The wonderful exotic hibiscus

The wonderful exotic hibiscus

I have tried many times to grow a hibiscus plant in my garden but can't seem to do it successfully.

When I saw the beautiful flowers that Sonya was growing in her garden in the Woodlands in South Texas I was very envious. I do realize that the climate is better suited to these lovely flowers.

So I set out to paint a copy of the photo that Sonya took and here it is.

I played with it when I had finished and added different frames using my computer paint program

That was interesting to do. It really matters which frame you put on a painting as it brings out certain colors.

Maybe I can get Mike to make a real frame for it to see how it would really look.

Little Kandee

Little Kandee   

Today it was very hot like 98 degrees and we went out early to the Farmer's Market in Denton. Great place to visit early on a Saturday morning as you can buy lots of fresh veggies there. Then after we came home I did some outside watering and then had lunch.

I had been meaning to get up to my studio but I had forgotten to put the air conditioner on in there . If I don't do that the watercolor never keeps damp enough and neither do I.

So instead I decided to try again to do a sketch with water color pencils and do it indoors in my living room. Much more comfortable. I looked at some of my photos and saw one of little Kandee, a very tiny chihuahua mix. This is a very cute dog that my friend recently adopted from a shelter. I thought this would be a good practice to draw the fur and then add water to make the colors after which I did. The advantage with using the pencils is that you have lots more control. The disadvantage is color mixing is more difficult. I was pleased with the attempt but will probably do a painting as well to see if I can do better.

The pencils are fun to use especially on a hot day.

Makes a change from using the computer.

Are cats mind- readers?

Are cats mind- readers?

Briana has the "knowing look" in her eyes.

I am beginning to think this is true. With my cats it seems I just think of something and they get the message.

We know it happens with the dogs. We don't take them for many walks to the park, maybe once a week or so, but they look forward to it even in this miserable weather. So as we sit in bed making plans for the day I say, “Ok let get up and walk the dogs today before breakfast”. Almost immediately we hear the dogs rushing about getting all excited outside the bedroom door at the prospect of a walk.

Now the cats are even craftier. Every year we take them to the local vet clinic to get their rabies shot, a requirement in our area. The dogs are fine to go although I guess they think we are off to the park but anywhere is fun for dogs as they get to see a lot of new doggy friends at the clinic plus there's all those new smells.

So does Miss Tabs

Not so the cats. We have to plan this event days in advance. We only take 2 cats at a time so catching the inside cats is no problem. They don't catch the thought process and that trip goes well.

The other 2 cats , the knowing ones who spend a lot of time outdoors just know when we are thinking of catching them. I even put the carriers away inside the house so they don't get a clue. I'll catch them when I put the morning food outside . They always come for that and are usually waiting by the door.

Unfortunately they have read my mind yet again so no cats show up. It's not until much later I see one and then the other and by that time the clinic will be closed so it's not going to happen today.

I'll try again next week.

I just know they are reading my mind.

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

Blueberry Zucchini Bread   

Hot day today, We are getting geared up for the dog days of Summer in Texas where the temperature rarely drops below 90 degrees and is often over 100 degrees. So what do you do if you are smart? You either find water ( lakes, swimming pool) or you stay inside in the airconditioning.

When you stay inside you have to find something to do or you'll get summer cabin fever quickly so today I had a change from painting and baked this very nice blueberry zucchini bread. We had all the ingredients on hand- zucchini, blueberries, flour, sugar, eggs, vanilla, oil, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. I had a good recipe which I had tried before, the one from Allrecipes.com so for about an hour today I made this delicious bread. Just 2 small loaves so I could freeze one for later. It turned out well and we ate some this evening.

So that's what I did today.

Tomorrow it's back to the painting.

A Very Tasty Diet

A Very Tasty Diet

The wind was blowing a bit but it kept the temperature just right

We were invited up to friend Joe's house at the lake this week. His wife Sally was out of town and we had told her we would be sure to invite him to our house for lunch whilst she was away so he wouldn't get too lonely.

It turned out a better idea for us to go to him for lunch as he said he was on a new weight reducing diet and would be cooking anyway so we could try the meal.

Now I don't need to diet as I only weigh 120 lbs and have changed very little over the years. Mike occasionally feels overweight but he isn't really and a few days of less bread and potatoes and beer soon help there . So we were interested to see this new diet. Joe said he had researched this diet and so we knew it would be interesting and it certainly was.

Joe and Mike enjoying the meal

Joe had grilled chicken on the BBQ and also long sweet red peppers. I am sure he might have added various spices or herbs. Also he had made a black bean mixture mixed with onions and baked some garlic cloves.Add to that a small salad of mostly lettuce and veggies. Now this is a good diet meal and very,very tasty. Joe explained that this is a meal he will eat six days a week but on the 7^th day you can eat anything you want. He has already lost several pounds and said he felt a lot better.

We ate our meal out on the deck with a warm wind blowing as we sipped a nice white wine and had some great conversation. It was lovely and I am sure we lost weight. I bet the beans help!!

We missed you Sally.

Thanks Joe

An Interesting Plant

An Interesting Plant  

So last year when Mike and I visited the Wild Flower Seed nursery in Fredricksburg we were browsing in the herb garden and I saw a herb that I had never seen before and besides which, I didn't realize was a herb.

It was a subtle gray green color with spiky dried looking leaves and not very large. I had to have it. So I bought it and planted it in my garden and then watched it grow. And grow it did. By this spring it is a healthy bush and not only that it suddenly produced lovely bushy yellow flowers.

So what is it?

It is a curry plant. You can tell that because anytime the wind blows across it you catch that same smell you will find in an Indian restaurant- spicy and fragrant.

I haven't got Mike to cook with yet as we aren't sure if you use the leaves or the seeds because as the flowers die off I can see seeds forming.

One day I'll finally do some research on it and then I'll let you know.

Meanwhile we will just enjoy it.

The great thing is the grasshoppers don't like it!!

The Passing of Pug

The Passing of Pug the cat

PUG

We had sensed this coming for probably about a month. Little Pug, called this because of her wide face and wide eyes and small body, was close to 16 years old. Her life began as a kitten who had had kittens of her own too early, who lived with a noisy and hectic family in a small home with  small children. She was passed on to rescue and from there through various adoptive homes and a few foster families until she came to live with us.

This was an independent cat of the first degree. If she was forced into doing anything she didn't want to do and became stressed, she let everyone know it by pulling out her own coat until she was almost naked.The vets gave her a battery of tests and various medications but she still kept pulling out her fur.In desperation at our house we basically ignored her , leaving her to come and go as she liked, to eat the food we put out for the cats and to sleep where she felt comfortable. That was often outside and in the early years we would see her only once in a  while.

When she did come in she was friendly enough but never a lap cat. She liked to sit beside you but didn't choose to be cuddled. She loved water and if it rained you could see her often standing outside in a downpour just soaking wet. To find her we would put on the sprinkler and out she would come running to stand under the shower. Yes she was quite a character.

PUG & fried MOCHA

As she got older she got more picky about food and over the last few months got thinner and thinner and began to stay inside more often. She was losing weight rapidly and probably now only weighed about 2-3 lbs. This last month I could see she was failing and wouldn't be long for this world. She still would try and jump up on counters and on the couch but began to miss her footing and I could see that something had to be done. Even walking across the room was becoming a big effort and took time. 

Last week I began debating whether I should be thinking about putting her to sleep as she was sleeping most of the time and eating and drinking so little. A sure sign that the end is near.

So last Friday I took her on my lap and to my surprise she settled right down and let me pet her so gently. I talked to her in my mind about how I loved her and how we all would miss her but it was time to pass on and let go.

Then I put her on the ground in her favorite place , right in front of the refrigerator, while we had our evening meal and we did the usual evening things we do. It wasn't until a couple of hours later that I asked Mike where was Pug  and he replied she was in the kitchen.

Well she wasn't. She seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

I looked around searching just about everywhere I could think . Mike joined me and we extended our search to every nook and cranny, cupboard and corner in the house and even in places she could not have gone to. No sign of her.

Then we looked outside under every bush and in all the places a cat could hide..We knew the possibility of her even making it outside the house was extremely limited as this cat could not have gone far in her present state but we looked and looked. I fully expected to find her lying dead somewhere but after a couple of hours in began to get dark and we had to give up. I think we both knew that our little Pug had passed on.

We continued looking all the next day but I really knew that we would not find her and now 3 days later no sign of her anywhere.

She had decided that it was now time to go and so she went. No fuss. This is what independent cats do.

Goodbye Pug we shall miss you.

The House of Velvet and Glass

The House of Velvet and Glass

by Katherine Howe

This is a very readable novel set in 1915 in Boston. It opens with two well to do ladies, a mother and daughter that are taking a trip on the Titanic .it goes on to show how this affects the remaining family , the father, elder sister and brother living in Boston. It recalls the father's life as a young man on a shipping voyage to the far east and his involvement with the mysteries of opium.

It skips back to the family home where it shows the remaining daughter visiting seances and getting information from a crystal glass on not only the past and in particular the sinking of the Titanic but on future events as well.

Good as a novel with an interesting plot but also a good historical novel as well.

I enjoyed reading this one.

June's painting challenge

June's painting challenge

The original challenge

The painting challenge this month on “paintanddrawtogether “ was a photo of a metallic goblet with cherries.

I tried it in watercolor and wasn't too pleased with my attempt mainly because the background just didn't look right. So I made another painting but this time in acrylic paints where I can paint heavy paint and thought that would be better . When I had finished I didn't like this one either very much. The goblet looked out of proportion. Maybe I just didn't like the subject matter very much either although I just LOVE cherries!!

Water color on left and acrylic on right

Here you are you can see all the paintings.http://paintanddrawtogether.blogspot.com/ There were some really fabulous one painted by the other artists. Visit and check them out. So interesting to see the different approaches people use.

Goodbye Spring , Hello Summer

Goodbye Spring , Hello Summer  

So today is June 21 the last day of Spring and I shall be sad to see it go. This has been a lovely Spring with lots of beautiful flowers in my yard, no major problem in health or otherwise, the weather has been quite temperate and we have not had any really big storms to worry about. We have been very lucky when we see what has been happening in other parts of the country. One small regret, we never did get away for a Spring break. We had planned to spend a few days away and see some more of Texas but never quite got it together.

I have done a lot more paintings, read fewer books but the good news is I have managed to keep up this daily blog. I am now up to #165  so nearly halfway through my yearly challenge.Thanks for reading and commenting. It helps me to keep on going.

The painting I selected today shows my flowers in Spring. Sadly most have now gone but hopefully have left a scattering of seed to bloom again next year.

A Nice Day Out.

A Nice Day Out.

The Andaman Restaurant, Denton

So we needed a change so earlier this week I saw there was lecture to be given on the development of trains in the North Texas area. I thought this would be something that Mike might be interested in and of course as it was about TRAINS he certainly was. So off we went to the Old Texas Courthouse in Denton where we heard a so-so talk on the train system. It's a lovely old building and it was interesting to hear what the lecturer said in the less than an hour presentation. I did find it interesting that he said unlike today the population in North Texas developed because of the introduction of the rail lines which brought business and people to the area in the 1800s. The road system on the other hand went to the populated areas following the rail road.

It was worth going just to sit quietly and listen for a while .

You can see the courthouse on the left side of the photo

Afterwards we took a short walk down from the square passing some interesting old buildings and had lunch at a delightful Thai restaurant called the Andaman. It was very quiet and pleasant and interesting. 

The food was lovely and the jasmine rice, great. I had never had that before and really liked it. It was a good compliment to the sweet and sour stir fry meal. We enjoyed a nice house wine, a Pinot Grigio,The young waitress was attentive and all in all I thoroughly enjoyed our day out.

We will have to do this again.

Not much else you can do in this heat!!

Hug the Cook

Hug the Cook    

On my wall in the kitchen I have this lovely tile. I am not sure where it came from but I think it is a good reminder that we should always remember that we should make sure to say thank you to the people in our lives that do the necessary jobs day in and day out without complaint. Such as cooking.

In our house now Mike is the cook and he deserves a big hug as he makes very varied meals and takes care that they are done just right, He is always looking up new recipes or taking a challenge at a new one I find, and trying it out. Today we went to our local farmer's market and bought some of the produce there.

One of the things we bought was fresh corn. The seller said they had just been picked it so we knew it would be delicious as this is the time of the year that it is just coming to market.

Mike decided we would have this for our evening meal which was fine by me as he had cooked up a lovely lunch of fresh new potatoes with mint sauce from our garden, a few small tomatoes, some beans from our friend Vincent's garden ( thank you Vincent, they were delicious) and very nice piece of salmon. So this corn would be a light evening meal.

I remembered I had seen a video on how to cook corn and in particular how to shuck it easily without getting the whole kitchen covered with the silky innards inside the corn husks.it keeps the corn really clean and is so quick to cook. just 4 minutes in the microwave and it's done. After we looked at it, Mike tried it and it really worked.

Here is the link on youtube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnBF6bv4Oe4

Try it when you have corn next time and don't forget to hug the cook.!

It's Kitten Time

It's Kitten Time

Kittens at the shelter in Roanoke

Every year despite all that the humane organizations and rescue groups do to promote spaying and neutering to discourage the birth of unwanted pets , it never fails, come June, the shelters are overflowing with kittens.

kittens at Metroport Humane Society

I have worked with various animal organization since 1980 and it just never seems to get any better. I think the blame lies with PEOPLE. I think many people take in cats or kittens often that they find and then fail to get them spayed and neutered. I know many people still don't know that a 5 month old kitten can give birth to a new litter of kittens and can also have 3 litters a year if she is not fixed.

Those unwanted kittens either become feral or wander off to be picked up by someone who out of the kindness of their heart, takes the kitten in but then doesn't get it neutered or spayed and so the cycle continues.

Don't forget the little black cuties

When you look at a cute baby kitten it is hard to resist but please don't get a cat unless you get it neutered and spayed. Many rescue and pet adoption agencies will already arrange for this for the kittens they adopt out. If not ask about low cost spay neuter programs.

Also please if you really think you are ready for a new pet cat please get one from a rescue group or a shelter. They need help to place all these babies that arrive on mass at this time of the year. Also a very special plea for those little black and tortie kittens , They are often the ones that get left in the shelters where the outcome of adoption is not good.

The Rose Mallow

The Rose Mallow

Right by our front gate we have a little bush that keeps on growing . It doesn't get very big. It doesn't change much during the change of seasons but what it does have are neat little pink flowers about 1 inch across.The flowers start blooming about May and continue right through to Fall. They open early in the morning but close if it gets really hot. Then they open again in the evening.Very sensible little flowers.

They make little seeds in the Fall. These grow naturally here and I had another little bush that grew under the trees but didn't get so many flowers probably because it doesn't get much sun.That figures!

A couple of years ago in the fall I took the little seeds and planted them out of the edge of the wooded area where they would get some sun and to my surprise about 6 of them actually grew and now I have another 6 bushes which also have the promise of little points of pink in our sun-baked garden.

Cheers for the rose mallow.

A Daddy Came to Visit

A daddy came to visit

There he was sitting on the wall behind my computer a big gangly legged monster.

He had this tiny body not more than the size of a pea and just enormous legs. He sat there all day long. Didn't twitch, move a leg, not any leg and didn't eat although I told him there were plenty of spiders around as well as my arch enemies- grasshoppers.which he would be doing me a favor if he could go outside and kill a few of them.

Yes he is a Daddy Longlegs. Well that's what I originally thought. Also I thought that was very appropriate as it was Fathers Day. It was not until I did a bit of research that I found out he wasn't actually a daddy longlegs at all. He was a harvestmen and not even a spider. Harvestmen are arachnids. Very similar .

He still had enormous long legs and I didn't fancy trying to pick him up and put him outside or do what most people would do, squash him with a rolled up newspaper. So I went out for lunch with the family and my long egged visitor had gone when I came back. Where to it's anyone’s guess but I hope he took my words of catching grasshoppers to heart.

Father's Day Wisdom

Father's Day Wisdom

As this is Father's Day ( weekend). I thought I'd write a blog on something to do with fathers.

My own idea of a good father is a man who will be there for his child whatever the circumstance and will listen and give advice when requested and above all will take the time to love the child unconditionally. Those are the important things . All the rest can be sorted out.

I have on my bookshelf a neat little book called “ A Father's Book of Wisdom”,compiled by H Jackson Brown Jrn.

This is a collection of all kinds of quotes from all kinds of people including the authors Dad. What a neat way to remember your father. The booklet is very interesting to read. Here are a few of the quotes.

On Aging: an old Indian Saying

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a manner that when you die the world cries and you rejoice.

On Friendship: Robert Louis Stevenson

A friend is a gift you give yourself.

On Success: Anonymous

Success comes before work only in the dictionary.

Happy Father's day to all the fathers, young or old: we ladies appreciate you.

June Painting Challenge

This month's painting challenge was a photo of a metallic vase or goblet and some cherries. It's on a very dark background and the goblet blends into the background, The cherries are reflected partially in the goblet.
I found this pretty simple to sketch and almost impossible to paint in watercolor. I had forgotten how difficult it is to get a really dark contrast using watercolor without doing a great deal of washes.
This is my attempt.

I think I will try in the new few days to try one in acrylic and see if I can do any better.
I need a change anyhow!!

A Beautiful Lily

A beautiful Lily

Day Lily 2013 Photo by Mike

I know I wrote a blog on a day lily before but Mike took this beautiful photo of one of the last day lilies that are still blooming so had to show it to you.

I think this will be a great subject for painting as well so you might see it again later.

Feeding the Bees and Butterflies

Feeding the Bees and Butterflies

Monarda( bee balm)

Last year when I was buying native plants for my yard I was looking especially for a butterfly bush as I had seen these big lilac /blue bushes in everyone's yard but it took ages before I found one. I should have looked for buddleia a friend told me.

I planted it and it was a spindly looking thing with narrow leaves. It had a few buds growing and I kept checking it . Then the grasshoppers hit and for some reason they really liked this new bush. Within weeks the leaves were all gone and it looked miserable. The few buds came out and quickly disappeared. I didn't see many of the butterflies even going near it. By the fall it looked dead and by this Spring it was really dead so I yanked it out.

So this year at all the plant sales I kept looking for another replacement but couldn't find one even though I asked for buddleia.

Butterfly bush ( buddleia )

“Why not get some bee balm” said one helpful lady. “They are very pretty and the bees and butterflies love it”. So I did. It was also a spindly green plant with no blooms when I bought it in April but it really did turn out to be a very pretty plant. I found out it's real name is monarda and the flowers have a very complicated structure but they are a lovely color and yes, the bees do love it. The flowers have now all died away but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the grasshoppers will leave it alone and it will flourish and grow and will come back next year.

We need to keep the bees and butterflies happy.

Graduation time for baby birds

Graduation time for baby birds    

Blue Jay photo from googgle images

Its about that time of the year in Texas. The wild birds that made nests and had new babies are getting ready for a big change. We have lots of birds around here in the trees and bushes so we are always seeing many different kinds.

Outside of our front window in a hanging basket we have had a nest of nut hatches- pretty little brown birds( at least that is what I think they are). The parents have kept close check of the babies and we knew they were there by the very loud constant twittering of the parents especially when the saw a cat or larger bird in the area. They would visit throughout the day but always were very active in the twilight .We never saw the babies but occasionally we would hear faint chirping .Now today it is all quiet. The parents have gone. The chirping has stopped so I guess the little ones have all flown away.

We know for sure the baby blue jays are leaving the nest and trying to fly as one poor little fledgeling beginner landed on the deck outside our summer room and we watched while the parent birds tried to encourage him to get up and fly. They were not happy about anything( person or cat coming anywhere near).The baby kept taking to the bushes and I was worried the lazy cat who sleeps out there would catch him. So this evening with a lot of shooing noises and loud cawing from Mr amd Mrs Blue Jay , I persuaded him with lots of clapping and hand flapping to take off. He did this with little hops and miniature flights into the bamboo trees next door where he would have more protection.

Green heron,photo from google images

The other young bird we have been watching is a big dopey green heron. This is a fairly large bird but you can tell this one is young because he is so unbalanced. He lands in an old tree we have and in reaching with his long beak to pick up a bug, will overbalance and fall beFore he remembers he has to fly. Quite a comedy.

So our backyard birds are keeping us amused and reminding us Spring is almost over.

Guitar Man and Girl friend

Guitar Man and girlfriend

I have only to look at this tile which hangs in my hallway to remember the 60s.

It was a time when every young man and sometime ladies as well wanted to play the guitar. Folk singers were very popular and all the start up bands had at least one guitar player and sometimes two. Mike and many of his friends all had guitars and they would get together and play all kinds of tunes. As I remember some friends were a lot better at it than others. One friend called Ray that often came to these musical get- togethers was exceptional. He could REALLY play and it seemed effortless to him. I often wonder what happened to him in later life.

When we found this tile we had to have it. It shows a man with a beard ( fashionable)and also the very heavy sweaters that were really popular at the time. Mike could have modeled for the artist. The girl has long hair , a must for the time, listening to tunes on the guitar. I think we bought it before we got married but it is one of the things much treasured in our house.

Makes me remember being young.

Lost Dog Alert.

Lost Dog Alert.

Bud FOUND

So Saturday night a big storm with very loud thunder and heavy rain came through our area. We didn't worry about it as we really need the rain.

When I got up to make coffee I saw that Mocha, the brown lab came to greet me but there was no sign of big Bud. The German shepherd mix It was still raining and as I know that Bud hates getting wet, I wondered where he was. I called -, no Bud. I decided he must have braved the weather and gone out in the yard.

We had our coffee and after a while, we got up and I decided to delay my walk as the weather still looked cloudy. Looked all over the house and called for Bud again. No Bud.

So off I went to look around the yard. It was very wet but I looked under the trees and bushes, in the workshop, in the barn, in the garden, behind the barn , on the front porch, Then I checked the fence and gate just in case it had blown open. No everything was fine . Still no Bud.

Mike joined in the hunt and he went round again I went inside and opened all the doors again still calling Bud's name. I began to think he must have jumped the fence or been stolen. Should I call the police?

Then I decided to have one more look upstairs in the bedrooms. One bedroom I had missed when I first looked as that is the guest bedroom which we keep shut so the pets can't go in. I opened the door and out came Bud.

He was quite unconcerned and he hadn't barked or made a sound all the time we had been looking for him. I couldn't believe it.

Still I'm ver glad he wasn't lost!

Hand Signals

The other day when Mike and I were driving back from the park I saw something that I hadn't seen for a long, long time.

We were following very slowly, I might add ,an old guy driving a big old country tractor in front of us. No room to overtake and we were coming up to a part of the road that met another road that was coming in on the left side anyhow. We both hoped that the tractor driver would take that road and we could get on our way.

As we got close to the turning the old man put his left arm out straight so we could see which way he meant to go. Yes it was a real hand signal! Now I haven't seen one of those since ...well, I guess it was when I left England in the year dot.

pop up signal indicators in old cars

I think when I took my first driving test in England one of the requirement was that you knew hand signals for driving even though most of the cars then were equipped with pop up signals from inside the car. We all used hand signals when riding our bicycles too so it didn't seem strange.

So I do wonder why in these days with all the very sophisticated controls on cars why is it people can't seem to use those controls for the signals so the other drivers can have some idea of what they are planning to do.

Just a simple thing but often not used.

Yet an old guy on a tractor can remember!!

I Forgot the Roses.

I Forgot the Roses.

As I go to write this blog each day ( yes it is still a challenge) I try and think of something to write about. This might be an idea that I have thought about during the day. It might be a photo I have, a painting I have finished, a random thought, a quote, a piece of music etc etc. It is really getting quite difficult to remember what I have blogged about now I think I am up to 150 blogs this year.

I know I have written a blog on many of the flowers that have either been in my garden or we have been lucky enough to get good photos of but which are the ones haven't I done?

I quickly went through the blog titles and think I didn't do one on the beautiful roses we have had this year. I know they came out very early in the year and continued until quite recently. Now the roses are all taking a summer sleep because they know like I do, it's about to get miserably hot. Hopefully they will bloom again later in the Fall.

Couldn't let the blog go without some of the photo of the lovely roses. Photos all taken by Mike.

Indian Blanket

Indian Blanket

Photo of one of the lovely flowers in my garden

At this time of the year in Texas, the wildflower that you see lining many of the country roads or growing in the pastures is the gaillardia or by its common name Indian blanket or fire wheel. It is a lovely red flower with petals tipped with orange yellow or brown, quite distinctive. The flowers are about 1”-2'' and they grow about a foot high and usually in large clusters.

I have always liked the tales or legends that explain why things are called their name or about famous people in history.

The story of where the flower got it's name is self descriptive for firewheel but here's how it became Indian blanket.

Photo by www.highlandlakes.com

In the days when Indians ruled this land a famous blanket maker made lovely woven blankets. They were much prized. As the old Indian came towards the end of his life he decided to make one final blanket for himself so he made his very best blanket choosing all his favorite colors,red, yellow , orange and brown. It was truly a work of art and when he died he was buried wrapped in the blanket.

The Great Spirit considered this and decided that this beauty should not go to waste so every year the flowers called Indian blanket grow to remind us of the old Indian's blanket and to show us it's magnificence. 

Now isn't that a neat story?

Lunch - The Ultimate Paella

Lunch - The Ultimate Paella

A few weeks ago when our friend Ros was over here she asked if we liked crayfish or crawdads as Mike calls them. Mike said “yes “. I said “maybe”, having not remembered if I had ever had them.

So today she brought some over to us for Mike to add to his Ultimate Paella recipe. We had had paella before, once in Spain and once when Mike had made it It's basically a mix with a selection of meat or fish which is cooked in a bed of rice colored with saffron. This recipe Mike used was ingredient rich. It had 16 ingredients. I guess that's why it's called the ultimate paella. I know as well as the crawfish there was chicken, chorizo sausage, shrimp as well as a number of spices and veggies. It looked great and tasted excellent. 

Ready for lunch

It takes a while to cook but that was ok. I guess when you are making one of these paella dishes you can choose your own meats or fish or probably use just veggies. It comes out rather like a well cooked gumbo or stew .

Mike served it with a Yellow Tail chardonnay white Casella wine which was just right for the meal. It was very light and refreshing.

I always like these Yellow Tail wines and especially their logo which is a hopping kangaroo because they are Australian wines.

This one that you can see by my very poor and blurry photo is red and orange .I guess they chose those colors to denote the hot climate.

I guess if you drank the whole bottle the kanga might look like my photo!!.

Great lunch, nice company.

We will have to do this again.