SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRDFEEDER 12-21-24

 

Rudolph's cousin said he didn't think Camera Lady could put anything else on here, but all the birds cried in unison, "Wanna bet?" and then the stockings arrived.

And so it goes on a Saturday Morning at the Birdfeeder.

Thanks for stopping by everyone, and I hope all your preparations are going well.

NEIGHBORHOOD DECORATIONS 12-18-24

 When we were driving home last Wednesday, I asked if we could go the long way round to see the neighborhood lights. There were a lot of blurry ones, but I weeded out these to share with you.

I usually crop them so as not to show the whole house, but thought the sky was really pretty in this one. We were approaching the twilight hour. Below is the same photo but a closer view of the decorations.

The reindeer and sleigh were on the other side of their driveway.

Another photo and that sky. There were more pretty lights than actual figures, but I thought it was a lovely display.

And another house with pretty lights and sky.

and the same house a little closer this time.

Next here comes the snowman and toy soldier.

Another snowman with Mickey Mouse, penguins and BabyYoda, the character on one of the Star Wars shows on TV. 

A fuzzy picture of a few dinosaurs and another snowman.

Another dinosaur and a snowman.

and finally a Christmas Tree with reindeer.

People went to a lot of work to get their displays up, and I took photos of one couple in the process, not realizing they were there in the darkness until I took a good like on my laptop. I haven't shared that one. They didn't seem to notice us, and I didn't see them in the dark. There were many other decorations, but people were coming home and we didn't want to block traffic. I took these photos as we drove by. Hopefully, I will be able to get out again soon. 

KINDNESS

Two restaurants in different areas, with no questions asked. I don't think in Virginia, but could be. I wish I knew where they were as I would like to give them recognition. That's what kindness is all about, however, they just did what they felt people needed. They didn't go out of their way to receive recognition. 

and another restaurant, the same.

Kindness! 

Posting to give you a smile and just to say that it is heartwarming to know there are many good people out there. 

Thanks for stopping by 

and I hope 

your day is a great one.

AROUND AND ABOUT FROM MONDAY 12/9/24 TO SUNDAY, 12-15-24

Hello Family, Friends and Blogging friends, here is this week’s goings on.  Thank you for continuing to let me know how much you enjoy them. 

As I posted about our wedding anniversary yesterday, I left this one until today.

This week's weather forecast including last Sunday.

Monday, 12/9/24: 44 degrees going up to 56 degrees, with 100% chance of showers. We did in fact wake up to rain. It turned into a sunny day, though still quite cold.

Breakfast: small banana, half a cup of plain yogurt and small glass orange juice

Lunch: (?) I am going to have to think about that one. I am writing this the next day and hard to recall. But ask me something that happened 70 plus years ago. Gregg says I am like a laser and yes, I am smiling, it’s true. I expect many of us are like this.

Dinner: pork chop and the last of our homemade soup. The pork chop was marinated in a Greek-style dressing and a last-minute addition from Chef Gregg. I had mentioned the recipe a few days ago and he bought the chops on the last shopping trip. It was excellent and compliments to the chef. I will share it soon.

I pottered, wrote out a few Christmas cards, read and blogged. Gregg shopped, pottered and read. 

Tuesday, 12/10/24: Gregg had a scam letter saying his end of the year tax info was ready and to tap on the link. He was leery. He actually told me to tell you out there that he did click on what he thought was our bank a few weeks ago, and it took him a week to resolve that one. Very official looking letter with the bank’s logo, except found later there was an extra letter in the title. Where was Nancy Drew when we needed her? He told me if this helps any of you out there to prevent you from doing the same thing, he is more than happy to share. We have also recently had a friend who did the same thing, but it was also detected before any damage was done. It is a creepy feeling. I am having strange texts also, and a few emails, all very official looking. There are pros and cons for the internet, and this is one of the cons unfortunately.

 

My dear other half is off to see our son later on today. It is a weekly thing now more often than not, and not always on the same day. I love the fact that they get their father/son time. They asked me to go but I would literally slow them down as I am still effectively hobbled. This way they can see more, do more and I am happy at home. I enjoy my quiet time and everyone wins. 

A grey, overcast day and we were surprised to see not one, but two large foxes in our neighbor’s yard in the early afternoon. They made their way to the neighbors at the back of them, hopping the fence, making it look so easy. We were surprised to see them this early but read that on overcast days when the lighting is more subdued, they feel safer to roam. I brightened up the photo a bit below so you could see foxy more clearly. The other one had run ahead. This is Gregg’s photo.

Breakfast: I didn't feel like eating anything until noon, so...

Lunch: As it was my first meal of the day I was heading for my Weetabix but Gregg presented me with a full breakfast. It was very good and I remembered to take a photo for this post. A fried egg, oyster mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and he added a pork chop left over from the night before, divided between the two of us. There was also a slice of toasted rye. 

Dinner: As father and son were meeting up and I was solo, and being a bit tired, I looked in the fridge to see what was handy, and I ate a bit of this and a bit of that. At some point mentioned previously and too boring to repeat. 

I wrote out a few more Christmas Cards. Pretty postage stamps for the holidays from the last trip to the post office. I can’t take photos of those as it would be frowned upon probably, maybe even illegal👀. When the cards start rolling in, I always look at the stamps on them. Fun to see the different artwork from different parts of the world.

My guys found themselves in Georgetown. One of their stops was Barnes and Noble. An old friend of our son saw him and stopped to chat. Gregg went upstairs and sent me the photo below. If you click on the name above you can see photos of this part of Washington DC with its history. 

Gregg and I spent a lot of time looking around here when we were first married as we lived in an apartment across the Potomac River, and we always took friends when visiting. One night we went to a Spanish restaurant where flamenco dancers entertained us all night. The meal consisted of small plates of food presented throughout the evening, the longest meal I ever had and it was wonderful. The dancers entertained us between every course. A very memorable time and a treasured memory, especially as our good friend passed away a couple of years ago. We were young whippersnappers back in those days of course, and newlyweds. 

My guys are always happy to share photos with me by the way, and send them while they are out and about. They are also happy that I put them on here, our daughter-in-law is very sweet like that too as they enjoy looking at the blog.

Earlier they walked by the open-air skating rink. A bit blurry but it gives you an idea. It is down near the Potomac River, a very pretty area. This link gives information, and this one is on Yelp. You can click on where it says ‘see all 36 photos’ which is fun to look at.

Wednesday, 12/11/24: I woke up to pouring rain and it was very loud, the hardest rain we have had in a long time. A different kind of alarm and I much prefer the birds. We slept late, it was dark out there.  Here’s a couple of pictures, one giving you an idea of what is on the tree in the family room (I should have put the lights on)…

and the other of the wet deck. All looks very bare and wintry. Sophie Squirrel is wondering if I am going to bring a brolly out for her.

Breakfast: didn’t feel like any.

Lunch: toasted cheese and tomato soup

Dinner: shrimp scampi. It was very good, top notch.  I will have shared the recipe on yesterday’s post.  

A decision was made today about getting rid of our cable TV, and just using the internet for streaming, using our phone and iPads. The company’s website doesn’t make it easy, but eventually Gregg got a person to talk to and she couldn’t have been nicer, and very professional. We have literally been talking about this for months, and finding that we were watching less and less the last couple of years.We can still keep up with the news. I was concerned about sports, but Gregg said there are ways. He just has to figure it out and he is the one who made the final decision. I had quit watching TV over the last year plus. Our son and daughter-in-law don’t have cable either and watch by streaming. They were/have been fine with it, and they are the reason we started thinking about it in the first place. 

Thursday, 12/11/24: As I sit typing this, I am watching early morning visitors at the bird feeder. Two squirrels having a face off for what's in the dish. No doubt it will be on the ground again in a few minutes. As one chased the other off, a Blue Jay came down for a quick morsel and flew away. He is back again! A Black-capped Chickadee flew in, picked up a seed and flew out again, the same with the Tufted Titmouse. A House Finch, Dove and the Dark-eyed Junco next. It's a veritable parade. Looking through the glass is my TV and much preferred.

After a rainy day yesterday, the sun is shining. I hope the same for you. Current temperature is 32 degrees F., getting up to 42.

Gregg is off having lunch with his old friend. They find places where they can chat for hours and hours, without someone coming around with a broom to sweep under the table and clang the trays. When I went out regularly with friends, this was the staff’s ‘subtle’ way, at one certain restaurant, to get us out of there. It is one of the reasons I started inviting them back to our place where they used to stay overnight. We could chat to our heart’s content for as long as we wanted, and I didn’t get the broom out once! 

Breakfast: Weetabix, my old standby. A tablespoon each of chopped dried dates, pumpkin seeds and 6 almonds, a small banana, large glass of water and a cup of black coffee. 

Linda (DrumMajor from Kansas), asked me what is Weetabix. I answered her question in the comment section, but thought I would do give more details. I went straight to the company's homepage to get this information. The box I get usually looks like this.

Weetabix is a breakfast cereal that is compressed into biscuit-like thick, oblong wafers, which are lovely when warm milk is poured over them, or in my case almond milk. Dairy and I don’t get along these days. Weetabix can be found at most of our supermarkets.

Here's the info I found: "made from whole grain wheat, cane sugar, salt, and barley malt extract. Nutritionally it is a good source of fiber and contains vitamins and minerals. A serving of Weetabix contains 4g of fiber, with about 2g of sugar per serving. Health benefits: Weetabix is Non-GMO Project Verified and certified Kosher. It's also vegan and heart healthy."

The Weetabix we buy is manufactured in Coburg, Ontario but it is as I always remembered it. Nostalgic it may be, because it is one of those comfort breakfasts my mother always fixed before sending me off to school, so you can say I have enjoyed Weetabix my whole life. I should be in one of their commercials!

Truthfully, I didn’t know all this until I looked for their website. I enjoyed reading about them so thanks for the question Linda. I feel the same way whenever any of you ask me something. If I don't know the answer, I go on one of my curiosity journeys which I always have fun doing. 

Lunch turned into Dinner: I ate lunch/dinner late and fixed myself a sandwich. It is cooked like French Toast using two slices of Pepperidge Farm  bread 

(because sometimes I just have to have white bread), 2 thin slices of a large tomato and a slice of Swiss Lacy Cheese, or you could use any cheese you like. I dipped both slices of bread into 2 beaten eggs, put the element on medium and sautéed both slices fairly quickly on what would be the inside of the sandwich, so they would be set and not soggy before adding the tomato and cheese (having used a spray of olive oil, or avocado oil to coat the pan). I then placed the one slice in the pan first - ‘set side’ - up, layered the cheese and tomato slices on top, and then put the second slice of bread - set-side down - this time on top of the cheese and tomato. I cooked one side of the whole sandwich until golden, and then gently flipped the sandwich over to do the other side. I forgot to mention I put the frying pan lid on the pan so that the cheese would melt faster. Also a few bread and butter pickles on the side. This sandwich is almost like a Croque Monsieur but not as fancy and without the béchamel sauce, It is like a grilled cheese sandwich but more like a savory French toast. Very tasty! I have probably made this way too complicated. It is easier and faster than I have made it sound.

Snacks: I drink water off and on all day and every day. Also have my cup of black coffee early morning, green tea in the afternoon and chamomile at night. In the early evening I enjoyed a cup of blueberries with a half-cup of pro-biotic yogurt. 

Even though I have always eaten a relatively healthy diet with lots of veggies and fiber, I am enjoying keeping track of my meals. It helps to remind me to keep on the straight and narrow if I have strayed the day before. I have always been a bit regimented when I make my mind up on things, a bit stubborn one might call it. Butter really must be corner to corner on the bread. Just ask my dear other half and yes, I am smiling. We rarely have butter, using more olive or avocado oil now, but ohhhh butter! Nothing like it and all in moderation, so enough of that!

Gregg arrived home after dinner time. He had been dealing with rush hour traffic for a couple of hours, or as the detailed one would say, “I think it was an hour-and-56-and-a-half minutes.” Gregg just said that. Family joke! He had a good time chatting with his friend. They went to an Italian restaurant in a shopping strip.  

I often check my neighborhood app as I have been wondering about Fluffy Kitty on these cold nights. Thankfully I haven’t seen her in the lost animal section. 

I am a bit worried as on the app someone shared their security camera’s picture of a coyote. It certainly looked like a coyote, and not a fox people have mistakenly ID’d as a coyote. There was a bit of back-and forth about people letting their cats out at night and the topic got quite heated. 

I will never sit in judgment as my parents always let our cat out at night. Back in those days it was considered cruel not to, but different country, no predatory animals to speak of and foxes were never heard of in my small town. So, different times and 60 years ago. 

However, someone mentioned on this app, that her neighbor had lost two cats not so long ago. These cats were waiting to be let back into the house, and before that happened, a coyote came along on two separate occasions, took one first and then the other. This happened about a month apart. How horrible! I would be worried about small dogs, even big dogs. 

Coyotes are very smart animals. I would never have thought in a million years that we would have to be concerned about them here in the suburbs. We don’t leave our birdseed out at night because of these sightings and even before they arrived, simply because of the foxes and raccoons we have around here, forgetting only occasionally. There is a large wooded area with a water source not too far away. A great habitat for any animal, even for the ones passing through. This is the reason we see so many of them and let’s face it, they were here a long time before people showed up.  

Friday, 12-13-24: today was another meet up for father and son. My dear other half has been busy this week. Son had business in Maryland today. As he left quite early and my night kept me awake, I took the opportunity to sleep in to catch up on some z’s.

Breakfast: slept through it.

Lunch: fixed myself a mixed vegetable salad of leafy lettuce, cucumber slices, shavings of carrot, cherry tomatoes. No salad dressing, and not for any other reason than I didn’t grow up with it. Pretty boring but very enjoyable and I felt like a salad.

Dinner: same as yesterday with the faux Croque Monsieur.  At this point in time, it is my new favorite sandwich. 

Above is a Carolina Wren. He was singing away. For such a little bird he has a loud song. But there was also great excitement - for me - a Northern Flicker this afternoon landed on the bottom feeding platform. I have seen them here before but very rarely and not for a very long time. I reached for my camera at my side, turned and looked again, he was gone. This has happened each time I have seen one, the last time being months ago. One of these days! (That turned out to be an hour later when he perched on top of the high rail, as you may remember from my other post.)  Now I am content with numerous House Finches, Eastern Bluebirds, Tufted Titmouse, Dark-eyed Juncos, male Cardinal and even a Red-bellied woodpecker. I put the new bag of birdseed into the dishes early this morning, the no mess sunflower kernels and it certainly attracts the birds, more smaller ones and yes, the squirrels. 

A bluebird is patiently waiting for the squirrels to vacate so that it can fly down from its perch to eat. He didn’t have to wait long.

Saturday, 12/14/24: Today has been a very quiet day. Neither of us have been out. Pottered and pottered and enjoyed pottering, getting down to a few things around the house. 

Breakfast: didn't have one.

Lunch: I fixed both of us a mixed green salad and I wanted to make Gregg one of those sandwiches I did the other day. He ate every last bite and said how good it was, so that made me happy. He is always very honest about what we make, even with the meals he makes. 

Dinner: as lunch was late we ate relatively light. We found small appetizer egg rolls in the freezer with a dipping sauce. Gregg sorted those out. We will be grazing if we get hungry later. I have just finished a hot cup of Camomile. 

It is very cold outside. We are hibernating!

That's it for today. 

Sunday, 12/15/24: Son came over for our usual Sunday morning get together. It was wonderful and a fun time. He left at noon to pick up our daughter-in-law. Later in the day...

he was on his way to Winchester (in Virginia) late afternoon. He sent us this photo. Traffic had backed up for miles because of a three-car accident. We all hoped the people involved were okay and are now home and will be safely tucked up in their own beds tonight. It hasn't snowed here, but we have had rain for the last several hours. 

I am including three jigsaw puzzles to brighten the day. I have been doing them over the past month.

My knee continues to give me problems. Hopefully the physiotherapy sessions will help. My first appointment is in early January.

Thanks for looking at my around-and-about post, and have a great week.

OUR 49TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

 Our wedding took place on the coldest day in 200 years, according to the news. We could see our breath as we said our vows. They started building our village church in 1348 and it had never been heated. The only warmth that day came from a small electric heater placed behind the vicar. Gregg just laughed out loud as I read him this. The memory came back like a thunderbolt, and he said, "True, true, true!" and then we both laughed.

49 years ago seems like yesterday.

I was so cold I had trouble getting his wedding ring on and he helped me. He has been helping me ever since. 

Added note: if you click on this link you can see another photo from our wedding. I also mentioned how cold it was in that post. 

MONDAY MORNING RECIPE - SHRIMP SCAMP MADE ON 12-11-24

This night we wanted seafood and as we had a large bag of frozen shrimp waiting to be opened, I searched for recipes. This is what I came up with, Shrimp Scampi. It came from Back Road Journal hosted by Karen, and the original recipe can be found at this link.

Shrimp Scampi With Linguine - serves 2

3 oz. dry linguine, per person (amount depends on personal preference)

1/2 lb. jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 4 – 5 per person, depending on size)

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. onion powder

3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbsp. butter

1/4 onion or 1 large shallot, minced

4 – 6 cloves garlic, depending on size, minced

a large pinch of red chili flakes

1/2 c. white wine

1 lemon, zested and juiced*

1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to package directions until just under al dente.

Reserve a cup of pasta water for later. Adding pasta water to your sauce mixture later helps to create creamy sauce that will stick to your pasta.  

While the pasta is cooking, season shrimp well with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. 

Heat oil and butter in a large sauté pan over medium high heat, and add the onion, garlic and red pepper. Cook until the onion is translucent, about 1 minute. 

Add the shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until just pink but not completely cooked through, about 2–3 minutes. 

Transfer shrimp to a plate and set aside.

Add the wine, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper, cook until reduced and is a sauce consistency, about 4 to 5 minutes. Taste and adjust for any additional seasoning. 

Return shrimp to sauté pan and add the lemon zest and parsley and stir.

Using tongs, transfer pasta directly to the sauté pan, reserving the cooking water as mentioned before, and toss. 

Add about a 1⁄4 cup of the pasta cooking water and cook, tossing until the pasta is al dente and the sauce has thickened and coats the pasta about 2 to 3 minutes. If needed, add more water a 1/4 cup at a time. Plate and drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil, if desired. Serve immediately. 

What did we think? 

This was an excellent version that we enjoyed very much. Because it suited both our tastes with ingredients that we like, we gave it a 10 out of 10. 

As often happens we had not gone to the store for a few days and made our scampi on impulse.

We had a large bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer that came from CostCo and used those for this recipe.  First time using frozen  shrimp and we were very happy with the outcome.

Instead of the linguine we had preboiled udon noodles in the fridge and used those. They were great with this dish.

We didn't have any white wine so used Beringers White Zinfandel. It had been bought for guests but we ended up using our guest's gift of wine instead. Berringers is one of our favorites and we enjoy a glass with our meal. 

We didn't have any onion powder or fresh garlic, and we didn't miss it.

Our lemon was on the large side, but we love lemon, so it all went in, including the zest. 

Butter isn't something we use a lot of anymore, but for dishes that say "don't skimp on the butter", we take them at their word.

One of Karen's tips is not to overcook the shrimp in the beginning. They will continue to cook on the plate and when they are returned to the sauce. Overcooking the shrimp will make them tough.

Another of Karen's tips is to cook the pasta to slightly less than al dente as it will finish cooking in the sauce.

I have left the full address below, in case you would rather copy and paste instead of using the link. I will try to remember to do this at the end of every recipe.

https://backroadjournal.wordpress.com/2023/07/29/shrimp-scampi-with-linguine/

If you have any questions let me know in the comment section and I will do my best to answer.

Thanks for visiting everyone, enjoy your day and week.

HAPPY SUNDAY EVERYONE - 12-15-24

 I have enjoyed a few birds out back these last few days. I left a link on all their names if you would like to know more about them. 

An Eastern Blue Bird.

 It has been a bit of a dreary week weatherwise, a lot of cloud cover and not a lot of sunshine but the birds always brighten my day, even if I can't get a brighter photo of them.

Next is a Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Carolina Wren.

White-breasted Nuthatch

The Northern Flicker. I was very happy to see this one as it is a rare visitor. I wasn't able to take a photo of the front view, but I will take what I can get. From what I have read, this one is a male as it has a black ‘mustache’. The females don’t.

There were other birds that day but difficult to get decent photos of them. House finches and Dark-eyed Juncos are daily visitors. The Juncos arrive in winter and leave in the spring.

This one is showing it has been raining this week. 

I found him at pixabay.com and he gave me a smile.

An honorary mention for this little guy, the Eastern Grey Squirrel. Looks like a young one.

Thanks for looking everyone and I hope your day is a great one.