Saturday Centus: Swinging

Jenny provides us with a picture AND some words to light the spark for our creative writing this week. We are to use no more than 100 words, plus the 10 in the image, for a total of 110. This week I broke my own, self-imposed rule of hitting the word count on the head, having decided that at 90 words I have down what I want to say.

Jenny encourages us to visit other blogs and read their efforts. I always find it fascinating to see how others respond. Click on the Saturday Centus image below to be magically transported to Jenny's site. Once you get there, scroll down to find the links to other blogs. 

Happy Reading!

Swinging.
Winging.
Flying through the air 
An amazing thing
Birds on the wing
Don’t you wish you could fly?

Trying.
Flying.
Pumping and pulling
Push the swing high
Then you can fly
I’ll make it some day, I know.

Growing.
Knowing.
I can fly in my dreams
Earth won’t let go
This I now know
But I still wish that I could fly.

Pretending.
Ascending.
Air brushing my face
Legs straight, then they bend
Back and forth with no end
How do you like to go up in a swing?

My friend's daughter and her teddy bear

Laundry Day

Our motorhome has a combination washing machine and dryer. I love it! I enjoy not having to lug my laundry to the washing machines at a campground (or worse yet, trying to find a laundromat), and having to wait for free machines, and needing to have enough quarters, and carrying laundry detergent, and having to wait or worry about someone taking my clothes, and having to go back and put clothes in the dryer, and... and... and...

The washing machine is amazing. It washes the clothes, and then moves into a drying cycle - all in the same drum. However, I guess because of the smaller size of the drum, the clothes come out very wrinkled. The work-around for this is to only partially dry the clothes, and then hang them, or hand press them and lay them flat.

So, laundry day can look very messy while it is in process - with clothes hanging from every possible point in the motorhome!

But, I'm certainly not going to complain! It beats having to go to the laundry centers!

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch: Come Sit With Me

I missed Patrice's chat last week. I guess I am spoiled by having fairly speedy Internet available to me 24/7. When we are out of town we are at the mercy of the service (what service?) provided by the campground. We have looked into creating our own hotspot through our cell phone, and we may just have to break down and do that. But, it is expensive and even then, if I don't have a good cell signal, I am not going to get the Internet. Oh, but I am so spoiled. I remember the day when I had to have an ethernet cable, and before that,  dial-up? And, for some folks, that is still all that they have. I guess I shouldn't complain!
It is time to grab a cup of coffee or tea and join Patrice and her friends on the farmhouse porch. Care to join me on my "front porch"? I'm sure Tucker and Gypsy (can you see her ears?) would love the attention.

By the way, I'm not a 'two-fisted' drinker. The coke can is our 'shake can'. If Tucker decides to chat with neighboring dogs, he is more inclined to listen to our request to 'be quiet' if we pick up the can, which has a few rocks in it. He does not care for the sound of the rocks rattling in the can.
But, the other dogs like my saying "hi" to them. I don't understand why you have such a thing about my barking at them.
Anyway, it is week #101 for Patrice's chats. That is a lot of chatting! You can join in the chat in comments on any participating blogger's page, or link your own responses on your blog to Patrice's site by clicking on the image:

This week Patrice asks:

1. Bacon or sausage? If vegetarian, what do you have for breakfast?
2. Do you take time to "smell the roses"?
3. What's your favorite stone fruit? (Peaches,nectarines,plums, apricots, and cherries are i n the stone fruit family.)
4. What is the thing people notice most about your personality? ( quiet- outgoing- polite-funny-etc.)
5. Is there a hobby that you have wanted to do, but haven't started yet?

My responses:

1. Mmmm, bacon. Especially crispy, applewood smoked bacon. Yum!
2. Nope. I tend not to take the time to relax and just enjoy things as they are. I have always been busy, and I continue to keep myself busy. When we are 'camping' I sometimes have more time to just kick back. It is tough to be happy in that mode, but I am learning.
3. I'm not really fond of stone fruits. I'll eat peaches if they are sweet, or if they are in a cobbler or with some cream.
4. Gosh, I don't know. Perhaps that I look at the positive side of things.
5. Just take me to Hobby Lobby and let me loose! There are so many things I'd like to try!

Dog Dialogue: Top Dog

Oh, dog! 
Gypsy you are in deep doodoo.

Am not.

Are, too.

Un uh, not me.

Dreaming's gonna kill you.

Nope. I'm her favorite.

Chewing up the remote control was one thing.

I only wanted to see if I could turn the TV on. 

And ya think tearing it in pieces would work?

I didn't realize chewing it up would ruin it.

I was just tryin' to push the buttons.

Well, at least Mr. Dreamy was able to replace it.

Yeah. Right.

No biggy!

And then, you chewed up the smoke detector.

Well, it was right there.

Yeah, I know, smoke detectors aren't sposed to be 

on the floor. 

I hate the noise it makes. It serves it right. 

Just cause Dreaming is a lousy cook and burnt the

toast, making her put it on the floor so it would 

stop whining doesn't mean you can put it out

of its misery. It's a thing. Not an animal. 
And besides... it has poison in it. 

(Gypsy turns her back on Tucker, 

and sticks out her tongue)

I saw that!

I was just licking my paw....

And now, this. 

You chewed up Dreaming's

sweet grass basket. 

How was I 'spose to know it

was anything special?

It was on the table. Anything on the table

belongs to Dreaming, not you. 

You are so wrong.

Sometimes she puts my leash 

on the table. 

It belonged to Dreaming's mom.

And she's over the Rainbow Bridge now.

Well, it just smelled like stuff outside,

ya know, like sticks and stuff. 

Didn't seem special to me. 

When Dreaming gets back you better hide

'cause she'll wanna tan your hide!

You better make yourself scarce.

You better stay outta her way.

She's likely to throw you outside and

tell you to go play in the road....

or take you swimming with cement

shoes on your feet....

or feed the remains of the basket to you 

for the next week.... 

I don't think you're

gonna be top dog any more.

 Mom, I'm sorry....

Food Fest

One of the things I have learned to love about traveling is trying new foods. What an adventure! And this from the person, who as a child, existed on hot dogs, bologna and Cheerios. I kid you not! I was a very picky eater.  I didn't eat anything with mayonnaise until I was 17. I liked ketchup, but wouldn't eat tomatoes until I was an adult. My food choices were very limited. Just the other day my brother chided me about not eating scrambled eggs if I could see white pieces in them!

We enjoyed the food on our recent trip to Europe. Lots of food! We ate at local restaurants. We ate local specialties. We ate... 

far too much. 

Oh, and then there was the wine.....

I love bread, truly the staff of life. There is nothing I like more (well, maybe some sweets) than fresh bread, with fresh butter! Yum! The markets in every town had many varieties of bread in almost every shape and size.

Our breakfasts in Switzerland were comprised of bread, cheese, ham and jam. And, what was even better, we would walk a few hundred feet to the market to acquire our morning repast! One of the girls in the market spoke broken English. They were delighted to introduce us to some of the their local fare, and insisted on giving us samples of different cheeses, "for to taste."

I never realized what a romantic my brother is. He surprised his wife on their anniversary. We enjoyed appetizers in their stateroom consisting of local cheese, bread and German wine.

He even thought to buy her flowers! 

Isn't he sweet? 

He was never that way with me!

I was always still am just the 'kid sister'!

While we were in Amsterdam we ate at a few local restaurants

recommended by our B & B hosts. 

Two of the restaurants featured 'meatball salad'.

Do you see the one, softball-sized meatball?

We also enjoyed creamy tomato bisque,

sausages and fresh seafood.

Throughout our trip white asparagus & hollandaise sauce,

a regional specialty was often on the menu.

We had white asparagus served in many different combinations in 

Amsterdam, Germany and Switzerland.

And... since we were in Germany and the German side of Switzerland,

We enjoyed Wienerschnitzel...

.... and Veal cordon bleu!

The food on any of Uniworld's ships is outstanding.
Here, the S. S. Antoinette Chef's entertain us with a demonstration.

Throughout the week we enjoyed a variety of appetizers....

and salads....

Served with style...

and elegantly plated...

We had delightful desserts with dinner...

And those served with 'tea' in the afternoons...

Always with wine...
My delightful sister-in-law demonstrates proper wine tasting technique:
Sip...

Swish it around so every tastebud is engaged...

Perhaps a bit acidic? Too young?

...ah, a delightful 'finish'!

The aftermath...

Some of the 120 bottles emptied daily!

We ate and drank enough to sink a ship!

But it was good....

all good!

Saturday Centus: Days of our Lives

Saturday Centus

Saturday Brain Exercise

Saturday Torture!

Ah, Jenny Matlock, why do I respond to your blog and try to write something for your weekly prompt? It makes me think I'm back in High School with a dreaded assignment from my even more dreaded English teacher! But, it is so much fun, now! I love trying to come up with a response, and using just the number of words; no more, no less. I like the challenge... and this week was tough!

This week, in 100 words, we were to respond to Jenny's picture...

So, here goes.....

"Like sands through the hourglass.... so are the Days of Our Lives." 

And thus, another show begins. She rolls her eyes. “Like sands through the hourglass,” she mimics, fluffing the pillow, “this show goes on forever!” 

“Well, this is the longest running scripted TV show... ever!” said her Gram. “They aired over 12,000 episodes.”

“Yup, and I bet you’ve watched every one!” she retorted, somewhat snidely. “Love triangles, rape, marriages, death - storylines that take months to play out. It’s just not my style. I think I’d rather watch rocks inch across the desert!” she replied, giving her Gram a hug.

The picture Jenny supplied is one of several 'racing rocks' in Death Valley. No one knows why they have moved, and no one has seen them move, but the trails are evident. You can read more about them by clicking here.

Click on the icon below to visit Jenny's Blog to read the responses from other writers. You'll be glad you did ;-)

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Source

Dreaming, Dreaming, always scheming,

How does your garden grow?

With parsley, sage and oregano,

And basil all in a row!

When we hit the road a few weeks ago I had a few recipes in mind that I wanted to prepare. One required fresh basil; the other, parsley. Mr. Dreamy came back from the store with hydroponically grown basil and a bunch of parsley. "Oh, Goody," said I, "I can put the hydroponically grown basil in water and it will be happy for weeks." I was wrong. Sadly, wrong. One morning one stalk of the basil was wilted and sagging. The next morning another stalk went. I finally had to dump it all. The parsley lived on, happily, in its cup of water, but it began to yellow over time. 

So, we Dreamers assembled our own portable garden!

Last night I sacrificed harvested some basil.

I cut it in slices and used it atop one of our favorite treats.

Yum!

Balsamic Strawberry Appetizer

Ingredients:

strawberries (1 berry makes two treats)

balsamic vinegar

goat cheese

honey

 basil

crackers, crostini or toast rounds

Instructions:

1. After hulling each strawberry, cut into 4 slices.
2. Pour a small amount of balsamic vinegar over the berries and stir gently to coat them.
3. Cut basil in small strips.
4. Spread goat cheese on crackers.
5. Place two strawberry pieces on top of the goat cheese.
6. Drizzle a small amount of honey over the berries.
7. Place the basil on top of the honey.
8. Find a private place, far away from anyone else, so you can enjoy your treats!