Out With the Old, In With the New?

Yes, that seems to be the case, and we have no choice, haha! It's New Year's Eve, of course. And tomorrow is the day we are all supposed to start over and try a new tack. It's a great idea, of course, though I generally don't make resolutions. Well, I make ones I can keep, like I resolve not to eat brussels sprouts. It's easy enough since I don't care for them, lol.

Regardless - have fun tonight, whatever your plans! Be safe, too. You need to be around for next year! 

So here's wishing you a fun and safe holiday evening, and tomorrow will be a new day - and a  New Year.

:)

Tomatoes... Tomatoes...

As promised, tomato update! Take a look at all those blossoms. These are the golden cherry tomatoes. It's taken a while, and the tomatoes I've gotten have been really small this season. I'm hoping as more of them come in they'll get back to the normal size. Maybe I should name the plants again, like I did before...

Here's another plant full of blossoms. 

Now, here are tomatoes from the other plants. I know they aren't red yet, but what I've found is that if I don't pick them early, either snails or lizards eat holes into them. I found one green one with a hole in it already, so I went ahead and picked these. They'll ripen, of course, and this way I'll get to eat them.

So there's your tomato update. Scintillating as usual, right? Lol

:)

Not *Quite* Done, It Seems...

So I hadn't realized, until Mom pointed it out, that bean plants get spent. There's only so many beans they'll give and they won't keep on giving beans. I feel like I should have known that, but for whatever reason, that fact hadn't taken hold in my brain ever. If it had, I'd have re-planted beans last year more than I did.

Be that as it may, Mom and I were pretty sure the bean plants I had were coming to that point. We planted some more and stuff, but I hadn't ever gotten rid of the other plants. They kept giving a few beans here and there, you see. 

Well, if you can't tell what I found a week ago or so by the pictures here, I'll tell you. Blossoms! Heck yeah! Those old plants have been full of blossoms and giving beans again for the past couple of weeks. The new plants aren't big enough, but these things are adding up. I may be able to freeze some eventually after all. Wouldn't that be awesome?

And here's one just to show you what I got a couple of days ago. That's enough for a meal right there, especially with the others over the past week. 

So all is picking up on the ol' faux homestead. Tomorrow - Tomatoes! Tee hee!

:)

Quiet Sunday

I went to the birthday party today of a one year old. It was amazingly cute, of course, and I enjoyed it immensely. And I'll be honest, that's about as much excitement as I can handle right now - ha! Christmas was mild but enjoyable, and New Year's Eve is coming. I just like the quiet in between, however. 

There is a little bit of a garden update that I'll get to tomorrow. I just hope everyone had the kind of Sunday they wanted as we all gear up for this new week, and New Year.

:)

Post Card Saturday!

Here we are again - Post Card Saturday! And this is the last of the Christmas post cards I have, as well. So next week, new year, new post card, lol.

This one is pretty, though there's no message. Just a name in faded pencil. But it was addressed, and was mailed as you can see here from the back.

A close up of the postmark shows the card was sent in 1922, so maybe that was still a time people didn't write much on them. I don't know though, if there was all that blank space, I think I'd put something on it, lol. 

Yes, I know. I need to do some basic research on post card history. I'll add it to my list of stuff to get to next year - ha!

Hope you enjoyed this in the meantime. Another next week!

:)

Happy Day After Christmas!

It also happens to be Friday, too - how cool is that? I hope Santa Claus was very good to everyone. And enjoy this last Friday of the year at least. Hard to believe we're there already - the New Year is coming fast, fast, fast! Have plans yet?

:)

Quotable Thursday - Christmas Edition

Merry Christmas! To those that celebrate Christmas, of course. And Happy Holiday-of-Your-Choice, if not. It's been a great day here, but more on that another time. Right now, it's Quotable Thursday! And in the spirit of the holiday, I have a couple from one of my all time holiday favorites - How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

I've probably watched that animated cartoon 40 times or more, because it came on TV every year and I watched it faithfully for the longest time. I own it on DVD, as well, so if I miss it on TV, I can watch it. Yes, I have the book, too, and have read it multiple times. But to me, it will always be heard in that Boris Karloff voice that just makes it for me.

So a quote from the beginning, outlining the Grinch's thoughts, hehe:

"I must stop this *whole* thing! Why, for fifty-three years I've put up with it now. I must stop Christmas from coming... but how?"

If you haven't read the book or seen the cartoon, please, please do. They are wonderful memories for me, and just plain fun regardless of your age.

The Grinch, as we know, carries out his dastardly plan, but then discovers the true meaning of Christmas. The Narrator sums it up perfectly at the end...

"Welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer. Cheer to all Whos far and near. Christmas Day is in our grasp, so long as we have hands to clasp. Christmas Day will always be just as long as we have we. Welcome Christmas while we stand, heart to heart, and hand in hand."

I hope you had a wonderful, magical day! Keep safe and enjoy the rest of the season.

:)

Merry Christmas Eve!

That's right, it's almost here! The stockings are hung, the Christmas breakfast casserole is made, and all that's left is for Santa to make his appearance. Hope you all have a safe and Happy holiday. And get some cool goodies, too, of course.

:)

Merry Christmas Eve... Eve

Yep, it is. The holiday is almost upon us! Excited kids are dancing around, parents are trying to keep them amused and out of their hair... At least, that's how it usually went for me as a kid. Hope everything is up to snuff and going according to plan. I'm about as caught up as I'll ever be, lol.

Take it easy, and more tomorrow.

:)

Yum Yum Yum Yum

You guessed it - more cooking tonight! And it was goooood.  :D  What was served up, you may wonder. And clearly I am going to tell you if you wonder or not - ha! (Like the picture doesn't give it away, lol.)

If you can't tell from the recipe up there - Chicken Corn Chowder. It's from a cookbook I've had for years. Actually, my mom had it for years, and I told her I'd buy her a new one if I could have the old one. After all, that's the one with all my recipes "marked" by pages that have been splashed on and such, haha! Well, she made the deal. I don't know if she ever uses the new cookbook, but I use my old one all the time.

Oh! The title, lol. The  L. L. Bean Book of New New England Cookery. 

Of course, I made a few changes to the recipe, lol. First - I doubled it. Gotta have some to freeze, dontcha know. Second - no celery! Yuck! (Don't hate, celery lovers. It leaves a horrible aftertaste in my mouth I can't get rid of for hours.). Third - I used cream, no milk. And Fourth - I used turkey instead of chicken. I happen to have quite a bit of turkey, lol.

Here it is once the herbs have been added. Fresh parsley from the garden, of course!

And here's the final product. I even hauled out my bread maker to make fresh "homemade" bread, wheat bread, of course. It was yummy too, but not near what the soup is.

So more for tomorrow, then even more for the freezer. See how easy that is?

:)