Vintage Photo Friday - Halloween

This is from about 1980 or 81.

I was a hobo.  I think.

As you can see, Tina got a store-bought costume (that I remember being VERY jealous of), and Mom just kinda put a coat, hat, and sunglasses on me, painted a beard with mascara, and called it a day.  I do not look amused.

*sigh*

But the thing with these vintage photos is that you can learn so much more by looking beyond the intended subject.  For example:

• Top shelf behind us you can see the 8-track tape collection.  I think Mom & Dad might still have these.
• To the left of the 8-tracks, you can see the globe book-end.  I remember these.  They were not necessarily geographically correct.
• There's also what looks to be 3 sets of encyclopedias.  I only remember one of those sets of books.  The white with blue are children's story books.

I think that my favorite costume I ever had was the year that I dressed up as Dolly Parton (I was an adult).  I used a flannel shirt, added fringe, had a blond wig and fake eyelashes.  It was the best.  And even if I knew where my photos were, I'm not sure I would share a picture of that with you...

What's your favorite costume from your past?

(pseudo) Pinterest Review: Hawaiian Meatballs

Last time we were in town, I bought a bag of frozen meatballs.  Because, you know, easy dinner.  That's a Plus.  The one and only time I ever tried to make meatballs was a total failure that ended up being a yummy ground beef dish (but not meatballs).

I started with this recipe that I found on Pinterest that called for mixing barbecue sauce with pineapple.  Well, a lot of times, that's all I need, an idea - a starting point.

So I grabbed out the barbecue sauce, a can of pineapple tidbits, the last small piece of green pepper we had, the partial onion from the fridge.  Threw all that together, onto the stove in a pan, and added the meatballs.  As I let it simmer, I checked the flavors and added some of the pineapple liquid to it.  I made rice with some green pepper, using chicken broth as the liquid.

Jeff loved it!  For myself, I would make some tweeks.  I would probably start with a tomato sauce base and get to Hawaiian barbecue from there.  Plus I would add in large chunks of pepper and onion, instead of the little bitty pieces I cut.  That way there would maybe be some crunch to the dish.  Plus, I don't think the rice was right.  Maybe it was the time where I really should have just used water to make the rice.

But even though it wasn't all that I had dreamed of (because I had been thinking about that recipe for a week or two), Jeff loved it and I will make it again, with the tweeks.

What's been on your menu lately?

Happy Anniversary honey!

photos by Eric Lockstein

Yep, he goosed me.

Happy Birthday to my Daddy!

Thank you for everything you've done for me, especially over the summer with selling the condo and getting everything taken care of to move.  We could NOT have done it without you!  Love you!

1949

1966

2011

Pretty much looks the same in all of them, right?

Pinterest Review: Cheesy Garlic Fries in Foil

The other day I decided to make burgers.  Because I hadn't had a burger, in while, and I was really craving a good burger.  Living way out here, you just don't get your pick of a good burger joint, so I made my own.

I also had some potatoes that really needed to be used, so I decided to try this pin that I'd seen...

Cheesy Garlic Fries in Foil

NGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more, to taste
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 pound red potatoes, cut into 8 long wedges
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil.
• In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, to taste.
• Place potato wedges onto prepared baking sheet and fold up all 4 sides of the foil. Spoon the olive oil mixture over the potatoes. Fold the sides of the foil over the potato wedges, covering completely and sealing the packet closed.
• Place into oven and bake until tender, about 30-35 minutes.* Sprinkle with cheese; then broil for 2-3 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the potatoes are crisp.
• Serve immediately, garnished with sour cream and chives, if desired.

NOTES

*Baking time may need to be adjusted depending on the thickness of the potato wedges. 

Verdict:

Ohmygoshtheseweresosogood!  I could not believe how good these fries were!  And, I didn't even make the cheese sauce, it was just the potatoes with the garlic mixture on top.  

Now, were they that good because it'd been over two weeks since I'd had fries?  Maybe.  But I don't care because they were just so freaking good!  They are definitely going on my "to make again" board...

You had one job...

I think Hy-Vee might be hiring for a product placement position after that one...

Roadtrip to Seattle - Day 4

Day 3:

We had so much to do on our final day of our trip!  Finally, a day where we didn't have to clear out of a hotel room and drive somewhere!

So, quick, when you think of Seattle, what do you think of?

1.)  Pike's Market!
2.)  The Space Needle!
3.)  The wharf!

Yes, correct!

We started out our day going to Pike's Market to find something for breakfast.  Now, I'm used to going early to farmer's market.  So I was surprised that getting there at 8AM there were still stalls setting up.

*note:  click on any picture to make it bigger...*

Tina especially loved all the flowers.  So many flower vendors, no way to take them home...

yep, fish.  nope, we didn't see any flying fish.

From there we had to run the ultimate errand of delivering the car for transport to Alaska.  Once that was over, we were back downtown!

We decided to go down to the wharf to find something to eat.  It's very touristy down there, and, unfortunately, also a lot of homeless people.  Sad.

We had an amazing view from lunch.

How could we NOT go on the wheel?  It really was amazing!  Slow enough to allow for looking around and taking photos.

a couple of professional sports stadiums....

a view of the Space Needle!

panoramic!

sister selfie!

So awesome!  We went around quite a while.  And as each enclosed car was being unloaded/loaded, we were able to get more pictures.  It got pretty warm in there, even though there was "air conditioning", and it looked like it was getting pretty steamy in the next car!  Those two must have been on a date...  Sorry, no pictures... it's not that kind of blog!

After some ice cream, we walked down to the ferry.  We took the Washington State Ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island.

This is the ferry:

panoramic from the ferry terminal

yep, another panoramic

another sister selfie!  Oh, look, the Space Needle is photo-bombing us!  I didn't notice that before!

Mt. Rainer.  Do you see the airplane in front of it?

 Probably the best thing we did all day was to take that ferry ride.  It was great.  And way more economical than one of those "tours".

By this time it felt like we'd already had multiple days in one.

And we weren't done!

Next we were off to catch the monorail to the Space Needle!

Seattle has really good public transportation.  We used the light rail to get from our hotel by the airport to downtown.  Very handy.  But the light rail only goes so far.  And then you have to catch the monorail to the Space Needle.  I figure that the only reason the light rail ends where it does is so people take the monorail...

The Space Needle is really very impressive

There was a football game going on while we were there!

It was a very long, very fun day.  It really felt like 3 days in one, with all the stuff we did.  I wouldn't trade that day for anything!  Thanks for sharing that day with me, Tina!

Wordless Wednesday - now taking caption suggestions...

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Road Trip to Seattle - Day 3

Day 3:

We woke up in the butt - er, Butte, Montana - and headed west into the mountains.  And after we stopped to get some 5-Hour Energy, we were really off.  It was the only time on the trip I had any, but it was so necessary that morning!

I figured that since we were driving through the Rockies, we would see snow.  Nope.  Only snow was at Mount Rushmore.

We both really enjoyed seeing landscape so unlike the flat that is home.

downhill, on the side of a mountain

*note:  click on any picture to make it bigger...*

And we made it into IDAHO!

State stereotype of Idaho:  Potato fields.  I was disappointed to not see any fields.  Where do they grow all the potatoes???  The entire 78 miles of Idaho we drove through was mountains.  I believe it was somewhere in Idaho we crossed the Continental Divide, but there was just a small road sign.  I was really hoping for a nice photo op, but no.

We stopped at a restaurant that had been on +Guy Fieri's  Diners, Drive-In, & Dives:

Capone's inn Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and we had Idaho nachos (nachos on waffle fries!).  So so yummy!  Good call Guy!  I've now been to three places featured on Triple D, and all were great!

From there we drove to Washington.

Here's the deal:  I'm disappointed in you, Washington.

• First of all, you put your state sign on the left side of the road, instead of the right, which resulted in a lost photo op!   
• Secondly, once we got out of Spokane metro area, the state was all flat-ish and brown.  My state stereotype of Washington was lush, fertile, green, with rolling hills and lots of apple trees.  I am so incredibly disappointed for much of the afternoon that we spent driving west through Washington.  Oh, and guess what state produces the most potatoes in the US.  Not Idaho.  It's Washington.

not what I expected, Washington...

• Thirdly, and probably the most egregious error on your part, Washington...  There is a stretch of interstate, out in farm country, where the name of the crop in the field is marked on the fence.  "Cool!" we thought.  We were wrong.  Why were we wrong?  Because on more than one occasion, a corn field was marked "PEAS".  Peas?  Please!  We are farmers' daughters and we know better!  But all those other people who only get into the country when driving the interstate, now they think that peas grow on corn stalks.  You had one job!

But I digress...

Once we got to the Columbia River, we were definitely impressed.

panoramic shot

sister selfie with the river!  maybe I should dial down the "softness" filter on my cell phone...

Tina showing Mendota pride at the Columbia River.

once again, a plant growing out of a rock...

By the time we made it to Seattle, it was time to get some dinner (at the hotel restaurant) and look at the computer so we knew what we really wanted to do the final full day of our trip.  Day 4 = Seattle Tourists!  Stay tuned...