Cassie-b

Oscar’s Tree planted in 2004

I don’t seem to be able to link back to this post, so I’m re-posting it. 
Several years ago, we befriended a beautiful big black and white cat named Oscar who lived at the end of our street.  Our friendship with Oscar grew over a period of years.

We always brought him a treat when we walked by, one treat on our way to our walk, and another treat for our way back home.  He always waited for us.  During his ast summer, we moved up to mostly seafood, his favorite - usually 2 shrimp each night.

Oscar died in the spring of 2004 and we were really very sad.  During these nightly visits, we became friendly with “Oscar’s family” and unbeknownst to us, they referred to us as “Oscar,s people”. 
Well, shortly after Oscar’s death, Oscar’s parents came by our house and planted a beautiful Redbud tree in our yard. (Nancy), They got the tree for us through their business, and then they came down tonight with all this huge tree planting equipment, and planted it for us.

We have named the tree, “Oscar’s Tree”. Funny, because of that friendly cat, we’ve met some very nice people, and now we have a tree in our yard - and all because of Oscar.

And it gets more beautiful every year.

Delicious muffins

When Don didn’t feel well last week, he wasn’t eating much.

So I decided to make something to tempt him.  It worked.

I haven’t made muffins in a long time, and these were not only delicious, but pretty heatlhy as well.

Healthy (and delicious) muffins

1 1/2 cup quick oatmeal
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cups skim milk
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 egg white (I used a whole egg)
Mix together in order given.
Put into muffin tins – oiled or with paper cupcake liners

Top with the following:
½ cup oatmeal
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons melted butter
( I doubled the amount of topping)

Bake in a preheated 375F oven for about 15 minutes, or until done (depends upon the size of the muffins).

And they were really easy to make too.

We Voted

Pennsylvania folks voted yesterday.  Or at least some of them.  Don and I went to the polls at lunchtime, and were #163 and 164.  That’s a pretty low turnout.  I hope it picked up later in the day.

This is one list Philadelphia didn’t make

I’m happy to report that Philly didn’t make this list.

Top 10 metro areas by per capita auto theft rate for 2007

1. Modesto, Calif.
2. Las Vegas/Paradise, Nev.
3. San Diego/Carlsbad/San Marcos, Calif.
4. Stockton, Calif.
5. San Francisco/Oakland/Fremont, Calif.
6. Laredo, Texas
7. Albuquerque, N.M.
8. Phoenix/Mesa/Scottsdale, Ariz.
9. Yakima, Wash.
10. Tucson, Ariz

I hope your city isn’t on this list.

PARENT STORY

I think most of us have funny parent stories to tell. Here’s one from my parents -

My father came home from work every evening with a pocketful of pistachio nuts in his suit jacket.  One evening, he draped his jacket over a kitchen chair and went to bed.
When he got up in the morning, there was a hole in the jacket, and just below the pocket there were a lot of pistachio shells strewn around.

A Mouse!! So my parents (not sure which one did the deed) diligently set a mousetrap that night and caught a furry little critter.
As it turns out, they repeated the “set a mouse trap” scenario 17 times and caught 17 mice. 

They insisted that they lived in a very nice neighborhood that was not, they thought, vermin infested. (I think little mice are just about everywhere)
I’m just so glad I wasn’t living at home at that time.  The whole scene would have upset me a lot (they’re so cute!!). 
Anyone else have any unusual parent stories to share?  If you post, I will read.  And laugh or cry, whichever seems most appropriate.

Buzz, don’t pay any attention to this request.

He will be missed

Lunch Out

We had lunch at the most wonderful restaurant yesterday.

The Valley Green website claims, “ is an oasis in the midst of a bustling city.” Who knew that Philadelphia offered such a lovely setting for a restaurant. 

It was the first day they had opened our porch this spring for dining, so we were lucky enough to sit outside, and enjoy the view.  The Inn is set by a creek and woods.  So the view was exceptional.

Don had a fried oyster poboy sandwich and French onion soup. I had the Uncanny Tuna Melt.  The food was delicious.  Click here to if you’d like to see their lunch menu

What a relaxing break in our day.

Baseball season again

Now that the baseball season is going on, I’m reminded of the year that both of my sons played baseball, each on a different team.
Each boy’s team played 20 games, and each team won two of their games.

Think about it folks, I went to 36 losing baseball games in one season.  I’m so lucky that neither of them liked the game enough to want to play another season. 

They found another sport that they liked that didn’t have so many games per season.

Baseball games

Now that the baseball season is going on, I’m reminded of the year that both of my sons played baseball, each on a different team.
Each boy’s team played 20 games, and each team won two of their games.

Think about it folks, I went to 36 losing baseball games in one season.  I’m so lucky that neither of them liked the game enough to want to play another season. 

They found another sport that they liked that didn’t have so many games per season.

That’s my Boy - Again!