My only successful crop this year

I only planted one small bit of sweet potatoes but it was my best crop. I planted in a tall planter and just left it to grow. The vines went everywhere I even cut them back once. I talked to a gentleman to the farmers market he said I shouldn't have done that said its better to just let them grow. Even though it was only a small amount I did get a whole bunch of sweet potatoes.  They have to sit for 2 weeks at least before they'll be sweet. I'm going to let them sit till Thanksgiving and serve them up for Thanksgiving dinner.

Who Knew?

I have always had a special place in my heart for Wolves.  They are beautiful creatures who care for their family and help remove the sick and elderly from heads to make them stronger.

No More Magic at Disney World!

Hello all,  I have been studying for the Florida State teachers Exam.  I was suppose to take it last Tuesday but a storm came through the night before and when I went to the exam site all their computers were down.  I am now taking it Thursday so wish me luck.

You might be wondering about my title....We we went to Disney World this summer.  Where before it had always been a fun filled trip this time was a total different story.

Lets start with the Magic Hour... that wonderful extra hour you get when you stay in one of the Disney resort hotels.  Well forget it... it is no longer worth the fantastic fortune you will spend to stay on site.  They have built up the resorts so much and are adding more that you will wait in just as long a line as those who stay off resort.  We went to check out the new Seven Dwarf Mine Train (a big disappointment in itself) using the early morning hour.  First you are herded like cattle with so much pushing and shoving that you would be best to avoid taking younger children during this time.  We finally got to the ride and lucked out with only a 5 minute wait.  I say lucked out because by the time we got off the ride the line was already up to 80 minutes... this is during the early hour where before we never had to wait more then 5 minutes for any ride.

The new Seven Dwarf Mine Train was a terrible disappointment.  The cannibalized the orignial Snow White ride, which they shut down for being "too Scary"... I am sorry but if it was not too scary to allow your child to watch Snow White then this ride is not too Scary.  If your child was frightened by the Snow White movie then what the hell are you doing on the ride.  Anyway... They took the mine and the part where they were dancing in the cottage and put it on a mild rollercoster.  I don't mind the mild rollercoster ...I think it is great there are roller coaster for young children to enjoy... but this was more Six Flags then Disney Magic.  Folks if you are going to Disney and want to try this ride if the line is longer then 10 minutes dont waste your time!!!

Next they are destroying Epcot...I always loved Epcot the only thing I ever wanted to change was for them to add more culturally significant displays...I mean Japan is all stores and they have a hell of a history!  What are they doing ... they are taking one of the FEW culturally significant areas of Epcot and filling it with stuff that belongs in the Magic Kingdom.  I am of course talking about Norway.. First they took Stave Church which had an exhibit on Norway culture and filled it with Frozen stuff.  Next they are destroying the Maelstrom which is a flume type ride which riders "seek the spirit of Norway" and are making it into another Frozen Attraction.  There is plenty of room they could have built on a new area of the Magic Kingdom to house Frozen in all its glory which would alleviate the over crowding caused by supersizing their resorts but instead they chose to go the cheap route and mess up one of the few areas of Epcot that allows you to experience part of another countries culture.

My last bit of disillusionment came when I got home... I do not usually buy souvenirs when we go on vacation because I am trying to un-clutter my life and photos are a better souvenir that does not take up much space.  This was the exception..

Isn't it adorable. It is call Micky's Mini Garden It was grown from one of the the cells of the Dragon Fruit plants they have in their green houses.  It is suppose to be a sterile environment which you let it grow until it starts to get too big for its jar.  Then you transplant it.  Well stuff started growing in the Gel.  I tried contacting Disney Customer service to find out what I should do but never heard back from them.  

When "stuff" had almost covered the entire gel I decided to take it out and plant it.  This is what it looked like when I took the Dragon Fruit out of it.... Pretty sterile huh!

Here is my little Dragon Fruit I hope what ever that was growing in its "sterile" environment was not hazardous to my health and I hope it stays alive.  It is so tiny I had to use tweezers to get it out of the jar I hope I didn't damage it. 

Oktoberfest Cravings Satisfied

My son was volunteering for a charity and their booth was at an Oktoberfest fair.  All the super tasty smells that were filling the air was driving me nuts.  I didn't buy anything that on Saturday but decided I would try and make something myself. I whipped up a batch of chicken schnitzel...something I have never made. 

 Have a look and tell me what you think.

 It gets four stars from the Sargent family even my picky son thought it was great.  I got this recipe from Bon Appetit. Here is a link to their website:  BON APPETIT

Chicken Schnitzel INGREDIENTS

 • 4 4-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/8-inch thickness
 • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
 • 1 cup all-purpose flour (for dredging)
 • 2 large eggs
 • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
 • 2 cups (or more) whole wheat (or regular) panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
 • 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
 • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
 • Chopped flat-leaf parsley
 • Lemon wedges

 • • Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place flour on a plate. Beat eggs and Dijon mustard to blend in a shallow baking dish. Place 1 cup panko in another shallow baking dish, adding remaining 1 cup panko, or more, to dish as needed throughout process. Working with 1 chicken breast at a time, dredge in flour, shaking off excess, then dip into egg mixture, turning to coat evenly; carefully coat with panko, pressing panko gently to adhere to chicken. Transfer chicken to prepared baking sheet.
 • Heat 1 Tbsp. oil and 1 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat (pan should be large enough to hold 2 breasts) Add 2 chicken breasts to skillet and cook until golden brown on both sides, 8-10 minutes. (I actually had to do them one at a time since that was all that would fit in the pan.) 

Transfer chicken breasts to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt. Add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and 1 Tbsp. butter to skillet and repeat with remaining chicken breasts. Transfer chicken breasts to plates and garnish each with parsley and a lemon wedge.

 • RECIPE BY Jeanne Kelley

 I served it with new potatoes and roasted garlic...not very Austrian I guess but it all tasted fabulous!!!

Sorry its been awhile

My first Summer here in Florida did not go well.  The heat and humidity was so oppressive that I just didn't have the energy for anything.  Even when I took the dogs out first thing in the morning (even before the sun rose) the heat and humidity was miserable even the dogs didn't want to play and only half halfheartedly chased after the squirrels invading our yard.

My garden didn't do so well either the bugs got the squash and the watermelon. I didn't want to spray bug killer because of the toads I had living there  I was hoping they would get the bugs before the bugs did too much damage but no luck.

 I had lots of flowers on my tomatoes and peppers but no visits from the bees.  My sweet potatoes are the only thing that seem to be thriving  I cant wait to dig them up to see what I get.

Now I am working as a substitute teacher which is a lot of fun but not exactly steady work and I am debating on taking an evening job to keep the cash rolling in.

Even the arrival of my favorite squash in the market didn't lift my funk ... yes even my fall favorite the pumpkin failed to cheer me up.

Fortunately the last two days have been wonderfully cool ... I was even able to leave my windows open all day yesterday.... It was fabulous...  If the weather was like that more often I could understand why people would want to retire here.  You can hang out in an air conditioned building anywhere but here it feels like you are trapped.  I didn't even take my daily walks and I could actually feel myself become more lethargic.

However now that my Hubby has retired from the Military, we are here to stay!  That being said it is time for me to shake off the funk and start looking for things I like about my new home.  This will be my last complaint about Florida.  I will find things I enjoy about living here if it Kills me lol!

Let Mother Nature do the Heavy Work

We went to Home Depot or Lowes garden centers to find out the best way to get some grass growing in our yard we got tons of sand here. What we found out is because this and we would have to buy tons of topsoil in Sod to get grass to grow here. Since this is where we are going to be staying we decided to take the long view. 

Here outside my garage where the leaves have been piling up for who knows how long there is some nice rich soil underneath. How do i know its good soil it is loaded with earth worms.

 We have tons of trees here the leaves are everywhere so instead of bagging them up and having them hauled away we are moving them into the rest of the yard where the sand is taking over. 

So now when I mow the yard to keep the weeds in check  I also mulch up the leaves which will eventually turn into nice rich soil. The cost nothing but some nice hard work that I was going to do anyway.

How do you know a Company is Evil

When they do everything in their power to keep you from knowing about them.

Food industry groups sue to block Vermont's GMOs labeling law

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/food-industry-groups-sue-to-block-vermonts-gmos-labeling-law/

Lawsuit challenges Vermont's GMO labeling law

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/12/lawsuit-challenges-vermonts-gmo-labeling-law/10402301/

Second Lawsuit Filed Against County’s Anti-GMO Law

http://bigislandnow.com/2014/06/11/second-lawsuit-filed-against-countys-anti-gmo-law

Makes you wonder what they are trying to hide that the are willing to sue a state for giving consumers what they asked for.

Guardians of the Garden

We were cleaning up the back yard this weekend and I managed to snap a few photos of some of the gardens best friends. I didn't get a shot of the garter snake that jumped out and scared the crap outta me he was just too fast.