Belated Christmas Presents!

We got a fabulous gift today—cookies and venison! The gift from my brother and sister-in-law was on hold due to Greg having a root canal done and being unable to eat much of anything good, and a serious shortage of home made cookies. Everything was in perfect condition when we got the overnight Fed Ex delivery. I was just planning to make up some fried eggs for breakfast, so we had the eggs and slim jims, followed by a “cookie buffet”. Bless her heart, my sister-in-law sent more than 6 ½ dozen cookies! And they are all delicious. We had just finished up our other Christmas goodies, so this was welcome indeed.

This is the venison, which we love and which is difficult for us to get as Greg is no longer able to hunt. From the left, ring sausage, slim jims, and jerky. The ring sausage was still frozen solid when it arrived from North Dakota. We are having sausage and mashed potatoes for our dinner tonight.

These are the cookies: spritz, peanut butter blossoms, candy cane topped sugar cookies, peanut butter with peanut cookies, M & M cookies, and a peanut butter-coconut-corn flake cream cookie dipped in chocolate. We both love the peanut cookies. Greg’s other favorite is the spritz and my other favorite is the candy cane topped cookie, with little pieces of crushed up candy cane in the cookie.

Its a really good thing I am back on my walking and Gazelle exercise program.

Pink Lemonade

This is a seasonal treat, made with ingredients from our own backyard. Lemonade made with Meyer lemons--spiked with blood oranges. Greg likes his with sugar and I like mine with stevia. It's delicious and full of antioxidants.

Valley Weather--Again!

There aren't any photos today. Yesterday, I was complaining about the weather, being 27 degrees and all. Today, on January 12, we are getting our first taste of spring. It is 60 degrees on the dark side of the house, and in the sun, it is warmer than the inside of the house! I took the back road home from Folsom and there are California golden poppies blooming! We haven't even had any rain yet, which is a bad sign, but Greg is hopeful that the rainy season isn't done.

Backyard Projects

I love blood oranges and planted this poor thing in a pot about 10 years ago with the intention I would some day dig a big hole in the backyard and plant it.

Here is another blood orange tree in a pot in my backyard.

This is a miniature Meyer lemon--its also waiting to be planted in the ground. I didn't give it much care this year, but the lemons are amazing!

And this is a pot of daffodils in the backyard, blooming in 27 degree weather in January! They have since been cut and brought in the house as I just can't see good daffodils freezing.

Coco--A Very Tough Little Cat

First off, I should apologize to Coco for using such a horrible picture of her. She really doesn't look like a devil cat, but she is difficult to capture, so this is the best we got.
She is just a little gal, about 5 pounds, and is really a little old lady, almost 14 years old, but she has a yowl like a mountain lion and basically is the "person" who runs this household.
On Sunday, I noticed she had a bad looking bottom tooth, so I made an appointment on Monday for her to see the vet on Tuesday. On Tuesday morning before she even had breakfast, she got boxed up and carted off to the doctor. The exam was quick and didn't sound good--she had at least the one tooth, and probably two, that needed to be extracted. She has a long-standing history of thyroid disease; and yes, she has a goiter, and we have been giving her pills for that for years. But as she has aged, I guess her thyroid has gotten worse, as the vet determined, after lab work, we need to give her two pills per day. Yes, I know I am a nurse, but administration of pills to this gal is man's work, so Greg does that.
She had her dental procedure done, and the reports we received were that she was a very good kitty. I picked her up on Wednesday morning and then got the final report, which was shocking. The poor little thing had eight teeth removed! We were instructed to give her soft food for about one week. And she ate a whole can in less than 24 hours! I guess she must not have been able to eat very well with her poor, old broken teeth and she was hungry! Greg thought he would set out a bowl of her regular dry food for her today, and even with the not-yet-healed extractions, she gobbled down half a bowl. It seems she is on the road to recovery.
We really didn't have any idea that her teeth were so bad, and the vet reassured us that we aren't really bad cat parents, that cats don't process pain the way humans do, and that cat's teeth can get really bad before it is noticed.

California Orange Tree

This is the orange tree that I have agonized over for 15 years. 2008 was apparently not much of an orange year as they look kind of sparse. Whether I water, fertilize, and prune really does not make much of a difference in regard to the quality of the oranges. The picture doesn't really do the oranges justice as most of them are larger than grapefruit. As we have heard that oranges should not be picked until after Jan. 1, we just had our first "taste test" today. We usually don't pick the last ones until Valentine's Day.

One of Greg's favorite "orange products" is grated rind mixed with sugar. It keeps for a year in a Mason jar in the refrigerator and you can use it to sweeten tea or sprinkle it on anything.

Another yummy thing to make with oranges is orange butter to spread on warm toast. Cream together 2 Tbsp. butter and 4 Tbsp. powdered sugar, add 2 tsp. orange juice, and 1/2 to 1 tsp. grated orange rind.

HP Printer Ink Cartridge

Hi Everyone. Does anyone use an HP 57 tricolor ink cartridge? I mistakenly bought it, ripped the package open to put it in the printer, and then found out it doesn't work in our printer. I obviously can't return it. Let me know if you can use it and I will mail it to you.