June iPod Roulette

Back in March, Hal had an entry on his blog for a game called iPod Roulette. I loved the concept and posted my own entries at 360 in March and May. With more than 2300 songs on my iPod (most of those are imported, not purchased!), I can always count on hearing a wide variety of music! Here's what came up yesterday:

1. All Out of the World (Colin Towns) - This is from the soundtrack to the PBS series, Cadfael. Thirteen of the twenty books by Ellis Peters were made into episodes starring Derek Jacobi as Brother Cadfael, a 12th century monk/detective. Wonderful books!!


2. The Mind of Love (k.d. lang) - I haven't listened to much of her work in recent years, but loved her first couple of albums.


3. I'll Love You Anyway (Aaron Neville) - I've always liked his distinctive voice.


4. Aqualung (Jethro Tull) - This and Bungle in the Jungle were my favorites.


5. Day After Day (Badfinger) - I downloaded this from iTunes. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that as a "re-recorded" version that it would sound so different from the original. Not as good.


6. Holy is the Lord (Chris Tomlin) - A popular song from a popular Contemporary Christian artist.


7. Blue Bayou (Linda Ronstadt) - For some reason I'm a little embarrassed about this one (and you're probably thinking..."and you're not embarrassed about some of those others???"). It's one of the few Linda Ronstadt songs I like.


8. You Are My King (Newsboys) - Also known as Amazing Love, this is one of my all-time favorite "Praise & Worship" songs! Love to sing along with it!


9. Thistledown (Bill Bruford) - Bruford is probably best known as one of two drummers for the progressive rock group YES. This is from a solo album in which he branched out into jazz.


10. Shining Star (Earth, Wind & Fire) - Hey, I was a teenager in the 70s! I love EW&F!


11. Come and Get Your Love (Redbone) - I have no good explanation for this.


12. Nadia's Theme (Ted Brabham) - The theme from "The Young and the Restless". Even if you never watched the soap (which I didn't), the themesong was familiar. (is that show still on?)


13. Walk Like an Egyptian (Bangles) - Okay....the 80s did offer a few fun songs!


14. Everyday People (Nicole C. Mullen) - I don't always like covers, especially when the song wasn't that good to start with.... but this is nice.


15. Make it Right (Lisa Stansfield) - This is one of my favorite songs.... one (of very few) that gets a 5-star rating in my iTunes library.

Cow clip

I was playing around with my blog today and thought I'd try loading one of my own videos. This was taken almost three years ago. The bull pictured is at least twice as big now. We breed the cows each year and sell their offspring, so any calves shown have long since gone to the livestock sale. That's why although most of the cows have names, the calves rarely do. (would you want to eat a steak that once had a name??)

Easy Cheesy Dip

For years I felt like I had to follow a recipe exactly. I eventually learned that it's okay to make substitutions or changes to suit our tastes. Sometimes I'll skim cookbooks to get ideas then try making up recipes of my own.

Here's an easy cheese dip we concocted last weekend:




1 can Cheddar Cheese soup


1 can Southwest Style Pepper Jack soup


1 can Cream of Chicken soup


1 can mild diced tomatoes & green chilies (Rotel)

Stir together in a saucepan and heat until bubbly. Use the spicier Rotel tomatoes if you want it "hotter".

The Second Amendment

The Supreme Court ruled today in favor of gun owners in America! An historic, but narrow victory (5-4).

This is an issue that has always been important to me. Call me a "redneck" if you will, but I live in a rural area and enjoy hunting and shooting sports. I personally own three rifles and two shotguns.

I realize most issues are never simple, gun control included. However, on the simplest level... most efforts at gun control just will not work. They only punish law-abiding citizens like myself. Criminals are not going to be affected by most gun laws.

It's rare you will find me posting something political or controversial on my blog. Whether you agree with me on gun control or not (and I'm sure most of you don't)... I couldn't let this victory pass without mention.

Monday Movie Matinee

Movies have gotten so expensive these days that we try to catch the matinee whenever we feel the need to see one on the big screen. I've really liked most of M. Night Shyamalan's movies (especially Signs!) and was looking forward to seeing The Happening. Yesterday turned out to be a day we could head to the theatre mid-afternoon. What a disappointment!!! We all thought the movie was sorry! The acting wasn't very impressive and the quality of the film seemed lacking. I wouldn't recommend anyone wasting their money on it. If you must see it.... wait for video.

Speaking of videos.... we rented a couple over the weekend. National Treasure 2 was okay. (the action was a little hokey at times) I never saw the first one so I can't compare it to that. I thought the other movie, Jumper, was better. I'm sure there will be a sequel.

Ephraim Lewis

Ephraim Lewis released Skin in June of 1992. I can't remember when I first saw the album or what inspired me to buy it. I just know it must have been sometime after 1994. I fell in love the the entire CD and decided I had to have more of his music. Sadly, that's when I learned that he had died at the age of 26... under rather odd circumstances. There's an "unofficial fan site" that gives a history of his life and death.

This clip is just one of the hauntingly beautiful soul/R&B cuts from his lone album:

Toasted Zucchini Snacks

Here's another zucchini recipe that I found on the Taste of Home website. (contributed by Jane Bone of Cape Coral, FL) I thought this one was pretty good, but I would have liked it better on something other than rye.

Toasted Zucchini Snacks

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

36 slices snack rye bread

• In a bowl, toss the zucchini and salt; let stand for 1 hour. Rinse and drain, pressing out excess liquid.


• Add the next eight ingredients; stir until combined. Spread a rounded teaspoonful on each slice of bread; place on a baking sheet.


• Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until bubbly. Serve immediately. Yield: 3 dozen.
  
  

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After supper tonight we decided to do a little fishing. I caught two of the three bass pictured on this stringer. My husband caught the other one along with two smaller fish he threw back. The keepers were about three pounds each.

Beef-Stuffed Zucchini

Zucchini is NOT a favorite of mine. I prefer yellow crookneck (summer) squash. My family insists they can't tell the difference, but I sure can. Maybe it's just in my head.

Last summer one of our yellow squash plants turned out to be a zucchini instead. Purchased in a six-pack from the feed store, the plants looked exactly the same while growing. It wasn't until the first blooms turned to squash that we discovered the intruder. Naturally the zucchini was ten times more prolific than the yellow squash! I researched recipes, gave away sacks full and made it through the summer without too much grumbling.

As we readied our small garden this spring we saw a small plant coming up right in the center of the patch. It was soon evident that it was a squash plant. I hated to rip it out in case it was a yellow squash. No such luck. It now dominates our garden and is inundating us with zucchinis!

Here's a recipe I tried last night. It was in a recent issue of Simple & Delicious magazine. Since my daughter won't eat beef, I substituted ground turkey. My family loved it! (I ate something else)

Beef-Stuffed Zucchini

4 medium zucchini

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 egg

3/4 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided

Additional marinara or spaghetti sauce

• Cut zucchini in half lengthwise; cut a thin slice from the bottom of each with a sharp knife to allow zucchini to sit flat. Scoop out pulp, leaving 1/4-in. shells.


• Place shells in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. microwave-safe dish. Turn off microwave turntable setting. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain and set aside.


• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Remove from the heat; stir in the egg, marinara sauce, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup cheese.


• Spoon about 1/4 cup into each shell. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 4 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Microwave 3-4 minutes longer or until a thermometer inserted into filing reads 160 degrees and zucchini are tender. Serve with additional marinara sauce. Yield: 4 servings.

Friendship

"Make new friends but keep the old-

one is silver and the other gold"

Last February I had an entry on my 360 blog about having dinner with four of my friends from teenage years. At the end of the evening we made our usual statement about "needing to do it again soon". Thanks to one of them for organizing it (and you know which one you are!), we once again had the opportunity to get together last night. This time we opted to make it a "pot-luck" at one of our homes so we could be loud and rowdy for as long as we wanted! We pored over old scrapbooks from the 70s, compared the ups and downs of parenting, passed around photos of our kids, their spouses, our spouses, our pets, our grandkids (well...grandkid. I'm the only one with one of those).... we even discussed politics!! (and were quite civil about it considering the disparity of some of our opinions)


In recent years it's been easy for me to be a "stick-in-the-mud" when it comes to getting out and doing things. Not anymore!! Now's the time to live!

Carpe diem!

Irene Goodnight's Bundt Cake

This recipe was taken from the novel Can't Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg. The only changes I made were substituting "french vanilla" pudding mix and canola oil. Pecans might be better, but I used walnuts.

Irene Goodnight's Bundt Cake

1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding mix
3/4 c. butter flavored oil
3/4 c. water
4 eggs
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. chopped nuts

Combine cake mix and pudding mix with oil, water, and eggs in mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed for 8 minutes. Mix sugar and nuts. Sprinkle half of that mixture into well-greased Bundt pan. Top with half the cake batter. Add the remaining nut mixture, then the remaining cake batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Tea for Tuesday

It's been awhile since I've brewed any of the "flowering tea" from my Numi Bouquet Selection. In the past, I tried some of the white and green varieties. Since I really prefer black tea, today I chose "Black Beauty". The flavor was quite good!! Here's how Numi describes it:

Black Beauty's finest golden-tipped black tea leaves unravel, lifting up like the spires of a cathedral. Its amber liquor releases a bold deep flavor and rose scent.

Where did all the puzzles go?

Seems like every spare moment I've had lately has been spent with my nose in a book. I had started a rather easy jigsaw over a month ago, but never got around to finishing it until this weekend! Of course I thought of my friends Quid and Lin while working on it!





Despite finishing my puzzle, I did find time for another book over the weekend: The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold. I remember her first novel, The Lovely Bones, being rather odd, but enjoyable. I'm still trying to decide the best word to describe this one!! Depressing? Disturbing? Disgusting? Downright weird? I will say this.... it was hard to put down! Not surprisingly, it got mixed reviews at Amazon. (more one and two star ratings than anything else)

Here we go again!

I can't believe I'm starting a new blog!

First it was blog-city, then it was LiveJournal. I finally settled in at Yahoo 360 and was very happy there... until recent months. Their much ballyhooed (or should I say "yahooed"?) upgrade to a new, exciting platform has yet to materialize. Posts disappear, it's hard (if not impossible) to access certain pages or leave comments, certain features no longer work.

So, here I am.

I'm being positive. I'm open to change. After two and a half years at 360, I feel like I'm cheating on a friend! I'll adjust. Now it's just a matter of learning the ropes here and getting comfortable in a new setting.

Bear with me! (please!)