A Dismantling of Lives

 The night before my father died I slept in his chair in his room/office/mancave, as he had done for years.  The chair smelled like him.  The room smelled like him.  It felt like him.  His essence was embedded in the walls of that room and the things in it. And there were things aplenty.  There were a few things I'd given him, things others had given him, things from his past military life, and things from his younger days such as pictures of his brothers and sister.  There were his coin collections, several pairs of his shoes & socks, and the last shirt and pants he wore were hanging on the back of his door.  All the things in that room were important to him.  His cell phone was there on the charger, his computer with a new autumn desktop he had chosen, his mouse.

After sleeping quite comfortably and well in my daddy's soft old recliner, I woke up and prepared to leave and go see him at the hospital.  That was not to be.  Well, it would be, but he would not be alive when I saw him.  He passed somewhere in the middle of our ten-minute trip from home to the hospital. We still went in to see him and hold his hand for the last time and stroke his soft, gray beard that had grown in during many days there.

As I first walked in I saw that his mouth was hanging open.  So undignified.  I hurried over and used my pointer finger to push his chin up closing his mouth.  The nurse saw me do that and grabbed a towel and rolled it up and placed it under his chin to hold it closed.  Much better.  

I'd had a shock the night prior to his death when I saw him.  I hadn't seen him in nearly 7 years and the last 2-3 months had really broken his old body down and ravaged him from a series of health problems and then covid took its hold on him and really never let go.  He knew I was there and recognized me, saying my name over and over again.  He was also asking for pain medication.  With my face down close to his and my hands holding his face, he said, "I'm suffering."  It was so awful.  I told him the nurse was giving him more pain medicine at that moment and his suffering would be relieved.  I told him I loved him over and over.  

...

Ricotta Meatballs

It's been hard just remembering that I'm blogging again.  It used to be second nature and was always in the front of my mind to take pictures and post every day.  I'm probably going to be posting a lot of recipes just for content until I get into the swing of things again.

These meatballs are in the oven right now.  This is a really good recipe from "ketoincourt" on Instagram.  It's great with jarred spaghetti sauce.  I usually use Classico Tomatoes & Basil sauce on them.  Today I'm making the alfredo sauce recipe with them.  We'll probably have the spaghetti sauce with them tomorrow with some mozzarella cheese on hoagie rolls.  Who doesn't love a messy meatball sub?  Yum. 

Ricotta Meatballs

1.5 lb ground pork

1 lb Italian sausage

1 cup whole milk ricotta

2 eggs

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup parsley (can used 2 Tbsp dried)

3/4 cup panko crumbs (or ground pork rinds)

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

2 tsp salt

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine all and use a large cookie scoop to make large meatballs.  Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake 30 minutes until browned.

Serve with warmed marinara, spaghetti sauce, or keto alfredo sauce (recipe below).

Keto Alfredo Sauce

1 pint heavy cream

1 stick butter

4 oz cream cheese

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp each salt & pepper

1 cup parmesan

 

Melt first 3 ingredients in a saucepan.  Add seasonings and parmesan.  Continue to heat and stir until melted & thickened.

Cat in the Box & Caramel Corn

 

This is always the first thing that happens when a new box is opened in this house.  What is it with cats and boxes?

I've been craving caramel corn all month.  I purchased some store-bought, but it wasn't very good so I made some homemade.  So much better!  Delish and easy.  I used three containers of Jiffy Pop because we had it in the house for camping purposes.  I've made it before using microwaved though.  Just get regular buttered.  It's salty enough that I didn't add any salt to the recipe.  I also used salted butter so it was plenty salty.

 

Caramel Corn

12 cups popped popcorn

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup light Karo Syrup

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.  

Pop the popcorn and place it in a LARGE bowl.  I used a large dishpan and it worked great.  Line two large cookie sheets or baking pans with foil. 

Bring the butter, sugar, and corn syrup to a rapid boil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Let it boil 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and add the vanilla and baking soda.  Stir well.  Add the sugar mixture to the popcorn and quickly mix, mix, mix.  Pour onto two cookie sheets lined with foil.

Bake 45 minutes at 250 degrees F, stirring every 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.  I poured mine out onto sheets of waxed paper to cool completely.  Break apart and store in gallon baggies.  I got two full gallon-size bags.

A Reintroduction

 

 Fletch

This old guy.  He was 13 in January '21 and is hanging in there.  We've thought we were going to lose him three times in the last few months, but he always comes back from the brink of death and recovers.  When he's well, he acts like a 2-year old, bouncy and playful and bright-eyed.  We are grateful for every day we get with him.

Margaux

And this one is a new addition to our brood since I last blogged.  She's two now.  We got her when she was four months old.  What a joy this kitty is.  So completely opposite from the other cat we had for 18 years.  She's social and loving and makes us laugh on a daily basis.  She fit right in from Day 1.  We call her Merr because she says that every time she enters a room or is spoken to.

 

Ollie

My little guy, Ollie, is still around.  This is the funniest picture ever.  He's nine.  He's my little shadow, my butt dangler.  He's ALWAYS by my side.  Chihuahuas are like that.  They're one-person dogs and they stick to that person like glue.  I'm his one person and I couldn't love him more.

 Eli

This is 12-year-old Eli.  He's The Captain's dog.  (The Captain is my husband of 28 years.)  I picked him out and brought him home after losing my first Chihuahua, Little Boy.  But from the moment I brought him home, he was definitely The Captain's dog.  He adores him and only tolerates me.  He's the most stubborn, strong-willed, aggravating dog I've ever had.  He's an ass to everybody except The Captain.  It's okay.  I still love him dearly.

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So there you have it.  I'm starting fresh.  Not one reader.  I'm anonymous again.  No expectations, no history, no familiarity, no baggage, no awkwardness, no friends, no enemies, no family, no judging (at least that I know of yet).  I'm looking so forward to being able to come here and do a mind dump onto a page.  That was my favorite thing about having a blog.  Dumping it all out no matter what it is or how inappropriate.

Until next time.

xoxo

Columbia River Washington

 

2021

 its 2021. Making a post to keep my blog online. 

Orange Scones

Orange Scones

3 cups all-purpose flour

Heaping 1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks)

1-2 tsp orange zest

1 tsp lemon zest

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Icing

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Juice of 1 orange (or enough to make consistency you want)

1/2 tsp almond extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Lightly spray a baking sheet and set aside.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add cold butter in small pieces and cut in with a fork or pastry blender.  Mix buttermilk, zests, and vanilla extract.  Stir into flour mixture until it just comes together.  Dump onto a cutting board and form into a circle with your hands, pressing dough to 1 1/2" high.  Cut into 6-8 triangular pieces.  Place onto prepared baking sheet.  Bake 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.  Cool completely on a rack before icing.

Icing:  Mix ingredients adding as much orange juice as you like until it's the consistency you like.  Drizzle over scones.