The Red Hat Society And a Funeral

Sort of an odd juxtaposition; a society of older women devoted to having fun and the death of one of our members. I didn't know Eva McGuire that well. She didn't come to a lot of functions but when she did she always had fun and she was fun to be around. I didn't know that she had diabetes; I just remember her saying to me that her doctor wanted her to lose weight. Her family found her on the floor of her house. She had been dead for two days. I thought she was probably in her 80s. She was 70; would have been 71 next month. It's a terrible disease.

Our debate among the Red Hatters today was do we wear our hats to a memorial service or not. In the end we decided not to but we did deck ourselves out in our finest Red Hat Society jewelry. I have earrings, bracelet and pin which I work on my sleeve.

This group teaches all of us that it's never too late to have fun. My first lunch with them was at the Olive Garden in Roseville. I ordered a salad with dressing on the side and a diet coke. The woman next to me ordered tiramisu and a glass of cabernet. She looked at me and said, "at a certain point in your life it is good to break the rules." I called the waitress back and changed my order to Tiramisu and a glass of chardonnay.

The hats we wear are outrageous like the ones pictured here. I made mine because my head is so large, plus I have a lot of hair. I'm thinking about remodeling it to make it even more out there. Dykewife's posting today got me thinking about all of this. Women have so many images that we are told to live up to; none of them necessarily good for us as human beings. With the Red Hat ladies I can be as outrageous as I want. The opposite of conforming is acting out. Well, I've done my share of conforming; now I like to act out.

I also thought today about my mother's birth date. She was born exactly one day after women in the United States got the right to vote (Aug. 28, 1920). She was born to it; my grandmother was not. It's truly amazing to me how long women have been subjugated to the society of men. We have much more to offer to the world. Well, I'll get down off my soapbox now. The turtle is returning to our driveway in a little while. He's bringing sushi. He got as far as the Walmart parking lot last night. He left the USB cable for his Trio on my desk. I sent him an e-mail about it; that's when I learned that he was only 10 miles away. But I do get to see Katie again.

A Picture of Pure Joy

Here's Katie racing with her tennis ball in her mouth. It captures what makes Katie the happiest. She waits patiently for someone to pick up her ball and fling it as far as he or she can. Doug is talking about leaving tomorrow. I will miss them both.

My Weariness Is Lifting....

This morning I'm finally feeling like my old self, sort of. Yesterday I took Kerry to the airport early in the morning. He's in Palm Desert with his sisters and brother-in-law. I couldn't go due to commitments here. All I did on Sunday was sleep, stare at the television and walk around my garden. I was bone-tired. I told Kerry on the way to the airport that being this popular is really hard on my body. Doug came in from his turtle for some dinner last night. I think he realized how tired I was so didn't stay long. This morning I slept until 9:30. I woke up earlier but decided not to get up and promptly went back to sleep. One more good night sleep should do it. An aerobic walk on the treadmill will help too.

Doug took the picture to the left and below. It's an Annas Hummingbird. They don't migrate so spend a lot of time at my feeders (I have two) all year. Those little tiny black dots on the red feeder are ants. I don't seem to be able to keep them out of the feeders, but the hummers and ants co-exist nicely. I need to make more nectar today. Both feeders are empty plus they have emptied the one for Orioles.

In the photo on the right you can see the iridescent patch of red under the chin. Iridescent feathers mean that you can only see the color when the light strikes those feathers. That's why many people think the hummers are not very colorful.

That's enough bird information for the day. Happy Birthday George Washington. He's 275 years old today.

First Blooming Bulb Of 2007

It's a daffodil that showed its beautiful face yesterday. My guest who lives in the turtle, Doug, took the picture so it's much better than my attempt last year. This year my first bloom occurred just six days later than last year. I attribute that to the frosts we had in January. The nice thing about this bloom is I had forgotten where I'd planted it. I like that about bulbs; they are full of surprises. Last year there was a bush hiding it so it didn't get much attention; it bloomed much later in the spring. Thanks to a family of voles who came through my garden last summer that bush and several others whose roots were eaten, I was left with a barren planting area. I guess there is always a good side to losing plants. Why the vole didn't eat this bulb, is a mystery.

Health Update

Nancy called me last night to say that she and her husband were home. He had a TIA or small stroke. They were having a glass of wine and chatting. Her stress level is way over the top so I suggested a massage. She seemed amenable so hopefully she will have one. A good massage can just make your stress melt away. I'm just glad he's okay for now. The doctor said he would probably have more and added another medication in addition to the aspirin he was taking. Dick is a wonderful, lovable man.

Another lesson in enjoying every day.

Happy Valentines Day

The turtle is still in the driveway. He's now estimating Friday for departure. Tonight he's taking us out for sushi, which we all love. Tomorrow night my nephew and his wife and son will be with us for dinner. Doug wants to meet them.

Tonight I was going to do a slow cooker recipe for beef short ribs. I was actually disappointed when Doug wanted to take us out for dinner. That sure is a switch. It used to be that I would do anything to eat out. But I know Doug's heart is in the right place. He appreciates our hospitality.

Last night we watched the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. The poor poodles looked so weird. I definitely don't want to come back as one. Tonight we are going to watch a hilarious movie, "Best In Show." It's a spoof on the dog show we saw last night. If you can find it, rent it. The cast had a rough outline for the movie but not much script. It's a lot of hilarious ad-libbing.

I just don't feel like writing much because I'm terribly worried about the husband of a good friend of mine. Nancy had trouble waking Richard up this morning. That's what I heard when I was at Lincoln Arts for a meeting. Nancy is president of our board and I'm her VP and her friend. She called early today to cancel a meeting. Richard has been having problems with remembering things. I've called her home several times and left messages. I don't want to call her cell phone. That just seems too intrusive. So I will worry. Both are seniors in their 70s.

When I'm feeling more up beat I will do a blog on Lincoln Arts. This little town NE of Sacramento has quite an art history. Here's a photo to make you a bit curious about Lincoln Arts. It's a clay sculpture that won a prize in the show last year. We get hundreds of entries from the U.S. and Canada.

I think I'll sign off now and try to occupy my brain with something besides worrying. His bear hugs are one thing I really like about Richard. I hope I get to have another one.

The Nest Is Emptying

My brother left this morning for the last day of depositions in Stockton. He flies out of Sacramento around 5 tonight. The turtle is still in the driveway. Doug says he's leaving tomorrow...but Doug is not really into specificity. Knowing Doug, he will leave when he leaves. Sort of the Zen approach to life. Seems to work for him. Meanwhile Kate is trying to look her meanest to deal with the two marauding Jack Russell terriers who live next door. (Yes, I liked Eddie on "Frasier" but Eddie is not like the two who live next door.) The two next door live on ten acres and they still come to poop in our front yard. That's enough about Jack Russell terriers.

Why is it that when men use my computer they feel compelled to change things. My brother added the "seti" site where they are searching for ET. None found so far, plus he added an icon that is quite large that shows the current temperature in Lincoln, the weather forecast for the next few days, the moon phase and the time in analog. I didn't ask for any of these things. Women use my computer and never change a thing. Oh well, maybe men just can't help themselves. My son does the same thing when he's here. He also likes to adjust the color on our TV.

Lots of laundry to do today now that folks are leaving. Our refrigerator has so many leftovers that we won't have to cook for a week.

Today I'm going to do some experimenting with breakfast foods for Kerry. He needs a bit more protein in the morning than he's currently getting. I found a blog with low glycemic recipes. She had a few for breakfast that can be made in larger batches and then frozen. He could take one out the night before and by morning it would be thawed. Bacon and cheese breakfast casserole, broccoli cheese breakfast casserole, egg burritos made with low carb tortillas, and egg muffin sans the muffin are just a few of them. I'm going to try one today and see if he likes them. His diabetes is under control, but he's getting tired of the breakfast he's eating. It's his least favorite meal of the day so I'd like to try to make it interesting and tasty. I'll let you know how they turn out. That way I might not have to nag him about eating breakfast, which he would skip if he could.

No rain in the last 24 hours. The sun is peaking through the clouds. I have one daffodil that I'm sure will open today. It's later than last year, but that's probably due to the cold weather we had in January.

The Guy Next Door Is Building An Ark

Yes, it's still raining. We got 1.5 inches of rain yesterday. Who knows what we will get today. My plants look drowned but that's better than parched.

Our visitors are still here. Doug has spent most of the day in his turtle shell (his camper shell is his home and he carries it on the back of his pick up truck like a turtle). Kerry went off to buy more pellets for the pellet stove. For some reason they are in short supply this year. Kerry suspects a conspiracy; I'm not worried. We do have a furnace and a propane tank. Then he went to a photo class.

Richard and Charlotte went out to mail valentine gifts/cards and my MasterCard bill and to shop. We all took turns on the treadmill; well not Doug, Kate or Kerry. Charlotte and Richard are asleep now.

Turns out my brother does not do well in this gray, rainy weather. He's down so not really happy. To help cheer him up we are going to Lucille's Smokehouse BBQ in nearby Rocklin. It's great funky place with wonderful food. The first thing they serve are biscuits with apple butter. Yum. I had ribs last time and will probably do the same this time.

No cooking for me tonight. Last night I made crispy salmon with risotto and oven roasted tomatoes. This time of year you have to pay a lot for good tomatoes. On the list of 12 Best Foods, we had four last night: salmon, spinach that was in the risotto, tomatoes and soy. We had edamame as a snack.

So tonight we are going to the other end of the food spectrum; pork, beef, potatoes, sugar and butter. It's the yin and yang of life.

It's been a wonderfully boring day. Charlotte leaves tomorrow morning. My brother leaves on Monday. Don't know when Doug and Kate leave and don't care if they ever leave.

It's Raining...Thank Goodness

I live in northern California where we count on the winter rains to get us through the dry summers. The last time it rained this winter was January 7. It started raining during the night on Tuesday and has been raining off and on since then. I can almost hear my plants sighing. We still need a lot more to catch up for the season.

We have a house full of people; my brother and his wife arrived about 8:30 last night and my friend Doug rolled into the driveway in his truck/camper about 4 in the afternoon. The pace here has quickened, to say the least. Last night we had pasta shells stuffed with ricotta and mozarrella cheeses, spinach and garlic. I drenched them in marinara sauce and baked them for about 45 minutes. Very delicious. Also made garlic bread. This time I roasted the garlic so I could squeeze each clove into the melted butter before I poured it on the bread. Topped it off with parmesan cheese. We also had a salad with watermelon radish slices on it. Weird looking radish. When you cut it open the inside looks just like a watermelon. All the bread was eaten last night. We finished off the pasta shells at lunch.

Tonight we are having pot roast cooked in the crock pot. This is my first crock pot experience. It's the perfect dinner for a rainy night.

Right now Doug is napping in his camper, Katie is asleep on the rug in my office, Charlotte is napping in her room and Kerry is on his computer. My brother is on his way back from Tracy where he had a deposition for a lawsuit in which his company is involved. He's general counsel to the largest maker of mozzarella cheese in the world. No sales to folks like us; just to huge pizza chains, frozen food makers, etc. Unless you need a 5,000 pound bag of cheese, don't call Leprino Foods.

That's all for now. I'm going to knit while the house is still quiet.

Super Bowl Aftermath

Our Super Bowl party was a success once again. Kerry's chili got rave reviews and everyone loved the nuts I had made from recipes on http://28cooks.blogspot.com


The last couple left about 11 p.m. I crawled into bed soon after feeling bone-tired. On Monday I never got out of my nightgown. It was a bit chilly in the house so I put on my long-sleeved burnt-orange fleece. I was quite a fashion statement. Pink flowered flannel night gown with lace trimmed sleeves, burnt-orange fleece, my pink and green turtle socks (the turtles are green) and my fuzzy slippers.

Kerry left for school as I was sipping coffee and looking at my computer screen. When he got home I still was not dressed and still looking at my computer screen, although I did put in my contact lenses and brush my teeth. I can't stand my bifocal glasses. It was easy to go to bed Monday night when I had never gotten dressed. Took my lenses out, brushed my teeth, moisturized a bit (that's another whole story) and fell asleep.


I've been reading a lot of blogs lately and find that I am approaching my blog much differently than most. I started my career as a newspaper reporter so tend to look at a blog as a publishing opportunity rather than a diary. I'm going to try to change that a bit. This is my first try.


We are finally supposed to get rain tomorrow and for the next seven days. We really need it. Our place is called "Foxtail Farm" because we usually grow so many of them. Without rain the little buggers are not even peaking above the ground. For those of you not familiar with this flora, it's not a nice plant. I have paid many a vet bill to get the thistles out of various parts of dogs' bodies, both front and back. Don't ask.


My brother and his wife arrive tomorrow for five days. This is a real treat. I haven't spent this much time with him since he was...well I don't know when. He's the one who had the cochlear implant last August. I really like his wife, Charlotte.


My friend Doug with dog Miss Kate (pictured below; what a profile) should arrive tomorrow as well. He doesn't know about the other guests. They will all do fine together. Both have heard about the other for probably 30 years.

The other thing I've noticed in reading so food blogs is "vegans". They are everywhere. I don't object but would like to see equal representation by the meat and potatoes crowd. I'm waiting to find a cook who extols the virtue of steak and baked potatoes with sour cream and butter. I remember many years ago hearing a talk by Narsai David (if you live in the Bay Area you know the name). At the end of his talk, folks were askedquestions. One woman asked for his advice on how to make a low cal, low fat cheesecake. He turned to the woman and said, "Madame, the cheesecake you would like to make is an abomination. Just eat a small piece of the real thing. Don't ever bastardize the beauty of a real cheesecake." Good advice.

That's all for now. I'm going to go knit thanks to patterns supplied by http://smariek.blogspot.com

Another View Of Costa Rica

Well, it turns out that the Center for Disease Control views Costa Rica as a haven for the malaria mosquito (shown here).

I learned this yesterday at Bloodsource when I went to give platelets. The woman checking my vitals asked if I had any vacation plans this year. I replied, Costa Rica in April. She proceeded to get her book down that lists every country in the world and the CDC assessment of its health risk factors. The only place in Costa Rica that doesn't have a risk is San Jose, the capitol. However, to get to Costa Rica you fly in to the main airport which is in Alajuela; Alajuela is first on the CDC list of places that are considered malarial.

What this all means is that I can't give platelets or whole blood for one year after I return from our trip there. I'm not changing my plans, but it did bum me out. I like the idea of helping someone by donating my platelets. I have enough for several so why not share. But for one year I won't be able to do that. Someone mentioned that I could still volunteer in other capacities. So I took home a sign-up form to be a volunteer. They especially need people to work the bloodmobiles. Once I get accepted as a volunteer then I will have to go through training.

The odd thing is that last time I was in Costa Rica I didn't have any mosquito problems; never even put on my DEET. Oh well, you can't fight the CDC. Besides I would never want to give platelets that could harm someone who is already being harmed by some horrible disease or accident.

Costa Rica Here We Come

On April 1 we will fly to San Jose, Costa Rica to spend 10 wonderful days in this beautiful country. I've been there before but Kerry has not. Originally our friends Einar and Susan were going to go but there schedules are a lot more hectic than ours. They simply couldn't get away. I had enough miles on United for both of us to fly First Classs. That will be fun. We land at 7:25 p.m. so will stay at the Hampton Inn right across the street for the first night. Next day we pick up our Suzuki Vitara and head out for adventures. One place we want to make sure we go is Montezuma. It's located near the tip of Peninsula de Nicoya on the west coast. I didn't get there when I went ten years ago. We discovered Montezuma thanks to a blogger: http://doyouknowthebakingfairy.blogspot.com She owns and operates a cafe called "Organico." Montezuma sounds pretty funky and bohemian, which is fine by us. Lots of birdwatching opportunities in the area. I have 395 birds on my life list. About half of those were seen on my first trip to Costa Rica in 1997. The bird on the left is the Resplendent Quetzal. It lives in the cloud forest near Monteverde. I saw it on my first visit. I think it's the national bird of Costa Rica. It lives on avocados, small ones. The bird swallows the avocado whole, digests everthing but the pit, which is regurgitated all warm and wet; the perfect beginning for a new avocado tree.

The bird on the right is one of many Hummingbirds that make their homes in Costa Rica. I've been close enough to hummers in Costa Rica to actually feel their wings beat against my face. Amazing creatures. This is a violet-winged Hummingbird. The one below is a Snowcap Hummingbird.

Costa Rica is definitely a place to go when you are not in a hurry. Besides the roads are so bad that you really can't get around very fast. If you think you've seen potholes, then I invite you to visit Costa Rica. I think they invented the pothole.

We are very excited. Too bad it's two months away.

My Favorite Dog Comes To Visit

This is Miss Kate; Katie to her best friends. Katie is a border collie. She and her owner, Doug, are coming for a visit sometime in the next week. He's up on the Oregon coast right now taking pictures of fishermen, their boats and their catches. It may take him a while to get here because he gets caught up in taking pictures and then doesn't travel very far each day. Katie visits every year in late summer when Doug goes to "Burning Man." He's a nomad who has been traveling around the country in his truck camper for several years now. He has a satellite for internet and tv connection.

Not much new here. We continue to be without rain. Looks like the entire month of January will be dry. This isn't good for California for lots of reasons. I watered yesterday. This is not supposed to be watering season.

The other big news is that we got a treadmill. We went to Reno on Saturday to pick it up from a friend of the guy in Mammoth Lakes who sold it to us. Mammoth Lakes is a long drive from Lincoln so it was great that the owner brought it to Reno. Kerry found it on Craig's List. We are the new temporary owner. All sports equipment has temporary owners. I did 30 minutes on it last night at a pretty good pace while listening to a book on tape. Not bad.

Getting ready for our Super Bowl party this Sunday. I'm not a fan but I do like to throw parties and people come every year. Einar is bringing his chocolate martinis again. I've started making some special nuts. They are from a recipe I found on a blog called http://28cooks.blogspot.com. Yesterday I made the lemon/pepper/sugar cashews. Just cook the raw cashews in a lot of sugar until the sugar melts and the nuts are covered with it, then stir in the zest of one lemon and a teaspoon of freshly ground pepper. They are very tasty. I'm going to make the jasmine tea/glazed ginger/sugar almonds today. They will keep until Sunday. My goal this year is to have tasty treats that are also healthy. The final nut recipe is chili/chai/sugar walnuts. Walnuts are one of the twelve best foods for you. That's all for now.

Today Is My Birthday

Updated: Actually I'm not a year older yet. I was born at 8:20 CST (Minneapolis) so technically I don't get a year older until then, which is 6:20 PST. No need to dwell on the number of years I've lived, but suffice to say I have tried to live them to the fullest and I think I've succeeded.

I have a wonderful son who is in Baltimore right now auditioning for a trumpet position with the symphony there (He didn't get the job: bummer). Kerry, the wonderful man in my life, just left for his aerobics and yoga classes. He's taking me to a Vietnamese restaurant tonight for dinner. I've already gotten greetings from my brother in Evergreen, Colorado; my nephew, his wife and son in Minneapolis; my cousin Greg and his family in Minneapolis and my cousin in Naples, Florida. We are a spread out group. And the DHL delivery person was just here with a gift from my brother. It's the latest Harry Potter book on CD. There are 17 CDs so that will keep me happy for quite a while. I love listening to books when I drive.

And messages from friends are coming in too. I'm having lunch tomorrow with a friend I have known since kindergarten.

So getting a year older is a wonderful opportunity to think about all my family and friends and reflect on how loved I am by all of them.

New topic: I've decided to add an oriole and a bluebird feeder to my collection of feeder stations. Both birds live around here so hopefully they will come when I put out treats for them. The orange feeder below is for orioles and the other one is for bluebirds. I won't, however, be added orange coloring to the sugar water they like. The bluebirds like mealy worms. I'm off to the bird store today. The best one is an hour away but it's a beautiful drive.

For those of you still covered in snow, I spotted the first blooming bulb today. It's not in my yard but it still counts as the first one of the year. Nice of it to show up on my birthday.

Game Night

We've joined a game night group in Lincoln. It's just four couples who get together once a month to play a game and eat good food. Everyone brings something to share. We played Scattergories at Jan and Doug's house last Saturday. I had forgotten how much fun games can be. They certainly are icebreakers. Kerry and I knew the host and hostess but not the other folks. We quickly got to know the other couples as we laughed and teased each other about the game and our answers.

Scattergories is a word game of categories where all your answers have to begin with the same letter. For instance, you roll the big twenty-sided die and it comes up with "R." Then fill in a word beginning with the letter "R" for each of the 12 categories like: An ice cream flavor. A president. A thing you find in the refrigerator. And so on until the buzzer sounds after 3 minutes. Your answers might be Rocky Road, Ronald Reagan, and raspberries. Compare your answers to the group's. Duplications score nothing, but original answers will get you a point.

The host couple determine which game to play. Kerry and I have already begun to think about which game we will have when we host.

I love puzzles, especially crossword and jigsaw puzzles. Lots of crossword puzzles on line, but I've only found one good jigsaw puzzle site: www.jigzone.com The AARP web site has a jigsaw puzzle but it's pretty simple. Oh, and I hate sudoku. Can't do it to save my life. My brain just doesn't work that way.

Anybody know of any others?

This and That

Pretty quiet weekend, which was wonderful. It's Kerry's last one before school starts so he's busy doing stuff around the property. It's still really cold. Our upper pond has been frozen for three days and this morning the lower one was about one-third iced over. We are hoping that the freeze in the upper pond will kill the parrot feather. It generally grows in aquariums but someone many years ago dumped their aquarium, plants and all, into the irrigation ditch. We are at the end of the ditch so we get lots of things we don't necessarily want. Parrot feather is nearly impossible to kill. Here's a picture of it. It slowly eats up your pond until all you have left are these green things.

Went to see "The Queen" last night. Great movie. Helen Mirren is wonderfully stoic as Elizabeth II. It's takes place around the time when Princess Diana died. It shows how the royal family behaved or rather misbehaved badly in dealing with her death. Well worth seeing. There is a new biography out on QEII which I've ordered from the library. She became queen when she was only 27 and now she is 80. Her husband, Prince Phillip, comes across as especially obnoxious.

I'm struggling with slugs in my raised flower bed, particularly where the ranunculus are starting to come up. The tender little shoots get eaten before they can emerge from the ground. The nursery today had some copper tape that they said would get rid of them. I rigged up an area around the ranunculus where I could put the adhesive copper tape. If it weren't so damn cold at night I'd go out and pour salt on the little buggers. We don't seem to get snails. We just get slugs. Apparently they get a mild electric shock when their slime touches the copper. I hope I find lots of dazed slugs in the morning. I can't use the snail poison. We have too many cats roaming around here at night. We already killed a possum with rat poison.

We had 55 Canada geese and one Grebe on the lower pond today. Grebes are small and the geese are huge. They were actually bullying the poor little thing. They kept trying to take away the fish he had in his beak. They don't even eat fish. Here's a picture of the Grebe (stolen from Google). For some reason it got posted first. Go figure. That's all for now.

A Wonderful Surprise From A Wonderful Man

 Kerry once again surprised me in the way he delivered my birthday present. I picked him up at the bank in town and was giving him a ride home. His truck was being serviced at Big O. He came around to my side of the car and said, let's go down the street to our favorite jeweler; he's open today. Then he said, it's time to get your birthday present. My birthday isn't until Jan. 24th. We went to the shop. The jeweler announced he was closing up shop in two weeks and everything in the store was 70% off. The first ring he showed me was a plain band with three large Debeers diamonds. The original price was $10,000 but with 70% off it would cost a mere $3,200. Kerry gulped and I said, let's keep looking. I tried on the ring pictured here and fell in love with it. The price was right so we took it home. It's 14kwG with 4 diamonds; the large stone is blue zircon. It's not that man-made stuff zirconia, but is actually a gemstone on its own. Anyway, I love it and I love Kerry. This is my third piece of jewelry from the same store. It's very nice to be loved 

A Visit From A River Otter

 This photo was taken by Thomas Roach. He lives in the Lincoln area and is very good at taking photos of all kinds of critters. On the day he took this photo of a river otter at Ferrari Pond, we also had a river otter in our lower pond. They are just as cute as the sea otters; they just travel around rivers, lakes and creeks eating whatever they find swimming with them. Kerry tried to get a photo of one but they are so quick and we don't have a place for them to get out of the water. So when I got Tom's photo I asked him if I could put it on my blog as long as I gave him credit. He said yes. This is the third time we've seen them on the property. I've never seen them enter the pond or leave it, but I know they do. The one on our pond did not make our Grebe very happy. He/she hangs out on the lower pond most of the day and sleeps, eats and bathes. As soon as the otter showed up he/she fled. 

Still On The Trail Of Good Food

 This is the second Ruth Reichl book that I'm reading. The first few chapters had me thinking about an herb garden. The secret to wonderful food is the freshness of the ingredients. This book starts out with a trip to Chez Panisse, one of the finest restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area. Alice Waters, founder and chef, really believes in ingredients grown by people who care about what they grow. She really led others down the path of good food grown on small farms where animals and food get to do what they do best: grow without artificial enhancements.

Unfortunately my raised-bed vegetable garden was invaded last summer by Bermuda Grass. You can kill it with Round-Up, but that would be introducing herbicides into our diet. So I will spend the next several weeks rooting this stuff out. I will, however, pour Round-Up on the Bermuda Grass that has enveloped our Honeysuckle and rose bushes. We don't eat them.

Last night we had spaghetti carbonara, which is amazingly simple to make. Restaurants often add cream for the sauce; Ruth Reichl taught me not to do that. Just put two eggs in the pasta bowl, beat them vigorously, add ground pepper and then had the cooked pasta. Toss it briskly. The egg cooks while you toss it with the hot pasta. Pour the bacon and its fat over the pasta (I didn't say that this was on the Pritikin Diet), mix thorougly and add parmesan cheese. There were also two cloves of garlic in with the bacon. They got all mushy which was wonderful. Yummy. We are having leftovers tonight. Drink red wine with the pasta to overcome the bacon and its grease.

Enuf on food; it's dinner time. 

Meet Carina Michelle

 Francesca is the young woman who cleans for us every two weeks. We've been following her pregnancy and now have the result, a beautiful little girl who is two weeks old in this picture. I'll take grandchildren any way I can get them. I got to hold her today. Francesca and her family are going through the 12-year process to become citizens. They don't make it easy. For this family I wish it was shorter. She has not seen her mother in five years. This little baby, however, is a U.S. citizen. I love babies.