Rainy Days

Cloudy skies

   Today is the second day of near-constant rain here in the mountains.  Yesterday it was a slow steady rain all day.  But, last night and today there have been episodes of heavy rain interspersed with the slower, more continuous showers.  Weather.com predicts thunderstorms this evening.  Oh, Boy!  CassPurr is scared of the thunder... He runs, howls, tries to find a place to hide.  Like a small child, he is best comforted by me holding him and talking softly to him, poor baby.
     Since Moshe can't work outside in the torrential rain, he has spent most of the day in the kitchen.  He's grinding grain and making bread dough, cutting herbs for homemade foccacia bread,  making a salad of fresh greens from the winter garden.
     I, on the other hand, have spent most of the day out of the kitchen - unusual for me.  Sometimes a change of pace is good for the soul,  y'know?

  I went into town this morning - had several errands to run, then a meeting to go to in the next town over - about twenty miles.  I arrived back home around 2 PM.   Occasionally the rain showers were heavy while I was driving, but they would let up each time I needed to get out of the car and walk into the store, the post office, etc.
       I said several prayers of thanks for that;  God is so good to me!  Then, when I arrived back home, just as I began backing up the driveway, the sky opened up and the rains came pouring out.  Amazingly heavy rain.  All of a sudden.  Simultaneously, my windshield wipers stopped working.  I couldn't help but think, "What if?"  What if I had been in the next town?  How would I get home if the rain was heavy, with no windshield wipers?  What if I'd been on the way home, couldn't see, and had some sort of accident?   Ah, the "What if" game... We women are especially good at playing it...
     Again, I could only say a prayer of thanks to God for His ever-abundant mercy.

A typical rainy day view of the creek

           Tomorrow it's supposed to be cool but sunny.  I'll be back in the kitchen... Plan on making a big pot of homemade     spaghetti sauce to go with that foccacia bread my Hubby is working on today.  Yummy.  I'll also tackle the laundry and the horrifically dirty kitchen floor.  Imagine - an off-white kitchen floor.  On a farm.  And it's been raining for two days and nights. And there's this big black dog living here... I'm NOT providing y'all with a photo ot THAT!!!
                                                                                                                                                                                                             
Shalom Y'all - Twyla

The Party Dog

Moxie, the party dog, wore her hat for a couple hours.  Good dog.



          Yesterday we drove down the mountain - again.  This time it was for a birthday party.  Lots of relatives.  Tons of food;  ridiculous amounts, in fact, not that I am complaining...  Wow.  What a table, loaded with every person's specialty.  I  didn't even taste everything.  But, what I had was delicious. The party was at lunchtime, and we ate so much that when we got back home, we didn't bother with supper. It was so good to see relatives I hadn't seen in two or three years! 

          I drove the trip home, and Moshe and Moxie both dozed while I drove us back up the mountain.  We arrived home before dark, which is always preferable for me. After doing the few necessary evening chores, we simply collapsed into bed ,  and watched an old Disney movie.  We got more entertainment than we 'd bargained for... Towards the end of the birthday lunch, I realized that the young kids were sneaking all kinds of food to Moxie under the table.  Although Moxie eats "people food" with almost every meal, we eat natural, organic, good, REAL food.; she doesn't ordinarily get any sort of processed food, fried stuff, sweets, etc.  Oh, boy,  she had gas !  Sheesh!  I'm glad her little bed is on the floor next to Moshe's side/not mine!!!  Poor dog.  She was still "having emission control problems" this morning. (Somebody call the EPA... please!)

"I'd like one more spring roll, please... Oh, and another piece of cake."

                                           Shalom Y'all - Twyla

  

the Birthday Party

          Yesterday we had our good friends Pat & Teresa over to celebrate their birthdays. Pat's big day is  today, and Teresa's will be Thursday. The photo below is of myself  (with eyes closed and mouth open, of course!), Pat, and Teresa, sitting on the screened-in porch with the birthday cake I made for them. Moshe isn't in the picture, 'cause he was the photograper... The four of us spent the day at the beach, had a picnic lunch there; then, came home and visited some more. I made tomato pie, a  tossed salad, and fresh corn on the cob for supper. We also had Moshe's homemade bread and several little bowls with treasures such as homemade cashew butter , apple butter, and pickles in them. (Do you get the idea that we sorta' like food? Especially homemade food?)

                           Well, anyway, here is the recipe for my tomato pie:             

                                                       TOMATO PIE

                                        2 Pie Crusts, baked per package directions

                                        2 pounds Ripe Tomatoes

                                        1 teaspoon Black Pepper

                                        1/2 teaspoon Salt

                                        2 Cups Sweet Onion, chopped 

                                        6 Tablespoons fresh chopped Basil

                                        1 Cup Mayonnaise

                                        3 Cups grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

          Peel tomatoes, remove seeds, and slice 1/2 inch thick.  Dry slices on paper towels. Divide ingredients between the 2 pre-baked pie shells. Layer tomatoes, then onions; sprinle with salt and pepper; then, layer with the chopped basil.

         Mix cheese and mayonnaise; then, spread on top, covering completely.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Allow to "rest" for 15 minutes before slicing.

                                                                 Shalom, Y'all!     Twyla         

Is this near La-La Land?

My Hubby got my account to come back up, so I'm posting again... I'm good at a few things, but, computer is not one of them. If something isn't working, I'm at a complete loss.

We went down the mountain this past Sunday for a family birthday celebration. My oldest brother, his son, and my son-in-law all have birthdays in August, so we had a combo birthday party. Great fun, and way too much food!
"Going down the mountain" requires planning when you have animals and plants depending on you. The chickens must be fed and watered, eggs gathered, crops harvested, and everything secured against predators. We have bears, deer, rabbits, and mountain lions, all desiring to eat our chickens or our garden. So far, we've been extremely blessed and have only lost a couple tomatoes and a few ears of corn. No animal casualties. Praise Adonai.

So, we went down the mountain, ate way too much. laughed alot, talked alot, and headed back up the mountain to get home before dark. We always carry at least one camera with us, so we stopped to take a few pictures along the way. This photo is of an actual business about an hour's drive from home. I laugh every time I drive by. My first trip up the mountain, when I was looking for a house to buy, I was with my friend Pat. When we saw this sign, we laughed 'til we cried. Hope y'all can appreciate this little store being "smack dab in the middle of nowhere".