Quick Update

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I apologize for the delay in posting

... we have been busy packing.

And, I have been distracted.

Judith had asked for an update on the straw bale garden experiment.

It is going, and growing, well.

I can definitely see how the plants would benefit from supplemental nitrogen.

Some of the leaves are yellowing, but

I wonder if that is because I reduced my watering 

to every other day ... in order for the bales

to dry out so they can be transported to their new home.

(I donated them to the Oregon County Food Producers and Artisans Co-Op.)

Here are the snapshots I took this morning.

The pumpkins, squashes, and watermelons 

... planted into the sides ...

are doing excellent.

The cantaloupes, jalapenos, and tomatoes

(transplants)

are all flowering, and doing awesome.

The smaller seedlings are not fairing too well

... and, like I said, it may be due to cutting back on their water.

I don't know.

I am sad to not be able to see this experiment through to the harvest

... but I hope someone benefits from it, and enjoys it.

On a different, more exciting note, we are packing.

 

My house is turned upside-down, and is a cluttered mess.

Yes, we are moving back to Texas.

Fort Worth, to be exact.

Where I grew up.

I anticipate another delay in posting ...

I do not have a fancy, smart phone

(only a basic texter)

and I do not like how it mobile blogs.

However, I will have tons of updates on Facebook

... so add me, if you have not already done so.

My final night in Missouri, I treated the girls and my Self

to Benita's Cafe on the Square

in downtown Alton.

Miss Field Lab loved it ... the name won her over.

*big smile*

And here is our final series of sunset shots

... from tonight's walk home.

Goodbye, Missouri ... whew.

Love you all, and hope to see y'all again real soon.

Keep us in your prayers, please.

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Good Morning!

 

This is my very first blog post from my cell phone ... this is a test.

Did it work? 

If so, know I love all of y'all and want everyone to have a wonderful day.

This Woman

Today, Monday, June 6th, would have been my Nanny's 81st birthday.

Peggy Muriel Johnson Brookreson-Brolls

June 6, 1930 - September 30, 2009

This woman is like a sleek, red-on-red '69 Corvair

languishing under arthritic mesquites over in Lawn,

scrapyard, Texas … and she sleeps peacefully,

rusting, beneath a roasting sun's dread … praying

her purr is not too long dead. And this woman

is like a platter of rib-eye steak with puddled juice

seeping into creamed potatoes … indeed, the

sourdough sops her up. Bath for the palate?

A slippery, wide-mouthed quart of iced tea with

lemon. Un-sweet, please. This woman is even like

Pee-Wee's ... the old rock gas station right before

the big oak-lined curve in the Gap ... that remembers

fifteen cent Dr. Peppers from the ice box, days of real

full service, and the billowing smokehouse out back

with its tree's swing still swaying as when baby Harry

hung himself from it. Yes, this woman is ever

so much like silver-streaked, seventy-nine years of

pure West Texas ... forty of which passed strolling

the God-forsaken wilderness in gallant blunder;

and she always took life for granted so long as her

four children were fed.

Shot in the head ... right there in the blue-n-white

striped VFW building that's next door to what's now

the all-nude Cloud Nine ... and somehow lived to

not want to tell a soul about it. This woman.

                                                                                        © brooke

Thin-Crust Pizza ... Out of Flour Tortilla Dough

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For one pizza:

Melt 1/2 stick of real butter.

Add salt, and other spices 

... I used coarse black pepper, and garlic.

(Most times I use "salt only" if making tortillas 

... depends upon my mood.)

Then add 2 cups of flour, and 1/2 cup of hot water.

(Sometimes I need a little bit more water.)

Stir with a fork until crumbly.

Then knead, and let sit for five minutes or so.

At this point

 ... if I was making a batch of tortillas ...

I'd make balls of dough, and roll out on a lightly floured surface.

But, tonight I am making pizza.

So I'll roll out the whole glob, and place over pizza pan.

And rub with olive oil.

Trim off the excess dough from the outer edge

... set aside for a snack.

Place panned dough in hot oven, and bake until golden brown

... the longer you bake, the crispier it'll get.

Spread pre-baked dough with your sauce and toppings

... in our case, we wanted a simple cheese pizza.

Put back in oven.

While the cheese was melting in the oven, 

we made "snacks" with the leftover dough

that was trimmed off.

Flour tortillas :)

Some of them can take on very unusual shapes

... especially if children are helping.

They are delicious

... there is NOTHING like homemade flour tortillas.

I think the pizzas are ready ...

... yeppers, and they were yummy.

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Come Back to Texas

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Troy Aikmen wants you back
Willie Nelson wants you back
N.A.S.A. wants you back
And the Bush twins want you back
(La la la la)
And Pantera wants you back
(La la la la)
And Bluebell wants you back

I got a premonition
I'm takin' a petition
And the whole state's gonna sign

Come back to Texas
... it's just not the same since you went away
 

I bet you missed your exit
And drove right on through the Lonestar State
 

There's a seat for you at the Rodeo
And I've got every slow dance saved

Besides the Mexican food sucks north of here anyway

(Bowling for Soup)

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