maison rustique

Much to be cheerful about today... First of all, NBA play-offs begin tonight. I hope the Celtics haven't gotten rusty while waiting! Secondly, while Kansas City was one of the first Google Fiber installation cities, our little Liberty (about 2 miles from KC) was one of the last. It is finally ready. I ordered it up yesterday and they will install on the 18th--it will cut my monthly costs by about $60. Since they do not offer TV now, I also ordered a free trial of YouTube TV, which I am watching local news on at the moment. Took me a minute to figure it out, but I think I've got it now. As of right now with the little TV I watch, I have not seen any channel I can't get that I would miss. And I was greeted this morning by House Sparrows, Carolina Wrens, Tufted Titmice, Northern Cardinals, Mourning Doves and Northern Mockingbirds.

Warm weather means light suppers. Simple salad with crispy pepperoni on top (I added shredded parm after the photo) and a sage-thyme croissant from my neighbors' baker daughter.

Having been married to an electronics engineer way back when, even when he was in school, he was still fascinated with the radar range. So much so that he bought me one for Christmas. Let me tell you, that thing was enormous!! I kept it for years because it still worked, was nostalgic and if I had 25 cups of coffee to re-heat, I could fit all of them into it at the same time. 😂 I have many cookbooks for microwave cooking, but still only use it for re-heating for the most part. Once in a while, I'll nuke some veggies or bake a potato. But if I'd been inclined, I could have cooked a whole turkey dinner in that old one!

There is a local group of food-minded folks here that is an informal group--some are just people who like to eat, some love to cook, some own restaurants, etc. I've made a number of friends via the group and one of my friends hosted a brunch yesterday. I didn't take any photos, but am stealing a few from a friend's FB page. I was delighted to see that the host made and served a rice salad that I concocted that is loosely based on a dish that was served at a restaurant in Costa Mesa many years ago. I'd forgotten that I shared the recipe with her a few years ago.

Fascinating! Thank you.

Do we need to know how to prevent them?

Certainly isn't heavy-duty literature, but I am reading "Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice For Murderers" by Jesse Q. Sutanto. Set in SF's Chinatown, it is engaging and humorous. A good distraction for me. I find the younger Asian generations' attitudes toward their elders/parents to be both fascinating and funny. I hope it isn't offensive to Asians because I truly don't believe the author intended it to be so. And just to keep this at least partially about food, Vera Wong of title fame runs a tea shop and cooks traditional Chinese food like crazy, so tea and food are featured prominently. Makes me hungry when I'm reading it.

Good to know! I have in-laws in Rochester. I was planning to ship the family mantel clock to them, but maybe I need to plan a driving trip in the fall. I could take the clock, visit Ithaca and try to relax a bit. I love driving trips and I already know that area is gorgeous in autumn.

I use the wonderful and free Merlin ID app from Cornell, so if they are fictional, blame them. 😆 I do often wonder where they come up with the names for some birds. There are some crazy ones out there. I also think that all the storm activity/climate change has brought many new birds to our area either temporarily or permanently--time will tell.

Was greeted this morning by House Sparrows, Cooper's Hawk!!, Carolina Wrens, Tufted Titmice, Northern Mockingbirds, Downy Woodpeckers, Great Crested Flycatchers and Northern Cardinals.

What a great video! What a great guy he was! RIP.

I'm working to downsize and get this place listed soon. I will certainly miss my Wildlife Diner patrons when I move. I don't think I posted here about the other day. I was driving down the highway. An Indigo Bunting flew down just to the right of me on the center line and sat there briefly. First time I have actually seen one, though I have picked up their songs at home a few times lately. Their electric blue color is just stunning. Then, on the way back on the same highway, either a crane or heron flew down low to look at me, dip a wing, then take off. When those things happen, I feel like I'm being sent a message of some sort by the PTB. Yesterday we visited cemeteries to decorate family graves. We did an abbreviated version this year since so many of us have health issues right now and stamina is low. At any rate, while at one of the Independence cemeteries, we pulled up to our family plot and there was a beautiful fox running across the way toward a wooded area. I didn't have my phone out yet to get a photo. Then a bit later I observed a cardinal flying around from one gravestone to another. As many believe that viewing cardinals are loved ones visiting from the other side, it was a sweet thing to see in a cemetery.

It will be beautiful weather today until evening when more severe storms head into the area. My sisters and BIL are coming and we will go decorate family graves since the rest of the weekend is supposed to be wet. My morning songsters included some newbies again. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Great-crested Flycatcher, who need to get busy because it is really buggy out there, are new to my immediate area. Singing along were Northern Cardinals, ?House Sparrows, American Crows, Brown-headed Cowbirds and Carolina Wrens.

Yes, I hope so, too. He actually had lost 2 fillings in front teeth and the dentist said when he was replacing one, another fell out. So, he replaced 3 fillings and smoothed out a crown on a back tooth that had broken. Our dentist is wonderful. He cared for my Mom when she had dementia and he is aware of Don's condition and sensitive to my financial situation with having to pay for memory care. There was a lot he could have done--made me aware--but said he doesn't think those things are critical and can wait. And, I am meeting friends this afternoon for Happy Hour wine and pizza at a new-ish place here that I've been wanting to visit. It is rare for our little city to get an independent restaurant. We are in the land of crappy chains here.

This morning I was serenaded by northern cardinals, house sparrows, house finches, brown-headed cowbirds, American robin, ruby-throated hummingbird and common nighthawk. The hummer and a couple of squirrels put in personal appearances. They were too hungry to wait for me to go inside. As you'll notice, the severe storms that we've had in the mid-west this Spring have been very hard on my furniture covers. I had to throw out some that were completely destroyed by hail and wind, but if that is the worst damage, I can live with it.

All went fine. They gave him extra meds and he was very calm, but very out of it.

The husband either broke a front tooth or lost a filling. I am taking him to the dentist this morning. Since he has had several violent rages in the past 3 weeks, I'm a nervous wreck about it. Will be his first time to leave the facility. I just hope I can get him back there. They increased his Seroquel beginning of last week and with one exception, it has helped tremendously. I hope I don't project my fear and discomfort onto him. I'll be glad when today is over--my stomach is in knots.

A little off-topic, but it sort of fits here. Vinyl is collectible/popular again. Are VHS tapes collectible? The husband bought VHS movies/TV series for a long time, then the same with DVDs. I'm getting rid of 99.9% of it. I suspect I can donate the DVDs, but do I just toss VHS tapes? I've got boxes of 45s to sell somewhere. And still a couple of boxes or so of albums (He sold a few hundred a few years ago.). And will likely get rid of most of the CDs.

A friend brought me potatoes au gratin. I had meatloaf left from my lunch the other day, so I made a meatloaf sandwich to go with for supper. I like my meatloaf sandwich the way they made them at Marie Callender restaurants. With mayo, sharp cheddar and plenty of salt and pepper. Did not take a photo of the sandwich, but here are the potatoes.

It was over 90 degrees yesterday (and more of the same today) and I didn't really even feel hungry. I had a cold chicken thigh with a little side salad. Avocado lime dressing over the whole thing. Glass of pinot grigio. It is too early for it to be this hot.

This morning while I was putting out birdseed, I had 2 young squirrels that kept running back and forth across the deck as if to hurry me along. The musical accompaniment was provided by Red-eyed Vireo, Mourning Dove, Brown-headed Cowbird, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (new!!), Broad-winged Hawk (also new!!), Carolina Wren and Red-bellied Woodpecker. It was rare that the Cardinals weren't joining in. They were out earlier, but perhaps they were put off by a hawk in the area.

@StephanieL, I Googled and that cake looks great. Is yours a recipe you've made before? Willing to share? It sounds like a great summery dessert or snack cake.

Sandwich of chicken and artichoke/lemon pesto with a little side salad.

My morning concert included Northern Cardinals, House Sparrows, Tufted Titmice, American Robins, Ruby-throated Hummingbird (who also made an up-close appearance) and Downy Woodpeckers.

Beautiful symphony this morning: Northern Cardinals, Carolina Wrens, House Sparrows, Tufted Titmice, Mourning Doves, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and Baltimore Orioles.