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Thursday, September 8, 2022

just me again...

I've been baking a lot lately. Made a batch of home-made nutty granola and some of Martha Stewart's favorite chocolate chip cookies to send to my oldest granddaughter in a care package.  She is going into her 3rd year studying Urban Development at Texas A&M. She tells me she is interested in using Urban planning for firms that are hired out to incorporate green spaces such as parks into cities. Apparently this major encompasses some architecture...  which makes me think she may have inherited this desire since my dad, sister, and brother were all architects (I'm the odd one who went into Veterinary Medicine).

Unfortunately I forgot to take pics of any of my baking. But here is a pic of the granola taken in the past. 



Both these recipes are keepers. The nutty granola uses pecans, cashews, almonds, and Macadamia nuts. It is so-oo good. And the MS favorite chocolate cookies were a hit too. This was a new recipe for me (and I added not only chocolate chips, but a combination of  Reese's mini's, peanuts, caramel pieces, etc.). The cookies were large and I could only bake 6 to a pan... so I had to make several batches.

And I also baked a large banana nut loaf - because I hate to waste bananas and I had 3 getting soft. This is also a great recipe that comes from my King Arthur cookbook. It is so moist and tastes wonderful. I halfed it - putting half in the refrig for the boys and the other half in the freezer for later.

And I have to send you this video of Winston, my oldest son's dog. He recently had surgery and we sent him a Get Well gift which he received yesterday and we received this pic and video showing how much he liked his gift. You might have to enlarge the video, click on it twice and sometimes there is an option to enlarge to whole screen.








Winston had a real frog that used to visit him when they lived in Granbury. So we were looking for a toy that resembled a frog (but it had to be tough enough for a big dog to play with). This is the closest thing we could find... kind of a cross between a frog and a gator?  But he seems to like it.

Also my youngest granddaughter spent the night last week. She's been wanting to do this for the longest, but for many reasons (overcrowded computer room, no bed in upstairs 2nd bedroom, etc.) Anyway, since we finally furnished the upstairs guest room, we said, Sure! However, she didn't want to sleep up there alone, so I sent DH up there and she slept with me. It was fun. She is a talker... (and a kicker- restless legs?) and we talked late into the night. We had pepperoni pizza for supper and chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast! Here is a pic of her at the breakfast table with her eyes glued to her cell phone.




Guess that's all my news for today. Going to leave you with this cute meme I found that reminds me of Ghost - our departed gray kitty. She used to lay with me on my bed (my favorite spot to read) when I read in the afternoon and/or at night.


my favorite spot to read...

Ghost laying with Snuffy
 

and a few more funnies:





Really closing this now. Hope I didn't bore you to tears...  but outside of my book, "Carrick Cove",  finally being available on Amazon, life goes on as usual around here. 

I will recommend a series we've been watching on Netflix. It's called "Virgin River" and it's really good. 


Hugs (virtual),

Rian


And I heard about the passing of Queen Elizabeth today. I have to say that she was someone that I greatly admired and I doubt that anyone will ever fill her shoes...  but I do wish the best for King Charles and her family. 





16 comments:

  1. Baking is an expression of love isn't it?
    Your ghost is a beauty. I am still aching for Jazz and find myself looking for him. Which hurts when I remember.

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    1. It is. Ghost was a beauty... she had genetic problems and wasn't supposed to live past her first year. But she lived till almost 15... and we loved her. It does hurt to remember, but wouldn't have wanted to miss the time we did have.

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  2. How nice, a visit from your granddaughter. They all catch up with each other before breakfast.

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    1. She loves her cell phone. I guess I love mine too... but we all seem a bit addicted to it.

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  3. Hope Winston didn't play like that with the real frog:) He is really enjoying it. Aww, your GD is too young to be absorbed by her phone. Glad you got to have a slumber party with her. though.
    Laughed out loud at "To Kill a Mockingbird."

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    1. No, Winston didn't play rough with the real frog... just kind of nudged him a bit.

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  4. Rian, I very much enjoyed reading about all that baking! You must be very proud of your oldest granddaughter, her studies--very impressive. And you always make me smile when you write about your youngest granddaughter, "the talker". She looks so sweet and your kitchen looks so homey. :^)

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    1. Thanks, Dug. We have been very "lucky" with our kids and grandkids. They are all good people... love animals and kind.

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  5. You can never go wrong with those cat memes in my opinion.

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  6. Your posts are never boring, but filled with delight for your readers. I love the toy and the video makes me smile. Thank you, dear friend.

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    1. Winston is a sweet dog... a bit spoiled, but loving. He does seem to enjoy his toys.

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  7. Winston seems to really enjoy his new toy. I'm guessing he's recovered well from his surgery.
    I bet the sleepover with the granddaughter was fun. My Eli will sleep with me when I'm at their house, but wants his mom when he is here so we've not had any sleepovers yet. Maybe in a year or two.

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    1. It's amazing how fast animals recover from surgery (when we humans moan and groan for weeks). As for sleepovers, our 2 oldest grandkids slept over a lot, but the 2 youngest were older when they tried it. It's still fun... but easier to do when I was younger. How old is Eli?

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  8. I agree that Winston looks like he's loving his new frog toy. How awesome you got to spend that quality time with your granddaughter.

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    1. Yes, and now that she has her own phone (at 9), I do get texts from her also... whether a phone is a good idea at this age is questionable, but it is the way the kids communicate these days.

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