A Job Well Done

If you remember correctly, we closed off our doggie door so the cat couldn't get out.

She is naughty when she's out.

Remember?

Dead bunny?

I won't show you the picture again.

You're welcome.

Anyway, she did happen to get out yesterday.

For five minutes.

FIVE MINUTES!

And she brought me this.

Unharmed.

I scooped up the precious little thing and ran outside to try to find the Mama.

Nothing.

Nowhere to be seen.

So I carried it around with me, knowing that Mama would return shortly.

Our yard is filled with quail all summer long.

After about half an hour, I finally let it go all by its lonesome in the backyard.

And about an hour later, I heard CarrotTop.

CarrotTop is a noisy feller.

He is the caller.

He sits on the roof of the house next door and watches our backyard.

When he saw the little chick yesterday morning,

he started calling out like crazy and within a few minutes,

I had Mama quail everywhere. 

I think they all wanted to claim little Aloysius.

That's his name.

He told me.

And here's the lucky lady that claimed him.

You can't see Aloysius because he was too little to climb up onto the concrete.

Nice job CarrotTop!

Holly

xxx-ooo

Kickin Back

The weather is warming up

and the bushes in the front yard are flowering.

It always amazes me that we live in the desert and that I have never

(and I mean never)

watered these bushes in the 2 years that we have lived here. 

They never turn brown and they flower all summer long.

Amazing, right?

I usually cut some of them to bring into the house or place out on the back patio.

My flowers are still looking good although the temps are going to reach triple digits by the end of the week so who knows how long they will last.

We have so many birds in our backyard. 

Most of them are quail. 

They are so much fun to watch and listen to. 

We have a block of seed set out on a small table in the yard for them and I've been wanting a birdbath but couldn't find one in my price range. 

My price range would be FREE.

I did find this dish at Goodwill and it's serving as our birdbath for now.

I found an old barometer at a garage sale last weekend

and bought it for my husband for a dollar to hang on the back patio. 

My husband likes old crap.

 The wood was very dry and scratched up. 

Before:

I used one of my favorite products on it and within 2 minutes I had this.

After:

 I used Old English Scratch Cover. 

Just put some on a rag and wipe the wood and any scratches are covered. 

It cleans and moisturizes the wood also. 

The beautiful color lasts for months.

I'm going to be doing this to my antique nesting tables this week also.

Holly

xx-oo

It was Supposed to be Turquoise

Several months ago a dear friend of mine, Connie, gave me an antique chair.

She told me I could do anything I wanted with it since it held no sentimental value for her.

I like to tell people that I refinish furniture.

I like to tell them that I make beautiful new things out of old falling apart things.

Apparently, I like to lie.

I do have several pieces of furniture in my garage that I've bought at thrift stores just for this reason.

So, see, it's sort of true.

Except that I haven't done anything with them yet.

So it's sort of not true.

Yes Dad, sort of not true is a lie.

Since the weather has warmed up a bit here, I figured it was time to do something with that chair.

I was planning on painting it turquoise but decided to be unoriginal and paint it yellow like Kris and Genn.  No, Kris and Genn are not yellow, but their chairs are.

Much more sunny and happy.

I had found the strawberry decal months ago in the bargain bin at Michael's for 10 cents.

Heading out now to plant more flowers. 

Holly

xxx-ooo

My BFF Paula

You know I love me some Paula.

We're like this.

Only she doesn't know it.  But it's still true.

Oh Come on Paula, show us those beautiful eyes.  She's shy, just like me!

I 've been buying her "Best Dishes Special Collector's Issues" for the past year.  Many times I find recipes in these that you can't find on her website or in any of her cookbooks.  I found this one yesterday.

I was looking through it in the check out lane at the grocery store and saw something I wanted to make right away so I left the check out and picked up a few more things.

Today I started the grill and got these babies going.

My husband loves wings. 

Apparently, they are a fun snack to eat

while watching the Speed Channel.

Or HGTV, in my case.

Fruity Chicken Wings

1/2 cup apricot-pineapple preserves

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp ground ginger

2 garlic cloves

2 lbs chicken drummettes and wings

I blended the sauce in my bullet.  Love the bullet.  Then I coated the chicken and put them on the grill.  Turn them over frequently so they don't burn.   Baste frequently with the preserves mixture.

Oh, and I did add about a teaspoon of red pepper flakes to give them a little heat.

Very sticky and delicious!

You may possibly use an entire roll of paper towels when eating these.

I'm joining up at Melynda's Cookbook Sundays!

This is a new, fun way to share recipes and Melynda is lovely, although, she does leave comments on my blog that may, or may not, be true.  Only I know for sure.

Check it out here.

Click on the "here", not on the picture because I have no idea what I'm doing.

On another note, we spent the morning on bee patrol.  You may remember from a previous post that we have had a real problem with bees.  They have been making hives under my husband's workshop.  Back in February, we ended up jacking up the shed and digging the hives out.  Well, some of the pesky critters have been trying to get back under there so this morning, we pulled all the rock from around the shed and filled everything with sand.

Do bees dig?  Can they get through sand?  If so, I give up and I'm moving.

Yes, that is my vacuum out there.  While Brian was using his air compressor to get the rest of the sand out of the back of his truck, I let him blow out my vacuum. I allow him to do this once a month.  Who wants to clean with a dirty vacuum?

One more thing.

Do you see anything growing in here?

Look very closely.

No, you don't see anything?

Neither do I.

How long does it take zinnias to start growing from seeds?

And marigolds?

I'm not so patient.

 Holly

xxx-ooo

Spring was Great!

I really enjoyed that whole week of spring we had here in Phoenix.  Yes, one whole week.  We went from a cold, rainy winter, and one week of spring time weather straight into summer.  The temps here are going to be in the 90's.  Awww, glorious summer.

Doesn't spring make you feel like dancing?

Or flying?  Or acting like an Egyptian?

Or maybe that's just me.

I spent so much time last week enjoying the weather that I completely forgot to do any spring cleaning.

Does that mean I get to wait until next year to do it?

Holly

xxx-ooo

Watching Grass Grow!!

That’s what we are doing around here. Can it get more exciting than that? Yes, it can because I’m bringing to you a chance to star in a reality series I am calling, “WATCHING THE GRASS GROW.” You’re on pins and needles aren’t you?

Here’s the deal. My Arizona winter grass is dying off and it’s time to get ready for the summer grass. I’ve taken the liberty of mowing the old stuff all the way down as far as my mower will allow. I’ve de-thatched and fertilized. Now it’s your turn to join in the excitement.

If you leave a comment on this post, you will be automatically entered into a weekly drawing where you could be chosen to come to my house! Each randomly selected participant will win a whirlwind weekend filled with mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, trimming bushes, and spraying for ants.

Wait, it gets better!

Included in this package will be all the bologna sandwiches you can eat and all the grape Kool-Aid you can drink. Just imagine yourself nestled up at night on our slightly dog-haired couch with your choice of either a firm or soft pillow and an afghan crocheted by my grandmother.

This weekend package also includes Band-Aids and Mercurochrome for those nasty blisters you will probably encounter, but hey, adventures like this come but once in a lifetime.
So hurry and comment! Don’t miss this opportunity! Be sure to read the fine print for contest rules and regulations.
Contestants have to:
• agree that the environment means subjecting oneself to risks including “severe mental stress and heat stroke.”
• agree to “be considered ‘ free labor for the Blevins household’” “for the purposes of workers’ compensation only (which will not be paid).”
• agree to “not defame, disparage or cast in an unfavorable light this blogger, her husband or any entity of this series.”
• “not advertise my winning of any prize (because there isn’t one).”
• be available at all times to do press interviews.
• agree to psychological exams and lie detector tests, the results of which can be broadcast on this blog.
• agree that they may be injured, and won’t hold this Blogger responsible for the lack of health care facilities ( I don’t like hospital waiting rooms), and may contract fleas, rabies, tetanus or other diseases from contaminated areas.
• agree to pay all expenses for travel to and from the reality series location (in Arizona) and to stop at a Sonic on their way to said location to pick up a Diet Coke for the producer.

Leave a comment at your own risk to be entered into the weekly drawing.

Holly

xxx-ooo

Rainy Days and Ranch Bread

The forecast calls for a rainy cold weekend so all my pretty flowers have been pulled in under cover so I can throw a sheet over them if it gets too cold.

It's been so nice the past week that I was hoping we were finished with the cold spell.  Not that I'm ready for 115 degree weather.

Inside we've been keeping nice and warm.  I used my bread machine to bake a white ranch loaf.  The house was filled with a wonderful aroma.

White Ranch Bread

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup Dry Milk

1 1/2 tsp Salt

1 TBSP powdered Ranch Dressing

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1 1/8 cup water

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Place all ingredients into bread pan, in the order recommended by manufacturer of bread machine.  Insert the pan into bread maker and select "white", desired crust color, rapid or normal baking cycle and loaf size.  Press start.

I love this bread sliced and grilled with a little butter and garlic to go along with steak and potatoes. 
I think next time I'm going to let the bread machine do its thing until it's time to rise and then pull it out, let it rise on the counter and then bake it in the oven.  I don't like the shape or the hole in the bottom of the bread from the paddle.

Have a great weekend!

Holly

xxx-ooo

Spring has Sprung

We're finally starting to warm up here.  The frost took a toll on all of our bushes and trees.  Everything is still looking terrible and brown.  I can tell that we have green underneath so in March I can trim everything back and hopefully have pretty green again.

I posted a while back about the problems we were having with bees under my husband's workshop.  We had a massive hive underneath so the bees kept coming back no matter how many times we killed them.  The hive had to be removed.  The workshop had to be jacked up and the hive was removed.

We are now bee-free.  Woot-Woot!

I was able to get some flowers planted in some pots that will probably hold me over until we are able to get our summer lawn in.  I miss the green.

On a side note, I found a recipe for home made kettle corn here.  It was very simple and delicious.  The secret is to just keep the pot moving on the stove or the sugar will burn very quickly. 

Sweet and salty deliciousness.

Holly

xxx-ooo