Happy Birthday to my little sister!

Today is my kid sister's birthday.  For half the year she's a year younger than me.  The other half, I'm 2 years older than she is.

I like the first half better.

Spring Break

I think Spring took a break of its own this week.  It's been so cold I had to drag out my winter coat again.  Not that I'd actually put it away.

We had 1 1/2 inches of snow today at lunchtime.  It was a strange weather day.  We weren't expecting snow but the morning was cloudy and gray like a November day.  Then suddenly it was snowing.  Then suddenly it wasn't and the snow was already melting.  Then the sun came out.  From gray to snow to sunshine in under 2 hours.  I don't remember seeing that much snow fall and disappear that fast. 

The trees were very beautiful when they were snow covered - at least from my vantage point in the 9th floor office.   They looked just like a winter scene on a picture post card.  But the snow on the trees melted first, then the snow around the trees melted so that the trees were circled with emerald green grass surrounded by the very white snow.   I hadn't realized that the grass was greening-up so nicely till I saw it contrasted against the snow white snow.

That's my kind of snow - very pretty and it disappears before it has time to get dirty or snarl traffic.

Saturday morning

It's Saturday morning here in the Midwest.  It's a little cold outside this morning even for the end of March, but it's tolerable.  Especially since I'm still inside and the furnace just kicked in.

The whole day lies ahead of me.  No office to speed off to. No interstate to not speed down.  No downtown traffic to yell at.  There's dirty dishes in the kitchen sink, the dirty clothes basket is overflowing in the bedroom, dust bunnies are gathering an army under the couch intent on taking over the living room, and here I sit, drowsily thinking about the new book I got yesterday and wondering if I should start reading it now or after breakfast. 

It's good to be awake on a cold Saturday morning in March in the Midwest and have the whole day ahead of you.

What a difference a day makes!

The weather here in Indiana has been ideal for the past few days.  Not too hot, not too cold, plenty of sunshine.  A little windy at times, but that's part of March's charm.  Makes me wish I had a kite and a place to fly it.

I went to work on Monday, but not on Tuesday.  On my way home today (Wednesday), I saw a green willow tree on one side of the highway and daffodils blooming on the other that weren't there on Monday.  What a difference a day makes!

Tomorrow we're expecting temperatures to drop to the 30's and 40's with possible snow flurries.  What a difference a day makes!

Daylight Saving Time doesn't save nothin'

I don't like DST (daylight saving time).  It's not nice to fool around with Mother Nature, now is it?

I've been so tired I haven't even felt like posting my semi-annual gripe about DST and how stupid it is.  I'm waking up early so I'm tired and grouchy all day and I usually fall asleep early while I'm watching some mystery show so I never find out who the did it!

Good news: spring starts tomorrow in Indiana.  It's a lovely time of year.  And it means that winter is leaving soon.  The sooner the better. 

I think I'm going to make tortillas in a bag for supper.  Did you know that the average American eats about 200 tortillas a year (not counting tortilla chips)?  Personally, I find that hard to believe; that's over 1 tortilla every other day.  I doubt if I eat 100 in a year so I think somebody is eating more than their fair share!  Check out the Tortilla in a Bag recipe at the  Oklahoma State University website.

Is the world falling apart?

This has been a rough week for me, but I'm not going to complain even those that is this old lady's favorite hobby.  I'd be ashamed to complain of my trifling little problems.

If you've been anywhere near news in the past couple of days you know that a horrific earthquake hit Japan followed by a even more horrifying tsunami.  I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like to witness that. My heart goes out to the people in Japan and their friends and families around the world.  I can imagine what they must be feeling now, but thank Heaven my imagination isn't good enough for me to grasp the whole experience.

If you want to help the people in Japan or New Zealand (or other countries around the world), please donate to your favorite charity.  The Salvation Army had set up relief stations in Japn and New Zealand within hours of the quakes even though their own offices were damaged.  If you want to know more or if you can donate, please visit Salvation Army International.

Frank Woodruff Buckles

The last known surviving American World War I veteran, Frank Woodruff Buckles, died February 27, 2011 less than 1 month after his 110th birthday.  


Watch the CBS YouTube video,  World War I Memorial, about Mr. Buckles' and Daid DeJonge's efforts to restore a forgotten WWI memorial in Washington, DC.  The memorial will be a tribute, not to the war, but to those who fought for the world in the "forgotton war".

Visit www.frankbuckles.org/ to learn more about Mr. Buckles and the memorial. 

We salute you, Frank Woodruff Buckles, for your patriotism, your service to America, and your perseverance. 

Cheese Enchiladas

I just finished supper and thought I'd share the recipe with you.  It's easy and quick to prepare.  I usually make the sauce in the microwave. 

Cheese Enchiladas

Ingredients:
2 (8") tortillas 
1 cooked chicken breast half, shredded
2 - 4 tablespoons minced onion (minced as in "finely chopped")
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese (or use a "Mexican cheeses" combo)
1 ½ tablespoons butter
1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
2/3 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup sour cream
1 oz chopped green chilies (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
2. Divide the chicken, onion and most of the cheese between the tortillas. Roll them up and place in a greased baking pan, seam side down.
3. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until it begins to boil. Add the broth, stirring continuously.
4. Add the chilies (if desired) and sour cream. Stir occasionally and do not let the mixture boil.  Pour this mixture over the enchiladas when hot and thick.
5. Bake the enchiladas for 20 minutes then top with the rest of the cheese and bake for a further 5 minutes or until you think the cheese is melted enough and is  a nice color.
6. Garnish with chopped tomatoes, sliced green onions, and/or sliced black olives, if desired. 

Side notes:

1. I served this with a tossed salad and tortilla chip and I'm a happy little camper right now. 
2. I didn't have any chicken prepared tonight so I just used the cheese and onion. 
3. I like the lesser amount of onion.
4. Sometimes I spread refried beans on the tortillas in a thin layer before adding the other ingredients.  But I didn't have any beans either. 
5. And I've thought about using cream cheese on the tortilla instead of the beans, but I didn't have any cream cheese either. 
6. If I don't have broth, I use milk.  It makes the sauce a little thicker.
7. I say the chilies are optional because I never seem to have any so have never used them in this recipe, but I don't think I've missed them.  Of course I won't really know till I've tried it with as well as without, will I?
8. If you use corn tortillas, you'll need to fry them a little first to make them soft enough to roll.
9. You can add chopped spinach with the cheese and onion if you like.  If using a 10 oz package of frozen spinach, thaw it and drain well, squeezing out most of the water.  You'll only need about 1/8 - 1/4 cup of spinach for each tortilla, but you can put the rest of the spinach on the bottom of the casserole dish as a bed for the enchiladas.  
10. I haven't tried this with shredded or ground breef, but I'm sure it would be good and am going to try it some day.Maybe next time.