hacked off fingers go with spook day but maybe I've been watching too many CSI episodes. They love love showing off icky body parts. For some reason my eyes close at the sight of too much blood. Or even a little blood. I'm not big on vampires. Give me a nice, friendly bloodless ghost anytime, especially one that has historical knowledge. We're in Kentucky visiting some of Lincoln's boyhood cabins. The big guy with the beard seems to be present in every one of them. My imagination, or do we have a personal tour guide?

Karen

I wouldn't be surprised if old Abe was following you around. His wife believed he would return. We have a few haunted houses in my neighborhood. Two big Victorian mansions on my street have very active ghosts. The big Neo-Classical home up the block has a ghost that has a passion for kitty toys. At least several times a month when the owner comes home after a long day she finds her two kittys' toys lined up in a straight row in front of the grand staircase. She swears she doesn't have her cats trained. : ) And the really spooky Adams Family type mansion on the corner has a pair of eyes that likes to float down the three story high staircase followed by the sound of loud foot steps. Once when they were having work done on the house one of the guys ran screaming from the house when the eyes seemed to stare right at him. Very scary! Speaking of scary, I need to get busy spookifing my house. Happy Halloween!!!!!!

Shopping Obsession

noreply@blogger.com (Petrina Aubol & Karen Van) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 06:06:00 +0000

Karen Pines For The Quaint Downhome Shopping Experience

NY Finest Had To Do Crowd Control After The Word Got Out

That Pet Was In Town And Ready To Shop!

Pet

I have a confession to make, Karen. Although I have a very un-addictive persona, gave up smoking by throwing the cigs out, I do have an addiction. I'm a shopaholic. Not like the one in the chicklit story though. I never buy stuff I can't afford. Part of this habit is I cannot buy retail. My credit card only comes out for bargains. I love shopping, not only for clothes but also food. But everything I buy has to be on SALE! I search the supermarket flyers, and clip coupons and then hit the stores with much gusto and glee. My closets, my fridge, my pantry and freezer overflow. What can I do about this obsession?

Karen

Don’t ask me. I tried to cure a friend of her shopping addiction and failed miserably. I attempted to wean her off her expensive shopping habit of buying retail. To me it’s a sin. I turned her on to some of my favorite designer for less spots like Loehmann’s but all she did was buy more stuff. I got a call from her husband informing me that if I gave his wife any more helpful suggestions about where to shop I was the one who was going to have to pay for an addition to their home.

Pet

Shopping for bargains in the boondocks is a science. Small towns around here usually have only cutesy boutique-ey kind of shops and so called Farmer’s Markets. At the real Farmer’s Markets good buys and fresh produce are available. Stay away from the knockoffs. If they sell from a store the produce probably comes from the same place grocery store stuff comes from while growers sell to local supermarkets at bargain prices. For new duds, good buys might necessitate a trip to the nearest mall (for us 45 minutes away) if you don’t mind out of season clothes. Here summer fashions are selling for 75% off and the temps are still above 90. And I do love Factory Store Outlets.

Karen

The only factory outlets we have around here are just big box shopping malls that call themselves outlets. Many are just a giant rip off. I’ve heard they actually have higher prices than retail marked down. Most of the designer label stores have over stock and several seasons old merchandise. In a town that judges you by what you wear, you will be busted for wearing two seasons ago faster than you can say Armani.

Pet
You have to work the outlets like you do the department stores. Buy during sales when the shops with the designer names are desperate to unload the merchandise. I admit you can get away with last year’s clothes here in the backwater, where the default outfit is jeans, not necessarily with a fancy label, topped by a tee shirt. When visitors from LA show up, their clothes look funny even though we know we’ll be wearing the same stuff two years from now. I really don’t like the all black Hollywood look.

Karen

Well black is becoming passé here so you must have had some behind the times LA visitors. Well, it’s still popular with the Goth’s. : ) What I like about shopping in LA is you can go downtown and buy the latest hot knock offs. You can get the top Oscar dress within two days of seeing it go down the red carpet. And after Paris or Milan fashion weeks it only takes another week before the knock offs start lining the streets of the downtown fashion district. So you really can be quite the fashionista on a budget if you know where to shop.

Pet

Don’t know where the good shopping in NYC is these days. I remember the stores on 14th Street where you had to try on duds right in the aisle and actually get into fistfights over cute garments. The days of heels and go to meeting attire a requirement for trips to the “city” are over. Last visit shorts and tank tops flourished. More than one fashionable chick sported cowboy boots with shorts. Strange, even though Lindsey or Britney might don same for the tabloids. Boots in the baking Southland, even for a fashion statement, are not for this transplant!

Karen

All this talk of shopping has got me thinking I better hit the road and scope out the latest knock offs from the New York collections. I have a tinsel town party this weekend and I better be prepared. Can never be caught wearing the same thing twice. But I’ll tell you my little secret. Always be sure to have at least one accessory that is real. It makes the rest of the outfit totally convincing. But shush… I didn’t tell you a thing. : )

Pet

I’m so far from the fashion centers I don’t even know what “real” accessories are. I guess you mean something you didn’t pick up at the State Fair craft show. Good luck on finding the perfect outfit. Meantime I’m hitting my town supermarket where they have jumbo shrimp on sale. Now that’s what we call a real downhome-shopping trip.