Friday, March 27, 2009

Job Opportunity in a Depressed Economy

Add picture of dog poop collecting van.

Message from a neighbor, the train, later that day

The dog collar hanging on the fence was a message from Neighbor Bob. I arrived home just as he walked up, holding the dog collar. Being new to the neighborhood, I wasn't sure what these silent messages might mean. Bob explained, "It means your dog is out of the yard and running the streets." However, I reassured him that JIM SAID the dog would get out, I shouldn't worry about it, and the dog would be waiting at the gate when I returned. Bob also had a note for the weekly gardener to tape to the fence, "DO NOT LET OUT THE DOG." I told Bob that yesterday the gardeners had been there and were very careful about making sure the dog was inside before they left. Bob kept his note.


The Northern Pacific RR. I grew up down the street and our property backed up to the tracks. The sound of the train this afternoon brought back many happy memories.



Later that day . . .
Oh sure. Just lay there. Looking all cute and sweet and innocent.


This dog is a sweet angel.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

My Morning Walk

A stern conversation with the dog after he followed me out the gate. He listened quite well.


Across the street: beyond the vernal pool, a small levee provides a gravel walking trail.

I met Charlotte, the preserve manager. She comes to Hansen Ranch Preserve about once a month and was quite informative about local trails. I decided to try one.

Around the corner, through the public access gate, cross the railroad tracks, take the branch to the right and before you is a mini-wildlife refuge for waterfowl










Monday, March 23, 2009

Winter in Nova Scotia

November 1, 2007 to February 19, 2008

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Kicking Olives

This is my second day. There's always a unique aspect to every housesitting job.

Just before Jim and Lucy left, JIM SAID to please "kick the olives" out of the path of the car driving in and out of the yard.


Olives trees line one side of a brick driveway with 2 rows along the street. Lots of olives and this must be the dropping season. When you step on them, a red juice comes out. That kind of red that you know will stain a piece of clothing permanently. Certainly there are stains on the bricks of the driveway. Yesterday I kicked the olives to the side. It didn't matter if they went in a flower bed or on the lawn.

The lawn and flower beds are loaded with kicked-to-the-side or dropped-from-the-trees olives.

But today, I decided I would sweep as many as possible into the back-into turn-around for the driveway.

Kicking Olives

This is my second day. There's always a unique aspect to every housesitting job.

Just before Jim and Lucy left, JIM SAID to please "kick the olives" out of the path of the car driving in and out of the yard.


Olives trees line one side of a brick driveway with 2 rows along the street. Lots of olives and this must be the dropping season. When you step on them, a red juice comes out. That kind of red that you know will stain a piece of clothing permanently. Certainly there are stains on the bricks of the driveway. Yesterday I kicked the olives to the side. It didn't matter if they went in a flower bed or on the lawn.

The lawn and flower beds are loaded with kicked-to-the-side or dropped-from-the-trees olives.

But today, I decided I would sweep as many as possible into the back-into turn-around for the driveway.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

22 March to 5 April in Rio Linda, California

The setting



Looking across the street to Hansen Preserve and a vernal pool.













The Owners: Jim and Lucy.

What's the connection? Arlete has known Jim since our early days in 4-H, about 50 years ago. Both our families had egg-producing chicken ranches in Rio Linda and our fathers were well-acquainted. Dick has known Jim almost as long. Dick's family and Jim's family both belonged the Creekside Pool when they were kids. Jim, Dick, and Arlete all went to Rio Linda Sr High School. Arlete graduated in 1966, Jim in 1967, Dick in 1968.

What's our situation at this time? Dick is in Guaymas, Mexico, supervising repairs on our catamaran. Arlete came home for the birth of Granddaughter #1. Arlete was staying with her oldest son in East Nicolaus until this opportunity arose.

22 March to 5 April in Rio Linda, California

The setting



Looking across the street to Hansen Preserve and a vernal pool.













The Owners: Jim and Lucy.

What's the connection? Arlete has known Jim since our early days in 4-H, about 50 years ago. Both our families had egg-producing chicken ranches in Rio Linda and our fathers were well-acquainted. Dick has known Jim almost as long. Dick's family and Jim's family both belonged the Creekside Pool when they were kids. Jim, Dick, and Arlete all went to Rio Linda Sr High School. Arlete graduated in 1966, Jim in 1967, Dick in 1968.

What's our situation at this time? Dick is in Guaymas, Mexico, supervising repairs on our catamaran. Arlete came home for the birth of Granddaughter #1. Arlete was staying with her oldest son in East Nicolaus until this opportunity arose.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Chile Rellenos with Mima, street hotdogs in Guaymas

lunes 16 marzo 2009

Arlete: Ana from s/v Trumpeter organized a cooking lesson. I went along and we "goat roped" our husbands into coming along. Jesus from Club Nautico arranged for his sister-in-law, Mima, to meet us at the the club at 10:30 am. We took the Golondrinas bus to Mima's Guaymas neighborhood.

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L-R: Mima, Ana and Gary from s/v Trumpeter, Dick

Thanks goodness, Gary was there. He speaks the best Spanish, I speak a little, Dick and Ana even less. But once we got to Mima's house, we met more family members. Two of the girls had just arrived for spring break from Phoenix and were excellent translators.

ADD PHOTO OF MIMA'S FAMILY

Mima's Recipe for Chiles Rellenos

Salsa: 3 large tomatoes, quartered
Handful Serrano chiles, pop off the stems, remove seeds/pith for less heat
Salt to taste
2 large cloves garlic, sliced

Put ingredients into a pot with some water, bring to a simmer, cover and cook until tomatoes are tender, maybe 20 minutes. Set aside to cool a bit. Ladle out vegetables into a glass blender container with a little juice, but not too much. Blend until crushed and set aside.



Chile Rellenos: Lay the chiles verdes directly on the open flame of a gas stove until blackened, turning as needed. When charred, set on a half of plastic bag and cover so the peppers can steam and cool. With your fingers, peel off the skin and discard. Make a little hole in the top of the chile under the stem and pull out the inside membrane and as many seeds as possible, but leaving some seeds is ok too. Be careful to keep the stem intact and the hole as small as possible.

L-R: Arlete, Mima, Ana

Grate 1 kg Chihuahua cheese (or any nice melting white cheese. Set aside.
Rice: Wash 2 cups white rice and dry thoroughly. Add a little oil, 2 chopped cloves and ¼ chopped onion and 1 inch oil to deep frying pan. Cook for a while and remove, you only want to flavor the oil, although both husbands thought it could be left in the rice. When Mima scooped it up in a paper towel to throw away, Ana and Gary quickly rescued it, which surprised Mima. Later it would be tucked into one of the chile rellenos along with some cheese.

When the rice is dry, add it to the flavored oil in the frying pan. Stir constantly and the rice begins to brown. Mima said that you much stir faster and faster as the rice turns golden brown. Add an 8 oz can or box of pureed tomoatoes, 2 chicken bouillon cubes, and 4 cups water. Stir until the bouillon cubes have dissolved. Cover, lower the heat, and cook for about 20-30 minutes . Stir to fluff before serving.

Chiles Rellenos: Stuff the chilles with the grated cheese as full as possible and making the smallest hole or slit as possible. Mima said you could also stuff the chiles with shrimp or tuna.







Roll the stuffed chiles lightly in flour. Be sure there’s some on the cheese also. Set aside.

Separate 12 eggs. Mima tapped on the pointy end with a spoon, and then used her fingertips to open a small hold, maybe 3/8” in diameter. She tipped and swirled the egg over a bowl, the white flowed out, but the yolk stayed in. Each egg-with-yolk was set carefully back in the carton. The whites were put in a deep bowl ready to be whipped.


Beat the egg whites with a beater until a fork is able to stand up in the beaten whites.

Mima’s rule and a general kitchen belief:
Do NOT look at the whites while they’re being beaten or the whites will not “fluff up.”

Put all the reserved yolks into a bowl and add them at the end beating just until they are mixed in.












Heat to medium high heat, about 1” oil in a large deep frying pan. To test for high enough heat, drop a teaspoonful of beaten egg mixture into the oil. It should puff up and brown fairly quickly. Lay each stuffed chile in the beaten egg mixture, and use a spoon to coat it on all sides. Quickly and carefully lay it in the hot oil. Two would fit at a time in the frying pans, but the chile verdes were pretty big.



Turn onto all sides until lightly browned. Remove onto a plate covered with a layer of paper towels to absorb the grease.








Serve with rice and salsa. Delicious!

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