The Transplants : Downhome to Downtown

STAYCATION....How To Have A Great One!

2011-06-30T16:50:00.000-07:00

Karen's Staycation Oasis

Pet says: You Can't Start A Staycation Without One!

Pet

Poor Karen! No more Pet’s peeves, you say. So I promise, this is the very last one. I hate, detest and despise standing in lines of any kind. Always avoiding them I utilize a Motor Vehicles Office thirty some miles into the country bypassing the busy city one. But now school is out, leaves are prevalent, and vacation time is in full swing. That means crowds everywhere. The original party pooper…amusement and theme parks are out for me; forget first run movies and latest popular eateries, even fire works and the ever present crowds fill me with fear. THEY ALL HAVE LINES! While some of the lines are in nearby cities, even in the beautiful Smokey Mountains lines abound. The eleven mile loop known as Cades Cove becomes jammed with rubber neckers peering into the past during the vacation season. And then there are the fireflies. They mate by blinking their lights in sinc. But to see the show you have to stand on line to catch a bus to a campground, then wait for a ranger to lead the line to watch the romantic fireflies. Doesn’t that make you want to flop into a comfy recliner and watch a Lifetime Movie?

Karen

I couldn’t agree more! This year I’ve decided the whole idea of a Staycation is brilliant. After being stuck in traffic for almost four hours the other day, the thought of having to suffer more traffic just to get away seems impossible. So this year I’ve started to turn my backyard into a tropical retreat. I’m lining the walls of my gazebo with palm trees and fixing the wall fountain so I have two sources of the relaxing sounds of trickling water. I’m also contemplating putting in a misting system so when summer really kicks in and it hits 100 I can still enjoy my little tropical oasis. What’s better then walking out your back door and straight into another world!

Pet

Wow! I’d love a Staycation at your house! Here in the Southland 100 degrees came early, May to be exact. So we use our rationed $4.00 plus gas to visit nearby parks for more shade, cool breezes and maybe one of our man-made lakes which abound thanks to TVA. When outside steams more than we can tolerate …we stay home in the air conditioning and even grill on our electric grill in stead of firing up the out door charcoal one. With a little imagination like spreading a blanket on the living room floor for a picnic, we’re all set. Only one item I yearn for…Saw it on TV. A Michael Phelps hot tub while compact and handy is shaped for short swims.

Karen

Sign me up for one too! One of his pools would fit in perfectly next to the gazebo. I could plant a bunch of palms and birds of paradise around it and pretend it’s a tropical lagoon. Then I can make a CD of exotic bird calls and blast them from my hidden fake rock speakers. : ) This weekend I’m breaking in my new and improved backyard tropical oasis even though I’m not quite done yet. I’ve planned a friend get together party. I think it’s always a good idea to preview a project to get reactions and find out what I need to improve. If my jaded friends walk into my backyard and I don’t hear a few ohhs and ahhs I know I need to step it up a notch. Have to keep up with my Martha Stewart reputation. : )

Pet

I haven’t looked up the cost of the swim/spa but I figure two of them would be about the same as a kidney shaped pool with a water fall. Problem here is season is so short, but in year round sunny California go for it! Wouldn’t that seal your rep as the hostess with the mostest? I can almost feel that float drifting and taste that mojito. But for now, short day trips sound good to me. Even here in the country we don’t have to go far to find scenic train and boat rides, parks with beaches, Restaurants with a view, gorgeous gardens, all kinds of festivals and world renowned amusement parks. No matter how delightful your backyard getting away brings a break and fun, especially if you go off-hours to avoid those lines.

Karen

I’ll have to win the Lotto to afford one of those spas. They start at 30,000! Can almost put in a real pool for that! Think I’ll just run down to Target and get a big kiddy wadding pool and pretend. : ) Here in Southern Cal we have a ton of things to do. And in Pasadena in the summer we have free concerts in the big city park. They are super popular and can be quite crowded. So I prefer to crank up my iTunes and just hang out in my little oasis. We have a ping-pong table to get in some exercise. Paddling those little balls is the new city sport believe it or not. Some clubs are taking out their pool tables and putting in ping-pong if they have the space. You know the saying, everything old is new again. : )

Pet

Yeah, old stuff coming back except for the ever present iPods and smart phones. Can’t do ping-pong without them. I’m in the mood for the ageless so how about some classic summer time recipes. Can you believe zucchini and yellow summer squash still cost almost $2.00 a pound in the supermarket? Meantime my neighbors with the huge veggie garden are gifting me with bags full. I have a file of recipes but kind of like my original ones best such as:

STUFFED ZUCCHINI

Ingredients: 2 medium to large zucchini; 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni; half pound lean ground beef; half pound bulk Italian sweet sausage; 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; large onion; 2 large green peppers; 4 cloves garlic; one stem each of fresh Italian herbs: basil, parsley, oregano, thyme; one cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese; one quart prepared tomato sauce. One cup parmesan.

Spray roast pan with olive oil spray. Cut clean squash in half lengthwise and spray with oil. Cook half hour in 350 degree oven. Cook elbows according to package directions. Meanwhile sauté meat in large frying pan or soup pot; add onion, garlic, peppers and chopped herbs. Scoop zucchini meat from shells and add to pot. When vegetables are cooked add pasta and cheddar cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Fill shells, top with parmesan, and tomato sauce. Bake half hour. YUM!!!

Karen

Sounds good enough to eat. : ) Here in the city we don’t have a ton of room for a big veggie garden. Especially big space hogs like squash. But my husband is a big zucchini fan so every summer he sneaks two plants into a section of the front yard where I have my wild flower cutting garden. I love to have fresh flowers in the house so my husband knows I’m not going to be a happy camper when the zucchini really get going and choke off my flowers. He usually makes up for it with at least ten nice sized zucchini that he turns into some yummy ratatouille. Here’s his recipe:

Ratatouille Casserole

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
salt to taste
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 zucchini, sliced
1 large onion, sliced into rings
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 green bell pepper, sliced
2 large tomatoes, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat bottom and sides of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Sauté garlic until lightly browned. Mix in parsley and eggplant. Sauté until eggplant is soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
Spread eggplant mixture evenly across bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Spread zucchini in an even layer over top. Lightly salt and sprinkle with a little more cheese. Continue layering in this fashion, with onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, and tomatoes, covering each layer with a sprinkling of salt and cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Pet

Wonderful hubby and fantastic recipes. My oven is great; never heats up the kitchen. Zucchini chips are easy to make and sooo much better than a bag of potato chips: cut the zukes into ¼ inch slices, dip into egg whites, then seasoned bread crumbs and parmesan mix. Line up on cookie sheet; bake 5 minutes in 475 degree oven. Turn and bake another 5 minutes. You’ll never fry again. Want to stay outside and cook those zukes? No problem! Spray ¼ inch slices with olive oil, sprinkle with a little garlic pepper and pop onto the grill for a few minutes on each side. Works cut horizontally too. What a great food!!! Sweet or savory the green and yellow squash could feed the whole world. At least in the good old summer time.

Karen

Jeeze, now you make me want to throw some boaster fertilizer on my husband’s zucchini plants. Those chips sound yummy! I think the best Staycation is one that’s right in your own backyard and shared with friends, family, and great food! Oh and a terrific cocktail! Here’s one of my favorite summer drinks because I can pretend I’m actually sitting on a beach in Waikiki.

Blue Hawaii

1 1/2 oz. Vodka
1/2 oz Blue Curacao
1/4 oz. Crème de Coconut
3 - 4 oz. Pineapple Juice

On the Rocks - Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Mix well and strain into a collins or small hurricane glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a slice of pineapple and an umbrella!

Blended - Combine with a scoop of ice in an electric mixer. Mix well (15 - 20 sec). Pour into Collin or small hurricane glass. Be sure to garnish with a slice of pineapple and an umbrella.

Happy Staycation fellow Transplants!

Spring Has Sprung And The Pests Are Back!!

2011-04-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

Lucky for Pet the rabbits don't like her irises.

These guys better find someone else's porch to chew or Karen's got a nahpalm bomb waiting for their dinner!

Pet

Easter 2011 is history so now I can share my persistent dream (nightmare). Has to do with darling fuzzy tailed bundles of adorable cuteness. Bunny Wabits abound around here. We see them hip hopping through the grass with plentiful patches of clover into the woods to join their burgeoning families. Do they stop and munch, oh maybe a little bit, but mostly they are making a beeline to my lilies. Yes, the very same lilies planted last fall, watered, fertilized and mulched, ready to bloom in to spring glory. And now munched down to a pulp by hungry cotton tails. In other years we like to say “Poor little fellas. They need water, so dry so why begrudge them a few juicy plants?” But this year we have had enough rain for each bunny to have his own lake. And the clover crop is outstanding. So why are those fiends devouring my lilies ready to bloom? Rabbit stew anyone? Or should I say delicious pest stew.

Karen

LOL Pet! Don’t you know rabbits are very discriminating creatures? Why eat clover when you can have a luscious lily that some human slaved over! As I’ve said in the past, Pasadena is like a visit to foraging critter land. Although rabbits are not as plentiful here, we are over run by raccoons, skunks and opossums. Not to mention the forager that Pasadena is famous for because of all the trees…the squirrel! I’m telling you the city of roses is Heaven for the bushy tailed little critters. And boy do they drive me crazy!!!! Why is it that the perfect place to hide the hundreds of nuts they’ve gathered is all over my pretty green lawn? And even though they live in sunny all the time Southern California they act like it’s Fall year round. They never stop gathering acorns from Pasadena’s stately oak tress. And of course my yard is the hot spot for storing a lifetime of food!

Pet

Down south we call that pest dish Brunswick stew. All those nuts make the bushy tailed critters mighty tasty. Only fair since they eat our goodies we eat them! Matter of fact, since reading your blog (info) about the delicious insects served in fine Japanese restaurants, I’ve been thinking about serving the family bug pasta starring many legged super critters. You guessed right! Those little SOBs eating my darling pansies are destined for the dinner plate. Talk about discriminating: the pansy eating pests prefer the yummy flowers to the spinach like leaves. While mulling over recipes I’m dumping granular insecticide circling each little plant so some colors are finally emerging. One way or the other, we exterminate garden pests if we can, something we can’t do to the human ones. But that’s a topic for another blog.

Karen

Gee Pet did you wake up on the mean side of the bed? : ) What a way to talk about our helpless little fluffy tailed friends! Now bugs are another matter. As you know when I was in Japan I partook of some yummy insect friends. And they taste like chicken. Not! Roasted beetles taste a bit like popcorn. If you put on a blindfold you’d swear they were a very tasty snack. Here in Pasadena we are pretty lucky when it comes to bugs. We have as many friendly bugs as enemies to our gardens. Lot’s of ladybugs and praying mantis to take care of most of the aphids that love to chomp on my lovely roses. But there is one pest that has shown up on the scene that I’d gladly hit with a nhapalm bomb…. termites!!!!!! They are chewing on my beautiful front porch! The one I labored over last year doing a four color Painted Lady paint job! Now I have to go back and redo whole sections!!!!! Die termites die!!!!!!!

Pet

Hey city girl…I’m not about to call you a meanie for sending interesting scientific termites to bug heaven. So lay off me and my desire to rid the world of cotton-tales. I always root for the weaker one. So when the coyotes attack I’ll root for the rabbits and my 11 pound dachsaranian (mom dachshund, dad Pomeranian), all tasty morsels for the coyotes. But in the battle between warm blooded critters and helpless plants, no matter the sentiments from songs and books, I’m behind the plants. So there PETA! Ah, but sometimes we come across a most beautiful plant which can only be labeled as pest. Even if you could possibly forget the pollen floating through the air and which tree they come from you’ll always recall the horrible itch coming from the red gold leaves of that awful plant pest POISEN IVY. Unfortunately abundance grows at the edge of our woods, home of the cotton tails who are completely unaffected. I see a raging example of no justice!

Karen

I say power to the bunnies!!!!!! : ) I have friend you should meet. She has a thing for bushwhacking Bambi. Her amazing garden in the Hollywood Hills is over run by deer. She has tried everything to keep them at bay. The go-to repellant is Cougar pee. No, not the pee from over 40 year-old women trolling for 20-year-old boys. : ) We are talking Mountain Lion pee. They sell it for big bucks at the local nursery. I’d like to meet the guy who collects that for a living! Probably doesn’t have a whole lot of job security. : ) Out of desperation and a dwindling pocket book she tried a bunch of other things. Dog pee, cat pee, she even tried her boyfriend peeing on the bushes. Nothing worked. But one day she got a brilliant idea. If fake owls can keep crows away, something might work for deer too. So on a beautiful sunny day she called me up with triumph in her voice, “The deer are gone!! You have to come see what finally worked.” So I took the trek over to her house. She gleefully led me to her backyard and pointed to the top of the hillside. “Look isn’t he gorgeous!” I had to stuff back a laugh when I saw who “He” was. A giant life sized Grizzly Bear!

Pet

Actually any urine from warm blooded animals is supposed to keep the pests away. That’s why we welcome cats and dogs to our flower beds. Since we’re close to the road the neighbors demur but I must admit in the wee hours of very dark nights yours truly sneaks out and…take that you blasted cotton-tailed rodents. The best tactic still is plant something they don’t care for. The irises are blooming unscathed right next to the chomped down lilies. Somewhere I picked up the fact, or notion, that rows of marigolds would turn the stomachs of rabbits, squirrels, even those grubs and grasshoppers. WRONG! The distinct aroma of the orange and gold beauties attracted pests from fields and stream to stop by for a gourmet treat…baby marigolds. Wonder they didn’t order fries with that.

Karen

LOL Pet! The termites must think my beautiful gingerbread front porch is the real thing by the way they are munching down! I know there is always a balance to nature and you have to take the good with the bad but it would be nice if the nasty pest would just go extinct. I mean would really be devastated if black widows suddenly bit the dust? Or how about scorpions? Would the desert just collapse if they all just vanished into thin air? And I’m not saying this lightly as my astrological sign is Scorpio! But in the end we are pretty powerless when it comes to Mother Nature. She’s got her reasons for subjecting us to pests. So to make my peace with her I try to let the good bugs fight it out with the bad and cross my fingers my roses will survive Spring aphid season. But shush………don’t tell Mother Nature I stack the deck by buying tons of ladybugs from the local garden store. : )

Pet: All I can say at this point is phooey on pests. Happy gardening everyone!

Spring Where For Art Thou?

2011-03-02T13:53:00.000-08:00

When the magnolia blooms by her front porch Karen know Spring is near.

Early blooming azaleas show their pretty pink faces in April and May

Karen

To say the weather has been a bit crazy lately is beyond an understatement. Here in not so sunny Southern California, one week it’s 80 and spring has vanished and Summer has settled in. Next week we have rain and the daytime temperature is 54. Hello winter. Yikes I need my wool coat! I no longer have faith the normal changing of the seasons will happen. So for now my winter clothes are still the main focus of my closet. I have a drawer full of short sleeve tops that sit at the ready in case another surprise couple of 80 degree days decide to keep me on my toes. Funny, the fruit trees are the only things that seem to know that spring is on the way. When I walk the Rose Bowl the plum and cherry trees are in full bloom and look so lovely. But instead of wearing short sleeves and temperatures in the 70’s, I’m wearing my winter workout sweats and my face feels like I’ve put on an ice mask. Spring….where oh wherefore art though?

Pet

One thing you can count on in this world is that spring will come. Spring arrives every year about half way through the 21^st of March. Wouldn’t we all be delighted out of our minds if on that day the pear trees burst into bloom, the robins laid all those pretty blue eggs, we plop those tank tops into the drawer and kiss winter good bye? But Madam Spring doesn’t work that way. She’s a fickle wench, maybe the most capricious of all her fellow seasons. Oh Old Man Winter might make an appearance when he should be sleeping. We know he’ll be brief and his signature snow very sloppy. Miss Spring on the other hand hangs on with her whims. Ten days of 80+ weather, followed by days with brisk winds from the southwest shifting to the northeast dropping temps twenty degrees. Where are those sweaters? Enough of this weather report. Tell me what exactly do you like about Spring?

Karen

Well, I like it when Spring shows up! : ) I think my favorite thing is the flowering trees. Such a dramatic change from bare branches to color everywhere. My next favorite thing about Spring is the air actually smells different: fresh, clean and crisp. Of course it also can bring on an allergy attack but totally worth the price. My closet gets to turn from black and grey, to black, white and navy. Okay, I admit I’m not a big color person. : ) I also have a bit more bounce in my step on a beautiful Spring day. Of course that could be because I always bake up a storm as soon as the weather gets better. So all the extra sugar coursing through my veins could be the reason. : )

Pet

Ha! And I’m thinking of putting away all that black and getting out the pinks. To match my flowers. Last fall I planted shocking pink tulips along with more daffodils, hardy little suckers; don’t mind sticking their heads through the snow. Actually the first flowers up, right after the crocus, are pink hyacinths, old and feeble but still notably colorful. Any way I do have at least half dozen pink tee shirts to go along with my gardening blue jeans. I own and wear, though it’s falling apart, a pink hoodie, pink sneakers, and pink gardening gloves. Looks like some of my pink snap dragons wintered over and wow…you should see my rhododendron putting out buds all winter. Take my word for many pink petals on perennials, flowering shrubs and trees! Oh I just know you’re going to make a crack about old ladies and their pinks. I even have pink knives and forks. Would love to be poking them into some of your spring baking delights.

Karen

Pet and pink where made for each other. : ) Personally pink and I don’t get along. Instead of making me look cheery and fun it clashes with my skin tone and I look like I’m having a jaundice attack. My problem with bright colors is I like to blend in. I love to observe the people around me without being noticed so wearing a bright orange T-shirt is out of the question. Black is my undercover color of choice. When it comes to my garden I like to keep it subtle too. My flowers are all shades of purple and white. I do have an occasional volunteer turn up in shocking red. But I let it be. I figure if it went to all the trouble of finding my garden to grow in, I should welcome the occasion break from my calm color scheme. I like the occasional rebel. : )

Pet

Scenery around here improves every day. The yellow brown is greening up. Blue jays and blue birds colorfully flit by and the robins and cardinals seem redder than ever. The tree toads are finally speaking up and while the little darlings are never seen they herald what’s happening outside of their trees. Color, color, color, Karen Anne. Boo on black and gray. White in winter makes kind of a pretty background but now even that’s gone in most places and underneath the white stuff lays the dreary dregs of last summer. That’s why the new grass popping up along with early spring bulbs cheer the soul. And you’re cheering non color? How about your delicious home baked goodies. Do you keep the pinks and yellows away or are you getting ready for Easter with yummy toppings alight with spring shades?

Karen

Okay, you twisted my arm. : ) One of my favorite things to bake to get me in a Spring mood is lemon meringue pie. Nothing celebrates the warming temperatures and sunny skies better! It’s always a bit of a challenge to get the meringue browned perfectly but there is nothing more like eating sun shine then a piece of lemon pie! Here’s my big tip. Be sure to use Myer lemons. They have a nice sweet taste and a beautiful color!

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons unbleached flour 4 egg yokes, beaten

3 tablespoons cornstarch 1 9” pie crust baked

1 ½ cups water 4 egg whites

2 Myer lemons, juiced & zested 6 tablespoons white sugar

(for the meringue)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.
For the filing: In medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, and cornstarch. Cook over medium heat stirring until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in ½ cup of hot mixture. Whisk egg mixture back into sugar mixture and bring to a boil. Continue to cook until thick. Remove from heat and pour into baked pie shell.
To make meringue: In a large chilled glass bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread over pie, sealing all edges.
Bake in preheated oven until meringue is golden brown. Be sure to watch the pie like a hawk!

Pet

Lemon meringue pie. The first thing I ever cooked. My dad didn’t like the crust on my Aunt’s pies; my mom didn’t bake, so he asked me, an adventurous ten-year-old, to make him one. Long time ago but I distinctly remember using a Jell-O mix. He approved of my crust anyway and this led to a long career of chocolate cookies and the best brownies ever. Nothing beats that yellow and white pie around Easter time. Guess I’m getting ahead of myself since we still have to get through March. True to its rep, March arrived here in Eastern Tennessee with vicious winds. Got to keep thinking they’ll bring the April showers soon to give way to May flowers. So we say goodbye like we said hello, with a weather report. Happy springtime everyone.

Another Year Another Headache

2011-01-24T17:45:00.000-08:00

One of Pet's Nemisis

Karen's Best Friends

Pet

I’m a bit worried that the New Year might not be as happy as years past. My qualms arise from the unseen custodian’s of my welfare and well being stalking me every day in every way. Gives me a headache so I need an aspirin. Uh oh…the protectors got to the aspirin before me. First a blasted twisty top to keep kiddies out, keeps me out. After searching for a band aid to place over spurting bloody wound from cutting off that strapping plastic wrap I twist and turn a couple of hundred times and finally get it off but a burly foil top won’t let me in. Says pull here but all that does is destroy the tab so the bloody knife is the only answer. So now all I have to do is pull out half a bottle of cotton batting to get at the pills. Think I’ll pop four instead of the advised two.

Karen

I’m always so hopeful when a new year starts. I’m going to actually make some resolutions and keep them. I’m going to make time to see my friends. I really have the best of intentions but once I’m done writing everything down all I’m left with is a big headache. The pesky bottle is just one more thing I can’t control. But once I pop the pill and calm down I realize that I have a whole year to get my resolutions done. And even if I only accomplish half of them because city life can be even more distracting than the internet, I know that I’ve made an effort. Will I ever work myself up again and get another headache? Probably.

Pet

New Year’s resolutions will not deter me from my rant. Here in the country the UPS truck is a frequent traveler up and down our road. Two of the girls even married two of the UPS guys. Love that truck but hate the packages they bring. Oh the goodies within are great it’s the wrapping that gets me. Popcorn and foam and tape…takes hours to get through them, just like that aspirin bottle. And the trash these over wrapped monsters generate!!! Two or three packages a week means an extra trip to the dump. Gas used, wear and tear on the mini-van not to mention my tired body from removing and disposing of the “protective” wrapping. Didn’t all of this start when someone popped poison pills into a bottle of Tylenol?

Karen

I can feel your packaging frustration all the way to tinsel town!!!! Yesterday I had to get out the industrial strength scissors to cut open a battery package. Then as soon as I cut it the package exploded and all the batteries rolled all over the floor! A migraine was instantly in my future. Do the people that design packaging have a deal with all the pain reliever companies? No… you can’t open their bottles either! I do have to admit I have a love hate relationship with packaging. I hate things that are packed in vacuum-sealed plastic. I almost mutilated my wonderful Christmas present, an Ipod, trying to remove it from its plastic tomb just so I could play the darn thing! But I actually love bubble wrap. Not only does it protect my wonderful eBay antiques, but once it has done its job I can have hours of fun popping all the bubbles! Free entertainment. What’s not to love? : )

Pet

I guess popping bubble wrap beats popping aspirin. Something else making me pop something, like maybe a bottle of Tennessee sipping whiskey-- all those machines beeping at me, built in by our unseen guardians. I never get to open the door of the microwave soon enough, my computer revels in beeping out my mistakes, the dryer screeches when done, and don’t even mention my mini-van. That blasted GM product never gives me a chance to buckle my seat belt seat belt before throwing a beeping fit. Walking the dog outside in the crisp country air brings no relief from the bossy machines. The silo on the farm next door makes dumb noises and you should hear the ding-a-ling-ing when those trucks back up. Sometimes the farm noise beat out the sirens in the city.

Karen

One benefit of living in the city is it’s so darn noisy you become numb to it all. In fact all my appliances have a complex. My dryer can ding for hours and I totally ignore it. The microwave screams for my attention but I didn’t even notice. The trash trucks clang up and down the street at 7:00 in the morning and I sleep blissfully. Of course I cheat and wear earplugs. : ) Yes, earplugs and nose canceling head phones are a city girls best friends. Not to mention the general deafness that happens when you are subjected to endless noises 24-7. But I do empathize having been a country girl. Loud noises reach supersonic levels in the peaceful countryside. Can I suggest a lovely pair of blue earplugs? We could be twins. : )

Pet

Once again we find the similarities between country and city life. One sound you won't have invading your sanctuary is the one that comes from the pasture next door where all the cows about to be mamas live. The heifers delivering their first born really howl. Pathetic, but then happy when they again become super milk producers. This leads to my next rant about us becoming a nanny society. The farmers next door are livid about all those people watching our collective health who spout out about the evils of ingesting dairy. When we were kids a glass of milk at each meal was a necessity. Now “those people” are pushing soy “milk”. Of course healthy eating went west years ago. But in Tennessee, the land of biscuits and sausage gravy? Too much.

Karen

Don't get me started on milk! I'm one of those people that needs a nanny! I'm lactose intolerant. No stomach issues for me. What happens when I have a yummy cheese lasagna like I had last night? I can't breathe! Woke up this morning with half a nostril and a sinus headache. Why did I order the lasagna you might ask? Because I wanted it no matter what the price! Until lactose free milk and ice cream came along I was totally deprived. Yes, soy milk was one the alternatives. Not the same taste at all. But thankfully living in the city we have all kinds of alternatives to milk and cheese products. Are they as yummy as the ones made with real milk? No. But at least I can indulge and still breathe!

Pet

You don’t need a nanny. Soy milk is your choice. If I were the nanny I’d say everyone must drink milk and eat lots of beef, lean kind of course. That’s my choice and given time I’d spout off all the health advantages of these locally grown products and the reasons I’m outlawing soy products and poor Karen Anne would have to choke. Fortunately soy beans grow in abundance here in the valley. Get the point of my rant? I vote for a few less layers of package wrap, shutting up those noisy, nosey machines and for heaven’s sake stay away from my food. I have a few more, okay a bunch more, but I’ll save them for a future blog. Of course if the snow and cold clear up I won’t be nearly so mean. A hunk of the year is now gone but never too late to wish one and all a Happy 2011.

Hold Your Breath, It’s the Holiday Season!

2010-11-29T14:56:00.000-08:00

Karen's little fur bunny maker GT enjoying the holiday season

The newest member of Pet's family, Chase Wyatt, bundled up and ready for his first holiday season.

Karen

Well Pet, the holiday season is once again upon us. Its time to get out the recipe books and clean the house like mad. Cleaning my house has become a real core with two long hair cats in the house. I don’t have dust bunnies I have fur bunnies in every corner! Just bought a new vacuum to tackle the problem. Has a special pet fur attachment. I never thought a household appliance could give me such joy. It was love after first use!

Pet

Slowly, but surely I’ve begun a necessary task before holiday planning begins – transforming the wardrobe from summer to winter. You might do a little bit of this yearly chore but it’s much more of a necessity in the country where the temps swings from 105 degrees Fahrenheit to just plain 5. So whenever there’s a break from the huge job of cleaning up the garden I’m toting sweaters and sweat pants from closet A and replacing the tank tops and shorts in closet B while the B stuff goes to A. Only when done will I check the calendar.

Karen

Well, that’s one advantage to living in sunny Southern California. We don’t have to trot out winter clothes and totally change over the closet. Just throw on a jacket and maybe a scarf and we can transition pretty easily. The closet I dread this time of year is my decorating closet, which is huge! I have to haul all my spooky stuff out for Halloween and then shift everything around so that I can get to my Christmas bins. As I’m a Christmas fanatic we are talking about 8 large bins stuffed with greenery and cheer. And of course several are filled to the brim with my well over 300 ornaments. Poor Thanksgiving gets short shift. All I have is a small wreath made up of fall flowers and very tried out old stuffed turkey that looks like he’s been shot twenty times. : )

Pet

I’d love to spend the holiday season with you in the city. Never mind that over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go stuff. Goodbye wild turkeys and venison on the hoof, autumn leaves still pretty, and clear crisp days. Hello city life with closets full of decorations and all those pretty store fronts. I’m not much for decorating but love to see the fruits of others. If it weren’t for getting x-rayed and frisked I’d be checking the plane schedules and over the Mississippi and mountains to Karen Anne’s house we go.

Karen

LOL Pet. Yes, traveling ain’t what it used to be. Now not only do you have to start a diet to lose 10 pounds so you can indulge in all the wonderful holiday goodies, you have to lose another 10 so you look good going through the body scanners at the airport to get to the holiday goodies! I swear isn’t there enough pressure on women to look good? Don’t get me started. : ) I do think the city does have a lot to offer during the holidays. Why we have some killer sales already going on. And the store windows are such a nice diversion from my massive gift list. But my favorite part of being in the Pasadena during the holidays is the pre-Rose Parade excitement. Nothing like looking out a store window and seeing a giant parrot cruising down Colorado Boulevard. : )

Pet

Thanksgiving starts the celebration in the country. Each little town has a parade with Santa (that guy does get around this time of year) and a couple of hours of Christmas in Olde (you name the town). The lights go on and do look pretty though the small towns can’t compete with the tourist towns of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg (think Dollywood) where they boast one million lights. But then, not even Karen Anne with her humongous decorating closet can compete with that! She tries though…Pasadena’s answer to our Tennessee diva, Dolly Parton.

Karen

Wow Pet, and I thought living up to my Martha Stewart reputation was a burden. I think the thing about the holidays in the city that really burns me up is the fact that some stores start putting out their Christmas merchandise before Halloween! By the time Christmas rolls around I’ve been so over saturated with Santa’s and reindeer I’m looking forward to pink bunnies. On the upside the sales start almost as early and you can get your gift shopping done months in advance. Of course do I take advantage of the fact, no. I’m one of those people that searches high and low for the perfect gift. My friends are an eclectic bunch. And like me they are crazy for antiques. The funkier the better. One year I spent four months trying to track down an 1880’s silver-plated pickle fork!

Pet

Nothing echoes the true spirit of Christmas like giving the perfect gift. Accomplishing this last year, I am now faced with what to get her this year. No such problem with the perfect gifts I receive every holiday season. Seems Hubby detests shopping. An hour in a department store is like a week in hell for him. So I told him not to worry. “I’ll buy all the presents, even the one for me.” Now you’ll find two happy campers at our house during the holidays. For 2010 hubby is generously gifting me with two presents since the ones I now own recently self-destructed. A lovely watch and a camera for dummies under the tree will insure I have a merry and a happy!

Karen

Oh, crafty Pet! You’ve come up with the perfect solution for all husbands gift-giving woes, hand over the chore to the wives!!!!! My hubby asks me for a five item wish list. He also gives me 50 bucks worth of eBay mad money. I’m an eBay master. 50 bucks in my hands is like 200 in someone else’s. When someone raves over one of my antiques I can blow their mind and say I snapped it for 20 bucks. Because of my auction prowess I score the best presents. This year one of my friends wants a Victorian era asparagus server. Where will I get one of those? eBay of course! And the perfect gift will be at her door just in time for Christmas! Love that Internet!

Pet & Karen wish you all the best of luck finding the perfect gift for that special person and the greatest holiday season ever!

Country Girl Goes to the City and Visa Versa

2010-09-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

Pet spent much of her childhood at her grandparent's house in Uptown Manhattan

Ah...A wonderful garden in Provence. Karen can't wait to smell the flowers!

Dear faithful Transplant readers, sorry we’ve been MIA for so long but family health woes have had us both sidelined. But we’re back!!!!! And writing about Country Girl Visiting the city and vice versa

Pet

Do you ever leave your comfort zone of bright lights, public transportation and smog and take a trip to clean air, fields of flowers and pure lakes? On occasion, only because my nearest and dearest live in heavy traffic zones I do venture into a city. Not with my dear hubby though, as he’s a confirmed city-phobic. And he defines a city as any named place of 25,000 souls. I’m not in a mood to bash the places where my darling friends and relatives live. So for starters I’ll tell what I love about cities: food and shopping!

Karen

YES!!!! I’ve been dreaming of my vacation that’s coming up to the South of France! I’ve been missing my country roots and can’t wait to spend some down time in the beautiful countryside of Province. I’ve never been before but from what my friends say it will be just what I need: a breather from city life! Although I love what tinsel town has to offer the pace can be beyond crazy. So spending some time lounging with friends in a chateau in Province sounds pretty darn good right now.

Pet

LOL! My hilarity comes from a recent visit from my city slicker brother. He looked out the window in our sunroom and said, “This looks like the south of France. Tell everyone they don’t have to go overseas to see the quaint country sights. Just visit East Tennessee.” Tell you what. After your France trip y’all come and tell us if he’s right. Country scenes might look the same, but cities are even worse. Same stores, same restaurants, inside and outside malls look like twins, very often we have to stop and think, “What city are we in anyway?”

Karen

Some places do look alike especially with the mallization of downtown main streets. Take Pasadena for instance. The quaint historic section built in the late 1800’s called Old Town, was once run down and full of interesting art shops, funky boutiques and even an adult book store. Now it’s all dolled up with foundation and lipstick and filled with chain stores like The Gap and Crate and Barrel. But it’s nice to see some towns still leave a bit of the seedy side as well as the new improved version like Hollywood. Can’t mistake tinsel town for any other city. Where else can you see stars on the sidewalk and Spiderman posing for pictures in front of the Graumans Chinese Theater!

Pet

Now I’m getting home sick to visit tinsel town. I once went every year to celebrate the holidays with the family. Mom and Dad would travel in from New York and my brood and I would bop in from various rural settlements. Brother, sis and families lived there so we would have great times. Loved the celebrities. Once we caught a filming of PERRY MASON at the Ambassador Hotel where we were staying. Daddy, the joker, greeted Raymond Burr and said, “How come you win every case you try and I lose all of mine?” RB got huge kick from this. I also love the food and abundance of things to do. Bro, in the film biz, used to

take me to screenings at the Academy Award Theater. But I have to point out…the sunsets suck!

Karen

Ah Pet….the good old days. The Ambassador Hotel in no more. Most of it has been torn down and a huge school has been built on the site. The most expensive school in America at a cost of 578 million bucks!!!!! What other inner city school has it’s own park and a state of the art swimming pool any Olympic venue would envy. No wonder the state is on the verge of bankruptcy!! Also, the Academy Awards Theater has been replaced by the much more showy Kodak Theater. The red carpet is covered by a long series of suspended glass panels. The world would end if a celebrity got one drop on their fancy designer gown! : ) And a funny thing about the sunsets, since they cleaned up the air in LA, the sunsets have gone from dark burnt orange to pale sherbet colors. They actually look good enough to eat!

Pet

Wow! I have to catch up on the all new Los Angeles. I haven’t visited since Mom, who lived there for 15 years, passed. That’s about seven years ago, before we became internet buddies. My problem is only my brother still lives there, in West Hollywood part of LA metroplex. Sis moved to Berkley, niece to Napa and nephew and his darling brand new baby girl live in San Diego. Big state, big spread. How can I visit them all and still have time to tour your famous Victorian showplace? This country girl will be undergoing major big city trepidation. And a trip to the big apple is due; not only to visit my birthplace but also to meet another new family member, my grand-nephew, baby Louis living in Brooklyn. How did you fare when you visited your ex roommate in a tiny New Mexico town?

Karen

Well, the town isn’t as tiny as mine in upstate where the one and only traffic light changes to flashing caution at sundown, but it’s not much bigger. You can drive down Main Street in one minute! It’s still a town driven by agriculture. Oh and the occasional donkey farm. LOL. On my recent visit they added one more choice to the dinning possibilities, right next to the Sonic Bugger is a brand spanking new Taco Bell! I had to pinch myself. LOL! My friend lives on an acre that she has turned into a bird sanctuary. The yard is full of beautiful native bushes and trees and she has a small pond. Her little piece of heaven in the desert.

Pet

I’m sure I’d love your friend’s little acre, but I don’t know about that town! Why do so many rural hideaways have those fast food places? I guess because the residents would go to the next town to get their fix. Since our home city…yes it’s a designated city…has nothing except half a dozen churches, two gas stations (one with a lunch counter), a small library with a mostly m.i.a. librarian and a spanking new post office, 500 people and 5,000 cows, we go to larger nearby town with half dozen stoplights for amenities like banks. There you’ll find abundant fast food places, and a genuine Mexican restaurant owned and operated by real Mexicans. But where does the Hispanic population go to eat? You guessed it. Taco Bell of course.

Karen

They don’t pay for all those commercials for nothing. LOL! We are all creatures of habit. I’m gearing up for my big trip to France where I hope to dine on anything BUT fast food. Have fingers crossed no more family issues will keep me from Paris. I’m looking forward to seeing if the fields of grape vines in Province are similar to the ones in Napa and Sonoma. If the lovely hill towns are similar to the hills in upstate. I’ve been pining for a little time in the countryside. The saying is true: You can take the country girl away from the farm but you can’t keep her away from the hay. : )

Pet

Have a wonderful time hoping from famous city to famous country place while we do the same stateside. So many cities, so many country places…and we’ll all try to visit as many as we can.

Life's Little Surprises

2010-06-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

A surprise dinner is served at Karen's house of horrors

Pet's surprise visitor has taken up residence in her cherry tree.

Pet

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men…so the saying starts and we all know where it goes. We’re strolling along, enjoying our, albeit boring, but comfy routines when BAAAM, a surprise hits and life will never be the same. Some events are devastating…accidents, illness, even death, but there are happy ones. What could be more joyful than my almost fifty-year-old nephew about to become the first time father of twins? We did have a life changing occurrence in our farm community recently. One of the neighbors about a mile up the road got robbed. Happened during milking time so no one got hurt but we all made a few adjustments. No more open doors and casual running out for a few minutes. Everything gets locked now, even the car, truck and tractor. What a switch this turned out to be. We country bumpkins now act like city slickers.

Karen

Having had my fair share of bad surprises over the last several years, I’m thrilled that 2010 is bringing some pleasant ones. One of the things my husband made me promise when we bought out big Victorian was that he wanted it to help pay for itself. Part of the advantage to living in tinsel town is location scouts are always looking for places to shoot commercials and TV shows. So I thought no problem. I’ll post the house on a location site and we’ll be millionaires. Not. Although we had at least six or seven location scouts come to the house every year the house never got picked for anything. My lovely Victorian wasn’t even a bridesmaid. Until last month. : )

Pet

The only movie my house could be made into right now is “THE MESSY MUDDLE RETURNS” thank you Newt, the newest life changing addition to our household. Eight pounds, jet black with touches of white, the little devil likes to decorate by placing all his stuffed toys, chewies, bones, favorite shoes, shredded Kleenex tossed throughout the house. Sometimes he gets arty and adds his special touch, like unrolled toilet paper trailed through and then chewed up. At least as much as possible before the household heads catch him. Yup, probably the only occurrence more dramatic would be the arrival of a baby, and we have the impending influx of four new little ones in our family this summer. None live nearby so a happy home invasion could be right up there with major happenings. Tell us, Karen Anne.

Karen

I know what you mean about little additions causing havoc. My house has never been the same since I rescued Slick and GT. Only one thing got them to take a break from house destruction….a film crew. My hubby is a huge horror fan so he was so excited when finally after years of being odd house out, our Victorian was picked as the location for a horror film. When a horror film sets up in your house and the main plot of the movie involves a serial killer and cannibalism, my kitties ran under the bed and didn’t come out for three days! Although I was excited to finally have a movie shot at my house, the hair on my arms stood up when the crew walked in the front door carrying bottles of fake blood. I had visions of all my precious antiques splattered with blood. And when they came in carrying body parts and a enormous syringe I couldn’t help but wonder if I had nothing but nightmares in my future. : )

Pet

Can’t wait to find out if Karen’s antiques are now covered in blood. How do you know they carried the fake stuff or…Sounds like the making of a horror story. You know…film crew comes to make a movie and they’re really killing people. Turning from the gory phony yucky things we have a small surprise on our front lawn. Two of them, in fact. Ma and Pa Bluebird decided to nest in one of our cherry trees. A perfectly acceptable blue bird house sits in a large maple out back waiting for residents since everyone knows the pretty little creatures like shelter and hate noise. Go figure. The house is empty and there they are, setting up housekeeping close to the road, sharing turf with a yippy dog and listening to a noisy lawn tractor. And flitting around in front of an audience of porch sitters. Mother Nature is full of surprises.

Karen

Seems the birds like to be in the center of the action. : ) My house was the center of action during the three days of shooting. We had actors dressed as homeless people lined up in our driveway waiting to get nice bowl of body part chili! Inside the house we had a son murder his mother and in my lovely dinning room the hero of the film was served a nice plate of breast of hooker! In my parlor they shot a nice long scene where the topic of conversation was which body parts from which murdered girl would be served. It was a lot of fun to stand on the sidelines and watch the filming but I was also on the look out for stray blood and had a watchful eye on my antiques. In one parlor scene, a poor helpless damsel in distress was attacked by a 7 foot tall butler and almost knocked over my grandmother’s tea set. Thankfully one of the crew jumped in and rescued the teapot before it hit the floor. Never a dull moment in a horror movie shoot!

Pet

I truly don’t like horror movies, but this one I have to see. Keep us informed on when the flick will hit the big screen or if we have to put up with a home version on a DVD. Some of life’s little surprises suck. Example: Finding lily bed, just about to pop open with beautiful blooms of various colors and sizes, eaten! Totally devoured. Only stumps remain. Thorough investigation reveals no foot prints so I better not get my gun out and go after the deer. (Truth…Pet can’t hit the side of a barn with a shot gun. Better hide in the bushes and go after the critter with a trusty broom.) More likely the culprit is one of those adorable little cotton tail bunnies who have tons of clover to munch on so why are they eating my lilies? Inspired by your house’s horror flick, I am conjuring up a delicious rabbit stew. Hannibal the Cannibal, stand back.

Karen

Lol Pet! The side of my house looked liked someone blew the head off something as the grass was covered in blood splatters. The crew had set it up as a blood splattering staging area. The actors would get artfully splattered right before a scene. The director wanted the blood to look nice and fresh. : ) It’s funny how much of the conversation on set revolved around the blood. One brand of fake blood tasted awful but the looked the best on camera. The actors hated it. They were always trying to convince the make up person to switch to the better tasting variety. Cracked me up! I really hated to see the shooting end. My house was never so gruesome or exciting.

Pet

Here’s hoping this is just the start of a brilliant career for your house! Next time make them clean up, even plant new grass. Here in rural Tennessee the cows and the corn and the old houses would look good in many a movie, but so far Hollywood hasn’t showed up. Downtown Knoxville with many classic buildings, even Victorians, has been immortalized by film makers and recently a country B&B served as the set for a big screen movie. In the beautiful month of June, the flowers burst into bloom, winter, spring, summer, fall birds all meet and sing their heads off, the bull frogs are emoting only to be drowned out by tree frogs. So I’m sitting on my front porch, watching the humming birds and blue birds fight over territory and waiting for a director with a megaphone to appear and make us immortal. Life’s little surprises do sneak up on us you know!

Karen

Just might happen Pet! You never know when Hollywood decides your little piece of the country is the perfect spot for a major film. I had another nice surprise that was house related. Looks like my house might wind up back in a national magazine sometime in the next year. The editor came out and took a look at all my hard decorating work since the last time the house was in the magazine five years ago. I’ve been busy but still have parts of my office and the stair landing left to do. The stair landing is 18 ft so will have some major ladder work ahead of me so I’m saving the worst job for last. But now that the magazine is interested in a revisit article I see some scary ladder work in my future. : ) I love it when the planets align and happy surprises come our way. Makes plowing through all the negative surprises worthwhile. Here’s to many happy surprises coming to all our faithful readers way!

Spring Cleaning Ain't What It Used To Be

2010-03-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

Karen's Ready to Spring Clean!

Pet's Spring Cleaning Elixir

Pet

After the rough winter we’ve had everyone heralds the imminent approach of spring with “Yippees” and “About times”. Spring is my favorite time of year. All of a sudden the great outdoors really looks great. Greener, clearer, lighter. I know from living in places where there’s supposed to be only one season, spring still shows up every March. Many years ago, when I was very young, spring didn’t hold the same magic. As a matter of fact it terrified me. Why? My mother was a spring cleaning fiend.

Karen

I also dread spring but for a totally different reason. Hay fever! I also had a cleaning fiend in my family, my grandmother. As soon as the first flower sprung from her garden she wrote out her schedule for a top to bottom house cleaning. She did things the old fashion way, we’re talking the Victorian era! : ) Room by room she literally would take everything out clean the walls and the floor till there was not one speck of dust left. Each piece of furniture was waxed till it gleamed. The rugs would be taken outside, aired a then beaten till they couldn’t chook out any more dirt. When she was done she had the cleanest house in town. She dared anyone to give her the white glove test. She never had any takers. My grandmother was only four foot eleven but she could kick anyone’s butt when it came to spring cleaning.

Pet

Too bad hay fever hits in places where there’s no hay. My theory is when you don’t get a good hard freeze, all kinds of bugs, and weeds and dried up plants, they linger spreading histamines and making you sneeze. Hope you’re stocked up on Kleenex. We sniffled a little bit in Queens, NYC where I grew up but at my house we had no time. Every spring we got busy changing the whole house to its summer time mode. The heavy oriental rugs lifted and stored, replace by light woven ones. Slip covers slipped over chairs and sofas. Light, airy curtains replaced heavy drapes. Phew. Looked like a different house. Every last room got switched from winter to summer. Me? I think changing my closet from winter clothes to summer clothes is a large enough pain.

Karen

I hear you, Pet. People don’t believe I actually have a winter wardrobe living in sunny Southern California. When I first moved here I didn’t need one. My blood was still thick and when everyone was complaining about the 50-degree weather I was running around with short sleeves. Now I’m a total wimp. This year it was actually cold enough to wear my grandmothers fur coat! But back to cleaning, sounds like your mom was in Victorian mode when back in Queens. I just don’t have the energy of a Victorian woman. I’m lucky if when I spring clean I get my office desk cleared off and the curtains washed. And don’t get me started on my closet from hell!

Pet

The Victorian women had huge houses and twelve kids to put in all those rooms, but they also have something we don’t have. Help, lots and lots of help: upstairs maids and downstairs maids, cooks and gardeners. Think of what we could do with that kind of help. Spring cleaning time came around and we could point and say, “Clean this, scrub that, paint here and there too.” The weather’s turning warmer and outside calls for me to do my spring cleaning. That is get out in the garden and pull the flowers from last year, get those little weeds popping up, spread the mulch and prunes the roses. The best part of early spring cleaning in the garden is NO BUGS! They’ll be here soon, the tree Frogs are chirping so can cut worms and beetles be far behind?

Karen

I have my hands full with the inside. Lucky for me when spring springs my hubby likes to do the outside cleaning. As soon as the weather stays nice and there’s no threat of rain, he’s in the yard prepping the barbeque for the next big cook off. He cleans the gazebo, puts out the wicker furniture cushions and the hammock takes its place beneath the Chinese elm tree. Of course once he’s done all that then I catch the gardening bug and want to spruce up the yard. But this year I’m holding myself back won’t let myself go outside until I’ve tackled one of the big things on my giant house cleaning to-do list. But somehow by the time I get to the closet from hell the garden is calling my name. : )

Pet

Isn’t it nice though how once the closets are transferred and straighten, once the rugs are beaten (in my house where a new puppy lives they’re more like eaten), curtains washed, garden planted, mulch down, etc. etc. etc. how great everything looks! And smells. Clean house, spring flowers, fresh air, maybe pollen free for a change, is a delight to the olfactory senses. The greening hills are as easy on the eyes as a clean house. Spring is my favorite time of year. With nature so new, now’s the time to try out new recipes, get a new hair style, buy new clothes. Yeah! Welcome sweet spring time even though she’s calling us to clean the house and garden. We’ll suffer through that just to reap the rewards of the season.

Here’s a delicious soup I made today using new potatoes from California, thank you. Yummy!

Ham and potato soup

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes

1/3 cup diced celery

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

3/4 cup diced cooked ham

3 1/4 cups water

2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or

to taste

5 tablespoons butter

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups milk

Directions:

1.	Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
2.	In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
3.	Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

Karen

The recipe looks yummy. Maybe once I’m done with my spring cleaning I’ll whip up a batch. But one of my big problems is the tons of distractions you have in the city. Today I went to see a fashion exhibit of all the costumes designs that were nominated for the Oscars this year. I was amazed to see all the detail up close and personal. The costume for Young Victoria won this year and they were truly stunning. The pleating and tucking are so meticulously done, not to mention the amazing fabrics that were used. I’d much rather look at them then my dirty drapes! I have no trouble finding an excuse not to clean in tinsel town. But this year I promised myself I’d give the house a good cleaning top to bottom. Now I don’t promise to get it all done in the spring. At this rate I might finish my spring cleaning right before Thanksgiving. : )

Happy Spring cleaning everyone!

Furry & Lovable

2010-02-27T15:46:00.000-08:00

Newt travels at 100 miles an hour and then crashes.

Here he is snoozing with his piggy.

GT takes over Karen's guest bedroom

Slick takes over Karen's spot in bed

Pet

We have a new family member at our house. He’s a true country fellow since he was born nine weeks ago to a Dachshund mom with a Pomeranian dad looking on way out in the country in a house that had gone to the dogs. These canine lovers had shoved all their furniture into what used to be the living room and dedicated the rest of the house, plus an outdoor run to the dogs, 22 in all. We lost our wonderful Herman, companion of almost seventeen years last Tuesday and on Wednesday we answered an ad for AKC Pomeranians. While the little fur balls in the fenced off area with like newborns, were too adorable we fell in love with the black eyed, black haired with white paws and vest, half breed, and since he’s new we call him Newt. Dancing with a puppy (Pomeranians are great dancers) sure goes a long way toward mending a broken heart.

Karen

Talk about dog crazy! Boy do those people love their four legged friends. When you told me that Herman had passed on to doggie Heaven I hoped you would run out and get another dog pronto. Nothing heals the heart faster than a new addition to the family. I think I might have advised against getting a puppy as they go beyond high maintenance. But once you sent me a picture of little Newt I can see why you became smitten. He sure is a cutie! I have to say I was a bit confused about his pedigree, as I’d never heard of a Daschsundranian before. Somehow I just couldn’t envision that kind of a doggie attraction. But guess Newt’s parents had other ideas. : )

Pet

Herman had a big fan club and some of his admirers have sent me the story of the rainbow bridge where dogs cross into doggie heaven. There they romp in a beautiful meadow happy and healthy, waiting for the arrival of their people. So when the dog people pass away they cross the rainbow bridge and are with their companions for eternity. Lovely story, but in my mind I see a number of dogs who’ve lived with me in that meadow. Herman didn’t like big dogs. Would he really get along with my two St. Bernards? I’m told in doggie heaven all the animals get along. So my fifteen or so since my first dog, Smokey, crossed the bridge, romp together. How about your kitties, Karen? Do they cross the bridge into the same meadow or is Kitty heaven in a different place?

Karen

Hum….never thought about Kitty Heaven. I think all my cats would love the road to Heaven to be paved with a luxurious thick shag carpet so they could dig their claws in all the way to the pearly gates. Once inside, they’d love everything to be covered in catnip and they’d run straight for the all you can eat fish buffet. Think that would truly be kitty Heaven. : ) Hopefully my new feral adoptee’s, Slick and GT, have a long way to go before they have to make a visit. And my old timer Amelia keeps hanging in there. She’s going to be 19 this year. I hope she makes it to 20!

Pet

Our feline and canine family members are such a part of the household we do miss them when they’re gone but the newcomers immediately take a place in our hearts. Right now Newt, the new, is so adorable. He took over an old throw rug as his own and we let him. So right now he’s carrying it all over the sun room, having a ball. Puppies seem to have a ball with everything they do and okay some of it is destructive. But they are such fun we can overlook a few destroyed rugs and chewed furniture. Life is nothing but a fun time from one wonderful item, like the blind cords to another like pappy’s shoes. Outside that dried up winter foliage seems only there for pup’s amusement. One sees the world in an entirely different light through the little ones eyes.

Karen

I too have my house turned upside down by my new furry additions Slick and GT. As they were feral and we first had to tame them down before we could even get near them. We had no plans for them to become house cats until a vicious coyote first attacked GT and almost killed her. Slick is a big guy weighs in at almost 20 pounds so we thought he could hold his own but man that coyote even took on Slick. So our home turned into a kitty hospital as we nursed brother and sister back to health. Of course then we were hooked. GT has the cutest little chortle instead of a meow. And Slick has turned into a huge lover boy. The downside is they both have turned our nice chenille sofa and matching big chair into giant scratching posts. Sigh…..

Pet

Most difficult to keep a neat house when you have pets around, especially the babies. Newt is so good about going potty outside I’d been bragging about having a ten week old house broken pup. Until this morning that is. Early on we lost electric power. We weren’t too worried since the weather had warmed up some and we decided to go out for breakfast. We use any excuse to dive into the great country special they serve at the local supermarket. Stumbling around getting dressed in the dark I never noticed that Newt had lost his manners and pooped on a walkway rug. Ugggh…I stepped in it and now there are stains all over the carpet. Will have to get another throw rug and we’re glad we didn’t go ahead and get that new carpet we’d been eyeing for the bedroom…now Newts room. Other than that one little slip, he’s a lover. But the pup pales in comparison to the now in kitty heaven, Sam, the Tom Cat, who could probably out love Slick.

Karen

I think Slick is like a lot of big cats I’ve meet, total sweethearts. But just this morning I had to scold him about jumping up on my antique furniture. Both he and his sister love to chase each other and GT always jumps up on a empire table I have in the bay window of the parlor to escape. She’s not that heavy so even though it’s 160 years old it can handle her weight. But Slick and his 20 pounds is another story. The poor table creaks and moans. Then I have to be big tough Mom and scream at him. : ) People think I’m crazy to have brought two feral cats into my house filled with valuable antiques but I’ve faith in my ability to discipline my kitties. Amelia was a feral adoptee too. And you couldn’t ask for a better behaved cat. She is like a dog. She knows No and Come Here. She will even play fetch too. : )

Pet

The only time Sam thought himself a dog, was when we took the St. Bernard and poodle for a walk. Like many cats who owned us after him, he trotted along often in front of the giant dog. When I first met Sam he was going for a ride. A small neighbor girl confronted me with a lunch box. Inside she toted a kitty. The little striped bundle with the pink nose seemed to beg me to save him from his prison. I did and lectured his owner about not smothering kitties. She took him home, but not for long. Sam decided he’d live at my house and they tried to keep him, he repeatedly returned to our house. Finally the neighbors gave up with grumbles about cat stealing. We had Sam for many years even moving to a new house in a new town. He grew to be a big boy and a fighter. Not very pretty all scratched and bitten, Sam jumped on any available lap and nuzzled the owners petting hand. Visitors protested, family didn’t. We loved him whatever especially during Christmas time. Forgoing laps, Sam would settle under the tree and this scarred and sometimes bloody Tom would become an integral part of the decorations. And like all our pets, and integral part of our household.

Karen

Sam sounds like he was the ultimate Christmas decoration. I have to admit I had nightmares about GT and Slick scaling my Christmas tree when I put it up last year. I had no idea how they would react seeing the hundreds of sparkling ornaments and twinkling lights. GT is a sucker for anything shinny just like a bird. I had myself mentally prepared to run out and get a baby fence to protect my precious ornament collection. Nothing made me happier when I let Slick and GT lose to check out the tree. They walked around and sniffed everything. GT was the first to venture really close but instead of wanting to play with the spinning ornaments she was actually scared. And big boy Slick just yawned, bored by all the fuss. He was much more interested in playing with his favorite purple furry toy. Our first Christmas together turned out to be a really fun time. Slick and GT sat together on one of their favorite antique parlor chairs and watched the lights twinkle. I can’t imagine a house without a few pets running around. They help give the house a soul. Three cheers for our furry four legged family members!

The Ultimate Resolution

2010-01-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-22T13:40:00.000-08:00

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

2009-12-10T08:43:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-08-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-31T23:18:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-05-04T11:10:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-19T17:19:00.001-07:00

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

2009-02-10T12:06:00.000-08:00

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

2009-01-13T18:35:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-15T12:46:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-11-24T11:42:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-29T22:46:00.000-07:00

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!