It's not easy being green

When I was little I remember watching my Grandma Allen hang clothes on the clothesline. We loved it when she washed sheets because we could hide behind them and make outdoor rooms to play in.  I actually hang quite a few clothes to dry in my laundry room. I do this more for shrinkage and long torso issues than saving electricity. Yesterday Derek helped me install a retractable clothesline outside. I don't know why, but I am so excited about it. I found a great little bag to hold my clothes pins at Kmart.(Thankyou Martha!) I couldn't wait to google the cost of running my dryer per load. I was sure my carbon imprint was getting smaller. 35 to 40 cents per load?? I have to admit I was a little disappointed. What about my time and effort? How much is that worth? But when I thought about how happy I was when the clothes were dry in 45 minutes, and how they looked blowing in the hot August breeze, I felt like it was worth it.

After telling Lindsay about my great new exploits in laundry she said, "Mom you are a nerd."  

Allen Reunion

Thankyou all for coming. It was fun to see you again. Grandma had 11 of 12 Grandkids there. We missed you Chris. We had 50 of 57 possible family members in attendance. I've included some recipe's that I got requests for.

Easy Raspberry Lemonade

1 (12 oz.) can frozen raspberry lemonade concentrate

3 c. water

3/4 teaspoon lime juice

1 (12 oz.) can 7-up

1 c. crushed ice

1 cup fresh raspberries, garnish

1 cup fresh mint, garnish

In a large punch bowl, combine raspberry lemonade concentrate, water and lime juice. Stir in lemon-lime soda and crushed ice. Garnish each glass with a fresh raspberry and a mint leaf.

(I just bought frozen raspberries and poured into punch bowl.)

Pecan-Crusted Artichoke Spread

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 c. finely chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach

1 14 oz can artichoke hears, drained and chopped

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1/2 c. mayonnaise dressing

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese

2 dashes hot pepper sauce

1/4 c. finely chopped pecans

baguette style french bread slices

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook for 3 minutes. Add spinach; cook for 3 to 5 minutes more or until onion is tender and spinach is cooked, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Stir in chopped artichoke hearts, cream cheese, mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese and hot pepper sauce.

2. Transfer to an ungreased 1-1/2 quart casserole dish. Bake for 40 minutes. Top with pecans bake for 1o minutes more.

3. Serve with toasted bread slices. Makes 4 cups spread

 Salsa

1/2 sweet onion chopped 

1 small can green chilies

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 tablespoons vinegar

1 can stewed tomatoes (mexican)

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 jalapeno pepper chopped (or 1/2 small can diced jalapeno's)

clove of garlic

put all ingredients into blender and mix until smooth

Me and you and a dog named Boo

Pack Leader

I am not sure who looks more tired.

So cute! He always gets called a girl.

Once a week Derek and I take Boo for a long

hike along the Bonneville shoreline trail in 

the foothills above our house. When we let

him off of his leash, he runs back and forth 

  between Derek and I. He always waits for me,

  to see if I am o.k. I may not be the pack leader, 

but at least I won't be left behind.

Summer Vacation

Just some fun pics from the pool.

Our nephew Collin came to visit from California.  Boo still doesn't like the water. He would rather sit on the lounge chairs. Erica has been stopping by to swim with her kids and it has been fun to spend more time with her.

A few of my favorite things

Flowers are some of my favorite things about summer. Here are a few that are blooming in my yard right now. Some flowers are full of sentimental value. I can't see a hollyhock without thinking of my Grandma Doris, or a red geranium without remembering my Grandpa Allen's greenhouse full of them.

 My top 5 favorite flowers

1. daisy

2. zinnia

3. petunia

4. snapdragon

5. rose

Boo the Destroyer

I think that this is the third shower poof that Boo has destroyed. We don't buy them anymore.

Poor Kelly! How does she keep that smile on her face? There are worse things he could be chewing up, furniture and shoes come to mind. Boo and I are taking the obedience 1 class. He has no problem with any of the commands but he whines and barks whenever the teacher is trying to talk. There is another dog named Bebe who barks and bites her owner so at least he is not the worst dog in the class. After class I said to Bebe's owner "So you have a barker too?" She said that our puppy's are so young that it is like taking a preschooler to second grade. That made me feel better.

Fourth of July

It was great to have everyone over for the Fourth of July. If I counted right, we had 50 people drop by at different times. What's that line, "If you build it they will come"? Derek says next year he is going to have to buy more of those machine gun fireworks. At Eleven p.m. after things were quiet, I got into the pool by myself, floated on my back and looked at the stars. Living the dream as Ryan would say.