Sigh.

Sigh.

Iron Corset. Big Bad Collars.

2 hours shopping, digging for, and trying on shirts; 1 hour drying and braiding hair; 1/2 hour aloe face peel mask; 3 hours setting hair; 1/2 hour carefully applying natural make-up with natural sun-kissed look; spleen rupturing corset; carefully chosen push-up bra:  naturally not too high one; 1/2 hour to squeeze into corset and anointed bra; 300 year old Chinese shard necklace; $2 coconut shell purse brought back from Vietnam by Deuce as carefully chosen conversation piece to promote husband

=

effect the casual, laid-back, carefree yet natural hippie look.

I soooo still got it!

...just takes longer to 'get it' these days!

YUMMY BBQ PORK ROAST ALERT!

POTLUCK EMERGENCY ALERT:  in case of potluck emergency, read below

(okay...confession...the first time I titled this it was "BBQ PORK ROAST ALERT"...which by light of day, I realized that it sounded like I had food poisoned my whole family.  Which, considering that I have set dinner on fire...more than once...and not on the grill...may not seem so far fetched!  Ah, if only I were as clever by the light of day as I am under shadow of sleep deprivation...)

Okay...tonight's dinner was sooooo easy...and sooooo cheap ... and sooooo awesome it deserves an emergency post, especially in this season of potlucks!  Sadly I have no pictures so I put the closest one I had to a ham-hock ...

AND I WONDER WHY MY PETS HAVE ISSUES

Okay, I defrosted a pork shoulder butt roast that we had cut in half...not really knowing what to do with it other than I wanted BBQ pork sandwiches for dinner.  My girlfriend was over to pick up her daughter as I looked at her confusedly begging for advice.  I have a hot grill...I have a pork butt...I have not a clue...  I am still learning this grilling stuff.  Vanessa came to the rescue.  Her husband Robert is the Grill King!  She called quick for advice.  After Robert finally got done with the guffaws I heard all the way across the phone when Vanessa told him that I "didn't know what to do with my pork butt" (just glad I couldn't hear the follow up to that one...), he was able suppress the chuckles and snorts long enough to spit out this prescription:

Mix:
1.  Cumin
2.  Paprika
3.  Black Pepper
4.  Salt  (I used Sea Salt)
when I mixed at first they were almost equal parts...pepper the smallest.  I was worried this would be too spicy for the kids so I added two more parts Salt.

Rub/cover the whole roast  (Alright people: no more pork butt jokes!)

Use brown sugar to make it sweet!  I patted and rolled the roast in brown sugar to cover the whole thing, but not loose the spice rub

Roast on the grill over indirect heat until the roast reads 200 degrees (my grill is four burner...actually it's even from Vanessa and Robert, Robert had re-furbished it as a gift for us...so I put the roast in the center and turned off the center burners, put the outside on medium, closed the lid and VOILA)

all right this deserves an OMG!!!  It was so sweet and wonderfully crusted, the kids kept running up to steal pieces of the blackened crust!  I shredded the pork and mixed in the crust pieces to spread the flavor through.  It was so flavorful that the BBQ sauce for the sandwiches was really unnecessary.

My husband has deemed it his favorite pork dish.  It will work wonderfully just as a platter for a potluck or big group.

Thanks Vanessa and Robert!  Even though I had to be the...butt...of your jokes!

Two years in a row! Big Bad Collars.

Yep.  Two years in a row.

  

SAME SCENE LAST YEAR

We even said about an hour out from home..."we can't forget again and drive in with the tree on top again".  Well we forgot...again.

You see, every year we buy a permit from the forest service to cut a tree.  We drive up north, out of the desert to the land of Ponderosa pines and chipmunks and hike for the day with the kids and bring home the kill.  And the couple hour drive home can be a long haul with tired kids, stopping for dinner and gas...and Starbucks...  So just like a couple of barn bound horses, the parents forget there is a rider on top...

BUNDLING UP TINY ELLETTE

We have done this for six years now.  Since Ellette was a newborn, three weeks old.  I have a big ol' wool poncho from my mom and the fabulous '60s to cover the babies and keep them warm.  I have drug the family down canyons in heavy snow.  Deuce has tried to get the "perfect tree" chosen by his princesses off of cliff faces.  He has hauled the girls...and tree across rivers.  We have literally crossed rain, sleet, snow, ripping winds, fire damage, underbrush and mud to get just the tree chosen by the girls.  

almost 3 years old Gwynni...the snow really started after this!

2009...baby Lorelei

2009 hiking out the kill

LETTING THE 4 YEAR OLD TRAIL LEAD

FINDING A  PLACE TO FERRY KIDS

RIGHT AFTER THIS...HE IS KNEE DEEP...BUT THE TREE IS DRY!

LOTS OF GREAT MEMORIES

This year we had beautiful clear crisp skies so we decided to hike a new area with the absence of weather concerns.  I have never seen so many tracks before.  Elk, rabbit...even our first bear.  Of course scat from all...great for the kids!  There were badger holes and a coyote den.  I have learned to really watch the tracks...with the kids being perfectly snack size still, it is a real concern attracting a predator.  Also not too eager to cross a peeved Bull Elk.  One of the first years, I was cheerfully watching the deer tracks...quite fresh...and was happy to see cougar tracks too.  Then the cougar tracks were 'playing' with the deer tracks..."Deuce, time to relocate".  We have had to relocate a few times over the years.  Being from the Northwest, I am a bit of a nut about trail safety...quite the Cautious Clark.  My back country siblings often mock me, but they will all capitulate that when the kids are in tow, you can't be careful enough.  Always watch the trail and always watch the sky.  Need to add to that list:  watch the garage roof too...it's been known to sneek up.

ANYBODY HOME?

THIS IS WHAT I HAVE TO WORK WITH!

THIS WAS THE "GOOD" PICTURE...sigh

THE GIRLS ADDING MORE BEAR TRACKS

THIS YEARS KILL...NOTE HAMMY ON THE RIGHT

 This year we tried soaking the tree overnight in the pool...an Arizona thing, I'd imagine there are few logistics problems to this up north...supposed to help keep it twice as fresh.  Deuce did say it was twice as heavy to haul out!  Let you know how it worked! ;-)

HOME WARM and SAFE

But the way...the permits down here are only $15...aside from gas and food (and yes: speeding tickets), a pretty cheap holiday adventure! 

Home for the Holidays. Big Bad Collars.

 COMFORTS OF HOME AND COMFORT FOODS

This is my childhood home.  Thanksgiving weekend was around -14.  Unusual.  But the snow is not.  When you grew up with this, the desert can never compare.

Out at my brother George's.   Yes, Heidi (his wife), kind as she is, convinced Boomer to let George come back in the house, despite his shooting record.  She even let George stay in for Thanksgiving dinner.

Actually, that was a dinner I was sad to miss!  Heidi is a fabulous cook...and bakes like you would imagine in heaven!  That dinner was 18 years in the making:  Her first hosting in her new home with room to seat all!  Many years ago they bought their dream land...and came complete with an aging double wide!  Heidi always knew where her dream house windows would face.  Every time I drive out there I think "why are they out here?" and when I make the last corner through rolling fields and Aspen groves, I always think "that's why they are out here."

Speaking of comforts of home and fabulous family cooks, my local sister-in-law, Courtney, makes a chicken noodle soup that can thaw the coldest toes and warm the soul.  If you have any doubts what to do with the last bits of left over turkey, this is your plan.  Turkey fits wonderfully in the recipe.  The eight-year-old loves it so much, she took it to school for their 2nd grade potluck and cookbook last year.

Gwyneth's Favorite Chicken Noodle Soup (from Courtney)

2 Cooked & Cubed Chicken Breasts*
2 Quarts Chicken Broth
1 Pint Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Bag Reames Homestyle Noodles**
2 Celery Stalks-chopped
2 Carrots-sliced
1 Can Sweet Corn
-Sometimes I add a sliced yellow squash or zucchini.
Salt & Pepper

In a large pot, I add broth, chicken, celery, carrots, corn(including liquid) and simmer until veggies are tender. Once tender, I add the noodles and cream. Simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt & pepper to taste ; serve. Enjoy!

*I cook chicken breasts in salted water with a couple sprigs of fresh thyme. Drain & rinse. Chop into bite size pieces.

**My secret...use these noodles! They are the best! I buy them at Safeway, in the freezer section. I have also seen them at Walmart.

In the mean time...Big Bad Collars.

Yep...this time it was Strep!... Will this never end!!!

Anyway, in the meantime...

Anyone want to go caroling?

On the fifth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Five Spaaaace heaters,
Four Bunny rabbits,
Three empty piggy banks,
Two terrified cats,
And Raccoon in Bramble bush.

by George

Yep...there's a story behind that one...a rather long one...just think what a dog would put on it's letter to Santa...

Stream of consciousness...Big Bad Collars.

BABY STELLA

Now that I have loured you in with an adorable puppy picture...

I will attempt to claim intellectual identity by trying to fake literary content as "stream of consciousness" (aka rambling my thoughts along...)

First and Foremost:  I'M BACK!  It is hard to reenter the real world filled with responsibilities.  Part of me is hermit...I really could just go out in the cabin in the deep woods and be happy.  I was very content my years of teaching on a very rural island in Japan.  And the Grand Canyon is just that...very grand!  I always try to think what it was like to first discover or stumble upon something...just imagining what it would have been like to come out of the pines and just view into that gaping, impassable hole.  No wonder Powell was determined to explore every end of it!

Crashing down on me is the fact that the holidays are HERE!!!  I am sooooo not ready.  So assuming you are like me...low on cash, low on time...I will put out some ideas for food and gifts that are high impact yet low cost...in cash and time.  (And the big question is...will I actually finish last year's christmas gifts before this year's holiday?!?)

On the subject of money...and little anecdote that may soothe your cash flow soul:

My kids piggy banks have been sooo tapped out!  I was just talking with a friend  who was suffering guilt raiding the kid's bank to help make Santa's visit possible.  Now I will say my kids are very proud to have helped the family:  each have bought groceries when we couldn't have otherwise and each was inordinately joyed to take the family out for dinner as a grand treat when there were no other treats.  With that said, my 8 year old came home with the funniest story from school:

Apparently Gwyneth was describing a hat she was dying to buy to her girlfriends.  She had to explain, however, that she couldn't get it until her parents had the money to pay her back the money they had borrowed for groceries.  Well, apparently every kid's piggy bank in Gilbert, AZ has been raided by their parents!  The girls, 5 or 6 of them, all chimed in that their piggy banks were empty too!  "Ya, my mom had to empty mine."  "Oh, mine's been empty forever..."  But the best part was how all chipper these kids were about it.  No one was sad or angry...they all laughed about their piggy bank raiding parents. 

They were all honest and hopeful.

I hope to take a cue from them.