My First Award! PROXIMIDADE!

I recieved this just the other day from Old Lady Lincoln and this is what she said:

Apparently who ever receives the award is to pass it on to 8 friends. I know how busy most are, especially this time of year, so I won't be upset if you can't do it.


Also this was sent along saying that "Blogs that receive this award are 'exceeding charming,' says its author. This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into the body of their award.



I want to thank Old Lady Lincoln for thinking of me and giving me my first award! I've only just started to do any blogging and have found her and all the others I have met so far to be lovely people. I enjoy following some, participating in a couple weekly things, and just reading other people's blogs. However I haven't branched out enough to accept this nice award. So I guess I have to politely decline and give a heartfelt thank you for including me!

Skywatch Friday #4 The Ozarks Sky

Hello fellow skywatchers! I have only two pictures to share this week but hopefully you will enjoy them.

The texture of this sky is just amazing! This was taken Friday Nov. 28

This was taken on Dec 1, the night of the Moon, Venus, Jupiter conjuction. I ended up spending a lot of time out in the cold that night!

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

Conjunction of the Moon, Venus and Jupiter 12-1-08

I got a chance through all the clouds we've been having to get a couple shots of this historic night. Here is a link to explain what you are looking at: SpaceWeather.com And here are my pictures.

This one was taken at twilight, you can still see the clouds hanging around.

This one was a little later, one of my neighbors was walking by and thought I was crazy because I was hooping and hollaring about how cool this was! Before he left I had him looking too!

Turkey is done and Christmas is next!

It's been a while since I've posted anything here so I going to write about a few things I've been doing lately.



I cooked my turkey earlier this week, ate a bunch of it and then cut up the rest of it for freezing. I ended up with 6 quart size bags that I mixed light and dark meat in. I will use them for my rice cooker dishes and soup. I also boiled the carcass yesterday and made stock. I ended up with a bunch of bags I put in the freezer for the same use. I'm not going to have to buy chicken for a long time!







I decorated for Christmas around the house and bought a nice Norfolk Island Pine plant that had some pretty little ribbons on it. I had one before and obsiously I didn't take care of it right because it only lasted about a year or so. I'm reading up on it this time and hopefully it will last longer. Notice the large stocking? I got that last year with my gifts inside.














This is my stuffed rottweiler dressed as a reindeer.














Some candle holders set in a decorative fashion. Notice Santa is here.











I had to go outside to get this picture. Not much order to these lights but at least they flash and look festive!



So that's what I've been up to lately. And guess what? I'm actually in a holiday mood now. How about you?

Skywatch Friday #3 The Ozarks Sky

We had mostly cloudy nights this week but I was able to get a few pictures to share.

This was Sunday night's exceptional offering.

This was Monday night's sky, looks like a wool blanket to me.

This was Tuesday nights Big Sky.

Visit the Sky Watch Friday home page anytime after 7:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time on Thursdays to see sky photos from around the world. You'll be glad you did.

Dog Tales

Why Some Men Have Dogs And Not Wives:

1. The later you are, the more excited your dogs are to see you.




2. Dogs don't notice if you call them by another dog's name.

3. Dogs like it if you leave a lot of things on the floor.




4. A dog's parents never visit.

5. Dogs agree that you have to raise your voice to get your point across.



6. You never have to wait for a dog; they're ready to go 24 hours a day.

7. Dogs find you amusing when you're drunk.

8. Dogs like to go hunting and fishing.

9. A dog will not wake you up at night to ask, "If I died, would you get another dog?"




10. If a dog has babies, you can put an ad in the paper and give them away.



11. A dog will let you put a studded collar on it without calling you a pervert.

12. If a dog smells another dog on you, they don't get mad. They just think it's interesting.



13. Dogs like to ride in the back of a pickup truck.

And last, but not least:



14. If a dog leaves, it won't take half of your stuff.

Is it Chicken, No it's Pork Stew!

Today I planned on cooking some chicken soup so yesterday I pulled the frozen chicken out of the freezer and set in the refrigerator to thaw. Not looking at it much I also prepped some celery and onions to add. Well the jokes on me! I actually thawed out some Stew Pork! Well, you know they both are light in color....I don't even remember buying this pork!

So when I started today to cook and discovered I had the wrong meat I had to go looking for a different recipe. This is what I found and it looks yummy. My pot is on the stove, I don't have a slow cooker, but that's ok. I can smell this cooking and I think for chicken/pork stew it's going to be great!

By the way, I doubled the recipe so I can have lots of leftovers.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  
• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
  
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
  
• 1 rib celery sliced
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves
  
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves crushed
  
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
  
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  
• 1 cup chicken broth
  
• 1/2 package (16-ounce) frozen mixed stew vegetables
  
• 1 jar (4-oz size) sliced mushrooms drained well
  
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  
• 1/8 teaspoons ground nutmeg
  
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork, onion, celery, basil, rosemary and oregano; cook until pork is browned. Place pork mixture in slow cooker. Whisk flour with chicken broth; pour into slow cooker/Crock Pot. Stir in frozen vegetables and mushrooms. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, stir lemon juice, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice.
Serves 4.

This is where I got the recipe: Pork Stew with Vegetables