Country Bumpkin vs City Slicker Pets

Karen's new kitty GT, looking very Spooky for her close-up!

Karen's new addition Slick, dressed to the nines in his tuxedo and spats.

Amelia looking absolutely terrific for almost 300!

Pet's 121 year old Herman lounging in his favorite chair.

Pet

Hi Karen Anne, I get joshed a lot about my nickname whenever the sign “No Pets Allowed” appears, but let’s ignore all that joviality because I want to talk about pets, those little creatures we have around the house and yard, real pain in the butts, but a definite source of unqualified love so we keep them around and they become a major part of our lives. I have to start out by saying, “My pets can beat up your pets.” Household animals living in the country are a rugged breed. My spaniel, Herman is 121 in dog years, but still finds his way down to the woods in back of the house to drink from his favorite stream. He can’t see a foot in front of his face with his one remaining eye, can’t hear unless super loud and is showing some effects of old age. But he loves to run across the lawn, jump up the steps and into the house where he can easily find his way around. We call him the zombie dog. That’s because real dogs don’t live as long as he has, so we figure somewhere along the line he transformed into the pet of the living dead. Would you believe he’s still cute? Hope I’m that cute when I reach 121!

Karen

Well, I think my tortoise shell calico Amelia has Herman beat, she’s 288 in cat years. She doesn’t run around much any more and her favorite pastime is very long catnaps, still I think she’s doing great for almost 300! She’s a city cat all the way. Her second favorite thing to do is give herself long luxurious baths so she’s always ready for her close-up. : ) She was even offered a commercial spot but my dreams of having a famous pet were not to be. Amelia never made it past the test shots. One look at the bright lights and people darting around everywhere and she took off. I had to search the set for over an hour to find her. My dreams of seeing my beautiful cat on the TV were dashed. But you’ll still find Amelia grooming herself with zeal. And people still tell me she should be in commercials. I just grin and say, “I know. Doesn’t she look fantastic for 300.”

Pet

Amelia sounds like a great pet. I hope to get to meet her some day. Hey, I wouldn’t mind flying across the country to meet a great almost famous cat like Amelia. I’m finding here in the country folks have a different view of pets. They are all self-sufficient and cat naps are usually taken out of doors. I’ve never heard of a cat having nails removed so they don’t scratch the furniture. They just get tossed outside, like Sally the mostly white cat across the road from us. Always outside, she visits frequently, very carefully avoiding the speeding pickups, to check out the birds in our woods. When the sunflowers were in bloom, she and another neighbor cat set up headquarters underneath the giant flowers hoping to catch a lazy cardinal or goldfinch as they munched on the seeds. Sally has figured out that Herman can’t see too well and his cat chasing days are over, so has no qualms about cuddling with him when she wishes to do him a big favor. You know how these prima donna cats are.

Karen

Cats in the city don’t have beautiful woods to hunt in or meadows to while away the hours but they do have grass on demand. What the heck am I talking about? If my apartment bound cat starts chewing on my houseplants in frustration I can run out to the local pet store or nursery and buy her a nice container of cat grass. Yes, I can bring home a little piece of nature for my cat to devour. And if I think my cat is aggravated because she has no place to roam, I can take her to the kitty day spa. There she can frolic with other cats in a beautiful sun filled atrium with waterfalls and large grassy areas to lounge in. I can even book her a message! Nothings too good for the excessively pampered city cat. Just so you don’t think I’ve gone off the deep end, Amelia has a nice suburban yard perfect for hunting squirrels. And the only massage she gets is when I’m hunting for fleas. : )

Pet

I can’t imagine Sally Cat across the street spending the day at a spa. Here’s a bulletin just in. The black tom cat, her constant companion has gone missing. I wonder if she’s like a dog who lived with us also named Sally. Our dog was cute and friendly and loved the outdoors. We had to keep her away from the chicken coop next door, not too difficult since she had no problem hunting in the woods for her gourmet meal of feathered friends. Sally Dog also enjoyed walking off into the woods with her companions. She got her sister, Polly, her daughter, Sugar and two neighbor dogs to trot along with her. Slight problem. Sally always returned alone. Since she missed out on transforming into a zombie dog, she’s now in doggy heaven while those of us here on earth have never figured out what in the world she did to get rid of the other dogs.

Karen

Talk about a dastardly dog! Here in the city there are only three reasons pets disappear. One: they get lost and are hit by a car just blocks from their home. Two: they are some fabulous purebred that a criminal snags to get the reward money. Three: The coyotes got them. I’ve mentioned before how Pasadena is over run with coyotes, like much of LA. I’ll never get over the first time I saw a pack of coyotes running down my nice residential street, one with a cat in its mouth! Talk about welcome to the Wild West! That’s why our household recently went from one cat, good old Amelia, to three. We rescued two feral black and white cats, a brother and sister, after they both were mauled by coyotes. Several hundred dollars later, both of them are doing well. Amelia has finally gotten used to her new companions. Slick, the tuxedo clad brother, earned his name by managing to survive his very bad tangle with the dreaded coyotes. His sister, GT, a cute black long hair, earned her name from the little white goatee she has on her chin. Needless to say they both have become house cats, and I don't think they mind one bit. : )

Pet

Your new cats sound darling. Amelia must be quite the lady not to get jealous and take them for a walk like Sally Cat and Sally Dog did. Oh those coyotes! Something we have in common. They abound here. Don’t think they are an endangered species. Do they howl at night like they do out in the country? Creepy Halloween noises. Sounds like a chorus of ghosts. The country coyotes find little calves quite tasty. So of course the whole herd goes bonkers and loud mooing ensues. The dogs for miles around bark their heads off. I used to get alarmed at shot gun blasts going off in the middle of the night. Now I know, just a farmer protecting his herd from the hungry beasts. I’ve heard, but not seen a coyote here. Once in the mid winter when we lived on a bay of Lake Ontario in upstate New York we watched a lone gray coyote cross the frozen waters. They go after our domestic animals when the forest critters run out. I like them much better in the deep woods than in backyards and farmyards.

Karen

It’s amazing how coyotes seem to be all across the US. Was visiting a cousin in Atlanta and she said they roam the streets there too. Maybe the last animal standing won’t be the lowly cockroach but the formidable coyote! As for my old girl Amelia and how she’s gracefully adjusted to the two feral interlopers, let’s just say they’ve had their ups and downs. I’ve caught Amelia several times letting Slick and GT know exactly who’s boss. She definitely queen of her Victorian. : ) If one of the young upstarts even thinks about stealing one of her favorite nap locations they are in for a big swat in the face. And if they don’t move out of the way fast enough Amelia will make sure they have a scar to remind them not to try it again. My parting thought about pets is I agree with you. As much as pets are a lot of work, (just like husbands : ), they give us such pleasure and can turn a down day into a laugh feast by their crazy behavior. And the best part is, they love us no mater what!

Mother Nature Time

A picture of the beautiful wildflowers in California. Definitely Mother Nature at her best! 

A picture of Mother Nature at her worst taken by one of our faithful readers.

Karen

Here in Southern California, the end of summer, beginning of fall, signals the start of wild fire season. This year we’ve had a particularly brutal introduction as one the biggest fires ever to sweep through the Angles Forrest began raging and is still not out two weeks later. As I live very close to where the fire started I’ve been living with the consequences. For the first week and a half the air was so thick with smoke it looked like a heavy fog. The air smelled like the largest summer barbecue in history was in progress. No longer could I work on my endless porch project. I was forced to stay inside. Here in Pasadena, and other foothill cities, when a fire starts we don’t run for the hills. Okay bad joke. : ) We run from one air conditioned building to the next and pray the fire stays high up in the foothills and doesn’t decide to stop devouring scrub brush and small trees but change its diet to houses.

Pet 

Sounds like Mother Nature gone wild, although I’ve read suspicions of arson abound. I’m sure if you suffering residents find the match tossing perpetrator you’ll band together and finish him off. Or at least make him/her suffer. Mother Nature is pretty well ignoring us here in Eastern Tennessee. Last year this time we were in the midst of a horrendous drought and the farmers were crying the blues. Never rains, but it pours and this year the same farmers are showing rotted crops from too much rain and standing water. Not near so bad though as our relatives in Kentucky who were pretty well washed out with four inches an hour of rain earlier this year. We did discover a leak in the roof of our new addition and had to put buckets under the waterfall until the contractor came out and fixed the problem. Misplaced vent or some simple thing like that. Bet you Southern Californians would love to have some of that rain. Unfortunately it never rains there, right? 

Karen

Well, not lately. But there’s a rumor that El Nino is headed our way. One of the reasons I’ve been working on restoring my porches. The last El Nino year we had two weeks of non-stop rain. That was when I lived in my Craftsman bungalow with a river rock foundation and a small basement. Yes Virginia, some older California homes actually have basements. I had the brilliant idea of putting my office down there because it was so cool (the house had no AC) and cozy. Big mistake!! The basement flooded and my office was wadding in 10 inches of water! Can you say disaster for all things electronic!  So although we desperately need the rain, we have to be careful what we wish for cause when they do come, Southern California turns into Seattle Washington. 

Pet

Proof that rain does come to Southern California: The movies and TV. Whenever the story is set in LA, the clouds let loose big time.  I’m sure if you drive through town on a rainy day, you’ll see those cameras rolling. Everyone thinks that the biggest danger of hurricanes comes from those fierce winds. Albeit they’re not much fun, but the real villain comes from, you guessed it, the rain. In Florida the drains are not set up to handle all that extra moisture. So new rivers and lakes spring up. The poor folks, who can’t sell because their property is not waterfront, have that minor detail corrected by Mother Nature.  Those who already live on the waterfront were rewarded a few years ago when Floridians experienced a barrage of hurricanes by becoming boat owners. Yup, the front yard became a marina but pity the poor boat owners. They had to traverse the coast searching for the speed boat that sped away, the wrong way. When Mother Nature goes wild, many suffer. 

Karen

That’s for sure. Of course we have wild fires here to worry about but also the Big One. I guess as a non-native I still find the whole idea of living in the Big Ones shadow a bit hard to take. Most of the time I walk around totally oblivious to the fact that the earth could move, or even split apart, at any second until it actually does. A nice little size 3 or 4 earthquake will send me into nightmares about The Big One. I get up the next day and double check all my antiques to make sure that my quake hold is still firmly in place. A native, and fellow antiquer, had to show me the tricks of earthquake protection. Who knew you had to anchor down all your china and glass wear to make sure it doesn’t end up a shattered mess on the floor? Not me. Now my friend has turned me into a bit of a fanatic. She lost thousands of dollars worth of amazing china and antique glass in the Northridge earthquake. She thought she had done enough to protect her collections but the 7.0 earthquake taught her over the top protection is the only way to save what you love.  The things we do to keep Mother Natures destruction at bay.

Pet 

And then there are tornados. One year, a while ago, we were driving through Texas in the month of April. A horrendous rain storm kicked up. We turned on the full of static radio and heard, “A tornado is about to touch down in Paris, Texas.” Then the signal disappeared altogether.  I looked at the map and screamed, “Paris is the next town we’ll be going through.” We immediately pulled into a motel and found everyone huddled in doorways. All these prime spots were taken so we just stood at the desk until a brave clerk ventured out to check us in. No problem since the tornado did not come our way though much damage was done in its hazardous path. Doorways are also a favorite spot for Californians when the earth tremors. But you know, I’m not sure they’re the safest place to be. With that extra material which I guess folks think will protect them, what happens if the building collapses? Wouldn’t a hit on the head with a piece of drywall and some plaster be less dangerous than a club coming from the doorways’ frames? Decisions, decisions to be made in snap seconds when trying to hide from Mother Nature’s wrath. 

Karen 

That’s funny you should bring the doorway safe haven up. Think I just read a few weeks ago that they found standing in the door way isn’t that safe at all. Flying debris can hit you and wouldn’t be pretty if it were glass. I think they went back to the other safe haven, under a large heavy piece of furniture. This might be safe if you live in a one-story house but what about on the twentieth floor of an apartment building? Hiding under your grandmother’s antique dinning table isn’t going to help much if the building is collapsing. I think my worst experience with Mother Nature was when I was on a ferry going from Okinawa to Kyushu Japan.  Halfway into our trip they had a typhoon warning and sure enough we couldn’t get out of its way. The waves were crashing over the three-story ferry. The bottom floor was filled up with water like a swimming pool. My friend and I fled to higher ground, which meant invading first class on the third floor. We could barely navigate the stairs, the ship was rocking so badly. At the height of the storm when I thought the ferry was going to sink I joked to my friend, “Well, if we’re going to die it might as well be in first class. : )     

Pet 

Seems like Mother Nature takes turns on who will be hit. Texas, victim of a terrible drought is now flooding. The sun shines and temps rise into the 80’s in the usually frigid mid west. The weather prognosticators don’t know which end is up, so many predictions are wrong. At least we haven’t heard that four letter word, SNOW, in the forecast--yet! Here in Tennessee where we only have a smattering locals often wish for the stuff. Admittedly a winter wonderland is beautiful to behold, but getting through it…pffft. So I say those who yearn for snow have never survived a white winter. We lived for five years in upstate New York touching the Canadian Border. We admired the colorful flags attached to the antennas on cars not yet knowing that the practical purpose of these bright wavers was to facilitate finding the right car when those white drifts covered them. Everyone there expected the snow but sometimes Mother Nature pulls a surprise. One year we had an early flight out of Dulles Airport near DC so we checked into a motel the evening before. We found pandemonium in the lobby. A plane had landed carrying folks who’d parked their cars around the hotel. A blizzard had hit the night before continuing into the morning and the cars were buried. No antenna flags so only much digging could reveal their transportation home. Do you think Mother Nature had a good laugh???

Karen

She laughs her ass off everyday. As a former NY upstater I can totally relate to your flag story. There are so many things natives to do cope with Mother Nature. But I don’t want to bash Mother Nature too much. She might decide to have a typhoon over my house. : ) And she does do some amazing things. Although the fire we just experienced was a terrible tragedy. And the locals fear the flooding that might be brought on by El Nino, at the same time come spring; we are going to see wildflower on the hills we haven’t seen in 80 to 100 years.  Mother Nature is pretty cleaver. She usually has a plus side to the disaster she wields.  The heat generated from the fires causes the seeds that have been dormant all this time to sprout. Two years ago the same thing happened abut 80 miles north and the wildflowers were so spectacular they were on the front page of all the local papers.  Not being a native Southern Californian, I decided I better drive up and experience the rare phenomenon myself. I’ll never forget when I turned the corner and got my first glimpse of the foothills. They were blanketed with a kaleidoscope of colors. Bright purple flowers fought for space against yellow daisies and the shocking red orange of California poppies.  As I took dozens of pictures to capture the moment, I couldn’t help but want to bow to good old Mother Nature. She’s has quite the knack for decorating.

Pet

We get the good and the bad from Mother Nature. With everything quiet now, I say we bid goodbye to the lady and not try to stir her up, even though sometimes she produces spectacular sights. Bye Mom!      

What? Summer's Almost Over?

Here's one of Karen's vanilla cupcakes. Yum!!

Just a sample of what Pet finds lurking on her doorstep in the summer

 

Karen 

Can you believe summers almost over? Guess that explains the fact that we haven’t blogged in over a month. But somehow once summer comes, time fly’s by. With my endless projects (yes, I’m still working on the porch) and the usual guests one-month blends into the next and all of the sudden it’s September! In wonderful tinsel town, life goes into hyper drive in the summer. There’s the long list of must-see movies, and of course you need to make sure your spray on tan looks fabulous. Then there’s the mandatory pool parties and night’s out with friends.  What’s a girl to do?   

Pet 

Life’s different here in the country. While the town park hosts some fun pool parties, the grownup farm community slaves away harvesting mostly winter food for those ever hungry cattle. Corn is chopped, soy beans beaned and multi piles of hay appear. The roads are constantly clogged with farm equipment going or coming from a job. And the veggie gardens are coming in. The neighbors individually ask, anxiously with pathetic looks, if we need tomatoes. No thanks. Our one beefsteak and two plums are supplying all we need. But they don’t take no for an answer. Today we went out for a while and came home to fifty pounds of ripe tomatoes on the front steps. We’ll freeze these, but the other neighbors are still tossing us wistful looks. We can’t leave home for fear of the ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES.

Karen

Believe it or not we city folk have vegetable gardens too. In fact they are all the rage. So you can bet the trendy set has taken it up big time. Little gardens have sprung up everywhere. They are amazed at how easy it is to grow your own tomatoes and herbs. You don’t need a lot of space. In fact we have a nice little garden going on our second story porch. Five varieties of tomatoes and a nice herb garden all growing in long containers. Once barren apartment balconies now have all kinds of veggies cascading over the railings. Here in drought-ridden Southern California the trend to grow your own vegetable gardens isn’t the best choice because they are such heavy drinkers. But several people on my block have torn out parts of their front lawns and put in gardens. The woman at the end of the block has some great looking corn. I just love it. Makes me think a little bit of country has snuck into the big city. Next I’ll see my city neighbors breaking out the Farmers Almanac. : ) 

Pet 

We’ve had enough rain this season to satisfy those heavy drinkers. One nearby town has a tomato festival with the big event being a tomato fight. Get rid of those soft babies by pitching them at each other. And speaking of heavy drinkers how about that different breed of vegetables showing up on your doorstep at summer’s mid point? This attack comes from the overnight, out of town visitors, who we casually invited last winter while bragging on the glories of southern summers. Who knew they’d take us seriously? But here they are, waiting to be fed and how many things can you cook with tomatoes? Open up the wallet and bring on the country ham and free range chicken. Karen Anne, can you mail us a couple of your fabulous desserts? We have ice cream and store bought cookies but these mid summer wanderers expect more. HELP!! 

Karen

Ah yes. The human type of heavy drinkers can really be a hand full. I’ve written before about my notorious aunt who never met a form of alcohol she didn’t love. One time when I knew she was coming to visit I cleaned the house of every imaginable liquor source. I wondered why she wasn’t complaining the first day when I told her I was implanting my tough love program. Then I caught her sneaking a sip from a flask she had hidden in her purse. But after two days she managed to drink every drop she brought with her. Since I refused to take her to “stock up” she sat around pouting and even changed her flight to leave the next day. Darn. : ) But that’s not the end of the story. That night I wondered what was making all the noise in the kitchen. I turned on the light and there she was downing my bottle of vanilla extract!! Here’s a much better way to enjoy vanilla. : )

Vanilla Cupcakes:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 

2/3 cup granulated Bakers sugar 

3 large eggs 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

1/4 cup buttermilk 

Buttercream Frosting: 

2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted 

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

2 tablespoons milk or light cream 

For the Cupcakes: Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 

Fill the muffin cups evenly with the batter and bake for about 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees, until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Once the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with icing. If you want flat topped cupcakes then slice off the dome of each cupcake, with a sharp knife, before frosting. 

For the Frosting: In an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth and well blended. Add the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more milk or sugar, if needed. 

Pet 

Sounds wonderful. The recipe not your thirsty guest! How about mixing up a batch and calling overnight express? Or filling one of those PO if it fits we mail boxes? Recipe is way too complicated for me. Fortunately my guests request a much simpler recipe, and appetizer instead of desert. I love making (and eating) this time of year because we have three special ingredients. Tomatoes, of course, Vidalia onions, best sweet onions in the world special crop of our neighbors in Georgia, and herbs of every kind growing their little hearts out. So when the visiting kids ask for Tomatoes on Toast, this is what they get: 

Pet’s Bruschetta 

One large tomato, half sweet onion, clove garlic, Italian herbs, fresh better (basil, flat leaf parsley, oregano and thyme) but dried mix works too, garlic oil, 12 thin slices Italian bread, ½ lemon, extra virgin olive oil, lemon pepper. 

Dice tomato, onion, and garlic.  Add lemon pepper and Italian seasoning to taste.  Squeeze lemon; add with 1 or 2 tbs. olive oil.  Set aside to season.  (Can’t keep olive oil dressings in refrigerator since they coagulate)  Brush Italian bread with garlic oil (can be made by heating  ¼ cup oil and 2tbs. Butter with chopped garlic for 45 seconds in microwave) and top with more Italian seasoning.  Toast in hot oven (425) for about 15 minutes or until desired brown is achieved.  Don’t need to be brown, just toasted.)  Suggest serving separate because if tomato mix goes on toast too soon it gets soggy.  Also some people like to munch on the toast alone.  Roasted pepper or eggplant appetizer good on the toast. 

No more recipes, please! I’m starving!!! Tell me what do you do to amuse your guests besides feed them? 

Karen 

Actually, most of my guest arrive with their own lists. I guess they figure not only should I provide lodging and gourmet meals I should be a chauffer too! I hate to admit it but once in awhile the guests come up with places I’ve never been. I’m used to request’s to visit Disneyland, Universal Studio’s, Hollywood walk of fame but the Neon Museum? It was actually very illuminating. : ) My recent guest came with a list of Taco trucks they wanted to check out. Yes, LA has a slew of them and in fact some are quite famous. Or infamous if after eating off one you end up spending way too much time in the bathroom. lol 

Pet 

I always try to show my guests the real Tennessee, beautiful vistas, scenic farmland, state and National parks, lots of TVA lakes surrounded by million dollar homes and interesting power supplies like coal chimneys and nuclear towers. But my next scheduled crew coming in a few weeks includes my niece, a lawyer from New York. She is a great Dolly Parton fan who insists on doing Dollywood with the biggest roller coaster in the world and other irresistible attractions. The other girls are delighted to be going to the theme park, telling me they always wanted to, but I wouldn’t take them. I got burned out on these places early when my kids were young and we’d visit our California relatives. We did Disneyland three times and I got a headache the minute I stepped into this Wonderland. By the time Disneyworld opened I stayed outside the golden gates. Why bother since it’s been years and years but “It’s a small, small world” refuses to leave my head.         

Karen 

The things we have to do for family! Not only is summer the time for guests, but here in my historic neighborhood, we are in the middle of planning our big summer barbeque. Yes, here in the good old LA metroplex we are going small town. Something about living in an historic landmark neighborhood makes us very close knit. We have big porches on our houses so we hang out and wave when people walk by just like I used to do in my small town in upstate NY. I guess it’s the common bond we have of loving old houses and working to preserve them that makes us feel a connection. It’s nice to know when I’m risking my life up on a 20-foot ladder painting my porch that there’s someone just as crazy just down the street! : ) 

Pet 

Living in a beautiful neighborhood with friendly neighbors certainly does take some of the sting off city life such as noise, traffic jams, bad air and over population leading to waiting on lines everywhere.  Enjoy your landmark house, but please go easy on those ladders. While we are enjoying a cooler than average summer tales of super hot weather out west has reached us. So keep cool and paint in the winter when the weather’s perfect and maybe I can escape from below zero temps and check your work out! Enjoy your summer parties. Here County Fair time approaches and the farm ladies get vicious. They’re after those blue ribbons for their home made, home grown goodies and they’ll do anything short of slipping vinegar into the competition’s apple pie. All in good fun, of course.

Karen 

My grandmother was the queen of pies. She always won the best berry pie competition at the local fair. Here in the city, it’s more about who managed to score a reservation at the latest award-winning restaurant. : )  They do take their food pretty seriously here in tinsel town. As long as someone else cooks it. LOL That’s another thing I like about my historic neighborhood, the people here can really cook! Of course most of them are from good old tinsel town. Speaking of my neighbors, I better get back to my planning duties. Four households coordinating the food for the barbecue can be a bit of a headache. Top priority is to make sure we have no repeats. Last year we had four people bring exactly the same coleslaw. I’m a huge fan of the stuff but not when it’s the only side dish!!!! 

Pet 

Have fun at the barbecue which I know will turn out fabulous with you at the helm. And think of me tugging monstrous crabgrass out of my garden. This mutation only appears in midsummer along with the katydids who serenade us every night.  Never mind four sides of coleslaw, never-ending paint jobs, weird plants and singing bugs, we’ll be missing the balmy days soon enough. So enjoy the rest of Summer!  

Shiny Stars

Just think, if it wasn't for Karen's Shiny Star this amazing grand Victorian home would have been replaced by condo's!

Good Samaritans come to Pet's recuse and helped load a thousand pound butcher block.

Pet

In our last blog we talked about pests, so why not go with the antonym and highlight the shiny stars in our lives? We talked a bunch about insects, so that’s where we can start. We have a picture from last blog of two stars, the butterfly and the bee. These little guys are so essential to the natural cycle of life. Without them spreading the plants pollen they’d die out and we wouldn’t have the vibrant colors of summer in our lives. Yay bees and butterflies! Another favorite of mine is the tiny orange bugger with the black spots. They’re lady bugs and their favorite snacks are those nasty little aphids who love to devour rose bushes. Aside: do you know that ants, interesting but still mainly pests, herd the aphids and chase them to the rose bushes where they milk them just like we do the dairy cows? Bet you didn’t know that! My positive vibes are so overtaking me, I have animal, vegetable and mineral shiny stars I want to talk about. First, let’s hear about some of your stars shining in the metroplex.

Karen

I love ladybugs! They’re cute and they eat those yucky, sticky, nasty, aphids! Without them my parlor wouldn’t be flooded with roses right now.  Another one of my favorite insect shiny stars and in my opinion the most fascinating is the praying mantis. I used to love them in upstate NY but was so depressed not to see my favorites in California. That is until I moved to Pasadena. It’s praying mantis heaven! We have two kinds, the standard green and a molted brown version. The brown guys can get to be five inches long!!!! If I didn’t love them so much I’d be pretty scared when I faced one in the garden. But their giant size is a huge plus because these guys are serious about their stomachs. Seems I never see them when they aren’t munching on some pest. Got to love a shiny star with a big appetite!  

Pet

Hey how about we find some shiny stars who don’t kill little thingies, even though the thingies are pest thingies. We have our domestic animals like Herman who’s 16 years old…or 112 in dog years…and your adorable Amelia, then we have our delicious garden veggies, I have growing tomatoes, very early for the valley. Okay that covers animal and vegetables but what about minerals? Are diamonds still a girl’s best friend? I have an antique ring with a big rock in the setting but never had an urge to buy more. Shines all right, but let’s get right down to people. Last blog we had a human hero write us. Bill doesn’t think plant munching critters are garden pests. He plants a special garden for them. And since he’s an ex cop, he probably has a traffic system worked out guiding the critters to their garden, away from the people garden. Now he’s a hero! A human shiny star.

Karen

This blog post got me thinking about my own human shiny stars. Like many people, I’ve had several in my life. My latest hero is the woman who founded the historic landmark district where my Victorian resides. When she moved to the neighborhood it was at risk of having the lovely historic homes torn down to make room for town houses and condo’s. History is not always cherished in the big city, so this area had long been neglected. But she saw the wonderful old homes and the history of the place, well over a hundred years old, and wanted to turn the area back into a shiny star. So with shear determination, she worked diligently and won the support of the community to found the second historic landmark district in Pasadena. I always think of her and her amazing accomplishment when I stroll down my neighborhoods tree lined streets and gaze at the amazing historic houses that still stand so proudly for everyone to enjoy. Aprile Boettcher is living proof that one person can make a difference.  

Pet

Ms. Boettcher certainly deserves the shiny star nomination, but so do all of the residents who work so hard keeping their old homes looking gorgeous. I know you spend much time keeping yours up to your high standards. Pin a star on your shirt, girl! Here in the country we have many old buildings but they’re more functional than beautiful. Maybe that’s just in the eyes of the beholder since when brother visits from LA, he runs all over the county and beyond snapping pictures of the old barns. We even have a few ancient mills left standing. Then there are the local heroes who’ve refurbished the old buildings in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the most visited national park in the country. The drive through Cades Cove is a ride into the past. So here’s a salute to these men and women, the volunteers and park rangers who work on a daily basis keeping this breath taking place both historically correct and scenically magnificent. Shiny Stars all!

Karen

I’m a huge fan of people who respect and honor America’s history. We may not be that old as a country, but I think that makes our history even more precious. You mentioned the faceless hero’s that do good work every day. In the city I find I cherish even the most simple act of kindness. I have what you would call day hero’s. In the crowed crazy city of LA, it’s pretty dog eat dog so when an unknown stranger takes it upon themselves to help someone they don’t know, they are a shiny star to me. If it’s rush hour and the freeway is jammed, you can sit forever trying to get on the damn thing. So when someone actually stops traffic to let me get on the freeway they are my hero. I always wave and smile to let them know how much I appreciate their simple act of kindness. Unfortunately most hardened city slickers thinks their act of kindness makes them a sucker. Another simple act that I’m eternally grateful for is when someone holds a door open for me when I’m obliviously loaded down with bags. This simple courtesy that used to happen thousands of times everyday has gone the way of the dinosaur in the big city.  So on the rare occasion that someone holds the door open for me I’m always overflowing with gratitude. My usual parting phrase is, “Thank you so much. You’re not from LA are you.” : )   

Pet

Ha, ha! Your last sentence reminds me of when I was trying to get a bag into the compartment on a plane and had a hard time lifting it. One gentleman, and only one came to my aid. I said to him, “You’re from Tennessee, aren’t you?” Yes he was, and bless his heart as we say around here. The other local saying comes when an act of unkindness happens, like someone cutting you off on the highway. “He’s a so and so,” you say followed by “God love him!” That shows how friendly folks around here are. When outside, everyone waves from their car at whoever isn’t in a car, and often at other cars. Hey, I tried this the last time I was in LA and everyone thought me crazy. 

Karen

Well, politeness and LA don’t really go together. : ) That’s why you can spot a transplant a mile away! But there is one thing that local’s do that I think deserves a mention, they throw one heck of a pool party. I’ve never been to as many aquatic parties as I have in LA. And if you have a party disaster someone will be happy to help you out to keep the party going. At one of my friend’s parties, disaster struck when the spa broke down. You would think a 8.0 earthquake hit by the sear panic that swept over the guests. But it only took fifteen minutes to track down a pool guy to come to the rescue. I think there is one on almost every corner in our fair city. To everyone at the party he was like Superman to the rescue. To my friend this guy was the shiny star that kept her party from being a totally failure.

Pet

Another act of neighborly kindness comes to mind when I cut up on the antique butcher block sitting in the middle of the kitchen. Not very good with sharp knives this is a wonderful addition, doubles the counter space. We found the genuine antique on a relative’s porch and we were gifted with the much-needed piece of furniture. Family and friends gathered around to help get the huge, heavy hunk of wood onto the pickup. Sons and son-in-laws, grandsons, some of the girls, everyone who happened to be around, rushed to assist with the lift. Took much lifting and pushing, heavy breathing, moans and groans to place the solid wood on the pickup. Once home we called on our neighbors. Our farmer friends came over between milking with a front-end loader. Push, push, and upsy daisy, the block is soon transported from the back of the truck to kitchen door. Humans only got it inside, and there she sits. All of the helpers, even the front-end loader, are heroes, shiny stars for sure.

Karen

Nothing like come-to-the-rescue neighbors!!!!!! When my hubby and I first moved to Pasadena we bought a cute little bungalow with beautiful woodwork and a narrow steep staircase. No way could we shove our queen-sized bed up the stairs to our master bedroom. We were dead tired, as we did most of the moving ourselves, and stood scratching our heads out on the front lawn wondering if we were going to have to put the mattress on the living room floor to sleep, when neighbors across the street came over to introduce themselves. The father joked that he didn’t want us to start our new life in the neighborhood by sleeping under the stars. He came up with the brilliant idea of pushing the mattress through the very large casement picture window in the master. In a matter of minutes two ladders appeared and the father and son were nudging the mattress up the ladders. We ran upstairs and managed to pull it through. Next came the much less flexible box spring. Luckily we had used two singles and they squeezed through the window with a giant shove from the father and son team. That night when we finally went to bed we were grateful for our wonderful new neighbors. Shiny stars for sure. So do you have any shiny stars in your life? Please share them with us.     

PESTS: They can be Transplants too!

Not all insects are PESTS. Some friendly visitors to Pet's garden

 Karen's cat Amelia on the hunt for PESTS!

Hiya Karen! 

On this hot spring day I must talk about PESTS. And I’m eager to find out if the ones you have in the city can match up to ours in the country. I suppose occasionally you have a house fly wander in. You think that’s a pest? WRONG. Move into a house next door to a cow field and then you’ll find out that these flies flock in the thousands, maybe the millions, and love to plague the dairy herd, but even better spend much time figuring how to take over your house. Those huge masses of the insects…now that’s PESTS. So far we’ve only swatted a few flies, but we know they’re only the vanguards looking the place over so they can go back to their flock of millions and plan the attack. So we’ve killed a few. They don’t mind being killed. They know about all their relatives behind them and they’ve laid eggs enough to start a new generation in six hours. I have fly stories galore if you’re interested in hearing, but first I dare you to come up with worse pests than Ma and Pa fly!

Karen

You know how much I love a good dare!!!!! You’d be surprised how many strange PESTS we have here in the city. Do parking meter girls count? : ) We have the usual ants, spiders, pantry moths, and the occasional fly. But hands down the scariest pest I’ve ever seen was in my friend’s house in Palm Springs. He lives right on the edge of the desert so there are some of the usual suspects like scorpions and tarantulas. You don’t even want to see how much he spends on pest control!! One morning we headed into the breakfast room all excited about the fantastic omelet we were going to make when I happed to almost step on something that looked like it was out of a nightmare. It was large, about four inches, and had a head shaped like a seahorse and looked kind of like a miniature dragon. It even had large wings! Before I could let out one heck of a scream my male friend beat me to it. That’s how scary looking it was. Thankfully it was dead. My friend took a picture of it and sent it to his bug guy. Next thing you know he’s over in a flash all excited about our discovery. The bug guy proudly placed the creature into a plastic bag and told us he was going to send it off to headquarters. A month later my friend gets a call. The bug is actually from Chile. Wow did he get lost. And if he’s a taste of the PESTS they have in Chile I’m never going there!

Pet

I’m not touching that one. The South American bug sounds ever scarier than sighting one of those cheery sounding Whippoorwills in person. That’s comparing a bug to a bird so now in shock I’m turning to human pests. Too bad you don’t have any of them, except for the meter maids, in your metroplex. Unlike your scary bug that really didn’t DO anything, the human pests always do stuff to drive the rest of the human race totally nuts. Question: how come an inanimate object with wheels can turn a previously mild and meek individual into a raging monster? Case in point…the two lane rural road in front of our house curves through the countryside until about one half a mile both ways when it straightens out. So what does every red-blooded American boy or girl do? Why step on the gas, of course. Ignore those 40 mile per hour signs, terrorize Pet and her little dog, go, go, go, you PEST, PEST, PEST.

Karen

I have to agree that the human PEST is far worse than any insect. But before I go on a rant about homosapien PESTS I have another kind of PEST story. On one of those perfect putter-in-the-yard days I decided to plant a cutting garden. Like any good gardener knows, prepping a new space is really important. I eagerly tilled the soil dreaming of all the fantastic flower arrangements that would soon be gracing my parlor. Once I worked in some topsoil I figured out my flower placement and got down on my knees and started planting. Things were going along great until my trowel hit the edge of a large underground tunnel. It didn’t take long for the resident to come out and find out who had disturbed his home. Little beady eyes stared up at me and a loud grunt came from its snaggle tooth filled mouth. I’d never come face to face with a gopher before. This little sucker was ticked. He stood his ground and kept grunting. Our stand off turned out to be one legends are made of. : ) He obviously didn’t know who he was tangling with. I got out the trusty garden house and gave him one heck of a bath. He scurried off never to be seen again.

Pet

So many pests inhabit both the city and the country. The last time we spent a night at a motel in a very urban section of Brooklyn, NY, we were horrified by raccoon family scavenging in a garbage bin. A tough bunch, I can understand why your city gopher turned out to be a worthy adversary. Sometimes even deer come out of the parks and feed on city gardens. Here in the countryside we are inundated with them although they all disappear when hunting season starts. They are lovely creatures, so graceful, but boy can they chomp down on the veggie garden especially during dry season. Plus become a major hazard when driving after dark. Another hungry garden predator is the cute little bunny rabbit. Fortunately we have a healthy stand of clover keeping the little buggers happy. Still, I’m suspicious of the adorable little fur balls consuming my just planted baby dill. I planted fragrant herbs in the spot where the zucchini attracted a million squash bugs last year. I plan to buy the squash and cook them with fresh herbs as long as the bunnies stay away. So even after I put my number on the Do Not Call list, I’m still constantly fighting pests.

Karen

The PESTS I fight in the city are mostly the human variety.  Besides the scourge of uniform clad, ticket totting netter maids, the second worst PESTS in the city are what I like to call the grocery stalkers. I’m sure in the country you might have your own version, but here in LA with endless organizations and causes to promote and raise money for I feel like I need body armor to even think about entering the grocery store. Sometimes the entrance is almost totally blocked by tables covered with petitions and food drives and the people who stand guard waiting to pounce on you. And don’t get me started about when it’s election time. I’ve even resorted to doing drive by’s before I pick which grocery store is safe to shop at. The people hustling green petitions should be horrified that they are actually forcing me to increase my carbon footprint. What happened to the days when all you had to worry about was the Girl Scouts and the ten pounds you’re going to gain from buying way too many boxes of cookies from the cute girl with braids?   

Pet

How about the scantily clad car washers barricading the shopping center parking lot? I try to avoid shopping on a Saturday but even though I’m a major food hoarder, sometimes my freezer runs out of an essential item and there I go, getting the car washed whether she needs it or not just to gain entrance to the super market. I’d much rather make a donation to the cheer leaders, or first grade soccer, than plow through the parking lot pests. I’d also like to send some $$$ to that throw away newspaper which gets thrown away on the lawn every weekend. Here’s money for not delivering this pesky addition to the newspaper recycle bin.  How about the kids in your family who sell stuff? You love them so you’ll buy but how much wrapping paper or chocolate bars do two people need? I guess we’d best not get on family pests or we’ll run out of blog space. Maybe I should just stick with the insects as I swat one of those disgusting little moths who try to take over my overstocked pantry with food still zip locked from last year. Boy the subject of pests is a never-ending one!

Karen

That’s for sure. So I’ll close this post out with a story about Pasadena’s most famous PEST, no it’s not our cute and annoying squirrels, it’s a very special seasonal PEST, The Rose Parade Locusts. They start arriving about a week before the parade in large caravans of Winnebago’s and family vehicles.  They begin to stake out their favorite spots up and down the parade route. Going into Old Town turns into a logistical nightmare, dodging people with camping equipment and chairs while you’re trying to get into your favorite restaurant. I have a friend who actually turns the whole thing into a sport as his house in on the parade route. When the parade locusts start staking out spots in front of his house he tells them the city has changed the parade route to two blocks over. He takes great glee in seeing their confused and then panicked faces. Now I don’t condone his bad behavior but I can understand his frustration. You should see the huge mounds of trash the locusts leave in front of his house when they fly off. Nothing worse then a PEST that doesn’t clean up after itself!

Projectitus

Karen's gazebo and the newly painted fountain.  

Pet's sunroom project in progress

Karen

I don’t know about you Pet, but the second the first week of Spring hits I get projectitius. I become a list fiend. With the first holiday of the season a month away I start to make my home improvement lists. Somehow the bright spring light only seems to highlight the deferred maintenance from the winter blues. Here in sunny California, all the flowers are blooming and once again the outdoors calls. That means I better spruce up the lawn furniture and get ready for unannounced neighbors to come over for a little glass of Pinot Noir in the backyard gazebo. The same gazebo that is currently covered in cobwebs and has dirt an inch thick on the floor.

Pet

Gone are the days when you wanted change in the homestead you simply sold the one you have and bought a new one. Feeling lucky to have a house at all, we’re diving into projectitus! Great word, Karen Anne. We usually start with the friendly place, the front porch. The chairs come out of the garage, hopefully don’t need painting, and are set in conversational mode. Big planters border the edge. A few tables for drinks and small planters join them. Frost warnings over, so next come the geraniums highlighted with tumbling petunias. Red geraniums with white petunias?  Or all shades of pink. Whatever the color scheme, the front porch cries for geraniums and petunias.

Karen

I wish my projects were as simple as planting flowers. My main project is restoring my porches. All three of them! Although my house is a new Victorian built in 2003, my porches are from a house built in 1890 that was torn down because of the Northridge earthquake. Due to some shoddy painting by the builder, the hundred plus wood has been splitting and cracking every year. This year chunks started to fall off and I had to bump the porches up to number one on the project list. The back porch is also made from parts of the old Victorian and due to my brilliant idea of wrapping my wisteria vines around the posts the paint has literally been pulled off by the vine. Word of advice, don’t let a pretty vine fool you; they can cause hell when you’re not looking!

Pet

Flowers are great for covering structural sins when one is too lazy to redo whole areas. You, Karen Anne, are the ambitious type who gets to the root of the problem. Yup vines can be uber troublesome. Here in the south we have a vine that resembles a grapevine, called kudzu. The pretty leaves pop out as a first sign of spring. But then the vine grows and grows and grows. By midsummer they envelop all nearby trees, bushes and deserted buildings. Kudzu overgrowths spring up everywhere. The darn things are unkillable. The city of Chattanooga has a unique idea. They hire a herd of hungry goats who are able to eat kudzu as fast as it grows and at least keep the vines off of the highway. Idea: How about acquiring a herd of goats to trim back your wisteria? 

Karen

I think the Pasadena police would have something to say about goats grazing in my yard! Then again the neighbors kids would think I hired a petting zoo. : ) Planting vines sure is tempting but sometimes you just have to break down and do good old manual labor mainly to keep guests from falling through the floorboards. : ) Of course my city friends think I’m crazy to work on the porches myself. But I have the skills and no one will give them the attention that I will lavish on them. I have to admit I sure would rather be doing something fun like decorating my front parlor. But ask anyone who has an old wood porch, and they’ll tell you, porches are always begging for attention just like kids. Lol

Pet

At our modern house the back porch was actually a deck. The view was great, the furniture comfy, location totally convenient connecting the breakfast nook with the backyard and the bordering wild life habitat. The big problem was the deck faced west, bringing cool mornings and sweltering afternoons. So the front porch was, and is, where we sit. Temps great out front, but instead of communing with nature, we watch the neighbors and wave at the cars speeding by. Ah, but that view of the yard and the wildlife culminating in the ever changing landscape of the Holsteins grazing on the ridge was simply to good to waste. So, Madam Devoted Decorator, tell me what project we should have undergone, and then I’ll tell you what we did.

Karen

Sounds like your deck needs a roof! How about putting up a gazebo? Worked wonders for my backyard problem area. We have a nice brick patio behind the garage that we never used till last year. The reason? We have a 100-year-old scrub oak tree that sheds it’s leaves year round. These aren’t just any old leaves; no, they have razor edges and sharp spines. You can imagine how much fun it was to hang out under it's very large and deadly canopy. Not! The solution came to me one day, a gazebo!!!! It’s been like heaven ever since. We are shielded from the killer tree and the gazebo almost feels like a tree house snuggled under the large tree branches. My neighbors love it and that’s where everyone wants to hang out in the summer. Turned a dead space into a popular hangout. Get yourself a gazebo!

Pet

A gazebo sounds great and I love the way they look. I picture a gazebo at one end and a hot tub at the other. A door from the master bedroom/bath leads on to the porch/deck. Woops, I mean ex deck. What we did was construct a sunroom on top of the deck, gorgeous sunny spot, and safe from the elements. We have a great time during all seasons checking out the wildlife, mostly deer, turkeys and bunnies, but every bird imaginable.  The Holsteins graze on the hillside, rain, shine and below zero. When guests come for dinner they fight over the table in the sunroom. Not a simple solution, but it worked for us! What fun if we can manage to look out at a gazebo.

Uh oh…I feel an attack of projectitus coming on.

Karen

: ) Tis the season! I just finished a side project not even on my list. But the idea has been floating around in my head. I managed to finally score a great deal on a fountain for the backyard by the gazebo. There is a small wall mounted fountain on the back of the garage but it hardly makes a sound. Not the nice splashy ambiance I was hoping for. So I found a nice medium sized fountain high off the ground (we have raccoons) only problem was it was a horrible cream-colored fake stone. No problem for a decorating maven like me. They make wonderful fake stone spray paints so I found a nice dark granite color that matches my green and black theme.  Always have to have a theme. Lol Now that the fountain is painted, it looks like a one that would cost twice as much. The neighbors are going to be thrilled by the new ambiance while they down their mojitos!    

Pet

Fountains are nice but how about a whole pond spanned by a scenic bridge and some bright colored fish splashing below? One of our relatives built such an outdoor delight and if we can lure him down to our place, we’ll beg, bribe or threaten him until he builds a water place for us. We even have a water supply, a babbling brook hidden in the trees. The birds would love this addition. If only I were as ambitious as you! I’d be out there right now digging away. Actually we’d lure a farm neighbor with a back hoe to dig the hole soon to become the scenic fishpond. We have the acreage, now we need to catch Karen Anne’s ambition. Maybe if we promised relatives and neighbors unlimited mojitos, they’d grab a shovel and dig in. For the tee-totalers, we’d whip up unlimited supplies of those California death by chocolate brownies. Shamefacedly I must admit…to us projectitus is like a case of the flu. We lay low until the urge goes away!

Karen

Maybe I need a twelve-step program to cure me of projectitus. Instead I’ll be heading out to work on my porches. They are my major project for the year so I’ll be thrilled to get the worst off my list. Wish I felt a case of the flu coming on. : )

Happy Projectitus Everyone! 

(until they find a cure)

Spring Can’t Get Here Fast Enough

We aren't the only ones with the winter blues

Pet's brother took this picture in London!

Yes Karen it's true, it does snow on palm trees!

Pet

This certainly has been a rough winter. Seems like the ice and snow will never quit. And the cold. Bitter, biting, blustery cold. Must we break records every day? And do they have to be, the coldest, the most snow, thousands of power outages caused by ice and other weather disasters? We snowbirds, stuck for the winter in balmy Florida, really sympathize with our friends and family up north as we watch them struggle on the weather channel in our shorts and T-shirts. Okay, so some days we have to top off our shorts with a sweat shirt, and even go unstylish and wear socks with our sandals, but even then the southern sun shines blindingly in a cloudless sky. Not a snowflake in sight. Lolling in the southland is great way to chase the midwinter blues.

Karen

Although we in Southern California have had one of the warmest January’s on record we’ve also had some of the coldest nights. Storms as far away as Alaska bombarded us though usually they never make it this far south. So I would say it’s been a miserable winter here too. I mean just when we’re ready to break out the bikini and hit the beach again we get anther rainy cold snap. But hey I’m not complaining, well kind of. : ) But what is worth complaining about is the way native LA people drive in the rain. I swear it’s like they’ve never seen water fall from the sky before. They have to slow down and stare to make sure the downpour is real. One thing you can spot right away are the transplants like me. We see rain and drive just like usual on the freeways, 70 or faster!   

Pet

Do you notice how many movies in LA feature rain? The Hollywood folks get their cameras out at the first drop. I remember one of our early visits to S. California. The theme parks were closed because of the storm. So even golden state residents need a “snow day.” Not like our daughter in ice stricken Kentucky who has ten days off from school waiting on the electricity to go back on, but a weather related holiday anyway. Here in Florida there’s plenty of weather fun during the hurricane season so they don’t react to rain storms. Matter of fact, they love rain around here. We’re close to the forest fire area of last year. Dry foliage from the recent freeze makes efficient tinder. By the way, did I tell you we have cattle around here? Kind of opposite from the boonies back home. Here I counted 500 cows and 5,000 little houses. Back home reverse the figures.

Karen 

Seems you find cows wherever you go. I’m sure they know you don’t take it personally. :) Great idea about “snow day” but in LA I think they should call them “rain days.”  They actually would save lives. But these days we are grateful for every drop as we head into our third year of drought. Still, as I check the forecast and see one series of storms after the other I have to admit I long for the typical sunny California weather. I can see why my native California friend who moved to Oregon needed a doctor after the first year. When you’re not used to dark and gloomy days it really does make you stir crazy. She had to get a prescription for a special lamp to ease her depression. I’m sure the people in Kentucky and Back East could really use a light prescription too. And they’d love the side benefit of a great tan! 

Pet 

The winter sun is a welcome sight. As soon as the clouds disappear the days rapidly heat. Lately the blustery breezes keep the beaches deserted so we don’t see too many tourist type suntans. You know, the ones you want to say ouch to. Red and peeling instead of bronze and beautiful. When I went south in the winter I’d really concentrate on a tan. Mr. Sun kissed my Mediterranean hide with color George Hamilton would envy. Then every year the same thing happened. As soon as I stepped on the plane north, the tan faded and when we landed, all evidence of the southern sojourn disappeared. I stopped sun bathing when bombarded by hazard reports. Like most alarming health warnings sun avoidance comes with negatives since the word on the street is women get osteoporosis because those spf 50 lotions deprive their bodies of Vitamin D, essential to keep bones strong. Don’t know who to listen to re what’s good or bad for you I say, defiantly munching on a chocolate covered peanut butter cookie. 

Karen

LOL Pet! I say anything chocolate would chase the winter blues away. As I look at the forecast and see another string of storms headed our way for most of the following week I quickly hit the grocery store and stock up on all the things I need to make my favorite chocolate treats. Nothing like gloomy weather to bring out the baker in me. Somehow that fact that it’s pouring rain outside is masked by the wonderful aroma of brownies baking in the oven. It’s also the perfect excuse to get a chocolate high. I don’t feel guilty at all indulging in a frosted fudge brownie with chocolate chips and washing it down with a big mug of hot cocoa with whip cream on top. Who cares that you can’t go outside when you are bouncing off the walls!!!! 

Pet   

Seems like when the weather worsens in the west, we warm up in the east. Especially the southeast!  That doesn’t mean we’ll stop eating so we look great in our bikinis. Us eat-a-holics just switch the treats. We cool off those brownies (recipe, dahling?) and plop a huge dollop of vanilla ice cream on top. Or better yet caramel cheesecake ice cream. Instead of hot chocolate we haunt the convenience stores for grape slurpies. Need a protein fix? Hot dog stands spring up along with the Orange blossoms. All those goodies are on top of three squares a day. Yeah, the sun might be blazing, the temperatures rising, and days getting longer but we still have to fight the winter blues. Hopefully the food police will forgive us indulging since the diet starts in six weeks on the first day of spring. As for now…please, please, please give us that double chocolate chunk brownie recipe before we sign off. 

Karen 

Once again you ask me to divulge what to me is like a state secret, my favorite brownie recipe. But I’ll do for our blog fans that are buried in ice and snow. These are guaranteed to make you think it’s Spring!

Frosted Fudge Brownies with Dark Chocolate Chips 

2 cups sugar

8 oz. butter (2 sticks)

4 egg yolks, slightly beaten

4 oz. (4 squares) unsweetened baking chocolate

1 cup sifted flour

1 teaspoon vanilla (preferably Tahitian)

4 egg whites, beaten until stiff peaks form

½ bag of Ghirardelli’s 60% Cocoa Chocolate Chips 

Directions 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

Put sugar in mixing bowl. Melt chocolate and butter together over low heat, stir until well blended and smooth. 

Add sugar; mix well. Add beaten egg yolks; mix well. Add flour and vanilla; mix well. Fold in beaten egg whites. Gently fold in chocolate chips. 

Spread in a 10x15x1-inch greased and floured jelly roll pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. When cool, spread on chocolate brownie frosting.

Chocolate Brownie Frosting 

1 stick butter (4 oz.)

2 squares unsweetened chocolate

1 box confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

5 tablespoons milk

Melt butter and chocolate over low heat; stir until smooth then add confectioners' sugar. Heat milk until hot; add to chocolate mixture. Add vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread over brownies and enjoy! 

(Consume with caution. Mass quantities are for heavy-duty chocoholics only. Not for the faint of heart : )