Rainbow Bridge

Saying goodbye is never easy. Today was one of those days when it was necessary to bid farewell to a good friend.

Probably tougher than it was on us, it was harder for Tony who has watched the recent decline in his constant companion.

She's been with him since the day he arrived as a nine-week old puppy who wanted nothing more than to play with and lie next to his big sister for the past five years.

His surrogate mother, nursemaid, friend, playmate and bunny- chasing pal left for Heaven today.

For a couple of weeks she's been unable to walk after a few months of needing help to get up and get outside. We've been dragging her around on a comforter to whatever room we happen to be occupying. Otherwise, she let us know with her constant barking that she was not happy to be left behind.

Over the past week, she's lost interest in food. That and her whimpering and heavy panting, gives us indication that she's not at all comfortable. As the last of the fearsome foursome - Slick, Dolly, Buddy and Cookie - it was a tough decision to let go. It's not one for the feint of heart, probably the worst phase of pet ownership, this responsibility.

Our veterinarian is a kind, compassionate man who has cared for Cookie for the past fifteen years. I do not envy his task in this part of his practice. But it is done and as we made our way back home with reddened eyes and sore noses, we did not look forward to breaking the news to Tony.

Four Star Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

With the possibility of our first ninety degree day of the year, I decided to bake cookies in the cool of the morning.
Of all the recipes I've tried that include oatmeal, this one is my favorite. It comes from my old Farmersville Garden Club Cookbook published in 1994.

The book is full of amazing food ideas, recipes, emergency substitutions and household cleaning tips. This recipe came from Mary Pope.

The recipes remind me of pot luck dinners and social gatherings where families would bring their favorite casseroles and desserts tightly covered in aluminum foil, ready to peel off and share.

The ingredients are simple, the prep time is quick and the results are delicious.

Ingredients:
1 Cup plus 2 Tbsp. Unsifted All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Quick Cooking Oatmeal (Not instant)
2 Tbsp. Unsweetened Cocoa
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
3/4 Cup (1 1/2 Sticks) Butter or Margarine softened
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Firmly Packed Light Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 6 oz. Package Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans (Optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Stir together the flour, baking soda and cocoa in a small bowl.
Beat together the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until it's light and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla extract.
Add the flour mixture and blend at a low speed until combined.
Hand stir in the oatmeal, the chocolate chips and the chopped nuts.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheets and bake for ten (10) minutes.
I like to use two cookie sheets and prep the second one while the first one is baking.

Remove the cookies from the oven and leave them on the warm baking sheet for about three (3) minutes before transferring onto a wire rack to cool.

This recipe makes about four (4) dozen cookies.

To change it a bit, I deleted the nuts, substituted two (2) sticks of butter and added a couple of Tablespoons of additional flour rather than grease the cookie sheets. The cookies come out firm and round and disappear quickly.

The Rain's a Pain and Falling On the Plains

Highway 78 Spillway Creek

The Texas drought has been replaced by the hundred year floods. For the past two months we've had rain nearly every day taking the Lake Lavon level from fourteen feet below normal to eleven point one feet above normal.

Old Highway 78 which is often used as a fishing pier, where the cows wandered freely on its dry lake bed is now completely submerged. Even Thompson Cemetery next to the lake has suffered with rising lake levels.


We feel lucky to be on an elevated location where the saturated ground drains away from our house. Even so, the yard is pooling with water making it impossible to mow.

The Weather Experts have predicted this morning's rain will end the long running stream and record breaking amounts of rain these past weeks. Hopefully, the yard will dry out enough to trim back the jungle.

The blueberries are getting plenty of water.

Those who live closer to bodies of water aren't as lucky as we've been with Duck Creek in Rowlett overflowing its banks and flooding homes. White Rock Lake and the Trinity River have overflowed their banks and are affecting neighboring communities flooding homes and sending many to shelters from the storms.

Even major highways have felt the impact of too much of a good thing. Northwest Highway was closed yesterday morning about 5:30 am when an underpass became flooded with over six feet of water. Despite barricades and warnings to "Turn around, don't drown," seven cars attempted to traverse the water and ended up being rescued by the National Guardsmen in floating rafts. It's expected to remain closed for a couple of days until rain water can be pumped into overflowing drainage canals that feed the already swollen waterways.

I'm wondering if all the prayers for rain during the drought over the past four years have finally reached their destination.

No more drought like we had in 2011 - 2014

Man Caves, Controlled Chaos

Some say that a messy desk is the sign of an organized mind. That might explain the explosion of chaos that reigns supreme in this man cave. Despite the disarray, this is the haven of dreams for many men.

At first glance it might seem like an accident waiting to happen. True, there may be wires dangling, floor jacks lurking, paint booth plastic drop cloths hanging from the ceilings and ladders to travail, but there is also order to the dusty decor. You have to learn the secret handshake to get inside.

This week's project has waited since the early nineties when the roof trusses were originally installed. So many projects have taken priority in the meantime.

The four foot spans between trusses are quickly being supplemented with a rafter installation in between the gaps. There is renewed hope that a ceiling will be installed so that air conditioning can become a reality. For the past two decades, this has only been a dream despite Texas summers with three digit temps.

Project that is now on the back burner.

The El Camino project has taken a back seat to the ongoing ceiling construction. Everything has to happen in a certain order.

The ceiling construction is a prelude to building the Powder Coat Oven, a device large enough to cook automotive intake manifolds and large specialized equipment.

The old oven from the house is used exclusively to bake auto parts.

The old oven from the house remodel is used exclusively to bake his auto parts now. Once used with the chemicals in the process, it can't be used for food anymore.

Here is where the magic of powder coating happens when it comes to turning carburetors into masterful works of art.

This is a link to the  hubby's videos on  How To Powder Coat a Carburetor explaining in detail how he does the entire powder coating process.

Holley Carburetor

 In case you have gotten lost in the maze of projects in this 32 x 64 foot garage, there is still a small path to let you find your way back out.

Go into the light if you want out.

Nice Ride - 1968 Chevelle

Helping out a neighbor is easy when they have a ride this nice.

When Jeff came over and asked for a bit of help rebuilding his big block Chevy engine, it was no trouble for Jim to take a look and give some prudent advice.

Together, they spent four days working on reassembling this 454 cubic inch Chevy, bored thirty over with flat top pistons.

With its Pro Comp aluminum heads with oval ports along with a Pro Comp intake, a nine and a half to one (9.5 to 1) compression ratio was attainable.

The engine had returned from the machine shop in pieces and needed to be completely assembled starting with painting the block. They chose Chevy orange finishing it off with a clear coat containing a heavy gold pearl. This gave the engine block a similar appearance to the car's exterior without the five hundred dollar a gallon price. The pistons were already on the rods, so they assembled the short block, added the heads and Jeff went home to install the oil pan and the intake manifold.

Jim uses a makeshift stethoscope to detect odd noises in the engine

The guys made an appointment with Randy at Wayne Calvert Precision Engines in Denton to test out the performance of the finished product. The dyno session turned into a ten hour Marathon because of small problems that would have taken months to troubleshoot had the engine been installed as is in the car. They were able to achieve horsepower at four hundred seventy (470 hp) with torque of five hundred sixty pounds (560 LB/FT).

Salad of the Day

All week I've been eating salads for lunch. This one started out with a bed of organic baby spinach and Iceberg lettuce.

Then sliced strawberries were added along with strips of orange bell pepper. 

Then I added a diced Roma tomato and some Garbanzo beans. I like to open a can and run cold water over the contents to drain the beans. I use the lid as a strainer or sometimes break out my colander. Then, transfer the washed beans to a covered container for use during the week. I do the same thing with organic black beans.

To top the salad off I added a boiled egg and served it with Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing.

Baby Spinach leaves and a sliced strawberry

Strips of orange bell pepper and Garbanzo beans for protein

Diced Roma tomato

Topped off with a small amount of shredded Queso Quesadilla cheese and a boiled egg, this was truly a filling lunch.

Spinach Salad for Lunch all Week

It's what's for lunch this week - spinach salad. Crisp salad greens, sliced strawberries, a spoonful of rinsed black beans and a boiled egg make this a hearty meal.

Since the Christmas holidays, I've been struggling to drop the extra ten pounds that I gained with all the wonderful meals and gifts of cookies, candy and treats. Now I'm paying for my over indulgence.

I don't really mind eating healthier and not eating my own baked goods to drop the extra weight.

The produce came from Aldi where I found a beautiful head of iceberg lettuce for eighty-nine cents,  organic triple-washed baby spinach for around two dollars, a dozen eggs at a dollar twenty-nine and a pack of fresh strawberries for two twenty-nine.

Their store brand organic black beans are ten cents higher than the non-organic ones so I splurged and paid the seventy-five cents. Lemons were just a quarter each. I squeezed the juice from half of one over the top of this salad and then topped it off with some Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing.

Roma tomatoes were six for sixty nine cents so I topped Tuesday's salad with one and shredded a carrot to add color along with a spoonful of leftover canned corn. A bit of Quesadilla cheese over the top of the salad the second day added a bit of protein.

All together, the ingredients for my lunch all week made each meal reasonably priced at about a dollar per salad.