What I'm reading Wednesday...

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

(Edit: I had to come back and add this book, because I forgot that I had completed it since last Wednesday's post.)  I read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce while we were gone.  I looked for it at Amazon, then thought that I would check my local library's ebook lending site.  Not only did they have it, but it was available, so I was very happy to be able to borrow it for my Kindle instead of purchasing.  I really did enjoy this book.  It's one of those times, though, when I wish I had had a hard copy rather than Kindle version.  There were several points where I would have liked to flip back to read something again, and I just don't find that easy to do on my Kindle.  The characters were so easy to care about and so worthy of the happy ending.

Knitting by Anne Bartlett

I picked up Knitting by Anne Bartlett from a Barnes & Noble discount table while out of town.  I admit that I purchased this because I like the cover.  I had expected a kind of saccharine predictability along the lines of Debbie Macomber, but it surprised me.  It was about  unexpected, and somewhat frustrating, friendships between different personalities, give and take, learning to speak up for yourself, and surviving.  It wasn't perfect, but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

Scent of the Missing by Susannah Charleson

Scent of the Missing by Susannah Charleson has been on my Kindle for quite a long time.  I started it this morning.  The story of training and working a Search and Rescue dog, I thought it might be a somewhat dry memoir.  Happily the writing is excellent, and I look forward to getting back to it.

Camera clutter...

 So I was going back through photos on my phone, and so many make me ask, "Why have I kept these?"

Like this photo of a buzzard perched over my backdoor.  Waiting...waiting...

And this one was a sad news story about a really terrible explosion, but it was so odd the way it looked like my home away from home was under attack.

I saw these orbs made from wine corks at a gallery...am I planning on making some...erm...not really.

This shelf at my local library.  One of the many things I love about this library.  Have you ever seen a bottom shelf tilted for easier visibility and access?  Awesome idea, but do I need it on my phone?

Ah...my long lost toaster.  I loved this toaster.  I had never had a toaster before.  It was only about one...maybe two...years old.  Alas, daughter thought it was hers and took it when they moved out...then she bought a new, fancy, multi-slice one for their new kitchen and donated this one...but not to me!  I'm waiting for the back-to-school sales when this sort of thing goes on sale.  (And I really just put this photo in here so she would roll her eyes and growl, "Oh, Mother," when she reads this blog post.  I've given her a lot of grief over this.)  :)

Vintage aluminum salt and pepper shakers. ???  

I kind of like the different beetles I see crawling around outside, and for some odd reason this one makes me think of the next photo...

...of this area rug from Ikea which was also still on my phone, even though I texted it months ago to the friend who was interested in it.

Dear Frankie, you are the only cat whose litter box I will clean.  I hope you are doing well back in Kentucky.  And I hope you think of me once in awhile.  Tell your canine friend, Chloe, hello from me.

Now this is one I took in an interior design center...before I saw the signs that said "No Photos!"  I wanted to text it to a friend who thinks it is funny that my husband stockpiles collects incandescent light bulbs.  I think we shall start displaying his collection in this way...makes for easy access when one blows.

Weekly Menu Planning...

pork chops
w/ baked sweet potatoes
     fresh tomatoes

chicken fried steak
w/ mashed potatoes & gravy
     vegetable

fish tacos
w/ coleslaw

lamb curry
w/ rice
     naan

grilled chicken sandwiches on ciabatta rolls
w/ grilled onions and green peppers

quesadillas
w/ guacamole

grilled salmon
w/ mixed garden salad

We are still with mother-in-law.  I am cooking while we are here, but it is not like being in my own kitchen.  M-i-l has some dietary restrictions, not to mention that she lives with Carey's sister and brother-in-law who are vegetarians, so I'm trying to be respectful as to how I use their kitchen while they are away.  We are having meat, we are just cooking it in pans brought from home or outside on the grill.

Today we went out to eat.  Tomorrow I will be making pork chops with baked sweet potatoes in the crock pot.  

We will be heading home on Tuesday evening.

Some of the meals on this week's menu are holdovers that didn't get cooked when I last did a menu plan.  I'll need to go to the store for the items that I don't have on hand, but at least the unloading should be fairly easy as I cleaned out fridge before leaving.

Have sewing machine, will travel...

We are with my mother-in-law.  I remembered while packing that I had not gotten a sewing project done that I had promised her, so I had my husband load the machine into the car while I grabbed my fabric scissors, straight pins, a spool of thread, bobbins and fabric.

She has a neck pillow that she especially likes, but the cover is difficult to remove to launder.  I suggested awhile back that making a special-fit pillow case for it would be easy to do...but it kept getting put on the back burner.

This afternoon I pulled it all out and made short work of it...not a GREAT work of it, but at least I feel better for having kept my promise.

It feels like I am taking my sewing machine everywhere I go lately, and still getting very little sewing done!

And my crock pot.  I brought it with me here too.  

Waffles...

Since we are traveling to visit my mother-in-law today, I really didn't feel like cooking and cleaning up a big meal last night.  (Read: I procrastinated on the laundry and packing again.)  Time for breakfast for dinner.

When I first got this waffle iron I used to use a mix, but then I found an easy recipe that works quite well.  The last time I made waffles for the kids, the girls proclaimed that I make the BEST waffles, and Chloe added, "You should work at Waffle House. They're hiring."  LOL  Obviously she had been reading the sign outside the Waffle House.

When I do waffles, I want quick and easy.  None of that business of separating the egg yolks from the whites for me.  And beating the whites to fold into the batter?  No.  Just no.

I'm not sure where I found this recipe.  When I googled the name, there was a ton of sites that came up, all with similar (if not identical) recipes.

Oh Boy!  Waffles

2 1/4 c. sifted all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar

3/4 teaspoons salt

2 beaten eggs

2 1/4 cup milk

3/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat waffle iron.  Stir together dry ingredients. Combine eggs, milk, and oil, and add to dry ingredients just before baking, stirring only until moistened and fully incorporated.  Batter will be thin. (Lumps are okay).  Spray waffle iron with cooking spray.  Bake in preheated waffle iron.

Makes 8 to10 waffles (or six on my iron)

Let me emphasize: SPRAY WAFFLE IRON WITH COOKING SPRAY.  I was out of spray once, and tried brushing vegetable oil on the waffle iron instead.  There was a huge mess, followed by massive and frustrating clean up.  There were tears involved.  Oi!

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Replay by Ken Grimwood

Purchased for my Kindle several months ago.  I started it a few days ago, and it has been keeping me up late nights.  It is very interesting and imaginative.  Very well written.  I'm about 3/4 of the way through, and I went back to Amazon and ordered a used hard copy so I could lend it out.  

Middle-aged man goes in to the office in 1988, has massive heart attack, and dies.  He wakes up in his college dorm room in 1963 and has to relive his life.  He makes different life choices, marries a different wife, eats healthy and exercises, and even so, in his second go round at 1988 he has another massive heart attack and dies.  Again he wakes up in 1963 and starts over.

Part time travel.  Part mystery.  Part love story.  Really enjoying it.

Bidding and bidding adieu...

My friend, Pam, is in town.  She is such a bad influence.  She drags me to the Tuesday night auction.  (wink, wink)  The room was packed.  Really crowded.  The majority of the items for sale tonight were from a shipment received from France...wine country antiques.

This chair was one of a pair that I was interested in.  They were very comfy.  I decided that my max bid would be $300 for the pair.  I didn't even bid, as they swiftly shot past that.  They finally sold for $800.  Each.    I set my max bid pretty low, because I wasn't deeply in love with them, so I am perfectly okay with them going home with someone else (unlike this heartbreak).

I really wasn't interested in anything else except for these pails.  I have a thing for enamelware.  They are larger than they seem in the photo.  The white one is about 15 inches tall (about 38 cm).  Lucky for me, they didn't come up for bid till very near the end, and the crowd had thinned dramatically, as had the bidding. 

And they're useful.  I'm picturing them filled with balls of yarn, rolls of toilet paper, rolled towels, Christmas greenery or large round ornaments, magazines, kindling, or I could always fall back on using one or both as waste baskets...but they're way too cute for that.

Weekly menu planning...

roast beef
w/ potatoes and gravy
     carrots

meatloaf
w/ baked potatoes
     corn

King Ranch casserole
w/ beans
     guacamole

tuna casserole
w/ broccoli
     salad

grilled chicken sandwiches on ciabotta rolls
w/ grilled onions and green pepper

quesadillas
w/ guacamole

lamb curry
w/ rice
     naan

Today I have the roast, potatoes, and carrots in the slow cooker.  The other meals will get made as the mood strikes me.  I like to have a plan and the groceries in the house, while still leaving some room for spontaneity.

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1.  I was doing a search for myself and the blog on Google earlier.  It is interesting the things you can find.  I learned that there is a punk band named Five Miles North of Nowhere on Facebook.  Their page dates from July 2011.  Personally I'm not keen on their potty language (not that I don't use some myself from time to time)...I'm sure they couldn't care less.

2.  And singer/songwriter Roger Boggs, just last month, posted his song called Ten Miles North of Nowhere on YouTube.  I have to say that it is a fair theme of the years that I spent four miles north of nowhere.  I do think I can play the harmonica a little better than he does in the video though.

3.  There is an online shop called North of Nowhere.  I may need one of their tee shirts.

4.  There are two books entitled North of Nowhere. One by Liz Kessler and one by Steve Hamilton.

...okay, enough of other nowhere people.

5.  I am obviously wasting too much time on the computer.  I have accomplished nothing lately.  I have no excuse for wasting time.  I'm ashamed of myself.

6.  Insomnia.  Enough said.

7.  My to-do list is about a mile long.

Happy Independence Day...

What I'm reading Wednesday...

The Platte River Waltz--Orphans in the Storm by Ken Consaul

Not sure why, but it seems every few months I get tucked into a story about pioneers struggling westward.  They always make me so thankful to live today and not back then.  I'm pretty sure I would have been one of the first ones to drop at the side of the trail.  Give me a well-built highway and a smooth-riding car with air conditioning any day.