Ring Around the Moon

 

There are just a couple of messages I receive from the sky. The first is a double rainbow. When I see a double rainbow I know I have made a good life decision. The second is a ring around the moon. This always reassures me that life is good and everything that has recently happened has meaning and is in the right place. Tonight I was gifted a ring around the moon.

Ninja Manly Man

 

This is a really scary picture of my wonderful man. Notice the beautiful green eyes, which turn blue on occasion. A few weeks before Christmas he called me and asked if he could buy a motorcycle. I said yes. This man works so hard for our family. He finally asked for something for himself. Tonight, he came in and asked my permission to go to a hamburger joint in Dallas on the bike. Of course, I said yes. He hardly ever wants to do something for himself on his own that does not involve making a living for myself and the Monkeys. I think he looks pretty cool in his riding gear. He does not get that he does not have to ask my permission to do anything, but it is wonderful that he thinks enough of me to consider my opinion and feelings. Lucky Debbi.

Salsa Verde

 

Here, for your viewing pleasure, is one more of my terrible photos.

I made salsa Verde for the first time today. Regular salsa is more to my liking. Manly Man smoked two slabs of ribs. That man makes the very best ribs ever. I also made a big pot of jambalaya and some guacamole. Everything was great except for the salsa. I will give the salsa recipe anyway. If you like a sweeter more tangy salsa, you might like this.

5 tomatillos roasted or boiled until soft. I put mine in the smoker with the ribs.
1/2 onion.
2 gloves garlic
3 tablespoons cilantro
2 or 3 jalapeno or Serrano peppers.
Juice of one lime
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and serve with tortilla chips.

Aunt Debbi's Guacamole
3 avocados
1/2 onion
1/2 medium tomato chopped
3 cloves garlic
Juice from a lime or two
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (do not over do this)
Salt to taste

Remove the avocado skin and mash the avocados.
Processes the onion and garlic in a food processor
Combine all ingredients and serve with tortilla chips.
Leave the avacado seeds in the guacamole. They will keep the dip from turning brown.

Rib hint
Smoke the ribs for five or six hours on lower heat at 200 to 300 degrees.

Bits and Pieces

Teapot I bought for myself

 

Abby

 

Broccoli

 

Cabbage

 

We have had a tough week around here. My MIL had a pacemaker placed this morning, a casual friend passed away unexpectedly, and I flooded our bathroom and bedroom.

Then there was the day long phone calls with the school. Baby monkey is having a really hard time learning to read. Dyslexia runs in my family. This school district did not want to do the testing for learning disabilities because they didn't want to "label him". Is that not the most retarded thing you have ever heard. Yes, I "labeled" this school district retarded. I have been asking for this testing since he was in kindergarten. Four years later, I finally got them to agree to the testing. That was four months ago. Anyway, by threatening to come over and camp out in the principles office, I got what I wanted and the testing is complete. We are now waiting on the results.

I took the above pictures to try to recenter myself and say goodbye to this awful week. It was a beautiful day, perfectly sunny with a mild breeze. The light was beautiful. Being in my garden today was reassuring, helping me feel that all of these troubles will pass.

The winter garden is doing well and we are eating lettuce, broccoli, greens, and radishes fresh from the garden. I just harvest what we want to eat each day and let the garden be my refrigerator keeping the rest of our food super fresh. There is no rush to harvest a lot of stuff at once, unlike in the summer garden. You can't just leave a ripe tomato or zucchini out in the garden until you are ready to eat them. As I have mentioned before, my winter garden is easier and more productive than my summer efforts.

Possum Uproar

We have a possum. I don't know much about possums, but dogs hate them. The neighbors' dog has the worst screaming howling bark ever. Tonight he saw the possum behind the fence and went crazy. Last week he saw the possum up in a tree and went crazy. There were barking dogs all over the block. My insane dog is not interested in the possum. Apparently, the possum just likes to hang out in our neighborhood. I wonder what it is eating. Maybe tomorrow night, I will get a picture of the possum. Should I be afraid of the possum? Do possums get rabies? Do they bite? What do they eat?

I need a possum expert. Anybody out there a possum expert?

My Body Guard

Yesterday, I tripped over the dog and twisted my ankle. It is not bad, but it hurts and I don't like it. This has also slowed me down, making it easier for Abby to track me and make sure there are no monsters in our house.

I decided to try to outsmart this crazy dog. We have an open floor plan in our living spaces. The living room, kitchen, and dining areas are open. There is a table and a sofa (the girl sofa, but I will get back to that), in the middle of the room. There is also a small table in what used to be the dining area. It is metal and hard to move. There is a lot of stuff to chase things around.

I had a hard day yesterday and worked this afternoon. When I came home I just wanted to relax. No such luck, Abby was on me. If I took a step, she took two in front of me and then turned around to look where I was going. This is totally backwards. How can she see where someone is going if she is in front of them.

So I start the game. She goes left, I go right, she goes down the hall, I sneak into the bathroom. When I had her totally turned around, I ran back to my office and sat down by myself. Then it happened, there was a terrible sliding, nail clutching, smash into the floor just below my feet. She totally wiped out. She was so embarrassed she went to the other room for about two minutes, but she is back now making sure something does not attack my ankles.

Big Sigh

Stir Crazy

I may have mentioned that we hovered around freezing all day yesterday. It also rained. While it did warm up today, it was still to cold and wet to go outside. The cats, the Monkeys, the dog and I all were in the house all afternoon. We were together, really really close together.

Teenage Monkey hit Baby Monkey in the head with the Wii remote while playing some game. I had not realized how long his arms have grown. The game has warnings about making sure you are not to close to other people when playing. I guess the boys didn't think it applied to them.

The cats got in a huge fight. Apparently, the calico (Trixie) did something really really bad and her mother (Tisha) had to school her. There was lots of running up and down the hall, jumping over the kitchen table, and yowling. I think Trixie is under my bed now. I hope she stays there.

I found Middle Monkey hanging from a piece of exercise equipment which was folded up and put away in my office. He must really need exercise to have found something to swing from inside the house. At least he didn't climb the walls.

Then there is the dog. Abby is a German shepherd. Like many working breed dogs, she must have a job to do at all times. When we brought her home, she decided "I" was her job. This means that unless she is in her kennel or in the backyard behind the gate, she is walking two steps in front of me to make sure nothing gets me. Never mind that she has no idea where I am going next. This causes tripping and yelling. Why does this dog think in front of me is better than behind me or beside me? We had a wonderful time today. She was busy checking every corner for bad guys and I was falling over her when she did not know where to go next. I twisted my ankle. It hurts. This dog takes her "job" way to seriously, either that or she has OCD.

We have to many mammals housebound right now. We can't seem to stay out of each others way. It better warm up and dry out a little tomorrow or I may have a fit and fall in it.

I have to go now, a naked boy just streaked past and I must go handle my progeny.

Help me, somebody please help me.