Vow-Newal ..... back after taking a breather....

Hello everyone!

I've missed chatting with all of you ... and would like to revamp my blog ... gotten bored with how it looks.

Life just got too complicated ... lots of things I wanted and needed to do (purge our home of some of the excess, college classes for a Finance degree, preparing for DH and my silver anniversary and vows renewal, family reunion and the list just kept going on and on .... and on!!)    Bet you have had some of those days....

Got much of what I wanted to do done ... silver anniversary celebration went wonderfully and so did the family reunion.  Great to see so many people we haven't seen in quite a while due to DH's work overseas ... 

DH and I had my rings re-sized ... I hadn't been able to wear either of them for years ... worked with electronic repair.  Wearing jewelry is just bad ju-ju when fixing stuff!!  

When we renewed our vows, DH put my rings on me again .... nice to have them back on again!

We also had a butterfly release that went amazingly well ... DH said he kept flashing on an old episode of "Two and A Half Men" where Charlie's mother gets remarried at the beach house and the butterflies are dead and serve as seagull food.   Even the photographer said the butterfly release was one of the best she had ever seen.

We're back home again ... and brought back two Siamese cats we adopted from a rescue in Southern California (more about them later this week).... trying to get back into the swing of normal life again.
Really enjoyed the celebration and family reunion ... but there were days that dealing and coordinating all the details long distance could be quite demanding. Being back home, taking care of day-to-day life details is such a relief!!  

Of course, now I am starting to work on details of the next family reunion in 2018... still have to pin down which of two places it wll be held ... 

Onward and upward ... 

What wonderful things have happened in your life since last we spoke?  
Please share one or two ...

Holly

Feasting on Friday ... Frog and Toe Jams

DH and I are finally back home again after nearly two months ..

SO good to be back in our own beds and normal routine....

now if we can only get re-adjusted to our home time-zone.

 

We spent Mother's Day weekend with my mother-in-law ~

found these at a small roadside stand while driving to

my in-law's home. 

 

Just had to get them both for DMIL and DFIL!

Love the names!!

 

 

Gotta love the quirky names! 

And there were several people who walked into the place,

read the jar titles and said "Eww!!"

 

"Toe jam" in the US is a slang term for

the gunk that accumulates between the toes.

Definitely not the first thing you think of at a produce stand!!

 

In this case .. "Toe Jam" means "Tangerine, Orange, Elderberry"

~ "Frog Jam" is "Fig, raspberry, orange and ginger".

 

Do you have a quirky food specialty in your area?

Please share!!

Hope to hear from you soon ~

Holly

 

 



"Mighty Mo" from the Arizona Memorial

DH and DS on the Arizona Memorial with the

"Mighty Mo" (USS Missouri)

behind them ~

 

DS arranged for us to go on the Arizona Memorial trip

that goes all around Ford Island

to see other memorials (such as the USS Utah grounding)

before stopping at the Arizona Memorial.

 

It was a really fun day ~

we had a great time !

 

 What treasured memory have you created recently?

Please share -

 

Holly

 

 



It's Spring!! Special Menu to Celebrate!

One of our family traditions is to have a special meal when the season changes ..

Today is the first day of Spring ...

 

So we enjoyed

 

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

 (with spiced apples and bacon)

Rosemary Potatoes

 

for dessert ... yogurt fruit bombe with apples, strawberries and bananas

 

 

... both are really easy to make ...

and I found the potatoes in the freezer section of a local grocery.

 

Even better ... DH was off

(normally he works evenings),

so no rush to make this for lunch!

 

Do you celebrate a  change of seasons?

I would love to hear of your traditions ~

Holly

 

 

 

 

 

Check out my German Easter Tree!

Germans decorate trees, bushes, branches ...

indoors and out with eggs for Easter.

Lots and lots of eggs!

Yesterday, I saw a huge, green pine garland wrapped with egg loops ..

 

DH and I have been visiting Easter Markets

the last few weekends ~

these markets focus on decorated eggs

 (beaded, drilled, painted, embossed and more)

 and other spring yard and home décor items.

 

I have two trees ~ here's one with the eggs bought over the last two years ~
 

 

Do you do anything special

to welcome Spring

into your home and life?

 

Would love to hear what you do ~

Please share.

 

Holly

 

Irish Ham and Potato Pie

"Irish" Ham and Potato Pie

 

6 large eggs
1/2 cup green onions chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups cooked diced potatoes 
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
1 cup diced cooked ham
1/2 cup finely chopped red or green bell pepper
1/2 cup half-and-half or milk

 

Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter a 9-inch pie pan.

Mix together eggs, onions, salt and pepper in large bowl.

Add potatoes, cheese, ham, bell pepper and half and half to egg mixture.
Stir to blend. Pour into pie pan.

Bake until tested done when a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Could be 50-minutes or up to 1 hour 30 minutes. 

Cut into wedges to serve.

Makes 4 to 8 servings.

 

 

Holly's notes:  This last time, only had medium eggs in the house ~ so I used seven instead of six large eggs.  Also used about 3-1/2 cups of potato (couldn't see tossing the last bits of the potatoes) and only 1-cup of shredded cheese.  Forgot to add the milk entirely ... oops.   But since I had included the extra 1/2-cup of potato, that was probably for the best.   The pan was completely full and if I added anything more - it would have over-flowed.   Still turned out fine.   Pretty forgiving recipe.   Mine only had to cook for about 50-minutes.

 

Most likely will make the same changes the next time  I make this.  Uses things that I commonly have in the house (other than the ham ... rarely do I buy ham --- though we both love it).

Caricature talents

While wandering through the Frankfurt Easter Market last weekend,

came across this artist sketching a client.

Pretty good likeness ~~

Surprised the shot came out as good as it did .. was taken on the fly.

Wish I could draw more than stick figures ....

Holly

Owl placements I made

The local shops have been featuring oilcloth quite a bit recently.

Saw this owl patterned one and it struck my fancy (and sense of humor!).

 

Bought enough to make a table covering for our lava table

(it's an odd size due to the lava slab size it was created from).

 

Cut out some placemats from the leftover piece.

Kinda fun and kicky !

Hummm... need to have the neighbors over for dinner soon and use these.

Holly 



Suspicious Kitty

Watching DH and I closely as we pass by on our morning walk ...

DH said Kitty was hoping for a mouse in our pockets ...

Holly

Bunnies ... bunnies ... who has the bunnies ?

Dh and I visited an Easter Market up in Frankfurt over the weekend.

These was a new experience for us ...

 

DH found one for his tummy  ~ I found one for our Easter Tree ~

Good day for both of us ~

Holly



Looking over Weilerbach

 

It was a nice day ~ so DH and I wandered up to the overlook to take photos.

Our home is off to the left outside the picture ...

These are the Catholic and Protestant churches.

Part of the Catholic Church building is documented back to the 1100's.

 

Is there a place in your town you enjoy spending time?

Holly



Spring is coming ....

It may be snowy here ... but my tulips are starting to peek out of the ground ... Spring is on its way!

Do you see any signs of the coming season in your corner of the world?

Holly

Feelings about San Diego Wildfires

The more I see of San Diego County fires --- the more I really don't want to ever move back there.  I have a phobia about wildfires... when I was in the Navy, fires onboard ships don't bother me so much ... they can be contained and we were trained to deal with them ... wildfires just keep jumping and expanding.  My fear is rooted from my freshman year of high school.  There was a really big fire in the area just east of where we lived.  That weekend was homecoming weekend for our church; Sunday the sky was all yellowy and a lot of people didn't show up for the homecoming.  The church and our home were close to the edge of the populated areas ... it was a lot of semi-wildness and overgrowth to the east.  At school on Monday, lots of students were missing since they had been evacuated or their parents kept them home.  The district decided to cancel school midway through the day and sent everyone home.  We lived a couple miles from my high school - it was considered within walking distance so I started walking home.  One of my teachers stopped and gave a ride to the corner of our street and dropped me off there.  Walked down the block - no one was home.  Dad was at work and no idea where Mom was.  She didn't leave a note.  I'm pretty uneasy so try to find a neighbor to stay with until Mom comes back.  Knocked on every house on our block --- no one answers other than one son and he was getting ready to leave (on his motorcycle).  Since he didn't have an extra helmet and I wasn't experienced being a passenger on a motorcycle he didn't want to take me with him.  Now I'm really uncomfortable --- so I try to call Dad at work.  One NEVER EVER called my Dad at work .... it had better be a death or an emergency to call him at work.  That didn't work ... the phone lines are out.  I'm now panicking ... so I toss some stuff in a daypack and start walking to my grandparents home in Pacific Beach (about 20 miles away).  Skirted the foot of Mt Helix, got into La Mesa (city) and am chugging away. Probably got close to 8-10 miles on my way when the cops picked me up because it is well after dark, I'm a young girl alone (qbout 13 years old) with a backpack and some of the nearby areas were not the best.  I explained I was on my way to my grandparents because school was closed mid-day due to the fire, none of our neighbors were home and I couldn't reach my parents.  Cops called my grandparents, who came to get me.  Late that night they finally get hold of Mom and tell her I am with them.  Mom comes to get me and she is furious.  I realize now that she was scared since she hadn't known where I was ... but she never seemed to realize just how terrified I was.  When I expressed my fears about the fire over the weekend while several of our neighbors were leaving to stay with friends or relatives ... she discounted my feelings and told me there was nothing to be worried about.  I couldn't understand why she's saying there's nothing to worry about while I'm watching the Boccias, Waterhouses and Mitchells (all adults) pack up and leave the area.  Just didn't make sense.  Then the district cancels school mid-day ... just added to my confusion.  As I said, Mother was furious when she got to my grandparents home.  It was one of the few times that she ever hit me with a belt.  Now I can understand that she lost control because she was so upset over not knowing where I was or what was happening to me.  But -- I was scared and there was no one to ask for help.  Could have gone and stood in the middle of a busy street near the house and begged for rides ... but knew that behavior was completely unacceptable in my family.  Wildfires still terrify me to this very day.   In 2001 (Cedar Fire), had to drive a section of freeway with flames on both sides of the road (and firefighters) to get to work road and another time when DH and I went to check out a car my son wanted to buy - one of the roads we had to drive crossed the path of a wildfire and we saw the fire jump the road.  DH got to see me come completely unglued at that point.    

Nope - the wildfires may outweigh all the wonderful qualities of life in San Diego for me.

springtime bunnies ...

A bunny in a nearby farmer's field of rapeseed (for rapeseed oil ... lots is grown in the area) .... 

What signs of springtime show up in your area?  Is there a flower patch, a flock of birds or something else that really tells you that Springtime is here?  

Holly

Lady Etna is at it again!

For the 13th time this year (according to volcanologists), Etna erupted today.

Lots of smoke and ash this morning while we were running errands ...

Then this evening, a friend caught pictures of the actual eruption.

Boneless??

Looking at her ... I would swear that Indy is boneless
the way she contorts herself.

Check out the face!

This is over the main entrance to the Mother Church in Ferla.
I keyed in on the face at the bottom ... didn't even notice the one at the top.
Wish I knew the meaning is behind the emblem....

Etna's at it again!

DH was at home when this happened -- watched the lava as it flared up.

Good Friday, 2012

Our Lady of Sorrows during the Good Friday procession in Ferla, Sicily.
DH and I hadn't seen this procession before.  It was quite impressive.

Palm Sunday

Carrying and waving palms ... this is one of many celebrants in the town of Gangi.