Pear Terrine

Today I tried to cook. Mary Alyce and Jim have a Bartlet Pear tree in their backyard. We were there on Monday and picked some. I saw this recipe in Martha Stewart Living(You may wonder why I would read Martha Stewart Living, but I like the pictures of the china). It was a beautiful pear dessert called a pear terrine. I peeled and sliced all those pears, made the carmel sauce and baked it at 250 degrees in a boiling water bath and it was a disaster. They ended up as slices of pears floating in syrup. Now I know why I leave the cooking to Hubby. I went back upstairs and worked on my needlework.

Home Depot

If we should ever move we know that our house has to be close to a Home Depot store. Hubby made three trips there today. It's about a half mile away. One of those times I had to go with him because he was buying a 16 foot board and he needed me to help carry it. It all worked out well because we bought polish sausages for lunch. I love Home Depot hot dogs and polish sausage. When I worked with Carole we would drive to Home Depot on our lunch hour just for a hot dog.

Quirky Machines

We all know that machines can't think for themselves. They only do what they are programmed to do. Yet I know that there were times when I was working and a robot would just get lost and there was nothing to do but take it back home again. Everyone who works with computers knows that sometimes you have to just turn them off and start over again. I understand a broken appliance. Our Bun coffee maker has a coil burned out so you can only make a pot of coffee every 6 hours. But our ice maker sometimes doesn't work and has to be turned off so that it will thaw( I guess). My dryer drum will not rotate until you give it a push and then it will work fine for days. I am not saying I want to go back to a clothes line, or even ice cube trays, but are there appliances that work all the time?

The Olympics are Over

For many evenings we watched the Olympic happenings. I really enjoyed watching Michael Phelps and the divers. However there was much too much beach volleyball. I like watching Misty May but the men's teams didn't excite me as much. I was surprised that they showed the entire women's 26 mile marathon and I am even more surprised that I watched it all. The gymnastics were interesting but I really don't know much about wrestling or boxing and I don't even care to learn more. I was in total amazement that both American relay teams dropped the baton. The expression on the runners faces was heartbreaking. I missed the opening ceremonies but I thought the closing ceremonies were very interesting. Now we get to watch the Democratic convention which is kind of an Olympic event.

A Great Party

The Book Club party was a terrific success. Hubby's chicken was spectacular, both with its taste and the 4 alarm blaze when the grill caught fire. He was the entertainment for the evening. We made Martgueritas and sangria, both were yummy. The food everyone brought was great and Margie's brownies were to die for. We are so lucky to have such good friends. Today Hubby and I will have a feast for dinner just eating the leftovers. Of course we all had Jerry's cake and a brownie for breakfast.
Arnold was the hit of the party. He made sure he was right in the middle of everything. Mary Alyce said she was going to sneak him home with her.

The Patio

We have a beautiful wood deck off of our family room. It seams that years ago, mostly before I married hubby, we used it a lot. Now we use it seldom because Hubby likes the air conditioning and says it is too hot to eat outdoors. Tonight the ladies book club is meeting here with their husbands, which makes 14 people. Hubby says it is too hot and sticky to eat outside. He has even gone so far as to say if I want to eat outside I can but he won't. I think because of air conditioning we are becoming sissies.

Grumpy Girl

Last Saturday I went out to the farm to help pull weeds in the display gardens. Since then I have a rash on the back of my neck and on the crooks of my arms. Could I have touched something I shouldn't have? It is not poison ivy. Maybe I ate something that I shouldn't have. I had a red wine on Wednesday night a week ago. Hubby brought home some dark sweet cherries about the same time. Lately we have switched laundry detergents to Tide Ultra. The pharmacist says that the rash is not a problem with the prescription drugs I take. So today I am taking Benadryl and using a cortisone cream and boy am I grumpy. It itches.