Four and Twenty Blackbirds Make Dirty Rice

My brother took this crazy photo of an Alfred Hitchcockish type attack of birds on a rice truck in Louisiana. 

You never know what you might see when you stop at a railroad crossing. This time it is "dirty birdy rice."

End of the Road (Or End of my Rope ;D )

However you look at it, installing our gate at the end of our road today is the last building chore. And as for most building jobs, I stay out of it.

When we came to live in the US in 2006 (me--repatriation after 27 years in The Netherlands and my hub--immigration the correct and time/money consuming way) we shipped all of our worldly possessions and more here to our soon-to-be-built home. For over a year our 500+ boxes and crates of "goods" rested in our climate-controlled metal barn.

One item still remains in that barn waiting to be installed. That is our gate. 

Finally, today, after 7 1/2 years in our barn, someone is coming to install the gate. It will have a home for the third time (first at my in-law's home, then ours in The Netherlands, and now here in southwest Louisiana.)

We are literally and figuratively "at the end of the road."

We are now living in our second home at the end of the road. The home below was the last house on that side of our road. The road ended in "De Hel." (no translation needed!)

That is the gate. 

Installation is still in progress here in the US. Two hours down and counting!

Sorry. I Am The Cleaning Lady

Do you still get an unwanted telephone call now and then? 

Well, we do. In fact, we received one this morning as I was scurrying around the house getting ready for our cleaning lady to come vacuum the floors. 

The gentleman on the phone was polite and wanted to verify an address for a free magazine my hub had ordered. The mailing address was correct, but then he dropped the big question:"What is your name and function?" 

My answer was, "Oh, sorry. I am the cleaning lady." 

With a polite, "Sorry to have bothered you,"the caller hung up.

Bingo! Now I have my new way to get rid of annoying callers. 

Oooor, I could say the following:

"You are speaking with the gardener (or chef, or washwoman, or nurse, or chauffeur, or caregiver, or pet manicurist, or pet sitter, or window washer, or errand girl, or dog walker, or who knows what else)."

It Got Worse Before It Got Better

You know that ice storm we woke up to this morning? 

Well, it got worse. (no photos, sorry)

And around lunch time the electricity went out. 

And, yes, we are a fully electric home!

Oh, we have a fireplace.  But as we have never used it in the 7 years living in this house, we did not want to risk it today. I don't enjoy firemen visitors on even a nice day!

So we read until around 5:15. Then ate chilly, room temperature dinner leftovers from yesterday. I always cook for two days, and today was the second half. 

We found the wind-up radio and searched for an emergency weather station.

Before it got dark, my hub walked Flip in the freezing cold. 

Then I lit candles. 

And Hub lit the two vintage gas lamps and put the battery lamp on the hall bench.

We put our headlamps in our pockets and Then The Electricity Came On at 6:15!

Happy (Brrrr) Mardi Gras!

It "ain't" Spring yet!

Location: Southwest Louisiana

Date: Mardi Gras, March 4, 2014

Enjoy the Ice Show (I am trying to :((((

Cardinal pappa in his thickest winter coat. What is he planning in this weather?

See the sleet ( no snow down here!) on his tail.

Blackberry cuttings in the sleet and ice.

Pine branches laden with ice.

Dutch bird feeder with icicles. Only one little bird in the back.

More feeders almost empty, but ice rink on the roof.

Dinner for some birds and ice for their beverages.

Even the garden totems are dripping ice.

Boy, that E6000 glue is good. These garden decorations (that's a plastic spider, by the way) have endured at least two years of extreme heat and now this ice storm and icicles on top.

Olive trees don't look so good iced over.

Up close and personal with the icy olive branches.

And what we fought all winter!!! Our grand agaves are frozen!

Quilt Show Visit

Our local quilt guild in DeRidder held their quilt show today.

Here is what my Mom, Hub, and I saw:

This crazy one is my favorite. I think it is great that the oddball rectangles were so well placed.

Quilt Diva was a hit.

And what little (or big) girl would not like this pinky?

Sew bowtiful!

And why did I throw away that HUGE dogfood bag? This is a neat idea.

PS: my quilter mom and I hate that modern quilters do not hand quilt anymore. They just do the piecing, and an expensive machine does the quilting.

National Peanut Butter Lovers Day

National Peanut Butter Day

My mother tells the story that when I was a child that I would choose a peanut butter sandwich over a steak.

Well, I suppose that is still true. Oh, I love a good steak prepared by my son or my youngest brother out on their grills, but finding a good meat today isn't what I am famous for.  Most of our steaks taste like cardboard after I try my hand at broiling them.

But steaks are not what this day is about. 

It's Peanut Butter! 

I love it! My hub loves it! And Flip loves it! Now what more could I ask for?

This week we are eating the Walmart Great Value brand of the yummy, peanutty spread. Our absolute favorite brand is Dollar General's nut butter from Clover Valley, but we aren't too picky. Our spread does not have to be the most expensive, but it has to taste good. 

Oil on top that needs stirring into the mixture is not what I like. I do not want to see how much "fat" I am consuming. 

I don't like the kind with chips or chunks of peanuts, so that means that when we visit our Beltway apartment in The Netherlands we do not buy Calve peanut butter. We buy the cheap stuff from Lidl or Aldi. It tastes better, believe it or not!

My Dutch hub usually eats his treat right out of the jar. I spread mine on bananas, bread, cookies, Ritz crackers, and even cake. My favorite lunch sandwich is peanut butter and Nutella on white bread. Tastes like a Reeses peanut butter cup sandwich. 

Flip prefers his PB on a cookie.

Yes, this horse (Animal Crackers) will do fine.

Just a smear of PB, otherwise he will have it stuck in the top of his mouth. And that isn't fun for him, but we get a good laugh while he manages that.

He is waiting patiently.

Happy Peanut Butter Day!

For more info, check out this site or click on National Peanut Butter Day at the top of my text:

http://nationaldaycalendar.com/2014/02/28/march-1-2014-national-peanut-butter-lovers-day-national-pig-day-national-fruit-compote-day-national-horse-protection-day/