The first owner of our house was (supposedly) a master gardener, and if so, she left me a great slate to start with. She planted daffodils all along the front fence line, and then has them scattered in the back in a natural way. The ones in the backyard haven’t opened. I don’t even see the blossoms yet. The ones in the front get more sunlight, so are some of the first things to bloom, along with the crocuses she planted. So anyone walking out front gets to see the pretty stuff first.
We live in an HOA where most houses are brick. Ours is a traditional Victorian style, so sort of sticks out, in both color (yellow, with green and cream trim/accents). Not many around here have a front porch (not to mention a porch swing!) so I relish being a bit different from the cookie cutter homes that surround us.
If I could have this house on another few acres, with a navigable creek in the back, I would be in hog heaven. I suppose if that happened, we wouldn’t have as good access to great healthcare and a decent airport as we have here. Our family all lives from coast to coast, so the airport is a necessity these days. So this is probably the best of everything that we need. Especially as we, unfortunately, get older. I fight that as best as I can, but yeah, it’s sneaking up on us. I’ll be kicking and screaming all the way! I try hard to stay in shape so as to keep people guessing my age.
Be careful with your mom and those rattlers! How’s her hearing? Don’t they usually warn you if they see you first? Anywho, a rake or hoe should keep enough distance if the rattler decides to strike.
I bought a new smoker for hubby for his birthday next week. It won’t get here until Friday, so tomorrow’s burgers will likely be the last on this old one (which I love and I’m not ready to part with). Hubby makes the BEST burgers! Those and his baby back ribs are my two favorite things he makes. Of course, we’ve been missing those the last few weeks. Burgers are simple, but his ribs take expertise. He has a method for his ribs.
On Monday I will make a traditional St. Patrick’s Day meal, corned beef and cabbage. Hubby is 1/4 Irish, and I am honorary Irish by virtue of the fact that I was taught by many Irish nuns in my youth. I loved and adored them. So witty and clever and smart! They taught me how to dance the jig, and I know most of the traditional Irish songs, which really endears me to my mother-in-law. I have an old grade school friend with a BEAUTIFUL voice, and I have a recording of her singing “My Wild Irish Rose”, which I send to my MIL every year. Hubby’s father was born on St. Patrick’s Day, so it really warms her and helps her. If I could choose my heritage, I’d probably choose to be Irish in there somewhere.
I did trail maintenance in nearby mountains for almost 20 years & encountered quite a few ‘Timbers’. I can say, for a fact, they don’t always rattle. Most will be in the mountains, but we have nearby rock & brush piles, good places for rodents which is an attractant. Mom’s hearing stinks, even with hearing aids plus the rattling can sound like insects. We had a crew member struck in the chainsaw chaps by a Timber. The crew hsd stopped for a break & this snake did rattle to warn, but it was mistaken for insect noise - when the sawyer took 2 steps, the snake struck (grass & weeds were knee deep on an old roadbed). The chainsaw chaps are Kevlar- the snake struck/hit them and kept on going, right over the edge of the road. Exciting with no harm done, but would have been disastrous if one of the other crew members with no chaps had started to walk off first.
I plan on doing a corned beef Monday as well. We’re not Irish, but my niece was born on ‘the day’ so it’s special to us for that reason.
Here’s a basic recipe to follow to use up your Corned Beef and Cabbage leftovers.
My plan? I have homemade chicken stock thawing and will mash some of the potatoes & carrots for thickener and cut the remaining carrots, potatoes and corned beef into smaller pieces. The onion is plenty cooked down. I’ve done this before and it’s always a really good meal for later in the week after St. Patty’s Day. I don’t re-use the cooking liquid - it’s just too salty for my taste.
So, as usual - why make ONE meal when you can eventually have TWO? ;) (Stretch those hard-earned dollars!)
Our LOVELY friend, Hallie, is now baking Sourdough Breads (all kinds!) for sale and Beau traded her 2 dozen eggs for a loaf last night when her group was sponsoring an American Kennel Club Night Hunt for our Walker Dogs. (She doesn’t hunt, anymore; she’s now into Show Dogs and her dogs are BEAUTIES!) The bread was PERFECT with the Corned Beef and I was so PROUD of myself - I didn’t cut into the loaf until suppertime. Now THAT is RESTRAINT, my FRiends, LOL!
My Irish MIL (Mary was a ‘Murray’) would make the BEST Corned Beef - from scratch - with a fresh Brisket and everything. No shortcuts in her Irish Kitchen! I miss her so much! She’s otherwise healthy but in Memory Care, now. She thinks I’m ‘staff’ when I go to visit her. Reminds me of a line from a sappy movie: ‘She may not know who I am, but I know who SHE is!’ (’The Notebook?’)
Enough blathering. Here’s the recipe!
https://www.irishamericanmom.com/leftover-corned-beef-and-cabbage-soup/#recipe