Hawaiian Scrapbook Night

Another summer event where I took a picture before everyone arrived, and then had so much fun that I forgot to break out the camera again. I invited a few friends over for dinner and scrapbooking and surprisingly everyone was able to come! Amy K, Angela H, Cristal G, Jean B, Jessie M, Mary H, Kathy C, Audrey & I. We provided the rice, chicken and gravy for Hawaiian haystacks while they brought the toppings. Everyone enjoyed eating outside and visiting until we were full and headed inside to scrap for a few hours. FUN TIME!
HAWAIIAN HAYSTACKS
8 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can herbed cream of chicken soup
2 cups chicken broth
2 pkg. cream cheese
Pepper to taste
10 cups steamed rice
Garnishes: Chow mein noodles, diced tomatoes, sliced olives, chopped celery, chopped green onions, chopped green pepper, pineapple tidbits, mandarin oranges, grated cheese, slivered almonds, coconut

Summer Reading List

Below are just a FEW of the books I read this summer. Reminded me of when I was in 1st Grade. Each child got a little gold star sticker for every book they read. These were the ones that were maybe 2mm big. The names & stars were posted on the wall. By the end of 1st grade, my teacher had to keep extending my chart until my stars literally wrapped around the perimeter of the entire room. I loved to read! Still do, obviously.

SUMMER READING LIST:

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

Miss You Most of All - Elizabeth Bass

Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand

Look Again - Lisa Scottoline

A Lesson in Secrets - Jacqueline Winspear

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt - Beth Hoffman

Crunch Time - Diane Mott Davidson

A Year on Ladybug Farm - Donna Ball

Huckleberry Finished - Livia Washburn

Ghost in Trouble - Carolyn Hart

City Limits - Sheralyn Pratt

The Walk and Miles to Go - Richard Paul Evans

High Priest Corn and Steak Feed

John is one of the counselor's in the High Priest group at church, so was helping with the annual Steak Feed held in the Mattoon's back yard. We brought our barbecue and then John, Darin Christensen and Eric Clifford did a great job of cooking the steaks (hand picked by Kevin Erickson)and boiling fresh corn on the cob for around 70 adults. Everyone brought items for the potluck (salads, desserts, rolls) and we actually kept running out of room at the tables - kept having to set up more tables to hold the food for the buffet. It was a great turnout and we had wonderful time enjoying the beautiful surroundings and the great conversation. In fact, had such a fun time visiting that I did not take any pictures of the event....but here is the salad I brought.



PARADISE BAKERY SUMMERY BERRY SALAD
1 lb. romaine lettuce
1/2 cup pineapple tidbits, drained
1/2 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup blueberries
1 can mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup toasted pecans
Poppy seed dressing

Slice fruit and combined with lettuce and dressing. Enjoy!

Orange Rhubarb Bread

We have had a rhubarb plant in our yard from the day we first moved to our house (so 22 years). I'm always on the hunt for rhubarb recipes to add to my collection.

ORANGE RHUBARB BREAD
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp grated orange peel
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup orange juice
1 & 1/2 cups chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb
1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease one loaf pan or 3 mini loaf pans. In a bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in orange peel and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and nutmeg; add to creamed mixture alternately with orange juice. Fold in rhubarb and almonds. Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out

Cowboys and Aliens

This could easily have been the weirdest movie I've seen in a long time. I guess with the premise (cowboys AND aliens) I should have been warned, right?! Anyway, John and Audrey loved it! And treating ourselves to Sonic Drive-In after the movie on a hot summer day was great.

CDA: Date Night

With Audrey working every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, John and I have gotten into the habit of having a date night once a week. Tonight we went to Coeur d'Alene because there were three different events happening in the downtown area. We started at the Art on the Green near the North Idaho campus.

After we saw some fantastic arts and crafts, we headed towards the public park where there were more crafts vendors as well as food vendors. We shared a Mexican burrito bowl and then bought candied almonds. We then headed to downtown CDA where a street fair was in full swing. We spent the rest of the evening checking out the booths and the shops, tried some lemon shaved ice and had two cupcakes at Frosted Cupcake. Thanks for a great date night honey!

Kitty Vet Visit

Kitty had her annual vet visit today. I have to schedule a day off to do this as it is a two person job to get her to the vet and back in one piece. She does not like the ride in the vehicle, she starts getting rather nervous. And then we get there and he takes her temperature and gives her shots - really, what should she be looking forward to anyway? But I think it is sweet how they always give her a kerchief to wear for being a good patient!