#20 It's all about perspective

I was looking for a particular spice that I know I have but I couldn't find it. I grabbed a step-stool and found what I needed. Then it hit me as I stood 9" off the ground that "...this is what Jack sees from his height." I went around the house looking at things from my short view point and then stood on the step to see how Jack viewed things. I really liked his view point. So here are two shots I took from what I see and from what he sees.

No wonder he tells me when the fridge top needs dusting...he can actually see it!

#16-19 Home

I thought I'd share some photos of our view through 4 seasons. No matter what, heaven is right here in our Rogue Valley!!

FALL
SUMMER

SPRING

WINTER

#15 Facial and Hardware Stores

Okay, so I plan a girly day in town....I booked myself a facial at the beauty college, my skin is so dry, I am concious of it 24/7. Next thing I know, Jack wants to go with me. "For a facial?"..I ask. "No, just with you to town!""(To visit all the hardware stores. You know they might have invented a new style of drill since he was last in town.) So I got the facial and I made him take my picture to show my rosey glow. I honestly tried to convince the young gal to work harder on my neck so I would lose the turkey neck....as you can see, it didn't work. I don't understand where all that gray came from either! Dang. Getting elder just hits out from no where....FAST! I won't be posting for a few days so I'll catch up on Project 365 next weekend! Ciao!

#14 Foggy Feel-Good Day

It always feels good to me when I am in town and I see the URCC van, driving seniors and handicapped from our rural area into the city to run their errands, see doctors, etc. You see, as a part-time interim director to the center, I wrote the grants for two of these vans. It is a wonderful program; we are so very fortunate to have transportation for our shut-ins. The current director is a whiz at writing grants and the fleet has expanded even more. So even though it's in the fog, I can't help but get warm and fuzzy feelings when I see it.

#13 Jack's Recipes

Okay, here it is...the part about "Be careful for what you ask for...." For the most part, these are Jack's recipes. Starting with the ones he cut out and had me make for him, to those he cut out for him or me to make, to the ones I say, "OMG, not another recipe....I can't even look at it." But he MAKES me look at it and if he can convince me, it goes into this pregnant binder.
I put the ruler there so the exact magnitude of the book would show through.
Heck, we could go 5 years using this book and never make the same meal twice! I did that once - went an entire year and never made the same meal twice, then I shared the recipes with friends who wanted to cut back on meat.
Now, I have to confess, although this is organized, I rather relaxed my standards as I saw how Jack was with the food section of the newspaper and his scissors! I started with trimming the recipes and putting them onto white pages. Now, I just file the recipe in the correct section of the book and to heck with pasting it down!
He thinks it's fun when we pull out a recipe and make it; I think it's fun when we pull out a recipe, make it and it was horrible so I get to get rid of the recipe!

#12 - Patterns

I love watching for patterns in my life. This one is simply cabbage. I was cutting it up to make a salad and I realized I needed to just wait and enjoy the swirls and contrasts for awhile before I chopped it all away. The salad is a recipe from my sil, Jan. Cabbage, black olives, feta cheese and a smidgeon of light Italian dressing. I threw in some walnuts to add to the "chomp factor". Mmmm.

#11 Allow me to present...Chef Jack

Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it! I wanted Jack to help me in the kitchen. We moved to Oregon back in 1991, took 2½ years to build our home, and somewhere in between, I went back to work.

So there I was, in our lovely kitchen...alone. That is, until the meal was ready to be served, then Jack would magically appear. I finally told him I wanted his help since he was retired. I gave him choices: you may wash dishes, (no dishwasher), chop veggies, stir the pots, take turns cooking, make up the weekly menus so I didn't have to be the one to decide what WE would eat all the time, do the marketing or just sit and chat with me as I fixed dinners. His choice? None of the above! So I put my kitchen on strike. I wouldn't cook a THING for him. I'd cook for myself. Period.

He would cook for himself....eggs, sandwiches or cereal. After one full year of this, he entered the living room one night and said, "I'm going to make an omelette, would you like one?" I said, "Yes, thank you, I'd love one." The following night, I said to him, "I'm going to make pasta, would you like some?" He said, "Yes please." From there, it has evolved. Oh has it EVER evolved.

He kept cutting out recipes and asking me to make this or that. Finally, I told him I'd teach him how to read a recipe so he could make whatever his little heart desired. Now? He cooks all the time and it isn't always a simple meal. Sometimes, it involves all the pots and pans....and I am the dishwasher and kitchen clean up "crew" because I'm the shortest! (I had him build my counter tops low to the ground because I was tired of standing on tiptoe in my last kitchen!) The other down side is the recipe book. OMG.....I'll have to photograph it tomorrow....and I think I'm the only one who understands organization in the kitchen so I get to file them!

I'm really not complaining because it is such a joy to come home to great smells greeting me the minute I step inside. The dish in these pics was one of the best ever. He found it on a cooking show called "Blaine's Low Carb Kitchen". It is tofu, sliced very thin, spiced up with paprika and some chili pepper, sauteed in olive oil till crispy. Remove from heat. Then in the same oil, add chopped scallions or green onions and a whole head of garlic. Saute till almost tender, add soy sauce (we use Bragg's Amino Acids), simmer and this is the topping for the tofu. It was to die for! This is definitely a keeper....and so is Jack, by the way!

#9 ...01-20-09 ... a day worth waiting for!

Well, I've been driving around with peace signs plastered all over my van along with this sign ever since we discovered that the 9-11 terrorists were NOT from Iraq. Wrong country - wrong war - (wrong president.) ;o) Hey, I also have a sign in the back that reads, "God Bless The Whole World, No Exceptions"... for me, that includes President Bush as well!

We don't have to agree on politics; but in order to know me, you will need to know that this is one day I am going to be dancing from sunrise until sunset. My smile is going to be a mile wide and I don't care how many bugs get caught in my grill/teeth.

Photo #10 My Other Leo (actually, it's 01/21/09)

Two Leos in my life: the one I've been married to for nearly 40 years and the other is my cat, Hook, 'been in my life just 1½ years. Both came into my life rather unexpectedly and both I love dearly. One is bald and the other has a scraggly mane like a lion. One drools when you scratch his chin and the other drools when you mention Angelina Jolie! Oh, by the way, only one is allowed in the house...yup, the one who doesn't shed.

Morning Bus Duty

Day 3 Picture = Bus duty. Freezing cold weather (24°), I'm bundled up like the Abominable Snowman and high school kids arrive in light jackets, shorts, short sleeves, and the like! You can certainly tell the younger generation. Maybe it's time to move to Mexico! .. but wait! ... then I'd miss seeing these wonderful kids every morning.