Answers for Cathy,

  

 This answer is a long time coming,

but I wanted to get photos.

  Vacation time came and went. 

 Our son and grand daughter visited for several days. 

 Then I spent a week playing catch up with everything else around here. 

Then another week went by due to procrastination,

work, garden, and you name it.  

 Finally I have a chance to answer your question

 and I've decided to turn it into a blog post. 

   Two birds with one stone, so to speak.

Cathy asked about the location of our porta potty on board

as they were thinking of, and have since purchased a pontoon boat.

It was inside this storage area.  

 This was a changing room set up. 

There used to be a changing room curtain attached

 to the underside of this 'lid' that would unfold from a hinged tubular curtain holder.

  There was enough space for the porta potty here. 

 At first we thought WOW, great!

But it was hot as can be, and clingy,

and did I mention extremely hot being inside there.

So we moved the porta potty, and now use this area for storage. 

 It's a much better use of space for us.

Inside,  ^  there is room for the tent siding for the entire boat,

 our winter supplies, including blankets, pillows,

a propane catalytic heater, camp stove, throwable life saver cushions,

 a huge fishing tackle box,  stainless steel posts for anchoring to shore,

  a sledge hammer to pound them in with,

a bucket, a table and it's pedestal, fishing poles,

 extra beach towels, and an extra life vest for the little one.

The other life vests are stored under the benches.

 Photo above ^  Here's the space with the lid closed.

  It makes a nice bed platform and it's comfortable. 

 Now see the milk crate to the left of the photo.

  That holds an anchor, some rope, and leather gloves.   

  You can also barely see the captains chair, on the bottom left.

Our porta potty sits between the two

 with a cover up t-shirt, that fits right over it.

  I plan to make a fitted cover for it so it will look a bit nicer,

 perhaps like an ottoman.

^  When needed, for quick privacy

we use sheets and clip them up with these heavy duty clips

from the wood working tools section of Sears. 

We have other clips, but these don't get tugged off in the wind. 

 They can hold up wet heavy beach towels for two if needed. 

It's a good idea to go ahead and make a privacy curtain of some sort.  

 You never know who will be coming around a corner

 and you don't want to get caught with your pants down.

Not that I speak from experience....hardy har.  I'm lying.  

 Stuff  happens!


P.S.
I finished all but 4 items on my list.
Woo Hoo!!!

Lists

Writing lists keeps me from going over and over

 what needs to be done in my head.

It stops me from worrying about the little stuff.

Just write it down and then actually work on it.

It's satisfying just to cross the item off the list.

Eventually.

These are just a part of today's lists.

Some of which I've already crossed off.

Yeah!

Some of this has been on one list or another for

quite awhile.

(sigh)

I should have started a third list.

Most of what I've accomplished this morning

would have been on that third sheet of sticky note.

(grin)

Oh well.   Swimming after dinner is

definitely getting crossed off today's list.

Have a great weekend!

Take care,

Scalloped Summer Squash

This recipe was copied from Prairie Home Cooking quite a while back.

  I neglected to note the amount of chopped onion. 

 So,   it's up to you.

I don't really measure the onion.  

 If I'm making two casseroles I use half of a large onion.

  Otherwise just a quarter of one yellow onion should do it. 

 After all, you don't want to overpower the delicate taste of the summer squash.

Another change to the recipe:  Since I don't have crackers in the house. 

 I use Panko crumbs.

(Japanese Bread Crumbs)

You probably have saltines in your cupboard.

Oh, and I just use the salted butter I already have, instead  of  buying the unsalted kind.

One more thing.  There's bits of green showing in the casseroles. 

 That's some green zuchinni  added in cause we didn't have enough of the yellow summer squash.

I made three of these caseroles for a potluck dinner this month at Seniors.

There wasn't any leftover.

Then I made two more casseroles of summer squash for a family dinner this past weekend.

Yep, it's summer squash season and here's one good way to enjoy it.

My favorite way is still just plop cut up  young squash in a nonstick skillet

 with a slice of butter, salt and pepper to taste.  Cook it up till it's tender.

Serve daily, or until you're tired of it.  Wait a week and serve it again.

Cause it's squash season!

Here's the recipe.

Scalloped Summer Squash

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 pound yellow summer squash, chopped fine

chopped yellow onion

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup milk

1 cup cracker crumbs

1 teaspoon salt

dash fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375*F.

Lightly butter a casserole dish.

Heat the butter over medium heat in a saucepan or skillet.

Add the squash and onion and saute them,

stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender, about 6 to 7 minutes. 

Transfer the contents to a bowl, and mash the mixture coarsely with a fork.

Stir in the remaining ingredients, and pour into the casserole dish.

(I use square baking dishes, aprox 8-inch

  and I top the casserole with a bit more grated cheddar cheese.)

Bake the casserole for 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.  Serve hot.

You can later explain why there's a fork full missing.

Uh, I'm a blogger.

I needed a photo of the finished dish, and the

here have a bite shot.

Datura metel

This is Datura metel, a poisonous plant that loves the heat here .

This photo shows the bud, getting ready to bloom in 2 days or so.

 

I originally got the seeds from a friend  Mike in Texas.

We were members of an old Compuserve garden forum

about 14 years ago.

I planted the seeds first at our home in Napa CA.

These photos were taken in one day.

Morning time.

Late afternoon  the bloom turns white and starts to unfurl.

This plant is dangerous. 

 I just grow it for the flowers and it's scent.

I just googled for info.

Who knew!

If you're curious, just type datura metel into your search engine.

Once it starts to unfurl, it just takes minutes to open.

It quickly opens to a 9 inch or so spectacular flower

that has an almost leathery texture.

The blooms last just overnight and into the early morning hours before wilting.

They smell wonderful to me and the nocturnal moths.

The seed pods are tough, and those spines are sturdy and extremely sharp!

You definitely wouldn't want to step on them.

Bonus:  The deer leave it completely alone.

There's a different type of Datura growing wild on the banks of Lake Shasta.

Locally it's  also known as Jimson weed, thornapple, and devils trumpet.

It's also called zombie cucumber.

Click on photos to enlarge.   I love photo #4

Morning Mug

Good Morning,

I just wanted to get a quick hello in this morning

 before heading off to my volunteer job.

In the mornings I usually nurse one mug of coffee and then I'm done.

We didn't drink coffee until we moved here 9 years ago.

 Then we became regular coffee drinkers

 in our mid  to late 40's.

At first,

  it had to be extremely fresh

 as in just brewed

 for us to enjoy it.

After awhile,

it didn't matter how old

 or what temperature we drank it.

If it turned cold in the mug, oh well.  Just add ice.

 We loved it

and it wasn't the expensive good stuff that we consumed.

It was

plain old Folgers.

 Sing with me:

The best part of waking up....

After a while  we were consuming coffee at all times of the day.

I've cut way back now.

Oh, I still crave my morning mug and

 I love it once in awhile if we have dessert,

which isn't very often at all.

I think I love the ritual of having a mug of coffee.

In the wintertime it's wrapping my hands around a steaming mug

and feeling the warmth thaw out cold fingers.

During the summer  mornings, I carry the mug out onto the deck

or kitchen porch to start  the day.

Anyway,  todays morning ritual will be cut short again

 as  I  put the remaining coffee from my mug into a thermal cup

and take it to Seniors with me.

  I'll be busy and probably won't finish it untill lunch time.

But that's OK, because

  today is a better morning than yesterday.

Yesterday I hurriedly finished my coffee as  I headed to town

 for my annual mammogram

and tried

really hard

not to think

of pancakes. 

   

Hope you have a wonderful day.

I will!

Corn Saute

 The recipe below is from Churn Creek Meadow Organic Farm.

 

 

 

This is their corn sauté. 

 

You'll love this

 if you enjoy fresh from the garden

 corn, zucchini, and basil.

Here's the recipe:

Corn Saute

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 minced garlic cloves

2 ears fresh corn, kernels removed from cob and set aside

1 fresh summer squash, diced

10 leaves fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Place olive oil in large fry pan, turn heat to medium

Add onion and garlic, saute for 2 minutes

Add corn kernels, squash, salt and pepper

Saute for 5 minutes

Stir in basil

Serve now or freeze some for this coming winter.

You'll be glad you did.

 

Boat Names

Did you know that it's supposedly bad luck to rename a boat? 

Yep, it sure makes you wonder about some of the boat names we've run across.

The most common boat name is

Obsession. ^

You can change their names, but tradition calls for specific rituals,

 and if you mistakenly forget even a small part of that ritual,

well then you are just asking for trouble.

Quite a few boats are named after family members, especially working boats.

Some are named after named after passions like fishing.

Or unfortunately drinking,

 but being the optomist, maybe this one is named after a lovely Ginger.

Gin ~ Gin's her nick name.

Some are understandable and optimistic cause they’ve got

Before  some

Bushwhacker ^

tells  me to get a life,

I have one thing to say,

I

even if I have an  obsession with

boat names.

Ours is Crow's Nest II

Take care and have fun, what ever your passion.
  I'm wishing you fair wind  and following seas.

A little more from Brookings.

I think this guy forgot to read the sign.

Perhaps

 he should have been the one blowing bubbles,

into the fog.

I loved this cool  reminder of hippie days.

 

Photo was taken with telephoto lens from across the highway at our hotel parking lot.

I wish I had taken the time to go explore it a bit closer.

Have a nice weekend and be sure to take the time to enjoy the simple things.

Like a dunk in the lake.

Tomorrows forecast 110 Degrees.

Brookings/Harbor Oregon

We're lucky that we have family living over on the coast.

It gives us a great excuse to head over there to visit and cool off.

We get to sneak in a couple of hours of playing tourist

during the afternoons before it's time to gather for dinner.

I love how colorful and vibrant the flowers are over on the coast.

Flowers that don't grow well here because of the heat.

Like fuchsias.

I love them, but it gets too hot here for them.

Even though they do sell them for us to try.

I definitely  don't have the right conditions for them.

The flags and kites are plentiful and add wonderful color as well.

There's a couple of kite and flag shops in town. 

Perfect for an afternoon of play on the beach.

Brookings has an annual kite festival in July that is lots of fun.

It was scheduled for the weekend after we left.

That's OK, we've been there for that before. It's fun,

especially when the wind blows enough.

Sometimes it doesn't.

Harris Beach, looking South from the parking lot.

It was cold and foggy there, although it wasn't too cold for some beach goers.

If you're used to much hotter weather though, it was COLD!

Looking North.

To the West.

P.S.  If this post has misaligned photos or anything else wrong with it ~~~  Sorry

I've struggled with blogger for two days on just this one post. 

 Have a great day/evening/night. 

As I write this it's 105*F and I'm off to go swimming soon.

Getting back into it.

We're home now and have been for awhile. 

Our son and his daughter flew up to visit right after we got home from the coast.

Our daughter came down from Mt. Shasta with her son.

 

We played with our grand kids and

had the best time with them.

They got along nicely~~better than the last time.

They're two and four years old.

They're back home now.

We're trying to get back to normal.

Back to work.

Back to the  family garden.

Back to shooing fawns and turkeys out of the garden here.

                                                

 

 But I'm missing my grand daughter and son terribly.

You'd think saying Good Bye at the airport would get easier.

After all I'm a veteran of saying good bye to loved ones

 over and over during our 20 year Navy Life.

It's not any easier.

 I am grateful for the time we can have with them,

 even if it's not often enough.

Take care.

 

P.S. More photos from Brookings, Oregon next post.

Still in vacation mode.

Just stopping in to say HI!
 We have a couple more days to visit with our granddaughter and son before they fly home on Monday.  I'll be back to blogging in a few days.  Meanwhile we're enjoying wading pools, and fruit Popsicles to help beat the heat. Yesterday:  108 degrees and humid.

Last Night

It was beautiful out there last night. 

We saw lightning strikes to the north of us.

The storm did spark three small fires that are contained.

Today's forecast ~~104 degrees and humid.