Hummingbird!

 

I got lucky twice today and caught two different Hummingbirds at the nectar feeder.  Here's one of them.  I keep hoping to get one hovering over the feeder but neither of them stuck around long enough for me to even snap a photo.  I just love seeing them.  I sit and stare at their little selves, dipping their beaks in the feeder, with their little tongue flicking out.  Mesmerizing.

Today's recipe was Chicken Burrito  Bowls.  It's chicken breast with lots of spices sauteed until lightly brown, then a scoop of corn, one of black beans, and a little brown rice.  The meat gets a spoonful of salsa and then some plain yogurt when it's time to serve it.

After the burrito bowls were done and in the freezer I looked back at my previous Investment
Cooking lists and saw 3-Bean Chili.  Sounded good so I checked and I had all of the ingredients on hand so I made it.  It's a real no-brainer of a recipe.  You open six cans of beans (2 ea. black, pinto, and kidney), two cans of diced tomatoes, one can of mushroom pieces, and one of tomato sauce.  I diced up a big onion, garlic, some scallions, a poblano pepper, and tossed in some homemade chili seasoning, dumped it all into the biggest slow cooker I have, and set it on High for a few hours.  An hour before it's done you stir in a bag of frozen corn, thawed.  Oh, and after it's cooked you stir in a bit of lime juice to brighten up the flavors.  I don't have enough single serving containers so it's in two big bowls, one in the freezer and one in the fridge.  Mm, chili.  Even better, a bowl of it is zero points!

One of my writer friends, JNMK, said she thinks my tiny perennial asters are also called fleabane.  Fleabane!  Isn't that a great name?  I went out to look at it this afternoon and it was covered with every kind of bee imaginable.  Pretty cool.

 

 

 

16 September--Barbara Malcolm, Better Than Mom's. 

Naomi drew herself up to her full height seeming to tower over the table and the now abashed Fay.  “If you mean am I planning to sleep with Brady, my boss, on our first date, all I can say is you should be ashamed of yourself.”  She raised her fist and shook an admonishing finger at her.  “Shame on you, Fay, for even thinking that a moral, upstanding woman like me with a young, impressionable son in her house would even consider acting like a slut like that.  How would Marcus feel to see his mother, his mother for Pete’s sake, having such a low opinion of herself that she would be so trashy as to have sex with a man on their first date.  This is not the seventies, you know.” 

A nervous giggle escaped Fay’s lips.  “You would not sleep with Brady?  He is awful cute sometimes.  And you like him.” 

Naomi sorrowfully shook her head at her friend.  “No wonder you have problems keeping a man.  If you are giving it away on the first date, what motivation does a man have to be on his best behavior?” 

“None, I guess.” 

“Exactly.  None.  My mama, God rest her soul, always said a woman needed to have enough self-control and self-respect for both herself and whatever man she was keeping company with.” 

“And you always listened to your mama, right?” 

“You know I did not, otherwise I would not have Marcus.  But even then, I did not put out on the first date.” 

“Second?” 

“No, Miss Smarty Pants, not even on the second.  It was at least three months into our relationship when we made love.” 

Fay leaned back and crossed her thin arms across her narrow chest.  “Made love, huh?  Not had sex in the back seat of his Chevy?” 

“No, Marcus was not conceived in the back seat of a car.  We were in a proper bed in his apartment.” 

“After he got you drunk?” 

“Good grief, you have a low opinion of me.”  

Fay was honestly astonished.  “What do you mean?” 

“I mean that I would have to be gotten drunk before I would have intercourse with a man I loved and who I thought loved me.  That you have an image of me as an uptight woman who does not know how to have fun.” 

“Well, the only fun I have ever heard you talk about was how much you enjoy choir practice at church.  Boy, that sounds like loads of fun.” 

Today's toss was another bag of ancient and unusable hair care products.  I'm debating about whether to toss the cases of Durwood's favorite shampoo.  I'd give it to the homeless shelter because I can't imagine using it.  Too many memories.

It was cloudy and in the mid-70s today and the rest of the week is supposed to be much cooler, maybe 60 but sunnier.  Sounds like lawn mowing weather to me.

--Barbara