In the yummy recipe below, I call for U/15 shrimp. This informs you as to the size of shrimp you are shopping for. Shrimp sizes are denoted in numbers, such as U/15 or 21/25. When you see a “U” in the count, it means that there are “under” that number of shrimp in a pound. The slash between numbers denotes a range of shrimp in a pound.

HERE you will find a helpful chart of shrimp sizes.

My fabulous vacation to the Howard’s Deer Lake in Canada is coming to a close. On one hand, I hate to be leaving so soon, but on the other, I can’t wait to get home to my kitties. That sounds like crazy-cat lady talk, I know, but I hate leaving them home alone for so long.

How about I share images from my trip in today’s post?

You’d like that! Yay, here we go.

Seriously, this is the only photo I really need to post. So GORGEOUS! Kim woke up early last Friday morning and caught the full moon over Deer Lake. Absolutely Stunning!

We visited a variety of markets during my visit, here are my favorite images.

On another day we drove into Montreal and visited the Marché Jean-Talon.

After one afternoon of being out for the morning, we came home to find that two birds had flown into the sliding glass doors along the back of the house.

As I type this on the afternoon of Monday, June 23rd, it is 115 degrees outside and I am hunkered down in my house. It may be more appropriate to say that I’m hunkered down in my cave because that is what I have turned my home into. And not for some fun reason – like having little kids over and building forts and caves out of sheets and blankets.

No, I live in a cave now because of my most recent electric bill. I only regret that I didn’t create my cave sooner!

The bill arrived while I was in Texas. When I got home, I tossed all the bills on my desk without opening them. I went to pay them this morning and was horrified to see that my electric bill was $150 higher than it was last month. What the what?!?

I’m already exceedingly conscientious about turning off lights and keeping the blinds and curtains drawn in the heat of the day. I don’t run my large appliances until late at night or early morning and I resist the temptation of setting the thermostats too low. In fact, when I go to bed, the A/C on the opposite side of the house is set to 86 degrees, which is quite warm when it often doesn’t get out of the 90’s outside at night. So a $150 increase seemed insane!

(My electricity bills look good, thanks to everybody who helps in keeping my cooling devices in a good condition. Granted there were 3 more days in the billing cycle this time. Last month was 30 days for May 8 – June 7. And this bill was 33 days for June 7 – July 10. But $50 more per day does not add up.)

The front of my house faces west, which far from ideal, especially since the double front doors have glass fronts.

So in anticipation of the summer heat that would stream through those doors, I bought a shade panel at Costco back in April and hung it outside to block the sun from coming in through those doors.

No doubt that has helped immensely. But obviously not nearly as much as I’d hoped.

Here are the steps I’ve taken to see if I can get that bill down into the almost bearable range.

The first thing I did was cut out a large piece of cardboard (thank you Amazon!) and blocked the light coming in through the skylight in the kitchen. I actually did that the week before I left for Texas.

Today, I closed the vents and doors to one of the bedrooms, the office, and one bathroom. Less square footage to cool is the hopeful thinking there.

Next, I put more of the cardboard over the glass blocks in the master bath.

That window faces south, but as you can see, it lets in plenty of light, which translates to plenty of heat. It may not look attractive, but I don’t give a hoot about aesthetics right now.

This house has another front door on the west side, a mother-in-law set-up of sorts. And that door also has a darn window in it.

[Read more →]

This is one of the two wreaths that had been hanging on my front doors ever since October 2011, well with the exception of the month of December when Christmas wreaths were briefly there.  It had become somewhat of an embarrassment when spring hit, but I had tossed my old worn-out spring/summer wreaths and I just couldn’t find new ones I liked to replace them. So the very “fall-ish” wreaths remained, pheasant feathers and all!  Until Saturday, that is. On Saturday, the Fed Ex truck delivered the two new wreaths I found on One Kings Lane!  So, I packed up the fall wreaths and hung out the new ones, just in time for summer cooking classes.

From a distance, they may look a little “Christmasy”, all red and green. But up close…

… come closer…

[Read more →]

It’s the unofficial start of summer and time to wear your white shoes, linen, sandals, straw handbags, seersucker, etc.

And if you’re lucky, maybe you can take off to white sandy beaches…

If not, how about cooking up some white food?  Need a little inspiration? I’ve got more than two dozen ideas for you!

[Read more →]

When I conjure up red and green, I automatically think “Christmas!” But snowmen, sleigh bells, and Santa are the last things you’ll think of when you see and then taste this refreshing summer salad.

[Read more →]

Here is the recipe I made yesterday on the Valley Dish, especially for Memorial Day weekend. (And here is the LINK if you would like to watch it online.) 

PLEASE don’t be scared off by the long laundry list of ingredients. There are six different condiments/toppings for your sliders, and each one is very easy to make, you can do as many or as few as you like.  Seriously, when I say easy, I’m talking about slicing a couple of tomatoes, drizzling them with olive oil, and sprinkling them with salt and chives, that’s easy! Or laying slices of bacon on foil, sprinkling with rosemary and pepper, and tossing in the oven, super easy! And I guarantee your family and friends will be impressed, Enjoy!

[Read more →]

Summer 2010 Classes are posted today. Go the the “Classes” page on the left to view the lineup. If you are interested in taking a week or two; then just go to the “Registration” page, print and fill out the form and you’re on your way to a summer filled with good food, good friends, and good fun and you’ll even learn something new along the way! Hope to see you in June!

[Read more →]