The cake is ordered

My daughter designed her cake yesterday

Her graduation party theme is "aquarium". Since I bought her a new aquarium for graduation. It's the gift that keeps on getting. She needs this now, and this, and then there is that. What? Why can't you use the old aquarium stuff? Mom shakes her head.

I went to the bakery in town. They can take any photo and make an edible picture on the cake. We did the wolves the one year, and Brad Pitt (before he fooled around and lost our respect) another year for her birthday. You can look back at my April posts for pictures of the cakes.

This year she didn't want any cake for her birthday. Last year I was in Columbus and she was at my sister's. Before that it was another year with no cake. But for graduation, we have to get a cake. I will take pics of it on the big day.

The sumo-wrestling get-up is reserved and paid for. That will arrive the day of the party and be set up in the yard. My nephew will probably take the pics because when I host a party, I usually leave the camera in the house. This one may be different though, since it is a 'once in a lifetime' event.

My relatives say they are all getting into the sumo suits. I don't know. I am having a hard time thinking about donning a suit that a hundred other people have worn and probably sweat in.

My daughter is upset because she was told at the ceremony rehearsal to wear a dress or skirt. No exceptions. Before yesterday she was all adamant. "It is sexist!" Sigh. I try to tell her it is one day out of her life. One day. They say they won't let her walk with the others. I did. I wore a skirt under my gown. Well, a top, too. It was no big deal. But hey, it was mandatory for we females to wear a dress or skirt up until I was in the eighth grade. So, it was not a big deal for me. She is grumbling.

Well, coffee cup is empty. This Dunkin Donuts coffee is much smoother going down. I am draining every cup. Hmmm. Maybe there is something to this coffee. Oh, and this is my 1500th today. Who would have thunk it? It will be my fifth year of blogging in June. Seriously? Thunk passes the spellcheck feature? Oh, it is a word. A noise and the past tense of think. Well, bust my buttons.

Ol' Green Eyes

Mr. Tibbs peeking at me from inside the house

I have always been attracted to males with green eyes. I guess Mr. Tibbs is no exception. He was watching me take pictures of my poppies. Wondering why I was out there and he was inside.

My daughter cannot stand this cat. He is the cat you see on commercials or videos where the little girl takes and puts the cat into a dress or carries around upside down. He will let you do almost anything to him. And he comes back for more.

I don't dress him up. Well, there was that one time.... No, just kidding! He likes to come and rest on my arm. As long as he is touching me he is happy. He never wants to go outside. No interest. He does walk around the house with a pitiful meow once in a while. As if he is searching for something or someone.

I am trying to remember why my daughter does not like him. I think he gets into things in her room and knocks things over. He is rather clumsy and nosy. She says he is a stupid cat. The other cats know when to get out of her way or when to run when they knock something over. He just kind of slumps around. If you step on him in the dark he doesn't scamper out of the way. He just kind of lays there.

I don't know. I've seen him scamper away very quickly when something falls over. I like each of my cats in their own way. Mr. Tibbs. I guess Sidney didn't have green eyes. Drat!

I caved in and purchased some Dunkin Donuts coffee yesterday. I am trying it this morning. Since I woke up at 3:30 and can't sleep. I was worried that I was going to crave a donut or something while drinking it. Consumer Reports rated it the number one best tasting coffee. So far - big deal. Whoopee. I'll probably drink a couple of cups, read a few blogs and go back to bed for an hour.

Ahhh. It's Friday. Daughter graduates tomorrow. Now, where did we put that cap and gown?

Click photo for a very large view (1600 x 1213)

My poppies did well on the East side of my house this year. What I didn't plan was their growth in numbers. They were here before I moved in. I didn't know they existed when I planted my pink peonies. Now I have a huge, full and bright pink peony bush and a few feet over are the brightest, orangest, eye-poppin-est poppies you ever did see. Yes, I know I took some liberties with my spelling, here. "Took some"? Really? It is way too early to edit myself.

Wait. You can type the blackest night. The reddest sunset. The pinkest rose. The whitest sheets. The bluest sky. The greenest grass. You can even get away with the yellowest banana. But you cannot say the orangest poppy. Is that because it ends with a vowel? Blue ends with an "e". What then? The most orange poppy? I can even go farther. My skin is pinker than it was yesterday. The sky is bluer. My poppies are not oranger. LOL!

My daughter is finished with school. Her last day. She starts at the branch University here in town this fall. She is still job hunting. She is getting discouraged. I remind her that the job market is very tough right now. She still does not want to work with food.

It is peaceful and quiet in my office. I am just enjoying it. Schools are winding down for the summer. Very few require any assistance. I have quite a few summer projects on the horizon. But this is the stalled time. Data entry folks are as busy as bumblebees getting the grades, schedules and other things printed and recorded. Networks are slowing down and we are seeing a break in traffic as students and staff begin to empty the buildings.

Graduation party planning is still going on. My wallet says "ouch!"

It helps

As I get older, my hands hurt more. Mowing, mixing, sweeping. All that stuff hurts more and more. This can opener helps a lot. When I make calico beans (Sloppy Jo can shown in the video) it really comes in handy because I have to open so many cans of beans.

I never had much luck with electric can openers and the hand ones work fine when you first get them. This one does require batteries but you push a button and walk away. Noisy? Yes. But, it works.

A very simple cheese ball

Two ingredients. When I began making these years ago there were things like garlic salt and Worcestershire sauce in the recipe. Being 20-something and not having settled down yet, I didn't have any of that stuff around. So the cheese ball was simplified to 2 ingredients. Well, walnuts too. Oh, and maraschino cherries. But those really don't make the cheese ball.

I bring the Phila cream cheese to room temperature. The jarred cheese does not have to be refrigerated until after it is open so it is usually already room temperature. The grocery store workers can be real devils. They just love to hide these little jars. I have found it a personal challenge to know where they hide them in each and every store I frequent.

Sometimes they are in the refrigerated area with the other cheeses and sometimes they are on a shelf with Cheez Whiz and Velveeta. Sometimes they stick them on an end cap where you think they would be obvious, but they aren't.

Do not attempt to substitute another flavor (such as pimento) for this cheese ball. Trust me on this. Some folks say they like pineapple in their cheese ball. That is just wrong. I feel the same way about my pizza. Aw, I'm just kidding. Do what you want.



I mix the two cheeses together with a spatula. I form a ball as best I can while it is in the bottom of the bowl. I don't use a plastic bowl any more. I believe that food absorbs odors and a bad taste from the plastic. I always use glass or a corning ware bowl. I let it sit in the refrigerator over night (uncovered). No longer than 8-9 hours because it will begin to dry out.You do not want tiny little crusty pieces in your cheese ball. Gross.



I chop walnuts. Yes, I used to cut them up with a knife, but since I have settled down I now use Pampered Chef's chopper. Love it! That is about the only thing I use it for but since I make so many cheese balls it gets a lot of use.

I spread the chopped walnuts out on a cutting board. I like my walnuts chopped so fine they are almost a powder. I scoop the cheese ball out of the bowl (use a spatula because this puppy can get very messy). I plop it down on the walnuts.

Your hand is going to get messy. I roll the cheese ball around in the nuts. Now, here is the thing. Sometimes the ball will come out perfect and sometimes it will come out like goo. I have found what I believe are two reasons for this.

One - the weather. If you bake a lot or have made fudge, you know that rain can really mess with your end result. I was recently proved wrong with this fact when on a nice beautiful sunny and dry day my cheese ball came out like mush. WTF?!

Two - How long I mix the two cheeses together or if I let the cream cheese soften too much. I have found that the less I mix them together, the better the ball seems to form.

Once you have rolled the gooey mess in the walnuts, plop it into a bowl. Oh, yeah. Have the bowl ready BEFORE you roll the ball. You don't want to be rummaging around for a paper bowl or any bowl with that goo on your hands!

Top with a maraschino cherry or two.

Serve with crackers of choice. Another tip I have found. Club crackers are the strongest. When spreading a cheese ball on crackers it is very frustrating when the cracker snaps in two. Ritz just crumbles. Townhouse breaks easily, but the Club crackers are the strongest.

My daughter and I spent the day together yesterday. We shopped for graduation and party supplies. What fun. Then we ate at Outback steak house. I go weak in the knees....

We watched Twilight. Netflix sent it next, even though I had moved other movies ahead of it in my queue. My daughter had seen it before. A lady at work told me I really should watch it and read the books. No thanks. Not my cup of tea. The main characters are 17 years old. And vampires. I do not like vampire movies. And high school angst? Been there. Don't care to go back. Not even in a movie.

I have seen the female lead character before in Panic Room. I loved that movie.

Well, now. It's off to bake my cake and start the Calico beans. Sayonara.

A few moments for me

While driving down to the home office yesterday morning, I stopped to look at the lake. Except for the trucks roaring by on Rt. 25o it was a peaceful, beautiful scene.

There were lots of fishermen out already this morning. Long week-end and all. They looked like they were ready to party.

At work in the home office, we had all the spare old equipment ready for the truck to pick up and no truck came. This truck was coming from the C0lumbus area to my home office (by the river). My manager finally called and the office person said they had mechanical problems. They arrived a little over three hours later. Sounds to me like they left when we called. Hmmm?

We all worked up a mighty sweat loading that truck in 85 degree Fahrenheit weather. I wish I had taken pictures. Somebody said "It's probably better not to take pictures of a state agency getting rid of old equipment." I guess one time years ago a University threw away some junk equipment and the newspaper took a picture and the headlines read "They have so much money, they can throw computers away!"

No pics of the deed.

I asked about 10 co-workers what their plans were for the week-end. People like to talk about themselves. Some were camping, some where grilling, some were doing nothing and one was taking his son for his first run in Wh33ling. He said something before the number, so I am guessing he said the Ogd3n 5k.

Me? I am off to a cook-out tomorrow so I will be fixing the food stuff today. My Calico beans, pineapple pudding cake and yes, as usual, my "cheese ball!" I am certain I have made a thousand of these things in my lifetime. At the very least, I make 10 a year. Probably more like 20 a year for the past 20 years. That is 400. Before that it was sporadic. Okay, maybe 500 of them, then.

Sticky Ants

It's that time of year again. My peonies are starting to bud. I loved the bright "eyes?" of the ant on the top of the flower. I guess it is the eyes. Click the photo to see in closer.

Funny how you feel things on your legs, arms, back when you are looking at pictures of ants, spiders, bugs. There is nothing there, Peruby!

I guess I did so well at work yesterday, they have cancelled me coming back the next two days. Originally my manager scheduled me to drive down to the home office Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to get old equipment ready for a truck that is picking it all up on Friday. Now, they just want me to come back an hour before the truck comes on Friday to finish the job.

It does figure. My job was to peel inventory stickers off of equipment, stick it to a notepad and record it. Then to add the old equipment to the "junk" pile. I filled out 10 pages where the guys had filled out two.

I have watched the extended version of Taken. I didn't know it was the extended version until I began reading up on the movie on imdb.com. No wonder I had to hide my eyes during some of the more violent scenes. Ugh.

I asked my daughter how her boyfriend obtained a copy of this movie so quickly. My Netflix told me it was a very long wait for this one. She smiled and said "You don't' want to know." Oh, jeez. They knew I really wanted to see this movie. I am afraid he may be trying a little too hard with me.

In another post I may go over what I found to be "loose strings" of this movie. I felt that it left a lot of things hanging. Things that bother me in a movie. Overall, it was good. Neeson was very good in it. No complaints there. Just those pesky little things that were never explained or cleared up. You are just left hanging, asking yourself "How did...?" and "What happened to....?"

Tuesday Afternoon

After a day in the garage re-arranging equipment, I felt it really necessary to stop along the lake on the way home and enjoy a moment of serenity.

The day was not nearly as bad as I anticipated. After re-reading this morning's post I was like "Gee Peruby, don't hold back. Why don't you tell us how you really feel."

Tiny dog

This is my friend's dog Neenee

Photo is from last year. I've lost my camera battery charger and have not taken any recent pictures. I'll find it. My desk is a mess. Neenee is a timid little creature. She likes to bark and she is very nimble.

After the visit, I met up with some family who had organized a cake walk to raise money for a community project. I didn't win a cake. :-(

Hamming it up

This is my brother's step grandson. I think I have that correct.

He went with his kindergarten class. He is the one hamming it up. Which reminded me of my schooling before first grade. I went to head start. I always hated that title. I always thought I went because my sisters taught it. That is what I thought. Perhaps I will ask more. I had the perfect opportunity last night but didn't even think of it. My two oldest sisters and I met for dinner.

So I read where head start is for "low income families". Of course. That is why I hated the title. You are labeled for life. I can recall a few times saying "I went to head start" when the subject of kindergarten came up.

Hey! And what is with his tee shirt? I'll have to ask my brother. If anybody in my daughter's school wore that they would be in 'all day suspension'. No cross bones of any kind allowed.

As for not being ashamed of the title? You can say that all you want, but it doesn't amount to a hill of beans while you are in school and at the mercy of the other kids. I can remember my brother (the step grandfather of the boy above) having his name written on the blackboard along with some other students who all received "free lunches." Talk about humiliating a child.

And the really bizarre thing now is, it is almost a status of pride to qualify for financial aid in the schools. But, back in the 60's? You just hung your head and scratched the dirt with the toe of your well-worn, scratched up penny loafer and prayed that the subject would move onto something else, and quickly.

And, I have to add this. I will always remember the merciful classmates who would change the subject quickly. And I will always, always remember the ones who were cruel. They never need to wonder why I don't chat amicably when we meet by chance. And why I will never, ever go to my class reunions. Okay, never say never. LOL!

Aw, who wants to go down this road on the beginning of a beautiful Saturday morning? Nobody, that's who! I am off to visit an old friend today. I bonded with her at my first job out of high school. Her father was a big drunkard, too. Leaving her Mom to raise six kids with limited resources. Whoops, there I go again. Enough!

Don't ignore me

My car circa 2006

My car talked to me the other evening. Tuesday, yes that was the day. Tuesday. Because I rushed right home from work with the intention of mowing the grass. I get started on the mowing as soon as I change clothes so that I don't get relaxed and settled in at home. If I do that then all hope is lost for the lawn.

As I pulled the car into the garage and turned off the engine, I heard it.

"Hey you!"

Me (annoyed at any delay): "What?"

"I need to talk to you."

Me: "I'm busy!" And with that I got out and slammed the door shut.

"Heyyyyy!"

Me: "Shut up! I've got work to do. And, you stink!"

With that I closed the garage door. I can't be certain but I thought I heard my car mumble something about driving my fat ass around for almost 200,000 miles.

I didn't have time.

The next morning I drove my car the entire 2.5 miles to work. When I got out, I smelled it. The sickening sweet smell. I looked under the front end. Hmmm. Anti-freeze. 2.5 miles? Really?

I went inside and began my work day. I didn't talk to the car. It didn't talk to me. You don't make a remark about my behind like that and expect me not to give it the cold shoulder!

At lunch I looked at the puddle again. My car was eerily quiet. I drove to the sandwich shop and back. Hmm. Not a good smell. It produced nothing more. No more regurgitation. I looked at it. It did look kind of green.

Oh, it is green.

I sighed, went inside and called my auto shop. I had an appointment to get the oil changed on the 21st but explained the situation to them. Bring it in after work, they said.

I did. Ouch.

My car must have heard me speaking of renting a sumo wrestling mat setup for my daughter's graduation party. "So, you got money to throw around on fun stuff, but you won't ignore me. I'll make certain of that!"

Well, I guess so. Radiators are plastic. Did you know that? A very expensive type of plastic, I guess. Not only was my back sore from mowing, now my wallet is sore. Ah, well. Such is life.

Risk

Yes. This is the same nephew who tumbled off a cliff on his ATV last fall. No medical insurance. My sister about choked when he called us to come outside. I am thinking a stuntman school (if there is such a thing) would have been his calling.

My Treasure Hunt

My daughter knows that the first thing I do (even before fixing my coffee) is to feed the cats and let the dog out. This is where I found the first clue to my treasure hunt.

Our mailbox is on the porch. Sigh. I was forced to get dressed before retrieving this clue. I wouldn't dare go outside in my pajamas!

Our leak was fixed last fall, but I still knew where to find this clue.

How did she know I wouldn't do a load of laundry last night? She must have set this up before she went camping. Or did she return during the night? I don't think so. Sly little monkey.

I texted her a heartfelt thank-you, telling her it was fun and that I loved it. She answered me quickly from a tent somewhere in some woods somewhere.

This is how I set my daughter's name to come up first in my cell phone's Contact list. By placing the AAA before her name. It appears first, right before AAHome.

I think this treasure hunt is reminiscent of one I did for her when she was about five or six years old. She had lost a tooth and having early morning insomnia (even 13 years ago) I created a treasure hunt for her beginning with a note/clue under her pillow.

I am off to a cook-out today. I already prepared the calico beans and they are warming up nicely in the travel crock pot. My cheese ball flopped today. Strange because there is no rain. Go figure.

Calico beans recipe:

1 large can of baked beans
(any flavor, any brand - don't drain this can)

1 can of black beans
(drain the juice into the empty baked beans can)

1 can baby green limas
(drain the juice into the empty baked beans can)

1 can butter beans
(drain the juice into the empty baked beans can)

1 can kidney beans
(drain the juice into the empty baked beans can)

(can substitute or add any beans to suit your personal taste)

1 cup of firmly packed brown sugar
(add more if you like them sweet!)

1 tsp dry prepared (or ground) mustard
(I have also used regular wet mustard)

1 14 oz. bottle of catsup (ketchup)

1 small, diced yellow cooking onion - or half an onion
(depends on how much you like onions)

(can substitute a sweeter onion - your personal taste)

1 lb. of cooked, chopped up ground beef

6 - 10 slices of fried, crisp bacon, crumbled

Add all ingredients into a crock pot (or into a large baking dish).

Add extra (drained) bean juice if dish appears too dry.

Bake in an oven (I would estimate 350 degrees F. for an hour) or heat in a crock pot for a few hours before serving.

You can see how flexible I am with recipes. I change my ingredients almost every time.

I google a recipe and take ingredients I like from seven or eight versions.

Okay. Spell checker didn't like the word catsup. Really? And, it wanted to change my limas (plural for lima beans) to llamas. Yeech!

Here is the mailbox

Five baby birds nested inside

Here is a broader view of the bird's nest we found in the mailbox. I'd never seen anything like it. Do they plan it? Was it an accident? Does the Mommy bird nest here every year? We have one on the side of our house and it is full (sometimes twice) every year.

Well, the busy season is upon me. I have something every week-end between now and the fourth of July. I cancelled my annual 4th of July blast because I am giving a graduation party for my daughter in June. Still, I will have some company for the fourth, just not forty people.

My daughter wants something a little different for her graduation party. I'll have to think about it. An inflatable sumo wrestling setup.

Update on the co-worker. I overheard her calling the doctors for an increase in her medications.

You've got mail

Seen in a mailbox

Two sisters and I went to WV to begin planning a reunion this past week-end. I suppose if my sister didn't smoke we would never have seen the five baby birds nested inside a mailbox. The door was left open all the time (of course). The mommy bird did not show while we took pictures. I would have removed the door completely for fear that some ornery kid would come along and close it. This nest was outside of a flower shop. I suppose they check on it from time to time.

We laughed a lot while visiting relatives. Old memories and old sayings. We got the ball rolling on this first annual reunion on my father's side. My Mom was born in the same vicinity but she was (almost) an only child. Her half brother didn't come along until she was ten and she never met him until they were in their fifties.

The hardest part will be no electricity in the shelter house. The grills were in pretty bad shape but after talking to one cousin he knew who to talk to and will have new ones there by August.

There were 8 children in my father's family. One did not have any children. But, one had fourteen. I am thinking about 35 children from this original 8. No one remains of the original 8, but you can imagine the children and grandchildren. They are scattered all over. Some in New York, some in Maryland, some in Virginia and some in Ohio. It will be interesting to see how many show up. Our family will have a definite 20 show (maybe more). We know of 20 that confirmed while on our recent visit. Outside of that is any body's guess.

Terminology is different there. We chuckled at our one cousin. While calling relatives close by his call waiting kept beeping. He was trying to answer it. He was not successful. (I usually never am, either). He said "The kids say to press the tic-tac-toe button."