Cake Baking.

Hunter came over today to decorate his birthday cake. Soldier battle scene this year.

Wood Projects

Yesterday Mike decided to just get on it and finished all the trim work around the hot tub. This means that the board walk can be started today. I'm not sure how much I'll get done with him - but I'm sure he'll start laying the first parts of the board walk. Once we get the board walk down I'll go through and stain the wood to all match.

1975 House ....

Our house was built in 1975 - which means it has aluminum wiring and all the high tech amenities of the 70's. This morning while enjoying a cup of coffee we smelt burning plastic. This is what we found.


The best part is that this is where we did this "toggle" thing that the electrician said was the latest and greatest for aluminum wired houses. Mike will be going through the house and removing all the other toggled outlets.

Desert Living.

With all the rain we've been getting the grass is filled with mushrooms. Very strange for living in the desert!

Oh My - Not Again.

Another fruit tree has gone crazy. POUNDS of pears!!

Home Improvements.

Pre-grass removal!

We decided to make some progress on the boardwalk out to the hot tub today. It was storming and impending rain appeared to be on the way - although never came. We mapped out the path and dug it up. Put down fabric and rock (for the drainage under the board walk). I think we'll do the actual boards tomorrow.

After digging out the grass:

Summers End.

I believe that summer is coming to a quick halt in our area. A pear has fallen off the tree (I'll need to head out and pick them soon). The veggies in the garden are starting to wilt back. The flowers are trying to produce as much as possible (I think in the hope of getting every ounce out of themselves before dying off).

I love fall time in New Mexico. The smell of wet soil and roasting chili. Of course I now need to decide when to move to winter clothing in the closet. Hmmm.

10 Things You Think Are Cool.

A blog-buddy (bloddy) does the Tuesday 10. I figured I'd do it this week.

10 Things I Think Are Cool
1. When my favorite song comes on the radio - and I'm feeling blue.
2. Slushy, snow cones and milk shakes
3. Crazy cat videos
4. Blogger Buddies (oh - I just dig them)
5. Brisk fall mornings
6. New ring tones
7. Little Big Planet
8. Watching Blu-ray movies on a new player (amazing video quality)
9. Napping cats
10. Warm coffee after eating a green chili breakfast burrito

Wedding Time

Off to Mike's cousins wedding!

Airport Purchase

I can't wait to start it!!

American airlines.

Mike's thoughts on their ability to get us from point A to point B.

Truckin'

I was listening to the Grateful Dead this past week and the song Truckin' just kept coming on. That and On The Road Again seem to be perfect traveling songs.

Mike and I are at the airport today. We are flying to Pennsylvsnia for a wedding. We got a phone call last night that the flight was canceled - and rescheduled for later this morning. We were going to get into PA around 2pm ... Now 7pm. Ah, the joys of truckin'

Green Thumb ....

Having a green thumb isn't always everything it is cracked up to be. It means that there are a lot of afternoons where I have to deal with garden grown stuff - to either use it or preserve it.

I spent yesterday getting herbs ready to dry (parsley, dill, catnip and lemon mint tea). I cooked and pickled some beats. I froze 35 pounds of peaches. And I made another gallon of green chili pesto. I'd like to say that I'm done - but that is not the case (rhubarb, onions and tomatoes are still calling to me).

Garden Flowers

During the summer months I like to cut fresh flowers from the garden and put them around the house. The dahlias have been in bloom - but now the gladiolas are coming in. I love the smells and colors that the garden provides!

Breakfast - Festivass.

Sunday mornings are made for a large breakfast and a relaxed lengthy leisure dinning experience. We had fresh banana granola muffins, potato bake, fresh fruit (including strawberries picked this morning from the garden), and hot coffee.





Ah - Breakfast was good!

Peach Cobbler.

Well the answer to what to do with 20 pounds of peaches is two fold. First I pealed them all - froze most - and made cobbler with some. Here is my new favorite any fruit cobbler recipe.

In a 2 qt pan melt 6 tablespoons of butter.
In another bowl mix:
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt

Have 2 cups of peaches covered in sugar and ready to go.

Pour flour mixture over melted butter - put peaches on top. Back at 350 degrees for one hour.

You can mix in any fruit or nuts that you like.

Fall/Summer - The Growing Season

I can't tell if it is fall or summer still. The mornings are coolish (45-50) but the veggies are still working on coming in. The peach tree has gone crazy and I'm trying to figure out what to do with 20 pounds of peaches and another 20 to come off. As you can see from the photo there are loads of other veggies as well. The fat strawberries are probably the best I've ever eaten. I can't wait for more to grow.