Outdoor Wednesday

It's Outdoor Wednesday!

I will be honest.  I am at work.  I probably shouldn't be posting on my blog.  But, here I am anyway...thinking:  Hey! It's Outdoor Wednesday. I wonder what pictures I have on this computer.

And this is what I found:

Two years ago, we did a river float, with my parents some of their friends and my good friend Theda and her husband John,  down the Grande Ronde River in Eastern Oregon.  I love pictures of water---especially sunlight on water.  There is nothing more beautiful to me  (except my grandchildren's faces) (sorry, I am one of those grandmas.  True story.)

Anyway, the river is beautiful.  Oregon is beautiful.  These two guys below are beautiful.  WAIT---what?    I didn't notice the gray hair (that one is mine) or the bald spot (that one is Theda's).   How in the world did this happen?  It seems as if  we were just kids a moment ago.  (sigh)  How fast things change.

I am linking to Outdoor Wednesday hosted by A Southern Daydreamer.

Stop by and check out some of the other great outdoor pics.

Applesauce

While  glancing thru some of my favorite blogs the other day, I found this easy homemade applesauce recipe at  "At Spoonful of Thyme".

I love homemade applesauce, so much more than store-bought.  I love it warm, and traditionally as a side dish next to some pork chops.  So, that's just what I did last night---made pork chops and applesauce.

Because I am a child of the 70's,  whenever I hear or in this case, write, pork chops and applesauce,  I can see Peter Brady, on the Brady Bunch doing his Humphrey Bogart impression, saying:  Pork chops and applesauce.

Does anyone besides me remember that?

(I am sure my friend Theda does--yay Theda!)

I didn't have to go far to find apples for this applesauce---the ones left on my tree needed something to be done with them FAST, so I went out and gathered some, peeled chopped and added them to the slow cooker.

My house smelled--FANTASTIC all day long.

I love fall.

Thanks Kathy for the great recipe.

Homemade Applesauce
A Spoonful of Thyme

6-10 large apples, peeled, cored and chunked
1/2 cup water
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 to 1 cup brown  sugar, packed

Put all ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cover and cook  on low for 8-10 hours.
Use a potato masher to get the desired consistency.

Random Post

I grew up in Washington State.  I love Washington  State....yeah, I KNOW I always share pictures, stories and fond memories of Nevada   (cuz Home means Nevada--it's the state song---and Washington and Oregon too!)  (and I've lived in Nevada longer than anywhere)

That's all beside the point.  I grew up in Washington State--a couple hours away from a little town called Leavenworth.  I love Leavenworth.  It's a Bavarian Village set smack dab in the middle of Washington State. 

There are two places I'd like to spend Christmas someday.  One is in Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia.  I want to spend a Christmas Eve Church service in the same pew as George Washington did. (seriously---they have the pews marked.  I was there.  But it was summer)
So... an historic Christmas in Williamsburg and then... then....
a Christmas at home in Washington state---Leavenworth...

I have a glitch!   There was a video here, and now it's gone.

Post by Icicle TV.

Post by Icicle TV.

This looks like my little Christmas village I put up each Christmas year.

Okay, I can have fun ANYWHERE at Christmas time.   Cities are fun, the country is fun, Mexico is fun, Italy is fun  (We have family traditions from these two places)

But Leavenworth.  That's where my heart is right now.

(and I really want a cuckoo clock. The last time I was there, they had a great clock store. )

Saturday Snapshot

I was in Boise, Idaho last month, and while walking downtown, we came across a postcard. If you know me, you know I love to get postcards in the mail.  So it seemed fitting that I take a photo of this postcard and  turn it in to a "photo" postcard to send to my friend  Shelly... to thank her for showing us such a good time in Boise.

It was two. Two.  Two postcards in one!   When you looked at it from different sides, it showed a different postcard view.

I am linking up to Saturday Snapshot, which is hosted by  West Metro Mommy Reads.
To participate in Saturday Snapshot: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then link up on her blog. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. 

First Paragraph

It's late. But it is still Tuesday here on the west coast... still time for me to join in with:

and all my fellow readers at Diane's blog  "Bibliophile By the Sea"

What you do to join in is, share the first paragraph or (a few) of a book you  am reading or thinking about reading soon. Care to join us?

This is my book and my first paragraph:

Whose Ass is this?

Seriously---that's the first paragraph.

It is from the book "All You Could Ask For" by Mike Greenberg.

So, do you think you'd read it?  Based on the first paragraph?  Intriguing?  Yes?  No?  (I am actually half way thru---at first I thought,  it's okay,  but half way thru I'm thinking it really is tender and  wonderfully insightful.  It's a good read)

Goodreads says:

A tender and wonderfully insightful story of friendship, love, heartbreak, and renewal, played out in the lives of three unforgettable women, from an extraordinary and unexpected debut novelist—the host of the #1 sports talk show in America, ESPN's Mike Greenberg

It says a lot more, but I'll just leave that for you to find out.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Today I am listening to the 'Frank Sinatra' station on Pandora.  

Just a  few minutes ago, this song came on--"Baby it's cold outside".

This song is on lots of Christmas music albums.  I'm not sure why we associate it with the Holidays, because it doesn't mention them at all.  It does mention weather tho.   And a man and a woman.

I like this song.

My son Dustin and his wife Jessica, tell me that this is  the "date rape" holiday song.   They teased  me about that all last  year and  I was like---yeah, yeah whatever---thinking they were just saying that because the man's part in the song tries to persuade the woman to  stay.

But when this song came on a few minutes ago, I listened.

HOLY CRAP!!  It IS the date rape song of the  1940's!!

Dustin and Jess were right!!

(but I still like it)

It's so funny what was appropriate in different times.

Okay---not that they don't make inappropriate songs nowadays, but they are easy to recognize and categorize.  Back then this kind of suspicious behavior was okay.

I still like the song. It was a product of  it's time.

My son just likes to give me a bad time.

So, what do you think?

What do you think?

Wikepedia says this:

The lyrics in this duet are designed to be heard as a conversation between two people, marked as "mouse" and "wolf" on the printed score. Every line in the song features a statement from the "mouse" followed by a response from the "wolf". Usually the "wolf" part is sung by a male and the "mouse" by a female.

Criticisms of the song stem from a reading of the lyrics not as the "mouse" wanting to stay and only putting up a token protest for the sake of appearance as supported by lyrics such as "The neighbors might think...", "My father will be pacing the floor", but instead as the "mouse" genuinely wanting to leave but being stopped by the "wolf" being coercive in his pleading with the mouse. Examples of questionable lyrics in this regard include, "I simply must go", "The answer is no", "I've got to go home".^[3] There is also the line "Hey, what's in this drink", which could be taken to sound suspiciously like the "mouse" has been drugged.

I really can't stay
(But baby, it's cold outside)
I've got to go away
(But baby, it's cold outside)

This evening has been
(Been hoping that you'd drop in)
So very nice
(I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice)

My mother will start to worry
(Beautiful, what's your hurry?)
My father will be pacing the floor
(Listen to the fireplace roar)

So really I'd better scurry
(Beautiful, please don't hurry)
But maybe just a half a drink more
(Put some records on while I pour)

The neighbors might think
(Baby, it's bad out there)
Say, what's in this drink?
(No cabs to be had out there)

I wish I knew how
(Your eyes are like starlight)
To break this spell
(I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell)

I ought to say no, no, no, sir
(Mind if I move in closer?)
At least I'm gonna say that I tried
(What's the sense in hurting my pride?)

I really can't stay
(Baby, don't hold out)
Oh, but it's cold outside

I simply must go
(But baby, it's cold outside)
The answer is no
(But baby, it's cold outside)

This welcome has been
(How lucky that you dropped in)
So nice and warm
(Look out the window at that storm)

My sister will be suspicious
(Gosh, your lips look delicious
My brother will be there at the door
(Waves upon a tropical shore)

My maiden aunt's mind is vicious
(Ooh, your lips are delicious)
But maybe just a cigarette more
(Never such a blizzard before)

I've got to get home
(But baby, you'll freeze out there)
Say, lend me your coat
(It's up to your knees out there)

You've really been grand
(I thrill when you touch my hand)
But don't you see
(How can you do this thing to me?)

There's bound to be talk tomorrow
(Think of my life long sorrow)
At least there will be plenty implied
(If you caught pneumonia and died)

I really can't stay
(Get over that hold out)
Oh, but it's cold outside

Happy Monday

I've been gone for a couple of weeks, helping my parents out after my mom had had a two week hospital stay.  She's on the mend, but as you get older it takes longer.

The weather was gorgeous up in Washington the whole time I was there.  The weather was beautiful down here in Nevada the whole time I was gone....and also this weekend while I was back.

Today, I feel like bringing out the Christmas music!

Outside my kitchen window yesterday:

Outside my kitchen window today:

I feel bad, as the Handyman hadn't raked up the leaves  yet.  And now they will be wet and very heavy.  His nightmare scenario in the fall.

I hope this is gone by Thursday.  Trick-or-Treating in the snow is no fun.