Life is grand at Las Islas Ranch

Sunset at Las Islas Ranch

Today we are driving out to the deer lease. The hunting season is over, but now it is time to fill feeders and do some clean up and repairs. The men will organize early in the morning and drive out. They'll be gone for about three or four hours and be hungry, dirty and tired when they come in. The ladies will congregate at someone's deer lease "mansion"... camper, cabin or duplex, which is what we have. We'll enjoy an old movie and lots of visiting. It's a great place to relax. In the evening we'll grill steaks and there will be more visiting. It's going to be great! I'll catch up with everyone on Monday.

Have a wonderful weekend, my blogger friends!

Friday is for Father

My father is the man on top of this armored car

In my father's book he writes, "This was taken during the Ardennas Offensive, and a few days after our withdrawal from St. Vith on the night of December 23, 1944. The crew of Pregi, Boykin, Hansen, and Powers lost their M-8 that night. So this must be the replacement M-8 to 1st Section 2d Platoon RCN CO, and the replacement crew, for Powers was transferred to Headquarters Plt., Pregi became 2d platoon sergeant, and Hansen became RCN CO radio man. As I remember, 2d Platoon was the first of RCN CO to begin taking on missions after the 23d December. The .30 cal machine gun mounted on the turret in the photograph is one I don't remember. This is the only doubt I have in my assessment of this."

This stated since some of you might be interested in this sort of thing (what a far cry from recipes and home decorating!) my father was a military historican, particularly for the 7th Armored Division. His stories were amazing. Most were recounted in his book Gare La Bete, published in 1995 and unfortunately out of print.

My parents - Rosemary and Cal

Fortunately my father survived a brutal war and married my mother. Many years passed before my father was willing to talk about his war experiences, but when he began talking and writing about the war, he revealed much of what made up his character - a love for life, adventure and he looked forward to every day.

T(h)una for Thursday!

Tuna with Apple Salad

I use 2 x-large cans of the very, very best Star Kist White Albacore Chunk Tuna, canned in spring water. Do not use cheap tuna. Drain excess liquid from tuna using a colander. Separate chunks with a fork and then squeeze the juice of a fresh lime (or two) over the tuna. Stir lightly with the fork. Allow to set while preparing the remaining mixture. In a medium size mixing bowl add 3 large, diced hard boiled eggs, 1 diced apple with peeling, about a 1/4 c. chopped green onion with their blades, 1/4 c. Vlasic Dill pickle relish, 1 Tbsp. drained minced pimento and mix gently. Add 1 c. or a little more of Hellman's mayonnaise. Add seeded and minced fresh jalapenos, if desired. Combine all ingredients together and chill. This is the yummiest tuna-apple salad I've ever eaten!

The Peacock Mystery

Have you seen these peacocks before?

I truly have a "thing" for these peacocks. They rested on my mother's fireplace mantel for years. I can't believe I never asked her about them... and now it is too late. These past several months I have seen them appear in two other blogs. One blog is Lazy Peacock where her one is painted white. The other blog is Three Hermanas. In my photograph there is the one pose. In Three Hermanas there is this pose and then another one. (If you are checking out this blog it is shown in "older posts") I had originally thought that these had just been casually bought and my mother had placed them on her mantel. Some time back I was going through old photos of my grandmother's home and there the peacocks were... on her mantel! If anyone knows anything about these peacocks I would love to hear from you!

Salsa Mexicana at Ruby Tuesday!

Salsa Mexicana aka Pico de Gallo

This was the Salsa Mexicana we enjoyed at the beach at Las Hamacas Restaurant at Boca de Pascuales, Mexico this past week. In deep south Texas we call this pico de gallo... but in Mexico, if you order this you may get a fruit salad and then again.. they may not know what you are talking about at all. Pico de gallo translated means rooster's beak.

My recipe for Salsa Mexicana

Red, red, red tomatoes, diced

Yellow onion, diced

Seranno chili cut in half length-wise, seeds and membrane removed and then minced. (If you rub your eyes after that, you are in some trouble. So be aware that you are working with a "dangerous" substance!)

Cilantro, chopped... no stems, please

Squeeze a good amount of fresh lime over the mixture

Sprinkle with sea salt

   Add chopped avocado to this and it is even yummier. Many people add minced garlic and a little olive oil.

There are many recipes for this but this is the basic one. And it's so healthy!

Enjoy the wonderful Ruby Tuesday postings at http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/

Goats galore!

We took the grandkiddies to meet the "kids"... goats at one of our farms in Mexico. They love them. Carmen eagerly waded through the goats, picking up a baby one to show her little brother. "Pops" explained to young David how this was a little boy like him. David didn't know quite what to think at first, but Carmen eagerly got the knack of making friends. Later she was able to help with feeding the mamas. It was a fun day for us as we had started the afternoon off with lunch at the beach.