Fish Tacos, um, without the taco...

I mentioned that we were having fish tacos. Now, when Adam suggested that meal, my mind said to itself, "Fish? In a taco? Ick!" I'm a rather limited eater.

But Adam hove too in the kitchen, and first he produced Nani's pico de gallo - a fresh salsa that's great with chips. It's basically this: diced tomatoes, diced onion, lots of cilantro, lime juice, salt. It's addictive. I don't think I've ever met Nani; she's the sister-in-law of my friend, Carolyn.  But I must say I know her salsa intimately! It's a summer staple at our house.

And it's a good starter for any Tex-Mex meal. Adam pan fried the fish, and made fresh avocado dip, which is basically this: chopped avocado, sour cream, lime juice, salt. I think. He sometimes makes it in the blender, so it's very creamy. But this time he made a chunkier variety.

And I made my taco, like a good eater. I laid out my fish on the soft shell. First I only put on a little of the pico de gallo juice. It was boring.  Adam recommended adding other items, so I did: guacamole dip, fresh pineapple, lime juice, and some of the pico. Much better, but still not quite ... memorable. I was eating everything else on my plate, and neglecting my taco. I just didn't have an inclination to eat it.

"It's bland,"  I told Adam. "It's not leaving that zippy, happy feeling on my tongue that all those flavors ought to be doing."  And I decided to remove the one thing I knew didn't excite me:  the taco shell.  I opened it up, and ate the fillings with a fork.

And it was wonderful.  Mexican Fish Salad? I don't know.  But it was mighty good!

Dogwood

Our neighbors' dogwood trees:

Driving Around, Again

We went for a little drive today, to take the girls by the library.  Sandy went along.  She loves to go along ...

She likes the passenger seat.  She would prefer to drive.

This dogwood is in our neighborhood. I suppose it is two trees, close together, but it sure looks like one!

Here's one of my favorite houses in town. I wish I could get a better photograph. I was parked across the street, hoping not to get rear-ended as I snapped this. They've done a good restoration job, I think.

As I wound around the neighborhood, I spotted this yard decor! This is even more interesting that the bottle trees I've seen!

I noticed this tulip bed yesterday, and was glad to get a shot, even through my dirty car window. They're so happy in the sun.

I brought some tilapia home from my parents' house last time I visited, and I finally thawed it, and we had half of it last night. It was more fish than I'd anticipated. So now I have thawed fish in the frig for supper again, and Adam (who finds my pan-fried tilapia a wee bit bland) offered to take over the supper cooking this evening. Fine with me! He's off to Wally's to buy a lime and various other yummies, and make fish tacos, pico and other delectables. I'll keep you posted on the culinary results.

Blue

I'm so glad Adam hasn't mowed the yard yet, because these wonderful blue flowers have sprung up all over the front yard.  I think they're darling! Here's the thickest patch of them:

And another that stretches farther. Perhaps they'll all reseed, and next year there will be more!

I picked one for you to see. I have no idea what it is.  Any ideas? (I should thank Carolyn for identifying the gorgeous pink tree the other day as a Kwanzan Cherry tree. They are blooming all over town, and they smell wonderful. Anna and I noticed the aroma during our walk this evening, and we tracked it down!)

A top view. Not exactly blue, perhaps, but the effect in the yard is very blue.

And now we'll introduce the azaleas to the spring show!

Hat Numero Dos

I've nearly finished the second hat, and I chose these unusual colors. The multi-colored autumn yard I had tons of -- several skeins, and I wanted to use some and see what it looks like when crocheted. Then I spotted the gray, and thought it might be a good combination. I didn't want the whole hat from the dappled color.

When I started the hat, neither girl was interested in it, but I kept going. I mean, why not? Then, when I added the gray for the brim, Anna said, "Ooooo -- I like that."  So now, I think the hat has an owner waiting for it. I'll get you a finished shot later.

Blogasbord

Let's get the icky stuff over with first:

Another hoarder dies in her home. People, this is just getting sad.  How many people out there have debris stacked to the rafters? Since they don't let anyone into their homes, it's rather hard to find out, until something like this happens.

I mostly got a kick (no pun intended) by the title of this story:
"Man Uses Prosthetic Leg to Take Down Armed Robber"

I don't know how much longer this video from PBS will be available, but it's an excellent NOVA documentary on the Japan earthquake and tsunami. Well worth watching if you missed it on TV.

And speaking of the whole public TV/radio thing, I recently sent a message to NPR (National Public Radio) because I was irritated at their whiny insistence that they are not biased at all -- not politically, culturally, religiously.  I mean, if you listen to them, you can tell.  They insisted that all their listeners knew they are not biased in any way.  So I wrote. And I heard back.  NPR wanted my information from me, possibly to talk with me further and perhaps put me on the air. Ha - that'll be the day!  I wondered -- if I were to be on their show, what proof would I need to research, and present to them, to show them the big blemish on their own face? Well, somebody did it for me! Yippee! --

World Magazine's Timothy Larsen wrote a timely article on this very subject. And he actually did a bit of work, looking back at archives off various shows, demonstrating how their religious bias is rather strong. Thank you, Timothy!

(BTW, I also told NPR that they have many shows I enjoy, and that their world news is the best in the U.S.  Still, often their national news, and especially many of their "cultural" stories, begin with a strong bias. I mean, how many touching stories about gays/lesbians do I need to hear?)

That's all for today, folks!

Beeswax

Adam had some old beeswax in an ice cream bucket, from last year. Today he boiled it down again, to further purify it. I didn't know he still had any!! That means I can make more of my wonderful Dama's Bee Cream - yippee! I enjoyed making it so much last time.  And it turned out to be a very excellent hand cream. It's rich, moisturizing, and it smells delicious - faintly of honey :), of course.

This large round of beeswax is only about 3/4 " thick. It's round because Adam boiled it in a huge pot. It weighs 16.7 oz., so I will get lots and lots of bee cream out of it. I can't wait! I think, when my facial moisturizer runs out next, I'm going to use this bee cream, and see how my face likes it.  Adam says there is likely some bee propolis -- a glue-like substance they make to seal up their hives. Bee Propolis is naturally anti-bacterial and anti-fungal -- a great thing for skin. Let's hear it for those bees!

And speaking of the bees, Adam got a call today telling him that they will be coming a week late, unfortunately.  He's been looking forward to having bees again. Ah well. A week from Saturday it is.