Its Peter Cottontail Time

Easter has finally arrived! A sure sign of spring! I am very excited for this Easter because I will be visiting both sides of my family and having two dinners! I love Easter dinner. But it’s not just about the food, family and friends sharing the meal are what count most.

I have been busily preparing the dishes I will be bringing to each dinner. Easter morning is going to be super busy. I promised my best friend I would attend her church’s sunrise service and afterwards I have to get on the road. With all the activities planned on Easter I had no choice but to start preparing ahead of time. Desserts, vegetables and appetizers are all part of the menu items I am to bring with me.

The best part of Easter that I am going to enjoy is watching the little ones search for Easter eggs during the Easter egg hunt. They always have so much fun looking for those eggs. The looks on their faces are also a joy when they go to open the eggs to see what treasures are inside. I am not sure who started this tradition but I do not truly believe they knew the impact that would be on the children’s parents. Sugar, is the primary impact I am referring to towards the parents. Luckily for all of us the weather is suppose to be decent and so the solution to the sugar high the little ones will be experiencing is so keep them running around outdoors!

Thanksgiving

A holiday that I really love is Thanksgiving. I love all of the traditional foods and the time spent with friends and family. This year the tribe will be gathering at my home and I really can not wait. I have started cooking the pies and some of the breads already and will be ready to pop the turkey in the oven on Thursday morning.

My sister will be arriving the day before and will be staying with us, I can not wait it has been forever since I have seen her and I am excited to be hosting her family this year. Get ready the turkey is on it’s way, loosen your belt and sit down at the table.

Hosting via the web

Hosting your own website can be a challenge if you have never done it before or have a lack of computer knowledge.  Personally, I am not a computer guru so when I decided to jump into the world of technology I decided I better get some help.

Recently, I have been taking some classes on horticulture and wanted to be able to share this information with others.  I absolutely love gardening and constantly yearn for new knowledge about plants.  One area that fascinates me is new species of plants.  I envy the horticulturists out there that are able to create and breed new plants.  One new species I currently am researching is what the article called bleeding tooth fungus.  The plant is very cool looking.  The plant is pink in color like the gums on a human and drips blood- colored liquid.  I am not sure if this plant is toxic but I imagine it must be.  The more brightly colored plants are the more poisonous they usually are.

My new website will be produced by a web hosting company.  They have been very helpful and have given me the confidence ot continue my goal of spreading horticultural news to the world.

 

Pasta Tonight

With this cold weather and all this rain, I have a craving for comfort food. I think I will stop at the grocery on the way home and pick up what I need for a nice pasta dinner.

I especially want to get a loaf of fresh baked Italian bread. My favorite grocery bakes the bread right there at the store and it often goes on sale for 99 cents a loaf. I like to cut thick slices of the Italian bread and spread a garlic butter on it, then pop it under the broiler for about a minute to heat the bread and toast the edges. Sometimes I even toss some grated cheese on top of the bread before broiling it.

That garlic bread plus the pasta and a small green salad make a nice dinner.

Pumpkins

While at work today I saw the very first sign for the many pumpkin farms in this area, and I can not wait to take David to let him pick out his pumpkin for our porch jack-o-lantern. It has become a family trip and party to pick the correct pumpkin and to get it carved and set up on the porch, just right.

I like to pick one smaller pumpkin to make us some pies and we will get this done on this trip too. I love this time of year, the weather has cooled off and we have so much to do this time of year.

Evil black insects

The other morning I decided to get a jump on my gardening that I has been neglected for the last couple of weeks.  The one thing I didn’t expect to have meeting me outside was a little black insect; hundreds to be exact.  There are multiple measures next time that I know I need to have in place.

The season is young and I didn’t expect to have such an encounter.  I was only outside for two hours and I was completely bitten from head to toe.  I was miserable afterwards.  In fact, I still am itching.  The next time I decide to do dome landscaping I will have to be sure to not wash my hair first, wear a hat, put on some bug spray and equip myself with knee pads!  Maybe this is the magical combination to reduce being attacked by black flies!

At any rate these bugs are evil and I wish I could garden in a bubble.  Unfortunately that will never happen so I must arm myself the next time I decide to go outside in order to fight their army.

Juicy goodness

Usually I dread going to pick up groceries every week.  However, this week I was pleasantly surprised.  While shopping the produce section I discovered watermelon!

Watermelon is extremely nutritious, not to mention delicious.  I have always been surprised at how thirst quenching this melon can be.  Personally, I have been known to eat watermelon to not only quench my thirst but also my hunger.  The major reason for this quality is that most hold 92% water by weight.

The watermelon does have a large number of carbohydrate,s but next to no fat.  The fat that does exist merely comes from the natural sugar found in the fruit.  I highly recommend this fruit to anyone who wants a refreshing and versatile fruit.

Christmas Shopping

Although it is still summer, I can’t help but think about how winter is right around the corner and all of the things that come along with the winter months. I am not a fan of winter. The cold, the snow, the icy roads and then of course there is always all of the holidays that come along with winter. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s.

Now is a good time to start thinking of who I am going to feel obligated to purchase Christmas presents for and how much money I plan on spending on it all. I am going to start now. There are a lot if things on sale right now because stores are trying to get rid of their summer stock and make way for items that are needed for back to school and for the cold weather that we all have to prepare for.

Last year I managed to purchase every single gift online. I got a lot of my shopping done at musiciansfriends website since so many of my friends and family are into playing music. I didn’t have to actually go to any of the old brick and mortar stores, except for the food items that I needed for the various family holiday dinners. I would love to be able to brag about doing the exact some thing about for this year’s celebrations.

Heat Wave

We are currently going through a terrible heat wave.  We have been in the 90 degree weather for the past five days.  People are dropping like flies from heat exhaustion.

Hydration is the best thing a person can do in times of a heat wave.  People should drink water like a fish.  Also taking as many cool baths can be beneficial.  In the inner cities, the fire departments often will turn on the hydrants for people to cool off in the streets.  This is a generous thing to do for the community.  I wish I could see that done here.

Coventry 3′ x 5′ Oval Tawny

Don’t get me wrong, I love my new hard wood floors, but there is something about having some thing nice and warm to step on that a hard wood floor just doesn’t have to offer. I think having a couple of nice area rugs to place strategically in a few key places around the house just might be the best way to handle this.

There used to be a guy that always set up at the Flea Marker down in the city that I used to like doing business with, but I hear that he retired and no one has heard from him since last year. I love going to this up scale Flea Market.  You won’t find any used toys or baby clothes, it is strictly antiques and collectibles and other top quality merchandise. Well worth the trip down into the city on a nice weather day. There is such a variety of merchandise, as well as a variety of customers that it is a great way to spend the day people watching and seeing all the unique dealers that set-up there each weeks. But I have purchased a few items here and there through-out the years.

Thank goodness for the Internet. I found a great selection of that I have seriously been eyeballing the past couple of days. Amazing how many types of rugs are available these days. I think I’ll stick with the classics, now I just need to decide what size will be the best for what I need and want. It could run me anywhere from $40 all the way up to just under a grand.