Now and Then

Found a packet of photos taken about 10 - 11 years ago and was flipping out at how young we all looked!  I think this is seriously one of the best pictures of me I ever remember.

 Mom and Dad from that same year compared to now.  Dad doesn't look all that much different but Mom is quite a bit thinner.

And OMG has Austin changed!  This boy has my heart and soul always.

Semi-home Made Pot Stickers

I love pot stickers but since moving, I'm not close to any really good Asian markets that sell them freshly made so I've been stuck with the frozen versions.  They are okay but....

I came across this "bowl" thing in the produce section of the grocery store.  Hmmmm.  Maybe?

I cooked it according to the directions but left out the rice.  After letting it cool a bit, I dropped spoonfuls onto fresh Won Ton wrappers.

I was experimenting a bit with the shape.  The four sided shapes seemed to hold better than the triangles.

My intention was to be able to cook these in the Instant Pot for fast and easy.  I cooked the first batch that way and wasn't happy with them.  Tough and chewy.  Although I do think the cooking directions I followed allowed for way too much time.  Maybe less time would have worked but batch two I cooked the usual way with oil and water in a fry pan.  MUCH better.

I didn't take a picture because I had froze the leftovers as a "blob" so on defrosting, my cute little folds didn't hold so the result looked more like stir fry than pot sticker!!  But they tasted good and the few that still held some sort of shape were awesome.

Random Horse Related Bits and Spurs

Madison and I have been getting to ride together quite a bit lately and I love it so much!  She gets Vince from Maggie's barn next door and I put Mata Hari to work.  We have a nice little system  down so we finish everything up at the same time going home happy and tired with ponies tucked in for the night.

Other nights we trade in our breaches for dress up clothes and go see a show - this one was "Cabaret".  

We've been cleaning out the "horse room" in the basement of the Whitmore Lake house since it's listed for sale.  We have found so many things we no longer need including this collection of western spurs.  And this wasn't all of them...

Even when we have to ride inside, I never tire of this view over Mata Hari's ears.

Sometimes we look out and find her Perchy Cross boyfriend looking back at us!

I took this picture to send to Madison one morning.  I was dressed in a skirt suit wearing these fancy tights and had to stop at Maggie's barn to pick up a poop sample to drop off at the vet's on the way to Lansing.  So there I was, in the blowing rain, wearing my muck boots with my suit to go fetch a ball of poop.  The things we do for our horses.....

Crazy Cat Lady?

I might very well be turning into a crazy cat lady.  

This plant was on the windowsill just over the tub in the first picture.  Dang cat knocked it into the tub and I just stood there taking pictures amused by the whole thing.

Coming down to investigate his damage.

Perhaps muddling over how it got down there?

Checking it over carefully.

Because this happened just before I was leaving for work, I only picked up the plant and put it back before I left.  I came home to dirt tracked all over the bathroom and the plant back in the tub.  Grrr.  I guess the bathroom door needs to stay closed if I have any hope of keeping those plants where they are now.

Blown Away

Some mornings when I get into work and the sun is rising over the Detroit River, I am just totally blown away by Mother Nature's ability to paint the sky.  I can't even begin to describe how much more beautiful this was in person than it is in the photo...

Home Decorating

I've had this clock for a while and love it - Home Goods special!  But it looked a little naked on the wall here.  Then I bought this old secretary desk which I had thought I might use for a kitchen island (and totally forgot to take a before picture).  But after I got it painted, decided this was the perfect spot for it.  This corner now looks finished!

This corner is still a tad bare but this iron piece is something I've had for more than 20 years.  I bought it from Sundance a long time ago and have loved it ever since.  I had it at the old house and had left it there until Scott found something else to replace it with on the wall.  Last week he said I could take it again.  My happy piece is back!!

Slip Sliding Away

Apparently the tiny slope to my driveway is enough for my truck to slide down it when it's icy!

I got up to go to work one morning and found my truck sitting halfway out in the road!  (The edge of the road is actually about under the middle of the truck - the plow had done around it).  Madison had drove it home the night before and if I hadn't known better, it looked like a drunk parking job!  I thought maybe she had left it in neutral or something.  So I moved it back into the driveway.  And realized it wasn't in neutral...hmmmmm.

A while later, I get a call that it's back out in the road!  The neighborhood maintenance guy has the same truck so he moved it back up for me after dropping a BUNCH of salt on the drive!!