*Kathy*

about me

October 2009: Had a great time at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.

July 31, 2008: Had a ball last night with the kids who live next door. I have a kitchen gadget that takes the pits out of cherries. Basically, you put the cherries in the top bowl, they slide down a shoot and then they you press a plunger, which goes through the cherry, pushing out the pit into the container below — and the cherry exits into a bowl. This is FASCINATING to very young children! Although it can be a bit messy since cherry juice seems to get everywhere, either from the pitting process or eating the cherries. The kids (Anthony & Grace) were really into it, pulling off the stems and taking turns pushing the plunger. We "recycled" cherries and removed the pits numerous times so they didn't eat too many cherries.

April 20, 2007: I think the snow may be over! Our daffadils took a beating in the last storm, but they are rallying. The patio furniture is back outside and the grass is greening up! Yeah!!!! Spring is here.

February 2007: We've had a lot of snow this winter, and have managed to keep the driveway clear, but not the sidewalks.

Finally, last week we decided that mother nature wasn't going to melt the snow (at least not until spring) and we hired a local fireman who moonlights plowing snow to clear the sidewalks. He came with his bobcat and took care of the problem quickly. This is a picture of DH standing in front of the new snow mounds. I don't think we'll see the front lawn for several months.

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Pitfalls in the Kitchen:

Don't wear a white shirt when pitting cherries. I have a great cherry-pitting gadget, but there's a bit of "splash back" from the cherries. I'm now wearing my Recipezaar apron to prevent further cherry stains. A bit too late, but hopefully the cherry juice will come out in the wash.

August: I tend to lose my appetite in hot weather and today is no exception. Most of the country is experiencing a heat wave. Fine, I'll cook lunch (brats) on the grill. I pre-cooked the brats in beer for a nice flavor and popped them on the grill outside. Well, I got busy with work here at Recipezaar--hey, have I told you lately that I love my job! I'm working away, and it's now late afternoon. Okay, it's 5:00 and I catch a wiff of something burning. Gee, I wonder which neighbor is cooking something? Hmmmm, the crispy smell gets a little more pronounced. OOPS! Didn't I put some brats on the grill a little while ago. Double OOPS. I check the clock — it was more than a little while ago, it was 3-4 hours ago! Off I run to the back of the house and out the laundry room door. Whew, the house is not on fire and there isn't a huge plume of smoke rising from the grill. I quickly turn off the grill, and open it up expecting to yank off a couple blackened brats. What's this, no brats? They are gone! I peek down below the grates and there are the remains of my brats. A few blackened lumps where my lunch disintegrated.....

Favorite Foods:

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