New year, new plans- Eating out of the Pantry again!

I am going to start 2012 off with a new "Eat out of the Pantry" challenge.  I am planning on making an inventory of the freezer, refrigerator and canned goods cubboard this week.  I did the fruit and spices cubboard last week, cleaning out the old stuff as I did some rearranging.  I made a tomato sauce last week and am combining it with some already cooked and frozen ground beef and some spaghetti for todays supper. 

I was in Kroger last week after Christmas and they announced a sale on their cooked, then frozen, turkeys, .39 a pound.  I grabbed one, reheated it, then pulled the meat off the bones and simmered the bones for stock with carrots, onions, and some spices.  After cooling it in the refrigerator and skimming off the fat, I am freezing  it in freezer bags in 3 cup portions.  After making a turkey and barley soup, I still have 18 cups of broth!  Great for soups and casseroles, which I see a lot of in the month ahead, as I use up what I have.  I still have a lot of white meat for meals and dark and white shredded for more soups.  I paid less than $5 for that Turkey!

Hank and Merlin, my first two cats.

Hank was my first cat.

He was an orange tabby people lover.

He was gregarious and a talker. I was still going to school

and working, so I thought I would get another cat to keep him company.

For his one year birthday.

I went back and got his sister, same momma, next litter.

Merlin was a beautiful dilute tortoiseshell.

Hank was horrified! Hissed at me, hissed at her, was totally obnoxious.

I put Merlin in the bathroom to keep her safe, and

I called my baby sister to come down and

be Merlin's mommy, so that Hank would calm down. This was my

first kitty integration and I wasn't sure what I was doing.

After several days she called me at

work to let me know that they were cuddled up together on the

papason chair, sleeping. It Worked! He was always MY cat,

and Merlin was HIS

(Hank's) cat. It wasn't till 11 or 12 years later,

after he died, that Merlin became MY cat.

She was such a snuggler.

I still miss them both.

stuffed up head

Last night I realized I had a sore throat, and that was followed by sneezes and a stuffed up head.  Sinuses are really acting up.  I wonder what is in the air, other than dust and humidity!

It's raining!

I have locked my cats up in the bedroom with the air conditioner, and have opened all the windows and doors to get some airflow through this poor old house.  It feels wonderful.  I really do need to fix the screens.  I don't think my current cats would go through them like ones in the past.

Greta for the Week-end

I took care of Greta the great dane while her folks were gone for two days.  She is a real sweet dog, and doesn't like this 100 degree weather any more than the rest of us, so we just lounged around the house.  She has this really big sigh, exhale, humph, whatever, it just cracks me up.

Trumpet vine, honeysuckle, walnut and cedar trees.

I pulled another two loads of vines and trees out of the front border today, and cleared around my Crape Myrtle and my Mungo pine is almost vine free.  I can see the Peonies!  I will get a picture tomorrow before and after!

My wooden Tiger

 I found this today at Goodwill, my favorite place to shop.  They had just wheeled out a new cart and this was on it.  It is wood marquetry and I love it.  It is unframed and on a plywood base.  There are some spots in the stream, down by the left hand ferny area.  I don't know how to fix this without damaging the glue that holds all the pieces together.  I will figure it out though.  It is approx 20 x30 inches, and I took it to a framing place.  $300-400, depending on the frame.  I think I will do it myself.  I do have a miter box!  There is some brush work in the chin and whisker area and on the leaves and trunks of the trees.  I am very happy with this $10 find!