Today's Flowers

A rose from day's gone past. The nice thing about photos is that long after the flower has gone you can still conjure up in your memory the sight, fragrance and beauty of it. I am not sure what this blue flower is but it captivated me one afternoon while visiting my friend's garden.

Check out Today's Flowers to see other beautiful flowers!!

Heron

Look what was visiting today in the local watering hole, aka my back yard water feature.
We get a lot of crows, a few ducks and every now and then a bunch of Canada Geese but this is the first Heron that has graced our shores. He walked a bit through the local water hole but I am sure was disappointed with the lack of dinner fish that aren't in the pond. He checked out a few big puddles on the top of the berm and decided there was nothing there for him. Eventually he flew away. It sure was nice though for him to pay us a visit!!

Skywatch Friday

These two pictures were taken over the lake at Harrison Hotsprings here in B.C. Its a little tourist destination famous for its hotsprings and the big spa hotel in the center of town. If you look close you can see the moon in the picture. That is what I was after, so the pictures kind of look the same.

Check out other pictures of Skies across the world over at http://skyley.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday Mark!!

Meet my miracle brother Mark. Nov. 25 he turns 52 years old and that is a big miracle. Two summers ago he suffered a sudden Cardiac Failure and is estimated to have been dead for 17 minutes. He spent five days on life support in Intensive Care before coming out of his coma. Today he has a pacemaker to keep his heart regular and he enjoys his life to the fullest. Lots about Mark is special. 52 years ago at his birth the whole thing happened way too fast and as a result he did not get enough oxygen and suffered brain damage. He acquired Epilepsy as well from that but has not let it stop him. He would be the first to be up front about his handicap and tell you he isn't as smart as everyone else or he can't do the things other people can do. At times he has been down about that, maybe a little jealous is the better word.

I sure don't see his handicap. He has qualities about him I can only hope to aspire to. What he lacks in some certain abilities he has trained himself in others. No one I know knows more about the state of the world than he does. He listens to the news every day and follows stories and could tell you a thing or two!!

He has never been able to read, can only print letters and numbers, but he does not believe it is something he is not able to do, just something that he has not found the right teacher for. He has actively sought the right program, the right teacher, the right class that could unlock the key to him being able to learn reading. He has done that for the better part of the past 40 years. Now I do not posess that kind of perserverance. I do not possess that kind of patience and determination. I don't possess that kind of faith. He is a genius when it comes to this. And I am totally and completely handicapped. I would of given up a long time ago but he just keeps on trucking. I so admire this in my miracle brother.

My brother I am sure knows just about everyone in his home city. I travelled the buses with him and the sheer number of people he knows and greets is amazing. Everyone knows Mark. He touches everyone in very special ways.

So to my miracle brother, I want to wish a very Happy Birthday. I want to wish him many more to come. He deserves the best.

Today's Flowers

Some flowers from this past summer.
Hollyhocks. Love the pink colours and the majestic quality of hollyhocks. Lilies are one of my favorite flowers. There are so many different varieties of them. I haven't found one I don't like.

Make sure to click on the banner for Today's Flowers and go check out some awesome flowers.

Skywatch Friday

This was a beautiful sunny day and lots of reflections in the river. I was trying to catch the reflections and the sky and also the diffferent angles of the mountains combined with those reflections.

There was quite a bit of driftwood in the water as well and that also threw some interesting reflections into the pictures.

To view skies from different contributors around the globe, please visit http://skyley.blogspot.com/.

I still have to figure out how to link the Skywatch site to my blog. I am not to computer savvy so I am slow at figuring this out!!

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Layered Black Bean and Lime Sour Cream Dip!!

Layered Balck Bean and Lime Sour Cream Dip.

The cast of characters!!! Peel garlic for grating, the more the merrier!! Chop Roma Tomatoes to ready for the processor.

Add rinsed black beans, lime zest and juice and a couple cloves of garlic to processor and puree.

Spread the black bean mixture into the bottom of nine inch pie plate.

Mix sour cream, lime juice, cilantro and green onions all chopped up together.

Spread sour cream layer on top of the black bean layer.

Chop Roma Tomatoes and some more garlic in processor. Chop more green onions.

Spread tomatoes on top of sour cream layer.

Sprinkle chopped green onions over the Tomato layer.

Cover with three cheese shredded cheese. And its done.

Chill the whole thing in the fridge until ready to serve. Serve with Tortilla Scoops. Delicious!!!


Layered Black Bean and Lime Sour Cream Dip.

3 Plum Tomatoes, seeded

2 Limes

19 oz. can Black Beans

3 or more Garlic Cloves

2 tsp. finely chopped Chipotle in Adobo sauce or chipotle Tabasco

1/2 cup light or regular Sour Cream

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh coriander

3 chopped green onions

1 cup grated cheese

1) Finely chop tomatoes. Finely grate peel from limes. Set aside. Drain beans, rinse and drain again. Place beans, garlic and chipotle in a food processor. Squeeze in 1 tbsp. Lime juice from 1 lime. Whirl until beans are pureed. Add 1 to 2 tbsp. water if puree is too thick. Scrape into a serving bowl or pie plate.

2) Place sour cream in a small bowl. Squeeze in 2 tbsp. lime juice from remaining lime. Stir in coriander and lime peel and green onions chopped, about 1 1/2 onions. Dollop over bean puree and smooth top as best you can. If making ahead, cover and refrigerate overnight.

3) Before serving, bring to room temperature and scatter tomatoes overtop. Sprinkle with cheese, then top with onions. Excellent served with blue corn or regular tortilla chips or with pita crisps for scooping.