MrsFoley has done flew de coop

she has a little page at jottit :

http://misstickle.jottit.com/

do you forget how to swim ?

~~~~~~~~~~

we dont remember when we swam last

it will come in the the night / smile

when we lived in Vermont our mother came to visit / it was summertime / we decided to swim in paul and phoebe's pond


our mother put on an esther williams two piece number that we had on hand / it was white rubberized satin and the bra part had straps positioned to to fit around the neck forming a sweetheart neckline / the bottom part had a "chastity panel" but mom put the bottom on backwards so the skirt was across her bum

she spashed into the water like a girl / just like when we went to the beach when we were growing up / she loved to splash her arms and laugh at the water / she moved out further into the pretty pond splashing and laughing and soon she realized she was in over her head / she squealed in fear yet spun in the water and splashed all the way back to the grassy edge

gee whiz / we thought she could swim !

she said she could !

http://welcome-to-pottersville.blogspot.com/

http://welcome-to-pottersville.blogspot.com/

this is a blog i read everyday by a man who calls himself jurassicpork

he writes the kind of rant worthy of Gilliard or Horse

he is a lawbreaker too / my favorite kind / when the New York Times put the columnists we like the best behind a subscription wall JP published them on his blog / took some criticism for it / threats

some of us came to read krugman and stayed for jurassicpork

catch him soon / he plans to post more sporadically for a spell (check) smile

no kidding check out jurassicpork at Welcome to Pottersville

hooda thunkit

that thirty years ago i walked the red rebel horse, Valencia, off the mountain and down through the valley / 21 miles / to get ready to be a grandma

that was Moab, Utah 1977

today we are canning tomatoes from the grandson's garden and we will make cucumber soup with cucumbers from his garden

roast some peppers

listening to Al Green Full of Fire / the first music the grandkid ever heard two days old

we danced in the kitchen

indeed

some say ..........

mantras

QUM


heh

in the morning

we thank the grace
of the universe that we
have survived ourselves


QUM

during happy hour we thank god


smile

do you ever feel a tickle

~~~~

do you ever feel a tickle
under your big toe nail

?

(the big toe is connected to your brain eyes ears
(actually connected to every part of you)

the tickle is a twinkle a tickle on the toe
in the mind is a twinkle in the eye

this is the best time of my life ~~~

~~~

MrsFoley declared

i hope i dont fuck it up by dying too soon

(isay! i didnt know i was gonna get arm bags

_)__-_)

ah another day successfully traversed

achievment noted ?

sure, why not

Stability with Flair

(the sanity of serenity
the serenity of sanity)

oh say that sounds like the sweet sorrow of Nirvana

serve with Rummed Cuplets

and Sparkling gum drops

furthermore

when in a quandry
do the laundry

suggestion

when in the mind
all is think
pull the plug
and drain the sink

specialists

we
Skaterina
Caterina Cacciatore
MrsFoley
and
Miss Tickle

are specialists in doing what we arent going to do

~~~~~so there~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

phases dont faze me

if menopause is the pause that refreshes

then the seventease require some refreshments

smart water, please !

when in doubt push courage button

that's my advice

pay attention

make sure you have the right button

the panic button is hiding behind the worry wart



(free advice)

good for nothing

it's good to do nothing

someone has to do it

else nothing would ever get done

going to Rome

the ideal trip is a fantasy

one day when i wake up / it will be the day

the home base will be neat and tidy

appropriate clothes are ready

shoes too

it is a good hair day

i will travel light

i will get in the car and drive to the airport which is 250 miles away

during this drive i will maybe change my mind

if i dont change my mind i will go to the airport and book the next flight to the east / to an airport where i can get another flight to Rome, Italy

i yearn to see my old neighborhood

just for a few days

today is drastic

YYYYYYY

today is drastic
zen monastic
and how does
your garden grow ?

(ancient improvaho refrain)

although we do not refrain from taking drastic measures in the garden

to wit :

pulling all but the volunteer tomato plants

this is assuredly NOT the year of the tomato

it is the year of the cucumber

excess cucumber recipeez to follow

it's the littlest things that count

!!!!!!!!

brushing the inside of the coddle cup with ghee instead of butter eliminates the hard rim produced by the milk solids and makes the coddled egg every so much more appetizing

August 6, 2001

this is the day six years ago that President Bush was informed through his Presidential Daily Brief that Osama Bin Laden intended to attack the United States within our borders using planes

President Bush allegedly told the CIA staffer who saw him in person that it was Okay / You have covered your ass

and President Bush continued his vacation activities of clearing brush and fishing in his well stocked pond

what Coco Chanel said

~~~~~~~who ?

Coco Chanel, the legenday French clothing,
jewelry,perfume and everything fashionable

designer

she said when you are all dressed to Go Out / stop / remove one item from your ensemble

oh okay / she wants you to not Over Do / gild the lily, so to speak

Mrs Foley says : when you are about to say One More Thing ~~~~~~ Dont~~~~~~

save it for later

smile

in the bliss zone ~~~~

~~~~~~

there are no doubts
nor if ands or buts "

all the lists are short
and can be done

in one day

smile

doesnt gin and mineral water make you smart ?

doesnt gin and mineral water have electrolytes ?

ah ha / i feel brainier already

i have an album of 20 cassettes of 60 old radio programs !

this is from the library / the best small town library in America

i love radio ! different from audio books bc they are dramatized and
they have the most wonderful Sound Effects !

plus the commercials / just now i listened to an episode of Let's
Pretend (saturday mornings when i was growing up) sponsored by Cream
of Wheat (so good to eat that we eat it everyday)

Cream of Wheat was on my iron rich diet

Summertime Never Ending Soup Iron Rich

extra nutritious for those triple digit temperatures and No Rain in Sight for a Long Time

no fat except for whatever amount of butter you use / no sugar either / plenty fiber and vitamins and minerals*

1 quart meat bone stock (rather a jellied broth)
celery onion and finocchio and garlic roughly chopped in the food processor
saute in butter/olive oil until lightly carmelized

add the broth and simmer until incorporated / the vegetables need not be completely cooked through

slice and cook in a little butter a blue plastic box of white mushrooms / when some of these are browning put them in the broth / keep out some whole slices for chewing interest if you wish

after a bit of cooking and cooling blend the soup until creamy / then add the slices of mushrooms reserved / season as you like / salt and pepper / any fresh herbs / maybe a splurp of cream just before serving

okay that was day one

day two :

we are lightly steaming the baby/toddler spinach thinnings / just nip the roots and leave the tender stems / put in blender with some half and half or milk or even broth / whir it up and add to the mushroom soup base

save some soup for day 3 :

add fresh corn kernels just off a barely cooked cob

(not sure about the compatibility of mushrooms and corn ? see how they grow ? corn in stretched out acres in blazing sun / mushrooms in dimdarkshadydampplaces / they both like to grow and live with others just like them)

okay time for some electrolyte water


*weight watchers No points for the vegetables and No points for the broth / points for whatever butter and cream you use

ps for even more iron richness put a couple of tablespoons Amaranth grains / they have to cook for 20 minutes

macaroni morbidi

this is how we feel today
like overcooked noodles

limp

without zip zap vim or vigor

on the other hand we made pesto genovese

we made the chunky version

we had some with crisp toasted focaccia

and the first BIG ripe tomato from the garden

it is the first of the Pruden's Purple / she is big as a Big Beef which we also have / Miss P Purple is a lovely coral colour with faint golden streaks

she is purple in the same way that a purple finch is purple

meaning not really "purple" / more of a coral colour

yes yes, we have seen such a thing with our very own eyes

baked pancake craze Act 2

butter lavishly mini muffin pans / preheat oven to 400 degrees

heat the muffin pan while you make the batter

2 eggs / pinch of salt or other seasonings if you wish / 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup milk / mix lightly / it can be lumpy

now also have ready some kind of filling / at the moment i am wanting finely chopped raw vegetables like zucchini and red pepper and corn kernels fresh off the cob and some sweet onion and a green herb or two / maybe some basil and some chives

so when the oven is hot and the muffin tin is hot and the butter in it is sizzling put some of the batter in each one and then add a spoon ful of the filling

an alternate plan is to bake the batter first / it will puff up / put the filling in after it is baked and puffed up into a cup like item

let/s see mini muffin pans should take maybe 12 minutes ?

OR

the small crockery pie pans cd be used for a larger serving

heading to the kitchen now / will check back soon

secret to serenity

short lists

all in do time

smile

in-put itis

in-put itis

what is in-put itis ?

attempting to absorb an overload of free advice

becoming saturated with pointless opinions and thoughtless well meaning intentions

bogged down by irrelevant suggestions

stuffed with concern

burdened with blabber

oh i cd go on

but i am suffering from Too Much Unwanted InPut

so there

do not disturb

while i introduce a moratorium

meanwhile put your in-put out to lunch

it is 108 degrees today

in beautiful downtown Moab

it is 108 degrees of temperature // HOT

~~~~~~

in keeping with jaded synch

plumbing concerns require turning OFF the water

ooops / pipes break / how ever will we water the garden ? the corn is beginning to tassle !!

dont no dont

definitely dont
say what you r
Not

definitely not
and
a dont not

says naught

Seduced and Abandoned

we were so thrilled to meet you

we loved you at first sight

we came to see you every day

we wrote you with enthusiasm and great expectations

we admired and adored everything you said

no matter how inane, banal, or incoherent

we hung in there as best we could being flighty and all

we drifted apart

we neglected you

we were sporadic

inconsistent

silly

and so on

but

We.Are.Back

to seduce you all over again

but this time we will be ........

make more promises ?

blog revival

one day i thought, hmmm, a blog spot is a new spot to write on / like a new notebook that you didnt already have one of

or

like a yellow legal pad / a Big Chief tablet / a composition book with wide lines / a composition book with narrow lines / a surveyors book with quadrangles / a thick block of newsprint / a kids’ tablet for learning how to write

a different canvas / a different kind of paper / calling for a different intstrument / instead of a pen or a pencil or a crayon or a pastel or a brush / a whole new venue for a Scribble Series

with keyboard and mouse

the blog wanders / wonders

links will not work / pictures will not appear / there will be no about me profile / no comments / no clamoring for hordes of readers

to share the address is like having stuff laid out on my work table at happy trail where visitors came and went / looked to see what i was working on / work in process / work in progress

there is no there there / it just is it / smile

update on the baked pancake

8888888888

yes, you can use whole wheat flour in place of unbleached white

whole wheat flour often requires a little most liquid so caterina used a really BIG EGG

this was successful / she folded the pancake when cooked over butter limped vidalia onions and some Mexican fresca cheese and some tomato/garlic jam

yum

half whole wheat flour and half unbleached white flour also works

and now we will give the baked pancake a rest

you cant unring the bell

mmmmmmmmmm

you cant unring the bell

but you dont have to listen to it clang


mmmmmmmmmm

thought for the day

Caterina's infatuation with the baked pancake

:..:..:..:

see the baked pancake is sorta like a crepe and sorta like an omelet

like a crepe because you can fill it with something either sweet or savory

like an omelet because it has a distinct "egginess"

she thinks the baked pancake batter can also be baked in muffin tins or popover tins and come out like another shape to fill or even be Yorkshire Puddings !

Caterina had this for breakfast this morning :

preheat the oven to 425'

use an 8" iron frying pan with an oven proof handle / put a fat TB of butter in the pan

lightly beat an egg and add 1/4 cup flower and 1/4 cup milk to the egg / add a pinch of salt

mix the egg, milk, and flour, but leave it a little lumpy

when the oven reaches 425' heat the butter real quick in the pan until golden or even a little brown if you like it that way

immediately pour the egg mix into the pan / it should sizzle / and place right away in the hot oven for 15 minutes

it will puff up and look delicious

take it out of the pan and onto a plate / put a lot of strawberries on it that have been sliced and limed and sugared a little / fold it over

this is enough for one or two persons

double the recipe and use a 12" pan for 2-4 persons

^^^^^^^^^

sometimes Caterina fills the pancake with steamed spinach and cheese which should be hot

if you like it that way

fava beans

we love fava beans / they are the earliest spring beans and we ate them when we lived in Rome served Roman style :

picked young and steamed in the pods with garlic and herbs and olive oil in the steam water

delivered to your table cosi / the diner opens the pods and pops out the beanie morsels / they are spring green and tender and taste like no other bean

today we will dine on fava beans and homemade focaccia in the style of Caterina Cacciatore :

the pods have been steamed and the beans have had their tough outer skin removed*

Caterina will gently mash them with some fruity olive oil and salt and pepper and then we will pile them on rosemary/garlic focaccia still warm from the oven

possibly with a sprinkle of crisp bacon in lieu of pancetta

or maybe no bacon since MissTickle is in charge of our Heart Healthy diet


*if we grew our own fava beans which we promise to do for next year we would be able to pick them young and tender ! too !

every year Skaterina learns more about how the automatic watering system works

~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~?~

she knows where the sprinkler heads are in the first three zones

she remembers where the ones are that go missing like hiding under piles of dirt and pebbles at the edge of the carport and the one that is swallowed up by thick grasses plus buried in the dirt that came out of the hole for MissMPeach

she knows how to set the programs on the black box next to the electrical box / she knows how to set the time for each zone and when to start the program and how long each should run

this year she learned how to adjust the sprinkler heads herself instead of whining about it to anyone who will not adjust them for her

the key element she found is the just the right screw driver and a toothbrush to clean out the screw groove

turns out the just right screw driver is the one that goes with her sewing machine / the little old Elna named Sunshine

therefore the scrrew driver must be watched like a hawk it does not disappear into the parallel universe in which we spend a great deal of time

####

braised leeks au gratin for dinner

The Doldrums

! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ !

the doldrums dont last forever

! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ !

the best part of the day ....

....

the best part of the day for Skaterina is waking up at 5 am
having a cappuccino made of freshly ground espresso beans with hot milk and a dash of cream
checking the news and email on the power book
going for a walk with the dogs / Dought and Dot / on current favorite : the trail through the woods that goes cross town

the best part of the day for MissTickle is laying down on the quilty mat for her abdominal scan as preparation for the Five Tibetans
she scans her abdomen and decides what she would like to eat to today that is nutritious and balanced and highfiber and heart heatlhy

(she describes the desired menu to Caterina

the best part of the day for Caterina is fulfiliing MissTickle's menu plan and adding her own fillips or fill ups

heh (for example she is deeply engaged in a chocolate baking binge)

the best part of the day for MrsFoley is the Sparkling Ginlet time of day

**************get the Bombay gin out of the freezer / put five or six ice cubes in a glass big enough to hold them with plenty of room for a capfull (that's a cap off the Bombay gin bottle, not a CUP full) of gin and then fill the glass with well iced Gerolsteiner sparkling mineral water and add the freshly squeezed juice of one half lemon or lime / a dash of Stevia to lightly sweeten*********

no fat, not sugar

refreshingly curious

Living on the Mesa was like being at Sea

? ? ? ? ? ? ?

living on the mesa was like being at sea :

unlimited vision in all directions

a long way away

but being at sea was on a freighter / there was a captain of the ship / a crew / a few other passengers so life at sea was not like life on the mesa

still, life on the mesa was like being at sea

and life on the mesa was a curious kind of "still life"

and somehow we are still alive

inspite of everything

we have survived ourselves

the thing with the secret ingredient is ......

.....................

the secret ingredient determines whether we will watch Iron Chef or not

Skaterina sez she knows she is changing...

....................

she know longer cares what the secret ingredient is

Red Soup, Green Soup

we love tomato soup / we love campbells tomato soup / with a can of milk added to it

Caterina sed we have to eat up last year's crop of canned tomatoes

she made a soup that was just like cambells before you add the milk / you know, kind of thick and gorpy ?

we humored her and ate some *thinned* with milk / snore

next day she thinned the tomato gorp with some homemade beef broth and coconut milk !

wow

seasoned with Fire Salt and Black Pepper / cheddar biscuit on the side

what no croutons ?

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

now we are having Green Soup

Caterina chopped some onion some celery some greenparts of scallions and some garlic in the food processor / limped them in butter/olive oil / added a big bunch of spring spinach that had been de-stemmed and run though the processor

add jellied beef broth and simmer until barely done / cool enough to put some but not all in the blender

Miss Tickle picks fresh parsley and cilantro / chopps it up / and it goes into the soup pot

this is a very green soup / warm it up and serve with a handfull of Mexican fresca cheese cubes

divinely green with bits of spring leafiness / chunk of focaccia slathered with unsalted butter

did i mention the Fire Salt ? yummy hot

Baked Pancake

we had the baked pancake featured the other day in the New York Times for breakie today :

it is fun and easy to make :

preheat oven to 425'

lightly beat an egg, add 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup milk, a dash of salt and a grating of nutmeg

heat an iron frying pan with a heat proof handle with several tablespoons of butter until the butter is melted but not brown / for the amt of ingredients above use a medium size pan

pour the batter into the hot butter and immediately put the pan into the oven

bake for 15 minutes until puffed up and golden

drizzle with lemon juice and confectioners sugar and serve with fruits or jam

but we didnt do that / we steamed a little spinach in butter and chopped up some Mexican Fresca cheese into cubes / put the spinach and cheese on the pancake and back in the over for a few minutes

this was yummy

next time we will put roasted tomato/garlic jam on it

what ernest sed and what carsten did

;;;;;;;;;;;;""""""""""""?????????????^^^^^^^^^^^^^^$$$$$$$$$$%%%%%%%%%%%%

ernest hemingway said Stop when you know what you are going to do next

what carsten did is he wrote a new email for each topic on the thread of the email list we were on

in 1997

spring soup and tomatoes ......... 2007

Skaterina sez she wont grow any tomatoes this year bc we still have too many jars that we canned last fall

she likes to have one canning be eaten up by beginning of new season

just the way she is

she learned herself how to can tomatoes / tomatoes are a big deal / an obssession asitwere

Sooooo , , , , Caterina begins to make every meal with tomatoes from the shelf of 2006 canned tomatoes

she is making a spring soup called Add A Tomato

as we eat the soup she adds another jar of tomatoes

&&&&&&& , , , we will never run out of this soup

here's how :

in food processor rough chop some carrots onions celery garlic / add some sprigs of freshherbs from the window sill over the sink

chop in processor some leftover potatoes (cooked) and a box of white mushrooms

saute in olive oil and butter in a heavy soup pot

add fat pint of rich jellied beef broth and a small jar of lambriblet jelly

simmer a while and then find a pkg of amaranth grains in the ice box / add a good handful to the

soup / simmer for 30 minutes when the amaranth will be done

serve with squirts of fresh lemon juice and seasonings of your choice / salt pepper / et cetera / whatever you like : coriander cardomon cinnamon cayenne or not

after each serving/eating add a jar of tomatoes to the pot / like leftover tomato jam and a small jar of golden tomatoes (the ones shaped like giant strawberries)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

meanwhile Mrs Foley orders six tomato seedlings from where usually get them / six not twelve / whew and now we know how not to have them come too soon

two new varieties we have not had before : Black Krim and Prudens' Purple

that romantic duo : Big Beef and Juliette

and two new cherry tomato varieties we have not had before : Tomatoberry and Sugary snap


@@@@@@@@@ miss tickle will be in charge of being in charge

it took me so long to sign in i forgot what i

ghjkl

was gonna say

shake my head

,/./k/.l'k;l.'k

i shake my head so much i will get parkinsons disease

mrs foley said

see, get the symptom before you get the disease

no title

/Q/Q/Q/Q/Q/Q/

qwerty

i remember you talking about the other keyboard
last year but this child
who writes
won spelling bees
grew up to be a high school student who won writing prizes
learned to type at secretary school
lrnd shthnd
not that one
she learned Gregg which had lots of curli
q's
used this keyboard since
knee high
and is not an old dog anyway
and doesnt want to learn any

new tricks

leastways not on a typewriter
which will become obsolete when the two reams
of paper inherited from past participles
are

Gone

Wall Art

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,..,.,.,..,.,
7777777777777

from the kitchen

Happy Trail Spider Works and Bubble Preserve

chapter two

Dont Ask Questions
Ask Answers

Feng Shui

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.


"The Chinese phrase 'First, luck; second, destiny; third, Feng Shui; fourth, virtues; fifth, education"

is worth repeating, as it shows that to some extent our fortunes and personalities are out of our

hands."

to be continued
but never misconstrued

I Skate

acres of shine
glossy glassy
slick icy sizzzle

wild ice

ups n downs

here comes the six pounds back on the belly

with every wee dram of port / heh

with every cup of tea honeyed and creamed

with every toasted square of focaccia slathered with butter

with every handful of dark chocolate, sugared ginger cubes, roasted peanuts

yeah, babe

on the upswing is oh we do so love starting over and over and over again

thank you, Miss Robey

o

ooooooooooooo

Miss Robey was our homeroom and english teacher when skaterina was a sophomore in high school

that would be 1947-48

she had a wondrously huge nose
a commanding nose
a nose like nose other nose
and she was er um truly homely

but not ugly / there is a difference / dont ask / dont tell

a memorable nose and a memorable teacher / she loved her subject / she relished her subject / when she told about shilish marner (Silas Marner) she kinda slurped through the silas part in juicy kind of way / we all came to appreciate silas marner

she assigned book reports and made us do them / smile

this is what i really thank her for / the book reports / having to get up in front of the class and risk making a fool of yourself / sheesh / it just had to be done

else how wd we get out of ourselves ?

?