In My World

Friend "other" Pam brought this dip to an event and I just love it so I decided to share it with you. 1 can refried beans 1 pkg. cream cheese 1 cup sour cream 2 cups of shredded cheese (mix it up, use nacho cheese or any 2 cheeses you like or just 2 cups medium cheddar) 1 pkg. taco seasoning green onions Blend all together with electric handmixer or food processor.  Put in a smallish casserole dish.  Add a little more cheese on top. Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees F, remove from oven and top with green onions. Serve hot with tortilla chips.  You can also serve with french bread slices, melba toast rounds, breadsticks, etc. Lots of variations in this dish:  You can add chili peppers or hot sauce.  You can add onion and green peppers.  You can add some salsa.  Go wild!

2 servings Preparation 3 minutes Cooking 5 minutes 60 calories per serving 1 large egg 2 cups chicken broth 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated 1 pinch nutmeg 1 tsp Italian parsley, fresh ground pepper to taste In a bowl, lightly beat the egg and grated Parmesan cheese. Add the grated nutmeg and freshly ground pepper to taste. Set aside. In a saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Lower the heat but keep the broth simmering for the next step. While stirring the broth slowly in one direction, gradually add the egg in a steady stream. The egg will cook and feather. Garnish each bowl with chopped parsley and serve. Comfort food that is so easy and quick to make. 

I don't like waking up in the morning.  I'm pretty sure everyone knows that about me by now.  This morning I woke up before 8 am . . . what's up with that?  And it just kept on going . . . I'm working away madly at my Dreaded To Do List . . . and I don't feel like I'm getting anywhere.  Really that's just the mood I'm in because I can see all the chores scratched off.  So I am getting things accomplished.  Hal is supposed to be home today.  He turned off his phone yesterday when they went into the States with a load.  He was supposed to turn the phone back on when he got into Ontario.  He still hasn't turned his phone back on.  Either that or he is ignoring my texts.  Something tells me I'm going to get woke up in the middle of the night or some ugly hour in the morning to pick him up.  And the forecast is rain and snow.  And I hate driving at night.  And I really hate driving long distance.  But I want him to ...

I first tasted this soup at a crop at Central United Church. I had to have the recipe!! 1 tbsp olive oil 2 onions, chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tbsp ground cumin 1 chipotle or jalapeno pepper, finely chopped 2 carrots, diced 2 stalks celery, chopped 2 parsnips, peeled and diced 1 potato, peeled and diced 2 cups green lentils, rinsed well and picked over 8 cups homemade vegetable stock 1-1/2 cups niblet corn 2 tbsp lemon juice salt & pepper to taste Heat oil in large saucepan on medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until tender. Add cumin and pepper and cook for 30 seconds longer. Add carrots, celery and potato and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in lentils and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until lentils are very tender. Add corn and lemon juice and cook for 3 minutes. Source: Heart Smart Cooking, Bonnie Stern

I have a stack of recipes I've been planning to post here . . . but this one is a real favourite. If I didn't fear I would eat the entire pudding, I would make some right now. 1/2 cup sifted enriched flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/3 cup sugar 1 tbsp cocoa 1/4 cup milk 1 tbsp melted shortening 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/4 cup chopped nuts 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar 2 tbsp cocoa 3/4 cup boiling water Sift flour with baking powder, salt, sugar and 1 tbsp cocoa into bowl. Add milk, shortening and vanilla; mix only until smooth. Add chopped nuts. Turn into a greased casserole or small baking dish. Mix brown sugar and 2 tbsp cocoa together and sprinkle over batter. Pour boiling water over top of batter. This forms a sauce in bottom of pan after pudding is baked. Bake in a moderate oven (350 F) for 30 to 40 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.

Saturday morning Kate called and asked if I could look after Taylor and Cameron.  Of course I would.  Grandma Joanne dropped them and some clean clothes off and they both had showers.  When they were all sparkly and clean we watched a movie, Galaxy Quest, and made our shopping list. During my recent trucking adventure my glasses got bent a bit.  It probably wouldn't usually be a big deal but I have bifocals and with the line on one lens wouldn't meet with the line in the other lens, it was enough to make me cuckoo.  The store where I bought my glasses closed at noon and we arrived at 1 pm so I had to spend the weekend crooked. Next stop was to visit Grandma Joyce and some friends at the Central United crop.  Mom was ready to come home so we packed her up and loaded all her scrapbooking supplies into the van. Next we went grocery shopping because I didn't even have a slice of bread in the house.  Then back to the apartment for lunch . . . bag...

When we reached the Ottawa yard, Hal requested some off duty in a motel.  When we returned to Toronto we were possibly picking up a load for Winnipeg.  We both were in need of a shower and a warm bed.  And I was going insane with no internet access all week. So we bobtailed it to the WelcomINNS Hotel in Ottawa.  It is a very nice hotel, but to us it was luxurious.  And the free breakfast was still set out . . . score!!!  Hal jumped into the shower and then crashed into bed.  I was more interested in finding out what was going on at home.  Boy was I in for a shock.  That's when I found out my oldest grandson had been injured and was in hospital in London waiting for a room, a surgeon and an operating room.  I wish I had been there, but at the same time I'm glad I wasn't.  Leaving a child with a badly broken and dislocated arm, nerve and tendon damage and keeping him stoned on morphine rather than getting him fixed for over 48 hou...

OMG . . . the constant travel is making me so tired but at the same time I'm totally fascinated and I'm enjoying the time with Hal.  Here are a few more random photos of our route. Yes it is construction season again! The sunsets as we headed to Toronto each night were so pink. Where the heck did the snow come from?  Remember the story about the Ottawa guys trying to repair the fences using a tractor trailer and a strap?  Well on Thursday they came back with this . . . Success!  This show was better than television. I finished another book and loved it.  It was so totally ridiculously out of control and funny.  I think it would make a great movie or situation comedy. Sylvia Mulholland's Woman's Work will likely strike a chord with any woman who has juggled family, career, and home ownership and wondered in the process whether a course in time management might be not only helpful but ...

And now it is Wednesday. Driving back to Ottawa this morning was crazy. Weather was good. Road conditions were good. But Hal was so tired. He still hadn’t had a chance for any real sleep. Halfway to Ottawa I made him pull over for a power nap and then we stopped at the next truck stop for coffee. Now that Hal knew the best way to dock trailers at the little Ottawa yard he had no problems. We unhooked, found a parking spot, had a quick breakfast and tucked Hal into the bunk for a nice long overdue sleep. I tucked myself in with some knitting and a pillow in the cab and had some lovely quiet time. Well as quiet as you can get when you are in an idling transport truck in a busy industrial area with trains running on the nearby tracks. The truck was idling so that we didn’t kill the battery running the heat and refrigerator. I had a couple of lovely cat naps in the cab and finished the body of my pretty silver grey sweater. Now I just have to crochet the hood and assemble it. I also fin...

(We are in a hotel today and I am supposed to be sleeping . . . but I'm waiting to hear news about my grandson, Austin, who has been in a London hospital since YESTERDAY waiting for an operating room and a bed so they can repair his broken arm . . . so I thought I'd share more of my adventures in a transport truck to keep myself busy.) We pulled into the Ottawa yard before the sun was up. Oh my goodness, the yard is tiny and crowded and mushy and muddy and still has snow. And a couple of walloping big pot holes which we found . . . the hard way. Despite his fatigue and despite the “assistance” he received, Hal still managed to dock the trailer successfully. There was evidence all over the yard from drivers who were a little less successful in this exercise. There is a lot of damaged fencing. I’m sure the size of the yard isn’t a big deal for smaller trailers and trucks that don’t have sleepers which I believe is what they mostly get (at least in my short experience). But ...

There is some scrambling to be done to get Hal back driving with his regular partner. When Hal was off for a week with the flu, Florin had to find a new partner. And since then their schedules haven’t meshed. For the last month he has been teamed up with Olga. Hal really enjoyed his month with Olga. Apparently she is very chatty and loves car shows, two characteristics he really appreciates in a teammate. And she is a good driver which makes Hal happy because he can sleep without worry of being tossed around the bunk or being thrown out of the bunk. Apparently it is hard to sleep in a moving vehicle. I don’t understand that personally. I can fall asleep in a moving vehicle about ten minutes after we start moving.  Hal is jealous that I have that skill. Olga is taking her final driving test and then will be paired with her husband as a long-haul team. I wish I could learn how to drive a truck and learn how to not get sleepy when I drive for more than an hour or so. I think Hal ...

We spotted this little robin visiting a neighbours patio. Hal is figuring out how to work my NEW free grill that I won from Dempsters. . . . and I finally finished up this layout today.  All that it needed was a title.

A few weeks ago I took my grandchildren to the Elgin Military Museum for a tour.  Unfortunately, we ran out of time and couldn't complete the tour.  Our lovely guide gave us complimentary passes to return and finish the tour. We picked up the boys Saturday morning and went to finish.  There wasn't a tour guide available so I decided to let the boys give Hal the tour.  I was thrilled to see how much the boys remembered from the original tour including information about the guns, Victoria Cross, L/Sgt Sifton and the Silver Cross.  Cameron (6) referred to the Silver Cross as the "badge you don't want to get." I used WWII newspapers to discuss how bullying happens and why.  How better to explain how a small group of men could force a whole country to do horrific things they really didn't want to do. We checked on all our letterboxes that are planted in the area.  They were all in good shape and didn't require maintenance.  It was fun going throu...