Shrimp and White Cheddar Stuffed Jalapeños

Happy daze are here again people!  The Chef's mom got out of jail the hospital (for some reason I typed jail and it made me laugh so hard I just kept it and crossed it out.  To be clear that woman hasn't even driven by a jail never mind been in one), today's mail contained an amazing pair of earrings I won in Daschies & Design's Eileen O'Neill giveaway, and Friday is upon us.  Yeeeeehoooooooo!!What are your plans for the weekend? ......

Read more »

Weird White-tailed Grackle

This weird-looking dude showed up at the platform feeder a couple of weeks ago. He's a leucistic common grackle. What caused his tail to be white is anyone's guess. Was it a flaw in his genetic material? The result of an injury or some dietary anomaly while a nestling? A fashion statement?It's been a big blackbird year around the farm with larger-than-normal numbers of red-winged blackbirds and common grackles hanging around, visiting the feeders,......

Read more »

Cat Whispering In Almost Italy

Today I spent most of the day in LA during which time I ran some errands, did some shopping and basically goofed off.  Otherwise known as screwing around.  I love that part of any day best.  Tomorrow I will catch up on all of your lovely blogs!    I wish I had some crazy funny stories to tell you, but so far this week has been pretty low-key except for the fool at Blockbuster who felt the need to practically holler out......

Read more »

Black and White and Red All Over

Okay so here's the deal with Nail Madness 2010:  I had to get that mess off my fingers.  I'm sure you're shocked.  Saturday is the usual day I treat myself to a mani/pedi (budget willing) and even though I really felt like sticking to the routine, all the events of last week prohibited me from being able to emotionally withstand another potentially angry exchange between the nail ladies.  Not to mention I'm to the brim with unwanted......

Read more »

The Connection Between Birds & Music

Bird song inspires us. Who wouldn't want to be able to sing like a brown thrasher?I grew up in a family of musicians and singers. When bird watching hit our family in the early 1970s and my mom started going out regularly with a local bird club, I had no idea of the intimate, natural connection between birds and music. Bird watching at the time was almost socially unacceptable—think Miss Jane Hathaway from The Beverly Hillbillies. But as we got to......

Read more »

Cleaning In Style: Alice Supply Co.

While we're on the topic of Ebelskivers and making food interesting and fun, why not just stay on a slightly altered domestic track and talk about cleaning.Anyone still with me?  HEL-LOOOO!!! Anybody out there?!?I kid, I kid.  But on a serious note, if you're not in the mood for it, cleaning can be a real drag.  I remember Saturdays a couple years ago when I would just jump out of bed ready to clean. True Story.  My schedule used......

Read more »

Monday Already? Pass it over here - Sangria Recipe

I don't know how yours was, but my weekend can best be summed up in two words:  too short.I'm sure we all feel a dab of this every Sunday evening/Monday morning, but I can usually haul myself out of it.  This time, not so much.  After all the goings on last week I could really use an extra day off.  How about you? Friday night I got take out and vegged on the couch with my favorite Primetime, 20/20 and Dateline episodes. ......

Read more »