Snake Plant

My snake plant’s ancestry is 73 years old… 73! That’s amazing to me considering I really do not have a green thumb, but over the years my thumb has turned a very light shade of green!

The “mother plant” was purchased around 1935 by my grandmother as a Mother's Day gift for her mother. Years later, when my great-grandmother passed away, the snake plant resided with my grandmother.

As a child, I remember that snake plant at my grandmother’s house… It was a floor plant next to the old secretary type desk in one area of the living room, mingling with all the other plants my grandmother had… Now, she HAD a green thumb. She had so many plants (indoor and outdoor) that I couldn’t even begin to name (or remember) them all!

But I always remembered the snake plant…

About 6 years ago, my grandmother gave me a few small shoots from the “mother plant”… They were only a few inches high and I was sure I would kill them within a few days!

Imagine my surprise… almost 6 years later… to see this plant live, thrive and grow… in my home… with me as its caretaker!

Sadly, after my grandfather passed way, there were some changes. My grandmother was planning to move (and eventually lived with me until her death), and felt she was getting too old to care for all of her plants.... and unbeknownst to me, the “mother snake plant” was adopted by her neighbor friend who live across the street from my grandmother...

Though I would have loved the “mother snake plant”, I am thrilled that I have a piece of my family’s history (the “child snake plant”) and that it has continued to grow over the years. It’s very special to me because since my grandmother has passed away, it’s like having a piece of her still with me.

This year, it will be time to re-pot the plant into a slightly larger planter… I hope one day it will be a beautiful floor plant, like its mother, and that I will be able to give a few shoots to my future-yet-to-be-born niece(s) or nephew(s).

Like I said, my thumb has started to turn a very light shade of green... :)

Comedy of Errors... The Shower from Hell!!

The other day, I took a shower. Now, I’ve taken many, many showers before, but you would have thought this was the first shower I had ever taken... in my life! A shower should be relaxing as the water washes away the day, so to speak... This shower was anything but that!

I start by pulling closed the shower curtain, as it was open, and one of the bamboo hooks I have that holds up the shower curtain somehow fell off and into the tub. A small piece of the hook broke off and my husband said he’d glue that back together (so, he went downstairs into the basement).

Okay, I turn on the water and get in. I notice the water temperature is just a little too warm for my liking, so I want to add more cold water. However, I apparently turn the knob the opposite direction, which added hot water! I notice that the water is very hot, but think to myself: “Well, maybe it just needs a minute for the cold water to mix in”… by now, the water is really hot! I can’t reach the faucet (opposite end of tub from where I’m standing) without burning myself, so I have to hop out of the shower to get to the faucet...

As I’m hopping out, I bang my leg on the tub and knock over the shampoo bottle...

I adjust the water and hop back in… (and pick up the shampoo bottle and rub my leg)

I shampoo my hair and manage to get shampoo in my eye (What am I... 3 years old? I could not tell you the last time I got shampoo in my eye!!)... So now I have to rinse out my eye, then finish shampooing and rinse out the shampoo... Then I apply the conditioner and while that’s “soaking in”, I grab my poofy thingy. (I know there's a name for it, but I call it a poofy thingy)

I reach for my body wash and the BOTTLE IS EMPTY!!!! (Yes, I’m the only one who uses it, so that’s my fault)

I yell for my husband (thinking he can grab a new bottle from underneath the cabinet), but I remember that he’s probably still downstairs fixing the shower hook... So, I hop out of the shower again to grab the new bottle of body wash...

I hop back in, lather up... all is going well! *big thumbs up*

Now it's time to shave... I use disposable razors and put a new one in the shower just the other day... Well, I didn’t remember to take the little plastic cap off the razor, so now I’m trying my hardest (with wet hands and a sore eye) to grip this little piece of plastic to remove it from the razor...praying that I don't slice myself and bleed to death!!

Meanwhile, I yell for my husband again, thinking he might be back upstairs... I’m still fiddling with the plastic piece and finally it comes off and hits me in the face...

That's when I burst into laughter thinking about how horrible and frightening this shower has been, all the while hoping and praying I make it out alive! (Can you imagine the headlines!)

You'll be happy to know that I survived the shower from hell... And, by miracle of all miracles, I did not cut myself shaving!!

However, I will admit, I was a very hesitant the next day when stepping into the shower again, but all went well.

I'm wondering if a bath might be safer for me... Rubber ducky, you're the one....

Nah...

My Freecycle find...

Look what I found on Freecycle... A fleece throw for the doggies! It's brand new and was still in the plastic packaging.

If you read my entry titled "Under Wraps" you'll know that we have several throw blankets scattered in just about every room of the house. While the beagle loves to sleep all curled up under the blankets, my shepard likes to fluff and puff the blankets and the curls into the nicely fluffed blanket.

Many times, the beagle is sound asleep underneath the comforter on the guest bed and the shepard decides she wants to fluff and puff the comforter... for maximum comfort, of course... and she'll fluff the covers right off of the beagle! It's a funny to watch sometimes.

Anyway, we now have a new blanket to add to our ever-growing collection of doggie blankets.

And the knife ran away with the spatulas...

About 6 months after moving into our new home, almost 2 years ago, I could not find my mini spatula (from Pampered Chef). I absolutely LOVED that spatula. Yeah, I know, I don’t really cook, but this spatula was a great kitchen tool.

So, we tore apart the kitchen and began the ‘great spatula search’. We looked in every drawer, in all the cabinets, in the utensil caddy, refrigerator, freezer, oven, microwave and any place else we could think of, but we never found it.

Just 6 months or so ago… We lost our large spatula! How do you lose a spatula??!! Well, apparently we did. Again, we looked in every drawer, in all the cabinets, in the utensil caddy, refrigerator, freezer, oven, microwave and any place else we could think of, but we never found it.

(I think there is a spatula conspiracy in this house!)

Now, today, we can't find one of our steak knives... Again, we looked in every drawer, in all the cabinets, in the utensil caddy, refrigerator, freezer, oven, microwave and any place else we could think of (During all of these “searches” I still have hopes of finding the mini spatula and I must admit that I forget what I’m actually supposed to be “searching” for and focus more on searching for the mini-spatula! :) )

We don't have any children and the dogs do not use utensils. (They’re smart dogs, but not that smart!)

I have no explanation for the missing kitchen items. Of course, it is always possible that the knife and spatulas simply ended up in the garbage... and that’s probably a very logical explanation... but I think one of us would notice throwing away a large spatula and a steak knife.

I’m baffled.

Maybe one day they will all come back home to the kitchen... and maybe they'll bring with them a whole new set of knives and cooking utensils!!!

Under wraps...

The beagle... all wrapped up!! My two fur-babies are pretty funny... every day, they do something to make me laugh and 9 times out of 10 I don't have my camera handy...

Now, the beagle loves blankets... he sleeps under the blanket... sometimes he takes over the pillows and sometimes he takes over the entire bed!! We have throw blankets all over the furniture because... the beagle loves blankets!

Bed hog... blanket hog... I don't care... He's my beagle and I love him... and he just looks especially cute at times like this!

Let it snow... let it snow... let it snow!

I should you let you know right away that I like snow... more like, I LOVE snow! Give me a blizzard any day of the week and I'm happy.

We have about 9" out there... and that was between Monday and Tuesday (official recorded snow was 8.something inches) and we picked up about 1/2" more of the fluffy white stuff today... This photo is looking onto one side of my deck in the backyard...

I think my "snow obsession" developed during the time I spent Upstate NY... I can still remember the huge amounts of snow we would get and how much fun I had outside in the snow...

My grandparents lived in NY and I spent lots of time at their house... summers, school vacations, etc. Their driveway was approximately 250 feet from the road and I can remember sledding and/or tobaggoning down that driveway or sledding in the horse coral on those round plastic thingies (I think they were flying saucers or something like that)... THAT was so much fun!! One side of the horse coral area had a slight downward incline... I would pack that area up with snow and water to get it nice and slick and fly down the small hill into the opening of the huge coral.

After being outside for hours on end,my grandmother always had a cup of hot chocolate waiting for me... with marshmallows... when I came inside. I can remember the warmth from the fireplace as I rubbed my hands together in front of the fire to warm them up.

I guess that's why I always have liked snow...it's calming, it makes me smile and it reminds me of happy times and it's really the only time I drink hot chocolate!

This is why I don't cook...

You know that expression about too many cooks in the kitchen... well that happened to to us yesterday over chili dip... chili dip of all things!

So, here's a look at what it is sometimes like in our kitchen...

I’ll preface this by telling you first that years ago, my husband used to be a chef’s assistant in a hotel’s restaurant... He is a very, very good cook and I appreciate that and don’t mean to minimize or take anything away from that... but we both just "cook" differently (for instance, if I want chicken soup, I'll open a can of Campbell's or a package of Lipton.. My husband, on the other hand, will make it from scratch)

Well over 10 years ago, before I even knew my husband, I obtained a chili dip recipe from a friend... It’s not a gourmet recipe, it didn’t win awards... it’s a can of chili, cheese and a microwave and that’s it! So, for years I’ve been making that chili dip. Friends and family have loved it... my sister craves it! Again, it’s something anyone could make, no special schooling or skill required, but my sister and friends have told me it just always tastes better when I make it.

So, yesterday, I was going to make my chili dip. (I have made this several times for my husband so it's not like it was something new)

I had visions of us eating this with tostitos and other snacks while watching the big games on tv... Life is good!

I take out the can of chili and a bowl. My husband proceeds to take out a pot and place it on the stove. I ask him what he’s doing. He informs me that the pot is to cook the chili in... I look at him strangely and tell him that I’ve never "cooked" the chili on the stove... it’s all done in the microwave. Hubby says that he ‘thinks’ the chili cooks more thoroughly when it’s cooked on the stove, but… "it’s your recipe, you do what you need to do"...

I proceed to open the can of chili under the watchful eye of my husband, who again asks me if I’m going to cook the chili on the stove and he’ll help!!! (I don’t need any help… it’s chili and cheese for goodness sake, not a rack of lamb!!)

I decide that I’ll cook the $%^&* chili on the stove to warm it up, shut my husband up, who is apparently withering away from hunger right before my eyes, and then finish doing what I need to do in the microwave... no big deal... I've never prepared it that way in the past, but it will still be good!

Almost game time... chili dip coming up... Life is good!

The chili is now in the pot on the stove with a low flame… My husband gets the shredded cheese out of the fridge (I’m thinking he’s just helping me) and then he starts talking about putting the cheese right in the pot to melt it and this and that...

(He's now in full blown Iron Chef mode, ready to take on Kitchen Stadium!)

At that moment, I just lost it. We begin to argue about the $%^%&* chili dip and how I’ve been making it the same way for years and although I appreciate his help, guidance and assistance in the kitchen... I can manage this one dish just fine. My husband states that he wasn’t trying to tell me "how to make my chili dip" and "it’s my recipe" but he "just thought"…

So, with that, I immediately remove the pot from the stove and pour the chili into the bowl so it can go into the microwave (since it's my recipe) and, after 10 minutes of back and forth bickering/discussing the chili... the $%^&* chili dip will finally be done and then we can eat it...

I pour the chili into the bowl and I am just about to put it in the microwave when my husband says… "aren’t you going to cook that on the stove?" (And, although he did say that in jest with a smile on his face… I still chased him out of the kitchen)

The chili dip was perfect (as usual)! And, I didn’t hear one ‘complaint’ from my husband as he ate it like there was no tomorrow!

(And, visions of me dumping the chili dip all over his head soon replaced those wonderful 'life is good' visions I had had earlier)

The next time I want to make something in kitchen... I’m locking him out of the house!!