Pretty

I think they are pretty....others might think "pretty scary."

But I think nature is a cool thing. God was so creative when He did this stuff!

Science Experiment

Here's another science experiment from this week....in pictures.
















I love science!

A Project - revisited

This week, I helped my neighbor, "Mrs. Q," refinish her kitchen table. Then we jumped right in and decided to re-refinish mine as well.

Last year, I refinished my table from the original dark finish it had when we bought it.

Original:




It was a huge improvement, but I was honestly not thrilled with it. I thought it looked like a giant rectangle pumpkin.



So we refinished it again.

And now.....


In the fall, I am going to tackle the task of refinishing the benches and chairs.

At the Stable

We went to the stable this morning, where we keep our horse. While we were there, I took a few pictures of the scenery.

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo!


Some of their goats....we miss our Brownie.


A family of geese


Another crower


Some dove on the power lines


A lovely scene

Fettuccine Alfredo

Mmmmm.....this is one of those simple, but oh, so good recipes.



You will need...

1 lb fettuccine noodles. (I used a blend of regular and spinach)
1 stick of butter
1 large clove of garlic, very finely minced
1 c heavy cream (or half & half if you are squeamish)
3 Tb cream cheese
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 Tb parsley
salt & pepper (to taste)
1 1/2 - 2 c parmesan cheese

Cook fettuccine in a dutch oven according to box directions.

Meanwhile:
In a saucepan, heat 2 Tb or so of the butter, and saute the garlic until soft and golden. Add the remaining butter and melt. Whisk in cream and cream cheese. Heat and stir until smooth and hot. Stir in nutmeg, parsley, salt & pepper.

Place 1/2 of parmesan cheese in the bottom of a large serving bowl.

Pour cream sauce over cheese in the serving bowl and give it a quick stir so the cheese doesn't stick to the bottom of the bowl.

Drain the pasta and save about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

Immediately pour the drained, hot fettuccine into the bowl and toss to coat. If the mixture is too thick, add a little of the reserved water to thin it out.

Serve, topped with remaining parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

5 Star Brownies

3 eggs
2 c sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla
½ c melted butter
¼ c melted shortening
1 ½ c flour
¾ c baking cocoa
1 ¼ tsp salt
1 c chopped nuts


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream together eggs, sugar, vanilla, butter and shortening in a large mixing bowl.

Mix in slat, flour and cocoa. Stir in nuts.

Spread into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until test done with a toothpick.

School! 2009-2010

Yesterday was our first day of school for the 2009-2010 school year!




And today was JD's first science experiment of the year....the traditional "density & atoms" experiment.

Around the House

Some of my neighbors...


They love to eat and run.


The Besser tomatoes are coming along nicely.


Brandywines...


and the Bonny Bests...


Having fun with my canine companion...


I told my hubby I would post some pictures of the front again, so he could see how it is coming along. These pictures were taken this morning, and it is a rather overcast day, but you can get the idea.

The grass is looking MUCH better.

....this was the week we moved in:


And now...


Big difference.

The front flower bed.




These are my new chickens. They don't lay as many eggs though.

Camera

I have been asked by several people, what kind of camera I have.

It is not a fancy one, a point-and-shoot, believe it or not.

It is a Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ28

It is a fairly reasonably priced camera, has a great zoom and tons of settings that I am still learning how to use.

Garden Guests & Babies

I was working on the garden this morning, and took a few more pictures of my garden guests.

Remember this guy?


He has doubled in size since I found him living here a few weeks ago.




Then as I moved some pots, we found this guy....my friend, Mrs.Q and her little one were over, and "Little Mama" was quite curious.


Then I found this guy...


A minute later I found a baby toad, about the size of a nickel, but he was too quick for my camera.

But then I laid eyes on some babies of another sort....
A bunch of baby Cayenne peppers!

Celebration