3/30/09

That's good!... No, That's bad!







Pictures - That's me and my baby Grand Niece.
2- Paula (my niece) and baby Emmah
3- Ashley (my daughter) and Emmah
4- Martina and Emmah checking each other out
5- Pasta salad I made for the day (recipe below)
6- New upsidedown finch feeder

The good - My Niece from CT came to visit for the day! This is the second time we have seen Emmah; the first being Christmas. It was nice this time having just the two of them, Ashley and I. We really got to spend time with the baby and talk to Paula. I don't know if Paula really knows just how much we love her and Mat!
The bad - Saying goodbye and not knowing when we will see them again.
The good - We got some really nice pictures, and Paula is really good about sending pictures through email.

The good - I got a new bird feeder. It is an upside down finch feeder. If you have never seen one of these, they are great! The finches (and chick-a-dees and titmice) can hang upside down while the other birds can't! So it nice to have at least one feeder that will keep away the squirrels and bigger birds.
The bad - It took a long time for them to find it. At least a week.
The good - Now that they have found it they are on it all the time. The kids love to watch it.

The good - My parents are coming to visit from TN. Yea! In the middle of May. They will be staying with us for the week and going here and there during the day. I love it when they stay with us because even if they have other people to spend time with they always come back here at night and leave from here in the mornings so we get to see them more often.
The bad - I haven't even started cleaning the room they are staying in. The room was Ashley's bedroom before she went to college then moved out. Right now it has all the stuff she didn't want to take with her or couldn't take. It has also become kind of a storage room. I would like to really clean it out and organize it.
The good - It does give me a time goal to get it done by! Do you think it will work?

The good - I have discovered "Log cabin Knitting". It is like log cabin quilting but with strips of knitting instead of sewing material together.
The bad - I have dropped all other knitting to start yet another new project! I had to give it a try, it looked simple and like so much fun.
The good - It is simple and fun, LOL!

The good - Easter vacation next week! No kids for a whole week.
The bad - I don't get paid for the week.
The good - It is so worth it! I have a lot of plans for this week!

The good - I finally recieved a book from the library that I have wanted. "Tomboy Bride: A woman's personal account of life in the mining camps of the west", by Harriet Fish Backus. I was so excited to start reading it.
The bad - I only give this book a 2 1/2 star rating. It started out good but got "old" real fast. About half way through I was so bored with it I just wanted to be done.
The good- I got a real good knitting book from the library called "Mason Dixon Knitting" by Kay Gardiner and Ann Meador Shayne. This book was excellent! One of the best knitting books I have ever seen. It not only had some great patterns and ideas. It had great stories and little anecdotes all throughout. This is the first Knitting book I have actually read all the way through (not just looking at the pictures).

Reading through the States:
1. California - Echoes, by Erin Grady
2. Florida - In Her Shoes, by Jennifer Weiner
3. Iowa - The Learning, by Ruthann Weaver
4. Massachusetts (Cape Cod) - A Year by the Sea, by Joan Anderson
5. South Carolina - Bastard out of Carolina, by Dorothy Allison
6. Kentucky - The Believers, by Janice Holt Giles
7. Minnesota - Hit By a Farm, by Catherine Friend
8. North Carolina - Scrambled Eggs at Midnight, by Brad Barkley & Heather Hepler
9. Montana - My Hutterite Life, by Lisa M. Stahl
10. Kansas - Waiting for Summer's Return, by Kim Vogel Sawyer
11. Idaho - Indian Creek Chronicles, by Pete Fromm
12. New York - The Lives they Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic, by Darby Penney and Peter Stastny
13. Arizona - Whispers, by Erin Grady
14. Alabama - The Florabama Ladies' Auxiliary Sewing Circle, by Lois Battle
15. Alaska - Building from Within: Alaskans Who Build Their Own, by Joan Koponen
16. Colorado - Tomboy Bride, by Harriet Fish Backus

Pasta salad (from "Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen", by Trisha Yearwood)

Boil up any kind of pasta (I like to use Tortellini)
Drain and rinse with cold water, set aside.
Cut up - fresh broccoli and tomatoes, add to pasta.
Grate up about 1 cup sharp cheese (or any kind of cheese), add to pasta.
add about 1/2 cups nuts (I used sliced almonds, sunflower seed are good too)
Pour on about 2-4 tablespoons of good olive oil,mix it all together. EAT!

Let me tell you, this is the best pasta salad, and so simple! Click on the picture to get a close up of how good it looks.

Top 5 - Are you a soup eater? What are your top 5 favorite soups?
1. Minestrone
2. Tomato
3. New England Clam Chowder
4. Cream of Broccoli
5. Split pea

6 comments:

  1. I just love your posts. They never fail to make me smile. Today your The good and The bad was cute. Lots of good though which is always a good thing.

    The pasta salad looks awesome minus the nuts-I'm allergic.

    Projects-that is the problem of many a knitter. We get a wild hair to start something new and the other project that we just had to do the last time is put aside. It's a vicious circle.

    Favorite soups:
    1. mushroom
    2. tomato
    3. my mom's ham bone veggie soup
    4. my mom's chicken soup
    5. cream of potato

    Have a great day Wendy!

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  2. I love spending time with you too!!! Emmah and I had a great time.

    Top 5 - Are you a soup eater? What are your top 5 favorite soups?
    1. Clam Chowder
    2. Broccoli n'Cheddar
    3. Split Pea w/ Ham
    4. French Onion
    5. Tomato (must accompnay with a grilled cheese)

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  3. Love your good, bad and good. :-) The bird feeder is great--it always makes me mad when the big ugly birds come to my hummingbird feeder. They end up spilling it, attracting ants and making it so not worth having. sigh. Looks like spring is making it's way to your neck of the woods. Yay!

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  4. The good / bad is great.
    I like the idea of the upsidedown bird feeder. What a great idea.
    Yes, Paula is very good at emailing pic's of Emmah. We would never get to see her any other way.
    I have made this pasta salad many times but I use Balsamic Vinegar and yes it is the best.
    Hurry up and get our room cleaned out. Have Ashley help you.
    Top 5 soups:
    1) My homemade veggie
    2) Tomatoe Bisque
    3) New England Clam Chowder
    3) My homemade Split Pea with hambone
    4) My homemade Bean
    5) Chicken Noodle
    Can you tell I make a lot of soup.
    We really like soup and eat a lot of it in the cooler months.
    Can't wait to see ya in May!
    Mom
    3)

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  5. 1. New England Clam
    2. Ministrone
    3. Tomato
    4. Cheesy Potato
    5. Creamy Chicken

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  6. I only eat homemade soup. Too much sodium in canned soups.
    Favorites:
    1. chicken noodle
    2. Italian wedding
    3. Chili soup
    4. beef vegetable
    5. tomato bisque

    I don't have a bird feeder but the birds are having a great time eating the fermented little apples on the crab apple tree. Sometimes they get so inebriated they fly right into our picture window and knock themselves silly.

    ReplyDelete