Dollar Scoop Nite

“My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy the ice cream while it’s on your plate” ~ Thornton Wilder So many flavors!

Ice cream makes me KWAYZEE!

Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos.  ~Don Kardong Tuesday nights is dollar scoop night at Baskin Robbins. We go even during the winter because it gets us all out of the house instead of being cooped up, and it’s festive to get ice cream. Here’s my youngest mugging for the camera.

Table Setting

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. ~ King Solomon in Proverbs 25:11 (NKJV) My 7 year-old daughter made the leaf with each person’s name on it, including the glitter around the edges. 12 people barely fit around my table. I need a bigger table, or two shifts! See…

Turnips and carrots

Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude.  ~ E.P. Powell Every family in the US probably has some unique dish that they add to the Thanksgiving staples of potatoes, turkey, and stuffing. Ours is…

The wisdom of fortune cookies

Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.  ~ James 1:19 (NLT) Roger that.

Piscetti girl

No man is lonely eating spaghetti; it requires so much attention. ~ Christopher Morley My third and youngest child has a big personality. Here she is creating her usual facial mess with ‘piscetti.’ Kids make life fun.  More photos below, but not cropped or edited.

Country breakfast 2

“Hope is a good breakfast, but it is a bad supper.” ~ Francis Bacon My version of the $4 breakfast special at the Farmer’s Den.

Country breakfast 1

“A simple enough pleasure, surely, to have breakfast alone with one’s husband, but how seldom married people in the midst of life achieve it.” ~ Anne Spencer (1882-1975) American Black poet My wife’s version of the $4 breakfast plate at our local cowboy diner, The Farmer’s Den. Yum. The only downside? It usually smells like…

Wedding centerpiece

And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said:  “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son,  and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.” ~ Matthew 22:1-3 (New King James…

Sugar house

A sugar house is where maple sap is boiled down to maple syrup.

Harvest leftovers

There are three easy ways of losing money – racing is the quickest, women the most pleasant, and farming the most certain. ~ Lord Amherst Many people don’t realize that after the harvesters go through the fields, there’s about 20% left over.  Farmers plow this back into the dirt, which gives nutrients to the next…

Initiating the new grill

I decided to initiate the grille with beef ribs and burgers and dogs. Next week? Carne asada. Closeup below.

Dueling grills

“Grilling, broiling, barbecuing – whatever you want to call it – is an art, not just a matter of building a pyre and throwing on a piece of meat as a sacrifice to the gods of the stomach.” ~ James Bear Costco had a really nice 4-burner grill on sale for $200 this past weekend,…

Tomato harvest

“It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.” ~ Lewis Grizzard Tomato harvest is underway – in my area, lots of Italian tomatoes, here loaded into the trucks for transport from the field.

Eatin’ with the cowboys

One of the best places to get breakfast out in the country where I live is the Farmer’s Den. Breakfast special is $4 for a couple eggs, two really good pieces of bacon or sausage, and two pancakes (or biscuits and gravy or hash browns). My mother in law likes it because it’s usually filled…

Pot, trivet, table

Little moments can have a feeling and a texture that is very real. ~ Ralph Fiennes  An interesting study in textures – the pot, the trivet, the table.  

Pepper seedlings in the field

“We were born to die and we die to live. As seedlings of God, we barely blossom on earth; we fully flower in heaven.” ~  Russell M. Nelson I have no idea if these are peppers, or if they are, what kind they are.  We'll find out!  Just another day on my way to work.

Apricot season

Most towns in the Central Valley of California have an annual harvest festival celebrating a main crop in the area.  Gilroy has it’s famous Garlic Festival, nearby Watsonsville has its huge Strawberry Festival in nearby Monterey, and my little hamlet has its Apricot Fiesta (yeah, definitely small town web site that needs help).  This picture,…

Kids snacking after church

“Every day people are straying away from the church and going back to God.” ~  Lenny Bruce Although Lenny Bruce was known as a comedian, this tidbit has a lot of truth in it.  Many churches are just meaningless social clubs, self-righteous hallelujah clubs, or something worse. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in the…