THE CHAT - THIS TIME I PUNCH PEOPLE IN THE FACE!

Yes, this winter is getting to me.  I wanna punch people in the face!  This statement came outta nowhere in this chat and it's still the funniest thing I've said in years.  I wonder though… is it really funny or is it one of those, "Guess you had to be there?"

Not sure.  Oh well!  Hope you find it amusing at least!  or that you can relate.

The Chat - they've got pet peeves up their sleeves!

THE CHAT

Yep, here I am spouting my stuff…again.  But this time it's all about the love!

THE CHAT WITH JEN KOSKI

The other day we had a photo shoot done at the Post Bulletin so we could really promote the article.  Now there's a Facebook page and all us girls are talking.  Next month we even get to invite the public to CHAT with us at a wine tasting!  Wow, I'm one lucky girl!  I don't know how I can really chat about things that bother me because, well, nothing can bother me with a life like this!

Here's some of the pics from the shoot:

Joy Larson

Jen Koski

Jennifer Rand

Missie Freetly

Pam Whitfield

Tracy McCray

and you know who this crazy lady is

MAKING THE PECAN WHOLE WHEAT WAFFLES FOR ROCHESTER WOMEN MAGAZINE

One of the many privileges I have by working for Rochester Women magazine is that sometimes I get to  do the cooking (and eating) for one of the articles.  This issue I was fortunate enough to get to make the Pecan Whole Wheat waffles! This was an easy recipe and everyone that lives here agreed - these were awesome waffles!

This is a bonus step-by-step, not found in the article. I just figured that since I was able to make them for the finished images for the step-by-step article on making maple syrup (check out page 42-43),  I might as well do a step-by-step for making the waffles too. Bonus!!

So whip out your waffle maker and let's get started!

PECAN WHOLE WHEAT WAFFLES

Pecan-Whole Wheat Waffles

1 cup each all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour

4 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

3 eggs, separated

2 cups buttermilk (or sour milk)

1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. butter, melted

1/3 cup chopped pecans, optional

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring to mix through.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, buttermilk and melted butter.


While stirring, gradually blend the dry ingredients into the liquid until no lumps remain.

In a small bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks.


Fold whites and pecans into the batter.

Bake in a greased waffle iron until golden.

Find some fresh berries.
 and some local maple syrup..

and eat!

Pecan-Whole Wheat Waffles

1 cup each all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour

4 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

3 eggs, separated

2 cups buttermilk (or sour milk)

1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. butter, melted

1/3 cup chopped pecans, optional

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring to mix through. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, buttermilk and melted butter. While stirring, gradually blend the dry ingredients into the liquid until no lumps remain. In a small bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold whites and pecans into the batter. Bake in a greased waffle iron until golden. Serve hot with maple syrup. Serves 6.

TIKI IS A GREAT POLE DANCER

Yes, this is Tiki.  Tiki came to us years ago after my beloved calico cat, Pip-squeak AKA Pippy, was killed.


One of the few nice things are neighbors have done for us is bring me Tiki a few days after the death.  They found her up north by their cabin when her mother went missing, all her kittens were following them around looking for a home.  So they thought that I would like a new cat since my kitty was killed by a car.  The neighbor said that she would keep her as a barn cat if I didn't want her, but of course, I can never refuse a cute face!  Only problem is I had just picked up two other kittens from down the road.

The ad said she had calicos, but all she had was orange tabbies.  So silly me, instead of just taking one tabby or none (I really wanted a calico again), I took two.

There is logic behind this.  When I was a little girl we had taken in a couple kittens that were litter mates, and all their lives they were the best of freinds, grooming each other and always playing together.  The love was so beautiful to watch!  So I always believe that when you get one cat you better get two and they better be siblings.

We've had a lot of cats over the years.

So I took Tiki home and I set her on the bed next to me that night.  She curled up into a ball and never moved, she was so grateful to have a bed and a home with love she just purred and purred all night long!

Now this was the thing about Tiki, she never was a very brave cat. She never would have made it as a barn cat. She never went outside and was just happy to be with you.  Then we got Happy.

Happy chased Tiki immediately accross the living room and Tiki ran downstairs never to appear on the main level ever again.  Maddie once said that the song, "Because of you"  is what Tiki is thinking to herself everyday down there. She hid in the basement for two years, until that fateful day when Happy was hit by a car and died.  I miss Happy, he was such an awesome dog!  He was sooo Happy all the time!  He had a reason to be: he was a in a cage for 9 months at the shelter. But that's a story for another day.

It took about three weeks before Tiki realized that Happy was no longer around, and she slowly started appearing at the top opf the stairs.  Then into the living room, then into the kitchen.

It took another year after that until she peeked her head out the doggie door.

Then about 6 months after that - I noticed her outside running around with the pig!  I also noticed that she would never venture out alone, she attached herself to the pig and the pig became her guardian. They've been friends for a long time.

Brave Tiki.  Now she is very brave and we tease her all the time about it.  Brave, brave Tiki! 

I'm not sure I like the brave Tiki.  She's kinda annoying sometimes.  I preferred the timid Tiki.

But how can you dislike inter-species love???

SHOW SEASON IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!

I can't believe it but it's been two years since we showed our horses! that is waaaay too long!  I miss it dearly but sometimes you have to be gone to be missed.  I miss it!  Now that my daughter Madison is living in L.A. I'll have the chance to show her horse this summer, which I am really excited about!  Max is an awesome horse and totally lives up to his registered name: User-Friendly Max!

Maddie and Max - isn't he just stunning!

And I will be showing my Arabian Khrome at a few Class A Arab shows.  Thanks to my daughter Samantha who will be training him and getting him ready to be the star I know he can be!

I've mostly used Khrome for trail riding, which is my utmost favorite thing to so with horses, and was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to break him a few years back.  I showed him a few times after I first broke him in walk/trot classes but this year Sam will take the reins and finish him to be a great show horse.  She's super good at training horses, both my girls are.  They trained all their horses and they succeeded well. I'm super excited!  He's just a beauty and no I am not biased!  He's a cute mover, cleans up well and is a great ride.

isn't he handsome??!!

Ok, sorry, all this horse terminology can get confusing.  So here's the easy explanation:

Class A shows:  there are different types of shows that you can show your horse in, one is open shows, meaning they are open to anyone, no registered horses required and beginner riders can enter, and then there are Class B shows which are a little higher up and then Class A shows for purebred horses.

Registered horses:  this is a horse that has 'papers' meaning registered through their breed affiliations.

Break a horse: means taking a horse at age of 2-3 and teaching it to be ridden.

Finishing a horse:  training a horse to be show quality, ie learning many different gaits (walk/trot/lope/canter), slowing him down (collecting), etc.

Cute/great mover: looks good trotting.

So today Sam and I moved our horses, Honor & Glory (barn name Honor) and Khrome by Khemo (barn name Khrome) from our barn down to our neighbor's farm.

Sam and Honor at the Badger Show in Milwaukee. Honor is just a beaut!!!

Barn name:  the name you call your horse on a regular basis - not his registered name.

Our neighbors  have an indoor arena to ride in and since we are expecting a good foot of snow or more in the next few days, we needed a place to ride and train because the first show is in three weeks!  Khrome won't be ready by then but Honor will be.

So because it is still so icy out I walked the horses the half mile down the road to our neighbors.  All the while Sam followed in the Durango. I needed the exercise. And the sunshine.  She suggested holding their lead ropes out the window while we drove and lead them that way but I knew better. That was just a wreck waiting to happen!

Wreck:  when a horse gets spooked (scared) at something and does something silly like take off, you fall off, you get hurt, the horse gets hurt or the horse rears up.

And of course Sam had to post this to Facebook.

What bothers me most is that my ass is almost as big as the horses!!

Geez, I need more exercise...

THE SUN IS SHINING, THE SUN IS SHINING!!!

It's been about two weeks now since the sun was shining.  Or maybe it has been 6 months? At least thats what it feels like.

So when I spotted the large sunbeam laying across the office floor I got super excited and had a small moment of avarice take over me: I stole the sunbeam from the pig.  She wasn't too happy, there were a few grunts and snorts followed by a big sigh. But as resilient that that Vietnamese Pot-bellied pig is, she decided that making me her pillow was a better idea for her anyway. Ya gotta love a positive thinking pig!

And by the way - It's not very pleasant snuggling with a pig.  They have bristles.  Sharp bristles.  This is good information for everyone to know prior to having one as a pet.

But I felt bad for stealing her sunshine so I let her lay by me.

Come to think of it, pot-bellied pigs really shouldn't be living in Minnesota anyway.  They come from Vietnam!  Do you know what it's like weather wise in Vietnam?  Hot, and muggy, all the time.  I'm sure the pig wonders daily whose brilliant idea it was to bring them here to America?

Did you know there are only 18 days left until SPRING???

gotta love the Life is Good t-shirt!