Norman Reedus

Here is starstruck middle daughter Cady with Norman Reedus, aka Daryl, from the popular series WALKING DEAD.  She said he was very nice and chatty; talked about his black cat and son.

In this pic, Norman is shooting silly string at people.  Merle, Shane and Herschel were also there.  Seems Merle was the biggest cut-up.  The kids can't wait for next year's comic con.

Lemonade

In case you missed it, this year is my first crop of a citrus called Buddha's Hand.  It is the oldest known citron and has been propagated for over 3000 years.  Pretty incredible.  This wee, inch long babe, started in May of this year.

And this is the whopper it became.

Tried to scale it with an egg.  It is so ugly, it's beautiful and it smells of heaven; a fruity, perfumed scent.

This is the dicey part.  It has no pulp and thus is used for a candied peel.  I tried it like this, but it had too much moisture.  A fail or perhaps a learning curve.  Then I decided it would have to be stripped as peel without the pith which would work much better.  So I tried it and bleck.  If I want something sugary, I'll have a Snickers instead. I'll just enjoy smelling and growing it. 

This is one of my Meyer lemon trees.  I have a greenhouse full of them and other types of citrus.  Now comes the hard part, juicing all of them and most are ready to go.

Sister's Eyes

Why do we love them so?  She's my heart, my best friend and she's only 8.  If you remember, this summer she became diabetic and after months of tweaking her insulin levels (I don't have to lie down on her on the bed to hold her down for the shots anymore) and the routine blood curve tests, she is finally doing well.  Except for her eyes.  Sister has now developed cataracts, something that seems to go along with the diabetes.

Diabetic dogs have the type I kind; when their insulin is gone it is gone.  I still have to prepare (cook) all her meals as she won't eat the diabetic dog food.  It is a real pain to do so and I've had to buy up all the flax seed and chia, hemp hearts, lean meats, etc., at Whole Foods.  It is all so expensive, (when did lean meat become so expensive), but I do it for Sister.   

After a trip to the vet this morning, I found out that they can do surgery on her.  One eye costs $2100.00 and 2 eyes will be $3500.00.  I will also have to take her to Tulsa and Oklahoma City 8-10 times for weekly checkups for 3 months after the surgery.  The trip takes about 2-3 hours one way.  

She is bumping into things and I know she is nearly blind now.  I just can't stand it.  When she was 4, she became paralyzed from a blown out disc in her back that cost $3500.00 for surgery.  I'm afraid my husband might divorce me when I tell him this news as he would certainly say let her be blind or put her to sleep which I would not do.

I want her to see again.  I know what I am going to do.

Small Things

It is freezing out today, so I'm stuck inside (really, after feeding the animals this morning I refuse to go outside.)  This little old doll house aquarium sits on a shelf next to my computer.  I put it atop an oak leaf to show the size.  So cute.  I have many pieces of old doll house furniture at the farm, but the doll house is at my other house in Tulsa.  Oh well. I meant well.

Get Stinky

The downside of living on a farm is when your cats come home with something dead and your dogs roll in it.  I kept getting a whiff of something today that was awful; wondered what in the world it could be.  It came from different places in the house which left me looking high and low for the source.  I'm washing my bedding and sniffing around.  I finally realized what it was.  My weenies had rolled in something dead.  Nothing smells worse.

P.U.

The title of this gouache I painted is 'Rolling In Stink".  Now you know where I got the idea from.

How could the sweetest weenies in the world, Emmy and Sister, do such a thing?

Well, they  never met a turd they didn't like either.  They wouldn't know what a leash was for.

So goes living on a farm.  Lots of nasty things for weenies to get into.  As for the cats, I've never seen a cat roll in dead things.  

One More For The Road

Just a joke.  A little drinky winky of this and you'll be headed to bed.  My limencello, (my term as it was made with Persian limes that I grew), is ready.  Since the day is cloudy, I could not photograph the brilliant green that it turned.  So beautiful.  Must be the color of the Emerald Isle, a place I've always wanted to visit. 

My lemons, tangerines, tangelos, grapefruits and oranges are ripening and I'll soon have to juice most of them.  My lone pomegranate is huge and unbeknownst to me had burst under the pressure of all the juice.  I will have to let the grandkids have a go at it.  

Did I say, one sip of this takes your breath away.  My husband is sick, so maybe I can try it out on him and clear his passages.  Other than that, it's going in the freezer.  I did add the simple syrup, but it stayed clear, unlike limoncello which becomes opaque and creamy when the syrup is added.  I wonder how oranges would taste for a liqueur...