Trapped in the House...

Well, twice tonight, Vern was going to head out to the barn and stopped when he saw Momma Moose munching on the bushes near the front door.  Oooopps! So here is a shot of our living room and the french doors opening to the backyard. You cannot see the baby but she/he is lying down on the back yard not ten feet from us!  Go figure...we are trapped in the house by a moose!  :)

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Remember I'm the one who occasionally buys tofu, only to let it expire in the refrigerator? Well, the expiration dates were close and pumpkins were in my garden, so I googled tofu and pumpkins and found a few recipes for "dinner in a pumpkin." They were too complicated so I decided to make one up!  First, I sauteed some onions, garlic and grated ginger into a bit of olive oil in my iron skillet, then added ~ 3 cups of leftover rice, a jar of mushrooms, one can of fat free mushroom soup and a cup of milk. Not too shabby! Placed all that into a bowl and added another bit of olive oil to the skillet. Then, after cutting up the tofu into small squares and squeezing all the moisture out, dumped it into the skillet with a little soy sauce and proceeded to cook the heck out of it till it was a bit brown and much drier. Kept tasting it and it was still bland so added a bit more soy sauce and finally dumped it into the rice mix. Had some leftover celery so chopped up about a cup and added it. Place ALL in the dug out pumpkin and cooked it for 1.5 hours in a 350 degree oven.  Scooped some pumpkin and rice mix filling on a plate, and served it with a nice kale salad. WOW - we were so surprised how good it was! The celery added a nice crunch and I think a cup of peas would have made it perfect. As to the tofu...well, I'm still not sold on it. Could have left it completely out and not missed it a bit! :)

21 MORE Blooms!

Can't believe this little Trumpet Lilly in my ancient old backyard whiskey barrel.  Frosts are coming soon, but have not yet hit Owl Moon Meadow...soon the 21 blooms will be brown sloppy messes, but not today! :)

8,000 Years of Chinese Dragons

What amazing works of art at the Chinese Lantern Festival at Riverfront Park this year - a Chinese Dragon 20 feet tall and 100 feet long. Apparently Dragons are the soul of their culture and have been written about and created for over 8,000 years. Wow!!  Acres and acres of dozens of lighted whimsical fantastic exhibits were lit up like beacons tonight.

Uncle John's Bamboo Salad Set

In the 1960's my Uncle John Bryan came back from the Philippines and brought my mom and dad a Monkey Pod wood salad set. I am now the proud owner of this set and use it nearly every day. I can just see Uncle John, dashingly handsome in his Navy uniform, walking through crowded market places in the many countries he visited - hunting for just the right gifts for so many family members. A particular favorite of mine was the brightly colored transistor radio. He brought one to every one of his nieces and nephews. I would take mine clear up a tree, hang it from a little branch and listen to it! We were always over the moon to see him come home...Hi Uncle John!  :)

Our Moose "House Sitters"

What a treat to know our home is in good "hooves" when we are away - haha! Took this photo at 6 am last weekend as we headed out the door. If it's anything like last winter, they will once again trim our bushes, clean up my garden, and hunker down in the back yard leaving big melted spots in the snow where they spend the night. We are careful not to ever get in-between mother and baby!?!?!

Shrimp Gumbo heading to PORTLAND!

Care packages of HM bread, granola, vitamins and cherry jam to Adam, Hunter, and Amanda...and my favorite Shrimp Gumbo recipe in the pot ready to transport. Heading to Portland for an Old Wave concert and to connect with some great "kids" :)