Daily Archives: January 13, 2009

Friends: Scotland

Scots

Scots

When Jim was sent to Scotland it was an adventure for both of us. Our work friends from Texas live there and luckily Karen and I developed a routine where we went out twice a week for day-trips and we tried to get together on the weekend as well. We saw so much history and learned a great deal about the strength, resilience and determination of the Scots.

I’d like to thank Karen for helping to make our lives in Scotland full and interesting. Thanks to Jack as well. We miss you and only hope to see you soon in Scotland or on the continent. Dee

Trail Riders

Rodeo Parade

Rodeo Parade

It’s coming up to Rodeo season, and some wonderful folks bring their horses and RV’s and grills right here. Above is Deputy Dawg, who we see every year. He and his family put on a great BBQ. It’s a trail ride from many miles away, two nights of rest and then a grand parade and back home again. We look forward to their annual visit. Dee

Butternut Squash/Carrot Soup

I had a huge butternut squash, gift from a friend (thanks, Trish) and added three large carrots and roasted them in the oven, after salt and pepper and olive oil to coat. Four hundred degrees for under an hour and everything seemed done. While they cooled I minced a large onion and sweated it in butter.

In two batches, I processed it with enough chicken broth to facilitate a good mix. It made a lot of puree. I added two cups of half-and-half and one cup chicken broth then cooked it down a bit because the carrots were still in tiny pieces (they should have been roasted longer or cut smaller) and needed not to be crunchy but I’m not a fan of a homogeneous mass. I added salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne.

Jim has a cold and craves tea and warm food, so he loved it. Even left his chicken on the plate for me to put up in the frig. I added a purchased whole wheat baguette and would have made a salad but he was full after a lot of soup. The chicken is another story.

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To the regular suspects, Tuffy The Nanny Goat is still holding out, and is viewed morning and night by Goatherd Margie awaiting the birth of a new kid/kids. We’ll let you know. Hopefully we’ll have pics. Nanny came to the farm today and held the current five day-old babies, who are both doing well. Hopefully the male has a name now, the female is Madeleine after a red-headed cousin and she got extra attention because she almost died at birth and wouldn’t nurse.

Margie came up with a great naming mechanism, one initial a year for the females, this year it’s M. Then through the grands and cousins et al with a different letter per year’s litters.