Sunday June 10

Greetings to Special Paula

What a magnificent person you are to post here and offer kindness to the rest of us when your own issues must be overpowering at times. Wishing you peace, strength and special moments. Diane S

Greetings Beautiful People

Its a glorious day here on the peculiar north coast, DH has the dogs out for a walk and I am drinking my beloved coffee in my jammies. Who could ask for more? And I am down a half pound.

Yesterday was a good one. We decided to take the dogs to the beach. Tesla is two years old and had never been and I was feeling like a bad dog mommie. So we took them up to Trinidad State Beach (Shel you know that one) and walked the length and back. There were just enough other people and dogs to be fun but in no way crowded. Tesla hardly knew what to do with herself - pulled on the leash like a freight train. Old dog Chip was more cir****pect and little kids petted them both. A good thing because Tesla has been a little spooky around kids at times. Dinner was Canadian bacon and at last some really good cherry tomatoes.

Even with renewed activity today I still challenge Carbon for the sloth du jour award. And Carbon, you have an excuse with your knee. I have none. But I will find a way to get out and about today. Maybe check the tide tables for a minus one.

Liz, Aruba looks great. Enjoy the sun, sand and village atmosphere.

Cecily, hang in there. You must feel like you are in detention after school but having done nothing bad! I am going to check out the medicinal honey. I wonder if you can get it at health food stores. I am glad you have the attention of your surgeon and hope that he can do something for you.

Well Shel, I have always fantasized about having a Trader Joe's in our town but its probably for the best that we don't. And of course Jiff is a gateway drug. Its full of sugar. I can't deal with the natural peanut butter due to lack of salt. Guess I could stir in some salt but too much work. I just eat the salted peanuts instead. My regain is about 5 pounds of salted peanuts, 5 pounds cheese and crackers and the rest assorted indiscretions.

Art sales are picking up at both galleries. That means I have to get busy. But not enough to feel like a JOB.

Last day of Open Studios. Maybe I will get around to a few.

Hey Dave, you must be the bee whisperer. We had friends here who kept bees but then the guy got stung and had an allergic reaction so they had to go by by to another bee keeper. There is a bee keepers club here. Bees are special.

I showed DH how to make the one egg crustless quiche in the microwave thats one of the Cafe Frisco recipes. Extremely easy and better than ordinary scrambled eggs. Amazing how DH has reached the age of 63 without knowing how to cook anything. When we first met, he did not know how to microwave a potato! I showed him how to fix the egg because he goes through this elaborate process of making a single scrambled egg that looks like a tortilla and messes up a bunch of dishes! But I feel lucky to have him and he is indeed a source of amusement.

Enough blathering. Have a great day all. Diane S

I often think about running away to Trinidad. Not that my life is all that hard, but Trinidad seems better. What a fun place to be with dogs. We just booked a little beach house on the coast for Aug that allows dogs so Tink and Buster can come, too. Their enjoyment makes has all happy.

I agree about peanut butter needing salt; my local co-op sells a "with salt" variety.

Well as it happens I am off to the goofy village of Trinidad to deal with gallery finance. At first I wished we could live there but now I know a lot more about it. The place is full of busy bodies who are after you to do community work - like fry fish all day at the fish festival. Also people who just love to complain. For a long time there was this rich guy who was constantly suing the city over a trail easement that crossed his property which destroyed the financial resources of the town. Got into a physical altercation with the hyperactive mayor. Plus a troublesome homeless population. And some nearby beaches have high bacterial counts which is believed to be due to failing septic systems that are old and on unstable property. So where the grass is greener is indeed over the septic tank.

Maybe I will go look for salted peanut butter. No fudge though. DS

Maybe the key is to stick to being a Trinidad visitor. No community work would be expected and no certainly no insider knowledge of failing septic systems.

That reminds me, as an PNWestern, did you know that until relatively recently, Victoria BC pumped their raw waste directly into Puget Sound? There was an official mascot of protest named "Mr Floatie" that would show up at community events to remind everyone of that unsavory fact. His costume was exactly what you think it was. A few years ago, they started treating their waste so I assume Mr. Floatie moved on.

Back to cleaning......

I accidentally bought saltless natural peanut butter. Yuck. You would not believe how much salt you have to add to a jar to make it palatable. Piles! I'd rather have it done at the factory where I can pretend I don't know how much is in there.

Diane, how DO you make a one-egg quiche in the microwave?

I'd love to know. A friend who raises free-range laying chickens keeps giving me eggs, but they go bad and I have to throw them out because I don't know what to do with them!

Hey Ann, glad to share. You are lucky to get those eggs.

Here it is:

get a pyrex or ceramic single serving ramekin and spray with Pam.

Take one egg and put it in a coffee cup with a splash of half and half (maybe a tablespoon) and a bit of shredded cheese. Heaping tablespoon. Add salt and pepper and beat with a fork.

pour the mixture into the ramekin. place on a small plate and microwave it on high for 1.5 minutes to 2 minutes. Watch it as it will puff up and look like its going to grow out of the little dish but it won't. When finished it will sink down. Remove from microwave and dump it out on the plate. Sprinkle more cheese if you like. Its a fluffy cute little dish. I used to make it for my mom when she was so ill and not inclined to eat much. I bet there are lots of herbs like chives and such that could be added. Its simple and makes minimal. I am sure it could be done with 2 eggs in a bigger dish.

The original recipe is on the lapsf.com website under cafe Frisco.

Tell us how it goes. Diane S

Thank you! That is easy. I especially like the "mix in a coffee cup" and "nuke in a ramekin" instruction. That I can do. :)

This is the stuff he uses...you can get it on Amazon among other places. It's derived from Manuka Honey.