If you are wondering where I am, here’s a clue:
Yes, they shape their cheese this way.
This gray-haired grandmother is impressed.
Pie
MorePie
Fourth of July
Banjo Man
Glen the Banjo Man
rhode island american idol finalist
Erika Van Pelt is a local girl. Local, as in just a few miles down the road.
She’s about the same age as my youngest son, Sarge. They would have been in elementary school, junior high and high school together. They would have ridden the same school bus. (I can’t ask Sarge because he is presently in India doing Army stuff.)
I wonder if she was ever at our house. Those years are a blur and I’ve never been good at names.
My daughter thinks they were in gymnastics together. Or was that dance class?
Whatever the connection or non-connection, it’s exciting to have a local gal on American Idol this year. If she makes it to the final three and American Idol films the hometown visits, I’ll be one of those people lining the road and waving a “Go, Erika!!” sign.
Posted in rhode island
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dinner with the harley chick and hot rod russ
I wish I could share the recipe for this vegetable paella. It was really, really good. I’m going to buy the magazine, because so many of the recipes looked so darn delicious. And then I will post the recipe. I’m going to make it this summer, with a skillet full of fresh vegetables from fellow band members’ gardens (because they understand that I don’t like dirt and can’t grow anything).
Harley Chick Karen is a fine cook. She’s always careful to make sure her feathers don’t get in the food.
Seriously, she bought this snazzy headgear while at the Harley rally in Sturgis a few years back. She and Hot Rod Russ rode 5200 miles on their bike that summer. We’re trying to convince them to visit us at the lake.
My oldest son thinks HRR is one of the funniest people he’s ever met. “Steve Martin” funny. Movie star funny. I say “Russ” and my son automatically starts laughing.
Harley Chick is my go-to person for gluten-free, allergy-free cooking advice. We also buy fabric together every year at a Sew Expo. And share a love of country music and cowboy boots and quilts and Keurig coffee makers. We especially love our Keurig coffee makers.
We had fried ice cream for dessert. Have you ever had fried ice cream? It was a first for me. Really good, drizzled with chocolate sauce…and I forgot to take a picture. I was too busy shoveling it in my mouth.
To watch a video on how to make un-fried fried ice cream, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhefwQU_dP4&feature
Posted in food, friends, rhode island
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going gray gracefully
There is no such thing.
Growing out the gray hair after 33 years of dyeing it ten (twenty? thirty?) different shades of brown is a monumental display of ugly.
And no, I will not post pictures. For which you should thank me.
I was tired of dyeing it. I do it myself. Sometimes it looks okay, but most of the time it doesn’t. This is when cowboy hats come in handy.
My hairdresser, Susie Scissorhands, suggested a gradual lightening through monthly highlights. Pricey, but subtle.
Uh, wrong. I have horizontal white stripes, horizontal gray stripes, horizontal light brown stripes and dark brown tips. There is nothing subtle about my hair color right now. I look like a woman who has given up on life. Or has spent the last ten years in prison.
I’d hoped to look like Helen Mirren, not a bag lady.
Thank God I work at home and never go anywhere except Walmart (where most shoppers look like they’ve given up on life) and the library (where they don’t care what you look like as long as your books are returned on time).
This afternoon Susie is going to have another opportunity to make me look presentable. Forget subtle. I want white highlights and a punk cut with lots of gel and maybe a couple of blue streaks.
What would Helen do?
Posted in personal female whining
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three guesses
Why are these women so happy?
A. Someone put tequila in their iced tea.
B. Dementia.
C. They just signed up for Bluegrass Camp.
Posted in lake
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missing montana
It’s that time of year when we pull out the road atlas. I have a bad case of “van fever”, too. Happens every spring. I get over it. But you can’t take the hippie out of the baby boomer that easily, and I long to hit the road in style.
I desperately want to stop here for coffee.
I want to stay in this motel.
I want espresso in Eden.
I want to sell my jeans.
I want to eat here.
“I’ll have a huckleberry lemonade and a hot dog, please.”
I want to climb these mountains.
Posted in road trip
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farmer songs
No bargain-shopping, no groceries, no trip to the dump for Banjo Man last Saturday. No cleaning, baking or laundry for me.
Instead we went to a local farmer’s market to hear some music.
Yep, music. If you look closely at this photo I took with my phone (first ever phone pic!) you will see, standing just to the right of the pole, our very own Jeff playing guitar with his band, “Saddle Up The Chickens”.
We supported the local economy. Banjo Man bought crusty, gorgeous loaves of rye bread and a goat milk hand scrub. I bought a raspberry filled cookie and coconut moisturizer. I wanted to buy Banjo Man a t-shirt with a tractor on it, but they didn’t have his size.
We visited with Angela, smiled at happy babies and watched small children eat fancy cupcakes. Jeff’s band sounded terrific.
Soooooooooo much more fun than the dump.
Posted in food, friends, rhode island
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westminster winner
Did you hear a Pekingese won “Best of Show” at Westminster last week? Everyone on the news had something funny to say about the hairy, waddling little dog, but Banjo Man and I got a little choked up.
We have a soft spot for Pekingese.
Miss Lillie
For several years I volunteered with a regional Pekingese rescue organization, so I worked to pull Pekes from pounds, remove them from homes, find them new ones, do home checks, transport them from one home to another and foster.
My first transport was for a West Virginia Pekingese who, as an unwanted puppymill breeding machine, had been tossed in a snow bank, rescued by a couple walking nearby, nursed in an animal shelter and sent to RI to live with me while she had surgery for inguinal hernias and found a home. She was elderly, one-eyed, dirty, frightened, smelly and obviously in pain when I met her driver in Connecticut on the last leg of her trip. But she was sweet and docile, and so exhausted she fell asleep in the tub while I was giving her a bath.
I called her Miss Lillie, after Lillie Langtry (who came from humble beginnings and ended up in luxury as mistress to the Prince of Wales). The vet thought she was at least 12 years old and wouldn’t live six more months, but after her surgery and ear drops and eye drops and stomach medication and teeth cleanings and extractions, she felt pretty darn perky. As long as she was in the same room with me, that was.
Banjo Man and I went toe-to-toe about adopting her ourselves. I’m pretty sure we both yelled and sulked. But I wasn’t going to put that old blind dog through the stress of adjusting to a new home and Banjo Man–realizing the old girl wasn’t going to live much longer–kindly agreed to treat her to a pampered senior lifestyle for the last months of her life. Aside from her snoring, she was a perfect companion.
She lived for six more years. Blind, deaf and senile at the end, she was always sweet and good-natured and grateful for her RI home. We–and especially Banjo Man–miss her terribly.
Best of Show?? You bet.
Posted in family, rhode island, Uncategorized
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bargain hunters
I introduced my friend Ruth to some of my favorite consignment stores last weekend.
We had a long lunch in a sunny corner of a cafe on the Pawcatuck River and then we hit a place called “Too Good To Be Threw”, where Ruth scored a puppet theatre (complete with puppets) and a scarf.
And I bought more baking pans. Just because they were there. And maybe I’ll have an overwhelming urge to make large heart-shaped cakes next Valentine’s Day. (See the round and rectangular Wilton baking pans? Also consignment store bargains.)
2 heart pans $5.00
We had a darn good time at “Exceptions” and “Again and Again Consignment”, too.
Shabby Chic curtain $6.00
Hand-quilted lap quilt $15.00
Winne the Pooh cake pan $3.00
Pampered Chef pastry maker tools $3.00
Other bargains we found? A new-with-tags Evan Picone suit and a gorgeous skirt (Ruth), a new handbag (Ruth) and a set of mini-funnels (me).
But alas, no cowboy boots.
Posted in rhode island, secondhand stuff
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is there any more pie? 