Maddie, The Amazing Barking Dog, and I walked through the cemetery this evening, and I saw my first robin of spring, well, two robins, there were actually two of them sitting on the fence. Ah, spring! Bob helped me cut some pussy willow for the vase in the living room and to put on the front door. This weekend was a nice ending to a rather, clunky week, as somebody managed to pilfer our Discover card number and was shopping up a storm online. An observant person at Best Buy caught it and called us, so the shopping spree didn't go on for very long. Apparently, Bob got into a brouhaha at the airport on Tuesday, as to whether or not he was going to have to pay for his luggage. Also, I spent some more time at the dentist's office. They finished up a root canal and then we had a consultation about what to do, down the road, about my problem area. I can either have implants or a rather lengthy bridge ( a five-toother, I believe). Anyway, it's going to cost thousands of dollars. And when I was telling this to Bob, he just sat and stared at me, so I don't know, TET.





And speaking of TET, I had some old bananas and I thought, hey, wouldn't it be a good idea to make some banana bread, you know, so I wouldn't waste the bananas. As I was making it, I started thinking about the cost of the oil, and the eggs, and, especially the walnuts, and I decided it's probably a better idea to just throw those old bananas in the trash. I know I said I would post some TIPS for TET, but I've decided that I don't really have any TIPS for TET, except turn the lights out when you leave the room, and don't eat out, unless it's at McDonald's.



From the Archives: I found this picture on a disc. It's the Trojan horse I made for this world history class I was working with. It's made from a box and a FedEx tube. I pulled it into class on the Ab Dolly. There were candy bars inside that were handed out after an Ancient Greece Jeopardy game. Good times.

Notes

1. My sister's groundhog's name is Bradford Pear Pierre, not Bartlett Pear Pierre as stated incorrectly last week in this blog. My apologies to Pierre.

2. Lindsey says "Ciao" to blog readers and she thinks that she and Brent would make a good team on The Amazing Race.

Tuesday is St. Patty's Day! We've got the corned beef and cabbage in the refrigerator, ready to go. Cartoon Stella and Little Cartoon Roxanne send their St. Patrick's Day greetings.

Recipe of the Week: Is from the Vera Bradley cookbook. "a perfect mixture of chicken, mushrooms and lemons. Very delicious." I made this for supper this evening, but forgot to take a picture.

Chicken Piccata

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup capers, drained
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons butter or margarine melted

Place the chicken between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap. Flatten the chicken to 1/4 inch thickness with a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in 2 tablespoons flour in a shallow dish until coated, shaking off the excess.
Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet. Add the chicken and mushrooms. Cook the chicken for 3 minutes on each side or until the chicken is golden brown and the juices run clear. Remove the chicken to a platter and tent with foil to keep warm.
Add the wine and lemon juice to the mushrooms in the skillet. Bring to a boil. Whisk 1 1/2 tablespoons flour into the the chicken broth. Add to the mushroom mixture. Cook for two minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Stir in the capers, butter, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over chicken and serve.


"One day one of my little nephews came up to me and asked me if the equator was a real line that went around the Earth or just an imaginary one. I had to laugh. Laugh and laugh. Because I didn't know, and I thought that maybe by laughing, he would forget what he asked me." Jack Handey