I think I have ADD

So I'm sitting on the porch and I decide to go get the fan, cuz its kind of hot, before I even get thru the living room I have decided to start my zucchini pizza. I belong to Porter Farms CSA and there have been quite alot of zucchini in the bags the last few weeks. I pre heat the oven, (yes I know its hot), and start to slice the zucchini. I go outside to get some cherry tomatos and see the 3 kitchen floor mats I threw out there this morning, I proceed to turn on the hose and get some soap and scrub them so they can dry out in the sun. I flip them and now proceed to water my deck plants and herbs, I go in the house and pour olive oil on my sliced zucchini so they can marinate while I am puttzing outside. I go back out and pick only the reddest cherry tomato's. This is my rule, do not pick unless really red. The bigger beefsteaks are still quite green. I bring the cherry tomato's in the house. I go back outside because I forgot to water the tomato plants. I water them. I flip the kitchen mats and then scrub the other side. I turn off the hose and go back in, finish slicing the rest of the zucchini, and the cherry tomato's and get the pizza in the oven. I go into the living room, grab the fan and put it on the porch.

Yep, ADD.

I let this bake 450 oven for 20 minutes before I add the Blue Marble Jack cheese............

I love this town

I am really starting to feel like this town is my home. I have never felt so welcomed any where else. No one ever talked to me any of the other places I lived. But if I am out in my front yard, which isn't often, someone literally stops and pulls in the driveway to chat. Sarah the little old lady across the street also came by in her golf cart last week and said, come on up here honey, as she patted the seat on the golf cart. I sat next to her and she told me the names of the houses, named after people long ago gone, "That's the Lewis house, oh they don't live there any more..." and she told me stories about when her dad owned the home she is in now, 88 acres, told me to come swim in the in ground pool..."Well, we used to have a camp here, we put the pool in back then..." she was like in her late teens and she told me stories of how city kids would come to camp and she would take them to the dairy farm down the street and all the other things you could show a city kid here in the country. I could have listened to her for hours.

The house is coming along too, slowly but surely fixing it up here, decorating there. I am doing it at my own pace which is slllllooooooww, but hey, what's the hurry. I am doing a good job, how do I know? Cuz another townie stopped and told me, "You really did a good job on the house, its looking really nice.!!!  And then HE started telling me stories about my home. How the cops used to stop here at least twice a month.....
My next door neighbor Bill offered to mow the side yard for me. He is now chatty when once he wouldn't even look at me. I walked the dogs to get a Fireball ice cream cone at the Snack Shack up the street and two more neighbors I never met yet waved, nice waves too.  On my porch the birds even stop at the birdfeeders in front of me now and look at me and tweet! YES THEY DO!!!! 

The other night I got ready for bed, and when I walked into my bedroom I just looked and said, God, I LOVE my room, it actually looks like a room in one of my magazines. I love the new blue wall paint I picked and the white trim. It felt soooooo good to lay my head down somewhere where I love, where I feel welcome, where I feel home.

Next week is a big week here in town. 4th of July. Parade, carnival. Fireworks. Curley's has a band, going to a party on the lake that has bands, its going to be a nice weekend! Better pace myself and I am sure I am going to be making a lot more friends!!!!



Gnomes are with us

There is this awesome tree in my front yard, that buying the property alone makes it worth it. That is MY tree!!!
This is the kind of tree faeries and elves would live in. Yes, even Keebler elves. If this tree could talk! I wish it would tell me stories of this town. Stories of when it was only horse and buggies going by. I had dinner in Medina yesterday and I looked at the old buildings. I would have loved to just see it when it was a thriving, bustling town in ohhh sayy maybe 1930. I bet it was something! Meanwhile, my story book tree, it really comforts me, it makes me feel protected.



Around and about

If you go up my road a piece, turn right on Rt 18 in about 5 or more miles after you pass Murphys Berry's and Browns Berry Patch you will come to Point Breeze.

 There are two restaurants there worth the trip. The Lighthouse Restaurant....

And The Black North

I recommend both very highly!!!


And if you are even more adventurous, waaaaaaaaaayyyy down the road about an hour is Irondiquoit. What a beautiful area.

Death in the country



I know it is part of life. I know its the country, but a few weeks ago Jasper and Jeffery caught
a rabbit in the back yard. It could not get out and I heard the scream, the rabbit scream. Jeffery had the bunny. I finally got the two dogs in the house and was going to help the bunny get out I  of the  yard somehow, but when I got to it, it was too late, I could see it was not moving. I could see it was gone. Still warm, but gone.
I cried. I wailed cried. It was raining and I was in the back yard crying because the rabbit was killed, innocently. I was deeply disturbed by this. I went to get the shovel and in the pouring rain, I could not lift the rabbit, even touch it with the long shovel. The rabbit layed there for 3 days in the pouring rain until I could finally muster the nerve to get it into a body bag and dispose of it.
Well, a co-worker after hearing my sad story said "Well, where are the babies?", "Babies????"  I said it was a male bunny, it was rather big it looked more male than maternal. Well, the next week, I was mowing the side lawn, the grass was so high from all the rain.........and there it happened, A baby bunny flew out from under my push mower, dying in front of my eyes....this was worse than anything I had ever experienced. I cried and wailed up and down the driveway, so terribly upset. I had two friends on their way over, we were going to the Lilac Festival in Rochester. It is true, your best friend will help you bury the body. I could not even go over there and look. These deaths have deeply disturbed me. How would I ever be able to have chickens or a goat? Maybe I needed this insight. Yesterday, it was Jasper's 8th birthday. My little love. I spent the day spending money at the garden nurseries with Katherine, I was potting herbs, I left the fence gate open, Mr Houdini escaped and I was not paying attention. I didn't even know how long he had been wandering. I had no idea which way he went. I was yelling up and down the street, was he in the apple orchard behind me? I was frantic, I just gave him a bath and his collar was off. Finally, there he was ACROSS THE STREET. ACROSS ROUTE 63 THE TRUCKING . ROUTE.  18  wheelers all day long!!!!! His only saving grace may have been the fact that it is 30 MPH here. I have been thanking God every 5 minutes. Before I fell asleep cozy with my boys beside me I knew this could have been a different ending to this day and I thank God for saving my little Jasper from harm. I will never never never leave that gate ajar. It reminds me of the first time I went across the street by myself, I was around 3 or 4 on Skillen st and my mom spanked me so hard. My dad came home and I told him mom already spanked me and that didn't matter, he spanked me too. Just now it came to me, a year or two before that my brother Lonnie drowned. I was 9 months old. They did not want to lose yet another child to an accident. I KNOW I should not even be thinking this......but I also had a couple beloved dogs get hit by cars on my mother's watch, or should I call it Un-watch. I had such rage toward my mother growing up. Could it be because of this? And now yesterday, I did what she did. I am not sure what I need to learn from this. Right now it is to be more mindful of my animals and keep an eye on them, which I usually am ever watchful most times. Death in the country is not something I want to get used to.

Off Track ...Getting Back

I bought a book for my Nook, called 12 X12  about living in a one room cabin off grid. I was listening to an old podcast interview from hundreds I have stored on my PC at work. It was random, but of course, I do not believe in coincidence.....
It reminded me of how almost a year ago, I was in one of my goal oriented "modes" of learning, researching and finding out everything I possibly could about doing just what this book is about, living self-sufficiently in a small cabin in the woods. I have a huge 3 ring binder 5 inches thick of my notes, and print outs of all of this, from raising chickens to what kind of wood to use in a wood stove, composting toilets and solar panels, digging a well to raising edible weeds........Heck, that's why I started this blog. I was going to chronicle everything I did to get there.
Almost a year ago I was sitting in my city home, ordering Country Living books, Mother Earth  and learning to make pepper jelly!
And then I went camping in Allegheny with no electricity, all alone, two seconds after my menopause symptoms started.
It scared the Country outta me!!!!  But not so much that I did not pick my self up and move out here. Best thing I ever did.
Every day gets better and better, greener and warmer. I am sitting here on my porch looking out at my adorable little Lyndonville village and I feel so blessed! Every morning on my way to work I exclaim, God Spoils me!!!! My menopause symptoms seemed to have disappeared after January as well. But I am prepared if they come back.

The book is really awesome, I just started it but am enjoying it immensely. I have also stumbled upon a new podcast to add to my menagerie of podcasts that I listen to. I download them and listen either on my porch, at my desk or on my drives to and from work. They are talk show podcasts. This one ( two shows actually) is by Dee Wallace and I really love it. Conscious Creation or Bright Light. This way of thinking has brought me into a positive mind. I am no longer thinking negative unhealthy thoughts. I am a delight to be around my mind lately. Another excellent show to listen to is Denise Linn on Hayhouse. I just love her spirit and her radiant joy. And she loves chickens and goats like I do!!!

But lastly, I had been so pre-occupied with my weight, and exercise and trying to transform my body into a hot Victoria's Secret model body......ain't happening! But I had been so obsessed with getting home and running on the treadmill, doing the Insanity or 10 minute trainer video, and when I don't do it I am so disappointed with myself. And then like a revelation I asked myself, what would really really make me happy? And I remembered how wonderful and alive and fulfilled I felt doing my yoga! So I am returning back to Yoga. Especially to Yoga Today that transformed my life when I used to do it daily when I lived in Albion and I would sit and watch the sun set. I am getting back to that. Now, I do not dread my workout, I look forward to it!

So I am on my fab porch and I need to get back to my book.

More to come.....

Me at my fire pit last Mother's day......

Lazy Lazy Lazy

It seems as soon as I moved out here to Lyndonville, I got lazy lazy lazy. I did. And the weeks have been racing by so fast. Every time I turn around its Friday! I am not complaining. It has been a whirlwind of change everywhere. New home, new drive in and back, new department. I bid on a job and got it and am excited to be transfering to a different department in IT. And then there is my personal life, which I am not going to share publicly because I want to cherish every single fantastic, spectacular, breathtaking moment. All I will say is, never give up on what is in your heart,,,,,you will be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams. Pinch me.

We had a wild storm last week. 83 MPH winds that knocked down a lot of beautiful, large, old trees. It was very sad to see the several towns I drive through, people everywhere sawing and cutting up those trees. We were saturated with weeks of rainfall before the winds so it was a recipe for disaster.

Gasport



Part of my laziness has also been due to the fact that it has been constantly rainy and cold. For weeks on end! So when I finally get home I don't want to do anything, not work out, not run, not do my Insanity or 10 minute workout or even easy yoga.......I just want to get in my most comfortable pjs and sit in front of the tv. Thank goodness someone has also been keeping me occupied with other things.

I still have allot of yard work to do. I am waiting for a nice day and it looks like tomorrow! I also have a recipe I will share with you too. I love chicken curry but when ever I make it, it seems kind of runny. Well, I found a fab recipe that basically has the same ingredients as Chicken Curry,  (green curry, coconut etc..) but you put it under the skin and then roast the chicken! I cannot wait to try this. I will serve with rice.

Oh, I have a back porch, and there was this old run down refrigerator there that I have been meaning to toss. Well, I looked at it closer and it is an upright FREEZER! What  I have been looking for. So I will clean that up as well, and start to stock it up!I It was like a present! I have been getting many karma presents lately! I feel so blessed and truly grateful for all in my life today. It has been one of the best springs in my life.......and I think it is just starting.  I feel like myself out here in the country, in my quaint little town. I'm the luckiest girl in the whole U.S.A.

more to come

sunrise on one of the BEST mornings of my life..........

Chocolate Chili Cake



I first heard this cake mentioned on a podcast for More Hip than Hippie.  I googled the recipe and have made it twice. I have shared it mainly with coworkers and have gotten rave reviews. It is really rich but I love it. The cayanne gives it a little bite after taste!

Ingredients

• 1 cup esspresso  I used coffee from the coffee
• 1 packed cup dark brown  sugar
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 teaspoon ground   cayanne pepper 
• 3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, cubed
• 12 ounces semisweet  chocolate
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 8 large , eggs beaten

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Prepare a 9-inch spring form pan: Cut a circle of parchment the size of the removable bottom of the pan. Fit the parchment circle into the bottom of the pan. Tear off an 18-inch length of aluminum foil. Center the pan over the sheet of foil and crumple and crimp the foil all around the sides of the pan. (The foil will prevent water from seeping into the pan during baking.) Set the pan aside.
In a medium saucepan, bring the espresso, brown sugar and the cinnimon sticks to a simmer over very low heat. Simmer until the syrup is very fragrant, about 20 minutes. Stir in the butter until melted, and then stir in the cayenne pepper. Set aside.
 Chop the chocolate in smaller peices until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a deep bowl. Pour in the warm coffee syrup and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted. Whisk in the beaten eggs until completely blended.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Set the pan in a large, deep,  roasting pan and set on the oven rack. Pour in enough water to come halfway up the sides of the pan. Bake until center is set and barely wiggles when you shake the pan gently, 50 to 60 minutes.
Cool the cake to room temperature. Remove the foil and chill the cake in the pan at least 8 hours. Run a wet knife around the sides of the pan then pop the spring to release. Place a platter on top of the cake and flip over. Remove the bottom of the pan, and peel off the parchment. Serve with cinnamon ice cream and raspberries.