Lobster out side

Yesterday we took a fast trip over to Shop Rite as they had lobster on sale. It was a beautiful day and we had the top down on the way. The trip takes about 20 minutes. I love that store and was glad to find one up here in PA as we always shopped there in Jersey. Anyway, we got 2 lobsters and cooked them in our big pot out back.



Here is one - I got the other one. They were GOOD. It was also nice to sit outside and enjoy the cooler temperatures. I prefer to eat messy stuff like lobster outside. You can see a bit of our new table. We got new outside furniture this season and have also gotten deck boxes to store the cushions in so now, when we want to sit a bit, it is easy to just pull the cushions out and sit. (also easy to then put them away)


Today I made a cheese cake in the pressure cooker. I have an electric cooker and the process is easier and shorter than the oven and doesn't heat up the kitchen. It also is smaller which is good...we shouldn't eat too much cheesecake! Another nice day today but rain for tomorrow. That figures as it's the Pocono 500 tomorrow that will start just about when the rain starts.

Cook Out/Cook In

I'm posting this because I just spent the last hour trying to upload the video.... and can't figure it out. How frustrating.

Anyway, I decided to upload this which B took while I was finishing the hamburgers. I started them on the grill... which ran out of gas before they were done. Now I cooked outside because it's too hot to cook inside. I even made macaroni salad this morning so I didn't have to cook later. Oh well, they were almost done. The pan I'm working on is one holding the zucchini I purchased at the farmers market. Now this zucchini is round and I was interested in trying it. I'm the only one who eats it. It wasn't on the grill long enough to pick up the grill taste but it was good. There are more seeds so the amount of flesh is about the same depth as a regular one. I got a yellow one and I'm not sure if it's a yellow round zucchini or a yellow round squash. Whichever, it was good. So was the macaroni salad and the hamburger.

So Neat...so clean....WOW

The first try at the upload only gave me this picture. The video is at the bottom... if it works :) It doesn't.... I'll try later

Several days ago I cleaned out the pantry. I just love this space! It's an open closet on the right of my kitchen next to an expanse of counter. It was set up when we purchased the house. As well as having shelving, there is a wall of peg board. I have pots and pans hanging there.

The total cleaning was due in part to an ant infestation that caused me to clean and toss lots of "stuff". I also replaced all the contact type paper with something more my style. While that sounds simple, I found that due to the odd shape, several of the shelves would move but not come out. So, I re-papered them without removing them which was an experience. I then made sure everything was in something - plastic or glass or some sort of container. Sleek, clean, nothing to attract ants. Now I have everything in see through canning jars or plastic. Many are labeled because it's hard to tell just what an item is (i.e. is that walnuts or almonds) when it's on the top shelf. It also lets me see at a glance what I have and what I need more of.

The peg board was cleaned off, and I decided on what I use the most and then hung that on the board. Julia Child had a peg board storage but I'm not outlining my things like she did because I change my mind, move things around and try out different things. It is so convenient to just reach for a pan or colander rather than dig in the cabinet. It also gives me room to store items I don't use every day but want close by.

So, since I'm trying out the video camera, I thought this would be a good video to upload....I'm so pleased with my pantry!!

Two Down Three to Go!

Let me tell you about my toes. Several days ago I mashed the first one. We had the air conditioning on because it was so hot and muggy. In the second bedroom there is a dresser in front of the window which means it sits over the only vent in the room. Normally, I cover the vent with a book, keep the drawers in the dresser and the room is cool when the heat is on. When we put air on, I remove the drawer, uncover the vent and the room is cooler. So, that’s what I did. And then I was in the room putting stuff in the dresser (back up storage space) and forgot the drawer was on the floor and SMASH, my toe was stubbed (one next to baby toe). YIKES, I yelled. B tends to ignore my hooting and such unless I hit a certain level, which I didn’t. Wasn’t broken…but boy it hurt. Pain subsided but some shoes were not to be worn. Then today…. I went into the closet down in the mud room for some liquid refreshment for B…. storage place. And as I moved things around CRASH… on to my baby toe…. A bottle of wine (my bottle of wine) and again….YIKES… owie…. Pain and I guess again I didn’t hit that level of yelling that brings B running. Again, not broken (I know this cause it doesn’t flop) but it really does hurt. So, two down (next to each other) and three to go… Hope I’m done.

The critters around us

Over the past week we have been visited by deer. Well, that's not unusual. These 2 guys (or gals) were so cute I shot quite a lot of pictures. They were all alone - no mom around. The next day mom was with them so I guess this was a learning time.

I took the pictures from our small deck off the bedroom. It overlooks the side woods and the septic mound. The septic mound, since it's grass, is a favorite place for the deer.

The next evening B cave me a call - bring your camera. And this skunk was out for a stroll. Now I always thought skunks were mostly black with a narrow white stripe. Not this one.... his/her white hair was nearly covering the back and side. Again, I took lots of pictures from the deck. FAR away from him. I have a great lens and a fine camera.