Friday, May 30, 2014

A Royal Visit

Here are a couple of views of our lounge
As most of you know the Clubhouse is very small. We live comfortably but we have sacrificed a "staple" (albeit typically unused) room of most homes, the dining room, to be more comfortable in our lounge. Unfortunately that precludes us from having dinner parties unless serving and eating buffet-style is OK with you or your guests.
No room for a dining table here
We have been in the Clubhouse for a little over 3 years now and have not had one sit-down dinner party. This has driven me nuts as I love to entertain at my table. 

So last year we bought one of those 10'x10' "pop-up" marquees to cover an area of the patio and have a dinner party outdoors. Well, the first one is coming up in a little over a week. Dr. Joe is going to be visiting from Napa that week and Mr. B and I will be having my gay gang over for cocktails and dinner. I have a bit of a menu in mind but I'll hold off on describing it until I have finalized it. 

Preparing for "Royals"
Preparations have already begun with a full housecleaning underway as I type this post. Every morning, before work, while I am making lunches, ironing, etc., I have been polishing away at the silverware getting the coffee service and other pieces ready for the impending visit of  four fussy queens. Bathrooms must be spit-polished and the entire place dusted, spritzed, and vacuumed. It's kind of exciting to be preparing for this. I'll keep you all appraised of the preparations and the event itself. 

Wish me luck!

Found outside Frenchy's House Party Clubhouse today

Orchidaceae Cypripedium Reginae

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Oh... That's a Campsite Quickie!

All these years...



Can Opener Chicken

1 can (16 ounces) French-style green beans, drained
1 can (10 1/2 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 cans (5 ounces each) boned chicken
1 package (8 ounces) chow mein noodles
In saucepan on grill, heat beans, soup and chicken. Serve hot chicken mixture over noodles. 4 to 6 servings.

Hot Orange Tea

2 jars (4 2/3 ounces each) orange-flavored instant breakfast drink
1 jar (2 ounces) instant tea
1/2 cup sugar
2 packages (.15 ounce each) pre-sweetened lemon soft drink mix
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
Mix all ingredients; store in tightly covered container. To serve, measure 1 teaspoon mix into cup; fill with boiling water.

Campers’ Equipment List

  • A length of clothesline to string between two trees.
  • Clothespins for hanging jackets, towels and drawstring bags full of equipment – and to weight the edge of the tablecloth on windy days.
  • Insulated hot and cold food containers. (North woods campers will bury a cooler in the ground and cover it with pine boughs to keep it cool.)
 From Vintage Recipe Cards.com

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Jenny Craig Diet Update, Week 8

Diet food!
Oops! I forgot to post my results last week so I'll combine this week and last. Boy, this week was not a good one for the diet. I went berserk on Tuesday and took Mr. B to the Harwichport A&W for $.99 Coney Dog night. We used to go once every 2-3 weeks or so (during the summer season) because the food at this place is so good and the place is as clean as an operating room. We ordered 6 Coney dogs, fries, onion rings and I had a diet root beer and Mr. B had a root beer float ($19). A bargain, but boy was that a bad idea. I suppose that it is OK to have a splurge once in a while, and Lisa, my Jenny girl, says that it is OK to do it, but I should restrain myself a little. And not having a float in my root beer isn't really showing restraint.The next day I was back on the diet enjoying a nice food hangover. Serves me right!

To make matters worse on Friday night I had had enough of work, housework, etc. and decided that I was going to enjoy the launch of my holiday weekend with a scallop roll at the aforementioned A&W. They feature a special on Fridays that is a scallop roll and fries for $9.99. Not being able to resist a good scallop roll (which it was), nor a bargain, I said 'screw it' and we toddled off figuring that it will take me a week longer to reach my goal but it was Friday of Memorial Day Weekend! Does anyone out there blame me??

So yesterday I didn't get on the Wii Balance Board scale to weigh myself because I just didn't want the bad news. I did get on it this morning but didn't turn on the sound for 2 reasons. 
  1. When you turn that thing on and step on it, the little voice says 'oh..', like you're too fat and that it's straining under your bulk. I hate that! 
  2. Then after weighing you it plays some music that is akin to the slide trombone sound that signals disappointment. I hate that too! 

To make matters worse after those distressing sounds when it displays your Body Mass Index, your avatar, which starts off slim, grows fat while the slide goes up the BMI scale, lands on 'Obese' and the little voice says 'That's obese!'. If nothing else I want to lose enough weight to get that little bastard to stop saying 'That's obese!' and to get that line under 'Obese'. This contraption says I should weigh 180 lbs., but that is way too low for me so just getting it under 'Obese' will be a thrill. 

Anyway, the results are, that over the last two weeks, even with two trips to A&W I have lost another 6.8 pounds for a total of 37.2 pounds! See you at A&W!!

Important news from the Cape Cod Police and Court News