Fun with Fish

Sarah has had a really pretty goldfish pond in her back yard.  It had blooming plants, was lined with bricks - I wish I had a picture.

They have sold their house, though, so the fish have to move.  Since their permanent home isn't ready, yet, they have had to move to temporary lodgings.  And what better place than a kiddie pool.  

If you look closely, in the upper left corner, you can see a few of these little guys swimming around.  And I know this is not a good picture, but the fish are really hard to photograph.  When they see anything coming they hide under all of the plants.

In their previous home, they used to swim to the surface when they saw someone coming because they were hoping for food.  Now they hide.  And do you want to know why?

Because this little pool has a slide.  And we have cats that live outside.  And last night we heard a splash and looked out to see a cat JUMPING OUT OF THE POOL!  

Hide, little fishy, hide.

Public Service Announcement

It is possible that everyone else on the planet knows about this.  But I didn't know about it until about a year ago.  There is an age-old problem of the roll of plastic wrap or foil falling out of the container while I am attempting to tear off a piece.  And it is very annoying.  Who knew that the ends of the boxes had tabs that could be pushed in to hold the roll in place?   Did you know this?  Am I the only ignorant homemaker?

 Don't answer that.

Now everyone can go into their kitchen and start securing their rolls.

You're welcome!

My yard

I have seen lawns around town that are a well-trimmed, beautiful brown right now.  I suppose that is because the owners of that lawn work hard to keep out all of the weeds, they rake their leaves, and they keep all of their moss and walnut limbs picked up.

I, on the other hand, have a picturesque lawn.  It looks like a purple meadow with moss dreamily draped over beautiful bark.  At least when I take a close up shot!

On some other day, I will share a bigger shot to show you what 5 acres of this looks like, but today I don't feel like working.  And trust me, 5 acres of this kind of picturesque-ness is a MESS to clean!  But, close-up it is actually quite pretty.

Thankful Thursday

Today, I am thankful.

I'm thankful that I can get on an airplane this morning and by this afternoon I will be with my parents.

Both of them.

And what a blessing that is.

Joy

I really just can't put into words the way I feel about this picture.

So I guess I will just share it with you and let you know that when Ben walked in the door last night at his house, Lily ran to him and said,

"Daddy, Bennett's home."

Chicken Tikka Masala

After eating Indian food with Jackie and Corey in Philadelphia last year, I decided to jump off the reservation and try cooking something totally different.

I did some research online and found out that Chicken Tikka Masala is one of the most common things that newcomers to Indian food like to try.  It has the Indian taste without being overwhelming.

Many of the recipes I found use ingredients that I would rarely, if ever, use again.  Like this recipe from foodandwine.com.  I guess it is the garam masala that seems so obscure to me.  I found it in the ethnic food aisle of Publix, but didn't want to buy it for one recipe.

So, I found another option on foodnetwork.com.  This one  is the recipe I went with.  I already had the coriander and curry, and left out the cardomom pods.  What are those, anyway?  And instead of making the rice with only water, I made the coconut rice from here.  Really yummy!

The red pepper had nothing to do with this recipe.  It was sitting on the counter because of something else I was making.

Believe it or not, this is true comfort food.  Think of it as very flavorful chicken & gravy served over rice.  You should try it!

Happy Bennett Day!!!

Ben, Abbie, Bennett, and Bennett's foster parents, Shelly & C.V.

Here's a whole lotta love on this Valentine's Day!

Why ask Why?

Lily turned 3 last month.  So we begin the year of "Why?"

A three year old wants to know the answer to, "Why?"  In fact, that is their most used word!  And they want to know the 'why' of absolutely everything.

When we were with Lily recently, she asked the question so much that it became hilarious!

Why are you going upstairs?
Why do you want to sit with me?
Why are you putting wood on the fire?
Why are we going outside?
Why are we going to eat breakfast?

It's refreshing to me to think about why I do the things I do.  Much of the time, I am on auto-pilot.  When I am with her, I say out loud the 'why'.  And sometimes there is absolutely no reason to do something.  Or maybe a really good reason.  But I think about it.  And most of the time, Lily really doesn't know why.  She's learning.

I love 3 year olds!  And it really wasn't too difficult to get a picture of her asking, "Why?"

Grand Velas

We got home last night and slept in our own bed, and except for the cat that was so happy to see us that she couldn't sleep, it felt good to be home!

This is my last vacation post, but I wanted to share some pictures of the hotel where we stayed in Puerto Vallarta.

This is our room.  It felt more like an apartment because I think it was about 1,000 sq. feet. 

The grounds and floors of the property had designs in them made by insetting little black round stones.  They look like perfect skipping stones.

An open-air lobby.

This is looking from front to back through the lobby.  The pool and ocean are through the opening on the far end.

Sailboats against the sunset on our last night there.

And because of this guy, and his quacamole that he made especially for us, at our table, two times.  And because of all the other yummy things we ate just because it was there...

This is us now.  Even my hair is fat.  

That's okay, though.  We are having a contest to see who can lose 5 pounds first.  The first weigh-in was this morning.   I'll let you know how it goes! 

Thankful Friday

This is our last full day of vacation.  As I sit here I am looking over the ocean watching the western view of what must be a beautiful sunrise on the other side of the hotel.  The sky has a layer of blue at the horizon and is topped by shades of pink.

And my main feeling is one of thankfulness.  I am thankful to God for the beauty and rest.  I'm thankful to Daryl for bringing me with him to such a beautiful location.

And I'm thankful for the opportunity we have had to be here.

So this sunset picture from yesterday

is thanks to Edward Jones.