utter heaven in a bowl....

Tonight's dinner is a beef stew based on the South Beach Diet: Super Quick book's "beef burgundy." It's not very quick, but it's in their "make ahead" section, that is actually my favorite part of that book.
The differences between their recipe and mine: They call for 5 tablespoons of oil. That sounds like way, way too much. I don't want to deep fry my beef..SO... Instead, I use about 1 T of oil, and add a little bacon while the beef browns. The rendered bacon fat adds a little saturated fat to the recipe, but is still far less total fat than 5 TABLESPOONS of oil, and it adds flavor and aroma as well. I do not add the 1/4 cup of tomato paste and 2 cups of water that are called for by SB, but use an 8 oz can of tomato sauce and a cup of reduced sodium beef broth instead. This probably adds a tiny amount of sugar that's not in the SB version, but I didn't want to add all that water! I season with herbes de provence, and the basil that was in the can of tomatoes I had on the shelf, instead of fresh sprigs of rosemary. I'm not fond enough of pine needles to add the amount of rosemary their recipe called for. I use 2 large garlic cloves, compared to their 5. Mostly because the garlic I have on hand right now is really strong, and I didn't want this to be garlic stew.
This stew is STEW-pendous! Absolutely, utterly delicious, warming, comforting, and even better than when I made Julia Child's Boef Bourguignon. NO KIDDING....this stuff....rocks. Try it and let me know what you think!

2 lb top round roast, cubed and trimmed of fat
1 or two strips of bacon, cut up
1 large yellow onion, diced
3 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 C fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 C red wine
1 C beef broth
1 sm. can tomato sauce
1 28 oz can CENTO chef cut tomatoes with basil leaves
salt, pepper, and herbes de provence to taste
olive oil

Heat the oil in your large dutch oven or stew pot. Brown the beef in portions, with the bacon. Drain and set aside. In the same pot, cook the onion and carrots in the oil, making sure to scrape up the brown bits. Add the garlic, and the mushrooms. Season with herbes de provence, salt and pepper. Cook just until the mushrooms start to sweat, then add red wine. Bring to a boil and stir for a couple of minutes. And add tomato sauce, broth, and canned tomatoes. Return the browned beef to the pot, stir everything together, bring up to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer til the carrots are tender and the meat is done.

Happy Thanksgiving

Our secret get away in the woods....a stone cabin in a valley by a lake. No cell service. No phone. We unplug the satellite tv when we get there.....

It's cheap, it's well maintained, and it's inside of a state park, so it's safe. It has a real fireplace, along with all of the modern conveniences, and a fully equipped kitchen, but we bring some specialty items along because, after all, I'm making Thanksgiving dinner here. They don't have EVERYTHING I need....like a roasting pan and casserole dishes, etc.

The only thing missing was our purring kitties, who are very happy to have us home again.

Lovely couple of days, with a full range of weather, from frigid cold, to dense fog, to bright sun, and windy rain.....accented by wandering flocks of wild turkeys, and friendly neighbors.

We hope everyone had as nice a Thanksgiving as we had!

It's weird here

Even after just over 2 years here, there are still some things that I am not used to.

Yesterday, it was 74 degrees in Oklahoma City.

Today, it's 37.

And an ice cream truck just went down our street.

And there's a flock of robins in my back yard. By this time back home, the robins have all gone. Seemingly, to Oklahoma.

And people PLANT PANSIES at this time of year. Pansies are what we give to our mothers on mothers' day in Chicagoland.
Down here, the poor things can't take the heat by mothers' day, but we can plant them for Thanksgiving!!!

Men in cowboy hats and boots- with spurs- walk around at the home improvement stores. And are in line in front of you at the bank, and the grocery store.

I am also still not used to cars caked in years' worth of dirt, like it's just normal to never wash your car.

Or replace the bumper when it falls off, because there are still an inordinately large number of vehicles (that's VEE HICK uls) around here that are missing their front bumpers. I guess that the bad roads make the bumpers fall off?

Oh, and don't get me started on the driving habits. Most of the people here appear to have learned how to drive on the family farm, because they regularly ignore red lights, and stop signs, and the rules of the road simply do not apply to them, ESPECIALLY if they are driving a big ass pick up truck...and MOST of them ARE driving a big ass pick up truck. Something I have seen with more frequency than you can imagine down here: those drivers in their big trucks will turn RIGHT from the LEFT TURN LANE on a RED LIGHT (or variations on that theme) if you don't get in their way first!

And Gods help you if you get in their way, because YOU are the one in the wrong, and they will ride you and flip you off, and scream out their window at you!

And then, there are the speech patterns that cause my brain to go into an endless feedback loop of "what did that person just say out loud?" in disbelief.

The other day, a co worker, who also works part time at one of the MANY buffet restaurants down here, said "We eat vet'rans fer free awn vet'ran's day! Yeah, they make em a line that goes all the way to the wawl mart!"

And she speaks like this as a matter of course, yet is gainfully employed and makes more money than I do!

Now, I do have to say that my mother and grandmother used some speech patterns that I have heard down here, such as saying "Get you a fork," or "Make you a copy of that." But they didn't use the rampant double negatives, or the heinous grammar that I hear from my co workers EVERY DAY.

We EAT veterans for free???

Sigh....anyway....

Maybe there are things that I will never get used to in the culture down here. Maybe that's a good thing.

OR maybe it's just weird down here!

various stuff

Thank you, seeester, for the surprise care package!

Louie LOVES the squeaking mouse toy!! And I can't decide what to cook first.... some of my awesome golden pea soup (without christmas ham bones, if I make it now), or sloppy Giuseppes!!! YUM!!!

Haven't opened the cd yet, but am honored to have a copy! Thanks, Dan!!

Oh, and BTW, the check for the paint and painting supplies for the condo is in the mail. Thank you for sending the receipts.

***************************************

Dave was out of town for 2 days this past week, to Tulsa for a class he had to take for work.

I did remarkably well during his absence.

Only one small anxiety attack....and that was when I heard from my Realtor, and found out that I was supposed to have initialed and returned the corrected lease to them THREE WEEKS AGO.

Why does this stuff happen when Dave is away? (at least this was minor...nothing like what happened when he was in Pennsylvania!!)

Anyway, initialed the lease, faxed it off, and mailed a copy off to my tenant, just to be sure that he gets one.

Is it over yet? It seems that every time I think it is, something else happens.

Anyway, I had a little anxiety attack then, but it wasn't debilitating. Just a few seconds of that squeezing sensation in my chest, and it passed. NO shortness of breath. NO shakes. NO nausea. YAY!!!

I think my adrenals are starting to recover. Still having fewer and fewer nightmares, and sleeping pretty well, when the cats let me.

I'm considering starting to dance again. I had a moment the other day when the thought : "I feel like dancing" passed through my mind. I haven't had a thought like that for many weeks, and it was good.

So I contacted the girls I had been dancing with, and asked if it was okay to come back.

I can't afford to go back to the formal school and studio where I had studied before, and who has asked me to come back.

At least not until we get our tax refund, and eliminate some of these suffocating MEDICAL BILLS!

We thought we had found someone on FreeCycle to take Nichi's cages, but she failed to show up on two different occasions, so we will probably just take them to a thrift store.

I am disappointed that we were not able to find a bird rescue to take them, or even a bird lover on FreeCycle who could bother to show up and get free cages! What the hell?!

Oh well. I'm starting to agree with Dave and Jessie, and others who swear that "people suck."

What's happening to me??? Gah..maybe I need a vacation....a few days off from work NOT spent at a hospital bedside....NOT spent moving and painting.

Yeah. I need that.

productive day

It's only 11 am and we've already gotten everything done!!

Dave's friend Shane from work is the reason why. He got a new battery powered chainsaw, and had the foolishness to post about it on face book!!! (hah!!!)

We have a way overgrown mulberry in the back yard, that was hanging over the fence line, and scratching the top of the neighbor's car port. It was also fully tangled up with wild grape vine. It really needed to be cut back.

SO, Shane said he could come help us out, but only if he could be here at 9 this morning. DEAL!!!

The trimming and cutting is all done, and this coming Wednesday is "big trash day," when we can put big piles of stuff out at the curb.

The other beauty thing about that? The owner of the house next door had someone come clean out the yard next door last weekend, and asked us if she could have the guy pile the brush on our side of the property line until big trash day. Part of the deal was that her guy will then come back and drag everything out to the curb for the pick up, including any of OUR stuff we might add!

YAY!

While Dave and Shane were out cutting the branches, I got the yogurt made. Then, while Dave cut the stuff down and dragged it over to the pile, I got the floors swept and mopped, and the laundry done!

Now, he is going to go clean out his parents' garage, and I have the afternoon to myself to relax a bit and contemplate the recipe I am making tonight! Love it!

What to do with a mock fireplace....

Get a nice mirror with a beveled edge at one of the thrift stores for $1. Put in the back of the fireplace months in advance of finding the perfect candle holder to go in front of it.

Then, once you find the perfect candle holder, light the candles, step back, and smile.

Wheee!

Another earthquake just a few minutes ago.... 4.7 this time. We were sitting on the couch, which is very sturdy/heavy, and does not sway.... and we were swaying!

This one started out with a big wave, then dissipated quickly. Did not last long at all. They're calling it another aftershock. It was bigger than the "foreshock" from 2 am Saturday.

Also, Dave had told me that there ARE NO fault lines in Oklahoma, but based upon a news story just now featuring a representative of the USGS, there IS a fault line, and these earthquakes are taking place right on top of it.

So...that, at least, explains it!!

But still....pretty freaky. I have heard that OK has had more earthquakes recently than California.

Why do we have to keep breaking records this year? Coldest/snowiest winter on record, hottest summer on record (not just here, but anywhere in the country, ever), most/biggest tornadoes on record...now this?

Okay, that's enough!


We can stop now....

Back yard improvements!!

Fire pit, dug and lined. Now all we need is some kindling and wood! That, and eventually, some flagstone or stepping stones to put around the edge.

Scored these great adirondack chairs when the owner of the investment property across the street found a tenant, and removed all of the stuff he had on the porch to make the vacant house look more appealing.

Resolution

I forgot to mention that the corrected lease arrived on 10/31, and the expensive bath tub repair took place last week as well.

In addition, there has been no word from the ex tenant regarding the size of her refund.

So, it seems to be over.

Me?

I have not been able to go to dance class for 6 weeks, not having the energy, the interest, or the stamina to do anything other than go to work, and do what needs done to keep the household running smoothly (chores, cooking, bill paying, errands, etc).

I have still been having nightmares/night terrors, and bizarre, out-of-the-blue anxiety attacks, but things seem to be calming down a bit.

If not for the earthquakes this weekend, I might have gotten some decent "make up sleep" to help with the deprivation!

My appetite has returned, and my digestive system seems to be working better now.

That means that all of that weight I lost over the past couple of months has come back! I had gotten a little too thin during the worst of it, so gaining it back was needed.

I am hopeful that the myriad symptoms caused by adrenal dysfunction will continue to wane, and that I will get back to normal function, and normal health, sooner rather than later.

Sadly, I seem to have lost a friend in this condo process. I've heard that one should never do business with friends....I guess this is why.

But, be that as it may, no one else could/would help me, and he stepped in.

For that, I am, and always will be, very grateful. I tried to make that clear, but I have no idea if that message got through to him.

My situation would have been hopeless without his help.

Earthquakes?

2:12 am
10:53 pm...

First one was 4.7 with several after shocks, near the town of Prague, OK, about 50 miles north east of here.

The one tonight was 5.6, about 5 miles closer, near the town of Sparks....and it seemed to last almost a minute: 10:53 when I first looked at the clock, and 10:54 when the shaking stopped. The whole house shook. They are saying there could be aftershocks as strong as the one from this morning.

Scary.

The most recent report I heard was that this one tonight was the strongest one ever in this state. They're saying there are no injuries, but that there are roadways that are buckled, and chimneys that collapsed close to the epicenter.

Dave slept through the 2 am one, but I woke him up for this one, because it was so much more intense and long.

He rolled over and went back to sleep. I have not slept well for many nights, and I had just started to fall asleep.....but now I am WIDE awake.... sigh....

The news had a specialist on from the USGS who said that the quake this morning was possibly a "foreshock" of the bigger one tonight. That was interesting...I'd never heard that term before. The news lady said the same thing.

He also said that 5.6 is considered, on global average, to be pretty small to medium in severity, but that folks in places that regularly get shaken, like Japan, Chile, etc, think that the 5 range is small potatoes.

The USGS guy said that sometimes things fall off of shelves, or free standing objects fall over, but the damage is almost always very minor, even close to the epicenter, when the quake is in the 5's.

Guess he didn't hear about the buckled roads and collapsed chimneys out in Sparks!