My beautiful granddaughter

  This girl just never takes a bad picture:)

2nd year of college in Colo. and a friend snapped these impromptu pictures.

Uplifiting Wed. 43

Flowers

Recently a friend brought me a bouquet of flowers and they were so interesting...

 There were these daisies but it seemed they were green in the middle and then turned yellow...is this how they grow? Also there were some with glitter on the leaves and I assume that was something they were sprayed or sprinkled with.

I have no idea what kind of flower this was (this is one plant) but this was one like it budding...

 This was most unusual and never opened up.

Anyone know anything about these plants? I enjoyed seeing them.

Tues. night dinners (catch up)

Hungarian short ribs
2 to 3 Tbl. oil
4 lb. bone in beef short ribs
2 med. onions sliced
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
1 cup water
1/4 cup packed sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. paprika
Cooked wide egg noodles
Brown ribs on all sides in oil. Add onions; cook until tender. Combine all remaining ingredients except noodles; pour over ribs. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Thicken gravy if desired and serve over noodles.


Note: The sauce is delicious but the ribs were fatty so if I was to fix this again I think I would just use stew meat and forget the bones and fat:)

Never know

Here in Arizona you never really know what to expect with our weather. Here is a picture from my office chair on Dec. 1

 (blurry because of the screen) and it was nearly 80. Here it is just four days later and it is barely 70 and we all are looking for our sweaters.

Uplifting Wed. 42

Happy Thanksgiving

Uplifting Wed. 41

Tues. night dinners

Well I am so far behind that I don't know which dinner I fixed when so I will just post them as they come back to me:)


Spaghetti Bolognese
Bacon bits
Olive oil
Onions, diced -1
Carrots-diced-2
Celery stalks, dices-2
Garlic-2-3 cloves
Dried basil -2 tsp.
Dried oregano-2 tsp.
Dices tomatoes, canned-2x14oz.
Small can tomato sauce
Ground beef-2lb.
Handful of fresh mushrooms halved
Salt and pepper to taste
Spaghetti-1lb.
Note: I chopped the veg. large and not diced small
In frying pan sauté onions, carrots, celery, garlic and bacon bits and hamb. in small amount of the olive oil and cook for about 5 min.
Pour in canned tomatoes and ground beef and tomato sauce and one can water. Add salt and pepper and sprinkle in the oregano and basil. Bring to a boil and then cover and cook on low for 2 to 3 hours stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms about 30 min. before done.
Serve over cooked spaghetti.
Note: I am not a big sauce fan so this hits the mark for me.


Cheese Bread
I Italian-style roll (6 inches)
1 Tb. butter melted
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tb. grated parmesan cheese
Cut roll in diagonal slices. Combine butter, garlic and cheese and spread on cut sides of roll. Broil 4 inches from heat 2-3 min.
Serves two


Tidbit:

Buy grapes when in season and freeze in single layer, then put in freezer bags. They are delicious and if you are a red wine drinker add some to your glass...yummy.

Castle Hot Springs

This is one of my favorite places to go so I am going to first tell you about the place and then about our little jaunt there last Sunday. This is a copy of a recent magazine.

DEVELOPERS LOOK TO REVIVE CASTLE HOT SPRINGS RESORT

JUNE 20, 2016 AT 5:04 AM

Castle Hot Springs Resort, as seen in the March 1974 issue of Arizona Highways.

Tucked away in the shadow of the rugged Bradshaw Mountains, not far from Lake Pleasant, Castle Hot Springs once boasted a dazzling guest list — from Rockefellers to Carnegies to a Kennedy. Yet for 40 years, the resort sat empty, frequented only by a caretaker and countless owners whose grand plans for the site fizzled.

The place boasts the kind of rugged beauty that can’t be found at urban resorts. It’s an oasis — a canola-yellow mansion in the mountains, surrounded by natural hot springs, fruit trees and hiking trails. But it sits at the end of a rough, rocky road that Arizona’s official historian calls “not really passable, and not even jackass-able” after heavy rainfall. It endured fires and floods after it opened in 1896; after a 1976 blaze, it closed to the public. It had been maintained by ASU for years and of course no one could get inside but apparently some local business partners are going to endeavor to revive this first Arizona resort and bought the property for $1.95 million at a online auction in 2014. There have been many people that have tried to accomplish this for over 40 years and trust me if it happens I will be first in line. The original drawn guests traveled on private Burlington Northern Santa Fe train cars, hopping off at the Morristown station and climbing onto stagecoaches that transported them to the resort. where guests enjoyed accommodations that included swimming, golf, hiking, horseback-riding and tennis — and, naturally, Arizona’s beautiful weather.

Today, only a few structures remain. Fires claimed the Palm House and the Wrigley Building (named after another famous family that stayed there). The bright-yellow Kennedy Building still stands although mostly gutted. The second floor of the yellow building — referred to as the Kennedy Building, after future President John F. Kennedy, who recuperated there after World War II — once served as a greeting and check-in area for guests. It’s gutted now, but there are a few historical gems that remain, including a telephone booth that reportedly housed the phone with Arizona’s first telephone number: 1.Here are a few pictures from the past...

For more information you can go here

Now here are some pictures of our little jaunt there...

Rough dirt road but look at all the mailboxes!!

 How about these wild donkeys..

You can see the palm trees and the yellow house here.

 Just another abandoned house along the way and

 more palm trees...

This is not a mirage but is Lake Pleasant. A man made lake.

The real problem with restoring Castle Hot springs  is the getting there. The road is very rough and all dirt. Someone said they studied building a cable car from Lake Pleasant but that doesn't sound very feasible either.

Uplifting Wed.40

Tues. dinners

Chicken with mushroom sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup milk

2 boneless chicken breast
1 tbl. olive oil
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 med. onion, sliced and separated into rings
1 tbl. butter
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and milk until smooth, set aside. Flatten chicken to 1/4 in thickness. In a large nonstick skillet, cook chicken in oil over med. heat for 5-6 min. Remove and keep warm.
In the same skillet, sauté mushrooms and onions in butter until tender. Stir in the broth, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir cornstarch mixture into the pan and bring to a boil. Cook and stir until thickened.


The chicken was a bit flat so should maybe add some seasoning to it before cooking it. Loved the sauce and think it would be great over a steak!

Uplifting Wed. 39

Tues. night dinner

I am so far behind on this posting that I can't remember when I cooked what lol....


One night I fixed baked cod with a very easy recipe. Wash and dry fish and simply rub some soy sauce over the fish and sprinkle with veg. seasoning. Bake at 350 for 12 to 14 min.

but the real hit was the Creamy orzo with asparagus & parmesan
1 cup orzo
1 cup asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 to 1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Cook orzo in boiling water until tender, about 10 min. After the orzo has been cooking for about 5 min. add the asparagus to the same pot and continue to cook until all is tender. Drain off the water and quickly add the parmesan cheese and butter. Stir thoroughly, allowing both the cheese and butter to melt. Slowly add the cream to the mixture, while stirring. Continue to stir and add the cream until you reach your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.


The carrot salad was from the deli:)

My contrubution to fall

I can't tell you how many plants I have planted in this planter and they all die. This is a weed and of course he is thriving.
I decided to take the plunge and simply slip pots of plants for the seasons in the hole starting this fall with this one.

I fell in love with it but it is prettier at close range...

Isn't it amazing?

My new love

Yoga

 borrowed this picture from the internet.



When thinking about yoga, you may immediately picture Spandex-clad young people in seemingly impossible body contortions. But there's much more to yoga than advanced positions. In fact, yoga is a quiet and relaxing activity that can become a way of life.

If you are a senior, regular yoga practice (2-3 times/week) can play an important part in keeping you healthy, because yoga helps:

• Reduce swelling in joints
• Increase joint mobility and strength
• Improve balance and stability
• Reduce chances of having a fall
• Improve cardiovascular health
• Aid digestion and elimination
• Improve sleep
• Lower blood pressure and cholesterol
• Improve blood flow
• Improve mood and well-being
• Recovery from surgery
• Aid in the grieving process
• With depression and anxiety

 I have tried yoga in the past and I never was able to connect to it until I recently bought this audio cd

from yoga2hear.com (there are many different cd's or downloads available).

I have discovered there are three major requirements for yoga:
TIME
PATIENCE
ATTENTION
It is for the above reasons that I never was able to benefit from trying it when I was younger.
I can't tell you the difference it has made in my life now. I feel so much better, stronger and more balanced ...this captures it all.



but since I am at home it matters not and who knows....maybe someday I will be able to do this....

but no matter; what is important is I look forward to doing it and I have never felt that way about exercise before.

ps...there are modifications of the poses if you are heavy or if you can't stand of don't want to get down on the floor there are chair yoga programs.

Uplifting Wed. 38

Horse Trotting Park

This elegant 1,500 seat glass-enclosed grandstand building was built in 1965 on a 194 acre plot of land in the middle of nowhere at the time in Goodyear, Az.  Only someone from New York (James Dunnigan) would think this was a good idea and it lasted for only a little over 2 seasons and then was abandoned for 51 years. Hubby and I went in the forbidden area a few years ago and looked around and oh it must have been something to see it in its day.




Here is a picture I found of the escalator when it was open...

and abandoned   

A fantastic view of the trotters and lit up like a Christmas tree

A unique and elaborate building for sure....

It was for sale for 16.5 million dollars but no one wanted to try to restore it or make it into something else so after sitting all these years they are now tearing it down.





For some it was nothing but a eyesore but for others a point of conversation as you whizzed by on the current freeway................ I will miss it.

Tues. night dinner

I am still behind on my dinners:)
This was a few weeks ago..


Stuffed Flank Steak
A box of dressing fixed according to directions (I already had this made and in the freezer)
1 1/2 pounds of flank steak pounded thin for easy rolling (I froze some of the meat for a future lunch)
Chopped green onions
Chopped bell pepper
Pkg, of brown gravy mix. I used Pioneer gravy mix and it was really good, I added mushrooms sautéed is butter.
Pound steak and spoon stuffing to within 1 inch of edge of steak, then and the green onions and bell peppers. Roll from the long side and secure with toothpicks. Prepare the gravy and pour over steak. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let stand before slicing.


I baked a tray of potatoes, carrots and green beans to accompany our steak.
It was a nice dinner and easy to prepare.

Fall

Sharing a little sunshine with cooler temperature here.

In the 80's and we call it.....fall

Uplifting Wed. 37

Tues. night dinner

I sure seem to have a hard time keeping up with my Tues. night dinners so here I am trying to play catch up...
One week I fixed a chicken pot pie with biscuits from a old recipe I had and it was just okay so I am not going to post the recipe.


But the next week I fixed all new things and it was great...

The picture doesn't do it justice but here are the recipes
Breaded Pork Chops
1 egg
1 Tbl. BQ sauce
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tsp. grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
1/8 tsp. onion salt
2 bone in pork chops (3/4 inch thick)
In a bowl, combine egg and bq sauce and mix well. In another bowl, combine bread crumbs, cheese, oregano, lemon-pepper and salt. Dip chops in eggs mixture, then coat with bread crumb mixture. Placed in a greased 8 in square baking dish. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Bake, uncovered at 325 for 1 hour or until juices run clear. Yeild: 2 servings




Parmesan Baked Tomatoes
1 can (14 ounce) whose tomatoes, drained and quartered
2 tbl. Italian seasoned bread crumbs (or 2 tbl. bread crumbs and 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning)
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbl. shredded parmesan cheese
1 Tbl. butter or margarine
Place the tomatoes in a greased 1 qt. baking dish. Combine the bread crumbs and seasonings and sprinkle over top. Top with the Parmesan cheese and dot with butter. Bake uncovered at 325 for 15 - 20 min. or until lightly browned. Yield: 2 - 3 servings.




Florentine Rice
1 (10 oz.) pkg frozen chopped spinach
1 tbl. pine nuts (optional)
1 cup cooked rice
1 egg lightly beaten
1/2 cup creamed cottage cheese
1 tbl. grated Parmesan cheese


On a microwave-safe place, microwave spinach in package on high 2 - 3 min. Remove from package. Break apart;drain. Reserve 1/2 of spinach for another use. Place nuts on a microwave-safe plate in a single layer. Microwave on high 30 sec. In a small bowl combine all other ingredients and mix well. Microwave at 70% 4 to 5 min or until mixture begins to set. Makes 2 servings.


The pork chops could be served with anything but the tomatoes and rice definitely complimented each other.

Granddaughter was in town

My granddaughter is going to college in Colo. and was here for a volleyball tournament.

She is the one in the red shirt

Think it is so funny that they are called "the Spartans" and when I was in high school that was our name too.

Uplififting Wed. 36

Something new

If you have followed my blog you know that I have knitted for babies in need for many years and the chapter I donated to here closed so I have been trying to make other things that might be needed. Here is my latest project....

It is called a twiddle muff and it is for people with dementia. There is things inside to twiddle with as well as the outside and helps keep down anxiety. They can be make in crochet or knitted and even quilted into a lapghan.