Saturday, November 13, 2021

Big Bend National Park Visit

 

                                                                                            (stock photo, don't think we saw this)

Hello to the Day After Our Big Bend Trek!

It was a bit tiring - 100 miles to the entry, 100 miles throughout the park (at least), and 100 miles back to our rv camp. We saw much of what one can do in one day, including lunch at the lodge and a peek at the Rio Grande. I don't think we are going back to the park this trip. It is a long way and we have a good idea at what we are missing. 

The landscape is West Texas plus boulders and mountains as only West Texas can do it. 

Today we have reservations for lunch at a restaurant in Alpine. And then I want to traverse the town with the Windshield Tour brochure in one hand and the Alpine Mural Map in the other. Dave will drive and I will navigate around town.  The murals are going to be very entertaining!

See you around the bend - the bend in little Alpine today!

Thursday, November 11, 2021

 


Greetings from Alpine, Texas!

Although the above is a stock photo, this is pretty much what it looks like as I view the scenery from my rv window.  I am now sitting in one of the two rv recliners typing this blog. Ava is peering out the same window from the bench seat. 

We are spending the week here in La Vista RV park, six miles from Alpine towards Big Bend National Park on Highway 118. It's a small rv park, maybe fifteen drive-through sites and very quiet, very very quiet. Dave just read the welcome rules and discovered the free wifi - whoopee!

Tomorrow we will drive into Big Bend, 100 miles from here and spend the day enjoying what I am told is a "magical place." 

In the meantime we are relaxing, reading, watching some satellite news and enjoying a choice on our home-cooking menu due to today's trip to Porter's Grocery store in Alpine. I also visited a very well stocked independent bookstore and enjoyed spending my disposable $50 on two poem books, The Sun literary magazine and, of all things, an $8 Texas map!

The sun is setting, Ava needs to take a walk and I am ready to join her.

                                         *  *  *  G'night from Brewster County *  *  *

Tuesday, November 2, 2021

A Poem Using Prompts from Children's Poems


 (untitled)


my fingers tap                       my pencil floats…..I have confidence (p. 129, Naomi, grade 4) 

i have confidence


my words will                       let my words mean something to others (p. 107, Sean, gr 4)                    

mean something

to someone.


perhaps that’s what              that’s what I want to believe (p. 127, Ruby, grade 6)

i want to believe.


perhaps it is a mere

mirage, creating a 

waterfall of words                   a waterfall with words (p. 111, Morgan, grade 4)


the teacher                             but the teacher says (p. 121, Isabelle, grade 4)

my inner teacher says 


my waterfall

is not a waterfall at all

merely a cascade of circumstances

paths chosen, thwarted 

seldom straight


you walked into my heart         if you walked into my heart (p. 125, Mike, grade 4)

i was as a child 

reborn, rechanneled, reassigned        a star child to be reborn (p. 119, Boy, grade 4)

to go on with my life as if                    go on with your life (p. 122, Lea, grade 5)

you will always 

be here, there


that’s what i want to believe.    that’s what I want to believe (P. 127, Ruby, grade 6)



by Joan Connor 11/02/2021


The above italicized quotes are from Expressive Writing, edited by Kathleen Adams. Chapter 7 by Perie Longo, Poetry and Emotional Intelligence, speaks of children and their insightful use of poetics to express themselves.





Saturday, October 30, 2021

Women and Story Circle Network

They are the nicest bunch of women, my Story Circle Network compatriots. Strong and intelligent, creative and compassionate, I am a member of this group and you all are welcome to join.

I have been a member for the past ten years, striving to be a writer and hopefully gaining sharper abilities and more intrigue within my essays and poems as the years get flipped on spiral rung calendars.

Some of my submissions have been published in their journals, some have been rejected, but my spirit is seldom dampened as another opportunity avails itself within the group. I just discovered their blog and several familiar names are submitting in that area. I shall consider that option now.

Check it out, join up with this league of women writers and take a class or two. I am counting my online classes that I have taken with SCN and there have been many. Most classes are filed away in manila folders with the appropriate writings done at that time, but some are in journals and/or notebooks. I'm still looking....

I just finished my fourth Writing for Twenty Minutes Class and once again, I didn't want it to end.  One of my classmates is attempting to keep a small group going - writing to one another and maybe even a zoom get-together. I hope to join. I hope it continues to be as motivating as writing every day has been.

Story Circle Network — Women Writers & Writing Resources




Sunday, October 24, 2021

This is a test! I am going to post twice a week and hope I garner a following - it takes know-how and wherewithal, all of which I am a bit negligent.

However, I just finished a 20 Minute/Day writing class and will share some of my favorite posts from that experience.

Let's give it a try. 

I'm off to play with blogspot a bit, playing with fonts right now.

As you know, I am a Word Press drop-out and invested several hundred dollars to do it "right" with that site!

Feeling successful with this site,

joan

(Early Sunday in Texas, 10/24/2021)

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

I’m back!

 This blog post is my first in over a year!  Why? You ask.....I tried Wordpress but it overwhelmed me. My investment was flushed down the “wasteful decision” flushline.

Let’s try this site.....

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Sharing Haiga

(I am feeling a bit frustrated with my "other" blog so have decided to post here and see how it looks.  It has been a long long time since I have worked with this site, However, it is easier than the one in which I have invested money).


Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Vietnamese and Leftover Steak!


I was inquisitive, "What will you do with the leftover steak?"

Her creative answer with the details was hard to follow ....she was talking fast and I wanted to blog about it anyway so I asked for pictures and the recipe.

She did the ingredient picture right!  "Mom, you should be doing your blog with all the ingredients lined up.  That's how 'they' do it if you want to be famous."   I will try in forthcoming blogs.  The ingredients must all be eventually out on the counter anyway so get organized, Joan, and line them up!  I will try!  :)


Recipe from http://3-chairs.com/food/vietnamese-noodle-soup/
Rice or vermicelli noodles
shredded cooked chicken, turkey, or whatever protein you have on hand (cheers for leftover ribeye)
~1 inch of ginger, chopped into 2 or 3 pieces
1 smashed garlic clove
2 cups good chicken stock (preferably homemade!)
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons fish sauce
1-2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon sugar, 
Lime wedges, Cilantro and/or mintSriracha (optional)
Add your chicken stock, ginger, and smashed garlic clove to a pot and bring it to a simmer over medium heat, ~10 minutes. Add the soy sauce, fish sauce, hoisin sauce and sugar (start with the smaller amounts first), then the vermicelli noodles. While the vermicelli cooks, taste the broth and adjust to your liking. When the noodles are al dente, add your shredded protein, letting it heat through, then take the soup off the stove and top with a squeeze of lime, some cilantro and mint, and a drizzle of sriracha.
 "I added spinach and kimchi to mine and frozen mixed veggies to the kids' meals," shared Maureen.

Thanks so much, Honey, for this successful blog and for detailing your touches.  Now I must add to my pantry most of the above ingredients - and I will!!

Saturday, September 22, 2018

Biscotti Binge

I have never paid any attention to biscotti cookies.  Today I made a batch and was very
successful.  Biscotti are twice-baked cookies usually with nuts (almonds) and also known as cantucci in Italian.

My recipe from the familiar Meet Me in My Cape Cod Kitchen is:
 .......drum roll please! ...... Cranberry Biscotti & White Chocolate.

Contained within the familiar flour, sugar, eggs and typical baking ingredients are 1 cup of white chocolate chips and 1 cup of dried cranberries.

The sticky dough is gently formed into two rectangles and then baked for 15 minutes.
My rectangles stuck to the UNgreased cookie sheet (after proper cooling) but I was able to carefully work them loose.  However, the cookie sheet is not to be greased!
Inadvertently I set the temperature to 350 degrees and it was supposed to be at 325 degrees.  Would that have affected their adherence to the cookie sheet?

The rectangles are sliced into pieces, turned over and baked again for 12 minutes.

I watched them carefully and a perfect golden brown was achieved.
They passed the taste test with Daughter and Grandson and Hubby.
I was generous with the chips and the berries.
Lovely texture, don't you think?
 Don't forget to preheat your heart and tell someone you love them today.

Friday, September 7, 2018

The Good and the Bad (about) Eggs!

Today I am into eggs! Oh, I could be clever and call this post my “eggscellent idea” or the “eggscellence of eating eggs” or “eggscellent dietary facts” but I won’t! However, I love eggs!
I would eat eggs everyday in some form or fashion for at least two meals….well, that might be overkill but I think that would be an “eggscellent menu.” Oops, I apologize for being redundant.

Next Monday morning I will be presenting the short program at the local TOPS meeting. In the scheme of life this is no biggie. I am taking the responsibility seriously, though, and have given in considerable thought. Perhaps this is because I have joined no other organization in Coeur d’Alene and this weekly meeting has been my one commitment. Plus the folks attending, yes, there are three men, are very congenial and eager to support each other in this battle of weight loss.

In Deming I joined the organization and attend each Wednesday a.m. Barbara from Wyoming (the other snowbird like me), presented a sweet program on the cucumber and then she gave everyone a cuke to take home in addition to her hand-out of nutritious facts and recipes.

I was going to piggyback on her idea and give a similar presentation about zuchinni. I bought a couple zuchinnis this past week and looked for zuchinni bar recipes - everyone has their favorite bread recipe already, right?

Then this Thursday morning as I was poaching my jumbo eggs for breakfast I wanted to know more about this wonderful yummy delectable egg. “Hey,” I told myself, “you are into eggs. After all, your deviled eggs are a family tradition and requested at the get-togethers.”

So I believe that I will share my enthusiasm with TOPS, pass around a dish of deviled eggs and present the program on the chicken’s finest product. I googled “skinny on eggs” and “current research on eggs” “are eggs bad for me?” and this is what I found:

Myth or not?
1) Eating three eggs per day is perfectly safe for healthy people who are trying to stay healthy.
2) Eggs yolks are fattening.
3) All the protein is in the egg white.
4) Eating whole eggs actually result in greater muscle protein synthesis than the whites alone.
5) Always toss the yolk!
6) Egg yolks are loaded with cholesterol
7) Poached eggs are especially good for you. (76 calories/poached egg)
                                           
                                            * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

(2) (3)(5) and (6) are myths.

There is contradictory evidence about how many eggs one should eat - 3/day is high.
Another source says 7/week…..One egg has 187 mg of cholesterol and the recommended limits 300 mg/day (200 mg/day if you have diabetes or risk factors for heart disease) so, do the math, and I conclude 3/day is too many. Then I read that the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans place no daily limit on cholesterol intake.

I am also interest in discussing “decoding egg carton labels.” According to

https://www.eggnutritioncenter.org/blog/eggyolk/#more-4813

Almost all eggs in the U.S. are antibiotic-free and hormone-free.
Cage-free means just that but they may be kept in barns all day with no fresh air.
Free-range hens means “access” to outdoors but the hens’ living situation may vary widely.
Pastured eggs are from hens that live free, roam and eat whatever grass and grubs they find.
Certified organic eggs are nutritionally identical to their non organic brethren.
White and brown eggs are the same! Color refers to the breed of the bird!
Grading refers to the egg’s quality - not its nutritional value. Grade AA eggs have thick and firm whites and pristine yolks and clean shells…..aaahhhh that is a pretty egg!
Grade A eggs are the kind you find in stores with whites that are slightly less firm.
Grade B eggs are thinner whites, imperfect yolks and may have stained shells. Bakeries and food service companies use Grade B eggs.
Size measures the weight of a dozen eggs - not the dimension of each one.

Code of end of the carton? 1143 ISDA assigned # of the packing plant.....for example,
National Food Corporation (the packing plant when researching the ISDA #)
2005 268th Street NW
Stanwood, WA 98292-
Washington Grading Branch Office
The three digit # on the left is the date. For ex., 235 (235th day of the year)

Refrigerated eggs generally stay fresh 3-5 weeks,
Do not store eggs in the refrigerator door. They are susceptible to changes in temperature and with the door opening and closing, your eggs can go rotten more quickly! That is a bad egg!!

One more fun source for egg facts: “Twenty Shocking Secrets About Eggs”
https://www.eatthis.com/egg-facts/

                                               * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

World Egg Day is Friday, October 12th.
Remember an average hen lays 300 to 325 eggs each year.
To produce one egg it takes a hen 24- 26 hours.
As a hen grows older she produces larger eggs.
http://thinkegg.com/index.php/21-2/


From one good egg to another,
Joan

Sunday, September 2, 2018

Ole!

Dear Readers:

Just a quick blog to give you the details of my 7-layer dip recipe that I will make again.....and again!

I bought this lovely glass casserole dish at the thrift store yesterday for the sole purpose of taking the dip to Daughter's house and indulging in fajitas, dip, chips, sauteed peppers and onions,,,,,and a Corona Lite (90 calories).

It was a successful venture:



I layered the contents as follows from the bottom up:

l can (8 oz) fat free refried beans
1 container (16 oz) lite sour cream mixed with 1 envelope of taco seasoning
1 layer (about 8 oz) of ready-made Yucatan guacamole
1 layer of yummy salso (I chose medium strength chunky)
1 layer of iceberg lettuce chopped fine
1 layer of shredded 4 cheese Mexican (Sargento 4 oz)
Sprinkled with sliced black olives (one small can) and finely chopped tomatoes.

Next time I will be more generous with the lettuce.....and maybe add a sprinkling of green onions for more variety and color.



Have a great fiesta!

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