we've been busy around

here.  Eric's packing up to move to Houston. 

I'm a little bit jealous.  I mean I like it here in the smaller towns.  It's quiet, no traffic, slower pace, you know, stuff like that.  But let's be real, Houston's my hometown.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it.  Oh well, it's always an option but for now I'm enjoying it here.

I finally got around to using the rest of that pie crust I talked about the other day.  I used some of it for a few hand pies and the rest for a cobbler.

I think we all prefer the hand pies.  I only made five and they didn't last long.  These were apple but Eric requested cherry for next time. 
ps - I hate cherries.

I also went to the Cockrell Butterfly Center yesterday morning for a capture crawl.  Here are a couple of those images.

Is it just me or are these guys turning and looking at my camera?  I'm pretty sure they are.

That's all for today.  If I stay still for too long I might just take a nap.

i made another one

of Grandma's recipes from the recipe blog yesterday.  Shrimp Creole.  It was good... a little spicy, but good.

This might not represent the dish the best because I'm not into soupy sauces.  I like my food a little on the drier side.  I also didn't feel like running everything through the blender like the recipe calls for so it's a little chunkier than it should be.

The recipe didn't call for any cayenne pepper or creole seasoning but I figured I'd add some.  Wow.  Well, it was hot for me but that's not saying much.  Cosme still added a little hot sauce to his.  The only thing we were missing was some crusty French bread.  Next time.

Oh yeah, I was going to talk about how I've been reading and thinking about bullet journals lately.  Maybe tomorrow.  Today I've got to get busy on some laundry and cleaning out my closet.  I don't actually want to start cleaning out my closet today but maybe just take another look at it to see where I could start.  I don't know.  Maybe I'll start one of those failed projects I started a few years ago where I got rid of one bag of things a day.  (Which was one bag...)  Either way, I have entirely too much stuff and it's getting on my nerves.

In other news, Strat still thinks he runs things around here.

"You will be my body pillow and you will enjoy it, Lucille."

I can't remember what he was watching on tv when I took this picture.  He'll be so excited when he finds out Real Housewives of New Jersey is coming back.  That's one of his favorites.  I obviously need to let him spend a little more time watching the Beverly Hills housewives.  It's so much better.  Most of their episodes make me want to have a dinner party.  Speaking of the housewives, I have an episode of New York on dvr.  Okay, maybe the closet can wait another day.

i was able to get

a picture of the peach cobbler.

I also finally posted it, along with the recipe, on the recipe blog.

I was so excited to finally find this recipe last year.  (I think it was last year.)  It was practically in front of my face all those years.  I made a few adjustments that I know Grandma did and then made a few on my own.  The cobbler only uses half of my pie crust recipe so now I still have some dough ready to be rolled out in the refrigerator.  I can't decide if I should do something similar with some apple pie filling I have or pull out some blueberries and make another thing.  Decisions, decisions.  Chances are, I'll wait and do whatever tomorrow.  Seriously, it's been a busy day and I don't feel like making another mess today.

Speaking of cooking, when I was grilling the vegetables I posted yesterday, I had one of those flare up moments.  Not the kind where I get angry but the kind where I had to check to make sure I still had eyebrows.  I did.  I know I had to have lost some hair somewhere.  I could smell it.  Even when I got in the shower later, I could still smell burning hair and double checked my eyebrows before scrubbing my head with shampoo, making sure I put out any signs of sizzling.

I think I'll go ahead and fold my towels before I get too comfortable sitting here.  I'll remind myself to talk about bullet journals tomorrow.

i tried a new

recipe the other day that I found on Pinterest.  Actually, I saw a recipe and did it my way.  This recipe was for a marinade that you put on vegetables and sausage and then grill it all.  First, I didn't want my sausage marinated.  Second, Italian dressing would be much easier and plus, I like it as a marinade.  That being said, I cut up all the vegetables the recipe calls for, minus cherry tomatoes but add mushrooms.  I let everything sit in the dressing and tossed it around occasionally.

Once that sat for a while and the grill was nice and hot, I put some foil down and started the vegetables.  I cut up some sausage and left some to just grill on its own.

Pretty simple, right?  Wrong.  The part I didn't plan out too well was getting that off the grill.  I needed Cosme's help to hold the platter while I worked at getting a grip on all that with tongs.

Anyway, we fixed our plates and ate.  We both agreed that the sausage didn't need to be on the foil with the vegetables and preferred it with the grilled texture. 

I'll definitely try it again.  Oh, I also baked a peach cobbler that day... which is almost gone.  I was going to post a picture with the recipe under Grandma's recipes but that might not happen this time.

Now I need to go figure out how to make this headache go away.

yesterday evening i was sitting

on my bed and looking at my iPad when I stopped and noticed the sun going down along with the sounds coming from the trees. 

What I love most about that time of day is the sound.  I'm sure I've talked about it before but it's fresh on my mind because I was chilling and listening to it yesterday... so I'm talking about it again.  That's how much I like that sound.  I guess it's cicadas but I always thought it was locusts.  I don't know but I think everybody knows that sound.  I really like it a lot.  It's relaxing and it reminds me of summertime.  More specifically, it reminds me of having been outside playing most of the day but that it's almost time to come in and get a bath.  Not that being time to quit playing and to come in and get cleaned up was anything I ever liked, but the noise is just one I've always liked.  Maybe now that I don't have to come in at any particular time to get cleaned up, I should get a cold drink and go sit outside when it starts up in the evenings.  (Not that it doesn't happen during the day but that's different.  When it happens during the day, that tells me it's really hot outside and I need to chill inside.)

For now I won't chill inside.  I'll go check the grill to see if it's ready.  I mean who doesn't like to grill at 3:45 in the afternoon... out in the sun... in the Texas heat?  Wow.  After typing that and letting it sink in a minute, I might say "screw it" to the noises and reconsider how much I appreciate getting cleaned up and chilling inside.

today's one of those

days where I just can't stop.  I have to keep moving and stay busy.  I have way too much energy today but I kind of like it.  I guess I'm making up for yesterday when I didn't feel like doing anything.  The only downside is my back is feeling a little uncomfortable.  Or, maybe my back is actually hurting because I sat around most of yesterday.  Either way, I'm scared to do too much, thinking I might make it worse.  So far today I've been cleaning and doing laundry and I even went through the freezers to throw out and take inventory.  Okay, that last part sounded a little bit nerdy... or pathetic... or both.  All I know is as soon as we finish off this cheesecake, I'm making a peach cobbler with two of the four bags of peaches that were in the freezer.  I used some of my blueberries this morning and made muffins but I even have some of those leftover.  I guess I'll add those to the packages already in the freezer.  One of the nice things about going through it all is that I know exactly what we're having for dinner.  Considering I have hamburger meat that needs to be used and 3.6 bags of fries, I think it's a given.

You know who doesn't have much energy today?

Strat.  Once again, he's watching tv.

Then there's Lucille.  She's been staying out of sight a lot lately.  Even when she comes out of her room, she does stuff like this.

Is she trying to stay hidden?  She's weird... unlike the cat who sits around and watches tv.

I'm cooled off so that can only mean one thing.  Break's over.

today's flag day

so here's my flag.

It's not technically my flag.  It's the flag I pay the Lion's Club to put up for every occasion a flag is required.  I'd say Flag Day requires a flag.  I think I'll have a slice of cheesecake to celebrate. 

when you have a couple

of blocks of cream cheese that need to be used, the best thing to do is hurry and make a cheesecake.

So I did.

Also, check out my profile pic on the right up there.  Cosme took that a few weeks ago.  I decided to change out the old one since my hair's a little different now.

Social media is getting on my nerves... again.  I'm friends with way too many overly opinionated people with views different from mine.  That's fine not to agree with me but do as I do and don't keep shoving it in my face.  Another thing has been all this flooding going on.  First it was the abandoned dogs that need homes.  FB has turned into one of those commercials where they play Sarah McLaughlin, show the sad pics and ask for money.  Now people are warning others about all the snakes that are out.  You can only guess what's going on there... "I killed this today when it was sneaking up on my kids" (insert pic of dead snake) and then all the snake lives matter type of stuff starts.  It's all too much.  Way too much.  People are exhausting.

Maybe I need to focus on what I started with my creative unblock... or find something else to bake.

the last couple of mornings

we've had BOB's, or if you're driving through Whataburger, Breakfast on a Bun.  There were leftover brioche buns from the beach so that made it tastier.  Yesterday's BOBs were short though.  We only had one brioche bun left so the second was done in Whataburger fashion with a burger bun.  Not wanting to go to the store until Friday, Saturday or Sunday for my Kroger double fuel points, I decided to make bread.  I decided against buns since a loaf would be more versatile... and not to mention I've never made buns before.  Anyway, I got on Pinterest and picked THIS recipe.  I whipped some dough together and let it double in size and then put it in the loaf pans to rise 1-2 inches above that pan.

I forgot about them.  Oops.

 I stuck them in the oven and hoped all that extra sticking over the side would be okay and not burn or anything.

Nope.  It was fine.  I sliced a warm piece off and tried it with butter.

Yum.  And as soon as Cosme got in from the tennis court (because who doesn't want to come in sweaty and eat hot buttered bread?), I gave him a slice as well... and then took half of it from him.

I started thinking of how good that bread would be for a grilled cheese sandwich or toasted with jelly for breakfast.  yuuummmm.  Too bad I then realized we're out of jelly.  Oh well, at least I'll get double fuel points when I buy some today.

As for the recipe, it was super easy and tastes awesome.  I'll definitely make it again.

ride the lightning

or hang out on the front porch until you can catch it.  We spent the week at the beach last week and my main goal was to get a sunrise.  Well, with cloudy mornings, that didn't happen but I did get the next best thing, or probably equally as good... lightning.

This was Tuesday afternoon after I checked in and started unloading the car.  It was an awesome day.

 
Then we had a stormy night and I got this.

This amazes me, considering it was late at night with a black sky.

And then I caught it.