Sunday Snapshot - A Walk on the Beach

We had a quite enjoyable afternoon with The Boy today.

We headed over to Coronado beach for a walk.  Lots of rules at the beach here... can't even fly a kite?

Still, a nice day for a walk.  Besides, we didn't bring our kite, so no worries there.

Coronado has lovely beaches.  Lots of people thought so today.

Lots of seagulls think that too.

We stopped off briefly at the Hotel Del California.  Gorgeous hotel.

Among the many famous people who stayed there was Ronald Reagan.   He even held a state event there!

Nothing like the beach on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Hope you enjoyed your Sunday afternoon as much as we did!

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What Men Do - Fishing and Fire!

The Girl is on a church trip this week, so we thought we would take The Boy and do some things that she would not like to do. Today we tried fishing, something that The Boy really wanted to do. At least at first.

We headed to Santee Lakes, a recreation area nearby.  We'd never been there before and it turned out to be a really nice place!  Though the Lakes weren't quite like those I grew up around in Minnesota, they are quite lovely.  And the bonus?  No mosquitoes!

Things started well.  The Mr and The Boy got the gear ready.

Then The BOy gets ready to bait the hook.  And here's where things started to turn around.

He simply couldn't do it.  Couldn't touch the worm.  A random kid who was wandering by tried to show him how to get the worm and put it on the hook, but to no avail.

He wasn't terribly happy about how it turned out.

But The Mr did some fishing... and even caught a bass!  OK, it was a little guy, but as the bass are all catch and release at Santee Lakes, a little one is just as good as a big one!

Beautiful view, wouldn't you say?!  (ignoring the people in the background that is)

Not to worry about The Boy though.  He redeemed himself at the grill.  On his first ever attempt at grilling, he did a top-notch job grilling tonight's dinner!  While he's got a ways to go on the "fishing" thing, he's got the "fire" down!

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What's For Dinner - Grilled Greek Chicken

Looking for a twist for your grilled chicken? This recipe is easy and adds a different dimension to your chicken. The marinade keeps it super-moist, and the yogurt adds a tang and a bit of creaminess.  I served it with fresh peas (from the garden!) and Bulgar wheat.  Delicious!

Grilled Greek Chicken

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 tsp dried.
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 2 tsp dried
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
• Lemon slices, if desired
• Parsley sprigs, if desired

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients except chicken, lemon slices and parsley in a glass dish or heavy-duty resealable plastic bag. Add chicken, turning to coat with marinade. Cover dish or seal bag and refrigerate at least 8 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
2. Brush grill rack with vegetable oil. Heat coals or gas grill for direct heat. Remove chicken from marinade; reserve marinade. Cover and grill chicken 4 to 5 inches from medium heat 15to 20 minutes, brushing occasionally with marinade and turning after 9 minutes, until juice is no longer pink when center of thickest piece is cut. Discard any remaining marinade. Remove chicken from grill.
3. To serve, cut chicken diagonally into 1/2-inch slices. Garnish with lemon slices and parsley.

What's on your table this weekend?

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Fruit Salsa With Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

Looking for something light to end your meal?  Try this!

Fruit Salsa With Cinnamon Tortilla Chips
Ingredients
2 tbsp apple jelly
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup range juice
1 jalapeno chile (seeded and minced)
2 apples (peeled cored and finely chopped)
1 pt strawberry (hulled and finely chopped)
3 kiwi fruits (peeled and finely chopped)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
12 flour tortillas (6 inch)

Directions

1. Whisk the jelly, sugar, orange juice, and jalepeno together in large bowl. Add apples, strawberries, and kiwis. Toss to coat.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Lightly coat tortillas on both sides with cooking spray and cut into 6 wedges each. Arrange tortillas in a single layer on 2 baking sheets and sprinkle sugar mixture over top of tortillas. Bake until golden and crispy, about 10-15 minutes.
3. Serve chips with salsa.

Tasty, and light... and a good way to use whatever leftover fruit you've got.

What's your favorite light and summery dessert?

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Wordless Wednesday - Corny!

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Menu Planning

Lat week was not good for staying on our menu.  Work was crazy, we never really got to the grocery store, the kids' schedule was off...  We're going to try harder this week.

Here's what we'll be eating:


Wednesday:  Greek Turkey Tenderloins
Thursday:  Peperoncini Beef Sandwiches
Friday:  Lemonade Chicken
Saturday:  Spaghetti and Meatballs
Sunday:  Star Wars Dinner
Monday:  Mexican Steak
Tuesday:  Someone else cooks!

Linked here:  Organizing Junkie

What's on your table this week?

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News from Africa

My sis is in Africa with my dad.  They've been there for almost a week, and things are going as expected.

We've had a hard time getting any information from them though.  Ethiopia has the 4th worst internet in the world.  So, not so easy to get online.

Even though The Mr and I experienced it when we were there in March, we are still chomping at the bit for information.  We've had a few bits -

We got this from my sis first:

We made it and have settled in. Katy is still at foster home. Tomorrow we're going to her orphanage in Zewyai. Now we're off to the airport to pick up Sharon. More coming soon... love, steph and dad

Then a few days later...

Hi again! It's Saturday night and we're pretty wiped out. Sharon got in this morning and lasted until about 6:30 when she crashed. Yesterday we went to the foster home for katy and the staff there said we couldn't take her until after the embassy. Then we went to see Mr Alemu the attorney and he said we should be able to take her. argh. We made plans to drive south to see her orphanage tomorrow and were planning on picking her up and bringing her here in the afternoon but now I'm not sure what's going on. Conceiveably we won't have custody of her until Tuesday before the embassy appointment. It's been frustrating to say the least. Maybe I'll be able to get Mr Alemu to talk to the staff tomorrow so he can straighten it out. sigh.

In any case, she's looking good and we had fun playing with all the kids today. A and M are still there as well as baby Shaq and Little M. Mr Aleum said A and M are waiting for paperwork to go through for a courier to bring them home and that Little M's case will be cleared on Monday. Good to see they will be leaving soon. It's a much different place now with so many kids. The little ones didn't seem to come out at all except Katy because we were there. It's time to have her here with me. Hopefully we can clear up her cold when she's not around all the other sick kids. We will all most likely come home with colds after today for sure!

 We'll check in again after our visit to the orphanage. I've gotten a few more pictures than the last trip but it's the same old story as before. Tomorrow should be good for picture taking.

 


Nice to hear about some of the kids we saw when we were there.  A & M are brother and sister, 6 and 4.  Super smart kids, and heading to New York to be with their forever family.  Their parents were there the day we got there, incredibly tired and disoriented, and they were unbelievably helpful.  I know that A & M will have a great life.

Baby Shaq (so called because he does look a lot like Shaq) was just the sweetest little man.  I hope he heads home soon.  And Little M looks like she will will be headed to her forever home in Hawaii soon - I know her family is happy about that!




Then my Dad sent an update - the one we were really waiting for... Katy is officially with her mama!!

I finally got on to the internet and gmail. There is only dial up here and for a while I couldn't get it to work. I still can't open an emails for some reason but I can at least send out email.

We are now grandparents having picked Katy up yesterday. A bit traumatic but she has settled down today and is now sleeping quietly on the couch in the main room of the guest house. All the nannies cried when she left and Katy was none to happy as well. She also has a pretty bad chest cold and was very tired. She slept well last night and is sleeping now. She was much more content this morning.

On Sunday we took a trip to Ziway, about 100 + miles south of Addis. The orphanage that she came from is in Ziway and we found it to be a very nice, clean place where the children were very well taken care of. The trip itself was very interesting but I'll tell you about that when we get back. The whole trip here can only be described as sensory overload +. You couldn't survive here. I have seen a few wheelchairs but I can't imagine how anybody in a wheelchair can function.

Today at 1:30 PM we go to the embassy and finallize the adoption and on Thursday get Katy's visa. On Friday there is a ceremony at the foster home and then we go to the airport.

 I'm have a great difficulty with this email so I'll just sign off now. I've also had trouble with the phone and will find out at the embassy how to make it work. Then I"ll call you tonight at a time which will be between noon and 3:00 PM. I hope it works.

I'll talk to you later today and will see you soon with your new granddaughter.

I sure wish that The Mr and I could be there right now.  We loved spending time with the kids there, and would have enjoyed spending some more time in Ethiopia.  One day we'll go back, when Katy is old enough to understand.  That will be an amazing trip.

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Tuesday Garden Party - Everything's Coming Up Roses!

Everything is coming up roses, both figuratively and literally!

We seem to have fixed our rat problem... or at least we've figured out how to co-exist in peace. No more dead rats in traps, and no more rat-eaten fruits and veggies.

Corn, peas, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, watermelon - all flourishing! Flowers on the peppers, pumpkins and tomatoes promise lots of produce for our future. Corn is popping. (ha) I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will all grow as we hope.

In addition to our veggies, we've got a lovely rose garden. It is the first thing that you see when you look into the yard, and is just gorgeous this year.

The Ronald Reagan...

... and the Nancy Reagan just about to bloom (ignore the aphids and bird seed)...

... one of the lovely Laura Bush's...

... another random red rose...

... and one of the most prolific of our roses...

... another budding rose - this one has gorgeous yellow and orange blooms...

... all of them keep getting trimmed back so that roses don't overtake the house...

... and one last view.

Some of these were there when we moved in and some we've added over time.  I love having these roses - they provide nearly year-round color and beauty in our yard.

Next week, I'm hoping to see some blossoms on the watermelon.  Do you think we'll have any?  Check back next week to see - in the meantime, check out An Oregon Cottage for her weekly Garden Party.

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Harvest Monday: June 20, 2011

Probably not a big shock. Radishes and strawberries.

But wait - also some herbs and a pepper...

And some mint...

And a lot of lemons!

Total Harvest for the Week:  9 pounds, 6.1 ounces
Total Harvest for the Year:  10 pounds, 13.7 ounces


This week, I expect to pick the last of the radishes, some more strawberries, and hopefully the first of the peas. And soon - hot peppers!


Linked up with Daphne's Dandelion's Harvest Monday... hop on over and see what else is being picked this week.

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Father's Day Thai Dinner

Because every father needs a tie for Father's Day, we decided to have "Thai Dinner" to celebrate our dads!

Great menu - Tom Yum soup, fresh spring rolls, chicken satay, green curry chicken, panang curry beef and chicken pad Thai noodles.  We had a range of spiciness, from mild to super spicy, and it was all delicious.

Here's the gang with their ties and Thai food!

Happy Father's Day to The Mr and to my father-in-law!  Both are great dads, and we are blessed to be able to have them in our lives.


I'd have loved to spend Father's Day with my dad too.  My dad has always been there for me and for my sister.  He always told us we could be and do whatever we wanted and has helped us to do just that.  And this year on Father's Day, he is once again there for us - he's in Africa with my sister, helping finalize her dream of adopting a baby.  I know my dad wouldn't want to be anywhere else this Father's Day, and that's just one of the reasons I love him.  Happy Father's Day Dad!!

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