Teacher Gifts and Recurring Dreams

It's Random Friday, so here are a few things on my mind this week.

1.  For Teacher Appreciation Day, I made little felt purses for each of the boys' teachers.  I tucked a gift card to a local cupcakery inside, and accompanied by a few chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, I felt like they were a fun little way to celebrate.  The boys certainly loved presenting them to their beloved teachers. 

2.  I have a recurring dream about tsunamis.  It's creepy.  I wonder if I have it when I'm feeling overwhelmed in my life?

3.  I love to watch documentaries.  Recently we checked one out of the library called Pressure Cooker.  It follows some inner city Philadelphia high school students as they compete for culinary scholarships.  It was such an inspiring film. 

4.  Our hermit crab, Misty, died a few months ago when trying to molt.  So when I stopped in a local pet store that was going out of business, and had everything 75% off, I picked up three new hermit crabs.   One for each boy.  The twins are quite pleased to have their own hermit crabs, however they do tend to sneakily overfeed them.  I'll go in to check the water and find piles of food as big as the hermit crabs in the sand.

5.  I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day!  Readers, are you doing anything exciting?

This post linked to Random Friday at A Rural Journal. 

Boom! A burst of memory from a smell.

Have you ever noticed how certain smells will take you back?  Being fascinated by the way the brain works, I know that the olfactory cortex shares a direct link to the hippocampus, which stores our long term memories.  All the other senses are processed in the thalamus.  Maybe this is why, out of the blue, we sometimes get a whiff of a scent and are transported back in time.

This happened to me recently - I switched soaps because I became allergic to the soap I was using.  I have a tendency to develop allergies to things.  Shampoo, lotions, soaps, and deodorant (a particularly nasty allergic reaction last time that happened!).  So anyhow, I was using this fragrant soap that I loved and starting getting the massive itchies, so I knew I had to switch to something very mild, and switch fast! 

As I was perusing the soaps in the store, I recalled that Ivory is supposed to be very gentle.  I had used it years ago - in high school I guess.  I picked some up and brought it home.

The moment I ripped open the three pack I inhaled the soapy scent and was transported back to early high school.  My eye doctor had told me to use Ivory to wash my hands prior to cleaning my contact lenses, as it was one of the mildest soaps around and wouldn't burn my eyes or leave residue on my lenses.  This was back in the day of scrubbing the lenses in your palms each evening before placing them in a heated unit to kill any lingering germs.  Then once a month you'd do this fizzy tablet deal where you put your contacts in a solution with fizzy tabs to remove any residue buildup. 

I'd forgotten all those evenings I spent cleaning my contact lenses.  Thank goodness two week disposables came around by the time I hit college, along with the multipurpose cleaning solution.  Whew, so much easier!

Have you had any surprise memories from scents lately, readers?

Mother's Day Hike

As I mentioned yesterday, we went hiking for Mother's Day.  We decided to go to Booker T. Washington National Monument, because the boys love all the buildings and animals, and the hike isn't too strenuous for them, so no one has to be carried.

 After a picnic, they took off running down the path for the old buildings.  This one was a kitchen house back in the day.

We counted a lot of lizards while we were exploring.  I couldn't help but delight in taking lizard pictures.  Almost as fun to photograph as ducks.

This is the old tobacco barn.  Reid would only stand in the doorway, as it was very dark inside and he said it was too scary.

Sharpening a few tools in the blacksmith shop.  The boys also enjoyed working the huge billows for the fire.

Tree marker along our hike.  One fun thing about the hike is that it has numbers throughout, with information you can follow in a brochure. 

The old Sparks cemetery sits on a ridgetop, and has a number of graves all marked with fieldstones.

Filling our hands to the brims with nature.  The boys are always stuffing their pockets with rocks and flowers and other goodies.

The twins don't read yet, but they sure do like to pretend that they do!

What a fun filled day.  I hope the Mother's Day hike is a tradition my boys will pass down to their own families.  It's a wonderful way to spend a special day. 

Well. He's Just Fabulous

On Mother's Day every year, I tend to request a family hike.  It's become a tradition, and this year was no different. 

While we were hiking this year, we ventured a bit off the trail to check out the Jack O'Lantern Branch creek.  I look over and see Paul doing this:

At first, I thought maybe he was trying to spear a fish with his hiking pole.  Isn't that just the sort of random thing a guy would do?

But no.  He was fishing out a pair of pink sunglasses.  Well.  Isn't he just fabulous? 

You wouldn't believe the fights the boys had over those pink sunglasses during the rest of the hike.  Everybody wanted pink sunglasses!  Readers, do you have any pink sunglasses in your life?

Standlee Hay Products Review

Disclaimer:  This is a review written by me, with my own opinions, of Standlee Hay Products.  I was provided with a gift card to purchase their products for review purposes. 

Lately I've been putting our horses through their annual vaccines, along with their every-other-month deworming and hoof trimming.  I have a feeling that when I walk in to the pastures, they're whispering "Uh oh.  Here she comes.  What now?"  And then they heave a big sigh.  So when Standlee contacted me about doing a review, I was excited to have some tasty new feed products for them to try.  This time of year, the horses are full and round from all the green grass, so I don't need to do any feed supplementing, but that doesn't mean they can't test out a new product as a treat.  And next winter, I'll be all set when the land turns brown and the grass is sparse.

Pierce and Reid were my helpers for the evening.  I decided to try the Premium Alfalfa/Oat Cubes, the Premium Alfalfa/Timothy Pellets, and the Premium Alfalfa/Timothy Mini Cubes.  Standlee uses high quality timothy hay and alfalfa grass in their horse products.  We fixed some treat buckets of both for the horses to try.  Pierce smelled a handful of the sweet pellets and declared that they smelled like oats, so he thought the horses would love them.

Phoenix really liked the alfalfa pellets, whereas Harriet enjoyed the alfalfa/timothy mini cubes first.  They both licked their tubs clean.  Pierce and Reid kept saying, "They love their treats!"  Although both Phoenix and Harriet are seniors (both being over 20 years old), they had no trouble in chewing up the pellets, and seemed to love them. 

Standlee Hay Company is dedicated to growing the highest quality of forage products that are available.  Next winter we will be well-stocked with Standlee products, and I know our horses will appreciate receiving their nutrition this way when the months grow cold and long. 

When Bluebirds Attack

1.  We have a bluebird couple living in our bluebird house, in spite of the Willie Factor.  The male bluebird sees his reflection in the kitchen window and spends the entire day attacking the screen.  So far he hasn't busted the screen, but it is now covered in bird poop. I did manage to snap a picture of him through the window, preparing to launch into it.  There are 7 little blue eggs in the bluebird house.  I hope they will be okay with Willie around.

2.  The other day I burst out laughing at Cort, who was mad because I carried him into his room to get dressed (he was taking so long, and we were in a hurry).  He stomped his feet and actually beat his tiny chest with his fists.  I couldn't help it - he was like a miniature Tarzan throwing a fit.  He got even madder when I laughed, "MOM I WANTED TO WALK! THIS IS NOT FUNNY!  STOP BEING FUNNY MOM" which only made me laugh harder.  Talk about a parenting FAIL.

3.  We've had some evenings lately where it's been balmy and cool with a strong breeze.  It feels just like the beach.  This makes me happy - I love the ocean.  If I close my eyes, I can pretend I am there - only missing the delicious sea salt smell and the sound of the waves.

4.  In answer to last week's bouncy house dilemma, I let them go through, but I went crazy with the disinfecting wipes before we drove home. 

5.  If someone randomly handed you $500 and told you to go buy something you'd been wanting for a really long time, what would you buy?  I'd get a generator.  Not very exciting, but practical no doubt.  I still remember with horror the 8 days we had no power last summer when it was 100* outside.  Hoping we don't ever repeat that! 

Linked with Random Friday at A Rural Journal.

Black Bean and Mushroom Make Ahead Enchiladas Recipe

I love enchiladas, and am always tinkering with recipes for new combinations.  I like this one because you can make it up to a day ahead - so it's great to pull out for company. 

Ingredients:

1 10 ounce can cream of mushroom soup
1 7 ounce can chopped green chilis
1 cup sour cream (light is fine)
1 small onion, chopped
4 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 4 1/2 ounce can sliced black olives, drained
1 cup shredded Monterey jack/cheddar cheese,
6 large flour tortillas
Dash of smoked paprika

Combine soup, sour cream, chilis, onion, olives and cheeses.  Measure out 1 1/2 cup of mixture and set aside.  To remaining mixture fold in black beans and sliced mushrooms.  Fill each tortilla in the middle with about 3 tbsp. of black bean mixture and roll tightly.  Place seam down in large casserole.  Once tortillas are done, smooth reserved mixture over the top, taking care to spread all the way to the edges of the tortillas.  Sprinkle with paprika and let sit in refrigerator overnight or at least 4 hours.  Bake at 350* for 45 minutes. 

These go wonderfully with some Mexican style rice and a salad with a chipotle dressing!