There is a way out!
I am so sick of being SICK!!! I have gotten over most of my head cold, except the occasional cough, but I am just still so TIRED. I'm just not getting anything done, don't have anymore books to read, and don't want to watch any of the Lost episodes (on DVD) until Papa D can watch them with me. I am so hooked on that show, I watched all five episodes on disc 4 yesterday. It's like an addiction!!
I sure hope I feel better tomorrow....
Here are some Buttermilk Bisquits I made the other day for my friend J and her daugher M when they came to dinner. This recipe is from Mamasita. My favorite way to eat these is with Goop. It is a peanut-butter concoction that my Great-Grandfather DeClue invented.
Buttermilk Bisquits
2c. all-purpose flour
4tsp. baking powder
2tsp. white sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 c. shortening or Crisco
2/3 c. buttermilk
Directions:
Combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add buttermilk and stir with fork.
Pat out to 1/2 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Knead very lightly. Cut out bisquits with bisquit cutter or mouth of a drinking glass.
Place on cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 min.
Goop:
2Tbsp. peanut butter
1tsp. margarine
2tsp. corn syrup
Mix all ingredients in small dish. This makes enough for 2 bisquits.
I hope these yummy looking waffles don't make you drool too much! I got the recipe from Rodale's Basic Natural Foods Cookbook. The cookbook was a gift from Mamasita about 10 years ago. It has lots of helpful tips in it about cuts of meat, substitutions, as well as lots of recipes that are more nutritious; such as honey or applesauce instead of sugar, etc. It's a great cookbook.
I have adapted their Buttermilk Waffle recipe by using white flour instead of whole wheat and using sugar instead of honey. My revised version is as follows:
Buttermilk Waffles
2 c. all purpose flour (white)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs, separated
2 Tbsp. white sugar
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 c. buttermilk
Directions: In a medium-sized bowl sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.
In separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry, set aside.
Combine egg yolks, butter, and buttermilk in a small bowl. Add to dry ingredients and mix well.
Fold beaten egg whites into batter.
Heat waffle iron, brush lightly with oil, if necessary, and pour in enough batter to just fill. Close and cook until steaming stops and waffles are crisp. Serve with maple syrup or honey. (I prefer pure maple syrup and peanut butter!)
Makes 4 to 6 waffles
Tonight is the Father Daughter Ball. It is hosted by our local Parks & Recreation Programs Department for Dad's to take their daughter's out. Papa D has taken Meyers since she was 2 years old! They usually go with friends, out to dinner and ice cream afterwards. They look forward to it all year long. Here are some of their past portraits.
This evening Meyers is wearing a fashionable Wal Mart inspired creation that looks like Peppermint Patty in the Spring.
She is sporting lightweight shawl and beautiful carnation wrist corsage.
Her friend, Miss M is wearing a throwback to Christmas gone by in Maroon Taffeta and Velvet. Her hairdo was 24 hrs. in the making, braided when wet and then styled.
Sounds like they had a fabulous time, called them at an ice cream parlor that they went to after going out to dinner. What a special way for Daddy's to spend time with their little girls!
I have interrupted the installments of Back to the Future: New Zealand to introduce Crazy Aunt L. Today is her Birthday, and as such, I wish to honor her!!
Check out this stylish couple, adorable, aren't they? This is my crazy Aunt L & my Uncle Chaz all decked out for Halloween. They were the only "kids" to trick-or-treat Grammies this year!!
My Auntie is very affectionately known as crazy Aunt L. She's crazy because how many 60?-something people would die their hair orange for Halloween? And this, my friends, is no one-time dress-up. One year she hosted a party and dressed as a witch. She was such a hit she made the newspaper!
She is always up for a good time. Two years ago, she and Uncle Chaz went to Mardi Gras. Mamasita and I wondered how did she come back with so many beads.....interesting!! Hopefully she didn't scar any young men for life!!
Crazy Aunt L was 7 years younger than her sister, my Grammies. L was only 3 years old when her Dad & Mom packed them into a couple's car and drove from Missouri (Misery) to this Little Town in SW Washington. All seven of them crammed in that car, each night stopping along the road somewhere to cook their dinner over the warm radiator. Grammies had a cousin who was about 18 already living here and he offered them a place to stay until they could get back on their feet again, financially wiped out from the Great Depression.
Uncle Chaz & Crazy Aunt L have been married for almost 51 years. Isn't that amazing?! I think they make the cutest couple and are still very much in love. 
They have spent the past few years travelling around in their motor home seeing the country. For 2 of the past 3 summers they have been park hosts at Lime Kiln State Park in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island County, Washington. They would do maintenance projects at the park and get their parking spot and water for free. All it would cost them was their hard work. They invited my little family to come up and go camping with them. This was very special because this State Park is not a campground, it's day use only. But since they were staying there, we just pitched a tent next to them.
Lime Kiln State Park is one of the best places in the world to get an up-close view to Orcas (killer whales) from land. That is because the rocks that make up the shoreline have steep drop-offs which makes it very deep, with rich kelp beds for the whales to feed on. We didn't see any this summer when we went, but we did last year. Click on Orcas to watch a slide show of them!
This photo of the lighthouse was taken from land, while the next one was taken from the ocean during a sea kayaking expidition. While we didn't see any Orcas, we got upclose and perosnal with a few sea otters that were playing in the kelp beds.
Happy Birthday Auntie! Bucket Head and the rest of the family wish you the best wherever your Motor Home travels are taking you today!
Happy Birthday Mamasita! Your cute Grandkids are flashin' their cheesers for you today. Wow, 58 years young!
Tonight we will be celebrating with homemade cherry pie & ice cream. The pie will be made by moi. We are squeezing in the dessert celebration between dinner and Survivor. 
Here she is in Aug. 1971 when she is three days away from having ME! Aren't I cute in there?!
The next photo is from Feb. 1988 on her 40th B.Day. Her crazy Aunt L. sent her a dozen long-stemmed prunes. We got the biggest kick out of that. And, because they weren't flowers and were already dried, we got to enjoy them and laugh about them for a LOOOONNNGG time!
Poppy & Mamasita have been married 36 years. Poppy was in the Navy and they met through his sister and wrote letters back and forth for a few months. When he came home on leave they saw each other for a week and he proposed in a hardware store parking lot. Their marriage has outlasted the hardware store! Look at this cute couple, still in love... 
This picture was taken on Christmas Day.
Here is the Cherry Pie recipe. The crust recipe is on the 2/19/06 post titled Grammies' Strawberry Rhubarb Pie.
Cherry Pie (another yummy recipe from Grammies)
4-5c. tart cherries fresh or frozen
1 1/3 c. white sugar
4-5 Tbsp. small tapioca pearls
1/4 tsp. almond extract (this is the secret ingredient so don't leave it out!)
Directions:
In large 3 quart sauce pan heat cherries over low heat w/ other ingredients. Heat slowly as not to burn. Once mixture starts to bubble simmer 30-45 min. Cool completely and pour filling into unbaked crust. Top w/ lattice style crust.* Bake @ 400 degrees for 65-70 min. until syrup bubbles out in heavy bubbles. Cover w/ foil during baking so as not to burn crust. Place cookie sheet under pie plate as it will bubble all over your oven.
If cherries are frozen, rinse w/ water and drain well. Too much liquid will make filling too runny.
*Follow these picture directions step-by-step to make a lattice crust!
EXPIRY DATE: TWO YEAS
I thought this was so funny and noticed it as I was putting the soy sauce away after dinner tonight. My husband came in the kitchen and said, "Why are you taking a picture of the soy sauce?!!!?"
We were using the soy sauce on Thai Jasmine Rice. If you've ever wondered why the rice smells so good in an Asian restaraunt or at your Vietnamese neighbor's house while yours is bland and boring, now you know why. They use Jasmine Rice. That's the secret...but you didn't think you'd learn something new today now did you??!
Well, there you have it. 3 books in 3 days. Just finished the last one in the series and think this was definitely my favorite. I don't read books that often, but when faced w/ tiredness/no-energy but not-too-tired-to-sleep, what else is there to do? I have read two other Angela Hunt books but these were much better.
The cold seems to be getting a little better. I still don't have a lot of energy, but enough to make a decent dinner. Hopefully I will be perky tomorrow...play catch-up with the house cleaning, get to the store, post a more interesting post here in bloggie land.
Came down w/ some sort of a cold, voice is hoarse and just don't have any energy. Blowing my nose like crazy....but I am getting a lot of reading done. My two boys are pretty snot-nosed too...and I don't mean that as a figure of speach!
If I get into a REALLY good book, then I just plow through it and can't put it down. Yesterday I read "Dreamers" by Angela Elwell Hunt in its entirety!!! So today I started "Brothers" and am finding difficulty tearing myself away from it. Historical fiction and that's just about my very-most-favoritest!!
My Poppy is here today helping to hook up the lights in my remodeled upstairs bath and hallway. Next on the list should be laying the porcelain tile on the floor. We are matching it to the kitchen, it's Italian and I LOVE it! Very different from the usual tile. I'll post pictures when we are closer to being done. Not going to show you any of my kitchen yet either because we are soon to repaint it and its looking pretty shabby.
Hoping to have more energy soon. Had to pass on watching JD tomorrow so I don't get him sick as well.
Yesterday afternoon Mamasita and I hosted a shower for baby JD and his Mom. It was great fun and she got lots of cute outfits. My favorite gift she recieved was from an ex-neighbor lady we had growing up. Noonie loves motorcycles so she made JD a quilt so he could dream about motorbikes. Cool, huh?!
Mamasita keeps her eyes open for good table decorating ideas and I really loved the flower arrangement idea she had. It's very simple. Just three glass baby bottles w/ a stem of fresia in each one. Tie a bow around it and fasten it with diaper pins! Sweet!!
The star-of-the-party slept most of the time like most babies do, so only two people got to hug on him. Sleepy boy....he is a cutie, isn't he?!
I call him Pipsqueak because he doesn't really cry, he squeaks. It's quite funny actually.
We played a few shower games. They were parts of a baby, who has the plate w/ baby's face on the underneath, raffle for bringing wipes or babyfood, and mommy picks a number (each present is assigned a # and the mom picks a #). We had Mamasita's homemade cookies and strawberries dipped in chocolate. We already had quite a few little items for prizes so the whole thing was very affordable. I made custom invitations w/ my Photoshop program. Fun times....
After the CameraDawktor's Salsa posting yesterday two recipes were requested. They are listed as follows and were obtained by my Grammies one of the best cooks on the planet. She passed away the day after Thanksgiving and will always be remembered by both friends and family as a fabulous cook. She organized dinners at her church for as little as 5 to as many as 100 people at a whack! She was even doing this 2 weeks before her diagnosis of Liver Cancer. She was an amazing lady and loved to serve people w/ her gift of hospitality. Her granddaughters spent hours combing through thousands of her recipes during their last visit with her ever. One of the last things she said to me was, "I finally found that Emeril Spice Seasoning Recipe...." It's strange not to be able to ask her: How many tsp.'s of yeast equal one package? Here is a picture of her beautiful face.
The zucchini bread recipe was obtained by a cookbook that her church made months before her passing. Her granddaughters received signed copies of this cookbook and she was quite proud that many of her favorite recipes, as well as her friends, had been published in it. If you wish to purchas one fill out the form and mail it in! 
Zucchini Bread
3 eggs, beaten
1 c. vegetable oil
2 c. white sugar
2 c. zucchini, peeled and grated
2 tsp. vanilla
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Beat eggs until well blended, add oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla. Mix well. Combine flour, salt, soda, baking powder and cinnamon and mix into liquid ingredients. Fold in nuts if desired. Divide into two greased and floured 8.5"x4.5" inch loaf pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 60-70 min.
*mini choc. chips are also a good addition to this. Add approx. 1 cup.
As per special request, here is Grammies' Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie Recipe as found in her recipe drawer amongst THOUSANDS of other recipes. Amazing!!
Ingredients:
1 pkg. (11 oz.) piecrust mix OR 1 home-made pie crust.*
1 c. white sugar
1/3 c. all-purpose flour
grated rind of one orange
2 1/2 c. fresh strawberries
2 1/2 c. cut fresh or thawed frozen rhubarb
1/4 c. orange juice
1 Tbsp. butter
Directions:
1. Prepare picrust mix following package directions. Shape into ball. Wrap in wax paper; refrigerate 30 min. OR prepare homemade pie crust.*
2. Preheat oven to hot (400 degrees).
3. Divide pastry in half. Roll out one-half on lightly floured surface into 12-inch circle. Fit into 9-inch pie plate.
4. Combine sugar, flour and orange rind in large bowl. toss with strawberries, rhubarb and orange juice. Scrape into bottom crust. Dot w/ butter.
5. Roll out remaining pastry into 11-inch circle. Place over filling. Seal edges; trim and flute. Cut slits in top for vents.
6. Bake in preheated oven (400 degrees) for 50-60 min. until top is nicely browned. IF edges brown too quickly, cover with aluminum foil. Cool pie on wire rack. Serve at room temperature.
If the filling looks too runny add 2Tbsp. tapioca pearls to filling mix and let stand 30 min. before finishing pie preparation.
Homemade Crust Recipe from Grammies:
2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. COLD Crisco or oleo (shortening)
dash salt
4-5 Tbsp. ICE COLD water
Combine flour and salt in bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender . Add water one Tbsp. at a time, using more or less if necessary. Dough should be flakey yet sticky and not too wet. If dough is too wet add a little more flour. Prepare crust as directed above. Dab a little milk on the unbaked crust right before the pie goes into oven and sprinkle lightly with sugar. This will aid in browning.
This crust recipe has never failed me!
CameraDawktor's Salsa:
8 Large Roma Tomatoes
5 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 Lime, juiced
1/2 Large Sweet Onion, chopped
1Tbsp. White Sugar
1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
1 Bunch of Cilantro, de-stemmed
chop the following peppers:
1/2 Pasilla
1 Jalapeno
1 Serrano
1/2 Anaheim
1/2 Red Hot Chilli, fresh not dried
1/2 Green Bell
1/2 Red Bell
1 Yellow Bell
Directions: You can prepare this by hand but it takes 2x the time and effort. On that note, In a food processor combine all ingredients. Pulse for 40 seconds or to desired consistency. Refrigerate overnight. Makes approx. 6.5 cups. This salsa is mildly warm, not hot. For hotter salsa add more of the peppers.
Well I'm living a little dangerously now w/ a title like that! Here's part two of my New Zealand Trip. To read the first edition go to my previous post titled Back to the Future.
These pix are taken while staying with a lovely family in Waipukurau, New Zealand (Why-pook-oor-ow). The "I" family we'll call them were a young couple w/ a boy & a girl ages 10 & 8. Very fun people. They took me on a little road trip to the Whakarewarewa (Fa-kuh-where-a-where-a) Park. The place was beautiful but I think I liked it because I could go home and tell my Dad that he needed to go to Fock-Who. I knew it would raise his eyebrows and my little seventeen-year-old bad self thought I was being so funny. That's how dangerously I lived back then.
It was amazing to be by myself, away from home, in a sub-tropical paradise. For the two weeks I stayed with the "I" family I thought I could live there forever.
I had a lot of firsts in N.Z. First time getting drunk, first Pub visit, first midnight trip to the cemetary with beer/torch (flashlight)/two cute guys, first ugli fruit, first crumpets and Devonshire Tea. Also, first time making mixed drinks for Grandpa and first time betting at the horse races. 
The best part about the whole trip, really, was that it was the first time as me/myself & I with the WORLD. I also had a deeper appreciation for the beauty of the place I live (somewhere wet in Washington) when I came back home. I also was able to appreciate my own family, my brother and parents, in a new way. I went from 'can't wait to move away from my hometown' to 'don't ever want to leave'. Funny how sometimes in life you find out that the grass isn't always greener...
