Hand Basket

 When the above receptacle, containing most aspects of our current lives, is  racing H-E-Double Hockey Sticks-ward, the little things matter more.

This morning I identified a bird I have never seen and very likely never will with a quick glance at a Facebook post on a bird page I follow.

It made my day. First time I smiled in a bit.

It was a Sabine's Gull. No idea how to pronounce the first name even, and could not see the yellow beak tip in the pics. The wing pattern was pretty much all there was.

Thank you Cornell Birdwise. I still struggle with gulls and shorebirds, but every once in a while I get one right. I don't have time these days to use it enough to justify the price for the full version but it is a useful program for sure. I will probably pay for it again next year and just hope I have time to play.

And now, back to all the bad stuff that is going on around here. Prayers for the boss of this operation would be appreciated. He is going through some hard stuff and getting pretty tired.

Thanks.

Happy National Jet Lag Day

 I hate the d*mned Time Change....

That is all...

Happy Halloween

 

My Brother asked me for this Recipe

I start by sauteing a couple of cloves of garlic,
some celery and a couple of carrots. I add carrots to any tomato dishes like this because it takes the sharpness of the tomatoes down a notch or two. Then I add herbs from the garden,
in season, and spices to those ingredients.

Except that it is not a recipe. It is sort of a framework for soups, stews, and other sauce or liquid based foods.

Today I chopped sweet basil, orange mint, top onions and
oregano into the mix. In summer more herbs are available;
in winter jarred ones, such as below, are the best I can do. At this time in the process
you can change direction from the tomato based soup or sauce, and head toward a traditional meat and vegetable stew, by adding other vegetables
and directing your efforts toward gravy rather than tomato sauce.

I chopped some of these into the sauce, 
just because I have them. 
They add a little bit of fresh, summery flavor
but you can get along without them

I put grated parmesan both in the sauce itself and into the meatballs
Don't be afraid of it; it adds a lot of flavor. The jars contain sauce I make in summer, from roasted tomatoes, herbs and seasonings. I freeze it for use in winter.
The first year I tried it I used the glass pints, but now we have freezer safe plastic quart sized deli containers

Some of both of these go into the meatballs
Along with a little milk, an egg, or even a bit of mayo to moisten

My favorite meats for meatballs
I have also used straight venison, beef, or added lamb
or bulk sausage to them. Depends on
what is in the freezer

Fennel seed goes in anything with Italian sausage 
but not in the meatballs.

We took his family some Italian Sausage soup I made from it last week. This time I am making meatballs in sauce. The boss can't eat much in the way of carbs, so we will not be having them with spaghetti.  

Simmering now.
I like to simmer it for a good while but you can serve it as soon
as the meatballs temp
165 or so

Cheat code
I usually add a jar of this, along with whatever water
it takes to rinse it out good.
It extends the homemade stuff and smooths out the edges.
You don't really need it though.

One Ring

 

I am a lot like Gollum with rings. They fall off my fingers and such. I lost my wedding ring in a McDonald's latrine, one of my much loved Irish rings in the parking lot at the boat launch, and the other while throwing hay to the sheep a couple of years ago.

My dear brother stopped at the Irish shop in Durham and picked up a replacement Irish ring for me and I struggle to keep that puppy on my finger too.

A couple of years ago Becky got some trinket or object of interest delivered to the house from someplace like Temu, and as a bonus a little ring of fish line and tiny blue beads was also in the package. She gave it to me as a joke. I put it on below my Irish ring, as a sort of a keeper, or warning that I was about to lose them.

And it worked.

Until yesterday.

I was letting the water out of a sink full of soaking dishes so I could wash them.

Swoosh. The little bead ring vanished from my finger. I was heartbroken all out of proportion to its value...maybe five cents on the current market...and hunted through the sink for it.

Nope. Gone. Down the drain.

And sadly my Irish ring is really loose right now too.

Dagnabbit.

I proceeded to do the chore I had lined up for. Coffee cups and frying pans, bowls and milk glasses, down to the silverware in the bottom of the sink. I picked up a fork to give it a scrub and there, caught in the tines, was my tiny dark blue bead ring.

Ralph thought something was wrong with me as I cried out for joy. (Actually, something probably IS wrong with me but we won't talk about that.)

Anyhow, I guess I am a pretty cheap date. It doesn't take a whole lot to make me happy.