Is it Spring yet??

      I know the calendar says that spring has sprung, but the land up north just doesn't get the message!  We've lost most of our snow...just small piles of plowed snow remain here and there.  But...this morning it was -7 with the windchill !!  That's not spring!

      We've had alot of activity outside with the animal and bird families, so we know warm weather is trying to find us.  Here's a couple critters who have stopped by in the last week...

So...now you see how exciting our life is when you're not here!

Happy 1st Birthday, Jillian!

      Our oldest granddaughter turned one this month...yes, the oldest.  She has 2 girl cousins that are younger.  We have been blessed with 3 little granddaughters in less than a year!  These little girls each have 2 older brothers, rounding out the grandchild count to 9!  And John & Alicia haven't even started having babies yet!

      We celebrated Jillian's 1st birthday this past weekend.  Birthdays are pretty low-key when you're one...but, wow, did she love that frosting!  She had both sets of grandparents there, plus one great Grandma, appropriately nicknamed, "GG".  She's 89 and loves to dance!  And chat...and shop...and get manicures.

      Here's a couple pictures to celebrate the occasion.  This teeny girlie is not walking yet, but it won't be long.  Happy Birthday, Jillie....

Pineapple Salsa

     Hey, 2 posts in one day!  I'm trying to catch up...I did "experimental cooking" this evening.  I have coveted a certain pineapple salsa that a friend/guest brought to me last summer.  Thanks Terry!  Anyway, I wanted to recreate that salsa in my kitchen.  I tried, I tasted, I added, I stirred, I tasted again...it does pass the taste test but not the color test.  The recipe I used had tomatoes in it along with the pineapple and peppers and various spices.  If I could leave out the tomatoes...or put them in sparingly, I might have the original recipe.  The jars Terry brought me had yellow "pineappley-looking" salsa.  And it was good...really good.  I think I have come close to the taste, but now I need to work on the color.  I could have taken a picture of the finished jars, but you can just back up to my last salsa post...they looked alot like that only a little more orange-looking.

     I'll get more crushed pineapple and try it again...in the meantime, kids, you have to eat up what I made first!

     And for the next post, we're keeping Miss Jillian and her brother, Nathan, tomorrow night....should be an opportunity for some photos and good stories.  The girlie in that family turned 1 yr. old yesterday...we haven't seen her yet...I'm sure she looks her age!  Papa will probably stand her up to the couch and try to get her to walk...she thinks he's funny when he does that.  Can you tell already that we think we'll have fun?  We're crazy grandparents....we always look forward to time with grandkids!  It's a gift, you know!

     More stories to come when I get time to write! 

Good Dog, Wrigley...

     My goal with this blog was to write something every week...well,  February has been a busy month!  Lots of material for a blog, if I had time to post it!  Today, Steve let the dog in...when he went to the door, there on the doormat, outside, was the skinned carcass of what??  He thought it might be a raccoon...I thought it was some sort of prehistoric bird with fangs...now, mind you...it was skinned...I did take photos, but am hestitant to post them on this family-friendly blog...it's gruesome.  Anyway, we know our neighbor does some trapping, so Steve called him and asked him about it...and it is an.....otter!  I thought about trying to preserve it and have it on display when the guests arrive this summer and let everyone guess what it is....but don't think it would look quite the same by then....and we still couldn't identify it today!

     The dog has a problem with bringing her treasures to the back door so we can see what she has found.  She expects us to look out and say, "Oh, Wrigley, what a good dog!"...Instead, we look at her and say, "Where the heck did you get that!"   So you'd think she'd be used to it by now...but she keeps bringing bigger and bloodier things to us...so we'll be proud of her!

                                                                                                 Good dog, Wrigley!