Well here I go. I haven't blogged since the day of the disgusting sourdough. I have been sick--sick, sick, sick. Coughing, mucous, really--you want no part of it.

First I'd like to bitch that I invested SO much of my time into American Idol this season only to end up hating all the contestants. I watched a bit of the final episode and was thinking "I don't like ANY of these people--why did I watch this show??" Ok, so I liked Mandissa until I realized that she was like, super religious, and would probably want to be a gospel singer..ehh. Anyway, I guess I'm happy enough for the mildly-retarded Taylor for winning over the slutty and obviously unclean Cat.

So Wednesday and Thursday I stayed home, in bed, sick. I did manage to finish the Dark Tower V--I'm enjoying the series very much.

Friday I managed to go to work. It wasn't easy. I don't even remember that day to be honest.

Saturday I ventured out and got a mani/pedi and a mango smoothie. Sometime in the afternoon Todd called and said "let's get dinner." Unbeknownst to me, "getting dinner" involved taking me to the grocery store, picking food out, and having me cook it for him. I made him pan roasted maple mustard pork chops, sauteed spinach, and steamed baby carrots. I also made him a raspberry vodka and 7up, which I've decided is my beverage of the summer--be sure to have some on hand when I get home.

Sunday I spent a lot of time watching Food Tv and reading. Monday was a lot more of the same. I think I am finally on the mend. Thank BLOG.

I forgot to report, the lady slippers on the ridge have blossomed! And today my first buttercups have bloomed.

Well, here in central Maine it was a perfect weekend. Friday I spent a lovely day in Bangor with GG. We shopped and ran all our errands. Saturday JK went kayaking on the Kennebec River from Winslow to Augusta. He said it was a beautiful trip, and he saw 4 eagles. I don't know what I did with my day. I visited Georgia and that's about it.

Sunday we spent all day at camp. It was completely gorgeous and there were no bugs. We drank a lot of wine, but not so much as to affect us. We maintained a constant pace however. We had wonderful food, which I will try to list. Roast beef, roast chicken, pasta salad, cole slaw, strawberry pie, strawberry rhubarb pie, rolls, bread, olives, misc cheese. It was a feast (as always). The kids fished all day. They caught several large bass to their utter delight.

The kids wheedled there way into spending the night, so to my delight, I slept in yesterday! We then went to camp to fetch our children and stayed about an hour. I went out and visited Georgia again. Then we came home and had dinner with the 'rents - fish chowder and biscuits.

Obviously it was a very relaxing and delicious weekend. Best part of all - NO BUGS!!! We sat out ALL DAY at West Lake and hardly got a bite - even the kids. Hooray for Global Warming!!!!!

i just went out to get chicken soup. it came with a sourdough roll--disgusto

Poor Jen.

Bridge was held at Aunt Faye's last night. All the regular's were there but Aunt Lil (who went to see Willie with Dad). Luckily we now have Nonie to fill in. Nonie called Tracey and I "card sharks" isn't that funny!! She said we always win high. Well, not always because last night it was Aunt Lora who won all the glory. Tracey came away with goose and low. I thought I was going to have a good night too, because I started off with a grand slam in no trump, but it was not to be, because my hands were down hill from there. Anyway, Faye served brownies and no bake cookies which were delightful. Next week bridge will be at Aunt Lora's and I will not be in attendance.

In other news, GG's new cell phone appears to be all set up and working properly. Maddy is visiting MJHS today and seems excited about it.

Nothing more to report.

Ok so I am sick. I slept with the window open last night and now my chest is VERY congested. Obnoxious. On Sunday I met two women from maine, both in parking lots. One at my apt and one at ghetto mart.They were both in their 50s. One grew up in Windham and one grew up in Portland. I thought that was funny--two in one day.

I was sick Friday and passed it on to RK. Guess she passed it back in a different form. Thanks a LOT RK, this sickness HURTS.

fun on the net

If you haven't used Google Earth, I HIGHLY recommend it. It's VERY fun to play with.

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WHICH CHAPPELLE SHOW CHARACTER ARE YOU?

Ashy Larry: You are money-hungry and disinterested in anything unless it involves gambling. Why don't you trade in your winnings for a bottle of lotion?
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div style="width:188; background-color:rgb(216,233,237); text-align:center;">

WHICH CHAPPELLE SHOW CHARACTER ARE YOU?

Ashy Larry: You are money-hungry and disinterested in anything unless it involves gambling. Why don't you trade in your winnings for a bottle of lotion?
Take this quiz!








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| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

I'm well again, thanks to all the well wishers out there. JK and I are full of work this month. You wouldn't even believe it. I have nothing new to report except that 2.5 was funny again last night, thank blog.

Well, I'm kind of sick. I spent the whole day yesterday in bed and will very likely spend today there as well. As luck would have it 10.5 Apocolypse was on NBC last night. That was JUST what I needed, and I made JK watch it with me. I was disappointed there was no Randy Quaid or Nancy McKeon, but we got Beau Bridges and that was pretty good. He played The President, it was extremely fictional though, because in this show the Pres knew EVERYTHING that was going on, right down to who was on duty, and the FEMA people were PREDICTING what was going to happen. Anyway the best quote from the movie was "Something is DEFINITELY going on here." This after LA was destroyed by an earthquake, there was a giant tsunami, the desert flooded, several volcanos erupted etc. Luckily for me it's continued next week.

cookie's continued...

oh yeah, I forgot 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

RK's Amazingly Healthy Breakfast Cookies

I did a little experimenting and this was the result. EXTREMELY filling and healthy.

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or you can use regular flour, whatever)
1/2 cup Maine Sprinkles (if you don't have access to Maine Sprinkles add some grape nuts, or other cereal, and a little more flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp finely grated orange rind
3/4 - 1 cup dried fruit, chopped
a handful of coconut

Mix together, scoop out 1/4 cup for each cookie, flatten with a spoon till about a half-inch thick. Bake 350 until you can smell them. (about 10 minutes)

Last night I had a dream that it was Christmas. I was pissed because RK wasn't coming home--then she did. Everyone bought A-Lo digital cameras, even though she bought herself one right before Christmas....she had like, 6 different kinds of cameras, and she bought me one. Leigh wouldn't help suzanne clean the house. Sharon Stone droppped 2 dozen eggs helping me move a piano. Uncle Chubby was there.

I have dreams like that every night really, but I thought I'd share this one.

Claude Moore Colonial Farm Home Page

Claude Moore Colonial Farm Home Page

This is where T, D, D &I went today. There was an 18th C market there which was fun--I got lager in a pewter cup.

That boy is SOOOOO cute. He was not fussy at all. He gave me smiles. I carried him. I'm in love.

That doesn't sound like the bread for me. Thanks for going through the trouble of making that decision for me.

Blog Review: Honey Buttermilk Bread

Firstly, it took FOREVER for this bread to rise to my satisfaction. I even sat it on the radiator because it was chilly-ish in the house yesterday due to the pouring rain. It did finally rise though and I stuck it in the oven. I forgot to brush it with butter. Ah well. It came out with a flavor kind of like sourdough. It wasn't sweet at all. It is dense with a crunchy crust. It IS excellent toast and would probably make and excellent tuna melt. If you're having it as toast, I highly recommend you put a little honey on it. It is very good that way.

Re: Abraham Preble

This Abraham is the second Abraham Preble on our tree. He was born in 1642 and is our 8th great grand-uncle. His sister Sarah is who we descend from.

Pic posting:

You need to download Picassa Hello! I think if you click that tiny colored box below Amy's post it will take you to where you can download it. If not, let me know and I'll post the link.

is this "guess the dead person"? i have no idea. i want bread with nutella...but more than that, i want the maintenance people to come fix my damned drain! It's clogged because the garbage disposal is broken, and therefore I can't use my dishwasher. It's been like this for almost a week--I'm going to have to start eating out. RK, how did you post the pic?

St. Jean Baptiste day

RR, I just got this month's issue of Gastronomica, and they have an article about an event that takes place just outside Montreal. Apparently these chef's from all over the world make the world's largest omelette every year there. They use 15,000 eggs!!!!

well, unfortunately for you, I am unable to review the Honey Buttermilk bread recipe for you because I'm too stuffed to eat a slice. I'll do it in the morning though. Tonight I'll merely meditate on what I will have on it. My choices are: houlton farms butter, with or without honey, jam, or nutella...hmm maybe molasses.

huevos rancheros is my FAVORITE thing at friendly toast. I can't imagine having it on anadama though. I think some kind of corn toast would be good, however.

Last night was pretty mundane. We skipped Bush in favor of reading. We watched 2.5 but it wasn't very funny. in fact I don't think we laughed out loud even one time.

Jk is on JD this morning, so I'm alone. I wonder if LOTR is at Ellens. My neck is still killing me so I'll likely be spending most of the day in bed, after I have a poached egg.

I don't dare to post the cinnamon bun recipe. But you can get it, and see a photo of them here:

http://whowantsseconds.typepad.com/who_wants_seconds/2005/01/cinnamon_cardam.html

or you can email me and I'll send you the recipe.

I forgot to mention that at dinner I got to play with Todd's sister's son, Eric. That kid is cute. He didn't know what to think of me at first, but of course he warmed up to me and was taking food off my plate before you know it--babies like me. He's 18 months old and reminded me of Liam with his blonde hair and antics. It was nice to see a baby.

I would say I had just about a perfect weekend. Well, it's my idea of perfection anyway. Friday night we went to Chez Wonder, played a game of scrabble and drank a bottle of wine. WW won. It was so good to see them. Saturday, JK and I had fresh cinnamon rolls for brekky, then picked up the children and headed to the city. There we test drove a piano, played a game of mini golf, did more piano shopping and got a giffords ice cream. I got bumble berry, which i highly recommend, but get a kiddie cone because small is too large. JK got maine maple walnut which he raved about, mk got m & m, and isaiah got bubble gum of course. I did taste the bubble gum finally and I must admit it's not as disgusting as you imagine, but you can only eat one bite because it's way too sweet. When we got home I made cake and pizza.

Sunday I got up and baked off more cinnamon buns, which I will post the recipe for because they WERE very yummy. My morning started with my family going outside and picking me a giant bouquet of apple blossoms (they are my favorite you know) and now they are on my table perfuming my entire house. JK had a fire meeting, but I took my warm buns down to the Thurlow for a nibble. We had coffee, watched that show you guys like that I can't think of the name to, the one with the obsessive detective. Then Ellen and I made a billion kabobs. That Ellen, she does things up right. I went down expecting to just skewer a bunch of stuff, but she had this assortment of marinade recipes all ready to prepare. So we chopped and made marinade under the watchful eye of Snoop, who decided her idea of participation was "quality control". Apparently she did a good job though because everyone raved about the kabobs. I do pity you, because you missed a real feast. We had lamb, scallop, shrimp, beef and chicken kabobs, with too many veggies to list. Suzanne made elegant rolls and potato salad. Gram made delicious hash browns (cracker barrel recipe). And we had delightful company including Tom, Stan and Theresa. We missed the rest of you terribly; yet, we controlled our grief by drinking massive quantities of white wine. AVVGTWHBA. The next event is at Ellen's camp the Sunday before memorial day, and after that Tom will host the weekend before the forth.

The day ended with Maddy and I walking the field and noting all the flowers that are blossomed, dandelions, trilliam, jack in the pulpit, apple, strawberry, blueberry, forsythia, plum, white violet and phlox. Soon the chives will blossom. We picked a tiny bouquet to have beside my computer. Then we watched AFV, and my favorite of all time "dancing machine" won the grand prize. 48 years of vacations. I'm so happy for them. I wonder if I can find it online, because you ought to see it, though if you're not married you may not appreciate it so much, still it's worth watching. No, of course I can't find it.

To close, I will transcribe the lovely mother's day card I got from my son.

Front cover: Happy Mothers day
Inside:5-14-2006
Dear Mom, I love you because of the stuff you buy me, how you cuddle me, how you let me have dessert and more. Happy Mother's day, love Isaiah.

I must say, this kid has better handwriting than any I've ever seen come out of this family.

Happy Mother's Day

To all mothers. I have had a good day. I woke up and called mom and gram. Apparently GG was thrilled to hear from me. Then I made a fruit smoothie and read, watched food tv, and read. Mila called, she's doing well. Then I read a bit more. Then Todd called. He invited me to join him, his mom, his sister, and her son for dinner. We WANTED to go to Sweetwater, but one had a 100 minute wait, the other one had a 3 hour wait, so we nixed that idea. We went to Backyard Grill. I had 5 oz filet and crabcake. YUM-o. Then I went to Starbucks and got a mocha. Then I came home and chatted with Snoop and Suzie. Mom said something very nice--that she was lucky to have us as daughters. She was telling me that GG said something similar. What a lovefest. So then I got in touch with A-lo to make sure she hadn't drowned...and I've been watching the Weather Channel ever since. There's some crazy shit going on up there, people! Get your arcs ready!

i say A. chiffon is so touchy.

Blog Poll: cake

do i make the yellow "whipped cream cake" in two layers, fill it with lemon curd and frost with buttercream or do i make the yellow swirl "daffodil cake" which is more like a chiffon and frost with fluffy white, both would be sprinkled with coconut

Bridge Report

Bridge was held at the home of Suzanne, hosted by Rachael. We were all VERY happy to welcome our snowbirds back to the bridge tables. Present were Rachael, Orlie, GG, AUNT Lil, Aunt Lora, Mom, Helen and Tracey. The special guest was Georgia. Rachael and GG both got grand slams; and there were a couple of little slams but I don't remember who got them. The snack was fiddle faddle and popcorn, the treat was "jam cake". I must say the frosting was the best I EVER made, and the cake was very good overall. AVVGTWHBA. Next week bridge will be on Tuesday at AUNT Lil's.

something interesting

It may or may not be good. I cannot attest to it as I have yet to watch any. It is, however, interesting, at least to me.

http://www.nycfilms.org/

WARNING!!!
Chipotle's in adobo are SO hot!!! DO NOT use what they tell you, they also have a strange flavor, more like a combo of a pickle and a pepper to me. I strongly advice you to start with the tiniest smidge in whatever you cook them with, you can always add more.

I had a very busy weekend, but obviously not as busy as the rest of you as you didn't even have time to READ the blog apparently. Congratulations to US for having the first cookout of the year!!! Anyway, just so you know, there will apparently be a mother's day soiree at gg's next sunday, I don't know what time, the theme is "surf and turf" I think my contribution is going to be lemon cake.

also interesting....

I also bought some chipotles in adoboe sauce today...not sure what I'm going to do with them yet, but I think they are going to make for some wicked good burritos.

Good Lord! Snoop's dressed like a dominatrix today! I actually found something today that I thought was QUITE interesting.....wd40 PENS! I have been needing WD40 for a variety of reasons...squeaks all over my apt. Well when I went shopping today I was looking at all the little impulse items hanging on the aisle shelves, and I found WD40 pens--which was GREAT, because I forgot I needed it. Hopefully I can now get rid of the squeaks in my front door, washing machine cover, and nordictrack.

In the course of my housework today, I found 81 cents. I made three loaves of anadama to give to other people. Tonight maddy is going to a swimming party, isn't it a mite early in the year for that kind of thing? Ah well,hopefully I can convince JK to take me someplace to get a bite to eat.

What are your weekend plans?

I challenge each of you to blog one interesting item this weekend. I'm sick of this boringness.

Finally.

The flowers have finally started popping out, and just in time for GG too. Dandelions blossomed Saturday, my few daffodils blossomed yesterday and the trillian (stinking benjamin) blossomed today. No sign of Jack in the Pulpit yet. Today is busy, the kids have fun night and we have piano. I made anadama yesterday but it wasn't the best loaf ever due to my forgetting about it.

I will now ATTEMPT to catch you up on the going's on in my life. First...let me see where I blogged last....

OK a weeked or so ago, JK had fire training and was gone the entire time. I did something too, let me see if I can think of it....Oh, I think I went shopping with the kids all day saturday, and we fished some, then we fished on sunday too. Isaiah caught his first fish and he was tickled pink. Last week I didn't really do anything that exciting, I helped leigh move some and that's about it. This past weekend I had company (in-laws). I've been cooking a lot of bread (anadama and white) and that's about it. I also made suzanne's famous potato salad.

Haven't really seen any good movies or anything. Pretty boring, huh.

Oh we went to the region 5 music festival, in which our daughter participated in the chorus. You can catch her during the today show in her new commercial, apparently.