Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

What the Beck???

Knitting at the Library

 I recently finished two blankets called "Dapper."
The directions were in a fabulous book called
Precious Layettes to Knit by Leisure Arts.
The book includes a sweater, blanket, baby hat 
and booties in each of the patterns.

 There are four patterns in the book,
and I decided to create two blankets
of all four patterns. What am I going to
do with them???  That is the question.

I loved the colors of the first two.
I think they are beautiful and not
what you would see in every shop. 

Close-up!!!

Being a part of the library knitting
group helps me be very productive.
The best part of being involved
are the amazing women who have
always made be feel wanted.

Monday, July 17, 2017

Monday, July 17, 2017

What the Beck???

Another goal achieved!

(Most of you who know me well,

know that I am driven to accomplish all

of the goals that I set for myself.)

It is harder to accomplish these major

property goals that I thought, yet I have

knocked several off of my list in the four

months that I have lived in Kentucky).

After the pool was taken out, the unsightly thing left 

was the mound of dirt that was dug out to put the pool 

in the ground. Weeds had taken over it and I wanted it put 

back in the empty pool area.

 I hired a man with a skid steer to clean up the pool 

area (see above), and begin hauling the dirt into the 

hole in the ground.

 This is one cute, little, powerful machine.

 Yeah - it's almost gone.

 The girls watched the entire process.

 It was done and smoothed out perfectly.

Unfortunately, he ran over both septic tanks,

but hopefully no damage was done.  Only

time will tell if they are damaged.

He used the skid steer to haul over the bag of seed, his spreader, and the hay to protect the seeded area from the elements. 

 I now water the area every day, and pray that the seed grows.

This is much better than a weed infested mound,
and a large hole in the ground.

Saturday, July 15, 2017

Saturday, June 15, 2017

What the Beck???

Recipe Review

Today’s Recipe and Location: Cheese Straws

Found in: The Pioneer Woman blog

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/cheese-straws-3560808

I figured out that there are 97 calories, if 24 half servings are made. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)

At first these were a disaster because I undercooked the first ones and tried to reapply the cheese that had fallen off. The last ones were good and a hit at the Barnett home. The trick was to cook them longer so they are crisp, and not reapply any cheese that falls off. I liked the spicy kick that they had in them.

These are the ingredients that I used to create this recipe. 

 I began by covering my baking pan with parchment 
paper. This is so important as it keeps the pans unstained 
and easy to clean.

 I rolled out two sheets because I doubled the recipe.

I absolutely love my green brush. I applied
the butter over the entire surface of the pastry. 

 The Cheddar was then measured and sprinkled over the butter.

The cayenne was sprinkled over the Cheddar cheese. 

I love Parmesan which was the next 
ingredient added to the recipe. 

I used my rolling pin to adhere the cheeses to the pastry. 

 A pizza cutter is a wonderful way to slice pastry.

When they were ready to bake, I 
applied the egg wash to each straw,

and then sprinkled on the final Parmesan. 

 In the oven they went.

 As you can see, these were the undercooked ones that 
were soft and pliable instead of crisp and crunchy. These 
hit the garbage can, but the next batch were perfect.

The goal was puffy and crispy.  Another oven
lesson learned.  I want to cook with gas!!!!

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

What the Beck???

I need a day off!  

Take one for yourself!!

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Saturday, July 8, 2017

What the Beck???

Animal Sitting
I loved every minute!

Farm Cats are an interesting group. They were so happy 

when I arrived, because it didn't take them long to figure 

out my purpose was to feed each and every one of them.  

Of course, they are feral so there is no cuddling or petting

just a lot of hissing and backing away, at least until

I set the bowl down.

Another problem with feral cats is how quickly they are multiplying. Denise is getting concerned about the 

sheer number of them. Being feral, they are almost 

impossible to catch to spay or neuter. I do love that 

they keep the mice away. They are very active at night. 

I have awakened to find several on the porch or roaming 

around the outside of the buildings. I am happy to 
have them lower the rodent population in the area.

The horses also became used to my routine visits. I 

was walking back by the barns when I spotted "Mister" 

peering at me between the buildings.  He must have 

cantered into the barn, because he was already in the barn 

and next to the door that I had to enter to feed them.

Snow is so sweet and gentle. She is quite a lovely lady. 

She is always polite and never uses her body to get around 

me or beat me into the stall, unlike "Mister" who tries to 

race me there.

Zeus is such a beautiful dog. He can be a fierce guard 

dog if someone unknown is coming onto their property. 

I had to feed him on the front porch, because Liza would 

eat anything he didn't finish.

One of the quirky things that Zeus does is eat his dinner 

lying down. He ate well when I stayed with him, but if 

I decided to go back home early, he would stop and 

"see me out." I never knew if he went back and finished 

his dinner or if Liza would sneak up and eat the leavings.

He really does enjoy eating.

Liza loves to eat. I would feed the cats first and then 

put a scoop into her bowl. After that, I would race 

to the front porch to feed Zeus.

Zeus always watched me walk home. Emily has a 

fabulous dog. I do pay attention when he barks at 

something, because that way he is sorta guarding 

my house, too.

Homeward bound!

A big THANK YOU to the entire Barnett

family for allowing me to help out with their

animals. I had such a great time and would be

happy to "animal sit" again.

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Thursday, July 6, 2017

What the Beck???

Recipe Review

Today’s Recipe and Location: Sweet Spicy Smoky Roasted Almonds

Found in: The Pioneer Woman blog

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/sweet-spicy-smokey-roasted-almonds-3186477

I figured out that there are 433 calories, if 20 (½ cup) servings are made. (Please note that the calorie counts vary depending on the specific brands of ingredients that you choose to use.)

         This one was a big hit with many people. I shared this creation with Denise Barnett and daughters, and some of the library staff, and a few others.  These almonds are full of flavor and just plain addictive.

         I did learn from my last attempt at cooking in the electric oven. Ree said to stir the almonds halfway through, but I was fearful of another burnt dish, so I stirred it every five minutes (nothing like overdoing it).  I had to cook them a few minutes longer, but it was worthwhile.

These are the ingredients that I use to create this recipe.

Before I began mixing the ingredients, I browned the 
bacon, and set it aside to use after the almonds were 
baked. Of course, I forgot to take any pictures of 
the beginning steps.  Good Lord I am a mess today!

Here are the almonds after they have been in the oven.

Once they are baked, the bacon is 
added and stirred together.
Done and done!


OMG - Snakes again - but
this time it is in MY YARD!

I think this is a long garter snakes.
What if I am wrong???

Denise - HELP
Is this a baby cow snake??

It was so darn long that I tried to throw it over the fence 
using a broom handle - but it didn't work.
I basically convinced it to go through the fence.
My heart was going a mile a minute, but
I was determined to get it away from my dogs.

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

What the Beck???

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!

Thank Heavens that I live in the country and do not have to deal with fireworks. They began the other day, but are soooooo far away that the dogs are not terrified out of their minds. Have a great day everyone. 

A Happy Birthday to Sage who turned 9 years old.

Bucket List Update

Academy Award Nominated Movies

2000     Chocolat

starring: Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Alfred Molina, Lena Olin, Johnny                Depp, Carie-Anne Moss

plot –   Vianne and her daughter journey to a small French town and                open a little chocolate shop. The mayor of the town takes                an instant dislike to her and begins a campaign to get rid                of her and the shop. The biggest problem is that she                    does not attend the local church and has opened her             store at the beginning of Lent when no one should be                    partaking of chocolates.

Juliette Binoche is fabulous in the role of Vianne Rocher. This is a wonderful story that makes you wonder why the only thing they could give up for Lent was chocolate. Yes it is hard to give up sweets, but there are other choices – unless you are locked into the tradition.

1973     The Exorcist

starring:  Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow,  Lee J. Cobb, Jason Miller,                     Linda Blair...

plot –    A horror film in which Ellen Burstyn plays the mother of a                   child, Linda Blair, who changes from a sweet, happy                     child to a demon. A priest gets involved in performing                   an exorcism to rid the child of her demon. 

This was an awful movie. I may never get the child’s eyes out of my brain. It was quite disgusting to me, but I know there are many people who love to be scared. 

2006     Babel

starring: Brad Pitt, Kate Blanchett, Mohamed Akhzam, Peter Wight,                   Harriet Walter…

plot –   Parents Pitt and Blanchett are in the desert in Morocco where                 she is accidentally shot. The lives of four different groups               of people are touched by this foolish act.

This was a really good movie. After seeing the countryside in Morocco, I know that it is a country that I am not interested in visiting. This storyline was well done and the acting was outstanding.

1943     The Ox-Bow Incident

starring:  Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Mary Beth Hughes, Anthony                     Quinn, Harry Morgan, William Eythe...

plot –    Two cowboys, Fonda and Morgan, ride into a Nevada town.                   The town has been dealing with cattle rustling, and the                   two men are suspects. Later, a posse is formed to search                 for other possible thieves. Three men are caught and the                 posse is blood-thirsty. The group is divided as to             hanging them or not.

This was a great old western!  I loved the dilemma the posse struggled with in dealing with the men captured. Fonda and Morgan were wonderful. It was great to see them when they were so young.

1988     Mississippi Burning

starring: Gene Hackman, Willam DaFoe, Francis McDormand, Brad                     Dourif, R. Lee Dermey, Gailard Sartain, Stephen                           Tobolowsky, Michael Rooker

plot –   The FBI has sent in agents to locate three men who were                     working as Civil Rights Activists in Mississippi. The                     investigators send for a large numbers of additional men               when the city becomes violent with the dishonest lawmen            and KKK involved in attacks on the black members of the               town.

This was a fabulous movie that shows the violence and distrust in the South during the Civil Rights movement. Hackman and DaFoe were very believable as FBI agents.  The movie raised so many feelings.