Left-Over Turkey

 

Ummm Umm Ummm Good Recipe

Diced Turkey

Can of tomato paste

1/2 Jar of Butter Chicken Curry Sauce

Dash of Whipped Cream, spash of wine & a bit of water

Add in some frozen peas, some whole cranberries

If you have some coconut left from baking.

I just kept adding ingredients until the frig was bare.

And….Into freezer bags it goes, to be eaten another day, over rice or noodles

 

 

Cranberry Cream Pie

Grind 2 cups (1/2 pound) fresh cranberries.

Combine with 1 large banana diced (1 cup) and 1/2 cup sugar; set aside.

Combine 2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs and 6 tablespoons butter, melted.Press half the crumb mixture in bottom of 9×9x2 inch pan.

Cream 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup sugar until light. Add 2 eggs and beat until fluffy. Fold in 1/2 cup chopped nuts. Spread over crumb layer.Top with cranberry mixture.

Whip 1 cup whipping cream just until soft peaks form; spread over all. Sprinkle with remaining crumbs; press down slightly. Chill 6 hours or overnight. Makes 12 servings. Rich.

TURKEY ALA KING

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 tsp. chicken bouillon
1 1/2 c. milk
1 1/4 c. hot water
2 c. cut-up turkey or chicken
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped carrots
1/4 c. chopped onion
1 c. frozen green peas
1 tsp. oreganoCook celery, carrots and peas in water (reserve 1 1/4 cups hot water from vegetables) until tender. Melt butter, add flour to make a paste, then add milk and vegetable water. Add cooked vegetables and chicken, heat until hot. Serve over biscuits or Puff Pastry

PUMPKIN RUM CHEESECAKE 2 lbs. cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
5 eggs
1/2 c. flour
2 1/2 c. canned pumpkin
1 tbsp. spices (cinnamon, ginger, clove)
2 tbsp. rum (or rum extract)

In mixing bowl, cream the cream cheese with the sugars until smooth. (Stop mixer and scrape down the sides of bowl occasionally). Mix in the eggs one at a time. Add remaining ingredients on low speed just until blended and batter is a consistent color. Pour into greased 9 inch springform cheesecake pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Chill and garnish with whipped cream and pecan halves. Party Dip

• 1^st layer Refried Black Beans
  2^nd layer guacamole
  3^rd layer white cheddar cheese
  4^th layer salsa
• 5^th layer green onions
• 6^th layer sour crème
• 7^th layer chopped tomatoes, black olives
• 8^th layer Old cheddar

Make a scrapbook – it’s easy!

I would love some snow! It’s raining buckets again today, but maybe next week.

All my life’s a circle;
Sunrise and sundown;
Moon rolls thru the nighttime;
Till the daybreak comes around.All my life’s a circle;
But I can’t tell you why;
Season’s spinning round again;
The years keep rollin’ by.It seems like I’ve been here before;
I can’t remember when;
But I have this funny feeling;
That we’ll all be together again.
No straight lines make up my life;
And all my roads have bends;
There’s no clear-cut beginnings;
And so far no dead-ends.I found you a thousand times;
I guess you done the same;
But then we lose each other;
It’s like a children’s game;As I find you here again;
A thought runs through my mind;
Our love is like a circle;
Let’s go ’round one more time.

If you didn’t get this;

Harry Chapin……For which I have to Thank my brother Keith.

LMAO, just thinking of that wonderful weekend in Ottawa

Thanks Bro

Although, his 30,000 lbs of Banana’s.. How could you not remember the first time you rolled over the hill to Scranton PA? LOL

xox

xox

Make a photobook – it’s easy!

Well it was bound to happen one day!~!~!~!~

“Twas the 3rd of June, another sleeping dusty Delta day.” Opps, wrong story I do believe that was Bobby Gentry in the Ode to Billy Joe. By right it was actually June 19th and still cold as heck up here in the lost land of Northern Vancouver Island. Another dismal day off, threats of more rain and wind stopped my house painting project in its tracks. But Gas has dropped to $1.16, whoppee I can go for a drive says I.

Out came the picnic basket, fishing tackle and camera. On with the LL Bean boots, sweaters and rain gear. Spend 30 bucks for a quarter tank of gas and to the back roads we go. Unfortunately, all our favorite spots are filled with hundred thousand dollar RV’s. So much for the unserviced sites being a secret for long, note to self; You have to move further or closer, not sure which.

In order to find a spot where I can let the mighty (pain in the butt) off his leash for a run, we drive a considerable ways. But finally find a lovely spot, a long rounded stone river bed leading into Rupert Arm.

Carrying my kit bag and rod, we head in from the tidal flats along the river bed. It’s quiet as I watch a King Fisher studying us from his perch in the pines. Lager is happy to be free at last, splashing in the shallow water as we make our way down stream.

And then in a flash, he catches a scent and is gone. I see him enter the forest a hundred feet away running flat out. As he has never once strayed I give him a minute before I call. And nothing, call again, still nothing then I hear him bark. Lager has a very loud and sharp bark for a small dog, (extremely loud) but I can barely hear him, he’s deep in the woods!

Panic sets in for a moment as I call again. OK girl, you are in bear and cougar country. You love your dog, but going into the forest is not a smart move. Your truck is a mile away, and no one knows you are here. Stand still, focus your voice, firmly and loudly call the dog.

At that very moment flying out of the trees bounds a 400 lb bear. He had cleared the bank of brush so high I saw his belly, landed as graceful as a deer and looked me right in the eyes. Now I swear this is true. His eyes popped open the size of dinner plates, I have never seen a more startled look on an animal. And with that he turned and was gone back the way he came before the words (Oh Shit) were out of my mouth.

A minute later, Lager shows up not 15 feet from where the bear vanished. He is panting, winded and, could it be, yep he looks a little shell shocked!

As he takes a drink from the river he gives me a look as if to say;

“Don’t think I’ll try that again anytime soon!”

“No S–T Sherlock, just wait till we get to Ontario and you find Porcupines, oh and Skunks!”

We are what we …read. Food for the soul, vitamins for the brain, laughter for the heart.

I was never very scholastic, finding the ritual of sitting at a desk, memorizing words spoken by a monotone teacher extremely hard to remain awake to. The education of Sherryl came from what I read. It didn’t matter what, a how-to book, popular science or the school encyclopidia missing books D and M. Anything in print I absorbed, if I had a question an itch that needed to be scratched I could always find the answer written down somewhere. 

 A popular saying in our house was, “If at first you don’t succeed, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!” That saying stuck with me, and over the years I discovered the wonder of the Web. Every conceivable question I had was answered at the click of a button! 

 “Heaven, I’m in heaven”  And I am, at least for now my part of Canadian Heaven is called Port Hardy BC. Many people stammer in utter disbelief when they realize I am living up here! “What possessed you to move there?”

Growing up in Ontario had left me longing for summer days of driving dusty back roads in search of adventure. So after ten years of Gulf Island living I went in search of space. I typed in the parameters of my desires, clicked the mouse three times, and read on; “Port Hardy where the highway ends and the adventures begin!” 

Reading the town was surrounded by lakes and rivers free from development, with miles of logging roads just waiting for me to explore had me hooked.  Bonus, it was cottage country without the cottages! I sold my Gabriola home, bought a 4X4, replenished my tackle box and headed north.

How does an outdoor enthusiast make use of the written word for more than light reading while soaking up the sun?  I read how to use a marine radio, helpful as I navigated Knights Inlet in a tug boat my first time at sea. Studied the art of Fly Fishing, learned to bait a crab trap and smoke salmon. Books on BC lead to a gold panning expedition. Last week an article complete with diagrams helped me fix the linkage on my truck.  I’ve looked up plants and insects that defy identification as memory has it’s limitations.

Authors like James Michner, have opened my mind as I traveled through Texas, Chesapeake and Alaska. Anne Rice was with me as I walked the French Quarter of New Orleans. Jonathan & Faye Kellerman helped me fall in love with Arizona. While stories from Clive Cussler and Jimmy Buffet keep me living by the ocean.

Just last night I helped a friend who had a painful jellyfish sting and didn’t want pee on her face!LMAO…. {Long Story} I now know white vinigar will work, and that you should never use fresh water it will only agravate the sting

 From reading I have taught myself so many things.I feel so lucky to be born in an age where information has become so readily availible. If there is to be a moral to this, it is to never stop learning.

   Yes you are what you read and I’ll never stop! This I believe.  

 

The very best way to save these wonderful fruits, is to put them on a cookie sheet and freeze.  I eat them as a frozen snack when I want a sweet, but can’t afford the calories. I just did up a box of “Oh so Yummy California Berries”, tonight I’m using  them frozen to make drinks! “Look Ma, no Ice!”

CHOCOLATE DIPPED STRAWBERRIES:
Pick out 12 large ones, with the stems attached. Melt 3 oz. (85 g.) of Belgian or Bakers semi-sweet chocolate, 1 tbsp. (15 mL.) of butter and 1 tsp. (5 mL.) of Cognac, brandy or orange liqueur in a double boiler over hot water, or in a microwave oven. Dip the strawberries halfway into the chocolate and set them on a plate covered with a sheet of wax paper. Refrigerate them just long enough for the chocolate to set (about 10 minutes). Eat them the day you make them.

The Yellow Strawberry

1 oz light rum Or Tequila OR No booze at all!
1/2 oz creme de bananes, or a fresh bananna
4 oz strawberries
1 oz sweet and sour mix, or fresh lime juice
1 slice banana& strawberry to garnish

Virgin or Nasty…..This drink is so good………………Make a pitcher as just one is impossible

Strawberry Salsa

3 cups strawberries, chopped
1 mango, chopped
1 medium avocado, chopped
1 small cucumber, cut into chunks
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
A Terrine of Summer Fruits
Serves 8
15 fl oz (425 ml) sparkling rosé wine OR Concord Sparkling White Grape Juice
2 oz (50 g) caster sugar
2 x 0.4 oz (11 g) sachets gelatine powder
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
For the fruit:
12 oz (350 g) small strawberries
8 oz (225 g) raspberries
12 oz (350 g) blackcurrants, redcurrants and blueberries – 4 oz (110 g) of each

You will also need two 2 lb (900 g) loaf tins, 7½ x 4¾ inches x 3½ inches deep (19 x 12 cm x 9 cm deep), preferably non-stick but anyway with a good surface.First prepare the fruit: remove the stalks and halve the strawberries if they are any large. Then mix the fruits together in a large bowl, being very gentle so as to avoid bruising them.

In a small saucepan heat half the rosé wine till it begins to simmer, then whisk the sugar and gelatine into it. Make sure that everything has dissolved completely before adding the remaining wine and the lime juice. Then pour the liquid into a jug and allow it to cool. While that’s happening, lay the mixed fruit in one of the loaf tins – and it’s worth arranging the bottom layer with the smallest, prettiest-shaped fruit as this will be on top when the terrine is turned out.

Next, pour all but 5 fl oz (150 ml) of the liquid over the fruit. Now lay a sheet of clingfilm over the tin, place the other tin directly on top, then put two unopened tins of tomatoes or something similar to act as weights into the top tin and put the whole lot into the fridge for about 1 hour, or until it has set. Then warm up the remaining 5 fl oz (150 ml) wine mixture and pour it over the surface of the terrine. Re-cover with clingfilm and return to the fridge overnight to set firm.

When you are ready to serve, turn out the terrine by dipping the tin very briefly in hot water and inverting it on to a plate. Use a very sharp knife (also dipped first into hot water) to cut it into slices. Serve with chilled pouring cream, crème fraîche or Vanila Yogart

Last but not least, the ;

Homemade Strawberry Margarita

• 1 Can of Lime Concentrate, or squeeze out some Organic Limes!!! WOW !
• Blend up those frozen berries, or use fresh
• Add a splash of Triple Sec
• Te-kill-ya, Silver or gold
• Some crushed ice, garnish with a lime slice

Watch out for these berries, in a glass they pack a punch. But oh so delightful, a few of these and you’ll be making Music!

Enjoy, Chow for now

Note to self; Get a new Blender

My very good friend Arlene left a post about me and food! Now there is a Lady who should start a blog on food and recipes, as she tops me ten to one any day! But it made me smile, and I was remembering how many raw oysters we’ve put back over the years! And trust me, we’ve eaten a few. Sitting on Arlene’s front porch, 10 dozen small oysters, a bottle or two of wine, and we’d watch the world go by on a Friday night. Geoff and Max put up with us as we shucked and gabbed, turned the music up too loud, discussed weekend gardening projects, kids and work……………Great times (smile)

There are a few recipes that come to mind. But my absolute all time favorite is Scallops. Not from the west coast but east coast Digby Scallops!

Scallops Charleston-Style

• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• a bag of mushrooms 1 lb
• 1 lb of scallops
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley
• 1 cup dry (Good) white wine.. as you will want to drink the rest
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 cup grated Gruyere Cheese……Smoked is OK, just not as good
• 1 lemon juiced
• Salt & pepper
• Now I have always added some prawns or Shrimp quick fried in garlic butter to make this recipe go further when serving company. (Your Call)

1. Put shallots, mushrooms, scallops and parsley in a large saute pan. DO not mix, give each it’s space, add wine, lemon juice & water, salt pepper and paprika. Stir gently, cover with waxed paper bring to a boil over med heat.
2. As soon as it starts to boil, remove from heat let stand 2 mins.
3. Using a slotted spoon remove scallops , set aside.
4. Return pan cook on high for 4 minutes
5. Next melt butter in a sauce pan (Good Size) on med heat, add flour, mix well, make a rue in the next 2 minutes….. How do you do, you just made a rue!
6. Pour your first pan of mushrooms and wine into your rue mixing gently and cook for 10 mins on low.
7. Stir  your scallops into your sauce. Taste it now and season accordingly. Different wines need different seasoning, remember you will be adding a flavourful cheese. If you have decided to add garlic prawns, remember this before you over season!
8. Transfer to scallop shells, or baking dishes and top with grated cheese, broil for 4 minutes.

This is my most favorte dish , and impresses the heck out of people. And it is very easy to make, a little hard on the pocket book, and do NOT skimp on the scallops. Digbys or nothing, you can not make this with little sea scallops, just doesn’t work! You can cut the Digbys in half or quarters.

Well enjoy…………

Oh Yeah  OYSTERS      

Shuck em, suck em, eat em raw! But if you can’t….(and I’m sorry for those who won’t) But buy some Peppered Monteray Jack Cheese, a little cilantro, a little cheddar, top these fresh dainties and on to the BBQ or under the broiler till golden.

NO HUMAN can resist…..REALLY ! I kid you not

Oh I just had to add……Arlene remember the time I shucked that gigantic scallop, and it pulsated in my hand, freaking me out so bad I never stayed for dinner! LMAO

This article is dedicated to Ken Gill, who
passed away Dec. 17, 2005, in Kingston Ontario.
“A Great Father who taught his daughter the love of fishing and the importance of always having a roll of duct tape handy.” – S.H.
 

Hi Dad, the weather on the north end of Vancouver Island has finally switched back to low 70’s, nice spring weather. I went back-roading and fishing on Saturday but the nightly thunderstorms kept me from camping.I was trying to teach myself how to fly fish on the weekend. Now, Dad, there was a sight to see.

Imagine me standing on a spectacular river bed, an abandoned railway bridge on the river above me and a wide expanse of rolling rapids a few hundred metres below me. The sun is shining warm rays through the willows on the far bank, the air is crisp and smelling green with floral overtones. A painter’s pallet of spring flowers surrounds the ferns and the blossoming salmon berry bushes have the humming birds out in full force.

Taking in the natural beauty of the scene,I let out a deep sigh and get down to business. Today, I  will teach myself how to cast a fly fishing rod. Great preparation has gone into this event. I have read several essays, How- To- Books and visited many web sites on this art. It has taken me many days to analyse which line to use with my rod, picking up new terms such as leader butt ends, perfect loop knots and blood lines, to say a few. Although I had purchased an array of wonderfully colored and functionally designed flies, I realized weeks ago that this is an art of which only so much can be learned by reading.

So there I was, dropping my kit bag on the stones of the shore, and stepping into waterproof boots. Standing tall, white legged in non-traditional cut off Jordache Jeans, an O.C.C. T- shirt covered by a Roots vest, a Body Shop ball cap covering my wind blown messy red hair. I tied my double tapered fly line in a nail knot attaching a 12 inch leader butt. My perfect loop knot is attached to my tapered mono-filament leader ending in a blood knot, and attached to the knot is a 15″ tippet from which I use a clinch knot to tie on me fly. . . but something is missing.

“De-Fly, de-fly,” I cried out loud as I realize I have left the tackle in my Chevy a quarter mile back, bringing  only my trusted lures.  Ah . . but wait, could it be? Yes, there it is! I had forgotten that I had purchased a small assortment of flies from a kindly lady at a garage sale last fall saved!  I look through and pick out something that resembles a bumble bee. It is a work of art, sprouting real deer hair, fuzzy yellow yarn, even has cute little wings! I had no idea if this was a dry or wet fly, or if it was the right season to be using it. Really Dad I just wanted to practice casting, alone on this beautiful river! And besides that, thisfly was just so darn purty.
 

I admired it while opening a beer. This had been thirsty work so far. I’m very nervous of that first cast. How in the devil am I  to get a rhythm going with no weight at the end of all that line? No one is about, and I gave it a try, having let out what appears to be a lot of line (which has already tripped me a few times). Back and forth, releasing line from my fingers as I got a rhythm going – and splash, it ends up in a tangle a few feet in front of me. I repeat this process a few more times realizing I need more line, and on I go! It takes about ten minutes, but by Jove I did it! I could now swing that baby and get the fly to land where I want almost every time! I was so proud of myself, now I wanted a fish!  Knowing there is a spot down river where there must be one or two, off I go.

Being so wrapped up in the process I’ve forgoten I’m in bear country. This is quickly brought home as I almost step in a rather nasty pile of Bear Poop. My attention  now somewhat divided between the river and the bank behind me. Yet I pick my spot and check my knots and cast my line in to the sea (so to speak). It is the perfect cast, landing just short of  a large boulder at the end of a quiet pool above the start of the rapids. Nothing, I retrieve my fly and cast again, with only a few glitches which I tend to ignore. I cast again, and again. Each cast more perfect than the one before, in fact it is truly amazing, the line is landing just where I want it to go every time. But still no fish!

“Time to change files?”  I query myself,but no I am having so much fun I don’t want to stop until I catch something. I know from experience,if I was casting a spinning lure into this piece of water I would have already landed a nice fish by now. So I press on. I had stepped out rather deep into the river; the rounded stones beneath my feet were slippery and had to be maneuvered with grace in order not to end up with a soak-er or worse. I had just let out a few more feet of line when I heard the rocks on the river bank rattle discernibly behind me.

 

In one “undignified and yet somehow glorious movement” I jump into the air swinging myself and my 10 foot fly rod around while reaching into my vest pocket for my bear spray, and let out a blood curdling roar. “GRRRRRR!!” I holler, as I lose my balance and stumble on river rock. My fishing rod flails through the air –  whacks into the side of the head of a rather nice looking elderly gentleman. This all comes into focus just as I go over with a splash, and end-up sitting in the river.

 After a few startled curses both our lips, he fishes me from the very cold waters. The gentleman, who looks like he’s posing for an issue of Field and Stream, stifles a laugh. At that moment I have a flash: Bridget Jones,I have the sequel to your life. Hell I am your life!  

I’m laughing so hard at myself I have a hard time keeping my balance on the river rock. So I plant my butt on solid ground while I regain some form of composure while draining the water from my boots.  The poor old sod must have thought I was truly bonkers! In the next few rather tense moments we introduce ourselves as I stumble through my apology. Robby, Robert Burns to be exact, explains that he had been watching me for a time and thought that just one pertinent pointer was needed to be given to this obvious amateur.

I gave this some thought, afterall I had almost maced the man, smacked him on the cheek with my fishing rod, yelled “GRRRR!” in his face like some lunitic. Yet I still wasn’t sure if , on my first day, I really wanted to be critiqued. So I squared my shoulders, took a deep breath and glaring at him from under my cap still askew on my head and I replied: “Fly at er!”

Robby looks at me with aged eyes, assesses my stance, takes a few steps back and informs me dryly that I had lost my fly some time ago and he knew this as it was hooked on his vest. He points down to my  bright yellow Bumble Bee which is looming squarely in the middle of his broad chest.

I had indeed been making my perfect casts.  Fly-less.

Until the next tail,

I remain

Your loving daughter

or

Clueless in Hardy

 

Does the thought of all those summer vegetables scare you? It shouldn’t, you should celebrate it, and get chopping The problem with veggies is age old; BORING! But it looks so good and healthy in the store, we buy it, stuff it in the bin and forget about it till we clean the frig, feeling OH SO GUILTY!

 Well here are some tips, and some recipes that will get that wonderful product you purchased out of the bin and on to your plate.

1. Invest in a new veggie peeler,  a melon baller and a new grater
2. Buy a selection of clear plastic tubs
3. Pick out 1 or 2 fancy Glasses; wine, beer, tumbler what ever floats your boat!
4. Keep a small selection of a variety of cheese on hand at all times
5. It doesn’t hurt to have some cans of cocktail shrimp or crab, smoked oysters
6. Toss out your old spices, get new ones, even fresh ones!
7. Refresh you yogurt and mayo, get some fancy dressings and good oil & vinegar

Now your ready to get snacking. Pour yourself a nice cool drink in your fancy glass that is reserved for you and the kitchen, turn on some enjoyable tunes (Listening to the News just won’t do) Open the door to your refrigerator and see what you’ve hidden away in the bins.

Stuffed Mushrooms, ummm Fresh/Baked/Broiled/BBQ

!
• Use  melon baller to hollow out room for filling, (which you won’t need much of)
• Look in the frig and take out? ANYTHING! Onion, carrot, asparagus,peppers and dice finely. This is where those containers come in handy, leftovers!
• Cheese! creme or feta, blue or cheddar, get fancy and experiment, you only need a little or you can add a lot.
• Want some extra flavour? Add some smoke salmon, or Italian Sausage why not try some chicken curry or dice up that last piece of BBQ Steak
• If you want a crispy topping grate some cheddar, blend in bread crumbs or crushed seasoned croutons, add a dash of olive oil, mix well and top your creation.
• Now BAM add some zip, cilantro or rosemary, course salt & pepper, cumin or allspice let your imagination go

You have now got stuffed, why not try stuffing a tomato,  cucumber, snow peas, new boiled potatoes   

Doesn’t a Thick Cold Slice of Cucumber topped with a prawn on some Thia Chilli Sauce sound tasty? Avocado & lime juice, stuffed with creamy seafood…. a little shrimp, sour creme, diced veggies and Bam!

I just made this for dinner, and oh it was sooo tasty. I had made some of the above earlier in the day, and spotted the veggie bin. (The Shame!) Tough when you live alone, to get all those veggies eaten, but this was so easy.

Into a   pot of water went two ears of corn(unshucked), some carrots (tops and all),and the remainder of an asparagus bunch (Still with the band on). While that came to a boil, I course chopped an onion. Out with the veggies to a plate before they were cooked through, drained off the water and sauteed the onion in butter in the pot. Diced up the veggies (Stripping the corn off the husk with a knife), added veggies, some chicken stock and simmered.

While the mushrooms and garlic bread went in the oven, out came the dishes. An immersion blender into the soup. Done all in under 20 mins. A healthy VERY tasty no meat dinner, my veggie bin empty, me tummy happy and full!

While your at it, how about fruit? Half a peach, add some honey and a strawberry and put that on the Barby. Grilling fruit is a super way to use up the last of the yogurt, makes a great topping.

Use up that bag of spinach by tossing on your left over Veggies and Feta Cheese and any nuts in the pantry. Heat up some Olive oil, Honey, cumin & balsamic vinegar, toss in some grape tomatoes  and pour on top for a gourmet wilted salad. 

OK enough already…I’ve made myself hungry

Spring.

Gone are lazy nights by the fire rereading long lost books, listening to soft jazz with a warm toddy by your side, while nestled in your favorite chair.The cat stretched out behind your head, playing with your hair. Your dog lays on his back while gently running in his sleep, yipping softly at a memory. Sigh ……

Gone, replaced by the Spring you thought would never come. OH and  how you complained, “Will it never get here? Isn’t this the longest winter ever? Have we talked about nothing but the weather for months?”

Well girlfriend your lounging days are over and now it’s,” Paint the porch, fix the roof, update the kitchen! You need to change the winter tires, and the oil, heck the truck needs a spring tune up! The weed whacker died last fall and so did the BBQ, they must be replaced. The outside trim must be repainted and the roof reshingled! The house needs to be cleaned from top to bottom. Empty the  closets and drawers where gloves and small cans of de-icer got stuffed. Pack away the boots and the winter coats, unpack the sandals and garden gloves.  ”

The garden , “Oh the garden, where do I start?, What do I plant?, Have you seen the new seed catalogue? I think this year I need a pond, a big pond with water lilies and Koi and…”
Yes indeedy, Spring is here to stay. And we work so hard to get all those projects done so we can relax through the long hazy days of summer. At least that is what we fool ourselves into thinking.  Before my brain and budget have adapted to the first weeks of Spring Cleaning, I have  forgotten  my complaints of the long winter.

Now I pray for summer, when it’s too hot to cut the grass. Too humid to paint the deck. Too many hours at work to go camping, but enough to pay down the credit card where I charged all those plants.

All those plants that I buy too early and leave sitting on the porch, while I weed the garden, rebuild the window boxes, replace the soil, install new patio stones, put up the humming bird feeder, take down the winter bird feeder, rotto till the garden, replace the garden hose, rebuild the wood shed, put the snow shovels away, paint the garden tools, restarted the compost heap……………….

Spring, glorious spring

Slideshow by WebFey aka Sherryl French