During our visit to HomeTown, we got to observe a neat little encounter in God's creation. My parents have this bird in their yard that they felt was baiting their black lab, Jet. Whenever my Dad would go to play catch with Jet, this bird would make all kinds of noise and flap her wings and so forth. At one point, my Mom observed this interaction and saw the bird flapping her wings and and told my Dad, "I think she has a broken wing." However they started to notice when they left that area of the yard, the bird would calm down and and go about as if nothing had happened.
So my Dad Googled it. What did we do before the internet?
Sure enough, he plugged in the bird's behavior and characteristics and found out that the bird was a Killdeer. Apparently the Killdeer is native to the Midwest, but are not very common in the Northwest. So interesting. Turns out that these birds typically build their nests on gravel rooftops, which certainly aren't very common where my parents live, but they do have a gravel fire pit they use to build on occasional campfire. And guess what is sitting in the gravel....
Four little eggs. Which my Dad had to point out to me three times before I actually saw them; they are that well camouflaged.
What this mama bird does when she feels her babies are being threatened or are in danger, is she runs away from the nest and making all the ruckus she can in effort to distract the so called predator. They even fake broken wings, which my Mom fell for, hook, line and sinker. (For the record, I would have too, had I not known the story before hand.)
It didn't even cross my mind to record this, so I could share a video, so the pictures will have to do.
Every Mama has a mothering instinct each other Mama can relate to. Isn't that just the neatest thing?
We had such a fun filled holiday weekend. As always, I am already looking forward to our next visit.
Before we left to head to HomeTown, my Dad mentioned to me that we didn't need to bring any of Peanut's toys. I should have known something was up at that time. I kind of thought so, but then I brushed it off and didn't give it another thought. When we arrived on Friday afternoon, Peanut was greeted by Grandma and Grandpa and a whole new swing set of her very own at Grandma and Grandpa's.
As if their big yard to play in at a moments notice wasn't enough. But we appreciated their generosity nonetheless.
It was good for Peanut to be able to stretch and play after the L-O-N-G car ride. She's such a good traveler.
Grandma taught her to smell the flowders {flowers}...
And she got to play blocks with Grandpa, which her tongue still seems to be an amazing lightning rod for concentration.
Can anyone say Michael Jordan on that last one?!?!!?! Too funny.
We had some maintenance to do at our rental house, which we took care of Saturday morning. It ended up taking quite a bit longer than we had originally planned, because our renters are not taking care of the yard as well as we would have liked. :( We can't complain about the house itself, as everything seems to be in really good condition, however spending five hours doing yard work on our vacation was not something we had planned on. At least the yard looks better than before, but anyhow, I digress...
Saturday night, we were able to spend some time with DH's Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. It was so good to be able to see them and catch up. We had dinner together, where Peanut enjoyed eating her first slice of watermelon...
and then we took the Peanut in her first wagon ride down to the park just a few blocks from their house.
Peanut had fun with Auntie on the playground...
...and DH played volleyball with the rest of family while I played the part of paparazzi, taking advantage of all that natural light.
Lovies with Peanut's cousin (who may I mention was the flower girl at our wedding and now she's starting high school in September...seriously? Where does it go?)
It was typical Northwest weather on the 4th...cloudy and a bit cool to my liking, so I was in jeans.
But hey, at least it didn't rain. Peanut got to use sidewalk chalk on Grandma and Grandpa's newly poured concrete....
and I didn't even panic about the chalk mess. But I did wash her hands afterward.
She got to play with her cousin and toss the ball around with my parents lab....
and Mommy got to practice with her other lens, a smaller size telephoto. I am loving the depth of field it provides. See this blurry background? I have been trying so hard to achieve that and all I needed to do was pull out the other lens. Silly me.
We even had the chance to take some family pictures...one without me as I am behind the camera...
and one with me, with my Aunt taking the picture. Thanks, Auntie!
My mom graciously took some photos of our little family...thank you, Mama.
Can't believe how fast a year flies by.
Peanut got lots of special times with Grandma and Grandpa....many thanks to DH, who took these excellent photos...
Peanut had such a good time on the Fourth. Taking two naps--which she hasn't done for at least six months. But between a tuckered out little girl and two tired parents and two tired grandparents, we didn't even light off any fireworks. We watched a little bit of my parents neighbors display, which puts many to shame, but in the end, we were all asleep by 11 pm. I know. How very un-American of me.
But despite the fireworks-less-ness, we had a great time and we got to wake up to this:
Grandpa and Peanut waking up real slow and easy. *Sigh*
On Monday, my parents treated our family with a trip to the local zoo, which was fun, but a little anticlimactic. Seems that lots of the animals were hiding or rebelling against being on display. Not that I blame them...I like my space too.
But I was able to get a few good shots...
And just for the record, this picture of the sea lion did not look that tropical when I took it. In fact, it was pretty murky and icky looking in the water. And I didn't even edit the picture--except to add the watermark. Don't ask me how I did it....
My favorite zoo pic is this one. Peanut spent a lot of the time at the zoo on Grandpa's shoulders and Grandma told her to hold on...
I finally broke down and purchased my own domain name on the good ol' world wide web. Blogger says it will take care of redirecting, but just in case it doesn't--for any of you who have this site book marked or saved in a feed reader, the new site is lovingmydomesticlife.com. No more lovingmydomesticlife.blogspot.com Just wanted to let y'all know.
I don't even know where that y'all came from? You'd think I just got back from Texas or something. Weird.
Let me just start by saying that I don't generally care for curry. It's like wine for me, I always try it when it's served, thinking that maybe this time I will like it, and I try it and I don't. But for some reason, I big, pink, fluffy hearts love this salad. I think it's because the curry isn't overpowering and that is definitely a good thing for me.
I first had this salad at the most wonderful bridal shower I have ever been too--and it was for me. My mom's best friend, who sadly, is no longer with us, threw me the most beautiful shower before DH and I were married six years ago. She was a wonderful woman, a wonderful best friend to my mom, and a wonderful first boss to have. (I worked at her gift shop all through high school--I know, what a great first job to have!) I would have liked to call her my aunt--in fact, I sometimes did.
(at the shower with my mom's best friend--the picture quality is not the best, these were scanned from my scrapbook)
She paid enormous attention to detail at the shower draping pink tulle every place she could (it was all about the pink for me) and she served the most delicious buffet EVER. This salad was served on croissants to make these wonderful chicken salad sandwiches.
(notice the tray of sandwiches, the pink tulle, the glass dishes, the pink roses, the pink punch, the list goes on and on....)
I made this salad the other night and was reminded again at how simply yummy it is. I hope you get to try it out!
Chicken Curry Pineapple Salad
1 20 oz can tidbit pineapple, drained (or you can use chunk and tidbit it yourself, like I did)
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 3 oz. package oriental chicken soup mix (like Top Ramen)
3-4 cups cooked, cubed chicken
1 6 oz. can drained, sliced and chopped water chestnuts
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayo
2 Tbsp Major Grey Chutney (you can find this in the condiments aisle at your grocer)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 1/2 tsp curry powder (if you like curry, by all means, bump up the flavor more, if you so desire)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if you like kick)
Spread almonds in shallow pan. Toast at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
Cook oriental noodles and drain from water (I don't cook these all the way-they'll soak up moisture from the dressing, so I leave them a little firm) and toss with seasoning packet. When cool, add pineapple, chicken, water chestnuts, red pepper, and green onions. Mix together.
In a separate bowl, combine mayo, sour cream, chutney, lemon juice, curry, mustard, and cayenne. Blend well. Add dressing to noodle mix, toss gently, but well. Add almonds just prior to serving. Serves 4.
You can serve this just as a salad, or on sliced croissants to make yummy sandwiches.
Hope you all are enjoying celebrating our nation's independence! This my favorite holiday-next to Christmas, of course! Another short week, as we will be here in Hometown for a few more days....
Sunday, Monday-Vacation!
Tuesday-Nachos (easy to make after a long drive home!)
Whenever we make a trip to HomeTown, I always make a big foraging run to my favorite (and cheap!) grocery store. Their prices can't be beat (even more so here in SmallTown where everything is expensive) and they have a huge bulk section that is so nice. I love it because when making those recipes that call for something you probably will only use for that recipe, you can get just what you need and not have to purchase a predetermined amount.
Anyhow, as I was sitting here going through my menu and making my grocery list, I thought my little method for doing these big trips might work for some else. It's not like I've reinvented the wheel, but if this tip helps someone else out, then that's all the better.
Of course, I plan my menu first. Then I go through what I already have on hand and determine my shopping list around that. Now this is where my tip comes in: After I've made my grocery list of everything I need, I go back and rewrite the grocery list sorting by the departments in the grocery store in the order I usually shop. Departments such as Produce, Bulk, Dairy/Meats, Freezer, and Aisles. Plus, it is easier to read when I take the time to rewrite it. And that is always a time saver.
When I am super organized like that (which isn't necessarily all that often) and when Peanut is left in the care of her grandparents (bless their hearts) my marathon grocery shopping trips aren't so marathony any longer.
And that definitely works for me. For other helpful hints, visit We Are THAT Family.
We planted some fresh herbs this year in small planters on our back patio. Well, actually DH did. But I went and bought the seeds. Now we have tons and tons of fresh basil. Yum, yum! I am having to find recipes to make sure to use it all up. Tough life, huh?
Fresh pesto can be expensive to make, if you have to purchase fresh basil and the pine nuts and the Parmesan cheese. Things can add up very quickly. So I have a little trick for you all. Of course, grow your own basil if you can--that saves you $3-$4 each time you make it.
Next, pine nuts are extremely expensive! At Costco, they are around $15 a bag, which of course, it is a large quantity, but it's a nearly half of my weekly grocery budget. DH mentioned at his restaurant, they make their pesto with peeled almonds instead (see my tip here for peeling almonds), for that very same reason. Really, I thought....I will have to try that. This is what I came up with.
Fresh Basil Pesto
1-2 cloves fresh garlic
1 1/2 cups fresh basil
1/4 cup peeled almonds
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil to desired consistency
With food processor running, drop peeled garlic cloves through feed tube to mince. Once minced, add basil, almonds, and Parmesan to food processor and process to combine to a paste like consistency. Add olive oil to desired thickness. Turns out I like mine a little thicker and DH likes his a little saucier. Go figure!
