Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's rocks....oh, but I do, I do covet them. For you Illinois peeps, there are lots of huge, wonderful rocks in Northern Indiana and many residents have incorporated them into their landscaping. In fact, I think almost every yard in our neighborhood has a majestic rock of some kind on display. This is a rock down the road from us.

This is the rock next door........................

The rock across the street

You get the picture. Oh, we do have this. We dug it up in a flower bed about ten years ago. Obviously, it came straight from outer space, which makes it something special, but it's small and nobody ever notices it. You can't demand that people notice it either, you can't yell out at departing guests to "Make sure you get a good look at our meteorite before you leave!" That would be braggy and pathetic. No, people will just have to notice our meteorite on their own, without prompting or urging.

We also have this fine specimen. Rob found this a long time ago, at Maw-Maw's, I think. For years we wondered what it was, it seems just too round and perfect to be a real rock. Finally, I gave it to the head of the Geology department at IPFW and he reported back that it was, indeed, (hold onto your hats) a real sedimentary rock!

I guess we'd have to admit that we aren't lacking in the rock department and shouldn't complain, but I still would like to have a big rock in the front yard, and maybe we could even have our house number chiseled into it. I do know where there is such a rock, it's back in our own woods, behind the house, just west of the home of Hickory Hill Hans.

It's not gigantic, but it's pretty tall and has good color. I'm sure I'd be happy with it. Now, all I need is someone to help me get it up to the yard.

Still on the subject of rocks, (and this ties into our earlier post about songs with summer in the title) Bob Ritchie aka "Kid Rock," has a song out called All Summer Long. In this song, Kid says that in 1989, in northern Michigan, he was listening to the song Sweet Home Alabama, all the time. Well, that song is from 1974, and I guess he could have been listening to it then, but on his boom box or jambox or ghetto blaster or whatever portable sound system he had in 1989 (today, I have what I call my Ipod-thingy) However, I don't think he was listening to it on the radio.

Bob "Kid Rock" Ritchie really borrows big-time from the song Sweet Home Alabama, and that's okay, as that's kind of the point of the song, BUT...the rest of the song sounds just like Werewolves of London. Am I the only one noticing this? It's Werewolves of London. Didn't George Harrison run into a little trouble doing this - My Sweet Lord/He's so Fine?

And the lyrics: We were trying different things

We were smoking funny things

I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I think those lyrics are right down there with "Way down the Road to Old Funkhouser."

But then, Bob "Kid Rock" Ritchie is making a truckload of money with that song, and I'm not, so................Rock on.

Bob "Man Rock" Pillers and I got this corn ready for the freezer Saturday night while we watched the Olympics. Yeah, we know, we're exciting, alright.

From the Archives: Earlier this year - a Tiki mask workshop at Maw-Maw's.

Recipe of the Week: My mother-in-law, Darlene, e-mailed me a recipe for Cinnabon cinnamon rolls. She didn't use this frosting recipe, but just glazed them with a powdered sugar and milk frosting. I did use their frosting recipe, and I think it makes them a little too rich. Darlene might have the right idea. I'll let you be the judge. Here are the rolls getting ready to go to neighbors (those lucky dogs with those great rocks)

Cinnabon Rolls

1/2 cup warm water

2 packages yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

3 1/2 oz package instant vanilla pudding

2 eggs

1 teaspoon salt

6 cups flour

Filling

1 cup softened butter

2 cups brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Tablespoon milk

In a small bowl, combine water, yeast and sugar. stir until dissolved and sit aside. In a large bowl , prepare instant pudding per the directions ( usually with 2 cups of milk) Add butter, eggs and salt. Mix well. Then add yeast mixture and blend. Gradually add flour. Knead until smooth. Place in a greased bowl and allow to rise until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down and let rise again.

Roll dough out onto floured surface. Take 1 cup of softened butter and spread over dough. Combine 2 cups of brown sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon and sprinkle over dough. Roll up tightly and cut rolls - about 2 inches in size. Place on a greased cookie sheet or jelly roll pan about 2 inches apart. Cover and let rise until doubled in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove when they start to turn golden brown. Frost rolls when they are still warm. make about 20 very large rolls.

"When I found the skull in the woods, the first thing I did was call the police. But then, I got curious about it. I picked it up and started wondering who this person was, and why he had deer horns." Jack Handey

Week in Review: These are the Dog Days of Summer, but you sure can't tell it by the great weather we've been enjoying. Dog Days are supposed to be hot and the air, stagnant. The ancient Greeks and Romans called them caniculares dies (days of the dog) after Sirius, the dog star. I took advantage of the cool weather and moved some more lily of the valley out of the woods and put it around the grave of our first Shetland Sheepdog, "Tess, the Dog who Only Barked When Necessary." She was a great dog. Bob always reminds Maddie of this if the two of them happen to be anywhere in the vicinity of the hallowed ground. He'll turn to her and say, "Now there was a dog!" Indeed, they still speak of her in hushed and reverent tones down at Champs and Tramps Grooming and Kennel. They even took her along to visit nursing home residents a couple of times when she was boarding there. Maddie, the Amazing Barking Dog has never been invited by the ladies at Champs and Tramps to go along and help cheer up the elderly. In fact, she's been known to bare her teeth at those ladies when they mess with her tail (not that we haven't all felt like doing that, at times)

You know, the ancients believed the Dog Days of Summer were days of evil "when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, and dogs grew mad." They would sacrifice a brown dog at the beginning of the Dog Days to appease the rage of Sirius. I am not making that up.

Our front door mat

And more about dogs: This is what Rob and Candace bought this week with the change they'd been saving. Her name is Roxanne.











From the Archives: How about a picture from, probably 1993, of the kids and Tess, the Dog Who Only Barked when Necessary.












Recipe of the Week: 2008 is the Chinese year of the Rat, but around here it 's certainly shaping up to be the Year of the Pie. We've seen a lot of pies come through here in the last several months, and considering the fact that I put 30 pounds of cherries, 9 pounds of blueberries and some peaches in the freezer this week, I'd say our future pie prospects are promising.

The Year of the Pie isn't that big of a deal, but it's better than the Year of the Rat, and way better than the Year of the Grasshopper Scourge, or the Year of the FBI Surveillance, or the Year of the Chronic Eye Infection.

Here's the recipe:

Maine Blueberry Pie
6 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg white, lightly beaten with 1 Tablespoon water

Of course, always begin with Opie's No-Fail Pie Dough recipe. Then:
lightly toss the blueberries with 1 cup sugar, the cornstarch, cinnamon, grated lemon and vanilla. Brush the bottom of your pie shell with the egg white mixture to prevent sogginess. Put the blueberries in the pie pan and add the upper crust. Slash the top of the pie to vent and sprinkle on remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake in the lower part of a 400 degree oven for about an hour or until the filing bubbles.

"People think it would be fun to be a bird because you can fly. But, they forget about the negative side, which is the preening."
Jack Handey

Week in Review: These are the packages that were delivered to our house this week - just left on the doorstep without explanation- not even a doorbell ring. Don't you think packages that arrive in this state merit a drive-by-howdy, a shout-out, a sheepish shrug of the shoulders, even? Maybe something like, "You see, Miz Pillers what happened was, the truck went off the bridge into the Ohio River and we had to use this package of yours as sort of a ramp so that the truck could make it back up the bank." Also, please note the tube - there's no lid and it's empty! nothing. Way to go FedEx.

I noticed this sign last week. Yes, yes, gas is very expensive, so in order to make up for that, you should buy more liquor. It makes perfect sense.







One more annoying, negative thing and then, I promise I'm done. Predators have invaded our happy critter haven. Hawks! Three of them have been hanging around, screeching, and diving at our little birds and other woodland creatures. One of them even perched on the deck this morning, but I didn't get a chance to take a picture. Bob took this one early in the afternoon. The birds are terrified. This baby bird (below) was cowering in the berry tree yesterday. Isn't it kind of late for babies? Even the squirrels seem wary, although I don't think these hawks could pick up a squirrel and good luck getting Hans off the ground. He's so full of fruit and corn, it would take many hawks holding on to the ends of a sturdy tarp to carry him off.


Aren't hawks endangered? I think they are, so, of course, one should not hurt them. But how about firing off bottle rockets to scare them away? Do you think that's against the law? Because, if it is, then that's definitely NOT WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.


From the Archives: Happy 28th Anniversary to us! August 10th. I can think of nothing smarty-pants to say about this.


Lindsey came up Friday evening. She went to a bridal shower on Saturday afternoon and then took us and Rob out for dinner at the Cork and Cleaver to celebrate.

Recipe of the Week: For our reader's theatre presentation in L391, we actually did a Reader's Radio Theatre with sound effects. We presented the mock trial scene from A Separate Peace, and we squeezed boxes of corn starch to make the sound of the boys trudging through the snow to the First Academic Building. Anyway, one of the ladies in our group made the chocolate chip shortbread cookies from the recipe on the box and gave each of us a little plate of cookies on Thursday night when we took our final. They were some very fine cookies. I ate them on the drive home and they helped take my mind off the fact that I had a sore hand, arm, and shoulder from writing for 2 hours and 26 minutes. (KBR stands for Kettler Basement Radio) Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

1 cup butter (no substitutes) softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon sugar

Beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla thoroughly with mixer. Gradually blend in flour and corn starch. Add the chocolate chips.. Form into 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Pour the sugar on a small plate; dip bottom of a drinking glass in sugar and gently press down on each cookie to flatten. Press center of each cookie with tip of a teaspoon. Bake at 300 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.



"If I lived back in the Wild West days, instead of carrying a six-gun in my holster, I'd carry a soldering iron. That way, if some smart-aleck cowboy said something like 'Hey look. He's carrying a soldering iron!' and started laughing, and everybody else started laughing, I could say 'That's right, it's a soldering iron. The soldering iron of justice.' Then everybody would get real quiet and ashamed because they had made fun of the soldering iron of justice, and I could probably hit them up for a free drink."
Jack Handey

Week in Review: Well, here they are - the books I've read in the last five weeks. The good news is that this is the last week of class and all we have to do is present our reader's theatre program and take the final. I also did a little catering this week and spent all day Saturday being the schoolmarm in my hot schoolmarm garb in our 1885 classroom set up in the merchant's building at the fairgrounds for Kid City.

What did I tell you last week about paper school? I was not right about assumption #4, however. Bob said he does not take people out to eat, the mill does that. But, he does go out to eat with them. Here's a picture from the event. Bob, of course, is in the front row on the far right, crouched, poised, and ready to leap back onto the bus and drive the paper school students to, oh, I don't know, the next vat of boiling paper juice?

And speaking of Bob, on Thursday we were sitting at our computers down in our office/exercise/poolroom where we conduct business and think deep thoughts and play pool and sometimes do some obso-pondering (see earlier post) and I asked Bob to think of his top five favorite songs that have the word summer in the title.

"Oh, I know," he said, "Summer of '69 by Brian Adams."

"Ooh, yeah, I like that one too," I agreed.

"Well, that one's mine."
"But, I really like that one."

"Sorry, it's taken."

Sheesh, well whatever. Later, I asked him if he had thought of any more songs, but he said he hadn't. On Friday, I catered a retirement luncheon for a local insurance agency and Bob was helping me schlep the food to their office. We were backing down the driveway:

Bob: "Here's a song I like that has summer in the title."

Big Lou: "No, it doesn't. "That's 'End of the Innocence."

Bob: nothing - silence. He turns up the volume on the radio and listens carefully to the lyrics, because apparently he thinks I don't know of what I speaketh.

We drive down the boulevard:

Big Lou repeats: "It's End of the Innocence."

(to prove my point I start to sing along with Don Henley)

Let your hair fall all around me

Offer up your best defense

But this is the end,

This is the eeennnnnd of the innocence.

Big Lou: "I know what song you're thinking about. It's Boys of Summer also by Don Henley. Is that one of your favorite summer songs?"

Bob: makes a noise - something like a hmmph or a grunt

So here are our lists of favorite songs that have the word summer in the title:

Bob's List

2. Boys of Summer by Don Henley (maybe, but not sure)

1. Summer of '69 by Brian Adams

Big Lou's List

5. Roll out Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer - Nat King Cole
4. Summer Breeze - Seals and Croft
3. Summertime - Gershwin
2. Summer Rain - Johnny Rivers
1. Summer in the City - The Lovin' Spoonful

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Cool cat looking for a kitty

Gonna look in every corner of the city

From the Archives: I hope the children don't mind if I post this one. I just can't resist. 1990. We've entitled it "Lettuce Heads."

Recipe of the Week: In the August issue of Cook's Illustrated there is an article called "Reviving the Original Drive-In Burger." Well, who wouldn't like to do that, right? If you are familiar with this magazine you know that much research and experimenting is done to perfect each recipe. The Drive-in burger calls for flank steak or sirloin steak tips and boneless beef short ribs, however, I could not find any beef short ribs and the meat man at Kroger's told me that they didn't often carry them - maybe in the winter months, but he found a cut he thought suitable for my needs. What I needed was something with some fat in it. I promised him I would report back about my burgers. So I ground the meat ( which, I think is fun) and very carefully formed the burgers, without lifting or compressing the meat ( I KNOW!) I toasted the buns and made the sauce, which we loved, and carefully cooked the burgers for three minutes on each side. After supper, I asked Bob what he thought about the burger and he said it was a great burger, but he hated to see me go to so much trouble, but if I really liked using the meat grinder, then, okay, I should carry on.

Best Old Fashioned Burgers

10 ounces sirloin steak tips, cut into 1-inch chunks

6 ounces boneless beef short ribs, also cut into chunks

Kosher salt and ground black pepper

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

4 soft hamburger buns

1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

4 slices American cheese

thinly sliced onion

If you are using a food processor to grind your meat, first, place meat chunks on baking sheet and place in the freezer leaving space in between each chunk. Freeze for 15 to 25 minutes. Put half of the meat in the processor and pulse 10 to 15 times (one second each) turn the meat out onto a tray ( they don't want you touching it too much) Repeat the process. Gently separate meat into four equal mounds. Season top of each burger with salt and pepper. With a spatula turn them over and season the other side.

Melt the butter in a heavy skilled . Grill the buns until toasted lightly-brown. Wipe out the skillet. Return it to the stove and add the oil. Cook the burgers three minutes on each side. Top with American cheese. Serve immediately and top with classic burger sauce.

Classic Burger Sauce:

2 tablespoons mayo

1 tablespoon ketchup

1/2 teaspoon sweet pickle relish

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

"If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let 'em go, because, man, they're gone." Jack Handey