Today's Flowers

A hint of frost...

 

And a hint of color.

 

 

 

Its been a while since I posted some pics of my cats. Their whole world is being turned upside down right now while we pack all our house belongings and grow the huge stack of boxes here and there and everywhere, getting ready for our move in two weeks. They don't know what to make of it all.

The look on Scarf's face right here is to tell me I am getting a bit too close for her comfort with that camera of mine!

 

Both cats love to sleep on top of the dryer when I am drying clothes. The warmth of the dryer and the noise of it are probably warming and comforting to them.

 

They won't even sit on the dryer unless it is working. 

Speed is our oldest cat at 14 years of age. 

Scarf is our youngest cat at 2 years of age. 

Both cats were rescue kitties. They are each a bit crazy and have some crazy behaviors but we love them dearly! 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

One thing we have had our share of lately is rain. And more rain! And more....

It sure is good for catching water drops though! 

This water drop reflects our back fence and the row of trees along the fence.

 

I don't know what these grass stalks are, but they really hold the water! Click on the photo and see the reflections in the drops! 

 

The name of this blog will tell you I am loving water drops! My never ending challenge is to get a perfect reflection, and I haven't managed that yet! 

 

Macro Monday

Tiny macrocosms of water. The world reflecting in a tiny drop!

 

One of the things I am trying to make myself do is to change my header photo. Should be simple! Sounds simple. Some would say I don't like change! But 2013 is definitely my year of change.

Our house is sold and move out day is three weeks away. We are living amongst boxes as we go about the chore of packing and sorting, keeping and giving away. We are simplifying and downsizing and lessening the load. It feels good, the further we go. 

The idea of change on such a big scale is daunting, and here I am resisting the simple act of changing my blog header picture! Go figure!

This year my New Year's resolution is "Reconnect"

I feel like these drops at times. Clinging on to a fine wire, any movement will shake me loose and make me fall. The wind can buffet my position and the heat can dry me up.  Any change can come along and send me for a loop. 

Its a risk to take a chance, make a change. I'm trying to embrace it, hell, I am embracing it!!

2013 is my year!

Project 52 - Heat



Last week I dropped a little hint about where the strawberries I featured in my Ice post were going to end up. And here it is for you.

Strawberry Habenero Sauce

Hot, Hot Heat!

Here are the ingredients to make a batch of Sauce. No doubt this is one of the hottest things I have made! Habenero peppers are right up there on the heat scale. I did not use anywhere near the amount the recipe actually called for and even though I cut way back on the peppers, it still packs a wollup in the heat department!

My brother Brian would love this stuff! It is sweet, tangy, savoury and hot! Even if you don't use the amount of peppers called for or the amount I used, you should still give this a try!

Ingredients below!

I am sure if you are making this you could substitute another type of pepper for the Habeneros, but why not give it a try!!

Recipe:

3/4 lb. fresh Habeneros (I used 1/5 lb)

1 lb. fresh Strawberries

1 TBSP. Salt

1 1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

3/4 cup Mango Nectar

1 TBSP. Honey

I would suggest that when you chop up the Habenero Peppers, you put on a pair of disposable vinyl gloves. You don't want to get this stuff in your eye later on. I also took the ribs and seeds out of the peppers as I chopped them up. Most of the heat comes especially from the seeds.

Put the chopped up Habenero's into the bottom of a pot, add the Vinegar and Salt. Cook on high heat for 7 to 8 minutes until the peppers are nice and soft.

Place the peppers and vinegar mixture into a food processor, add 1 lb. Strawberries, Mango Nectar and the Honey. Process the Hell out of it!

You can add more Mango Nectar to the sauce if you feel it is still too hot for you.

That is it. Bottle it up and give it a shot.

We tryed this with Saltine crackers with a chunk of Feta Cheese, Strawberry Habenero sauce and fresh Strawberry slices.

And after supper we poured it over Vanilla Bean IceCream with fresh Strawberries. The cold of the ice cream really helped mellow the heat of the sauce.

I have also added a good spoonful of it to our barbeque sauce and slathered it onto whatever is being barbequed at that moment.

And I made a batch of Bacon Jam and used a quarter cup of it in place of the chipotle peppers the recipe called for. Yum!

And just because I learned a new skill in Photoshop today and created a mosaic out of all the photos!

Still have some work to do here, getting the scale proportions right! Always learning!

Have a great weekend!