Good Morning!

This and That

I think (!!!!) Karma Kitty is finished.

He suggests that you Dream Big!

I've decided to have my blog printed in book form.

This book covers the first 6 months -- year 2008.

I decided that I'd spent a lot of time on Twisty Lane,

lots of pictures taken, stories told and that I'd be very sad if for some reason it all disappeared into cyberspace!

I used Blog2Print and am very happy with the product.

***

Snippets:

Weather: Hot (hotter than you know where) and humid. It has rained in some areas but not where we live.

Baseball: We went to the Astros Mets game last night and the Astros won! We also had dinner at the 5-7 grill. Named after Bagwell and Biggio and their retired numbers. Too expensive, but good fare for a baseball park. I had the mahimahi and Mr. Dragon the seafood pasta! They gave us to go cups filled with ice tea. Ice tea at the ballpark! YeeHaw!

Wearing: Going to the grand-reopening of our favorite grocery store this morning and I'm wearing my G.R.I.T.S shirt (Girls Raised in The South) with blue britches.

Cassie: Cassie is growing like a little weed and I wish I had pictures to share, but she doesn't stay still long enough to get a good shot! We'll keep trying. She does have some words of wisdom for you:

Cassie says: Everything is a toy!

Wishing you well!

Teacup Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday is hosted every week by Martha and Teri.

Be sure to visit to see all the teacups on parade!

If you've been visiting with me for any length of time, this may look familiar to you.

Mr. Dragon and I enjoy visiting The Path of Tea.

You pick the cup you'd like to drink your tea from and have a delicious goody, too.

My favorite is the Owl cup.

(Yes, I collect Owls and I'm thinking I collect too many things!)

The owner of The Path of Tea tells a story about a woman who would visit the shop almost everyday when she first opened and would ask if she could buy the Owl tea cup. The owner would tell her No, that she couldn't sell her cups or she would soon have no cups for her customers to drink from and the Owls were particularly difficult to come by.

The woman kept coming in, asking and making offers, until one day she came in and made an offer that the shop owner couldn't refuse!

Along came Christmas, and you can imagine my surprise when I opened the package and found this:

Mr. Dragon found an Owl teapot and tea cups that look exactly like the ones at

The Path of Tea.

The teapot comes with a strainer.

Isn't the Owl cute?!

No wonder I think Mr. Dragon is my Knight in Shining Armor!

We both smile and chuckle when we have tea from this set.

Yes, we still visit The Path of Tea and we need to return soon.

They now have origami lessons once a week!

Wishing you well!

Mosaic Monday: Curds and Whey

Mosaic Monday is hosted by the lovely Mary.

Each mosaic is different. Each a story to tell.

You'll enjoy visiting - I promise!

This week I have a story to tell - all about curds and whey.

Curds and whey, you say?!!!!

Yep.

Mr. Dragon and I had lunch with some dear friends last week and the subject of curds and whey came up. Really!

Someone asked just what is curds and whey and I said, without a moments hesitation, milk products!

Which led me to talking about my Grandfather and his ranch.

Summertime Pleasure-1957

This is my grandfather in his kitchen in 1957.

Just look at the refrigerator, the kitchen table and chairs.

Wow! What memories!

He had a ranch in Oklahoma and raised Quarter Horses.

His wife, Mary, raised Angus cattle.

Visiting with them was a pure joy for me.

Up early in the morning to get the freshly laid eggs.

Off to the barn to milk the cow, which brings me to curds and whey.

Curds are a dairy product obtained by curdling (coagulating) milk with rennet or an edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar and then draining off the liquid portion (called whey). Milk that has been left to sour (raw milk alone or pasteurized milk with added lactic acid bacteria or yeast) will also naturally produce curds, and sour milk is produced this way.

I remember Mother Mary making her own butter. The cream rising to the top of the milk. Buttermilk. Homemade ice cream. Nothing tastes like fresh milk. Delicious!

I have wonderful memories of visiting with them. Somewhere I have a picture of me on my shetland pony. What a life for a young girl! I wish I had spent more time with them.

The mosaic shows the ranch sign; a party (don't remember if it was an anniversary or a birthday party); grandfather with his pride and joy, Blue Blake; and one of his special colts.

Wishing all of you well!

Sunday Morning

Japanese Garden in Hermann Park

"Fall seven times. Stand up eight."

~Japanese Proverb