Maribeth’s Potato Salad

4 pound(s) uncooked whole white potatoes
2/3 cup(s) uncooked celery
2/3 cup(s) uncooked red onion(s)
1-2 hard boiled egg(s)
3/4 cup(s) fat free mayonnaise (or as much as needed to make a nice creamy salad)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp table sea salt
Instructions:

Wash Potatoes. Boil California White Potatoes in their skins. When they are tender (you can tell by piercing them with a sharp knife). Carefully place potatoes on a plate to cool. Slip skins off potatoes and place potatoes in a bowl overnight in the fridge.
The next day, cut the potatoes lengthwise in half. Then cut the half lengthwise. Slice potatoes very thinly. It takes a while, but it is worth it.
In a food processor finely chop the onion and then the celery. Also use the food processor to chop the eggs. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper, add enough mayonnaise to make a creamy salad. Check the seasonings and add more salt or pepper if desired.
I like to decorate the top of my salad with stuffed eggs.

Note: Be sure to use a red onion. It makes all the difference.

Masterpieces or Disasters

Last night I made this great meal. I sauteed onion, peppers and mushrooms, cooked some chicken, and served it with boiled California New Potatoes (my favorite!), and corn on the cob. The meal was stupendous, and best of all, it was so easy. I hardly gave it a thought.

Tonight, not so much. I had a meatloaf in the freezer that I took out and thawed, potato salad (okay, that was good) and green beans. The meatloaf was just terrible!

Hubby didn’t complain, but I sure did. Being on Weight Watchers means eating meals and enjoying them. This meal tonight was not enjoyable at all (except the potato salad!)

Now I am thinking about tomorrow night and what I can make for dinner then. Will it be an easily produced masterpiece or a hard fought disaster?

Stay tuned!

What I Did This Past Weekend

Miss Marple 2

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend! After all, you never know when you will need an alibi!

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Oh, what a wonderful weekend it was! With the celebration of Savannah’s first birthday,

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to my nephew and his wife’s delivery of healthy twin boys, to record breaking heat, and a wild thunderstorm, it is a weekend I will not soon forget!

I was even surprised by Savannah’s ability to walk! She is very nearly running around! Here is a short clip showing her walk/running to her Grandpa Arthur.

Sunday began our official heatwave, with temperatures well over ninety degrees. However late in the afternoon on Sunday, a storm moved in with high winds, and a little thunder and lightening, helping to drop the temperatures in the state.

Greta helped me put the lines out for me pea plants which are just now sprouting! It looks to me like we will have a fine pea crop this year!

The peas I planted those two days before the beans, which have not yet sprouted. I’ve been waiting to re-plant the seedlings due to the extreme heat. Hopefully sometime this week.

Yes Greta “helped” by bringing me her ball and insisting I throw it for her. Fun was had by both of us! She was one hot-dog when we came in though. I couldn’t get her to drink, but gave her ice cubes to chew. That worked like a charm!

I hope you all had as great a weekend as I did!

Happy Monday everyone!

Savannah’s Party

Today was our dear Savannah Rose’s Birthday Party! She was born at the right time of the year for a cook-out and lawn party! It was 95 degrees, but no one cared. We all just had a great time.

Mandy and her sister, Ally decorated the house, and Matt did the grill work cooking hotdogs, hamburgers and chicken!

The family all got together and we all had such a great time watching our girl celebrate! The funniest thing was when she opened a card I’d gotten for her which had Minnie Mouse singing. Well Savannah thought that was the best thing and she played with it over and over until her dad pried it out of her hands so she could finish opening gifts.

Anyway, here is a short video of the days happening!

They’re Here!

On Friday, May 31st, Savannah’s First Birthday, my family welcomed into this world Gabriel and Nolan. Identical twin boy! They are the sons of my nephew Mike and his wife Karan.

This was truly a one in a million pregnancy, as the boys shared an amniotic sack. It is a dangerous thing, and many families are not as lucky as ours.

Karan went in hospital April 6th. She was totally selfless, and gave up so much to ensure that these boys had the best chance to survive and thrive.

This morning, at 32 weeks, her boys came into this world. Nolan Daniell and Gabriel Alan. Nolan was 4 pounds 1-1/2 ounces, and 17 inches long and Gabriel was 4 pounds 1 ounce and 16 inches long!

Best of all Karan is doing well, and the two boys have so far not needed any assistance. By this I mean, no oxygen or feeding tubes. Hopefully they will remain healthy and strong and be ready to go home very soon!

Once their parents say it’s okay, I will share a picture. But for now I thank you all for your prayers!

Life

On Wednesday I went shopping! Many of you will recall, Friday is my darling Savannah’s First Birthday! So, after Weight Watchers I went out to get a few things. It is so much fun shopping for my granddaughter! I found the cutest dress and when I went to read the label I found it was made by a company called “Savannah”! Needless to say, the dress came home with me!

I also was looking for baby clothes for my nephew Mike and his wife, Karan’s twin boys! They will be delivered on Friday, which of course means they will share Savannah’s birthday!

Karan has had a difficult pregnancy and she has been in the hospital on bed rest since the beginning of April. Her boys are identical twins, and also share the same amniotic sack. This makes her pregnancy even more risky.

But things have gone well, and Karan is one of the bravest women I know. She has written a mini blog on Facebook and through that I have started to get to know her. I can see why my nephew is so crazy about her!

I will ask you all today to say a prayer for Karan and her boys. They will be delivered first thing on Friday morning. We are all on pins and needles waiting to hear that Karan and her boys have been safely delivered.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What question do you often ask yourself?

The question I most ask myself is, “What am I making for dinner?” as I cook nearly every night.

On a cosmic level, I wish I understood why things happen the way they do. That is probably my biggest question.

2. Do you grow roses? What’s your favorite color of rose? Ever been given a dozen roses? Where was the prettiest rose or rose garden you remember seeing?

No, I don’t grow roses and I never have. I’m not sure why. My favorite color rose is YELLOW. Yes, I’ve been given a dozen roses before. I think the prettiest rose garden was on Cape Cod. My Uncle Billy had a splendid garden and I loved walking through there.

3. Do you read the freshness dates on grocery store products? Will you use eggs past their ‘use by’ date? Take medication that’s expired? Buy a dented can?

Yes, I always check expiration dates in the store. If I have eggs that are just past I’ll whip up something and use them. Medication? Well, it depends on how far past, a month or two I do not worry, but if they are years past then I toss them. Buy a dented can? I try not to, but a tiny ding isn’t going to make much of a difference.

4. Should athletes be role models?

You know what? I think that for the money these people are paid (both athletes and actors and actresses) they should try very hard to lead good honest lives. After all, to those who have been given so much, they really should give back, even if it is just by being a good example for our kids.

5. Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal became the first explorers to reach the top of Mt. Everest on this date (May 29) back in 1953. What’s something you hope to achieve in your lifetime?

If I can grow to be an old lady and be known as loving and caring all the days of my life, I will feel that I have accomplished something very important.

6. What would you do if you had twenty acres of land and the money to develop it any way you choose?

I would have fruit trees, a lovely vegetable garden, and a safe place for my dogs. Wait! That’s what I have now, but on a smaller scale!

7. If I invite you to a party with a 7 PM start time, what time will I actually see you there?

Oh Joyce, I’m terrible! You’d see me right at 7:00! It might even be 6:58, as I fear being late for anything! I blame my father for this quirk!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I got my peas and beans planted. Now this was big work. I did a full row of peas, a full row of green beans, a full row of wax beans and a full row of purple beans! It meant a lot of bending and kneeling and stooping. So tonight my back is sore, sore, sore! But phase one of the garden is in!

It’s Getting Close

On Monday afternoon I planted my peas. A nice full long row. I was careful about it and I got it all done in a nice straight line. At the end of that I was planning on doing the beans, green, wax and purple, but my back gave out and I came in. I have promised myself that I will finish this tomorrow.

I want to wait until next weekend to plant my seedlings. We’ve had such weird weather (they had snow less than an hour north of here!), that I’m being cautious with planting them in the big garden. I’d also love to get some chicken wire to run along the back wall of the garden for the pea plants to climb.

Savannah’s first birthday is on Friday! Can you believe that? The year has flown by! Last year at this time I started to sleep with my cell phone next to me at night, and then, before I knew it, she was here!

Now I can’t imagine life without her in it. It’s like I have known her all of my life. One thing I know for sure, she can brighten my day, just by being in my world.Her smile, the smell of her sweet hair, and the touch of her chubby little baby hands.

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Yes, my dear friends, Savannah brings sunshine to my life!

Memorial Day Weekend

Miss Marple 2

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend! After all, you never know when you will need an alibi!

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I had the nicest time this weekend because my cousin Janet and her fiancee came up to spend the day with us on Saturday. This is a holiday weekend, (America’s Memorial Day) so our little town has become filled with tourists. It wasn’t too bad yesterday, because we had awful rain, but today it is bumper to bumper traffic. Not nice at all.

In any case, I digress.

Janet came up and we had such fun. She is a year older than me, and so I quite literally cannot remember a time in my life where Janet wasn’t a part of it.

then and now MB and J

All of our lives we have been like sisters and best friends. As we’ve aged the years have passed, we have grown even closer and I really count on her always being with me.

Yesterday, we sat talking and looking at our life lines, and we noticed that we both have very long life lines. Good thing! I plan to grow to be an old lady with her by my side!

Sunday was a strange day. Sort of lazy, but then sort of good too. Hubby and I decided to pull out the fridge and clean behind it, under it and on top of it. Now or fridge fan does not appear to be running constantly.

It’s cool up here, and we actually are under a frost warning! So before dinner I went out and I put all my tomato, eggplant and pepper plants and I put them into the green house. Now I can sleep and not worry about my baby plants getting frozen!

Tomorrow is also a day off for our country. Many people will get together for cook outs and family times. Hubby and I are just staying home and clearing our the camper. I cannot believe all the stuff that is in there. Unused and forgotten for the last few years. Now, time to figure it all out and then the camper goes to a new home.