Church Treats and Oddities

Sorry not to have posted in a while, Genetics is taking all my brain and time. Really, all of it. This sort of thing used to be easier, but then I only had a couple of other things (beer and Paul Ose) taking up room in my head. Stay in school, kids.

I'm also worried about a possible backstabbing/power grab at my church. Yes, my church! Since this is also where I work, it is very disturbing. People are up to something sneaky and I don't like it. It looks like it will be a real treat. On the other hand, it is good to know who your enemies are. I'll let you know how it turns out.

My side of the family got together a couple of weeks ago to celebrate Christmas. It was nice, low key, we had a good chance to catch up. I did remember to take pictures of more than just the two youngest members of the family, but I can't help it, they are just too cute!

This is Kristine. She was surprised when Uncle Erik reminded her that he was her Godfather. She turned to Ben, pointed at Erik and gasped, "Look! It's God!"
Ben wasn't buying it.
This is Erik. Good looking, yes, but not a God. Although he is a minister. He got his qualifications over the internet and has performed two weddings, now.
This is my sister, Sarah. She is wearing her new scarf around her tiny little hips. Sigh. It did say it was a "magic scarf", but there isn't enough magic (or vodka) in the world to get a scarf over my butt.

I've seen a couple of funny things in the ads in the Sunday paper lately. The first is this new make-up from L'Oreal. It comes with it's own paint roller! Paul always says that women who wear to much makeup are "troweling it on". This is pretty close to troweling, I think. None of my friends wear much makeup, (or if they do, it is so skillfully applied that it doesn't LOOK like they are wearing much.) It just seems a little crazy to me.The next thing that caught my eye was this package of "Party mix". FOR YOUR CAT! Look at the cat on the label, is he happy that cat treats are falling from the sky like confetti? Not so much.

Nick is trying to get our cat to learn tricks with cat treats as a reward. It's kinda hit and miss. Merle is not getting any party mix, however, he is not a party animal. Although he is relentless in the pursuit of catnip, which I grow in the garden. ("It's a nice blend of Kentucky bluegrass and Northern California Sensimilla") Quoting from Caddyshack means my fried brain has to be turned off.

I will leave you with a recipe from a nice church in Church's Ferry, North Dakota. These are Paul's favorite cookies.

Church's Ferry Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup shortening
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp hot water
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups "quick" oatmeal
1 small pkg chocolate chips

Cream shortening and sugars, add eggs and water, then all the dry ingredients together. Mix in chocolate chips and drop by rounded Tbls onto cookie sheets. Bake at 375 until brown around the edges.

One fish, two fish, red fish, EEEWW fish!

We have another entry in the "Weirdest Thing" contest! Sandy of Springvale Campground found this goofy bug-eyed fish in a furniture store, of all places. It is made out of flexible, rubbery stuff. You see that it has a zipper on the back. Why? Is it a pencil case? For toothbrushes? Hmm..it is stamped "made in Munich", so it is a German fish. Maybe it holds sauerkraut! Thanks for sharing it with us, Sandy.

I'm back at school. This semester/trimester will be a killer. I am taking Genetics, which meets 4 days a week, so close to the time I get out of preschool that I leave there 5 minutes early and then run all the way across campus. It's been 25 years since I took a science class, so I'm playing catch-up, big time! Can't wait for the part where we breed fruit flies, maybe I'll catch some of the ones from home and breed a prettier bug. That'll shake them up!

I have a good fish recipe for you. It comes from Paul's Grandma Emily, who was a terrific cook. She made this with lake trout, but we are all out of lakers, so salmon works great. I'm sure any fish would be fine.

Baked Fish Fillets

1 lb fish fillets
1 Tbls lemon juice
1/4 tsp paprika
1 Tbls butter or margarine
1 Tbls flour
dash of salt and pepper
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup buttered bread crumbs
1 Tbls chopped parsley (optional garnish)

Cut fish into serving sized pieces. Place in greased, foiled shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice, paprika, salt and pepper. In saucepan, melt butter, blend in flour and a dash of salt and pepper. Add milk slowly, cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Pour white sauce over fish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes until fish flakes easily. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Of Mice and Men

Do you see that? Right in the middle of the chocolate frosting? MOUSE TEETH MARKS! The smear on the lower left? WHERE IT RESTED IT'S NASTY LITTLE BODY WHILE EATING MY CAKE! Bastard! I had to throw the whole thing out. That mouse has to go. I have already trapped one (very plump from eating the butter last week!) and the traps are still out. I don't want to use the super 5-gallon bucket trap yet. GRRR! But wait, you say, don't you have a cat?
Why yes, yes I do. He says he cannot eat them because they have not bathed.
Our family has joined an archery league. This seems like it might be really fun! We went to the first shoot the other night. The place is (not surprisingly) full of men! There were only 2 other women. (If you are a single girl, it is a TARGET-rich environment!) I had thought there would be more families. With more moms like me. (Yeah, I know, there IS nobody like me!) (and that is a good thing!) All the fellas were really nice and helped us get up to speed on how the league works and the proper archery etiquette. Nate has good form.
Look! Those are my arrows with the red feathers on the top left target. Right in the middle. Unfortunately, that is also my arrow on Nick's target on the lower left target. I didn't get any points for that one. When we practice in the yard I only shoot 20 times or so. League shoots 60 arrows a night not counting warm-ups! My arms are a little sore still. I'm pretty sure this counts as exercise, yay. I'll let you know how it goes, maybe I'll win an award for "most improved", like when we were in bowling league. (There was nowhere to go but up for my bowling average).

I wanted to give you the recipe for the banana cake, but frankly, it wasn't all that. My friend Martha (not Stewart) has promised to give me her recipe which really can't be beat. I'll pass that along later. I don't have any mouse recipes, so I will give you a manly one.

A note on the Redneck Coq au Vin recipe: When I have made this before, I have omitted the lemon pepper because I didn't have it. It turns out lemon pepper has lots of salt in it and made the dish too salty, I think. I suggest you just put in some black pepper and call it good.

Manly Meatloaf (My mother-in-law's recipe)

2 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups crushed crackers (MIL uses saltines)

Mix, shape in a loaf, bake (with potatoes and carrots maybe) for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.